By Kelly Wynne
Culture Writer
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A Wisconsin inmate may have confessed to the murder of Teresa Halbach, the victim at the center of the Making a Murderercase, but Steven Avery's lawyer Kathleen Zellner isn't convinced just yet.
The anonymous man, who is currently in prison for a separate murder conviction, allegedly told the crew of Convicting a Murderer—a follow-up documentary series to Netflix's Making a Murderer—that he was responsible for Halbach's death. This confession could potentially help free Zellner's client, Steven Avery, who was convicted of Halbach's murder in 2007.
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Zellner told Twitter her thoughts after Newsweek broke the story on Monday. "We received the handwritten confession on Saturday," she said. "It is worthless unless it is corroborated."
The confession was captured on audio, according to Shawn Rech, the director of Convicting a Murder. He told Newsweek the first priority was getting it to Wisconsin authorities. "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," he said. "Having been in production for 20 months, we've uncovered an unfathomable amount of information and evidence that is leading us to the truth. Our investigation does not end here."
Zellner is currently fighting to free Steven Avery. Her team is preparing an appeal in his case and will file the paperwork—which Zellner says includes new evidence in Avery's favor—on October 4.
If Avery's conviction in Halbach's murder is overturned, it would be the second time he was wrongfully convicted by a Wisconsin court. Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, is also in prison for Halbach's murder. Dassey, who was a minor at the time, originally confessed to the crime, though later said his statement was coerced.
Convicting a Murderer will shine a new light on the case first explored over two seasons of Netflix's hit true crime series. Rech said he aimed to fill holes in the story by speaking with Wisconsin authorities who were not featured in Making a Murderer.
Making a Murderer first premiered on Netflix in 2016. The narrative focuses heavily on forensic evidence in the mystery of Halbach's death. In Parts 1 and 2, separate legal teams for Avery's defense raise questions as to whether the Wisconsin Department of Justice could have planted evidence. Part 2 mainly focuses on Zellner's quest to find new evidence as she stages elaborate recreations of the prosecution's account of what happened to Halbach. Part 2 teases some of the findings that could feature in Zellner's brief.
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