Steven avery and his nephew convicted of murder in the haunting killing of a young photographer. But were they really innocent . I didnt do it. Somebodys doing a good job against me. Did you have a vendetta against steven avery . Absolutely not. A lead investigator defends his interrogation which led to a convictions over term. This was seen by many as a false confession. I feel it was a real confession. Those officers wanted that information in the worst way. And they got it in the worst way. The prosecutor fights back with an explosive book. People are going to hear the other side of the story. And a promise from Steven Averys high powered attorney. Return to Manitowoc County. At the center of it all, steven avery. Then the investigators fought back, two sides, one truth. Who will you believe . The mystery of what happened here in the sprawling fields of rural wisconsin has captivated the country. We the jury find the defendant steven a. Avery guilty. In 2015 the Netflix Series making a murderer convinced many viewers that they both convicted of murder had been railroaded by Law Enforcement. Its a case dateline has been following for more than a decade match as their lawyers worked tirelessly to free them from prison we posed the questions aven everyones been asking. Why would steven avery do this . Thats a great question. We speak to ken krats, that steven avery made himself a murderer. Steven avery started planning this event the very first day he went to prison. Why are you sitting here today . Finally realized that someone needed to speak and bring forward the truth of what happened. So what did happen here . Our story begins with teresa ha halbach. They became fast friends in college. Both were photographers working at the same studio in green bay. She would get this smile. That was one thing i think she really loved to do is just make other people smile. The two stayed in touch after graduation as they launched their careers, but that would all change suddenly on october 31st, 2005. Kim caught a story on the local news. Teresa was messing. Investigators say the 25yearold photographer was on assignment for auto trader magazine when she disappeared. And i just kind of dropped knowing it was somebody i knew. And what do you do in that moment . I felt helpless because you want to just deny it, you want to get in touch with her. Didiotry to call her . I did try to text her but no response . No response. Wisconsin Police Quickly launched a massive search. After two days a big break. They had found teresas vehicle on the avery salvage yard. Tom, then a special agent with the wisk department of criminal investigation hustled over to this 40acre stretch of land, home to the salvage hard and auto mechanic steven avery. Had you heard his name before . Only through the media. Hed been convicted of rape in 1985 but 18 years later dna evidence exonerated him and he was freed. A wrongfully convicted man welcomed back into society with open arms and looking for justice of his own. Were you aware that he had filed a lawsuit against the local Sheriffs Department . Yes, id heard that. Avery hoped winning the 36 million lawsuit could help him get back on his feet. He had an opportunity to make something of his life, and it appeared that he was headed in that direction. Now two years after his release from prison this poster boy for Wrongful Convictions was back in the news and not in a good way. I hope she comes back so she can go back to her family. When he rived on site he learned Teresa Halbach had an appointment at the salvage yard to take photos of this van averys sister was selling. Teresa had left a message that morning. Im a photographer and just egiving you a call to let you know i can come out there today in the afternoon, and it will probably be around 2 00. Steven avery confirmed to investigators that teresa had been on the property that day and left around 2 30 p. M. Avery didnt tell them much more, but for investigators a dark tale started emerging from the physical evidence, especially when they made a gruesome discovery in the back of teresas suv. We found teresa emphasis blood in the vehicle, primarily in the cargo area. And in the front, more blood. There was blood on some of the upholstery and on the ignition switch. That test showed it was Steven Averys. You believe you can explain the blood from steven avery . Yes, absolutely. Steven avery had a cut on his righthand middle finger that was freshly scabbed over, and if you took that key and put it in that ignition switch, it just lined up perfectly with a contact pattern swipe. How did he explain that cut in. Im not sure if i remember that. I think he claimed he had cut it in the junkyard doing work on vehicles. He feared the worst and after four days of searching his team found something disturbing in a fire pit near averys trailer. What appeared to be bone fragments. Human bones. Most interesting because family members told investigators that steven avery had built a bon fire hours after teresa had been at the house that day. There was a huge bon fire, flames going as high as the edge of the roof on the garage. Does it all make sense to you . Look agate the whole picture, absolutely. And that picture came into focus when his team found another clue, ateresas key inside the bedroom. The toyota key with a little fob connected to it. This is huge. Yes, it is huge. Especially when the crime lab found averys dna on it. The evidence was stacking up against steven avery, and fast bender says that rav 4 would later tell investigators one last thing. We had tested the hood latch and found dna matching steven on that hood latch. He believed avery had some explaining to do, so nine days after teresas disappearance he and his partner brought avery in for an interview. Date hine filed a freedom of information request to obtain the video. You know the key is there because you put the key there. Thats the only way the key gets there. No. Avery was defiant and even claimed cops were framing him, planting evidence. They werent buying it and placed steven avery under arrest. I didnt do it. Somebodys doing a good job on me. Investigators were convinced they had their man. Still, they didnt know how or why teresa had been killed. Coming up, shackles, handcuffs, strange behavior. Teresas creeped out. Could something in his past have led him to murder . Why would steven avery do this . We know that hes a psychopath. We know that he has do we know that . When return to Manitowoc County continues. 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There are some days when i have my, my downs and then i have to rely on my mom to come pick me up from work. We need to be connected on a regular basis. Sometimes i get hundreds of texts from her and im like stop. I owe everything to her, shes my world. I love you mom. I love you too. vo there for you when it matters most. Unlimited on the best network now comes with apple music on us. Get a free galaxy s10e when you buy the new galaxy s10. Only on verizon. Welcome back. Steven avery had been exonerated from a wrongful rape conviction and was trying to make something out of his life. Then investigators uncovered dna and other evidence linking him to the murder of 25yearold Teresa Halbach. Despite averys claim hed been framed he was arrested and charged. Now detectives were about to interview averys nephew. The grimly details hed share would send the case into overdrive. Once again andrea kim. Reporter in january 2006 steven avery pleaded not guilty to the murder of Teresa Halbach. What do you feel people know the least about in this case . The book is about the case against steven avery that is setting forth a better representation of what the real evidence was. Better, he said, than the way the evidence was presented in making a murderer. In his book krats laid out his complete theory of the case with new details hed never shared before. For one thing krats told dateline he believed stevenaviasteven avery had set his sights on Teresa Halbach leading up to her behavior. As he got auto traders records he learned teresa had actually made five earlier visits to the salvage yard to take photos, some at Steven Averys request. He starts making calls to directly to Teresa Halbach rather than going through auto trader. And he determined the day before one of those visits avery purchased shackles and handcuffs. He answers the door that day wearing a small white towel and teresa we know is creeped out by that behavior. She tells friends and coworkers about that. Krats believes averys behavior shows a sexual obsession with teresa that led to murder. Why would steven avery do this when he was on the verge of getting this big wind fall, potentially millions of dollars . Thats a great question. We know that hes a psychopath. Do we know that . Lets say i allege that, okay. I believe that deep down. He discovered more on averys past. 18 years before teresas murder avery wrote this letter to his estranged wife from prison saying i will kill you. And a former fiancee told police he had physically abused her. I krats said he learned something even more disturbing. This 2006 Police Report says a teenage girl accusedaviary of raping her a year after his release from prison. It all came together forcrats. He believed avery had developed a deep resentment of women which had started with his Wrongful Conviction and had only grown over the years. He has no remorse for his behavior, feels incredibly entitled. But as he continued to investigate the case, krats had a problem. You still didnt know how she was killed, exactly where she was killed. Was that bothering you . Yes, but sometimes, you know, you have what you have. It was all coming together in bits and pieces. He and his team kept digging until they got a big lead. In march 2006, four months after teresas murder tom and his partner spoke with averys 16yearold nephew in a series of now highly scrutinized interviews. What was your First Impression of brenden dassie . A shy kid, somewhat introverted. But once he opened up the details he revealed would stun investigators. What else did he do to her . Raped her. Did he tell you that . Fastbender says dassie described a brutal scene. On that hollywood afternoon his uncle asked him to come over to his trailer. Dassie says they each sexually assaulted theresa in averys bedroom and avery later shot her in the garage and burning her body in the bonfire. And after speaking with dassie fastbender had his team return to the avery property once more, and they found this in his garage, a bullet fragment. And that was missed the first time around . Well, i guess i could say it was missed. Looks like a piece of dirt possibly. It was tested . It was tested, yes. Teresas dna was on that bullet and the bullet was shot from stevens rifle, the one above his bed. Do you now believe teresa was shot in that garage . Yes. One strange thing, though, when they searched the garage for blood, they never found a drop. How could you cleanup all that blood . Bleach, paint thinner, it cleans up blood. Teresas friend kim said when she heard the details about teresas final moments she was heartbroken. I remember crying and just hoping she was who she was and fought because she was a very strong person. Krats charged brenden dassie as a coconspirator in her murder. I intend to hold each of these defendants accountable for the rape, the torture and the murder of Teresa Halbach. But not so fast dassie recanted his statements. Just before averys trial the judge dismissed the rape charge against him and didnt allow any of those allegations about averys treatment of women saying they didnt prove anything about teresas murder and avery was never charged with assaulting his exfiancee or raping the teen. Juries in separate trials convicted bothaviary and dassie of murdering teresa. They were each sentenced to life in prison. You are probably the most dangerous individual to ever set forth in this courtroom. Eight years later making a murdererer would put fastbender, krats, and their entire team in the hot seat. Coming up. Did they plant evidence . Sure, they did. Was steven avery framed . Is it possible that that blood could have been planted . A lead investigator answers allegations. Did you have any kind of vendetta against steven avery or his family . Absolutely not. When return to Manitowoc County continues. Return to mani county continues thats not a bug, thats not a bug burke hit and drone. Seen it, covered it. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum this and even this. Hark, i deep clean messes like this. But i dont have to clean this, because the selfcleaning brush roll removes hair, while i clean. [announcer] shark, the vacuum that deep cleans, now cleans itself. To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best to make you everybody else. Means to fight the hardest battle, which any human being can fight and never stop. Does this sound dismal . It isnt. Its the most wonderful life on earth. In december 2015 netflix released making a murderer and inignited a bonfire of controversy over the convictions of steven avery and brenden dassie. Now many viewers believe the claim he was making all along, that he was framed by Law Enforcement. Who would want to set you up in Something Like this . So they didnt have to pay nothing out. Did they plant evidence . Sure they did. Kim is averys cousin. She says she had predicted something bad might happen to him after he was exonerated in that earlier rape case. Remember he had recently filed a lawsuit against his local Sheriffs Department for his Wrongful Conviction. I did tell him manitowoc want done with him. Why did you think they werent done with him . Something just told me they werent going to hand steven avery 6 million or any dined of money. They were just going to be watching him and look what happened. Avery ended upsetling that lawsuit for 400,000 before his trial. The county did not acknowledge any wrongdoing. He used the money to hire his defense attorneys. We knew going in it was a going to be a difficult defense. We spoke to him in early 2016. We had a very tough defense in this case because nobody wants to try and use as a defense that the police deliberately tried to plant evidence or frame somebody. Thats not it goes against society. Those people are there to help us. Theyre the police. Right. But its where we thought the evidence pointed. Averys attorneys believed the fact that officers from the county he was suing were part of the is search made for a huge conflict of interest and for a possible mischief at the crime scene. What i can say is from the evidence ive looked at i think he was innocent is innocent. Preparing for trial he learned about a vile of averys blood leftover from his overturned rape conviction which had been sitting in the Manitowoc County clerks office. Saw there was a styrofoam box that had been slit open with evidence tape. Thats really the big ahhah moment. It was. And for many viewers it was the ahhah moment in making a murderer. The attorneys theres thad someone could have poked a hole in that vial and spread averys blood. As for her car key . You believe the car key was planted. That is where we thought the evidence pointed, yes. By police. By someone. It was not, you know, in six or seven entries to the trailer. Were talking about a trailer. It didnt add up. Tom fastbender worked along the inside the local county sheriffs deputies but was employed by a different agency, the Wisconsin Department of justice. This was the first time hed responded publicly to the accusations against him and his former Law Enforcement colleagues. Did you have any kind of vendetta against steven avery or his family . Absolutely not. I didnt know steven avery, didnt know his family, never been there. Fastbender bristles at the idea the local investigators could have done anything unethical. The people that were there that i worked with from Manitowoc County were hardworking. They only wanted to do the right thing and do this investigation the right way. Is it possible that blood could have been planted . No. Everything all the evidence says no. Fastbender notes that a chemical called edta had been used to preserve averys blood in the vial and at trial tests showed no presence of edta in averys blood found in the suv. Didnt match the blood in the vehicle. Fastbenders argument since that blood found in the vehicle didnt contain the chemical, it couldnt have come from the vial, and he notes that a nurse was prepared to testify she had made that hole in the vial as part of her usual routine when she drew blood from avery. The so fact thez a little hole in the top of the vial is normal. And regarding teresas car key not found until the seventh search of averys trailer . Why was that key missed during those other searches. Because primarily where the key was located in a small bookcase that wasnt searched yet. And if it was, it was just kind of looked at. Why not do the thorough search earlier. I guess part of it is because we didnt lack a motive on steven avery. We went in there and did that first search but we had 12 more buildings and four more residences to search. So we had a lot to do. Still it it wasnt just when the key was found that has averys supporters skeptical but who found it. Men with the Manitowoc CountySheriffs Department. It turned out they had just been deposed in averys lawsuit. They were deposed that we later found out do you think, though, maybe just by them of nature in being with manitowoc, maybe they shouldnt have been in there at all just to avoid all this speculation. I think we would have done that maybe if we had the resources, but youre talking about a small rural county, you know, assisted by another smaller rural county. You need resources. Steven avery says these guys had it out for me. The whole department was angry at me. This was the perfect opportunity for them to have access to my trailer, plant the key. I never actually saw that. Never saw that from anyone in Manitowoc County. Fastbenlder says he believes a conspiracy to frame avery would have been virtually impossible to carry out. I can go on and on about planting evidence and how absurd it is with the multiple agencies we had in there. But it was that video of brenden dassie that would really put fastbender at the center of the storm. Those officers wanted that information in the worst way and they got it in the worst way. Information in the worst way and they got it in the worst way because no one gets an opinion on why you shave or how you show your skin. Openturning 50 opens theuard. Door to a lot of new things. Like now your doctor may be talking to you about screening for colon cancer. Luckily theres me, cologuard. The noninvasive test you use at home. It all starts when your Doctor Orders me. Then its as easy as get, go, gone. 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[ singing in spanish ] im dara brown with the hours top stories. Facebook is attempting to scrub all footage of the new zealand shooting that was live streamed and shared on its platform in the in the first 24 hours the company said it removed 1. 5 million videos of the attack. And nebraskaens are bracing if more historic flooding after heavy rain, snow and ice left home owners stranded. The rising waters have been blamed for at least two deaths in nebraska and nearby iowa. Now back to dateline. Welcome back to dateline extra. Im craig melvin. Investigator Tom Fassbender denied police framed steven avery for the murder of Teresa Halbach. After all his nephew admitted to helping commit the crime, a story captured on camera. But the teenager recanted his statements, and a closer look at that taped confession would put the interrogation at the heart of the controversy surrounding this case. All the renewed attention had shed light on the other defendant in the case, Brendan Dassey. The teenager had been convicted of rape and murder but to his family it never made any sense. Is brendan someone capable of rape . No, no. I dont even know he knew what that was at the time. Reporter they took him dasseys case for appeal. They saw amen tale challenged teen with a low iq. What did you think of brenld an dassey when you were finally able to meet him in person . Brendan is a simple soul. I was struck by his humanity. This is not someone i can see committing a crime like this. That the psychological power of interrogation. Reporter theyve worked to free a number of wrongfully convicted defendants and say what they learned about dasseys case astounded them. Nobody was in Brendan Dasseys corner at the moment he needed help the most. Beginning they say with this man. Give me one word to describe unbelievable, unconsciousinable. He came onboard and discovered that the attorney had made legal mistakes that caused him to be removed from the case. He has faced online vitriol from dassey supporters. Disgusting human being, appeared disgrace to the wisconsin judicial system, a man with a sickened soul. Ive seen it. In one instance working to cut a plea deal while dassey was in jail had arranged for his client to speak with investigators, but he himself didnt show up. That was cleary a mistake. This is huge, though. A 16yearold kid with a low ik with no attorney present, no parent . Its kind of like feeding someone to the wufbs in a way. Would you apologize to Brendan Dassey . Well, id apologize to him for not being at that interview. So there were mistakes made . Oh, sure, there were mistakes. There are people who disagree with that. Oh, sure. But as dasseys attorneys delved further into those stunning statements the team made, they came to believe something more disturbing, that investigators Tom Fassbender and mark weaver had coerced the teen into making a false confession. These officers took advantage of a disabled youth and got him to say what they wanted him to say. Dont lie to us now, okay . Youre hurting yourself if you lie now. Hes got severe learning disabilities, inability to respond in a narrative type answers, and theyre in precisely the areas that make him vulnerable to the kind of tactics that the Police Officers youd in this case. The attorneys say that the investigators manipulated dassey with coaxing statements like these from fassbender who was seated just off camera. Im a your friend right now. Its all right. You are doing the right thing. They should should have never have made those kind of suggestions that they wanted to comfort him, that all would be well bhch those kind of tactics when used on a kid like brendan are a recipe for false confessions. And they say the investigators manipulation of the teen escalated far beyond simple coaxing. The officers needed brendan to provide information that only the real killer would know. And they knew what they wanted him to say. They accused the investigators of planting details about the crime in dasseys mind to get the answers they wanted. For example, remember Steven Averys dna found on the car hood latch . The attorneys say investigators asked dassey leading questions to confirm that his uncle had looked under the hood of the car. Did he raise the hood or anything like that to do something in the car . Yeah. What did he do under the hood if thats what he did . I dont know what he did, but i know he went under. And dasseys attorney say in that same interview the investigators used another Crucial Detail they learned about the case from the forensics. They had received a report from the Wisconsin Crime Lab indicating for the first time how Teresa Halbach had died. She had been shot in the head. They worked extremely hard to get brendan to say that. We have the evidence, brendan. We just need you to be honest with us. They cut off her hair. What else was done to her head . That he punched her. What else . Its okay. Cut her. What else happened to her, in her head . Extremely, extremely important you tell us this. For us to believe you. Come on, brendan. What else . Thats all i can remember. All right. Im just gonna come out and ask you, who shot her in the head . He did. Why didnt you tell us that . Because i couldnt think of it. Those officers wanted that information in the worst way, and they got it in the worst way. By feeding it straight to Brendan Dassey. Even they know that thats bad police practice. Then, they discovered something at the end of that interview which was a revelation to them, something jurors in his trial never heard. Dassey speaking to his mother. I never did nothing. Did you . Huh . Not really. What do you mean, not really . They got into my head. Huh . At the first moment that brendan gets outside the influence of those interrogators, he says, nope, this is not true, they got to my head. But Tom Fassbender, the interrogator himself, sees it all very differently. Coming up this was seen by many as a false confession. I feel it was a real confession. He knew right from wrong. Brendan was involved in this. When return to Manitowoc County continues. When return t county continues do you love me . Im in the groove now do you love me . Do you love me now that i can dance . Applebees 3 course meal. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. indistthat was awful. Tering why are you so good at this . Had a coach in high school. Really helped me up my game. I had a coach. Math. Ooh. So, why dont traders have coaches . Who says they dont . Coach mcadoo you know, at td ameritrade, we offer free access to coaches and a full education curriculum just to help you improve your skills. Boom mad skills. Education to take your trading to the next level. Only with td ameritrade. So how are you enjoying your its just lovely. Ament . 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Thats designed to reduce irritation during the shave. Because we believe all men deserve a razor just for them. The best a man can get. Gillette. Welcome back. It was powerful evidence. Under Police Interrogation 16yearold Brendan Dassey revealed how he and his uncle steven avery stabbed then shot 25yearold Teresa Halbach. But years after their convictions the confession remained a flash point of controversy. Was dassey telling the truth as prosecutors believed, or was he a vulnerable minor telling detectives what he thought they wanted to hear . As dasseys defense claim . Interrogator Tom Fassbender sat with us to tackle the questions head on. For his interrogation of Brendan Dassey now seen by millions tam fassbender has come under fire in court and online. This was seen by many as a false confession. Do you see it as a false confession or a real confession . I see it as a real confession. Were you ever trying to extract a false confession from him . Absolutely not. Fassbender denies that his expressions of sympathy for dassey were manipulative. I, legitimately, was concerned for him. That wasnt staged, that wasnt strategy. Why do you think people took it the other way, the more sinister way . That you were taking advantage of him . I think thats easy to do. From its a cynical approach, so to speak, watching tv, watching movies, how cops are depicted on those movies, trying to trick people into saying stuff. Everything about the interview with brendan was soft, was comfortable. But comfortable might not be a word dasseys supporters would use, especially given his age and intelligence level. What about his iq . Because when you watch him, you can tell that he has a lower iq. I dont i dont assess iqs. But could you tell that he maybe wasnt like other boys his age . More socially probably. I dont know how to cross the iq social line, but he could think and he knew right from wrong. Is it possible that hes easily manipulated . Its possible. He sounded confused at times. Quite possibly. He didnt know what was up and down. I dont know, just watching it. I dont know about that. My thought is, he had a million things going on in his head at that time. Fassbender resists charges that he and his partner inappropriately planted ideas in dasseys head, like in that exchange about the hood latch. What did he do under the hood, if thats what he did . What did brendan say . He agreed that steven had gone under there. You used word agreed. Yeah. So you brought it up first. I believe so. Thats one of the areas that you came under fire for. Yes. That you were planting things in his mind. Yes, thats what they said. And there were instances that we did ask him specifically about things, yes. And that can happen in an interview. Can we take that as a reliable answer given it was spoonfed to him . Their side would argue no. And i would say, based on the entirety of the interview, i would say yes. And as for the other moment that has angered so many followers of the case. Im going to come out and ask you, who shot her in the head . He did. Any regrets about that . Bringing it up yourselves, about putting that in his head . Theres always things that you can improve on. There were instances because of brendans personality that, yeah, we had to talk to him about and ask more specifically certain questions. And it happens. What do you say to those people who have made you part of this big discussion about false confessions and who are yelling at their tvs because they didnt like the job that you did . Just that its easy to arm chair quarterback. Its easy to secondguess. That i thats partly why im here, to explain that there was nothing nefarious done. But even fassbender wonders if everything dassey said in the confession was true. We didnt try to manipulate brendan. We tried to get at the truth. And i dont believe that it was a false confession. Are there parts of it that he may have not done . I dont know. You know, i just dont know. In august of 2016, a federal judge weighed in with a bombshell. In response to a brief filed by dasseys attorneys, judge William Duffin ruled that Brendan Dasseys confession was involuntary. With that, the judge overturned his conviction and ordered dassey to be released from prison. What was that like for you, hearing that news . Mixed emotions. I know we did everything above board, that one magistrate rules that it isnt fine, in his opinion, which is all right. Because thats the system. Are you okay if we walks free . Im not okay if the familys not okay. I believe brendan was involved in this. That he was there and he was involved in it. The Wisconsin Attorney general also believes brendan was involved in teresas murder. He appealed the judges order for release, asking a full panel of federal judges to review the case. In september of 2017, that request was granted. The seventh circuit u. S. Court of appeals heard evidence about whether dasseys confession was coerced. Nine weeks later, the sevenjudge panel upheld the state courts finding that dasseys confession was voluntary, meaning the young man will remain in prison. Dasseys lawyers have vowed to continue the fight for his freedom. Coming up he told me to watch dateline. In the steven avery case how a 6yearold dateline led to a brand new attorney. I said thats the woman whos going to get steven out of prison. When return to Manitowoc County continues. Prison when return to Manitowoc County continues whooo want to take your next vacation to new heights . Tripadvisor now lets you book over a hundred thousand tours, attractions, and experiences in destinations around the world like new york from bus tours, to breathtaking adventures, tripadvisor makes it easy to find and book Amazing Things to do. And you can cancel most bookings up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. So you can make your next trip. Monumental read reviews check hotel prices book things to do tripadvisor named park in the u. S. Ninetysix hundred roads its americas most popular street name. But no matter what park you live on, one of 10,000 local allstate agents knows yours. Now that you know the truth, are you in good hands . [woman] with sharks duo clean, i dont just clean, i deep clean carpets and floors, so i got this. Yep, this too, and this, please. Even long hair and pet hair are no problem, but the one thing i wont have to clean is this because the sharks selfcleaning brush roll removes the hair wrap while i clean. [announcer] shark, the vacuum that deep cleans now cleans itself. Welcome back. Despite the supreme courts refusal to hear his case, Brendan Dasseys supporters had not given up hope. Neither had Steven Averys. His fight for freedom was about to be renewed, and it started with an episode of dateline on a different case featuring a highpowered defense attorney and the prosecutor who put both men behind bars said he was certain justice had been served. We wanted to ask him how he could be so sure. With the conclusion of our story, here is andrea canning. Reporter steven avery and his supporters had been hoping for good news, and they couldnt know it yet, but help was just around the corner. He was very gentle and very loving. Reporter Sandy Greenman is averys longtime friend and onetime fiancee. Convinced of his innocence, she says she searched for years to find the right attorney to take on his complicated case. During a call from prison, he told her to watch dateline. He had heard there was going to be this Ryan Ferguson case on dateline, so he told me to watch it just to see the lawyer. Reporter that program from 2011 told the story of Ryan Ferguson, a young man sitting in prison for a murder he didnt commit. Attorney Kathleen Zellner was determined to get him out. Nothing is as riveting as this. When the trials been lost, everythings been lost, its the ultimate challenge, i think. I said thats the woman thats going to get steven out of prison. Zellner specializes in Wrongful Conviction cases and says she has freed many defendants, including Ryan Ferguson. Sandy contacted her, and she joined the case not long after making a murderer came out. We caught up with her at the Correctional Institution when she paid a visit to avery in 2016. Million question. Do you think you have new evidence that could free steven avery . We do, yeah. Reporter zellner invited dateline into this war room she created outside of chicago, all dedicated to the avery case. Do we know if that was tested . Reporter and she even showed us this rav4 she bought to get a better understanding of teresas vehicle. Then in august of 2016, to much media fanfare, she filed a motion in Manitowoc County court, featuring new testing of the evidence. Were going find out one way or the other was the evidence planted. Reporter Kathleen Zellner is known as an aggressive prosecutor. Ari melber is a chief Legal Correspondent for msnbc. She is looking for new evidence to argue the entire case was done the wrong way. She is basically trying to put the state on trial. Reporter in her 45page legal motion, zellner attacks Law Enforcement, tries to poke holes in the prosecutions case, and raises new questions. She notes that teresas cell phone pinged off a cell phone tower 13 miles away later that day, suggestings maybe she left there alive. There is also indications that other people not from Law Enforcement entered the property during the investigation, raising the prospect of other potential suspects. Reporter and she has won an early round. In november 2016, a judge granted her access to some of the evidence so her experts could perform new forensic tests, including more advanced testing on averys blood from the rav4. In june 2017, zellner filed a motion requesting a new trial for avery. In a statement she told dateline we will be able to demonstrate exactly how the evidence was planted in the early part of the investigation. Avery, she insists was framed for a crime he did not commit. But in october 2017, a Wisconsin Circuit Court denied that request. Zellner petitioned the juveniles ruling to the Wisconsin Court of appeals and promised that shes just beginning to fight. As for former prosecutor ken kratz and his book, zellner dismisses kratzs claims about averys treatment of women and interaction was teresa, saying there was no proof mr. Avery was becoming obsessed with ms. Halbach and that rehashing a story about inadmissible evidence seems pointless. Zellner also notes mr. Kratz has no qualifications which would allow him to diagnosis mr. Avery as a psychopath. Mr. Avery has never been diagnosed as a psychopath. Kratz, who prosecuted both steven avery and Brendan Dassey says he is undaunted. Are you afraid of Kathleen Zellner . No. Im not involved in the case anymore. I shouldnt be afraid of anything. My involvement concluded. She could unravel your work if what shes saying has some weight to it. You dont think she has a chance . I dont. She is so confident. Why are you so confident . Because we spent 18 months putting this case together. This wasnt just thrown together. It wasnt a bunch of keystone cops. It was done very professionally, have very well. Kratz has have personal regrets. He says he is ashamed he sent sexually suggestive texts to a Domestic Violence victim two years after averys trial, a scandal which led to his resignation. While he still takes issue with making a murderer, he says he is moving on with his life. Im hoping this book will change the narrative. But with all the talk of guilty or innocence, trials or retrials, kim peterson says the person being forgotten is her friend, teresa. She is the reason why were even talking about this, and she just deserves to be remembered. I love hugs. Reporter for her memories, kim says she goes back to this grainy video diary teresa made three years before she died. It was played at averys sentencing. I love taking pictures. I love holding the camera in my hand. It gives me the chills every time i hear it, because she talked about everything she loved. Is there anything you would say to teresa right now if she could hear you . Just that youre still in my heart and ill never forget you. I just want to know when i do die, i just want people i love to know that whenever i die, that i was happy. Thats all for this edition of dateline extra. Im craig melvin. Thank you for watching. Due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. Follow lockup producers and crews as they go behind the walls of americas prisons and jails with the scenes youve never seen. Lockup raw. In jail as opposed to prison, most inmates are only accused of crimes. Youre awaiting trial at the resolution of their cases. But that doesnt everyone is on their best behavior