Court nixes new trial for Steven Avery

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By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected a request by “Making a Murderer” subject Steven Avery for a new trial.

Avery is serving a life sentence for the 2005 killing of photographer Teresa Halbach, a case that became the focus of a popular Netflix series whose creators raised questions about the convictions of Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey.

Avery attorney Kathleen Zellner asked the court to consider claims ranging from insufficient scientific evidence to ineffective trial counsel.

But the appellate court denied the request, ruling unanimously that the motions were insufficient to entitle Avery to a hearing and that the lower court correctly denied his request.

Avery’s earlier appeals were also denied.

Dassey was 16 when he confessed to detectives he helped his uncle rape and kill Halbach at the Avery family’s salvage yard. A judge threw out the confession in 2016, ruling it was coerced by investigators using deceptive tactics. That ruling was later overturned by a federal appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case.