‘Making a Murderer’ Attorney Kathleen Zellner Challenges Andrew Colborn to Reenact Bookcase Theory From Trial

“Show us how your trial testimony is true and we will drop claim that it is not,” Zellner tweeted Thursday

Kathleen Zellner
Twitter

Kathleen Zellner, the attorney for “Making a Murderer” subject Steven Avery, is challenging Sgt. Andrew Colborn to re-create a theory he presented during trial to convict Avery of the murder of Teresa Halbach.

“Sgt. Colborn Challenge: We invite you to our law offices to reenact the bookcase story you told the jury,” Zellner tweeted Thursday. “We have identical key & bookcase. Show us how your trial testimony is true and we will drop claim that it is not. 10 day offer.”

In the first season of “Making a Murderer,” Halbach’s Rav4 car key was found laying near a bookcase in Avery’s home after Colborn moved the bookcase, long after the initial police search took place where no key was found. At trial, Colborn said during the second search, the key must have fallen from the bookcase where Avery had hidden it after he allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered the photographer.

The series presented the idea that the key, as well as other pieces of evidence, was planted by Manitowoc County law enforcement. According to Newsweek, Zellner has since attempted to re-create the scenario of the key and the bookcase, but she couldn’t get the key to fall no matter how hard she shook the bookcase.

Colborn sued the filmmakers of “Making a Murderer” as well as Netflix for defamation over his portrayal in the series in December. Colborn’s suit said that Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, the two filmmakers behind the series, wrongfully accused Colborn of framing Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey for Halbach’s murder. Colborn has since retired from law enforcement.

“Making a Murderer” examines the 2007 convictions of Avery and Brendan Dassey for the 2005 murder of Halbach, casting doubts on Avery’s guilt, which hinged on evidence collected at the family’s auto salvage yard in Manitowoc County. Notably, it pursues a theory that law enforcement may have held a grudge and was looking to settle a score with Avery after he was released from prison earlier after a sexual assault charge was disproven by DNA testing.

TheWrap has reached out to Zellner and Colborn’s attorney for additional comment. See Zellner’s tweet below.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report. 

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