Making A Murderer: Steven Avery

By gwenbishop

  • Steven Avery is stopped for reckless driving, speeding and being a minor with alcohol

  • Steven breaks into Northern Frontier Bar in the Town of Gibson; steals two cases of beer, two sandwiches, a toolbox and $14 in quarters

  • Steven is convicted of two felony burglary charges for breaking into the Northern Frontier Bar and sentenced to two years in prison

  • Steven is charged with cruelty to animals for allegedly pouring gasoline on a cat and throwing it into a bonfire. Steven pleads no contest.

  • Steven Avery runs his cousin, Sandy Morris, off the road, points an unloaded rifle at her and yells at her to stop spreading rumors about him. Steven is charged with multiple felonies including attempted kidnapping

  • While Steven is out on bail awaiting trial for the Sandy Morris incident, a prominent woman named Penny Beerntsen is sexually assaulted and nearly killed while running on a local beach

  • Steven was picked out of a lineup that Penny Beerntsen chose, and was arrested

  • Despite 16 alibi witnesses who can account for Steven’s whereabouts every minute of the day of the assault, the jury decided Steven was guilty of attempted first-degree homicide, first-degree sexual assault and false imprisonment

  • Steven is sentenced by Manitowoc County Court to 32 years in prison

  • Steven’s wife Lori files for divorce and petitions the court to terminate Steven’s visitation with his children

  • Steven’s lawyers file a post-conviction Motion and request an Evidentiary Hearing

  • Gregory Allen is convicted of a violent sexual assault in Green Bay and sentenced to 60 years in prison

  • DNA science is only advanced enough to divide the population into groups according to genetic markers, and Steven and Penny happen to have the same alleles so at this point DNA cannot exclude Steven as Penny Beerntsen’s attacker

  • The Wisconsin Court of Appeals denies Steven’s motion and upholds Judge Hazlewood's decision

  • The Wisconsin Supreme Court denies Steven’s Petition for Review Again

  • DNA results come in and match the man whom the city police were watching 18 years earlier, Gregory Allen. Steven is the first person in Wisconsin’s history to be exonerated through DNA evidence

  • Steven is released from prison after 18 years

  • Steven files a $36 million civil rights lawsuit against Manitowoc County

  • A 25-year-old photographer named Teresa Halbach has an appointment with Steven to take pictures of his sister Barb’s van for Auto Trader Magazine

  • Teresa’s mother, Karen Halbach, reports Teresa missing

  • The Manitowoc conduct a search of Steven Avery's trailer and found nothing

  • Steven is arrested on the charge in Possession of a Firearm for rifles that are seized during the searches

  • Authorities found Teresa's car key in Steven's bedroom, burned remains in Steven's burn pit and Steven's blood in Teresa's car

  • Teresa Halbach’s family files a wrongful death suit against Steven which could prevent him from using the money from his settlement to hire lawyers

  • Mark Wiegert and Tom Fassbender pick up Steven’s 16-year-old learning-disabled nephew, Brendan Dassey, from school and begin interrogating him

  • After interrogating Brendan multiple times without a parent or lawyer present, investigators announce they have a confession. Brendan is arrested

  • Brendan was charged with intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, sexual assault, kidnapping, and false imprisonment

  • Brendan refused the plea deal offer and takes a polygraph test

  • Period: to

    Stevens trial took place during this time, they tested lots of blood stains from Teresa's car and her belongings. They dropped all the charges but three

  • Period: to

    Brendan's 9-day Trial took time during this place and he and Steven ended up being charged of different crimes

  • Judge Willis sentences Steven to life in prison without the possibility of parole

  • Judge Fox sentences Brendan to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 2048

  • Judge Willis denies Steven’s motion for a new trial

  • Judge Fox denies Brendan’s motion for a new trial

  • Period: to

    The Wisconsin Supreme Court continues to deny Stevens and Brendans request for a new trial