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Wis. man seeking new trial in photographer's death

MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) — A Manitowoc County man convicted of killing a young photographer four years ago hoped to convince a judge Monday he deserves a new trial.

Steven A. Avery believes it was unfair for a judge to deny him the right to identify others who may have had the motive and opportunity to kill Teresa Halbach.

Avery's attorneys contend he was denied a fair trial in 2007 because Judge Patrick Willis refused to allow evidence that several other people were possible suspects in Halbach's murder. The same judge is presiding over the motion hearing.

A jury convicted Avery of first-degree intentional homicide and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The Mishicot man was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. He had spent 18 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit before DNA tests exonerated him.

His nephew, Brendan Dassey, was later convicted of sexually assaulting Halbach and helping to kill her. Dassey, now 19, is also serving a life term and will be eligible for parole in 39 years.

Halbach vanished around Halloween 2005 after going to photograph a van Avery was selling for his sister at the family's auto salvage yard in Manitowoc County. Halbach's charred remains were later found in a burn pit on the property.

DNA evidence played a major role in Avery's conviction. A DNA analyst at the state crime lab who had helped clear Avery of the sexual assault charges in 2003 testified that she found Halbach's DNA on a bullet discovered in Avery's garage that was linked to a rifle Avery had hanging on his wall. Also, Halbach's vehicle key was found in Avery's bedroom with trace amounts of his DNA on it.

The defense argued that someone else killed Halbach and police then framed Avery by planting his blood in her vehicle and putting her key in his house. The jury was not convinced.

Defense attorneys could have put forth a stronger case but were hamstrung by a pretrial ruling that limited the evidence they could produce, according to court documents they filed in June in support of a new trial.

"He was prevented from advancing a key claim in defending himself against the state's charges: that another individual or individuals were responsible for Ms. Halbach's death," the filing said.

At least four people had the motive and opportunity to kill Halbach and frame Avery: the then-boyfriend of Avery's sister, Avery's two brothers and his nephew, the documents said.

The then-boyfriend and nephew may have accused Avery to cover up their own guilt, the documents said. Avery's brothers may have been angry that he was joining their family salvage business, knocking their shares down from one-half to one-third, the filing said.

The judge's pretrial ruling had been based on precedent set in a 1984 case. In those proceedings, a homicide suspect wanted to call witnesses he said had the motive and opportunity to commit the crime. A judge denied the request, in part to prevent an irrelevant parade of witnesses that could distract from the evidence at hand.

But that ruling shouldn't have applied to Avery because he had only a handful of suspects to challenge, each with a realistic motive, his attorneys argued.

"The trial court's ruling deprived Mr. Avery of his constitutional right to present a defense," the filing said.