Steven Avery Update: Wrongful Conviction Group Questions If Bone Fragments Are Really Teresa Halbach’s
The Steven Avery case continues to produce twists and turns as supporters and crime sleuths dig deeper into the evidence associated with the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach. The newest information to surface is that bone fragments found on Avery’s property may not actually be Halbach’s, at least according to a wrongful conviction advocacy group.
Global News reports that “Stop Wrongful Convictions” campaigner Lynne Blanchard wrote on the organization’s website that people are just assuming the bone fragments found in Avery’s firepit matched Halbach.
Bombshell new evidence could lead to #MakingAMurderer Steven Avery's freedom https://t.co/8fnkgzhE1g pic.twitter.com/Mm5z391tVm
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) March 11, 2016
“Obviously it appears to be very incriminating, but what is going on with this evidence? Why weren’t protocols followed? No coroner, forensic anthropologist, arson investigator or photographer was called to the scene when the evidence was discovered. They had all of these high paid experts at their disposal and didn’t call on them until after the evidence had been shoveled up and taken to the sheriff’s office.”
Blanchard also pointed out that there is no way tissue could have survived in Avery’s fire pit where the charred bone fragments were found, which, according to Blanchard, should deem the evidence used against Avery inconclusive.
“How is it even possible for tissue to survive a fire that disintegrated 60% of the bone mass? The teeth which are commonly used to identify a body because they outlast bone didn’t even survive the fire.”
Blanche also reiterated that the “chain of command” wasn’t followed when authorities gathered the bone fragments, meaning that the mandated protocol that should be followed when evidence is collected in a crime scene was allegedly ignored in the Avery case.
“They brought in the state officials right away to ensure that everything would be properly handled. Who dropped the ball? It is very suspicious given everything else that happened in this case. Since the scene wasn’t documented, there is no proof that any bones were ever on the Avery property……We are to simply accept the word of the state witnesses who claimed to see the bones.”
A Reddit blogger who goes by the screenname Amberlea1879 agrees with Blanchard. After spending numerous exhaustive hours pouring over Avery’s case files and online documents, the blogger stated that the FBI never confirmed whether the bone fragments were actually Halbach’s. The blogger forwarded the information to Avery’s wrongful conviction attorney Kathleen Zellner.
Yet other evidence found on Avery’s property include the remains of a Motorola V3 Razr cellphone, the same type of phone that Halbach owned. Additionally, the lens cover to a Canon Powershot A310 was found on the property, the same type of camera Halbach used to take photographs of vehicles for Auto Trader magazine.
For now, Avery still remains behind bars. He’s serving a life sentence after a 2007 murder conviction. Zellner continues to gather evidence and information on Steven Avery’s behalf, but she’s yet to file an appeal.
Avery, the victim of a 1985 wrongful conviction, spent 18 years in prison for sexual assault until DNA evidence cleared him in 2003. Upon release from prison, Avery filed a $36 million lawsuit against Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Most Steven Avery supporters contend there’s no way a man who spent over a decade in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, coupled with an upcoming multi-million dollar lawsuit, would risk his freedom by committing murder.
[Photo via Netflix]
