Making a Murderer...

This a series on Netflix that everybody has been talking about, so I thought I should give it a crack and see what all the fuss is about. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you read this little section and then go and watch the series before reading my entire blog post because there will be spoilers. Basically, there's a chap called Steve Avery who lives in Wisconsin USA who is wrongfully imprisoned for rape for 18 years. He is finally released when they find DNA evidence which proves he definitely didn't do it. Then, not long after he is released, a woman goes missing on his land (he runs a salvage yard/ auto type business) and he is accused of her murder. The series follows his trial over several years using actual court footage, interviews and phone calls. It is really gripping and I cannot recommend it enough. It is so exciting that we pretty much binge watched it over 3 days. It is so interesting knowing how the American justice system works and what really shocked me was how much access the press had to really sensitive information that in the UK, nobody would find out until well after the case has finished (if at all).

Now then guys, I assume if you're reading this that you'll know and understand everything that I am talking about as you will have seen the documentary series. I will start off by telling you my overall opinion of the whole affair and then continue with why I think this.

I do not know whether or not Steve Avery and/or Brendan Dassey had anything to do with the murder of Teresa Halbach. What I can say for definite is that if I were a member of that jury, I would not feel like I'd seen enough evidence to warrant sending a man to prison for the rest of his life.

Nonetheless, SOMEHOW the jury managed to find both Steve Avery and Brendan Dassey guilty of several charges and are both serving life sentences.
So I have several points to make on this that were made in varying amounts of detail throughout the series that stood out to me.
Also, incase you wanted a quick re-cap, here's a few things that you might have forgotten.

Steve Avery had just spent 18 years in prison on a wrongful rape charge and was in the process of suing the Manitowoc Sheriffs department and District Attorney for compensation. Why in the world would he murder Teresa Halbach at this point? We know he's not the sharpest tool in the box, but surely even he would realise that the media attention around a woman disappearing on his land would jeopardise his claim? Yes I think so. He knew this woman from the several times that she had come out to photograph his cars for auto-trader and he knew that surely someone would know this was going to be her last job for the day so this would be the first place for the police to start. Surely he's not that special?

Brendan Dassey's Dodgy Statements

Brendan Dassey is Steve Avery's nephew and somehow got caught up in the whole mess. I do NOT believe that he had anything to do with it. His first statement (if you can even call it that!) was taken without a parent or legal representation present. As he is a minor at this point, I thought that was illegal? Later on, the prosecution state that Mother didn't want to be present, but she says that they didn't let her. Hmmmm....

We get to see the actual footage from his interview and to me, it clearly looks like Dassey is having ideas planted in his head and will say anything to get these scary men to leave him alone. It's a complete witch hunt! It is obvious to everybody apparently apart from the prosecution that Dassey clearly has some mental issues and is not operating at a level that other sixteen year olds are. He doesn't comprehend the seriousness of what he is saying and really just wants to get out of there. These ideas were first suggested by his cousin who later admits to having made it up. So why are they continuing with it? 

The thing that annoys me the most about the whole Brendan Dassey situation is that there is not a scrap of evidence to connect him with the crime scene. Not a hair, no DNA, no blood or anything! So the jury during Dassey's case literally based their entire verdict on the incoherent ramblings of a scared teenage boy who has been coerced into saying a lot of things that he does not believe. Not cool!

So according to Brendan Dassey's incredibly inconsistent and random statement, Teresa Halbach was chained to the bed in Avery's bedroom. Avery and Dassey apparently both raped her and hit her a bit and then Dassey slit her throat, before they dragged her out and shot her in the garage. Right. Do you know how much blood pours out when a living thing's throat is cut? It's a lot! There would be blood on the ceiling, on the walls, on the bed and all over the two men. However, not a scrap of Halbach's DNA was found in that bedroom. Forensics by 2005 had advanced A LOT, I can guarantee that Steve Avery would not be able to clean a room full of blood to a high enough standard that a forensics team would not be able to detect anything. Even if he changed the bed sheets etc, some sort of trace would have got onto the mattress or the bed frame. 

More to the point, if this doris has just had her throat cut, why does she need shooting? Brendan Dassey knew nothing about a gun until the police mentioned it, and then he said that Steven shot her. Pffft! Bullets with Halbach's DNA were somehow found in the garage after several searches but not a single drop of her blood once again. Even after digging up concrete with cracks in it, they were not able to find any blood from Halbach. Curious!

This whole car thing just makes me absolutely furious. There are so many things that are just not right!

So according to prosecutors, Avery kills Teresa and then "hides" her car on his land with a few branches, really close to where the searches were starting. Yeah. No! Even Steven Avery is not that stupid! And to top it off, he has access to a car crusher. I don't know about you, but if I were trying to hide a vehicle that was full of incriminating evidence, I would use that car crusher! 

So they find Teresa's car, and inside is Teresa's DNA in the form of blood in the form of a stroke or flick as if put there by her hair. So, Steve Avery put her body in her RAV4 and drove her to his bonfire site which is roughly 5 metres behind his garage? hmmm?
And then Avery's DNA. Oh hohohoho. Random drops of his blood spattered in no particular pattern inside the car. But not a single finger print. When examined, the only cut they could find on Avery was on his finger. So if he wore gloves so as not to leave fingerprints, how did the blood get in the car? Hmmmm? Oh theories abound...
And then the key...yes the key. Upon seven previous searches, the key was not found. But miraculously, on the eighth search, when the Manitowoc police are present (naughty naughty!) the RAV4 key is found right out there in the open, with Steve Avery's DNA on it. Isn't that a coincidence? Yet, not a single shred of Teresa Halbach's DNA was found on it. Not a single trace. So how was it, that she was using this car every day without touching it? Beats me!

The Hole in the Vile

Avery's lawyers inspect a vile of Avery's blood that's being kept on file. Not only is the tape on the outside already open, but there's a hole in the top of the vile! Da Da Daaaaa!!! Sorry but come on!! Clearly someone has poked a needle in, extracted the blood and squirted it all over the RAV4! If that isn't suspicious, I don't know what is!

These are my main points regarding all the evidence that the prosecution collected. I had loads more observations but I feel that I should probably stop there.

I really have not seen enough to say for definite that Avery is innocent, but I certainly don't think I've seen enough to say he should go away for the rest of his life. And I'm sure there's many an outraged person out there who would agree.

I would love to hear your opinions on the case and let me know if there is any important point that I missed!

Also, I don't watch as much tv as it may seem, but sometimes a series just really grips me and I have to watch the whole thing at once!

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