Is Steven Avery Guilty? Where the Case Stands Now
Updated September 28, 2026
Steven Avery’s second conviction, for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach, still stands. The Wisconsin Supreme Court declined further review of his case in May 2025, leaving that conviction in place, and his attorney Kathleen Zellner says a federal habeas corpus petition is next. The forensic questions Season 2 raised about blood, bones, and DNA never overturned the verdict.
Steven Avery gained worldwide attention after the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer debuted in December 2015. What made his story extraordinary wasn’t just the murder conviction — it was that he’d already spent 18 years in prison for a different crime he didn’t commit, only to be convicted of a second one he says he also didn’t do: the murder of Teresa Halbach. Season 2, released in 2018, put a team of forensic experts to work re-examining the blood, bones, and DNA evidence that put him away. Years later, the legal fight those experts started is still grinding through the courts, and it’s worth understanding both where the forensic arguments stood and where the case stands now.
How DNA Evidence Exonerated Steven Avery After 18 Years Behind Bars
On July 29, 1985, a woman named Penny Beerntsen was sexually assaulted and nearly killed while jogging along the Lake Michigan shoreline near Two Rivers, Wisconsin. After Beerntsen gave police a description of her attacker, they directed suspicion toward Steven Avery. She identified him in a lineup, and he was convicted of attempted murder, first-degree sexual assault, and false imprisonment.
After multiple failed appeals and Avery’s continued claims of innocence, the Wisconsin Innocence Project petitioned, over the state’s objection, to run more advanced DNA testing on the evidence. On September 10, 2003, the results proved Avery was telling the truth. A search of state and national DNA databases identified Gregory Allen as the actual perpetrator.
Avery was released on September 11, 2003, having served 18 years of a 32-year sentence for a crime he didn’t commit.
Steven Avery: Arrested for the Murder of Teresa Halbach
On October 31, 2005, Teresa Halbach had an appointment with Steven Avery at his auto salvage yard to photograph a car he was selling. Avery called Auto Trader to arrange for Halbach to photograph a vehicle at the salvage yard. Court records show Halbach was last seen alive on the Avery property.
Several pieces of physical evidence connected Avery to Halbach’s murder:
- Halbach’s RAV4 was found on the Avery property, with bloodstains inside that matched Avery’s DNA.
- The key to Halbach’s car was found in Avery’s trailer.
- Charred bone fragments in a burn pit near Avery’s home were identified as Halbach’s.
- A bullet fragment recovered from Avery’s garage was found to contain Halbach’s DNA.
Separately, Avery’s nephew Brendan Dassey confessed to detectives that he’d helped his uncle rape and kill Halbach. Dassey’s confession came out of his own case, not the evidence presented at Avery’s trial.
Avery was arrested on a firearms charge in November 2005 after two guns were found in his home, then charged days later with first-degree murder and mutilating a corpse. On March 18, 2007, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to life without parole.
Timeline of Steven Avery’s Arrests and Convictions
The Forensic Science Behind the Case for Avery’s Innocence
Forensic scientists examine physical evidence left at crime scenes to help identify suspects and reconstruct what happened before, during, and after a crime. In Avery’s case, forensic evidence worked against him at trial in 2007, then became the centerpiece of his defense on appeal.
Forensic science was what proved Avery’s innocence in the Beerntsen assault back in 2003. It’s also the foundation of the case Kathleen Zellner, Avery’s post-conviction attorney, has built to challenge the Halbach conviction. Zellner specializes in overturning wrongful convictions and has a long track record of overturned wrongful convictions over her career. If any of these forensic specialties interest you as a career, our bachelor’s in forensic science page breaks down the degree paths.
Forensic Serology: Blood Evidence in Avery’s Case
In Season 1, Avery’s original defense team argued blood evidence in Halbach’s RAV4 had been planted by investigators, but they never called an expert witness to back that theory up at trial.
Forensic serology is the study of bodily fluids, including blood, saliva, semen, and urine, found at a crime scene and used to identify suspects and reconstruct the sequence of events. In Season 2, defense forensic serologist Stuart James offered his own reconstruction of the blood evidence, arguing Halbach was beaten rather than shot in the head. The state’s trial theory placed the shooting in Avery’s garage, with Halbach’s body moved to the RAV4’s cargo area afterward. James’s analysis, presented by the defense, questioned whether the blood spatter pattern in the vehicle was consistent with that sequence of events.
Zellner’s later theory shifted: rather than planted blood, she argues whoever killed Halbach planted Avery’s own blood in the car, drawn from a sink where Avery had cut his thumb and left blood behind.
Forensic Anthropology
A forensic anthropologist identifies human remains that are decomposed, burned, or otherwise unrecognizable. Avery’s defense argued Halbach’s bones had been moved to the burn pit on his property from elsewhere. The state’s forensic anthropologist testified most of the bones were found in that burn site; defense witnesses countered that major bones, including the pelvis, were missing, and that bones turned up in additional locations away from the burn pit, including a nearby quarry.
Zellner’s team later argued the bones found in the quarry carried the same cut marks as those from the burn pit, tying the locations together, and that a fire expert concluded the bones couldn’t have originally been burned at Avery’s property.
If you want to work with human remains to help determine cause of death and identity, learn more about how to become a forensic anthropologist.
Forensic Science Technician
A forensic science technician analyzes and documents physical evidence, from fingerprints to fibers to ballistics. Zellner’s team ran reenactment tests on three pieces of forensic evidence used against Avery at trial, and concluded each one didn’t hold up:
- The DNA swabbed from Halbach’s hood latch would have required opening it roughly 90 times to deposit that much of Avery’s DNA.
- In a defense test, Avery deposited roughly 10 times less DNA on a duplicate key than the amount found on the actual key recovered from his bedroom, suggesting the evidence was planted.
- A bullet fragment recovered from Avery’s garage and found to contain Halbach’s DNA showed no particles that a defense expert considered consistent with bone.
If documenting and testing evidence like this sounds interesting, consider a career as a forensic science technician.
Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychologists apply psychological expertise in legal settings, including assessments involving competency, criminal responsibility, risk, and other questions relevant to courts. In the Avery case, Brendan Dassey’s age and cognitive limitations became central issues in litigation over whether his confession to detectives was voluntary. Wisconsin courts found he had been properly informed of his rights and described his IQ as low average to borderline. His confession was ultimately upheld on appeal.
Avery underwent a defense-sponsored brain-based test in Season 2 that its proponent claimed could assess whether he recognized details of the crime. If studying how suspects think and behave interests you, read more about a career in forensic psychology. Forensic psychologists also provide counseling to victims and offenders, testify in court, and evaluate whether officers are fit for duty.
Where the Case Stands Now
As of May 2025, Steven Avery’s state court options have narrowed sharply. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals rejected all three issues raised in his third appeal that January, including a motion to admit evidence that a third party may have killed Halbach, which the court called speculative. The Wisconsin Supreme Court then declined further review of the case on May 21, 2025, leaving that Court of Appeals ruling in place. Zellner has publicly said the defense intends to pursue a federal habeas corpus petition next, though federal habeas review is a separate and much narrower process than a state appeal. Avery remains incarcerated, serving a life sentence.
None of the forensic arguments above have overturned the 2007 verdict. Whether they eventually do is now a question for the federal courts, not the Wisconsin ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Steven Avery do it?
A Wisconsin jury convicted Avery in 2007 of the first-degree murder of Teresa Halbach, and that conviction still stands after the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined further review in 2025. Avery maintains his innocence, and his attorney continues to challenge the evidence, but no court has overturned the verdict.
Is Steven Avery guilty?
Legally, his 2007 conviction stands. The Wisconsin Supreme Court declined further review of the case in May 2025, letting the Court of Appeals’ ruling stand, though his defense team has raised serious questions about specific pieces of forensic evidence used against him at trial.
Was Steven Avery found guilty the second time?
Yes. His first conviction, for a 1985 assault, was overturned by DNA evidence in 2003. His second conviction, for Teresa Halbach’s 2005 murder, came in 2007 and remains in place.
What evidence linked Steven Avery to Teresa Halbach’s murder?
Prosecutors pointed to Halbach’s RAV4 being found on Avery’s property with his DNA inside it, her car key found in his trailer, charred bone fragments in a burn pit near his home, and a bullet fragment from Avery’s garage containing Halbach’s DNA. Avery’s defense has since challenged each of these points on forensic grounds. (Brendan Dassey’s confession implicating himself and Avery came from a separate proceeding and wasn’t part of the evidence presented at Avery’s own trial.)
Where is Steven Avery now?
Avery is incarcerated in the Wisconsin prison system, serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole. His attorney has indicated the next step is a federal habeas corpus petition, following the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s May 2025 decision declining further review of his case.
Key Takeaways
- The conviction stands. The Wisconsin Supreme Court declined further review of Avery’s case in May 2025.
- Forensic evidence cuts both ways. It freed Avery in 2003 and now underpins his team’s case against his second conviction.
- The fight isn’t over, but the venue has changed. A federal habeas petition is a narrower legal process than a state appeal.
- Several forensic specialties shaped this case: serology, anthropology, lab technician work, and psychology all played a role.
None of this makes the case simple. If the lab side of criminal justice work interests you, the forensic science specialties above, serology, anthropology, technician work, and psychology, each have their own training path and their own role to play when a case like this gets a second look.