Steven Avery remains in prison serving a life sentence without parole for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach, whose disappearance on Halloween will reach its 21-year mark on Oct. 31, 2026.
The Wisconsin man, whose case became widely known through Netflix’s true-crime series Making a Murderer, continues to claim he is innocent as his legal team explores further ways to challenge his conviction.
A jury found Avery guilty of first-degree intentional homicide in March 2007. He was also convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His conviction remains in place after several appeals, including a decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in May 2025 to decline further review of his case.
Avery’s attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said after that decision that the next step would be to seek a review in federal court.
Halbach, a 25-year-old freelance photographer working for Auto Trader magazine, disappeared on Oct. 31, 2005. She had visited the Avery family’s auto salvage yard in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, to photograph a vehicle for the magazine. She never returned home.
“Netflix made millions of dollars from ‘Making a Murderer’ but left out mountains of evidenceThey made Steven Avery look like a victim…I’m sick & tired of media deception”@RealCandaceO exposes the lies of a multi-billion dollar Hollywood powerhouse in #ConvictingAMurderer pic.twitter.com/a6tOCk0zSj
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) September 9, 2023The case drew worldwide attention because Avery had previously spent 18 years in prison for a sexual assault he did not commit. DNA evidence led to his release in 2003, just two years before Halbach disappeared.
His later arrest and conviction became the focus of Making a Murderer, which raised questions about the investigation and the fairness of the trial. Avery’s defense argued that evidence had been planted to frame him, while prosecutors presented physical evidence they said connected him to Halbach’s death.
After Halbach went missing, investigators found her Toyota RAV4 in the Avery family’s salvage yard. The vehicle was hidden under branches, and its battery had been disconnected.
Investigators also found remains of Halbach’s camera and cellphone in a burn barrel. Other evidence presented in the case included Avery’s blood inside Halbach’s vehicle, her car key in his trailer, a bullet fragment with her DNA in his garage and human bone fragments found in and around a burn pit on the property.
Prosecutors argued that the evidence supported Avery’s guilt. The defense disputed the case against him and argued that law enforcement had framed him because of his earlier wrongful-conviction lawsuit.
At the time of his arrest, Avery was seeking $36 million in damages from Manitowoc County and county officials over his earlier wrongful conviction. The civil case was later settled for $400,000, per The List.
Avery’s earlier case began in 1985, when he was convicted of crimes connected to a sexual assault. He maintained his innocence for years. In 2003, DNA testing linked the assault to another man, Gregory Allen, and Avery was released after serving 18 years of a 32-year sentence.
His second conviction came less than two years after his release. In March 2007, a jury found him guilty of Halbach’s murder, and he received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Avery’s nephew, Brendan Dassey, was also convicted in connection with Halbach’s death. Dassey was 16 when he gave a statement to investigators saying he had helped his uncle assault and kill Halbach. He later withdrew that confession, and his attorneys questioned the interview methods used by investigators.
Dassey’s case also became a major part of Making a Murderer. A federal judge overturned his conviction in 2016, but further court action later left the conviction in place. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case in 2018.
Netflix released Making a Murderer in December 2015. Filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi followed Avery’s case and examined questions raised by his defense team about the investigation, the evidence and the legal process.
The series brought international attention to Avery’s claim that he had been wrongly convicted a second time. It also led viewers to debate whether the documentary presented the case fairly. The legal arguments shown in the series did not overturn Avery’s conviction.
Over the years, Avery’s lawyers have filed several motions seeking post-conviction relief. The requests have been rejected by the circuit court and the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. His legal team has argued that new evidence and questions about other possible suspects should lead to an evidentiary hearing, where a judge could hear testimony and review the claims.
In January 2025, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld the denial of Avery’s latest request for post-conviction relief. The judges found that his filing did not provide enough support for an evidentiary hearing. The court also said Wisconsin law requires evidence linking a proposed third-party suspect directly to the crime, along with motive and opportunity.
Avery’s team then asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review the decision. In May 2025, the court declined to take up the case, leaving the conviction unchanged.
Zellner described the outcome as expected and said Avery would continue trying to prove his innocence. She also said his legal team remained committed to seeking his freedom.
A federal court petition was identified as the next possible step, which would take Avery’s legal challenge beyond the state court system for the first time. A federal review, however, would not automatically mean a new trial or release from prison.
Avery remains incarcerated at Fox Lake Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. His case continues to attract public interest more than a decade after the Netflix series first aired.
As the 21st anniversary of Halbach’s disappearance approaches, the central legal fact remains unchanged: Avery was convicted in 2007, his appeals have so far failed and he continues to serve life in prison without parole while maintaining his innocence.
Related: Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and 22-year-old son; he now awaits an April 2027 retrial South Carolina’s top court ordered
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