'Making a Murderer' Subject Steven Avery to Get New Day in Court

Steven Avery, whose conviction was profiled in the documentary series "Making a Murderer," has won a court appeal that will give him a new day in court.

His attorney Kathleen Zellner said investigators broke state law by mishandling evidence in the 2005 killing of photographer Teresa Halbach. Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were sentenced to life in prison for the murder in Wisconsin's Manitowoc County.

Zellner has launched a high-profile appeal of Avery's conviction. She had filed a motion with the state appellate court to test bones found in a gravel pit outside the Avery's property. If those bones are Hallbach's, the discovery would undermine the prosecution's assertion that the woman was killed and burned on Avery land.

The lawyer also claims a 2011 report states bone fragments were returned to Hallbach's family without defense attorneys being notified. That violates her client's right to due process under the law, she said.

Her arguments will heard by a circuit court. "We won!!!!!" Zellner posted on Twitter Monday. 

Both defendants have long maintained their innocence and their case drew national attention when Netflix aired the first season of "Making a Murderer," which questioned their convictions. Critics said the series was biased in its presentations of facts. The filmmakers defended their work and advocated for overturning the convictions of Avery and his nephew.

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