'Making A Murderer:' Evidence Implicates New Dassey Relative

Attorney Kathleen Zellner says she has new evidence that could lead to a new trial for Steven Avery in the murder of Teresa Halbach. The new evidence, she claims, implicates Brendan Dassey's older brother Bobby Dassey in the murder.

Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey are both serving life sentences in prison for the rape and murder of freelance photographer Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County in 2005.

In a 54-page motion filed in Manitowoc County Circuit Court on Oct. 23, Zellner is asking the court to reconsider its Oct. 3 order, which denied Avery a new trial, while also asking to grant Avery a new evidentiary hearing.

The case of convicted Manitowoc County killers Avery and Brendan Dassey gained worldwide notoriety since the documentary "Making a Murderer" appeared on Netflix in December 2015. Over the past two years, Zellner took up Avery's case, vowing to prove that he was framed for Halbach's murder and that the real killer was still at large.

New Evidence Comes to Light

Zellner's motion includes 20 new exhibits pertaining to the events that took place on Oct. 31, 2005, including new forensic evidence, computer and cell phone data, as well as new testimony, that appears central to her argument that Bobby Dassey was at the scene of the crime.

According to a Rolling Stone report on Oct. 26, Zellner says that new forensic testing conducted on the Dassey family computer has resulted in the discovery of "images of Ms. Halbach, and many images of violent pornography involving young females."

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Read Zellner's Full Motion

"The viewer – whom we believe is Bobby – has a morbid fascination with the death of young women plus torture, rape, pedophilia etc.," Zellner told Rolling Stone. According to the 54-page motion filed in court, the photographs, which depicted images young women being raped, tortured and included bloody imagery, were accessed at times only when Bobby Dassey was home — the same location as the Dassey family auto salvage lot and Steven Avery's trailer.

According to a WBAY report, Zellner’s 54-page motion claims Bobby Dassey gave false testimony in describing where he was on the night of the murder, Oct. 31, 2005. Zellner also claims that Halbach and her vehicle actually left the Avery property — which contradicts a core aspect of the state’s original case.

According to Rolling Stone, Zellner claims Avery's previous attorneys failed to pursue evidence that would have impeached Bobby Dassey's claims and "effectively undermined a core aspect of the State's case – that Halbach never left the Avery property."

Denial of New Trial "Not Really a Big Deal"

On Tuesday, Oct. 3, Sheboygan County Judge Angela Sutkiewicz, who was appointed to oversee Avery's post-conviction filings in neighboring Manitowoc County, rejected Steven Avery's bid for a new trial.

"It's not really a big deal," Zellner told Patch regarding the court's decision at the time. "We'll be submitting a motion to vacate the order because we have an agreement reached between both parties, and the judge assumed that all the scientific evidence had been submitted. We'll have more scientific evidence as well as new witness affidavits that we'll be submitting before Thanksgiving."

"With the addition of these new scientific test results and new evidence, Mr. Avery's attorneys remain confident that his conviction will be vacated," Zellner said in a prepared statement.

As part of Zellner's motion, she is asking the court to “reconsider and vacate its order made on Oct. 3 and grant Avery’s motion by ordering an evidentiary hearing and grant the relief requested.”

Steven Avery image via Wisconsin Department of Corrections