Steven Avery

Bio:
Steven Avery (born July 9, 1962) is an American convict from Wisconsin. When Steven was 18-years-old, he pleaded guilty to burglary and received a 10-month prison sentence. Two years later, Steven and another man were convicted of animal cruelty after burning Steven’s cat alive. In 1985, Steven was charged with a trio of crimes: assaulting his cousin, a Manitowoc County sheriff’s deputy; possessing a firearm as a felon; and for the rape of Penny Beernsten. He served six years for the assault and illegal possession charges, and 18 years for the assault, sexual assault and attempted rape. The Wisconsin Innocence Project took on Steven’s case and got him exonerated of the rape charge, leading to his release from prison. Steven filed a $36 million federal lawsuit. On Oct. 31, 2005, Teresa Halbach was scheduled to meet Steven to photograph a minivan for Auto Trader Magazine. She went missing and after her charred remains were found near Steven’s home in Nov. 2005, he was charged with her murder. In 2007, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In 2011, a states appeals court denied his request for a new trial.

Best Known For:
Steven Avery is best known as an American convict and as the subject of the Netflix documentary series, Making A Murderer.

Personal Life:
In 2013, the public radio program Radiolab aired an episode entitled, “Are You Sure?” which featured Steven’s story from Penney Beernsten’s perspective. In 2015, Steven was the subject of the Netflix series, Making A Murder, which investigated the Teresa Halbach murder case. The investigation alluded to evidence tampering, prosecutorial misconduct and witness coercion. This has led for a call of Steven’s pardon or for his case to be reopened.