MAKING a Murderer star inmate Steven Avery – serving life in prison for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach – was denied a new trial by the Wisconsin Court of Appeal weeks after his mom died.
“Avery raises a variety of alternative theories about who killed Halbach and how,” the decision read, before poking holes in the effort to retry the case before another jury.
The court also explained that their decision wasn’t based on whether or not Avery killed Halbach, but solely to determine if he deserves another trial.
“We express no opinion about who committed the crime: the jury has decided this question, and our review is confined to whether the claims before us entitle Avery to an evidentiary hearing,” according to the court documents reviewed by The Wrap.
Avery, 59, has been serving a life sentence at Waupun Correctional Institution without the possibility of parole for the killing of the Wisconsin photographer.
The case earned international notoriety after the 2015 Netflix documentary smash “Making a Murderer” raised questions as to whether Avery and his fellow imprisoned-for-life nephew Brendan Dassey were wrongfully convicted.
Cops contended that Teresa’s remains were found in a burn pit on Avery's property.
The legal setback came weeks after Avery’s mom Dolores died.
Despite their court convictions, the mother never faltered for her belief that both Steven and Brendon were innocent.
Back in 2016, Kathleen even led a push to reexamine Avery’s case, arguing that his rights were violated and detectives had overstepped when they gathered evidence that went well beyond the parameters of their search warrant.
The 83-year-old woman had lost touch with her incarcerated son for months and reportedly was suffering from a bout of dementia and was confined to hospice care at the time she passed away.
The fight for Avery's freedom is apparently far from over.
“Not deterred by the appellate court decision—it pointed out the specific doors that are still open for Mr. Avery’s quest for freedom,” tweeted Avery’s attorney Kathleen Zellner.
“We appreciate the careful review.”
She affixed “#Onward” and “#TruthWins” hashtags to the post.
Avery’s legal team in their attempts to pursue another trial, suggested there existed a witness named Bobby Dassey who reportedly was spotted pushing Halbach’s vehicle, according to The Wrap.
While the papers suggest the possible exculpatory evidence could be considered as a standalone motion, the decision also wanted to know why the evidence wasn't presented until now.
“Avery will need to demonstrate why he could not have previously raised this claim, including in his June 2017 motion, before the merits can be reached,” it read.
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