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  • Brendan Dassey Moved To A New Prison Amid “Making A Murderer” Headlines

    Brendan Dassey has reportedly been moved to a new facility even as the drama and speculation surrounding his case reaches its height. The 26-year old is now serving his time at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin, which at one time housed Dassey’s uncle–and the focus of the insanely popular Netflix documentary Making A Murderer–Steven Avery.

    Officials have not given a reason for the transfer, but say it’s not uncommon to move prisoners from facility to facility. Brendan, who was just 17 at the time of his conviction for the murder of Teresa Halbach, has already been transferred a few times.

    Dassey was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and second-degree sexual assault when he allegedly helped Avery sexually assault, murder, and burn Teresa Halbach. Avery is serving his own sentence, but since the documentary first aired on Netflix, millions have tuned in and many have their own theories as to what happened. And while there are several unclear points surrounding the case and the numerous hours of the trial, it’s clear that many think Avery and Dassey are innocent.

    As anyone who watched the series will know, Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted for another crime in 1985–the sexual assault of a woman on a Wisconsin beach–and spent 18 years in prison before DNA evidence proved he couldn’t have done it. Once he was released, Avery went after the state in a lawsuit, but before he could see the end of it, he was once again in jail for the murder of Teresa Halbach. Teresa–who was a photographer and had come to the Avery property to take pictures of one of their vehicles for Auto Trader–was last seen heading to the Avery home on Halloween and never returned home. Her remains were found in a burn pit on the property, but Avery claims he was set up.

    A petition has been started on Change.org to have Steven Avery exonerated, and many believe that Brendan Dassey is just as innocent as his uncle. Although there are several theories floating around the Web as to what really happened, no one has been able to prove without a doubt that the two men didn’t have something to do with her murder.

    “Steven Avery should be exonerated at once by governor’s pardon, and the Manitowoc County officials complicit in his two false imprisonments should be held accountable to the highest extent of the U.S. criminal and civil justice systems,” the petition reads.

  • Teresa Halbach, Whose Death Was Chronicled In Netflix’s ‘Making A Murderer’, Still Missed By Family and Friends

    Teresa Halbach, Whose Death Was Chronicled In Netflix’s ‘Making A Murderer’, Still Missed By Family and Friends

    It has been eight years since Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey were convicted in the brutal murder of 25-year-old Teresa Halbach. Much talk has surrounded the guilt or innocence of the two men after the release of Netflix’s Making a Murderer, and less attention has been afforded the young woman who lost her life at the age of 25 that fateful 2005 Halloween night.

    Today, friends of the young photographer say there isn’t a day that goes by that they don’t think about Halbach, including a friend who studied with Teresa at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

    “She made me feel like I fit in,” Beth, who asked that her last name not be used, told People magazine. “Honestly, it was her smile. She made you feel like you belonged just by her nature. She had a very adventurous spirit, and she made you want to come along with her.”

    In order to return the attention to Teresa to ensure that her life isn’t overlooked by the growing controversy surrounding her convicted killer, Steven Avery, who claims he was framed for the crime, friends and family are speaking out about the woman who lost her life at such a young age.

    “She went out of her way to make you feel special,” says Tina Mills, 35, another former college classmate. “People were inspired by her and people wanted to be like her. She just had a way of listening that made you feel comforted and at ease. She made people love her, and obviously she had a lot of love to give away, too.”

    She adds: “Caring, loving, any good quality you could come up with, that was Teresa.”

    Pastor Andy Behrendt, who worked with Halbach at the university’s student newspaper in 2001-2002 when Teresa was a staff photographer, said it is difficult to again remember losing his friend.

    “She just radiated happiness and life,” he said. “Even after she died so tragically – and here we are again, faced with this awful, awful tragedy 10 years later – I still can’t picture her without a smile on her face. In the end, nothing can take that away.”

    “She was always very positive,” says Katie Uttech, for whom Halbach served as a bridesmaid at her wedding in 2004. “I don’t ever remember her being mad about anything. She just had this positivity about herself. She didn’t have a bad bone in her body. She just enjoyed life, she enjoyed new experiences.”

    Uttech said she refuses to watch the Netflix documentary out of respect for her friend.

    “I try not to think of the story of what happened to her,” says Uttech, who has made a choice not to watch the Netflix series. “This Netflix thing is not something that’s made up,” she says. “This is somebody’s sister and somebody’s daughter and somebody’s friend and somebody’s cousin. This is real.

    “It’s really easy for somebody to watch this show and come up with opinions, and everybody’s entitled to their opinions,” she says. “I can’t do anything but say who Teresa was, and she was a really great person I just miss her not being around and not being able to make more memories together.”

  • “Making A Murderer”: Steve Avery Says Brothers Could Have Killed Teresa Halbach, Juror Stands By Verdict

    “Making A Murderer”: Steve Avery Says Brothers Could Have Killed Teresa Halbach, Juror Stands By Verdict

    Making A Murderer has become a seriously divisive documentary.

    Families and friends have surely come to fisticuffs over the question of Steve Avery’s innocence or guilt because of the fiasco that is Making a Murderer.

    As episodes of Making A Murderer roll across my screen, I know I change my mind with every hour.

    Whether or not the right man is behind bars is a question that has even spawned petitions to the White House.

    However, one juror that sat for the case that ended in Steve Avery’s conviction says that despite the questions raised by Making A Murderer, she is sure they have the right man.

    If you’re not hooked yet, allow me:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34M2zdLc-2U

    The juror, Diane Free, insists that she is “comfortable with the verdict we reached. The thing on Netflix was a movie, not a documentary.”

    This is a position that has been held by the prosecution since the release of Making A Murderer.

    Ken Kratz, the prosecuting attorney in the case, claims that he was never asked to participate in the making of Making A Murderer.

    He said of Making A Murderer, “It’s not a documentary at all. It’s an advocacy piece. If I was spoon-fed only what the Netflix documentary wanted me to see, I’d come to exactly the same conclusion.”

    Interesting. But, Steve Avery himself has suggested a few other people that could have committed the horrific murder of Theresa Halbach.

    For example, he claims either one of his brothers, Charles or Earl, could have done it.

    They both have a criminal history of sexual assault against women and other more minor charges, like paying unwanted attention to females visiting the salvage yard. Charles did so even to the point that one woman who he continued contacting admitted that she feared him.

    Charles was also charged with sexually assaulting his wife, but she later dropped those charges.

    Earl was charged in 1995 of sexually assaulting his own two daughters. He pleaded no contest.

    Plus, both of them are just generally pretty creepy on Making A Murderer, right?

    Avery also suggested that the man who was dating Brendan Dassey’s mother, Barb, had the temperament of a murderer.

    Many of his co-workers referred to him as a psychopath and as “not being hooked up right.”

    He also said Barb’s other son, Bobby, had the means to do the job.

    Where do you stand on this case after watching Making A Murderer?