Lawyer Thinks New DNA Analysis Will Absolve Avery

Steven Avery's lawyer is confident his fate is not yet sealed. A leading expert is willing to use a new form of DNA analysis on human bones found in the Manitowoc County-owned gravel pit next to Avery's Wisconsin property, which "will prove [Teresa Halbach's] murder and mutilation occurred" there and "bones were planted in Mr. Avery's burn pit to frame him," Kathleen Zellner said in a series of tweets Monday, adding a motion "to remand the case for this testing to take place" had been filed in appellate court, with a response expected "within a few days." Zellner, who will file a 22,000-page appellate brief on Dec. 20, said "there would be no reason not to allow" Rapid DNA ID analysis granted FBI approval this past June and used to identify California wildfire victims, as it's "more sensitive and has the ability to gather more data than traditional DNA testing."

Zellner says there's a 99% chance that bones found in the gravel pit, previously considered too degraded for testing, belong to Halbach. "It would refute the State's entire theory that she was killed on the Avery property in Avery's garage and burned in his burn pit. That type of evidence reverses convictions," she said. She teased more in an interview with OK! magazine. "Someone else knows who committed this murder, and we are already getting tips about that ... Just this week we got a tip that was just jaw-dropping," she said. It was the second development in the case Monday. Retired detective Andrew Colborn filed a defamation suit against Netflix, alleging Making a Murderer suggested he planted evidence to frame Avery, per the BBC. The suit aims "to restore his good name," his lawyer says, as he's faced "worldwide ridicule, contempt, and disdain," per Variety. (More on the case here.)