Steven Avery From ‘Making A Murderer’ Has Been Diagnosed With COVID-19

Steven Avery - whose case is followed in Netflix true crime documentary Making A Murderer - has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in jail.

Steven caught the virus while serving his life sentence in a Wisconsin, and is currently said to be isolating in his cell.

The news was broken by his former defence lawyer, Jerome Buting on Wednesday, and later confirmed by his current lawyer, Kathleen Zellner.

"Steven Avery has tested positive for COVID-19, and is confined to his cell," Buting wrote.

He went on to reveal that Steven's ex fiancee Sandy Greenman reported he was in "good spirits," and that his symptoms have been "short lived".

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"It is true that Steven Avery has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus," Zellner added.

"He will fully recover. The bigger threat to him is whether the COA will cure the disease that caused him to be wrongfully convicted @makingamurderer".

As of last week, 213 people had tested positive for COVID-19 at Steven's jail - Waupun Correctional Institution.

It comes after Reuters recently highlighted the issue of coronavirus spreading in US jail facilities, with Californian prison law and policy professor Aaron Littman warning: "[They] don't have a particularly good handle" on COVID-19 infections in many jails across the States, "and in some places.... no handle at all."

Steven, 57, was found guilty of raping and murdering photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005, alongside his nephew Brendan Dassey, 30.

However, the 2015 documentary and its follow up Making A Murderer 2 raised some serious questions on whether they were guilty or not, and created a movement of truthers desperate to see the pair walk free.

With the help of Zellner, Avery has made multiple attempts to appeal the convictions, but has so far been unsuccessful.

The lawyer filed a motion to the Court of Appeals in October asking them to take the Avery case.

Last week, the State of Wisconsin filed a 130 page response asking them to deny his request for another hearing.

He currently awaits the outcome.

This isn't his first stint in prison, having spent 18 years in prison prior, before DNA results exonerated him of any wrongdoing.

Topics: True Crime, News, TV News, TV Entertainment, Steven Avery, Making A Murderer

Joanna Freedman

Joanna is a journalist at Tyla with a particular interest in highlighting women's issues and telling inspiring first person stories. She's also their resident foodie, and loves covering exciting new beauty launches, too. Contact her at [email protected].

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