Making a Murderer is an American true crime documentary television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The show tells the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in prison (1985–2003) after his wrongful conviction for the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. He was later charged with and convicted of the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach. The connected story is that of Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey, who was accused and convicted as an accessory in the murder of Halbach.
The first season mainly chronicles the period between 1985 and 2007, portraying Avery's 1985 arrest and conviction, his subsequent exoneration and release in 2003, the civil lawsuit Avery filed against Manitowoc County, his 2005 arrest, and his ensuing trial and conviction in 2007. It also depicts the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of Dassey, focusing on the accusations of coercion and attorney ineptitude.
The second season explores the aftermath of both Avery's and Dassey's convictions, focusing on Avery's and Dassey's families, the investigation and findings of Avery's new attorney Kathleen Zellner, which supported the thesis of Avery's innocence and him being framed for the murder of Halbach, and Dassey's legal team's efforts in arguing that his confession was coerced by prosecutors and his constitutional rights were violated.
The first season premiered on Netflix on December 18, 2015. It was filmed over the course of 10 years, with the filmmakers moving back and forth from New York City to Wisconsin during filming. To promote the series, Netflix released the first episode concurrently on YouTube and on Netflix, which it had not done for any other original programming.
In July 2016, Netflix announced the second season to explore the aftermath of Dassey's conviction and the numerous appeals that had taken place. The 10-episode second season was released on October 19, 2018.
Making a Murderer won several awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards in 2016. As a production, the series was favorably compared to the HBO series The Jinx and the podcast Serial. Making a Murderer was widely viewed and has generated considerable controversy, both in Manitowoc County, the setting of events, and nationwide. A petition in December 2015 to the White House to pardon Avery garnered more than 500,000 signatures. The White House's statement noted "the President cannot pardon a state criminal offense."
Subject matter
Making a Murderer details the life of Steven Avery, a man whose family owned an auto salvage yard in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin and the murder of a woman named Teresa Halbach.
In 1985, Avery was arrested and convicted of the sexual assault of Penny Beerntsen, despite having an alibi. After serving 18 years in prison, Avery was exonerated with the aid of the Innocence Project, when the DNA in the case was matched to another man known to police. Avery was released in September 2003.
In October 2004, he filed a $36 million civil lawsuit against Manitowoc County and county officials associated with his conviction. In November 2005, Avery was arrested and charged with the murder of Teresa Halbach, a photographer who disappeared after she photographed a vehicle at Avery's salvage yard on 31 October 2005. The handling of the Halbach murder case is highly controversial. Avery and his lawyers argued at his trial in 2007 that he had once again been set up. Bloodstains recovered from the interior of Halbach's car matched Avery's DNA. Avery maintained the murder charge was a frameup, promulgated to discredit his pending civil lawsuit. His attorneys accused Manitowoc officials of evidence tampering after a vial of Avery's blood, stored in an evidence locker since the 1985 trial, was found with broken container seals and a puncture hole in the stopper, suggesting that blood from the vial could have been used to plant incriminating evidence in the victim's vehicle. The Avery tube contained ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid (EDTA), which prevents blood coagulation and degradation. EDTA is not naturally present in human blood, and the defense argued that if EDTA was found in the crime scene blood, it would prove the blood was planted.Wilson, S.R. and Tolley, L., 2016. The "Making a Murderer" Case: A Brief Description of How EDTA Is Measured in Blood. Frontiers in Chemistry, 4. While the tampering charge was never substantiated, accusations of prosecutorial misconduct have persisted. The series explores issues and procedures in the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department that led to Avery's original conviction, and argues the department had a conflict of interest in investigating Halbach's murder.
The series covers the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, who was accused and convicted as an accessory to the murder, based largely on his confession under interrogation. The series depicts his trial, along with subsequent accusations of coercion and ineffective assistance of counsel. Avery is found guilty of intentional homicide, and Dassey is found guilty of sexual assault and party to a homicide and mutilation of a corpse. In Summer 2007, Avery, aged 44, was sentenced to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole; Dassey, 17, was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 2048.
Part 2 of the series looks at the many attempts to overturn the convictions of Avery and Dassey. It includes further forensic tests undertaken by Avery's lawyers. In August 2016, Dassey had his conviction overturned by a federal judge on the grounds he was unconstitutionally coerced by the police into confessing to the murder, and this was the only substantial evidence in the case. On November 14, 2016, Federal District Court Judge William Duffin ordered Dassey's release from within 90 days if Wisconsin prosecutors did not move forward with a retrial. On November 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit blocked Dassey's release while the appeal was being heard. A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit affirmed Judge Duffin's decision to release Dassey, and stated that Dassey should be freed unless the state chose to retry him. In December 2017, an en banc panel of seven judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled in favor of upholding the original conviction, in a split vote of 4 to 3, ruling police had properly obtained Dassey's confession. In June 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Dassey's appeal of the 7th Circuit's en banc decision.
In other media The story of the crime for which Avery was initially charged and imprisoned was featured in the Radiolab episode, "Are You Sure?" (airdate March 26, 2013), in the segment "Reasonable Doubt". The show featured an interview with Penny Beerntsen, the subject of the attack for which Avery was wrongfully convicted.
Persons featured
Avery family Steven Avery – Wrongfully convicted of a sexual assault, for which he served an 18-year sentence. Defendant convicted of Halbach's murder. Allan Avery – Steven Avery's father Dolores Avery – Steven Avery's mother Chuck Avery – Steven Avery's brother Earl Avery – Steven Avery's brother Barb Dassey – Steven Avery's sister, mother of Brendan and Bobby Dassey Brendan Dassey – Avery's nephew, son of Barb Dassey, defendant convicted of assisting Avery in Halbach's murder. Bobby Dassey – Brendan Dassey's brother, son of Barb Dassey Scott Tadych – married Barb Dassey (before the trials), stepfather of her children Kayla Avery – Brendan Dassey's cousin Kim Ducat – Steven Avery's cousin Carla Chase - Steven Avery's niece, Brendan Dassey's cousin Brad Dassey - Brendan's half-brother, voice actor, and aspiring rapper.
Victims Penny Beerntsen – Victim of a sexual assault and attempted murder in 1985, for which Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted Teresa Halbach – Murder victim in 2005 Rape victim of Gregory Allen, convicted of attempted rape of Penny Beerntsen.
Defense lawyers Kathleen Zellner – post-conviction attorney for Steven Avery Dean Strang – for Steven Avery Jerome Buting – for Steven Avery Robert Henak – post-conviction attorney for Steven Avery Stephen Glynn – civil rights lawyer for Steven Avery Len Kachinsky – Brendan Dassey's first appointed lawyer Mark Fremgen – for Brendan Dassey, appointed lawyer (second lawyer) Ray Edelstein – for Brendan Dassey, appointed lawyer (second lawyer) Steven Drizin – post-conviction attorney for Brendan Dassey Robert Dvorak – post-conviction attorney for Brendan Dassey Laura Nirider – post-conviction attorney for Brendan Dassey
Prosecution Denis Vogel – Manitowoc County District Attorney, prosecuted Avery's 1985 sexual assault case Ken Kratz – special prosecutor, district attorney of Calumet County, Wisconsin, prosecuted Halbach murder case Tom Fallon, special prosecutor, "they do so at their peril". Cross-examined Brendan Dassey. Norm Gahn – special prosecutor, assistant district attorney of Milwaukee County
Experts Leslie Eisenberg, forensic anthropologist in Wisconsin Scott Fairgrieve, forensic anthropologist from Canada.
Judges Patrick Willis – Manitowoc County Circuit Court Judge, presided over Steven Avery's trial Jerome Fox – Manitowoc County Circuit Court Judge, presided over Brendan Dassey's trial Angela Sutkiewicz - Manitowoc County Circuit Court Judge, presides over Steven Avery's appeals
Law enforcement Tom Kocourek – Manitowoc County Sheriff (1979–2001) Kenneth Petersen – Manitowoc County Sheriff (2001–07) Gene Kusche – Manitowoc County Chief Deputy Sheriff at the time of Avery's 1985 trial James Lenk – lieutenant, Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department Andrew Colborn – sergeant, Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department Judy Dvorak – deputy, Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department Tom Fassbender – investigator, Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, lead investigator in Halbach murder trial Mark Wiegert – sergeant, Calumet County Sheriff's Department Jerry Pagel – Calumet County Sheriff
Private investigators Michael O'Kelly – investigator hired by Len Kachinsky
Production The series was written and directed by filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. They met as graduate students in Columbia University's film program. The two learned about Avery after reading a 2005 article in The New York Times about his 2003 exoneration and 2005 arrest for murder. Both thought that his case could be an interesting subject for a documentary.
Before meeting with Netflix, Demos and Ricciardi met with executives at PBS and HBO, but neither network was interested in the project. Netflix originally planned an eight-episode first season, but later expanded its order to 10.
The show's graphics and main title sequence were completed by Santa Monica–based design studio Elastic.
Reception
Critical response The series received praise and criticism from critics. Some praised its comprehensive nature, and the first season has an approval rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7 out of 10. The site's critical consensus describes Making a Murderer as "a spellbinding slow burn that effectively utilizes the documentary format to tell a twisty mystery." On Metacritic, the first season has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Lenika Cruz, writing for The Atlantic, commended the series for its "sense of total immersion". Mike Hale, for The New York Times, described it as giving an:
Some critics, however, have described Making a Murderer as one-sided and emotionally manipulative. Prosecutor Ken Kratz claimed key evidence from the trial was omitted from the documentary, claiming that, on one of Halbach's previous visits, Avery had come to the door in his towel, and that Halbach "said she wouldn't go back because she was scared of him."