SPOILER ALERT
Welcome to spark{le}Notes on ‘Making a Murderer’.
Let’s get real.
If you haven’t watched the ‘Making a Murderer’ series on Netflix yet then what the h$*# are you waiting for?!?! Also don’t read this post.
Read it as soon as you’re done.
This series is the biggest hit since Idon’tevenknowwhen. Everyone is getting into it. I basically consider Gigi Hadid and myself besties cause we both are tweeting over it. That’s got to mean something.
Today we’re gathering all the info and laying it out on the table to decide what the eff happened in Manitowoc, WI on Halloween night in 2005.
Pour yourself a glass and get your Tiffany’s pen + paper out partner.
The Documentary
After ten years in the making, ‘Making a Murderer’ has finally been released and so has complete chaos. It has sparked a domino effect on peoples trust in the legal system… Big time. I won’t get into too many details since we have all watched it, but for those of you rebels who still haven’t and my spoiler alert did not deter you… well here are the SUPER quick + dirty spark{le} notes.
Steven Avery {SA} was a small town joe living in Manitowoc, WI with his wife and fathering 5 children. In 1985 Penny Ann Beernsten {high profile member of the community} was raped and SA was wrongfully convicted of this crime… He continuously plead not guilty. After 18 {EIGHTEEN} years in prison, new DNA testing revealed SA actually didn’t do it….Oh boy. Yeah.. SO he was released in 2003 and it was super awkward + embarrassing for the Manitowoc County officials.
November 3, 2005 Teresa Halbach {TH} was reported missing. She was last noted to be at SA’s property on October 31, 2015 taking photos of a van for AutoTrader… :| SOOO a huge search party occurs over the course of a few days {Nov 5-8} and all of a sudden TH’s Rav4 is found on SA’s property and her bones are found in his burn pit. TWO days later the key to her Rav4 is found in SA’s bedroom with no other DNA on it but his.
Nov 15 SA is charged with the murder of TH. He is still adamant that he did’t do it.
IN MARCH 2006, SA’s nephew Brendan Dassey {BD} is brought in for questioning numerous times over the course of a few days. He confessed to some crazy stuff that he supposedly did with SA to TH and charged with raping, killing and mutilating TH’s corpse.
They are both found guilty. SA is sentenced to life in prison, no parole and BD is sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 2048…
I know. It sounds obvious when you read this timeline. But it isn’t. The majority of viewers believe SA is not guilty, nearly 500,000 signed a petition for SA to be set free and 130,000 even reached out to President Obama to pardon SA + BD…..
YEAH SO WATCH THE SERIES.
{check out this timeline I found too}
Against SA
The prosecutor + county sheriff have accused the two film makers of omitting important details in their investigation. We have to understand they had 10 YEARS of documentation to fit into a 10 hour Netflix series. Ofcourse some facts were left out because it is impossible to include them all. So here is the evidence against SA that you DIDN’T get….
// More DNA evidence.
Apparently SA’s DNA was under TH’s trunk {even though, before, the prosecution stated it was under the hood..}. It was from sweaty hands. Not blood. So their stance is that the cops clearly don’t have a vial of SA’s sweaty hands to plant that DNA and SA claimed to have never touched her car… {uhh k}
// TH’s stuff was on SA’s property.
Ken Kratz {KK} says TH’s phone and camera were found 20 ft from SA’s door.
// SA and TH knew eachother.
TH had been to SA’s house numerous times to photograph vehicles. SA kept asking for TH to come take the photos and TH was “creeped out” by SA. Apparently he answered the door in just a towel one time.
// On the day TH went missing..
SA called her 3 times, twice from a blocked number :|
// The gun.
KK says the bullet with TH’s DNA on it came from SA’s gun, which hung above his bed.
// Suspicious purchases.
SA bought leg irons and handcuffs {like the ones BD described} only 3 weeks before. He says they were to use with his GF at the time… who was in jail serving time for a DUI.
// Letter to Ex-Fiancee
Okay TMZ just released THIS AM that Steven Avery sent his ex-fiancee Jodi this letter. Pretty aggressive. Anyways, she claims that he also has tied her to a bed against her will and “uses fear as a weapon”.
The film makers spoke out and stated that prosecutor KK has no hard evidence to back up these claims and is twisting info.
{above points paraphrased from Pajiba.com + Time.com}
For SA
+ Two jurors in the SA trial had relatives working for the Manitowoc Sheriff’s Department….
One man had a son in the department and another had a wife in the office. The connections were known, however both prosecution and defence used up their allotted juror dismissals….
+ The Docu-series was Delayed.
There was a ton of pushback from the state before it was even released. The filmmakers actually had to hire their own lawyer when the state tried to supoena the footage…. They claim “it was a fishing expedition, and we really think it was an effort by the state to shut down our production”.
+ Moving of the Bones.
It was glossed over really quickly in the series but is so important. It was made clear that the burnt bones were moved.. WHY would SA burn the bones, gather them up and dump them in his own yard?! Another point is with burnt bones, unless there is still tissue attached, a proper DNA test won’t be done.
+ The Expert.
There was an expert from Canada with no connection to Manitowoc who testified that “to burn a body takes either extremely high heat, or a very long, sustained, moderate medium-high type of heat, and it would be very difficult to burn a body in an open pit — an open fire — particularly to the degree that these bone fragments showed. At a crematorium, for instance, they use extremely high heat, and it still takes several hours.” {RollingStone.com}
+ Deleted Voicemails.
Someone accessed TH’s voicemail and deleted voicemails several days after her disappearance. Even thought the defence may have had an idea of who did this, they were not allowed to point fingers or speculate during trial…
+The Gun.
Basically there was a bullet found but it was found to be from a .22 rifle, the most popular gun in the world. To say it was forsure FROM SA’s rifle is untrue. It was a similar bullet, but you can’t eliminate any other .22 rifle.
+ THE BLOOD VIAL
I almost spit my tea out when the needle hole in SA’s blood vial was found from the police evidence vault. OMG was everyone else freaking out?! Like that alone had me signing that damn petition {not actually}. I mean hello… that is so insane and I was disgusted to even speculate the officials had planted evidence {the key and blood}. #Sketchy.
+ THE VEHICLE CRUSHER
Now I’m just throwing out ideas here but I read that SA had a vehicle crusher ON SITE that he used only days before being charged… so why wouldn’t he crush TH’s car and try to rid of it?! I mean clearly they would find the Rav4 during the search so…. I dunno. Just my own personal thoughts.
{above points paraphrased from Time.com and RollingStone.com}
Guilty or Not.
Based on the vocabulary used and intellect of the Avery family conveyed throughout the docu-series I am personally VERY skeptical about Brendan’s confession. His capacity to understand what is happening and what the detectives are asking about is that of a toddler.
Now we have to remember that this is a very SMALL town. Everyone is constantly in eachothers business. So constructing a FAIR trial was going to be an ambitious task on it’s own.
MY OWN POV: Whether he is guilty of the crimes or not, the prosecution did not convict him on fair or right terms.
Our legal system is in place to ensure people being sent to prison are sent to prison on hard evidence and not just speculation. I am not going to say he should be set free but I would agree with a re-trial, preferably with an out of state jury.
LASTLY I’ve saved a special treat for you. I found a Reddit feed started by a resident of Manitowoc and her view on everything. You guys have to read this.
So, what do you think? I mean really. This whole thing has gotten me into a tizzy. I’m back and forth all the time. Comment below, on IG, Twitter or FB with any thoughts, comments or ideas.
Yeah? …… yeah. yeah.
xxoo Drea Marie
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