Kathleen Zellner Addresses Steven Avery Rumor Mill
While detractors of Kathleen Zellner, the attorney for Making a Murderer subject Steven Avery, have had plenty to say about her on social media, the noted post-conviction lawyer says she’s been busy trying to free her client.
She also scoffed at specific online threads that suggest she’s had a falling out with filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi over her appearance in the second season of Making a Murderer. Zellner, who has exonerated more than a dozen men, and won them millions in civil damages, suffered a summer “meltdown,” according to members of the “Steven Avery Is Guilty” (SAIG) Reddit group.
“Thanks to an unsubstantiated rumor from a well-connected SAIG source we now know the event that triggered Kathleen’s rage – Laura and Moira telling her she WILL NOT be the star of Making a Murderer season 2!” a Redditor posted on September 12.
The group has not revealed the source, nor are they expected to, as doxing is frowned upon among in the Reddit community. The meltdown, Redditors claim, was Zellner’s $10,000 challenge — her vow to pay that amount to anyone who could prove Avery killed Teresa Halbach. Anonymous Redditors were not eligible, however, unless they revealed their identity and provided hard proof.
As of this report, no one has met the challenge’s qualifications.
“The rumor mill is amazingly inaccurate on Avery,” the attorney told the Inquisitr. “I have not had any ‘falling out’ with anyone on the case.”
While she has found time to make court appearances on other notable cases, Zellner has spent time in Wisconsin as of late, including days on the Avery property. And although movement has been slow on the 1,200-page motion she filed in June, she says there has been significant advancements in her investigation. New witnesses have since come forward with information Zellner claims will help prove Avery did not kill Teresa Halbach in 2005. An amended brief is pending.
“We are continuing to investigate every lead and we are doing additional scientific testing,” she said.
As for Making a Murderer, Netflix is expected to roll out Season 2 in 2018. Between Zellner’s motion, which alludes to Halbach’s ex-boyfriend as her killer, and advancements in Brendan Dassey’s appellate case, an immediate followup to the widely popular first 10 episodes hasn’t been quick. But, viewers should expect to see some of the same cast. Zellner, who has been working with filmmakers since 2016, is slated to be featured. Laura Nirider, Steven Drizin, and Robert Dvorak, Dassey’s counsel since 2007, will be also featured, along with his first lawyer, Len Kachinsky.
Now a judge, Kachinsky was interviewed for the docu-series earlier this year.
How many ways did the system fail Steven Avery? pic.twitter.com/gQhX3j05Gj
— Making A Murderer (@MakingAMurderer) May 25, 2016
Former Calumet County district attorney Ken Kratz’s appearance could also be highlighted this time around. He didn’t directly participate in the first season. Footage featuring Kratz was pieced together from news and courtroom footage. He was approached to be a part of Making a Murderer, but declined after filmmakers would not allow him to screen The State of Wisconsin vs. Steven Avery, a short film that served as the basis of the Netflix series.
[Featured Image by Morry Gash/AP Images]
