Steven Avery (Photo: DOC)
Evidence collected during the investigation into photographer Terese Halbach’s murder has been sent to the state crime lab for new testing.
The testing was ordered as part of Steven Avery’s appeal of his conviction in Halbach’s 2005 murder. The evidence found in Halbach’s vehicle includes multiple blood samples, which prosecutors used to show Avery had been in her RAV4. The vehicle was found in the Avery salvage yard days after Halbach was reported missing.
Avery’s attorneys have argued the blood may have been planted, using a previously collected sampling, and they hope more advanced testing methods will help show the sample pre-dates Halbach’s murder.
Asked about the theory Wednesday, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel raised some doubts about whether the testing would produce a different outcome. However, he promised a fair review of the evidence at the state crime lab, which his office oversees. “You can count on, as members of the public, that the crime lab will do this objectively and thoroughly,” Schimel said.
Appeals by Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey have picked up momentum in the past year, after a Netflix series released last December raised questions about the investigation into Halbach’s murder. Earlier this year, a federal magistrate overturned Dassey’s conviction after ruling his confession was coerced. The state has appealed that ruling.