Defense attorneys for Steven Avery have claimed that a vial of blood used to set him free from prison may have been used to frame him for the murder of Teresa Halbach. Prosecutors are attempting to refute that claim in court today, without the jury present. An FBI expert testified that a preservative used in the blood from the vial was not present in blood evidence from Avery that was taken from Halbach's SUV. Marc Lebeau of the FBI lab in Virginia answered questions this morning from prosecutor Norm Gahn. Lebeau testified that the preservative EDTA was not present in the blood found in Halbach's SUV.
Today's hearing is to decide whether to allow the jury to hear the EDTA evidence. Under cross-examination, Lebeau told defense attorney Jerome Buting the last time tests for EDTA were used was for the O.J. Simpson trial nearly 10 years ago.
Defense attorneys are asking for a mistrial, or a delay in the proceedings, to give them a chance to conduct an independent test of the blood sample. The vial was used in a DNA test that cleared Steven Avery of a rape he didn't commit, but spent 18 years in prison for. [WHBY's Rick Schuh contributed to this report]
