Making a Murderer

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Making a Murderer
File:Making a Murderer titlecard.jpg
Genre Documentary
Written by Laura Ricciardi
Moira Demos
Directed by Laura Ricciardi
Moira Demos
Theme music composer Gustavo Santaolalla
Composer(s) Kevin Kiner
Jared Forman
Dean Kiner
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 10
Production
Executive producer(s) Laura Ricciardi
Moira Demos
Lisa Nishimura
Adam Del Deo
Production location(s) Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Cinematography Moira Demos
Iris Ng
Editor(s) Moira Demos
Mary Manhardt
Running time 47–66 minutes
Production company(s) Netflix
Synthesis Films
Distributor Netflix
Release
Original network Netflix
Picture format Digital (HDTV)
Original release December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
External links
Netflix

Making a Murderer is an American web television series that first streamed on Netflix on December 18, 2015.[1] The ten-part documentary, written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, explores the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in prison for the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen, before being exonerated in 2003. In 2005, he was arrested in connection with the murder of Teresa Halbach, a local photographer, and convicted in 2007.[2] The series also covers the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, who was also charged in the murder.

The series was filmed over the course of ten years, with the creators moving back and forth from New York City to Wisconsin during filming.[2] To promote the series, Netflix released the first episode concurrently on YouTube and on Netflix, which it had not done for any other original programming.[3]

The series was favorably compared to the HBO series The Jinx and the podcast Serial.[4][5][6] Making a Murderer generated considerable controversy, both in Manitowoc County, where the documentary is set,[7] and nationwide. A petition to the White House to pardon Avery garnered more than 500,000 signatures. In response, President Barack Obama stated he had no authority to act in a state case.[8]

Subject matter

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Main article: Steven Avery

Making a Murderer details the life of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man whose family owned an auto salvage yard in Manitowoc County. In 1985, Avery was arrested and convicted of the sexual assault of Penny Beerntsen, despite having an alibi. After serving 18 years in prison, Avery was exonerated with the aid of the Innocence Project, when the DNA in the case was matched to another man guilty of crimes in the area. After Avery was released from prison in 2003, he filed a $36 million civil lawsuit against Manitowoc County and several county officials associated with his first arrest. Soon after filing the lawsuit, he was accused of the murder of Teresa Halbach, a photographer who was seen on the Avery family property to photograph a minivan for sale.

Making a Murderer explores issues and procedures in the Manitowoc County sheriff's department that led to Avery's original conviction. It suggests the county officials had a conflict of interest in participating in the investigation of Halbach's murder. Brendan Dassey, Avery's nephew, was also accused and convicted as an accomplice in the murder. The series depicts his trial as well.

In other media

The story of the initial crime for which Avery was charged and imprisoned was featured on the March 26, 2013, edition of the radio program Radiolab, titled "Are You Sure?" in the segment "Reasonable Doubt". The show featured an interview with the victim, Penny Beerntsen.[9]

Persons featured

Avery family

  • Steven Avery – Defendant, convicted of Halbach's killing
  • Allan Avery – Steven Avery's father
  • Dolores Avery – Steven Avery's mother
  • Chuck Avery – Steven Avery's brother
  • Brendan Dassey – Defendant, Avery's nephew, convicted of assisting Avery in Halbach's murder
  • Bobby Dassey – Brendan Dassey's brother
  • Barb Dassey – Steven Avery's sister, mother of Brendan and Bobby Dassey
  • Scott Tadych – married Barb Dassey (before the trials), stepfather of her children
  • Kayla Avery – Brendan's cousin
  • Kim Ducat – Steven's cousin
  • Carla Chase - Steven's niece, Brendan's cousin

Victims

  • Steven Avery – Wrongfully convicted of sexual assault, for which he served an 18-year sentence
  • Penny Beerntsen – Victim of sexual assault and attempted murder
  • Teresa Halbach – Murder victim in 2005

Defense lawyers

  • Dean Strang – for Steven Avery
  • Jerome Buting – for Steven Avery
  • Robert Henak – post-conviction attorney for Steven Avery
  • Stephen Glenn – Civil Rights lawyer for Steven Avery
  • Len Kachinsky – Brendan Dassey's first appointed lawyer
  • Mark Fremgen – for Brendan Dassey, appointed lawyer (second lawyer)
  • Ray Edelstein – for Brendan Dassey, appointed lawyer (second lawyer)
  • Steven Drizin – post-conviction attorney for Brendan Dassey
  • Robert Dvorak – post-conviction attorney for Brendan Dassey
  • Laura Nirider – post-conviction attorney for Brendan Dassey

Prosecution and judges

  • Denis Vogel – Manitowoc County District Attorney, prosecuted Avery's 1985 sexual assault case
  • Ken Kratz – Special prosecutor, district attorney of Calumet County, Wisconsin, prosecuted Halbach murder case
  • Patrick Willis – Manitowoc County Circuit Court Judge, presided over Steven Avery's trial
  • Norm Gahn – Special prosecutor, assistant district attorney of Milwaukee County
  • Jerome Fox – Manitowoc County Circuit Court Judge, presided over Brendan Dassey's trial

Law enforcement

  • Tom Kocourek – Manitowoc County Sheriff (1979–2001)
  • Kenneth Petersen – Manitowoc County Sheriff (2001–07)
  • Gene Kusche – Manitowoc County Chief Deputy Sheriff at time of Avery's 1985 trial
  • James Lenk – Lieutenant, Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department
  • Andrew Colborn – Sergeant, Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department
  • Judy Dvorak – Deputy, Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department
  • Tom Fassbender – Investigator, Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, lead investigator in Halbach murder trial
  • Mark Wiegert – Sergeant, Calumet County Sheriff's Department

Production

The series was written and directed by filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. They met as graduate students in Columbia University's film program.[4] The two learned about Avery after reading a 2005 article in The New York Times about his 2003 exoneration and 2005 arrest for murder.[4] Both thought that his case could be an interesting subject for a documentary.

Before meeting with Netflix, Demos and Ricciardi met with executives at PBS and HBO, but neither network was interested in the project.[4] Netflix originally planned an eight-episode first season, but later expanded its order to ten.[4]

The show's graphics and main title sequence were completed by Santa Monica-based design studio Elastic.[10]

Reception

Critical response

The series alternately received praise and criticism from critics. Some praised its comprehensive nature,[6] and the series has an approval rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's critical consensus describes Making a Murderer as "a spellbinding slow burn that effectively utilizes the documentary format to tell a twisty mystery."[11] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[12] Lenika Cruz, writing for The Atlantic, commended the series for its "sense of total immersion".[1] Mike Hale, for The New York Times, described it as giving an: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

"almost Dickensian account of the tragedy of the Averys. The uniformly stoic family members shift allegiances over the years, while Mr. Avery’s parents, as movingly bewildered and terrified as any fictional creations, steadfastly believe in their son’s innocence, even as their long battle takes down their business and any sense they may have had of belonging to a community."[2]

Some critics, however, have described Making a Murderer as one-sided[13] and emotionally manipulative.[14] There are also claims that key evidence from the trial was omitted from the documentary.[15]

Making a Murderer has been compared to The Jinx, a miniseries on HBO, and Serial, a podcast. All three series investigate criminal cases: The Jinx detailed murders allegedly committed by Robert Durst.[16] The first season of Serial dealt with the murder of Hae Min Lee.[17]

Public reaction

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Celebrities, including Alec Baldwin, Ricky Gervais, and Mandy Moore, praised the series on social media.[18][19]

A petition to the White House that requested pardons for Avery and Dassey garnered more than 128,000 signatures. The White House stated that, as the convictions were made in state court, the President had no authority to pardon either defendant.[8] Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin said he would not consider a pardon.[20]

Dassey is being represented by the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth at Northwestern University.[21] As of January 9, 2016, Avery is being represented by Kathleen Zellner, a noted Chicago-area attorney, and Tricia Bushnell, legal director of the Midwest Innocence Project.[22][23]

Local response

In an interview with the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, Sheriff Robert Hermann criticized the series, calling it "skewed" and not objective. Hermann conceded that he had not watched the series.[24]

Some local reporters who initially covered the trial wondered why information was left out of the series and questioned the documentary's focus on Avery over Halbach.[25][26][27] Other local reporters expressed how the case still weighed on them nearly a decade after the trial.[26]

Response by prosecution

Ken Kratz, the former Calumet County district attorney who prosecuted Avery, said that he had not been able to give his side of the story[28] and that in 2013 Demos and Ricciardi denied him an opportunity for an interview,[7] an accusation the documentary makers have stated is false.[29] Kratz has also said that the Netflix documentary left out key pieces of evidence against Steven Avery.[30] Kratz pointed out that Avery used a fake name in his call to AutoTrader magazine to trick Halbach into coming to his home, and that there were three calls from Avery that were placed to Halbach's cell phone on October 31. He also pointed out that various pieces of evidence were found near the trailer owned by Avery, including Halbach's phone, camera and PDA. In addition to the electronics, bones “intertwined” with steel belts, a tooth belonging to Halbach, and a rivet from Halbach’s jeans were all found in the firepit on Avery’s property. In addition to the items and DNA belonging to Halbach, Avery’s DNA was found on the victim’s hood latch, and a ballistics report indicated that the bullet found in the garage was fired by Avery’s rifle. Kratz also alleged that, while in prison for the rape conviction,[30] Avery told another inmate of his intent to build a "torture chamber" so he could rape, torture and kill young women when he was released.[31]

The filmmakers have stated that they gave prosecutors an opportunity to answer questions,[4] but that Kratz refused invitations to be interviewed for the series.[32] In response to allegations made by Kratz, Demos and Ricciardi stated they believed the documentary was fair and included the most significant evidence of the six-week trial, including much of the state's key evidence.[33] Demos stated that Kratz "is going on television and lodging accusations against us. Much of what he says, simply his facts are not true. It's not about 'do we include it, do we not include it', they simply are not facts."[34] The filmmakers maintain that their documentary was thorough, accurate, and fair.[32]

Response by defense

Dean Strang, one of Avery's attorneys for the Halbach trial, stated the filmmakers did "a good editorial job" with the documentary. Strang noted that the trial went for six weeks and featured approximately 200 to 240 hours of evidence. Strang took the position that showing the full trial would be too long for audiences and that only the most significant points on both sides could be shown.[35]

Response by ex-fiancée

Jodi Stachowski, a former fiancée of Avery's, appeared in the documentary defending him. However, during an interview on HLN's Nancy Grace in January 2016, she said that she believes Avery killed Halbach, she said, "Yes, I do, because he threatened to kill me and my family and a friend of mine." Stachowski also said that Avery forced her to lie to Netflix producers, threatening that if she did otherwise she would "pay for it" and that at one time he had said, "All bitches owe [him] because the one that sent [him] to prison the first time and that [he] could do whatever [he] wanted."[36]

Response by victims and their families

The Halbach family stated they were "saddened to learn that individuals and corporations continue to create entertainment and to seek profit from their loss."[28] Kay Giordana, Halbach's aunt, described the documentary as "terrible" and "unfortunate" and "not even close to what really happened. Everybody has their own side of a story. That is the Avery family's side of the story. I wouldn't expect it to be different. They think he is innocent. I am not surprised. I am surprised that someone would put that together in that way and have it [be] one-sided." She added that Avery is "100 percent guilty. No doubt about it." Halbach's cousin-in-law, Jeremy Fournier, described the documentary as "very one-sided" and feels that viewers are "only getting one side of the story."[37]

Beerntsen, whose testimony resulted in the unjust conviction of Avery for rape, declined to be interviewed for Making a Murderer because she believed that the filmmakers had already decided that Avery was innocent of the murder charge and were not amenable to evidence.[13] Though deeply remorseful for mistakenly identifying Avery as her rapist, she is not convinced that he did not commit the murder of Halbach.[38]

Episodes

Making a Murderer premiered on December 18, 2015. The first season has 10 episodes, released simultaneously.

No. Title Length (minutes) Original release date
1 "Eighteen Years Lost" 64:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
2 "Turning the Tables" 57:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
3 "Plight of the Accused" 63:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
4 "Indefensible" 66:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
5 "The Last Person to See Teresa Alive" 59:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
6 "Testing the Evidence" 59:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
7 "Framing Defense" 63:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
8 "The Great Burden" 47:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
9 "Lack of Humility" 66:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
10 "Fighting for Their Lives" 63:00 December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)

References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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