2021 brought Making a Murderer fans several updates on the protagonist of the series, Steven Avery. So as we settle into 2022, here's all of the latest on Steven Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey.
Is Steven Avery still in prison? Steven Avery's case in 2022:
As of 2022, Steven Avery still remains in prison for the murder of Theresa Halbach in 2005, as told in the 2015 hit true-crime documentary, Making A Murderer.
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Avery has always maintained his innocence and believes he was framed by the Manitowoc County Police Department after he sued them for a wrongful conviction for another crime in 2003.
Avery's lawyer Kathleen Zellner, however, has said there is a 'huge amount of new evidence' in his case.
Taking to Twitter to update her followers on the new development, Zellner said they are still 'working as hard as ever' on the case.
Steven Avery case updates throughout 2021 and 2022:
On Friday 27th August 2021, It was announced that Steven Avery had asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take on his case, after the Appellate court rejected it the month before.
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On 28th July, the court rejected Avery's appeal. It's not the ideal situation, but there are still options for the Making a Murderer protagonist.
Kathleen Zellner, Avery's lawyer, tweeted: "Not deterred by the appellate court decision--it pointed out the specific doors that are still open for Mr. Avery's quest for freedom. We appreciate the careful review. #Onward #TruthWins.
On Friday 23rd April 2021, Zellner accused the state of Wisconsin of 'withholding' crucial evidence in a letter after new witnesses came forward.
This followed a new court filing on 13th April, which stated that a delivery driver came forward and said he saw Bobby Dassey with an unidentified, bearded man in his 50s-60s pushing a Toyota RAV-4 (the model Teresa Halbach was driving) onto the Avery property in the early hours of 5th November 2005.
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This groundbreaking revelation placed Steven Avery's nephew, Bobby Dassey (Brendan Dassey's brother), at the scene of the crime.
On 14th April, Zellner tweeted: "To all the Steven Avery supporters: Thank you for all the tips on the accomplice. We should have him identified very quickly."
Brad Dassey, who is Brendan's half-brother, then claimed that his uncle Avery is innocent and that his step-mother, Barb Tadych, might have something to do with the case.
Before this, the last development was in June 2020, when Avery's lawyer filed The Avery Reply Brief with the optimistic message, "We're going to win this!!!"
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This came as a counter-response to The State of Wisconsin, which, after the filing of Avery's appeal, submitted a 130-page document asking the court to deny Avery a new trial.
On 11th January 2022, Avery's lawyer took to Twitter to update followers of the case and wrote: "Just in case any of you are wondering we are working as hard as ever on Steven Avery's case.
"We will be filing a new petition with a huge amount of new evidence. We will never give up pounding on the doors of justice for him. @MakingAMurderer #TruthWins."
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Keep checking back here for more updates on Steven Avery's case in 2022.
What did Steven Avery sue Manitowoc Police for?
In 1985, Avery was imprisoned for sexual assault and attempted murder. It wasn't until 18 years into his 20-year sentence that DNA evidence proved he was innocent and he was released.
After his release in 2003, Avery filed a $36 million lawsuit against Manitowoc County and received a small fraction of this as a settlement.
Two years later, Avery was convicted of Halbach's murder and sentenced to life without parole.
The Netflix series, which covers Avery's 2007 murder trial, has garnered international attention for the case and helped to bring new evidence to light.
Viewers learnt about witness coercion and tampering with evidence on behalf of Manitowoc County, who Avery believes framed him for the murder as payback for suing them in 2003.
Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, is also serving time for the murder.
Steven Avery's appeal in 2019:
In 2019, Kathleen Zellner, who featured in the second season of Making a Murderer, stepped up her efforts to fight for her client's justice.
In February 2019, Avery won a motion to appeal in a Wisconsin circuit court, which meant that the court would reexamine the case.
Zellner's appeal argued that the bones discovered in the gravel pit on the Avery property (believed to be Halbach's) had been mishandled by authorities when they were given to the victim's family in 2011, without notifying the defence.
In August 2019, the defence's bid for a new trial was rejected in the circuit court, meaning Zellner and her team had to continue to pursue their appeal in Wisconsin's appellate court.
Unlike the circuit (district) court, an appellate court doesn't retry cases, hear witness statements, see new evidence, or have a jury. Instead, it reviews the procedures and decisions made in the original case to ensure the legal proceedings were fair and the law was applied correctly.
What is Steven Avery's net worth?
Due to the popularity of the true-crime series Making A Murderer, Google searches around Steven Avery's net worth have soared.
In 2003, he sued Manitowoc County for wrongful conviction and won a $400,000 settlement. Despite being in prison since 2005, it's estimated that Steven Avery is now worth a bit more than that and The Wealth Record has put his net worth at around $500,000 in 2021.
When is Making A Murderer season 3?
At the end of the second season of Making A Murderer, Zellner made two of the biggest breakthroughs in the case so far:
- Zellner got permission to experiment with evidence in hope that she'll prove evidence was planted to frame Avery. An expert from Wisconsin State Crime Lab testified and said he couldn't conclusively link the gun found at Avery's property to Halbach's murder.
- Zellner found thousands of images of pornography and violence towards women on Bobby Dassey's computer. She insisted he should be considered a suspect.
Since then, fans have wondered if there will be a third instalment of the true-crime series.
Nothing has been confirmed just yet, but filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos did tell Cosmopolitan in 2018 that it could definitely be on the cards.
And with such a revelation from Avery's lawyer in April 2021, it's hard to imagine there won't be a Making A Murderer season three.
Are Steven Avery's parents still alive?
Steven Avery's mother, Dolores Avery, sadly passed away on 8th July 2021. His father, Allen Avery, is still alive and well as far as we know, although Steven does fear that he might pass away before he is freed.
He told TMZ upon finding out about his mother's death: "I worry my Dad will not live to see me as a free man.Losing my parents before I got out has always been my worst nightmare. Now it has happened.
"Today I lost the person I most wanted to take care of and give a better life when I am freed. I cannot put in words the pain of losing my mum."
Steven has always had the support of his parents and they both were visiting in prison regularly up until lockdown.
Does Steven Avery have a girlfriend?
Despite serving a life sentence in prison, Steven Avery has somehow managed to keep up with dating life.
Long before the Halbach case, Avery was married to Lori Mathiesen, with who he had four children with. They divorced while he was in prison for a rape case, which he was wrongfully convicted for.
Season one of MAM made reference to Avery's previous marriage to Mathiesen. Throughout the docuseries, we met Avery's more recent partners - Jodi Stachowski, Sandy Greenman and Lynn Hartman.
Stachowski was in prison herself for drink-driving when they met, which was around the time of Halbach's death. Once she left prison, Stachowski was involved in the filming of the documentary and continued to back Avery's claims that he was innocent. That is until January 2016, when she changed her mind and said that he wasn't.
Later on in the series, we met Sandy Greenman, who started writing to Avery in prison after watching his trial being covered on TV. Sandy began visiting Avery in prison while her husband at the time was suffering from dementia and Parkinson's disease.
After her husband's death in April 2008, Greenman's relationship with Avery grew and they eventually got engaged. But Greenman broke off the engagement in January 2016.
In September 2016, Avery got engaged to legal secretary Lynn Hartman. Just over a week later, Avery broke off the engagement, claiming that Hartman was in the relationship for the money.
No new relationships have been confirmed since Avery broke off his engagement with Hartman. But Greenman stays in touch with Avery, upholding the belief that he is innocent. She regularly updates her social media followers about Avery.
Has Steven Avery ever confessed to killing Theresa Halbach?
Steven Avery has always upheld his innocence in the case.
In late 2019, another inmate confessed to the murder of Teresa Halbach while talking to the documentary producers. But the legitimacy of the confession wasn't confirmed.
What happened to Brendan Dassey?
Brendan Dassey has, like his uncle, always pleaded innocent and the documentary has brought international attention and support to his case.
The 31-year-old is still serving his sentence at Oshkosh Correctional Institution, a correctional facility in Wisconsin, USA.
His lawyer, Laura Nirider, tweeted in January 2021, "Five years after #MakingAMurderer, your commitment hasn't wavered a bit. Neither has ours."
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: Entertainment, True Crime, Documentaries, Steven Avery, Making A Murderer, Netflix
