Making A Murderer season one examined Steven Avery’s 2007 murder trial. Season two of the Netflix documentary will continue his story as his legal team battles to overturn his conviction and secure his release from prison.
Avery, from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Teresa Haibach – a photographer who went missing in 2005 and was last seen at Avery’s property.
In January 2016 – a month after the release of the first series – Avery’s new lawyer Kathleen Zellner filed an appeal against his conviction at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, citing violations of due process rights.
Zellner, a prominent lawyer who specialises in civil rights cases, has said that she is “confident” she will be able to get Avery’s conviction overturned.
On March 18, she tweeted: “To all the skeptics, doubters and haters just be patient because we are really going to make you mad.”
While Zellner battles to free Avery, the convicted murderer remains behind bars at the Waupan Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin.
Steven Avery was jailed for life for the murder of Teresa Halbach
Last year the lawyer won a legal battle to have DNA evidence from the crime scene retested using modern scientific methods.
Like Avery’s former lawyers Jerome Buting and Dean Strang argued during his original trial, Zellner has claimed that DNA evidence was planted at the scene of the crime to frame Avery.
A month after the order to begin testing was granted, Zellner tweeted: “Experts experiments confirm Avery’s trial attorneys correct about blood being planted but incorrect about how it was done.”
She later added: “Not one but eight plants: bullets, bones, blood, camera, cellphone PDA, key, car and false confession. World’s best experts on it.”
Avery is currently pursuing a new appeal case
DNA evidence is being retested as part of the new appeal
The evidence that was retested includes a vial said to contain a sample of Avery’s blood from 1996.
In the original murder trial, Buting noted that there was a “tiny little hole, just about the size of a hypodermic needle” on the cap of the vial, which he said was proof that it had been tampered with.
He alleged that police had used the vial to plant Avery’s blood in Halbach’s car, but it was ruled that the blood in question was not the source of Avery’s DNA found in the vehicle.
The key to Halbach’s car which was found in Avery’s bedroom is also part of the evidence being re-tested.
Lawyers have claimed that this vial of blood was tampered with in order to frame Avery
Detectives missed the key during “six or seven” searches of Avery’s home. Halbach’s DNA was not found on the key, which Buting claimed added to evidence that it was planted.
Blood from the interior of Teresa Halbach’s Toyota RAV4 was also mentioned in the order, including the hood latch that had Avery’s DNA on.
In October 2016, it was revealed that Avery had dumped his fiancée, Lynn Hartman, a day after she appeared on US talk show Dr Phil.
Another ex-fiancée, Sandra Greenman, announced the news on Avery’s behalf.
Avery dumped his fiancée Lynn Hartman
“Steve called my two times tonight and wants everyone to know that Lynn and him are done,” she wrote on Facebook.
“She has been in this relationship for money and publicity. His words – she is a gold digger.”
Avery broke up with Greenman earlier in the same year. They got engaged a year after her husband passed away in April 2008, but split because Avery refused to adopt her Christian faith.