Making a Murderer's Steven Avery is set to have his case re-examined as new evidence has been uncovered in the murder case of Teresa Halbach.

Avery's trial was covered in the landmark 2015 Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, which followed the investigation into the murder of Ms Halbach, filmed over the course of a decade.

Ms Halbach's remains were found in a gravel pit on his property in 2005, but Avery denies murdering her.

Since the show aired, his new lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, has maintained his innocence and on the 13 February lodged an appeal, arguing the bones found on Avery's property were never tested for DNA.

Image: Kathleen Zellner is Avery's new lawyer who lodged the appeal to try and release him

In a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Ms Zellner says pelvic bones found in the pit were given to Ms Halbach's family and were not tested for DNA - which is in violation of state law.

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Ms Zellner said this meant potentially crucial evidence in the case had been kept from further testing.

If the bones are found to belong to Ms Halbach, Ms Zellner says it undermines the state's theory that she was killed on the Avery property.

She says this evidence "has the potential to undo the whole case".

An appeal brings Avery closer to a re-trial, which Ms Zellner describes as a "dream".

A new trial means that Avery's team would have the chance to present new evidence that has been discovered since his first trial, which also includes blood found in Ms Halbach's car.

This is Avery's second stay in prison.

Two years before he was arrested for the death of Ms Halbach, he was released from prison after serving 18 years for a rape he did not commit.

Netflix's Making a Murderer followed the case for 10 years and sparked questions from viewers about the handling of the case by the Manitowoc County Sheriffs.

Image: Brendan Dassey is Steven Avery's Nephew and was also jailed. Pic: Manitowoc County Sheriffs.

The show also followed Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey who was also jailed over the murder.

He remains in prison, despite having his conviction overturned by a local magistrate, only for the federal appeals court to rule against him.

Dassey claims he was coerced into a confession, and maintains his innocence.

Avery's appeal will now be heard in a circuit court, where they can decide whether to grant a re-trial or not.</s>Steven Avery was fighting Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, for compensation over a previous miscarriage of justice at the time of Teresa Halbach’s murder Morry Gash/AP

The convicted killer at the centre of the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer has won the right to have his case re-examined because of new evidence.

Steven Avery was arrested in November 2005 and charged with the murder of Teresa Halbach, 25, a photographer whose charred remains were found at his family’s scrapyard.

At his trial in 2007 a jury disregarded the defence’s argument that police in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, had planted evidence to frame Avery for the crime and he was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. His nephew Brendan Dassey, now 29, was jailed for life as an accessory that year.

At the time of the murder Avery was pursuing a $36 million legal claim against the county…</s>Making a Murderer's Steven Avery could be heading back to court for a fresh trial

Armchair sleuths hooked on the case of who killed Teresa Halbach may see new theories tested in court, with the accused at the centre of Netflix documentary Making A Murderer granted an appeal motion.

Steven Avery will have his case re-examined by a Wisconsin circuit court after his lawyer Kathleen Zellner won a motion to appeal his conviction.

Avery was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 for Halbach's murder, and his nephew Brendan Dassey was also jailed in a separate trial after confessing to helping Avery rape and kill the freelance photographer at the family scrap yard.

The investigation and both men's trials were the focus of a true-crime series filmed over 10 years, and since its release in 2015 there has been widespread conjecture about the pair's innocence.

The documentary called into particular question the handling of the case by law enforcement officials in Manitowoc County.

The lawyers representing Avery in his first trial have always maintained the state's case did not add up, and hoped new DNA testing methods would lead to a fresh trial for Avery.

After season one aired in 2015, Avery retained a new lawyer, Ms Zellner, who has made a career out of reversing wrongful convictions in the criminal justice system.

Her theory that Avery was framed for Halbach's murder was laid out in a second season of the show.

Ms Zellner filed a motion to appeal her client's conviction based on a collection of possible human bones, alleged to have belonged to Halbach, that she argued had never been tested for DNA.

According to a letter submitted to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on February 13, "previously undisclosed ledger sheets" indicated the bones in question were returned to the Halbach family, which Ms Zellner argued violated her client's rights.

The decision to grant Avery an appeal means the circumstances surrounding the bones could be argued in the circuit court, and according to Ms Zellner, could result in a new trial.

Ms Zellner told Newsweek it was a big win for Avery's case.

"The case is being remanded back to the circuit court to conduct proceedings, which can include a hearing," she explained.

"The circuit court can grant a new trial, or if not, back to appellate court who can reverse the conviction and/or grant a new trial.

"Either way, the state opposed this motion and lost. This evidence has the potential to undo the whole case, so it is a big win."

A new trial would mean Avery's legal team could present new evidence discovered since the first trial, including a bullet found in Avery's garage, blood splatter from Halbach's car, and a collection of evidence not seen in the second season of Making A Murderer that Ms Zellner told Newsweek included information on her lead suspect Bobby Dassey, who is Brendan Dassey's brother.

If Avery were to be granted a new trial and have his conviction overturned, it would be the second time he has served an extended prison sentence for a crime he did not commit.

Two years before he was arrested in relation to Halbach's death, he was exonerated for a violent rape and released from prison after spending 18 years behind bars.

Avery's nephew and co-accused in the Halbach case, Brendan Dassey, remains in prison despite a magistrate overturning his guilty verdict in 2016 by ruling that his confession had been coerced.

Dassey's lawyers had argued that their client, who was 16 at the time of the crime, had a learning disability and that police took advantage of his cognitive problems and his age.

That court's decision was overturned by the federal appeals court on the grounds that Dassey confessed voluntarily and with his mother's permission.

In June 2018, the US Supreme Court decided not to hear Dassey's case.</s>Steven Avery claims he has been in prison for 14 years for a murder he didn't commit.

Now the subject of Netflix's hit documentary Making a Murderer is hoping to be released after winning the right to appeal against his conviction.

Avery has won a motion to appeal based on possible human bones found in a gravel pit.

Ms Halbach's remains were found in a gravel pit on his property 14 years ago, but Avery denies murdering her.

On February 13 Avery's lawyer Kathleen Zellner lodged an appeal, arguing the bones found on Avery's property were never tested for DNA.

In a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Ms Zellner says pelvic bones found in the pit were given to Ms Halbach's family and were not tested for DNA - which is in violation of state law.

She says this evidence "has the potential to undo the whole case".

An appeal brings Avery closer to a re-trial, which Ms Zellner describes as a "dream".

On Twitter , Ms Zellner said: "We are going to have an extraordinary number of constitutional violations when we are done. The [court of appeals] is letting us create an avalanche of evidence in this record. Higher courts rule."

Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were both sentenced to life in jail - in separate trials - for killing Ms Halbach, whose charred remains were found at Avery's car salvage yard a week after she went there to photograph a minivan for sale.

Avery made global headlines after the Netflix series Making A Murderer was released, the Mirror reports .

In 1985 he was wrongly convicted of sexually assaulting a female jogger in his home town of Gibson, Wisconsin.

He served 18 years before his conviction was quashed and he received only £305,000 compensation.

However However, Avery was re-arrested and charged with Ms Halbach's murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and mutilation of a corpse on November 11, 2005.</s>Steven Avery, the subject of the popular Netflix series Making a Murderer, will have his case re-examined by a court in Wisconsin after winning the right to an appeal.

Avery is serving a life sentence for the murder of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. He maintains his innocence. 

 His lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, who featured heavily in the true-crime series’ second season, filed a motion to appeal on 13 February. She claimed that human bones discovered in a gravel pit on the Avery property were never tested for DNA, then later given to the Halbach family, which violates state law.

According to Zellner, if the bones are found to belong to Halbach, it undermines the prosecution’s theory that she was killed on the Avery property. If a retrial is granted, Avery’s team will have the opportunity to present new evidence discovered since the first trial in 2007. 



Since the show aired in 2015, Avery’s case has received global interest. On Monday, Zellner tweeted that her client’s “dream of freedom is a new reality”. 



Avery’s nephew Brendan Dassey – whose case featured prominently in the show – remains in prison. The 29-year-old, who claims to have been coerced into a confession, had his conviction overturned in 2016, only for the federal appeals court to rule against him.</s>MANITOWOC, Wis. — Kathleen Zellner, attorney for Steven Avery, tweeted "We won!" Monday after the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ordered a motion filed to address new evidence to be heard by a lower court.

Avery is currently serving a life prison sentence for the 2005 Manitowoc County murder of freelance photographer Teresa Halbach, as is his nephew Brendan Dassey. Both are fighting their convictions.

International attention was brought to both cases after Netflix released the December 2015 docuseries "Making a Murderer." The sequel, "Making a Murderer Part 2," was released in October.

The document states: "Due to this case's extensive history, there is a benefit to having existing claims developed or litigated while they are relatively fresh, rather than positioning the claims to be procedurally barred in a future proceeding."

The document goes on to order all claims to date to be considered in a single appeal in circuit court and that the appeal is stayed until those claims are addressed.

Monday's order from the state Court of Appeals comes after Zellner's motion on Jan. 24 claimed a 2011 report shows bone fragments found at the Manitowoc County gravel pit were returned to the Halbach family without the defense being notified. She said the state acted in bad faith and violated Avery's due process rights.

"The state, without notifying Mr. Avery and his attorneys during the pendency of Mr. Avery's direct appeal, caused material and potentially exculpatory evidence to be transmitted to the Halbach family for its potential destruction by cremation or burial," Zellner and attorney Steven Richards wrote in the motion.

Avery's attorneys learned of the 2011 report after filing a Dec. 17 motion for DNA testing on the bones from the county gravel pit.

The Jan. 24 motion came a little more than a week before the deadline for Avery's attorneys to file a brief before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

The state filed an objection to the motion and stated that it constitutes a "new and separate action" unrelated to the resolution of Avery's pending appeal.

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More: The biggest revelations in 'Making a Murderer Part 2'

Wisconsin Department of Justice attorneys wrote in their response that the only question at issue in the appeal's case is whether a circuit court judge properly denied previous motions by his attorneys without a hearing.

"If Avery no longer wishes to challenge the denial of his previous motions, but instead litigate and entirely new ... motion, he can voluntarily dismiss this appeal and pursue that action in the circuit court," they wrote.

The state Court of Appeals granted Avery's motion to stay the appeal and will permit Avery to pursue a supplemental post-conviction motion in the circuit court.

The circuit court will address Zellner's claims and enter an order about its findings and conclusions. A date for the motion hearing has not yet been set.</s>Making a Murderer subject Steven Avery has won the latest motion in his appeal.

His attorney, Kathleen Zellner, shared the news on Twitter last night (February 25) by telling her followers: "Avery Update: We Won!!!!!! Back to the circuit court..."

This comes after the post-conviction lawyer revealed her latest theory around the case, based on the bone fragments found in the Manitowoc County Gravel Pit.

Zellner recently made moves to have testing done on this piece of evidence, to establish once and for all if they were human and belonging to the victim Teresa Halbach, but her motion was denied by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in early 2019.

According to a letter submitted by Zellner to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on February 13, "never-before disclosed ledger sheets" have now come to light that indicate the bones in question were returned to the Halbach family – something she says the defence were not aware of and that violates Avery's rights.

In response to these allegations, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office told Rolling Stone that they "cannot comment on ongoing litigation".

The decision to grant Avery's latest motion means that these circumstances could be argued in court and may, according to Zellner, result in a new trial.

In a statement to Fox 11, Zellner said her team were "delighted" that the appellate court granted the motion regarding their "new evidence that the State has destroyed material evidence by giving the bones back to the Halbach family".

"We believe Mr Avery will be granted a new trial for this serious violation of both Wisconsin and federal law," she added.</s>The main subject of Netflix's 'Making a Murderer' documentary has just won another victory in his efforts to get a new trial over the 2005 death of Teresa Halbach.

Steven Avery's attorney has been granted the ability to supplement his post-conviction appeal with new evidence by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and that evidence will now be brought before a trial court to consider granting of a new trial.

Kathleen Zellner tweeted on Monday: 'Avery Update: We Won!!!!!! Back to the circuit court. #TruthWins'

Zellner can now present evidence that the state mishandled earlier evidence, which could have raised significant doubt in the theory of the case that landed Avery behind bars.

Zellner told DailyMail.com: 'What is so unusual about the Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision is that this is only the third case ever in Wisconsin where the court has allowed a defendant to supplement new evidence into a pending appeal.'

Zellner said: 'The appellate court after reviewing our motion to add the new evidence about the bones being improperly given to the Halbach family in violation of State and federal law has allowed us to add that claim and evidence into our appeal.

A second part of the ruling is that the appellate court sent the case back to the lower court to conduct proceedings to determine if the evidence is sufficient to grant Avery a new trial.

Zellner told DailyMail.com that if the lower court denies a new trial, she will take the case back to the appellate court and they will rule on the bone evidence, other alleged constitutional violations in the case.

'We are convinced [that] will result in Mr. Avery getting a new trial and being acquitted,' Zellner said.

With the new evidence, Zellner alleges that state and federal law was violated when investigators mishandled evidence, specifically bones that Zellner thinks may have belonged to Halbach.

Zellner had sought to have bones that were found in a Manitowoc County gravel pit that is not located on Avery's property tested to see whether they are the final remains of Halbach.

A report from 2011 has indicated that bone fragments were returned to the Halbach family without first notifying Avery's representation, Zellner said.

Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, are currently serving life sentences in prison for Halbach's murder, largely based on a theory that her remains were burned on Avery's property.

Therefore, if those bones could have been tested to determine if they belonged to Halbach, Zellner could have argued that the argument he prosecution presented that led to the convictions was not possible.

But now, the bones have left state custody, so there is no way to ensure they have not been tampered with in a way that would compromise testing of the bones.

'The state, without notifying Mr. Avery and his attorneys during the pendency of Mr. Avery's direct appeal, caused material and potentially exculpatory evidence to be transmitted to the Halbach family for its potential destruction by cremation or burial,' Zellner and attorney Steven Richards wrote in the motion.

Avery's current legal team learned of the bones being returned to the Halbach family after filing a motion seeking DNA testing of the remains on December 17.

'We are delighted the appellate court granted the motion to remand to the circuit court to supplement the record with our new evidence that the State has destroyed material evidence by giving the bones back to the Halbach family,' Zellner told Fox 11 in a statement.

'We believe Mr. Avery will be granted a new trial for this serious violation of both Wisconsin and federal law.'

Later on Monday, Zellner tweeted: 'We are going to have an extraordinary number of constitutional violations when we are done. The COA [Court of Appeals] is letting us create an avalanche of evidence in this record. Higher courts rule. #TruthWins'

Zellner has said she believes Avery is innocent and will not stop fighting for her client until he is free.

'My experience with my clients… has been that someone who’s innocent just never stops trying to clear themselves,' Zellner said.

'I’ve always said if Steven Avery were offered a deal tomorrow, that if he would admit to the murder he could serve one more year and be free, but convicted of the murder, he would never do that. He would rather die in prison.

'He believes very strongly that if the evidence, the correct evidence is presented, that the system will eventually work.'

A date trial court has not yet been set.</s>The Wisconsin State Court of Appeals has agreed to hear a motion to discuss new evidence in the case of Steven Avery, best known as the subject of Netflix’s immensely popular “Making a Murderer” documentary series.

According to Fox 11, Avery’s attorney Kathleen Zellner, filed the motion, which will be heard in the state’s lower court. She alleges that investigators violated state law by mishandling evidence in the case of Teresa Halbach, whose 2005 murder Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey are currently serving life in prison for.

The report notes that the subject of Zellner’s complaint stems from bones found in a gravel pit off the Avery property. She hopes to have them tested to see if they are Halbach’s. If they are, it undermines the state’s theory that she was killed and her body was burned on the Avery property. She also notes that a 2011 report indicates bone fragments were returned to the Halbach family without Avery’s defense being notified.

FORMER SHERIFF SUES NETFLIX OVER 'MAKING A MURDERER' CLAIMING HE WAS DEFAMED BY THE DOCUSERIES

“We are delighted the appellate court granted the motion to remand to the circuit court to supplement the record with our new evidence that the State has destroyed material evidence by giving the bones back to the Halbach family,” Zellner told Fox 11 in a statement. “We believe Mr. Avery will be granted a new trial for this serious violation of both Wisconsin and federal law."

Later, she tweeted about the court’s decision.

“Avery Update: We Won!!!!!! Back to the circuit court. #TruthWins @llifeafterten @ZellnerLaw @TManitowoc @michellemalkin #MakingaMurderer,” she wrote.

“We are going to have an extraordinary number of constitutional violations when we are done. The COA is letting us create an avalanche of evidence in this record. Higher courts rule. #TruthWins @michellemalkin @EFMoriarty #MakingaMurderer #WorkWithKZ,” Zellner said in a follow-up tweet.

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Speaking to Fox News previously, Zellner, who was the subject of the 2018 follow up to "Making a Murderer," noted that she will not stop fighting for Avery’s freedom and that she believes in his innocence.

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“My experience with my clients… has been that someone who’s innocent just never stops trying to clear themselves,” she explained. “I’ve always said if Steven Avery were offered a deal tomorrow, that if he would admit to the murder he could serve one more year and be free, but convicted of the murder, he would never do that. He would rather die in prison… He believes very strongly that if the evidence, the correct evidence is presented, that the system will eventually work.”</s>Steven Avery, the subject of the Netflix documentary series "Making A Murderer" won a court appeal in Wisconsin that will allow his case to be reviewed.

Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, are serving life sentences for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach. Her remains were found in the Avery family's salvage yard. Avery has denied committing the crime.

WLUK reports Avery's attorney wants to have bones found in a gravel pit tested to see if they are Halbach's. If they turn out to be hers, it would bring into question how investigators and prosecutors determined remains were found in the salvage yard.

An appellate court on Monday sent the case to a circuit court for review.
Steven Avery, a high-profile miscarriage of justice victim subsequently convicted of murder after his release in 2003, is granted a fresh appeal in Wisconsin. Avery, who was suing Manitowoc County officials over his original wrongful conviction when he was arrested for murder, gained international attention as the subject of the documentary Making a Murderer.