 Cat doused with gasoline, thrown in fire
Manitowoc, WI (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 2, 1982
County: Manitowoc
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Abuser/Suspect: Steven Avery
Case Updates: 5 update(s) available |
|
On September 2, 2005, Steven Avery poured gas and oil on a cat and threw it into a bonfire to watch it burn and die. He was charged with cruelty to animals. Due to being on probation, a two year prison term that had previously been stayed, was remanded due to the new animal cruelty charge.
Case UpdatesA timeline in the Steven Avery murder case:
2005:
Oct. 31 - Teresa Halbach, 25, of St. John in Calumet County, a photographer for Auto Trader Magazine, goes to Avery's Auto Salvage near Mishicot to photograph a minivan for sale by Steven Avery's sister.
Nov. 3 - Halbach's family reports her missing, and authorities launch an investigation.
Nov. 5 - Halbach's cousins find her vehicle under brush and auto parts in the Avery salvage yard.
Nov. 8 - Avery, then 43, tells reporters he fears authorities are trying to frame for Halbach's murder because he sued Manitowoc County officials for $36 million for wrongful conviction. Avery was freed from prison in 2003 after DNA evidence cleared him of a 1985 rape for which he served 18 years.
Nov. 9 - Avery is arrested and, based on past convictions for burglary and other crimes, charged with possessing firearms as a felon. Authorities say they found two guns in his trailer home.
Nov. 15 - Steven Avery is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and mutilating a corpse. He is ordered held on $500,000 bail.
2006:
Feb. 14 - Authorities announce Avery has settled his lawsuit against Manitowoc County officials for $400,000.
Feb. 15 - The Halbach family files a wrongful-death suit against Avery.
March 2 - Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey, then 16, is charged in adult court with being a party to first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and first-degree sexual assault. Prosecutors base the charges on a confession Dassey allegedly made to police.
March 24 - The Halbachs add Dassey to their wrongful-death suit.
March 31 - Avery tells The Associated Press he thinks investigators coerced Dassey into a confession because Dassey is not very smart.
Sept. 25 - A judge says Avery's past crimes cannot be used as evidence when he goes on trial. Court records and police say Avery's criminal history includes burglary, animal abuse and the attempted abduction of a Mishicot woman in 1984.
2007:
Jan. 29 - A judge dismisses sexual assault and kidnapping charges against Avery because Dassey may not testify at his trial.
Jan. 30 - A judge says defense attorneys can tell jurors that Avery was wrongfully convicted of rape and may use as evidence a vial of his blood found unsecured in the Manitowoc County courthouse. Defense attorneys say discovery of the vial supports their claim that Avery was framed.
Feb. 12 - Avery's trial begins with opening statements, and the prosecution calls its first witnesses.
March 12 - After the prosecution and defense rest, the judge dismisses a false-imprisonment charge, saying he didn't think the jury had enough evidence to find Avery guilty. He refuses to dismiss the remaining charges of murder, mutilating a corpse and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
March 15 - Following closing arguments by both sides, the jury deliberates about 4� hours before retiring for the night.
March 16 - The judge dismisses a male juror because of a family emergency and replaces him with a female alternate, who had also been sequestered. The judge orders the jury to start deliberations anew.
March 18 - After deliberating for nearly 22 hours over three days, jurors convict Avery of the charges of first-degree intentional homicide and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Avery is acquitted of the charge of mutilating a corpse. | Source: Gazette Xtra - March 18, 2007
Update posted on Mar 19, 2007 - 4:59PM |
A judge has rebuffed prosecutors� attempts to introduce evidence of Steven Avery�s past crimes at his trial.
Manitowoc County Circuit Judge Patrick Willis, who is presiding over the case of the 44-year-old Avery in the death of Teresa Halbach, denied all nine �other acts� motions that had been filed by Calumet County Dist. Atty. Ken Kratz, the special prosecutor in the case.
Willis dated the order Monday, and it was posted online with the case file Wednesday.
His order was sealed, as were Kratz�s motions and the replies by Dean Strang and Jerome Buting, Avery�s attorneys.
Avery�s criminal history, according to court files and previous comments from police, included burglary to a business in Manitowoc County, animal abuse (throwing a cat into a bonfire) and the attempted abduction of a rural Mishicot woman in 1984.
He was charged with endangering safety by conduct regardless of life in that incident, when he forced the woman off the road at gunpoint, and backed off only when he saw her infant daughter in a car seat.
He served 5� years in prison on that conviction.
That sentence was part of a 35-year prison sentence Avery received for a 1985 rape conviction. He served 18 years in prison before the rape conviction was overturned through the use of DNA evidence.
Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, 16, are charged with abducting Halbach on Oct. 31, 2005, when she went to the Avery Salvage Yard near Mishicot to photograph a van he was selling.
They are charged with sexually assaulting and killing her, and burning her body.
Avery is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 5 before Willis, while Dassey is scheduled for an April 16 trial before Manitowoc County Circuit Judge Jerome Fox.
Avery remains in the Calumet County Jail on a $750,000 cash bond, while Dassey is being held in the Sheboygan County Jail on a $250,000 cash bond. | Source: Appleton Post-Crescent - Sept 27, 2006
Update posted on Sep 27, 2006 - 9:17PM |
A Wisconsin man who was released after serving 18 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit is now accused of murder. The Innocence Project, a criminal defense group that uses DNA evidence to overturn convictions, helped win Steven Avery's release from prison in 2003.
"He became the poster boy for wrongful convictions and what can we do in our justice system to make sure there are no future wrongful convictions," said State Rep. Mark Gundrum, a Republican.
Avery sued the state for $36 million. That suit has not yet been settled.
Earlier this month, police found the smoldering bones and blood of 25-year-old Teresa Halbach on Avery's land in rural Wisconsin. Halbach, who worked for an auto trader newspaper, had taken photographs of a vehicle on Avery's auto salvage yard on Oct. 31. After a few days, her family reported her missing. Her car was soon found hidden under some branches and debris in the salvage yard. Forensic testing found her blood and Avery's in different parts of the car. Police also found her car key hidden in Avery's bedroom along with leg irons and handcuffs.
Avery now faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Avery insists he is being framed. "I want people out there to know I didn't do it," he said. "It's hard enough going to prison for what you didn't do � . Now you've got to do it all over again." He says he and Halbach met for five minutes the afternoon of Oct. 31, she photographed a maroon minivan, he paid her, and she left.
Before his 1985 rape conviction, Avery had a history of run-ins with the law. He served five years' probation after being convicted on burglary charges, and in 1982, he was charged with animal cruelty after allegedly pouring gas on a cat and throwing it into a bonfire. The results of that case were unknown.
The judge in the 1985 rape case said Avery "has a real potential for violence."
Nonetheless, the Innocence Project pursued an appeal.
"The cases are picked based on the likelihood of determining truth in the case," said criminal defense lawyer Keith Belzer, who works with the Innocence Project. "It's not their position to determine whether someone is a good person or not, but to determine if they should be in prison or not."
The group argued that the hair used to prove Avery was the rapist was not actually his. DNA evidence supported this claim and Avery, the father of five, was set free.
"We have to realize that he has not been convicted yet," Belzer said of the current charges against Avery. "We have to keep in mind that DNA has exonerated 163 people in the last (16) years. Of those 163 prior to the Avery arrest, there is only one that we are aware of that is charged with a serious crime."
Many people, including Halbach's brother Mike Halbach, are clamoring for a conviction.
"All the evidence is leading to him," Halbach said. "I don't want people to forget my sister. I don't want her to get lost in all this."
The state of Wisconsin was so convinced of Avery's innocence that it adopted an Avery bill. One provision requires that police interrogations be taped. In this case, the tape might be used to convict Avery. | Source: ABC News - Nov 30. 2005
Update posted on Nov 30, 2005 - 11:23PM |
Steven Avery was charged Tuesday with killing a 25-year-old photographer on Halloween and mutilating her corpse � possibly over a series of days � to conceal the crime.
Supporters of Teresa Halbach and Steven Avery packed the small courtroom here Tuesday as the focus of the investigation into Halbach's disappearance and suspected killing moved to the courts.
Avery made a brief appearance on charges of first-degree intentional homicide and mutilation of a corpse. Manitowoc County Judge Patrick Willis set a $500,000 cash bond � half the $1 million cash Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz requested, but considerably more than the $50,000 bond that Avery's attorney, Erik Loy, said would be "reasonable."
Willis scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for 1 p.m. Dec. 6, although attorneys will have a conference call with the judge next week to decide who will represent Avery on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon that Kratz filed last week.
Another of Avery's attorneys, Craig Johnson of the Milwaukee public defender's office, said a "glitch" in state law makes Avery eligible for a public defender on the homicide charge, but not on the weapons charge.
"We hope and expect we will be able to work that out," he told reporters after the hearing.
And Johnson, in the first public statements from Avery's defense team, reminded the media that the case against Avery is unproven so far.
Twenty years ago, when Avery was convicted of sexual assault and served 18 years in prison before being found not guilty by DNA, Johnson said he assumes police and prosecutors then were convinced of Avery's guilt.
"They were wrong," he said. "Steven Avery is proof of the tragic fallibility of our criminal justice system."
Teresa's brother, Mike Halbach, who has been the spokesman for the family since his sister disappeared Oct. 31, said the family is pleased to see progress in the case.
"It's good to know things are moving along," he said. "A court of law will decide.
In the meantime, he said, "We are not going to express any anger toward anyone. That's not who we are."
Security was tight as about 80 people, including the media and members of the Halbach and Avery families, crowded into the courtroom. Those attending had to pass through a metal detector and at least eight uniformed officers besides some in plain clothes, who were in the courtroom.
Kratz asked for the high bond, citing the gravity of the allegations, potential penalties of life plus 23 years in prison, the degree of violence exhibited in the alleged crime, Avery's record and his character.
For past convictions, Kratz cited a 1982 animal cruelty charge, 1980 and 1981 burglary convictions and a 1986 charge of endangering safety by conduct regardless of life in the attempted abduction at gunpoint of a Manitowoc County woman.
Evidence in this case, he said, also has provided a "series of matches implicating" Avery through DNA.
"They are strong indicators for a substantial cash bond," he told Willis.
Loy, however, said Avery had been a suspect in Halbach's disappearance for a week.
"He didn't go anywhere," he told the judge. "He has substantial ties to the community."
He asked for a lower bond, "so Mr. Avery and his family might have some chance" of posting the amount.
The criminal complaint filed by Kratz just hours before the court hearing basically recounts information that already has been released in the investigation of Halbach's disappearance.
Halbach's sport utility vehicle was found without license plates and concealed by tree branches at the Avery Salvage Yard on Nov. 5.
Blood from Avery and Halbach was found inside Halbach's vehicle, including in the cargo area and on the ignition. Avery denied ever being in the vehicle.
Investigators also found the key to Halbach's vehicle hidden in Avery's bedroom, and also have reported finding blood in other locations in the salvage yard and in his home. Investigators also have seized handcuffs and leg irons from the home.
The criminal complaint quotes Leslie Eisenberg, a forensic anthropologist, as saying "bone fragments (are) the obvious result of mutilation of a corpse."
Eisenberg said "that almost every bone in the body or body area is present, and has been recovered from the scene."
The State Crime Lab continues to analyze the bone fragments and human teeth found in the salvage yard, but has not yet completed DNA testing to confirm they are Halbach's.
Although positive identification of the remains has not been made, Sherry Culhane, a DNA analyst with the crime lab, said the remains are, "consistent with the female DNA profile developed from the human blood stain in Teresa Halbach's vehicle, as well as the (soda) can" located in the vehicle.
Avery was arrested Nov. 9 on a charge of being a felon possessing a firearm after investigators found a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle and a .50 caliber powder muzzleloader in his bedroom while they were investigating Halbach's disappearance.
Kratz was appointed special prosecutor and Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel headed the investigation to avoid any conflict of interest by Manitowoc County, which was named in a $36 million federal lawsuit Avery filed in connection with his 1985 wrongful conviction.
Avery has been held in the Calumet County Jail since his arrest last week. | Source: Green Bay Press Gazette -
Update posted on Nov 16, 2005 - 4:22PM |
Teresa Halbach's family was drawing strength from their faith and community after the announcement that she likely was murdered and incinerated last week at a Manitowoc County auto salvage yard. "It hurts � it breaks your heart," Teresa's brother, Mike Halbach, said at an impromptu news conference Thursday afternoon outside his parents' home in northern Calumet County, about 90 minutes after police announced they believe teeth and bone fragments found in a salvage yard west of here were Teresa's. Strength is coming, Halbach said, from "our belief in God, our belief that he was there 100 percent of the time. We know God was with Teresa her whole life and Teresa is with God now. "We have long after-lives," he said. "We will see Teresa again."
His comments came after Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel said investigators have found significant evidence at the Avery Salvage Yard that leads them to conclude "someone attempted to dispose (of a body) through incendiary means." That burning effort, the sheriff said, "was not completely successful." He said tests have shown fragments of bones found were that of an adult female, and that teeth found were human.
Those findings followed the finding of "a significant amount of blood in Teresa Halbach's vehicle and on the Avery property and in buildings on the Avery property," Pagel said.
He said DNA tests that are expected to confirm the evidence came from Halbach should provide a positive identification, "hopefully very soon."
Pagel said a "significant amount" of blood was found in Halbach's sport utility vehicle, which was found Saturday in the Avery Salvage Yard. He also said a key used to start Halbach's vehicle was found in Steven Avery's bedroom.
Avery, 43, who served 18 years in prison for a sexual assault before being freed by DNA evidence two years ago, remains in the Calumet County Jail in Chilton on a charge of being a felon possessing a firearm.
Avery was arrested on that charge Wednesday, and is scheduled to make an initial appearance at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Manitowoc County Circuit Court. The criminal complaint said police found two guns, a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle and a .50-caliber black powder muzzleloader, in his bedroom, and 11 spent .22-caliber shell casings in Avery's garage.
Teresa Halbach had an appointment to photograph a car Steven Avery was selling the afternoon of Oct. 31, the last time the St. John woman was seen, police said. Seven other members of Avery's family were ordered to submit DNA samples, but Pagel said those samples can be used to eliminate as well as identify suspects. He said the FBI now has been called in to assist Calumet County officers and state Division of Criminal Investigation agents who have been working on the case for the past week.
Thursday, 60 troopers from the Wisconsin State Patrol also rejoined the case, and Pagel said they would be conducting another search of the Avery property. He declined to say if officers investigating Halbach's disappearance have uncovered evidence of other suspected crimes at the salvage yard. Pagel also declined to comment on whether Avery had given any information about the Halbach case when he was interviewed after his arrest Wednesday.
One of Avery's brothers, Chuck Avery, said his brother is innocent. "If they found anything out there, it's a big setup," he said. "It was all planted."
Steve Glynn, a Milwaukee attorney representing Steven Avery, would not comment on Thursday's developments. Calumet County Dist. Atty. Ken Kratz, who has been appointed special prosecutor in the Manitowoc County case, said no one has been charged in Halbach's abduction or homicide.
Kratz said when a positive identification is made, charges will be brought "in this horrific act.
"We remain open to any number of suspects in this case as certain evidence leads to individuals," he said. "Everybody remains a person of interest."
Pagel did not specify the flammable substances used in the crime, but said "items were used to facilitate the fire." Pagel said bone fragments found outside Steven Avery's home included "numerous pieces of bone and (various) degrees of size." Pagel and Kratz said evidence still is being collected at the salvage yard. "We're not going to jeopardize this investigation," Kratz said. "We aren't going to try this case in the media."
Pagel said Avery was informed of his constitutional rights before being interviewed by investigators at the jail Wednesday night, and said the interview was recorded.
An affidavit filed in support of a search warrant to seize a truck and Steven Avery's personal vehicle last weekend said it appeared someone tried to camouflage Halbach's sport utility vehicle. "During a visual observation of the vehicle, (it was) noted that there were tree branches covering the vehicle and also vehicle parts placed alongside of the vehicle which looked as though someone had attempted to conceal the vehicle," said the affidavit. | Source: Manitowoc News
Update posted on Nov 13, 2005 - 9:30PM |
Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Back to Top References
|
