Making a Murderer: Justice, Doubt, and a Case That Divided America
How a Netflix documentary exposed questions about wrongful conviction, police conduct, and the American justice system
In October 2005, photographer Teresa Halbach disappeared after visiting Steven Avery's auto salvage yard in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, where she had been hired to take photographs for AutoTrader magazine. Her disappearance set off a chain of events that would eventually captivate millions of viewers worldwide through the 2015 Netflix documentary series *Making a Murderer*, directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos.
Avery's life had already been marked by the criminal justice system's failures. In 1985, despite having an alibi, he was arrested and convicted of the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. He served 18 years in prison before DNA evidence matched another man, leading to his exoneration in September 2003 with assistance from the Innocence Project. His release seemed like redemption—until he became the primary suspect in Halbach's case.
The evidence against Avery would prove controversial. He had called Halbach's cell phone three times around 2:30 p.m. on the day she went missing, using the Star-67 feature twice to hide his identity. He had also called AutoTrader under his sister Barb Janda's name to schedule Halbach's appointment. Most damning to prosecutors was a bullet discovered months later in Avery's garage by a Manitowoc law enforcement officer. That bullet bore Teresa Halbach's DNA and matched a .22 rifle that hung on Avery's wall.
Avery was convicted of Halbach's intentional homicide in 2007. Yet the documentary series raised persistent questions about how the evidence was gathered, who conducted the investigation, and whether Avery—a man proven innocent once before—was being framed again.
The case took on additional dimensions through the conviction of Brendan Dassey, Avery's 16-year-old nephew, who was accused as an accessory to Halbach's murder, including charges of sexual assault, party to homicide, and mutilation of a corpse. Dassey's confession, made during interrogation, referenced details including the bullet found in Avery's garage. However, questions arose about the reliability of a confession obtained from a minor during police questioning.
