History of Steven Avery in Timeline

Steven Avery is a Wisconsin man who was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder in 1985. After DNA evidence exonerated him in 2003, he was released after serving 18 years of a 32-year sentence. However, two years later, Avery was charged with murder.

July 9, 1962: Birth of Steven Avery

Steven Allan Avery was born on July 9, 1962 in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

1962: Early Life and Family Background

Steven Avery was born in 1962 and raised in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. His family owned and operated a salvage yard in Gibson, Wisconsin.

1965: Family Business

Since 1965, Avery's family has operated a salvage yard on their property in Gibson, Wisconsin.

March 1981: Burglary Conviction

At 18, in March 1981, Avery was convicted of burglary and served 10 months in jail.

July 24, 1982: Marriage to Lori Mathiesen

Steven Avery married Lori Mathiesen, a single mother, on July 24, 1982. They had four children together.

1982: Animal Cruelty Conviction

Avery was convicted of animal cruelty in 1982 after two men admitted to throwing his cat into a fire at his suggestion.

August 1983: Release from Jail

Avery was released from jail in August 1983 after serving time for animal cruelty.

1983: Gregory Allen's Prior Offense

Gregory Allen, who was later proven to be Beerntsen's attacker, had committed a similar assault at the same beach in 1983.

January 1985: Endangering Safety Conviction

Avery was convicted of endangering safety and firearm possession in January 1985 after running his cousin's car off the road and threatening her with a gun.

July 1985: Sexual Assault and Attempted Murder Charges and Conviction

In July 1985, Avery was arrested and charged with the rape and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. He was convicted despite having alibis.

1985: Police Surveillance of Allen

During the time of Beerntsen's assault in 1985, Gregory Allen was under police surveillance due to his history of violence against women, yet he was never considered a suspect.

1985: Wrongful Conviction

In 1985, Avery was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder, despite having alibis.

1985: Steven Avery Wrongfully Convicted of Sexual Assault

In 1985, Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting Penny Beerntsen. This event is central to his later story, as it raises questions about the conduct of law enforcement in Manitowoc County and their potential role in his subsequent arrest for Teresa Halbach's murder.

1985: Avery's Education

One of Avery's lawyers in 1985 stated that school records showed Avery had a low IQ and struggled in school.

1987: First Appeal Denied

Avery's first appeal for the 1985 sexual assault and attempted murder conviction was denied in 1987.

1995: Missed Lead in Beerntsen Case

Around 1995, a Brown County detective informed Manitowoc County Jail that an inmate confessed to a crime Avery was convicted of, but Manitowoc County deputies ignored it.

1996: Second Appeal Denied

Avery's second appeal for the 1985 conviction was denied in 1996.

1996: Discovery of Unsealed Evidence Box

During Avery's appeals process in the Beerntsen case in 1996, his attorneys discovered that an evidence box containing a vial of his blood had been unsealed. They suspected evidence tampering, suggesting the blood found in Halbach's car could have been planted from this vial.

2002: DNA Evidence Exonerates Avery

In 2002, DNA testing, unavailable during his original trial, proved Avery innocent in the Beerntsen case, revealing Gregory Allen as the actual perpetrator.

September 11, 2003: Release and Family Estrangement

On September 11, 2003, Avery was released from prison. However, he was divorced and estranged from his family.

2003: Exoneration

After serving 18 years of a 32-year sentence, Avery was exonerated in 2003 by DNA evidence, proving his innocence in the 1985 case.

October 2005: Passage of Criminal Justice Reform Bill

The "Avery Bill," later renamed the "Criminal Justice Reform Bill," was passed in October 2005 to address the flaws in Wisconsin's justice system highlighted by Avery's case.

October 31, 2005: Disappearance of Teresa Halbach

Photographer Teresa Halbach disappeared on October 31, 2005, after a scheduled meeting with Steven Avery at his salvage yard.

November 11, 2005: Arrest and Charges in the Halbach Case

On November 11, 2005, Steven Avery was arrested and charged with the murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, and mutilation of Teresa Halbach. He was already facing a weapons violation charge. Avery maintained his innocence, claiming he was being framed due to his pending civil case against Manitowoc County.

November 2005: Arrest for Murder of Teresa Halbach

While his civil suit was pending, Avery was arrested in November 2005 for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach.

February 2006: Settlement of Civil Lawsuit

Avery's civil lawsuit against Manitowoc County for his wrongful conviction was settled for $400,000 in February 2006, after he was charged with Halbach's murder.

March 2006: Brendan Dassey Charged

In March 2006, Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, was charged as an accessory to Halbach's murder after confessing to helping Avery. Dassey later recanted his confession, claiming coercion, but was convicted in a separate trial.

May 2006: Avery's Case: A Unique Situation for the Innocence Project

By May 2006, Avery became the only individual among the Innocence Project's 174 exonerees to face charges for a violent crime after being released from prison.

January 2007: Kidnapping and Sexual Assault Charges Dropped

In the pretrial hearings held in January 2007, the charges of kidnapping and sexual assault against Steven Avery were dropped.

March 2007: Avery Found Guilty of Murder

In March 2007, Steven Avery's trial took place in Calumet County, resulting in a guilty verdict for first-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm. He was acquitted of the corpse-mutilation charge but received a life sentence without parole for the murder conviction.

2007: Focus of "Making a Murderer"

Avery's 2007 murder trial and the surrounding events became the focus of the 2015 Netflix documentary series "Making a Murderer."

2007: Conviction and Sentencing

Steven Avery was convicted in 2007 for the murder of Teresa Halbach and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

August 2011: Appeal for a New Trial Denied

Avery's petition for a new trial was denied by a state appeals court in August 2011.

2012: Prison Transfer

In 2012, Avery was transferred to the Waupun Correctional Institution in Waupun after spending five years at the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility in Boscobel.

March 26, 2013: Radiolab Explores Avery's Story and Reasonable Doubt

On March 26, 2013, the public radio program Radiolab aired an episode titled "Are You Sure?" which included a segment focusing on Steven Avery's case. The segment, titled "Reasonable Doubt," examined the story from the perspective of Penny Beerntsen, the woman Avery was wrongly convicted of assaulting in 1985.

2013: Wisconsin Supreme Court Denies Review

The Wisconsin Supreme Court denied a motion to review the lower court's ruling on Avery's appeal in 2013.

December 2015: Dassey's Attorneys File Habeas Corpus

Brendan Dassey's attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus in December 2015, seeking his release or a retrial based on claims of coerced confession and inadequate legal representation.

December 18, 2015: "Making a Murderer" Premieres on Netflix

On December 18, 2015, Netflix released "Making a Murderer," a ten-part documentary series exploring the investigations and trials of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. The series examines allegations of misconduct by both law enforcement and the prosecution, including evidence tampering and witness coercion. "Making a Murderer" sparked widespread discussion and debate, leading to numerous interviews and articles featuring those involved in the case.

December 20, 2015: White House Petition Calls for Avery's Pardon

A petition was created on a White House petitioning site on December 20, 2015, demanding an investigation into the Avery case and a pardon for both Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. The petition also called for the punishment of the officials involved in the case, alleging that they had unjustly convicted the two men.

2015: Release of "Making a Murderer"

"Making a Murderer," a Netflix documentary series about Steven Avery's case, was released in 2015, sparking widespread debate about the case.

January 7, 2016: Petition Launched for Federal Investigation into Manitowoc and Calumet County Sheriff's Offices

On January 7, 2016, following the popularity of the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer," a second petition was submitted to the White House. This petition called for a federal investigation into the Sheriff's Offices of Manitowoc County and Calumet County, Wisconsin, due to their handling of the Steven Avery case.

January 2016: New Appeal Filed

Attorney Kathleen Zellner and the Midwest Innocence Project filed a new appeal in January 2016, alleging due process violations and improper evidence gathering during Avery's case.

January 2016: Juror Revelations and Controversy

Following the release of "Making a Murderer," People magazine reported in January 2016 that two jurors in Avery's trial had connections to Manitowoc County, raising concerns about potential bias. One juror was the father of a sheriff's deputy, while another juror's wife worked as a county clerk.

January 2016: White House Responds to Avery Pardon Petition

In January 2016, the White House responded to the petition requesting pardons for Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. The response clarified that since both men were state prisoners, the President did not have the authority to pardon them. A pardon would need to be issued by the appropriate authorities at the state level. Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin at the time, declined to pardon Avery.

August 2016: Dassey's Conviction Overturned

A federal magistrate judge overturned Brendan Dassey's conviction in August 2016, ruling that his confession had been coerced.

August 2016: Overturning of Dassey's Conviction

In August 2016, a federal judge overturned Brendan Dassey's conviction, ruling that his confession was coerced.

August 26, 2016: Motion for Post-Conviction Scientific Testing Filed

Kathleen Zellner filed a motion on August 26, 2016, requesting post-conviction scientific testing in Avery's case.

November 23, 2016: Order for Scientific Testing Granted

Judge Angela Sutkiewicz approved the stipulation and order for scientific testing in Avery's case on November 23, 2016.

2016: Jodi Stachowski Recants Support for Steven Avery

In a 2016 interview with Nancy Grace on HLN, Jodi Stachowski, Steven Avery's ex-fiancée, publicly recanted her support for him, which was featured in the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer." Stachowski claimed that she believes Avery is guilty and that her previous support was an act. She further alleged that Avery had threatened her and her family in the past, and that he wrote threatening letters to her from prison.

June 7, 2017: Post-Conviction Motion Filed

Zellner filed a substantial post-conviction motion on June 7, 2017, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel, Brady violations, and presented new evidence challenging the prosecution's case against Avery. She requested a new trial based on claims of planted evidence and false testimony.

June 2017: Seventh Circuit Upholds Dassey's Overturned Conviction

In June 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's decision to overturn Brendan Dassey's conviction, leaving the state to decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court, drop the charges, or retry him.

June 2017: Prosecution's Appeal

Wisconsin prosecutors appealed the June 2017 decision to overturn Dassey's conviction.

October 3, 2017: Avery's Motion for a New Trial Denied

The court denied Avery's motion for a new trial on October 3, 2017, without holding an evidentiary hearing.

February 20, 2018: Petition to the Supreme Court

Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, also convicted in the Halbach case, had his conviction overturned in 2016. Prosecutors appealed, and in February 2018, Dassey's legal team filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.

June 25, 2018: Certiorari Denied

On June 25, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Brendan Dassey.

October 19, 2018: Second Season of "Making a Murderer" Released

On October 19, 2018, Netflix released the second season of the documentary series "Making a Murderer." This season continued to explore the legal battles of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, delving further into the complexities and controversies surrounding their case.

December 2018: Netflix and "Making a Murderer" Producers Sued for Defamation

In December 2018, Netflix and the producers of "Making a Murderer" faced a defamation lawsuit from Andrew Colborn, a former Manitowoc County police officer who had testified against Steven Avery in the murder trial. Colborn alleged that the documentary series had intentionally portrayed him as a corrupt officer who planted evidence by omitting and distorting crucial information. However, the lawsuit was later dismissed.

2018: New Evidence and Theories Emerge

In 2018, Kathleen Zellner, Steven Avery's lawyer, presented a new theory based on bone fragments found in a Manitowoc County gravel pit. She filed a motion to test these bones, believed to be human remains, for Teresa Halbach's DNA. Zellner argued that new technology, used to identify victims in the California wildfires, could be used in this case. However, the bones had been returned to Halbach's family, creating a significant obstacle in the case.

February 26, 2019: Wisconsin Court of Appeals Grants Avery's Petition

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals granted Avery's petition on February 26, 2019, sending his case back to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing on his motion for a new trial.

July 28, 2021: Court of Appeals Upholds Denial of Avery's Appeal

On July 28, 2021, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed the Circuit Court's decision to deny Steven Avery's appeal, which was based on a lengthy brief filed by his attorney, Kathleen Zellner. The court cited numerous misrepresentations within the brief as justification for their decision.

2021: Dassey Denied Parole

Dassey's most recent parole request, filed in 2021, was denied.

August 16, 2022: Zellner Files Third Motion for Post-Conviction Relief

On August 16, 2022, Kathleen Zellner filed a 149-page motion, her third attempt at post-conviction relief for Steven Avery. In this motion, Zellner claims to have new witnesses who can provide evidence directly linking Bobby Dassey to Teresa Halbach's murder. She also alleges that the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence from Avery during the trial, a violation of his constitutional rights.

2022: Transfer to Medium-Security Prison

Steven Avery was transferred to Fox Lake Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison, in 2022.

2023: The Daily Wire Releases "Convicting a Murderer"

In 2023, The Daily Wire, a conservative media company, released "Convicting a Murderer," a documentary series produced and hosted by Candace Owens. The series presents a counter-narrative to the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer," criticizing its handling of the Steven Avery case.