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Steven Avery, who spent 18 years in prison for a rape that DNA testing later showed he did not commit, was convicted in March 2007 of murdering Teresa Halbach, a 25-year-old photographer who disappeared after visiting his family's salvage yard in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, on Oct. 31, 2005. He was sentenced to life without parole and remains imprisoned after the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to review his latest appeal in May 2025.

Avery's earlier conviction arose from the July 29, 1985, rape of Penny Beernsten on a beach near Two Rivers. Beernsten identified him, and a jury convicted him despite testimony from 16 people that he had been elsewhere. In September 2003, DNA testing matched a pubic hair recovered from Beernsten to Gregory Allen, who was already imprisoned for sexual assault. Avery was released.

He filed a $36 million wrongful-conviction lawsuit against Manitowoc County, the district attorney and the sheriff. During that litigation, it emerged that detectives had learned in 1995 that Allen had confessed to a Manitowoc County sexual assault, but had not pursued the information. Avery later settled the suit for $400,000 while jailed on the murder charge.

Halbach had photographed vehicles at the Avery salvage yard five times before. On the morning of Oct. 31, 2005, Avery arranged for her to photograph a vehicle there. She arrived that afternoon to photograph a red minivan. Avery said she left after completing the work.

Halbach's mother reported her missing on Nov. 3. Two days later, volunteers searching the salvage yard with permission from Avery's brother Earl found her Toyota RAV4 concealed beneath branches, plywood and another vehicle's hood. Officers secured the property and obtained a search warrant.

The searches produced burned bone fragments in and around a burn pit behind Avery's garage, with DNA consistent with Halbach's. Avery's blood was found in the front of the RAV4, and Halbach's blood was in its cargo area. Her vehicle key, carrying Avery's DNA, was found in his bedroom. A burn barrel contained remnants of electronic devices matching the models she owned.

Avery was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and mutilation of a corpse on Nov. 15, 2005. A firearm-possession count was later added. In March 2006, investigators recovered a bullet and bullet fragments from his garage that came from a rifle found in his trailer. One carried Halbach's DNA.

Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey, then 16, confessed during questioning on March 1, 2006, saying Avery raped and killed Halbach and that he participated. Dassey, who had a profound language-based learning disability, had no parent or lawyer present. He later recanted. Additional charges against Avery following the confession were dismissed before trial at prosecutors' request.

Avery's trial began in February 2007 and lasted nearly five weeks. His defense argued that officers had framed him because of his lawsuit, challenging the blood evidence and the discovery of the key by Manitowoc deputies who had testified in the civil litigation. The jury convicted him of first-degree intentional homicide as a party to the crime and possession of a firearm by a felon. It acquitted him of mutilating a corpse.

Dassey was convicted separately in April 2007 and received life with parole eligibility in 2048. A federal magistrate judge overturned his conviction in 2016 on grounds that his confession was coerced, but the full Seventh Circuit reinstated it in December 2017. The U.S. Supreme Court declined review in 2018.

Avery's subsequent challenges have failed. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld the denial of his latest motion in January 2025, followed by the state Supreme Court's refusal to review it in May. He maintains his innocence and is held at Fox Lake Correctional Institution.

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Court rulings, exhibits and interview records

The 49-page Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision dated July 28, 2021, affirms the denial of Steven Avery's postconviction motions without a hearing. A 21-page circuit court decision addresses Avery's motion to suppress evidence from multiple entries into his trailer and garage under the Nov. 5, 2005, search warrant. A two-page phone call log dated Oct. 31, 2005, covers Avery Auto Salvage numbers and is marked as trial exhibit 359. A five-page Cingular wireless service contract documents a phone line activated Aug. 30, 2005, and is marked as trial exhibit 380. A one-page personal email from Teresa Halbach to a friend, extracted from her laptop and filed as court exhibit 53, discusses her life and work. A 17-page Manitowoc County circuit court decision addresses Avery's motion to suppress evidence from multiple entries under the Nov. 5, 2005, search warrant. An eight-page circuit court decision addresses whether Avery's Nov. 5, 2005, statements to a detective must be suppressed after he asked to stop questioning. A 152-page transcript of Brendan Dassey's March 1, 2006, police interview includes discussion of Miranda rights and consent to retrieve jeans from his house. A 109-page transcript of Dassey's May 13, 2006, police interrogation opens with Miranda warnings and rapport questions. A 48-page transcript documents Marinette County detectives' Nov. 6, 2005, interview with Dassey about Avery's whereabouts and the missing woman and bears an evidence exhibit stamp. A 10-page Wisconsin Department of Justice investigative report documents the Nov. 7, 2005, interview with Blaine Dassey about Halbach, along with related subjects and vehicles, and is marked as trial exhibit 355. A 12-page Calumet County Sheriff's Department witness interview record concerns Halbach and Avery, includes a Division of Criminal Investigation report page and is marked as trial exhibit 102.

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Investigative reports, DNA findings and hearing transcripts

An eight-page canine handler's scent search report and training resume for K9 Loof document the search for Teresa Halbach at the Avery property in November 2005.

A six-page Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation report dated Nov. 9, 2005, documents a Nov. 6 interview with a magazine manager about the missing photographer.

A seven-page State Crime Laboratory DNA report dated March 31, 2006, addresses stains, fabric, handcuffs and rifle items from the Avery property in the Halbach case.

An 11-page State Crime Laboratory DNA report dated May 8, 2006, addresses evidence in the Halbach homicide case, including short tandem repeat profiles compared with Brendan Dassey.

A four-page Calumet County sheriff's report documents interviews with witnesses on Nov. 3, 2005, about the missing Halbach and was filed as trial Exhibit 216.

A three-page Manitowoc County sheriff's incident card dated July 9, 1985, concerns a disorderly conduct complaint naming Steven Avery and another person.

A 33-page transcript records Avery's May 3, 2006, arraignment and pretrial motions in Manitowoc County circuit court.

A 40-page transcript records an April 13, 2006, hearing on Avery's defense motion to dismiss amended charges.

A 267-page transcript records July 5, 2006, pretrial motion hearings in Avery's case, including testimony from a sheriff's witness and attorney appearances.

An 83-page transcript records a March 17, 2006, motion hearing in Avery's case concerning publicity limits and counsel appearances.

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Crime-scene and evidence photos, part 1 of 3

These 60 photos from the Steven Avery case include an aerial view of the property and close views of reddish stains in a vehicle and on a bathroom floor, a dashboard stain, vehicle doors and wooden panels. Other images show charred cell phone remains, a garage interior, a washing machine and a bathroom blood spot near a floor vent.

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Crime-scene and evidence photos, part 2 of 3

These 60 photos include views of a RAV4 battery with a disconnected terminal cable, a rusted furnace interior with ash and debris, vehicle cargo areas and front interiors. Other images show a bullet beside a ruler and evidence marker on a garage floor, a garage containing a red car and engine hoist, salvage-yard buildings and vehicles, and a bedroom wardrobe with handcuffs and a chain hanging from its doors.

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Crime-scene and evidence photos, part 3 of 3

These 30 photos include vehicle interiors, a cluttered garage, a van's rear wheel beside tire marks on a garage floor, and microscope comparisons of a recovered bullet with test-fired bullets. Other images show a spent cartridge casing and blood spatter beside an evidence marker, another marker near a garage door, a charred cell phone casing beside another burned object, a key with a black fob beside a ruler and evidence envelope, and a spiral notepad.

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Crime-scene and evidence photos, part 1 of 3

These 60 photos from the Steven Avery case include aerial views of Avery Road and the salvage yard, with search locations marked on one image. Other photos show RAV4 bumper damage and interior details, an evidence marker beside a floor crack, bone fragments, a cut on Avery's finger, and views of the trailer and garage equipment.

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Crime-scene and evidence photos, part 2 of 3

These 60 photos show aerial views of Avery Auto Salvage in Manitowoc County and the surrounding property, including rows of vehicles, outbuildings and the adjacent sand pit. Annotated images mark the RAV4 location and vehicle crusher, as well as the Avery residence, quarry road and hunting camp area.

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Crime-scene and evidence photos, part 3 of 3

These 30 photos from the Steven Avery case include a concrete-floored area with debris, a vehicle interior panel with rust-colored stains, a garage workshop, a metal bed frame and salvage-yard outbuildings. Other images show room contents and cartridge casings beside numbered evidence markers on concrete surfaces.

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Affidavits, investigative reports and 11 evidence photos

A two-page search warrant affidavit concerns Steven Avery's property at 12932 Avery Road, Teresa Halbach's disappearance and the Toyota key. A 10-page affidavit by Avery's defense lawyer supports suppression of statements made to Manitowoc County sheriff's officers on Nov. 5, 2005. A two-page supplemental affidavit by Brendan Dassey's investigator describes jail contacts with defense attorney Len Kachinsky on May 12, 2006, and an interview on May 13, 2006. A 62-page collection of district attorney's office discovery cover letters, including correspondence dated Dec. 6, 2005, lists investigative reports, search and interview records, and photo logs sent to Avery's defense. A five-page defense reply argues that Dassey's interrogation statements in February and March 2006 were involuntary because of detectives' promises and minimization. A three-page Wisconsin Department of Justice report documents a Nov. 10, 2005, interview with Scott Tadych about Halbach's disappearance. A three-page Wisconsin Department of Justice report documents a Nov. 29, 2005, interview with Tadych about Halbach and includes related subjects and record status. A two-page Calumet County sheriff's report documents a March 30, 2006, interview with Tadych about stains on Dassey's clothing and Tadych's activities on Oct. 31, 2005. Four pages contain a detective's handwritten case notes. A three-page state crime laboratory report covers field response and laboratory findings on vehicles and bloodstains in the Halbach investigation in 2005 and 2006. A 17-page Calumet County sheriff's evidence list itemizes ledger entries, property tags, swabs, stains and hair samples. A three-page FBI laboratory report dated Feb. 26, 2007, concerns EDTA testing of blood swabs and Avery's blood tube. The 11 photos show a stained vehicle door panel and carpet, a rifle on a mattress, a taped burn pit behind an outbuilding, a German shepherd beside a burn pit and shovel, a blue Toyota RAV4 in a wooden garage, a Toyota key with a blue fob, a burn pit with a burned chair frame and other objects, a cluttered desk, a garage containing a snowmobile, a vehicle's rear seat and side trim, and a burned bone fragment photographed with a scale.