Kathleen Zellner Wants To Face Teresa Halbach’s Killer In Court

WISCONSIN — Thursday marked another major moment in the case of Steven Avery as world-famous wrongful conviction lawyer Kathleen Zellner filed her 46-page response to Wisconsin's effort to keep Avery locked away in prison for the rest of his life.

Zellner is on a quest to win Avery an evidentiary hearing before a local judge. An evidentiary hearing will give her a chance to convince the judge that Avery's first-degree murder conviction in the Oct. 31, 2005 death of free-lance photographer Teresa Halbach warrants a new trial for her client. Avery along with his nephew Brendan Dassey were convicted of the murder.

Zellner insists in her latest filing that Brendan Dassey's older brother, Bobby, is the real killer of Halbach.

"Mr. Avery respectfully requests that this Court grant him one of the following alternate remedies: (l) Grant an evidentiary hearing; (2) grant his Amended Motion for Postconviction Relief by ordering a new trial; and (3) grant the requested relief and grant any and all relief this Court deems appropriate," Zellner stated.

Patch has reviewed Zellner's post-conviction filing and highlighted the following arguments put forth by Zellner as she tries to destroy the points previously raised by the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office. Lawyers and politicians for the state of Wisconsin, including recently re-elected Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, remain committed to keeping Avery locked away from society without a chance for an evidentiary hearing, or a new murder trial.

The following points were raised in Zellner's Wisconsin court filing from Thursday:

What Was Bobby Dassey Deleting From His Computer?

1. "Mr. Hunt has identified 8 times when there were deletions on the Dassey computer. Those deletions are very important because they correlate with Ms. Halbach's visits to the property. Ms. Halbach visited the property on August 22, 2005, and there are deletions on the Dassey computer from August 23 through August 26, 2005. Ms. Halbach visited the property on August 29, 2005, and there are deletions from August 28, 2005 through September 11, 2005. Ms. Halbach visited the property on September 19, 2005, and there are deletions from September 14, 2005 through September 15, 2005.

"There are also deletions from September 24, 2005 through October 24, 2005. Most significantly, around the time of her murder on October 31, 2005, there were deletions from October 26, 2005 to November 2, 2005. During the investigation of Ms.Halbach's murder, beginning November 3, 2005, there were further deletions made on the Dassey computer. These deletions at the above-described relevant times cannot simply be dismissed as mere coincidences, and an evidentiary hearing needs to be held to determine who made these deletions and why."

2. "The State wants this Court to believe that because some of the computer searches could be done by someone else Mr. Avery's Denny argument fails. What the State conveniently overlooks is that no one else from the Dassey household has been identified as having possession of Ms. Halbach's vehicle after her disappearance. Mr. Avery's motive evidence must be evaluated in light of his powerful new evidence of direct connection and opportunity for Bobby to be the perpetrator of this crime and the one who framed Mr. Avery."

What About The Absence of Steven Avery's Fingerprints?

3. "Mr. Avery's fingerprints were not found anywhere on the RAV-4 even though the State fingerprint expert found 8 latent prints on the vehicle and testified that someone with sweaty hands was more likely to leave prints than someone with dry hands. The killer had Ms. Halbach's key, so the chances of triggering the alarm were remote at best, and even if that had occurred, the alarm could have been quickly disabled by using the key.

"Mr. Avery's new witness, Thomas Sowinski, provides the plausible answer as to why the battery was disconnected when he describes the RAV-4 lights being off when he observed Bobby and another individual pushing the vehicle onto the Avery Salvage Yard."

4. "Clearly, the obvious and simple explanation for the battery being disconnected was to disable the vehicle's interior and exterior lights so that Bobby and his unidentified companion could push the vehicle onto the Avery Salvage Yard and avoid detection. Mr. Avery never deposited his DNA on the RAV-4 hood latch. The State never explains why Mr. Avery's DNA is not found in the vehicle but is found on the hood latch or why his blood is not found on the hood latch but is found in the vehicle. Of course, his fingerprints are found nowhere on the exterior or interior of the vehicle."

5. "Bobby's possession of the RAV-4, with Ms. Halbach's blood spattered inside of it, demonstrates he not only had a direct connection and opportunity to murder Ms. Halbach but also to plant the following evidence contained in the vehicle: Ms. Halbach's three electronic devices that were burned and placed in Mr. Avery's burn barrel, the RAV-4 license plate that was removed and hidden in a salvage car, Mr. Avery's blood that was found carefully dripped in the front seat of the RAV-4 and applied to the dash with an applicator, the RAV-4 key that was found in Mr. Avery's bedroom with his but not Ms. Halbach's DNA, and Ms. Halbach's DNA that was found on a bullet in Mr. Avery's garage."

6. "Additionally, if Bobby is the perpetrator of Ms. Halbach's murder, he had the opportunity to burn her body in the Dassey burn barrel, where some of her larger bones were found with cut marks, smelling of a flammable liquid, and plant the remaining bones and burned jean rivets in Mr. Avery's burn pit."

Sexual Assault Was Bobby Dassey's Motive: Zellner

7. "Sexual assault is a frequent motive in the murder of young women. There is a clearly established correlation between compulsively and obsessively viewing pornography and sexual assault. Mr. Avery's expert on sexual homicide, Ann Burgess, opines in her affidavit, relying upon thirty years of empirical research, that there is a well-established causal connection between pornography consumption and violent behaviors.

"There were 2,632 word searches performed by Detective Velie of words that he believed were directly related to the crime including: blood (1 result); body (2083 results); bondage (3 results); bullet (10 results); cement (23 results); DNA (3 results); fire (51 results); gas (50 results); gun (75 results); handcuff (2 results); journal (106 results); rav (74 results); stab (32 results); throat (2 results); and tires (2 results) .... Taking these terms in the context of Ms. Halbach's murder and its potential motive, all these terms are relevant. Two bullets from a gun pierced her skull. There was a fire ignited by gas and tires which burned her body. She may have been handcuffed. She bled in her vehicle, so she may have been stabbed. Her DNA was found on a bullet, and she did keep a journal ... More importantly, Bobby cannot be eliminated by the State from any of the pornographic searches, especially the ones conducted prior to and very close in time to Ms. Halbach's murder. The individual performing the searches was becoming obsessively deviant in the weeks before Ms. Halbach's murder."

8. "The State fails to consider that the motive for this crime started as a sexual assault that turned into a murder, so all the pornographic images are relevant. All the evidence appears to point to Bobby conducting the searches in question on weekdays, but it is necessary to have an evidentiary hearing to definitely determine if it was him. Based upon the findings of Mr. Gary Hunt, Mr. Avery's forensic computer expert, 667 sexual content searches were performed in total.

"Of those searches, 562 were performed on 10 weekdays between 6:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.: 8/16/2005 (4 searches); 9/13/2005 (12 searches); 2/23/2005 (48 searches); 3/29/2006 (37 searches); 3/30/2006 (23 searches); 4/3/2006 (93 searches); 4/5/2006 (96 searches); 4/6/2006 (14 searches); 4/13/2006 (39 searches); 4/19/2006 (196 searches). Therefore, 64 sexual content searches were performed prior to Ms. Halbach's murder between 6:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., when Bobby was supposedly at home alone. Another 500 searches were performed in this same time frame after the murder when Bobby was supposedly home alone."

9. "The continued searches for pornography demonstrate that the motive for this murder was a sexual assault. It is highly significant that the searches for deceased, mutilated young women began after not before the murder and mutilation of Ms. Halbach. The searches after the murder coincide with the fact that a young woman was murdered and mutilated. The searches before the murder coincide with thousands of images of young women engaging in sexual activity, many unwillingly, and corroborate a sexual assault motive."

Without Question, Steven Avery Never Used Bobby's Computer

10. "Mr. Avery has provided sufficient evidence concerning the schedules of the occupants of the Dassey residence to justify an evidentiary hearing on the issue of who was conducting the searches. Mr. Avery has provided additional evidence from that provided in his appeal about the schedule of the occupants of the Dassey residents, showing that the pornographic searches primarily occurred on weekdays when Bobby was thought to be in the residence.

"It is undisputed that Mr. Avery never accessed the Dassey computer. He did not have the password for the computer, nor did he possess a key to the Dassey residence, which was locked when no one was home. Mr. Avery only entered the residence with the permission of Dassey family members. Mr. Avery worked during the weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m."

Zellner Reveals Why Bobby Wanted To Frame Uncle Steven

12. "The State is baffled as to why Bobby would want to frame Avery. The answer is simple: if Mr. Avery was not prosecuted for Ms. Halbach's murder then Bobby was the next most likely candidate to be prosecuted for her murder. He was present and observing Ms. Halbach during her visit to the Avery property on October 31, 2005. Bobby lied about being asleep from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Searches were made on the Dassey computer at 7:00 a.m., 9:33 a.m., 10:09 a.m., 1:08 p.m., and 1:51 p.m. prior to Ms. Halbach's arrival at the Avery Salvage Yard. Bobby was the only one home during these searches according to his trial testimony.

"Bobby was present and awake when Ms. Halbach called and left a voicemail requesting the exact address for the appointment. He was present when Ms. Halbach arrived. He lied about Ms. Halbach walking towards Mr. Avery's trailer because he saw her leave the property at the same time he left the property. He lied about going hunting and passing Scott Tadych at 3 p.m. going east in his Blazer when he was seen at 3:30 p.m. driving an unknown vehicle west, by his brother Blaine and a propane driver on the Avery property, which resembled Ms. Halbach's vehicle. Ms. Halbach's RAV-4 was seen by witnesses parked at the turnaround about 1 .8 miles west from the Avery Salvage Yard in the direction Blaine saw Bobby driving. Bobby had human fingernail scratches on his back that he claimed were from his puppy. Bobby gave false testimony about Mr. Avery's alleged remark about disposing of a body. This remark was completely discredited and contradicted by Michael Osmansun."