‘Making a Murderer’: What’s Happened to Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey Since the Series Premiered?

7 developments since the explosive Netflix documentary series captivated the public

Steven Avery Brendan Dassey Making a Murderer Netflix
Netflix

For a couple of guys who are cooling their heels in prison, Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey sure have been busy.

Since the December premiere of the Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer,” which detailed the murder trials of Avery and Dassey in the death of photographer Teresa Halbach, interest in the two has skyrocketed, as have the developments in their cases.

Here’s what Avery and his nephew have been up to since the “Making a Murderer” premiere.

1. Brendan Dassey switched prisons
As reported by TMZ in January, Dassey was transferred from Green Bay Correctional Facility to the maximum-security Columbia Correctional Facility, in part because of the attention he’s gained from the series.

Brendan dassey making a murderer

2. Steven Avery retained new lawyers
Also in January, Avery got a new legal team. Chicago-area attorney Kathleen Zellner, who specializes in wrongful convictions, has taken up Avery’s case, as has Tricia Bushnell of the Midwest Innocence Project. Zellner has cited “new evidence” that she believes will exonerate Avery.

3. Avery files new appeal papers
While Avery has exhausted his appeals options, he filed new appeal papers in January, asking that his murder conviction be tossed out. Among other things, Avery claimed that a search warrant was improperly executed, and that evidence seized as the result of the warrant is “fruit of the poisonous tree.”

4. Brendan Dassey becomes the subject of sexual abuse speculation
In February, one of the reporters who covered the “Making a Murderer” trial revealed that Dassey had claimed Avery had inappropriately touched him, but everyone involved in the case — including police, lawyers and the filmmakers — ignored the statements. Subsequently, it was revealed that Dassey denied being sexually assaulted by Avery during a 2006 psychological evaluation.

Steven Avery
Investigation Discovery

5. Avery apologized to his brothers for implicating them in Halbach’s death
After suggesting that his brothers Earl and Chuck might have had something to do with Halbach’s death, he made amends, according to one of the accused siblings. In an interview in February, Earl Avery said that his brother had recently apologized for the suggestion, saying he had made it on the advice of his lawyers.

6. Avery was branded a “flight risk
Wisconsin attorney general Thomas Fallon definitely isn’t among those who’ve been convinced of Avery’s innocence by “Making a Murderer.” In January, Fallon wrote a letter to Judge Angela Sutkiewicz saying that Avery shouldn’t be released, as he represents a flight risk and “has nothing left to lose.”

7. Avery declared that “the real killer” is still out there
In late January, Avery penned a lengthy letter from prison declaring his innocence and saying the guilty have still not been brought to justice.

“The real killer is still out there,” Avery wrote. “Who is he stalking now? I am really innocent of this case and that is the truth!!! The truth will set me free!!!!!!!”

The three-page letter also took aim at his former fiancee Jodi Stachowski, who said she believed he is guilty and claimed to have been abused by him.

“How much money Jodi get to talk bad! The state $,” Avery wrote.

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