Steven Avery and his cousin Brendan Dassey have spent the last 15 years claiming their innocence for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach. Both men were convicted for killing the photographer on Halloween night, but their cases have been under intense scrutiny following the release of the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer which claimed that Wisconsin authorities framed Avery and Dassey.
The documentary peaked the interest of Shawn Rech, who decided to do a little digging and found that the series distorted the facts and didn't tell the entire story. He began working on his own documentary, titled Convicting a Murderer and has been spending the past 20 months trying to uncover the truth about what happened back in 2005.
During his investigation, Rech received a copy of a confession from another Wisconsin inmate who claimed responsibility for killing Halbach. The identity of the inmate has not been released because Wisconsin authorities have not viewed the alleged confession.
"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," Rech told Newsweek. "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."
Avery's lawyer, Kathleen Zellner confirmed that she received a copy of the handwritten confession, but cautioned that it has not been corroborated.
We received the handwritten confession on Saturday. It is worthless unless it is corroborated. #MakingAMurderer2#WorkingOnIt#NotsoFast
Photo: Wisconsin Dept of Corrections