Johnny Depp Hires Steven Avery's Attorney Kathleen Zellner In Domestic Abuse Trial
Topics: News, Johnny Depp, Celebrity
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: News, Johnny Depp, Celebrity
Steven Avery's lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, has joined Johnny Depp's legal team.
Taking to Twitter to announce the news, Zellner wrote: "Proud to have joined Johnny Depp’s legal team for his trial in Fairfax Virginia 4/11/22. @ErinMoriarty20 @lifeafterten @MakingAMurderer @michellemalkin #TruthWins."
Zellner has been hired by Depp in his legal battle against ex wife Amber Heard, as he prepares for his trial in April.
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Depp, 58, is suing Heard, 35, over an article in the Washington Post from 2019, where she wrote about being a victim of domestic abuse.
While Depp's name wasn't mentioned, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor insists it was about him after Heard previously made accusations against Depp, alleging that she had suffered two black eyes, a broken nose and a broken lip during a 2015 attack. Depp denies any wrongdoing.
Zellner told Page Six in a statement: “I have spent the last 30 plus years defending individuals who have been falsely accused of wrongdoing.
“I welcome adding Johnny Depp to that list and joining his dream team who share this view and have so effectively been advocating for him.”
The move comes after Depp lost a bid to overturn a damning High Court ruling which rejected the actor's claim that The Sun newspaper committed libel when they called him a 'wife-beater' for the alleged abuse against Heard.
Mr Justice Nicol dismissed the Hollywood star's libel claim against News UK, the publisher of The Sun, finding that an April 2018 column calling Depp a "wife beater" was "substantially true".
The judge ruled that Depp assaulted Heard on a dozen occasions and put her in "fear for her life" three times.
Zellner will join Depp's team - which also includes Adam Waldman and Benjamin Chew – for the trial set to take place in April.