A notable Wisconsin murderer has allegedly confessed to the murder of Teresa Halbach, which was featured on the Netflix docuseries “Making a Murderer.”
Halbach was killed Halloween night in 2005 after visiting the property of Steven Avery, according to NBC. Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were later convicted of the murder, though they both said they were innocent.
A second docuseries, meant as a sort of sequel to “Making a Murderer,” is currently in production by director Shawn Rech, who recently told Newsweek in an interview that while he and his crew were filming the sequel series, they were given an alleged confession by a convicted murder.
The inmate, who will remain unidentified until the confession is verified by Wisconsin law enforcement, told the filmmakers that he was responsible for Halbach’s death.
“We haven’t confirmed the legitimacy of the confession, but seeing as it was given by a notable convicted murderer from Wisconsin, we feel responsible to deliver any and all possible evidence to law enforcement and legal teams,” Rech said.
Both Avery and Dassey claimed to be innocent but were sentenced to life sentences in 2007 and have spent more than a decade behind bars.
According to Fox, Dassey appealed to the Supreme Court for a new trial, but his request was denied. Avery is still in the appeals process. Avery is serving a life sentence without parole.
Kathleen Zellner, Avery’s lawyer, said in a tweet Monday that they had received the written confession, but that “it is worthless unless it is corroborated.”
According to Newsweek, Zellner has many theories regarding her client’s conviction and has spent years recreating the scene and the evidence in hopes of proving Avery couldn’t have committed the crime he’s convicted of.
NBC reported that both Avery and Dassey have said they were framed for the murder by officers who, they say, were upset with Avery for suing the county for his wrongful conviction for sexual assault. Avery spent 18 years in prison before DNA proved he did not commit the assault.
If Avery is exonerated, it will be the second time he was falsely convicted for a violent crime.