Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of rape and murder. Reader discretion is advised.
On October 31, 2005, a woman named Teresa Halbach vanished while working on an assignment for a magazine. Reports indicated that Halbach wanted to take photos of the vehicle a woman needed to sell. However, she never returned home, and two days later, her car was discovered on a property owned by the Avery family. As the investigation progressed, authorities arrested Steven Avery and his nephew for the disappearance and Halbach’s killing.
Per Oxygen, Teresa Halbach reached the Avery family’s salvage yard to photograph a van that Steven Avery’s sister wanted to sell a van on their property in Manitowoc County. Citing Avery, the outlet reported that Halbach did come to their property and left around 2:30 pm on October 31. Almost two days after her disappearance, authorities discovered Halbach’s car dumped at the salvage yard. Oxygen stated that police investigated the vehicle and found Halbach’s blood in the vehicle. They also found a few fragments of bones near Avery’s fire pit. Additionally, investigators discovered Halbach’s car keys inside Avery’s trailer.
In the initial round of interrogation, police questioned Steven Avery’s nephew. Oxygen reported that the nephew confessed that he and Avery raped Halbach before Avery killed her. However, he later recanted his confession after several people scrutinized the confession of a mentally challenged boy. Meanwhile, others claimed that police wanted a confession from Avery’s nephew and planted information in his head. Despite such allegations, Avery and his nephew went to trial and received life sentences.
According to The Post-Crescent, Steven Avery is in prison and currently serving his sentence at Fox Lake Correctional Institution in Wisconsin.
Where is Steven Avery now & can he get an early release?
As mentioned above, Steven Avery is currently held at Fox Lake Correctional Institution. However, he continues to file appeals for his early release. Even though it’s been 18 years since Teresa Halbach’s murder, Avery maintains that he is innocent.
In July 2024, FOX11 News reported that the state and Avery’s attorneys had agreed to dismiss the appeal in which he asked for new scientific testing of Halbach’s vehicle. On the other hand, the state appeals court of Wisconsin is already reviewing a decision in which the court denied him a new trial. As of now, the decision on this appeal is still pending.
According to The Post-Crescent, Steven Avery is in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2048. Netflix’s Making a Murderer explores Teresa Halbach’s murder and explains the conviction of Steven Avery.
