MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) — A man who served 18 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit was charged Tuesday with murdering a young woman who vanished after going to his salvage yard on a photography assignment.
Investigators searching for 25-year-old Teresa Halbach found charred bone fragments and teeth in a burn pit behind Steven Avery's garage at the salvage yard, and preliminary tests identified the remains as Halbach's, authorities said.
Avery was charged with murder and mutilation of a corpse and jailed on $500,000 bail for a preliminary hearing Dec. 6.
Avery, 43, has denied any knowledge of Halbach's disappearance. He has repeatedly said he is being set up because of his pending $36 million lawsuit against the county for the wrongful conviction.