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Making a Murderer's Steven Avery wins appeal on evidence that has "potential to undo the whole case"

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

From Digital Spy

Making a Murderer subject Steven Avery has won the latest motion in his appeal.

His attorney, Kathleen Zellner, shared the news on Twitter last night (February 25) by telling her followers: "Avery Update: We Won!!!!!! Back to the circuit court..."

This comes after the post-conviction lawyer revealed her latest theory around the case, based on the bone fragments found in the Manitowoc County Gravel Pit.

Zellner recently made moves to have testing done on this piece of evidence, to establish once and for all if they were human and belonging to the victim Teresa Halbach, but her motion was denied by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in early 2019.

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

According to a letter submitted by Zellner to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on February 13, "never-before disclosed ledger sheets" have now come to light that indicate the bones in question were returned to the Halbach family – something she says the defence were not aware of and that violates Avery's rights.

In response to these allegations, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office told Rolling Stone that they "cannot comment on ongoing litigation".

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

The decision to grant Avery's latest motion means that these circumstances could be argued in court and may, according to Zellner, result in a new trial.

In a statement to Fox 11, Zellner said her team were "delighted" that the appellate court granted the motion regarding their "new evidence that the State has destroyed material evidence by giving the bones back to the Halbach family".

"We believe Mr Avery will be granted a new trial for this serious violation of both Wisconsin and federal law," she added.

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

Related: Kathleen Zellner's biggest revelations about Steven Avery's case post-Making a Murderer 2

Speaking to Newsweek, Zellner explained: "The case is being remanded back to the circuit court to conduct proceedings, which can include a hearing. The circuit court can grant a new trial, or if not, back to appellate court who can reverse the conviction and/or grant a new trial. Either way, the State opposed this motion and lost. This evidence has the potential to undo the whole case, so it is a big win."

Steven Avery was convicted of the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2007, but has always maintained his innocence. Kathleen Zellner started work on the case in 2016 and laid out many of her findings and theories in Making a Murderer Part 2, which launched on Netflix in October 2018.

Zellner has wanted to make clear that the victim's family should in no way take any blame for any issues in the case.

"The Halbach family are victims of this grave miscarriage of justice," she said. "And they should not be blamed for any aspect of this case."


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