Case overview
Teresa Halbach, a 25-year-old photographer, was last seen alive on October 31, 2005, after visiting the Avery family salvage yard in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Her remains were found days later on the property, leading to the arrest and conviction of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey in a case that would become one of the most scrutinized homicide investigations in recent history. The murder of Teresa Halbach continues to generate legal challenges and public debate over evidence handling, interrogation methods, and the integrity of the investigation itself.
The last confirmed movements
Teresa Halbach worked as a photographer for Auto Trader magazine, photographing vehicles for sale. On October 31, 2005, she had scheduled appointments to photograph cars at several locations in Manitowoc and Calumet Counties. Phone records and appointment logs confirmed she visited the Avery salvage yard that afternoon to photograph a 1999 Plymouth Grand Am listed by Steven Avery’s sister, Barb Janda.
Halbach’s last confirmed phone activity occurred around 2:41 p.m. that day. She did not return home to her apartment in Hilbert, Wisconsin, and failed to show up for Halloween festivities with family that evening. Her mother, Karen Halbach, reported her missing on November 3, 2005, after repeated calls to her daughter’s cell phone went unanswered.
Discovery at the salvage yard
On November 5, 2005, volunteer searchers found Halbach’s Toyota RAV4 on the Avery property, partially concealed with branches and a car hood. The vehicle was located in a far corner of the 40-acre salvage yard, which contained thousands of junked vehicles. The discovery prompted an investigation led by Calumet County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from Manitowoc County.
Inside the vehicle, investigators found bloodstains later matched through DNA testing to Steven Avery. Additional blood evidence matched Halbach. The RAV4’s license plates had been removed and were found elsewhere on the property. Investigators documented that the vehicle’s battery had been disconnected.
On November 8, 2005, investigators searching a burn pit near Avery’s trailer found charred bone fragments. Forensic anthropologist Dr. Leslie Eisenberg testified that the remains were consistent with human bone, and DNA testing identified them as belonging to Teresa Halbach. Additional bone fragments were discovered in a burn barrel on the property.
Physical evidence and forensic findings
A key to Halbach’s RAV4 was found in Steven Avery’s bedroom on November 8, 2005, during the seventh entry into his trailer by law enforcement. The key was discovered on the floor near a bookcase. DNA testing showed Avery’s DNA on the key but no traces of Halbach’s DNA, despite it being her personal vehicle key.
Investigators recovered a .22-caliber rifle from Avery’s residence. A bullet fragment found in Avery’s garage months later tested positive for Halbach’s DNA. The forensic examiner, Sherry Culhane, documented in her notes that she had contaminated the control sample during testing but proceeded with the analysis.
The burn pit behind Avery’s trailer became central to the prosecution’s theory. Dr. Eisenberg testified that the cremated remains showed evidence of burning at temperatures consistent with an open fire. No other biological evidence belonging to Halbach was found in Avery’s trailer, garage, or any structures on the property.
Brendan Dassey’s interrogation and confession
On March 1, 2006, investigators from Calumet County interviewed Brendan Dassey, Steven Avery’s 16-year-old nephew, at his high school. Dassey, who had limited cognitive abilities and was questioned without an attorney or parent present, provided a detailed confession describing his participation in Halbach’s sexual assault, murder, and disposal.
The confession included graphic descriptions of violence that Dassey said occurred in Avery’s trailer and garage. Forensic examination of both locations found no physical evidence corroborating the account. No blood, DNA, or other biological material belonging to Halbach was detected in areas where Dassey described the assault and killing taking place.
Dassey’s confession formed the basis for his own prosecution. He was charged as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, and first-degree sexual assault. Defense attorneys later argued that the confession was coerced and that investigators fed Dassey details during questioning. Video recordings of the interrogations became central to subsequent legal challenges.
Trial proceedings and convictions
Steven Avery’s trial began on February 12, 2007, in Chilton, Wisconsin. The prosecution argued that Avery lured Halbach to the property under the pretense of photographing a vehicle, then killed her and burned her body to conceal the crime. Prosecutors presented the blood evidence from the RAV4, the key found in Avery’s bedroom, the bullet fragment from his garage, and the cremated remains from his burn pit.
The defense team, led by Dean Strang and Jerome Buting, argued that evidence had been planted by law enforcement. They pointed to Manitowoc County’s involvement in the investigation despite a stated recusal due to Avery’s pending $36 million civil lawsuit against the county. That lawsuit stemmed from Avery’s 1985 wrongful conviction for sexual assault, for which he had served 18 years before DNA evidence exonerated him in 2003.
Defense attorneys highlighted the discovery of the RAV4 key during a search conducted by Manitowoc County officers, the absence of Halbach’s DNA on that key, and questions about the handling of Avery’s blood evidence. They presented testimony suggesting that blood could have been taken from a vial in the clerk of courts office related to Avery’s prior case, though the prosecution disputed this theory.
On March 18, 2007, the jury convicted Steven Avery of first-degree intentional homicide and illegal possession of a firearm. He was acquitted of mutilating a corpse. Judge Patrick Willis sentenced Avery to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Brendan Dassey was tried separately. On April 25, 2007, a jury convicted him of first-degree intentional homicide, second-degree sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse. He received a life sentence with eligibility for parole after 41 years.
Post-conviction developments and ongoing challenges
In December 2015, the Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer” brought renewed attention to the case. The series focused on questions about evidence handling, the interrogation of Brendan Dassey, and Manitowoc County’s role in the investigation.
Kathleen Zellner, a Chicago-based attorney known for overturning wrongful convictions, took over Avery’s post-conviction representation in 2016. She has filed multiple motions seeking new scientific testing and raising claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and newly discovered evidence. Zellner has presented alternative theories of the crime and challenged the forensic conclusions reached during the original investigation.
In 2016, a federal magistrate judge recommended that Brendan Dassey’s conviction be overturned, finding that his confession was involuntary. The U.S. District Court agreed and ordered Dassey’s release, but the State of Wisconsin appealed. In 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision in a 4-3 vote, reinstating Dassey’s conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2018.
Both Avery and Dassey remain incarcerated. Avery is housed at Waupun Correctional Institution, and Dassey is at Oshkosh Correctional Institution. Legal filings continue in both cases, with Zellner pursuing additional avenues for relief on Avery’s behalf.
Unresolved questions in the investigation
Several aspects of the investigation remain subjects of dispute. The location and handling of bone fragments continue to generate legal challenges, particularly after it was revealed in 2018 that some bone fragments identified as potentially human had been returned to the Halbach family and destroyed, preventing further testing. The defense argues this violated evidence preservation requirements.
Questions persist about the timeline of events on October 31, 2005. Witness statements about seeing Halbach’s vehicle or activity on the property vary, and phone records have been interpreted differently by prosecution and defense. The absence of forensic evidence in locations where Dassey’s confession placed key events remains a central point of contention.
The murder of Teresa Halbach resulted in convictions that have withstood multiple appeals, yet the case continues to generate legal motions, forensic re-examination, and public scrutiny over the investigation that led to those convictions.
Where to look next
- Documentary: “Making a Murderer” (Netflix)
- Documentary: “Convicting a Murderer” (Daily Wire)
- Book: “Indefensible: The Missing Truth About Steven Avery, Teresa Halbach, and Making a Murderer” by Michael Griesbach
- Podcast: “Rebutting a Murderer” (Audioboom)
