On Tuesday, 55-year-old Steven Avery, the murderer in Making a Murderer (according to the courts, not his lawyer) was denied his request for a new trial, the Associated Press reports. Avery was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murdering 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach in the first degree in 2005. Avery maintains his innocence to this day.
Avery’s attorney Kathleen Zellner had been hoping to present new evidence to the court if another trial had been granted. “We have additional test result and witness affidavits,” Zellner said in a statement. “The scientific testing is not completed, we remain optimistic that Mr. Avery’s conviction will be vacated.”
Judge Angela Sutkiewicz of Sheboygan County said that her ruling was based only on the evidence presented so far, which does not, in her opinion, warrant a fresh trial.
Last year, Avery’s nephew Brendan Dassy, who was convicted in 2007 of assisting Avery in the horrid crime and also received a life sentence, had his conviction overturned.
