Monday, March 18, 2024

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Saturday, September 17, 2016

Links to Dakota Inspired Designs and Articles

Hubpages: Dakota Inspired as GCRhoads

Zazzle Stores:



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Monday, January 25, 2016

What are a grauntie and a gruncle?

Sometimes new words spring up in our language. Most are flash in the pan types - does anyone say "gnarly" anymore? But I hope "grauntie" and "gruncle" are words that never disappear.





What are graunties and gruncles?

Graunties and gruncles are great aunts and great uncles! 

I remember as a child referring to my grandma's siblings as "great aunt Alvena" or "great uncle Leonard." How cool it would have been to call them grauntie Alvena and gruncle Leonard. It would have added a level of familiarity and "coolness" to my perception of them.


I'm a great aunt now to three darling little great nieces and a great nephew. You can be sure I'm going to be Grauntie Gable to all four of them!

Now, if we can just come up with  cool words for great niece and great nephew. Griece and grephew just don't cut it!  
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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Tips for Designing and Selling on Zazzle

If you've decided to take the plunge and market your design on Zazzle, these 5 tips will make your venture easier and more profitable.


Tip #1. 

Do not - and I repeat - do not use the quick create function unless you have time to individually edit every design, I haven't created any design which fits well on every product Zazzle sells.

That fabulous design you slaved over may look good on a t-shirt or mug, but it probably won't work for those earrings Zazzle sells. And does anybody buy Christmas ornaments with skulls on them?



Tip #2

Don't use just any image you find on the internet. Most are copyrighted and using them is STEALING! You could find yourself in a world of trouble if you use them. Zazzle will catch most copyrighted images.

There are many resources to find images in the pubic domain. Try Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons. Flickr also has public domain images, but you have to check the license on each image or do a search specifically for images you can legally use.






Tip #3







Check the size of your image files. You may have a great idea for a t-shirt that you believe will break all sales records, but if the file is too small you will have a tiny picture on a big t-shirt. Trying to enlarge the pic will generate a "pixelated image" warning and you won't get your design onto Zazzle.

If you do not have your own graphic or picture program, Picmonkey can resize your pictures for free. Picmonkey also has premium features you can access with a monthly subscription.

Tip #4

Plan out your collections before starting. Zazzle allows you to group your products together under different collections. The collections can be anything you want, such a collection each for spiders, snakes, or bees. You can also make collections using products, such as mugs, t-shirts or cases. It's up to you how you want to showcase your products.

If you have many items with the same image, you don't want to add them all to the same category. No one wants to wade through a collection of  different style shirts with the same design on them.

Tip #5

Try to specialize, When I started, I had so many ideas for products that I ended up with a mess. I have since opened five new stores so I can concentrate on selling one theme per store. The original store is still cluttered with too many products, but I'm slowly getting it sorted out. Uffda!


Tip #6

Check all your text in the "art view" before posting for sale. When I started I lost two sales because the edge of the text was slightly outside the printable area. It was discouraging to lose sales because I didn't take the time to ensure the design didn't fit properly.

Tip #7

Put your designs on a variety of products. I never thought jewelry or puzzles would sell, but I have been proven wrong! What do you have to lose? Sometimes I have created a design and put it up for sale thinking it would be a dud and I have been surprised when it sold.

Good luck with your "Zazzling!"
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Wednesday, January 13, 2016

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Friday, January 8, 2016

Making a Murderer: Timeline of Events surrounding the Murder and Subsequent Trials


Steven Avery's mugshot after his arrest for murder

2005

Oct. 11 

  •  Lieutenant Lenk testifies in Steven Avery's wrongful conviction lawsuit stemming from Avery's wrongful conviction of rape.

Oct. 13 
  • Sergeant Colborn and Manitowoc Sheriff Petersen testify in Avery's lawsuit.

Oct. 31
  • AM:  Teresa Halbach, 25, of St. John in Calumet County, a photographer for Auto Trader Magazine, leaves a voicemail stating she can stop by for the photo assignment that afternoon around 2:00 p.m. "or even a little later." Later that day she goes to Avery's Auto Salvage to photograph a minivan.
  • 2:27 p.m.: Teresa receives a phone call from Auto Trader lasting 5 minutes. 
  • 2:30 p.m.: Bobby Dassey testifies he sees Halbach near Avery's home.
  • Approximately 2:30 p.m.: There are two phone calls from Avery’s cellphone to Halbach’s cellphone, using the *67 feature to block caller identification. 
  • 2:41 p.m.: There are no outgoing or answered calls on Teresa’s cellphone after this time. 
  • 3:30 - 3:40 p.m.: Lisa Buchner, high school bus driver, testifies she drops off the Dassey boys during this window and sees Teresa photographing the van.
  • 3:40 p.m.: Bobby Dassey testifies he departs at this time and Teresa’s vehicle is still in the driveway, but no Teresa.
  • 4:35 p.m.: There is a call from Steven’s cell phone to Teresa’s cellphone, not using the blocking feature which lasted 13 seconds. 
  • 5:36 p.m.: Steven receives a call from his fiancée Jodi from Manitowoc County Jail; they talk for 15 minutes.
  • 7:00 p.m.: According to Brendan’s final story (not the first story), this is when Steven calls and invites him to the bonfire.
  • 8:57 p.m.: Steven receives a second call from Jodi; she believes  he is already in bed.

Nov. 2 
  • 8 a.m.: Teresa’s voicemail account is accessed.


 Nov. 3 
  •  The Halbach family reports Teresa missing.  
  • Sergeant Colborn calls in Teresa’s license plate to headquarters. 
  • At some time this day Sergeant Colborn questions Avery.

Nov. 4  

  • PM -  The police ask Avery for permission to search his residence and he agrees. No evidence is found.

Nov. 5
  • 10:20-25 a.m.: Pamela discovers Teresa’s vehicle on the Avery's property.
  • 10:59 a.m.: Sergeant Jason Orth arrives at the car lot.
  • 2:05 p.m.: During Steven's trial, Lieutenant Lenk testifies he arrives at the car lot at this time. (Under oath on August 9 Lenk testifies this is when he arrives at the lot at 6:30 or 7:00 pm.)
  • 2:45 p.m.: Sergeant Orth begins a log.
  • 6:30-7:00 p.m.: 10:41 p.m.: Lieutenant Lenk signs out of log.

Nov. 6
  • Brendan gives his first statement to investigators, indicating he has no knowledge of what happened to Teresa.


 Nov. 8 : 
  • Avery tells reporters he fears authorities are trying to frame him for Halbach's murder because he sued Manitowoc County officials for $36 million for wrongful conviction. 
  • On the third search, the key to Halbach's RAV4 is finally found in Avery’s bedroom by Lieutenant Lenk. 
  • Some bone fragments are found on the Avery property.


 Nov. 9 

  • Avery is arrested and, based on past convictions for burglary and other crimes, charged with possessing firearms as a felon. Authorities say two guns were in his trailer home.



 Nov. 15
  •  Avery is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and mutilating a corpse.

2006


 Feb. 14
  • Avery has settles his lawsuit against Manitowoc County officials for $400,000.

Feb. 27

  •  Investigators questions Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey, at the local high school. They question him later that day at the  police department.

March 1
  • Brendan is again interrogated, and  arrested after saying he was involved in Halbach's murder.
  • The police, including  Lieutenant Lenk, return to Steven’s property to search for evidence.

March 2
  • The police—again including Lieutenant Lenk—continue searching Steven’s property. For the first time, a bullet fragment, supposedly containing Halbach's DNA is found in Steven’s garage. 
  • Brendan Dassey  is charged with  first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and first-degree sexual assault. 

May 12
  • Dassey is pressured by  Len Kachinsky's (his attorney)  investigator Michael O’ Kelly, to stick to his final confession and to make drawings of the alleged crime scene.

May 13
  •  Dassey is interrogated by investigators  for 3 1/2 hours at the invitation of his attorney.
  •  Dassey calls his mother to tell her he was guilty.


2007


 Jan. 29 

  • A judge dismisses sexual assault and kidnapping charges against Avery


Feb. 12 
  • Avery's trial begins.


 March 12 
  • At the close of the trial, the judge dismisses a false-imprisonment charge, saying he doesn't think the jury has enough evidence to find Avery guilty. 

March 18 
  • Jurors find convict Avery guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Avery is found not guilty of mutilating a corpse.

April 16 
  • Brendan Dassey's trial begins.

April 25 
  • Dassey is found guilty of being party to first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and second-degree sexual assault after 4 1/2 hours of jury deliberation.


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Thursday, January 7, 2016

STATE OF WISCONSIN STATE OF WISCONSIN, CIRCUIT COURT BRANCH 3 PLAINTIFF, vs. BRENDAN R. DASSEY, DEFENDANT. MANITOWOC COUNTY JURY TRIAL TRIAL DAY 1 Case No. 06 CF 88 10 DATE: APRIL 16, 2007 11 BEFORE: HON. JEROME L. FOX 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Circuit Court Judge APPEARANCES: KENNETH R. KRATZ Special Prosecutor On behalf of the State of Wisconsin. THOMAS J. FALLON Special Prosecutor On behalf of the State of Wisconsin. NORMAN A. GAHN Special Prosecutor On behalf of the State of Wisconsin. MARK R. FREMGEN Attorney at Law On behalf of the defendant. RAYMOND L. EDELSTEIN Attorney at Law On behalf of the defendant. BRENDAN R. DASSEY Defendant Appeared in person. 1 COPY 1 * * * * * * * * 2 TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS 3 Reported by Jennifer K. Hau, RPR 4 Official Court Reporter 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2 1 INDEX 2 PAGE 3 PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS 5-20 4 OPENING STATEMENTS 5 BY ATTORNEY KRATZ 21-82 6 BY ATTORNEY FREMGEN 82-97 7 WITNESSES 8 KAREN HALBACH 9 Direct Examination by ATTORNEY KRATZ 102-122 10 Cross-Examination by ATTORNEY FREMGEN 122 11 KATIE HALBACH 12 Direct Examination by ATTORNEY KRATZ 123-132 13 14 THOMAS FASSBENDER 15 Direct Examination by ATTORNEY KRATZ 133-196 16 Cross-Examination by ATTORNEY EDELSTEIN 196-223 17 Redirect Examination by ATTORNEY KRATZ 223-224 18 EXHIBITS MARKED MOVED ADMITTED 19 1-10 120 122 20 11 132 132 21 12 132 132 22 13 132 161 & 162 23 14 132 132 24 15-77 196 196 25 78 192 196 196 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (Reconvened. at 9:07a.m.) THE COURT: Court will call the case of State of Wisconsin vs. Brendan R. Dassey, 06 CF 88. Appearances, please. ATTORNEY KRATZ: The State appears by Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz, also appearing is Tom Fallon from the Department of Justice, Norm Gahn from the Milwaukee County D.A. 's Office, all appearing as special prosecutors. ATTORNEY FREMGEN: Attorney Mark Fremgen and Attorney Raymond Edelstein appear with Brendan Dassey. THE COURT: At this point I'd ask the clerk to swear the jury in, please. THE CLERK: Would the jurors please rise? Please raise your right hands. (Jurors sworn.) THE COURT: Counsel, I'm going to give some preliminary instructions for the record. We have previously discussed these and, uh, both sides agree to the instructions to be given today; is that correct, Mr. Kratz? ATTORNEY KRATZ: Yes. THE COURT: Mr. Fremgen? 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ATTORNEY FREMGEN: Yes, Judge. THE COURT: All right. Before the trial begins, there are certain instructions you should better have to understand your functions as a juror and how you should conduct yourself during the trial. Your duty is to decide the case based only on the evidence presented and the law given to you by the Court. Do not let any personal feelings of bias or prejudice against any such things as race, religion, national origin, sex or age affect your deliberations. Do not begin your deliberations and discussion of the case until all the evidence is presented and I have instructed you on the law. Do not discuss this case among yourselves or with anyone else until your final deliberations in the jury room. We will stop or recess from time to time during the trial. You may be excused from the courtroom when it is necessary for me to hear legal arguments from the lawyers. If you come in contact with the parties, lawyers, or witnesses, do not speak with them. For their part, the parties, lawyers, and witnesses will not contact or speak with the jurors. 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Should you be exposed to any reports or communications from any source concerning the case during the trial, you should report that information to the jury bailiff. The Court is aware that many of you've been exposed to publicity concerning this case before you were selected to serve as a juror. Each of you has committed to base your verdict only on the evidence introduced during the trial. It is of vital importance to the parties and the sanctity of the court process that you remain true to this commitment. Anything you may see or hear outside the courtroom is not evidence. You are to decide the case solely on the evidence offered and received at trial. Evidence is, first, the sworn testimony of witnesses, both on direct and cross-examination, regardless of who called the witness. Second, the exhibits the Court has received. And, third, any facts to which the lawyers have agreed, or stipulated, or which the Court has directed you to find. 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Attorneys for each site -- side have the right and the duty to object to what they consider are improper questions asked of witnesses and to the admission of other evidence which they believe is not properly admissible. You should not draw any conclusions from the fact that an objection was made. By allowing testimony or other evidence to be received over the objection of counsel, the Court is not indicating any opinion about the evidence. You jurors are the judges of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight of the evidence. You are not required to, but you may take notes during the trial except during the opening statements and closing arguments. The Court will provide you with materials. In taking notes, you must be careful that it does not distract you from carefully listening to and observing the witnesses. You may rely on your notes to refresh your memory during deliberations. Otherwise, keep them confidential. Your notes will be collected by the jury bailiff after each day's session and kept in a secure place until the next day of trial. After the trial, the notes will be 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 collected and destroyed. You will not have a copy of the written transcript of the trial testimony available for use during your deliberations. You may ask to have specific portions of the testimony read to you. You should pay careful attention to all the testimony, because you must rely primarily on your memory of the evidence and testimony introduced during the trial. To assist you in evaluating the evidence, I will now read to you portions of the specific jury instructions for the offenses with which the defendant is charged. I will read them to you in their entirety at the close of the evidence. Count 1. Count 1 of the Information charges the defendant with first degree intentional homicide, as party to a crime to the crime. Section 939.05 of the Wisconsin Criminal Code provide that whoever's concerned in the commission of a crime is a party to that crime and may be convicted of that crime although that person did not directly commit it. The State contends that the defendant was concerned in the commission of the crime of 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 first degree intentional homicide by either directly committing it or by intentionally aiding and abetting the person who directly committed it. If a person intentionally aids and abets the commission of a crime, then that person is guilty of the crime as well as the person who directly committed it. A person intentionally aids and abets the commission of a crime when acting with knowledge or belief that another person is committing or intends to commit a crime, he knowingly either assists the person who commits the crime, or is ready and willing to assist, and the person who commits the crime knows of the willingness to assist. To intentionally aid and abet the crime of first degree intentional homicide, the defendant must know that another person is committing or intends to commit the crime of first degree intentional homicide and have the person -- and have the purpose to assist the commission of that crime. Before you may find the defendant guilty of first degree intentional homicide as a party to the crime, the State must prove by evidence 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 which satisfies you beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant directly committed the crime of first degree intentional homicide or intentionally aided and abetted the commission of that crime. All 12 jurors do not have to agree on whether the defendant directly committed the crime of first degree intentional homicide or aided and abetted the commission of the crime. However, each juror must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was concerned in the commission of the crime in one of those ways. First degree intentional homicide, as defined in 940.01 of the Criminal Code of Wisconsin, is committed by one who causes the death of another human being with the -- the intent to kill that person or another. Before you may find the person -- the defendant guilty of first degree intentional homicide, the State must prove by evidence which satisfies you beyond a reasonable doubt that the following two elements were present: Number one, Brendan Dassey caused the -- the death of Teresa Halbach, or aided and abetted 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 another in causing the direct -- the death of Teresa Halbach. "Cause" means that the defendant's acts were a substantial factor in producing the death. Number two, Brendan Dassey acted with the intent to kill Teresa Halbach, whether he did so directly or aided and abetted another. "Intent to kill" means that the defendant had the mental purpose to take the life of another human being, or was aware that his conduct was practic -- practically certain to cause the death of another human being. While the law requires that the defendant acted with intent to kill, it does not require that intent exists for any particular length of time before the act is committed. The act need not be brooded over, considered, or reflected upon for a week, a day, an hour, or even a minute. There need not be any appreciable time between the formation of the intent and the act. The intent to kill may be formed at anytime before the act, including the instant before the act, and must continue to exist at the time of the act. 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 You cannot look into a person's mind to find intent. Intent to kill must be found, if found at all, from the defendant's acts, words and statements, if any, and from all the facts and circumstances in this case bearing upon intent. Intent should not be confused with motive. While proof of intent is necessary to a conviction, proof of motive is not. Motive refers to a person's reason for doing something. While motive may be shown as a circumstance to aid in establishing the guilt of a defendant, the State is not required to prove motive on the part of the defendant in order to convict. Evidence of motive does not, by itself, establish guilt. You should give it the weight you believe it deserves under all of the circumstances. You're satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt at the conclusion of the trial that the defendant directly committed both elements of first degree intentional homicide, or that the defendant intentionally aided and abetted the commission of that crime, you should find the defendant guilty. If you are not so satisfied, 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 you must find the defendant not guilty. Count 2 charges the defendant with mutilating a corpse, also as a party to a crime -- to the crime. Section 939.05 of the Criminal Code of Wisconsin, provide that whoever is concerned in the commission of a crime is a party to that crime and may be convicted of that crime although that person did not directly commit it. The State contends that the defendant was concerned in the commission of the crime of mutilating a corpse by either directly committing it or by intentionally aiding and abetting the person who directly committed it. If a person intentionally aids and abets the commission of a crime, then that person is guilty of the crime as well as the person who directly committed it. Person intentionally aids and abet the com -- abets the commission of a crime when acting with knowledge or belief that another person is committing or intends to commit a crime, he either knowingly assists the person who commits the crime, or is ready and willing to assist, and the person who commits the crime knows of the willingness to assist. 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 To intentionally aid and abet the crime of mutilating a corpse, the defendant must know that another person is committing or intends to commit the crime of mutilating a corpse and have the purpose to assist the commission of that crime. Before you may find the defendant guilty of mutilating a corpse as a party to the crime, the State must prove by evidence which satisfies you beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant directly committed the crime of mutilating a corpse or intentionally aided and abetted the commission of that crime. All 12 jurors do not have to agree whether the defendant directly committed the crime of first degree, uh -- or uh, mutilating a corpse or aided and abetted the commission of the crime. However, each juror must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was concerned in the commission of the crime in one of those ways. Mutilating a corpse, as defined in Section 940.11 (1) of the Criminal Code of Wisconsin, is violated by one who mutilates a corpse with intent to conceal a crime, or avoid 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 apprehension, prosecution, or conviction for a crime. Before you may find the defendant guilty of this offense, the State must prove by evidence which satisfies you beyond a reasonable doubt that the following two elements were present: Number one, Brendan Dassey mutilated the corpse of Teresa Halbach, or aided and abetted another in mutilating the corpse of Teresa Halbach. Number two, in mutilating the corpse of Teresa Halbach, or in aiding and abetting another in mutilating her corpse, Brendan Dassey acted with the intent to conceal the crime. This requires that the defendant acted with the purpose to conceal a crime. You cannot look into a person's mind to find out about intent. Intent must be found, if found at all, from the defendant's acts, words and statements, if any, and from all the facts and circumstances in the case bearing upon intent. If you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt at the conclusion of the trial that Brendan Dassey directly committed both elements of this 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 offense, or that Brendan Dassey directly aided and another -- aided and abetted another in the commission of the crime, you should find the defendant guilty. If you are not so satisfied, you must find the defendant not guilty. Count 3 charges the defendant with first degree sexual assault by use or threat of a dangerous weapon, also as a party to a crime. Section 939.05 of the Criminal Code of Wisconsin provides that whoever is concerned in the commission of a crime is a party to that crime and may be convicted of that crime although the person did not directly commit it. The State contends that the defendant was concerned in the commission of the crime of first degree sexual assault by either directly committing it or by intentionally aiding and ab -- and abetting the person who directly committed it. The person intentionally aids and abets the commission of a crime, then that person is guilty of a crime as well as the person who directly committed it. Person intentionally aids and abets the commission of a crime when acting with knowledge and belief that another person is committing or 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 intends to commit a crime, he knowingly either assists the person who commits the crime or is ready and willing to assist, and the person who commits the crime knows of the willingness to as -- to assist. To intentionally aid and abet the crime of first degree sexual assault, the defendant






offense, or that Brendan Dassey directly aided
and another -- aided and abetted another in the
commission of the crime, you should find the
defendant guilty. If you are not so satisfied,
you must find the defendant not guilty.
Count 3 charges the defendant with first
degree sexual assault by use or threat of a
dangerous weapon, also as a party to a crime.
Section 939.05 of the Criminal Code of Wisconsin
provides that whoever is concerned in the
commission of a crime is a party to that crime
and may be convicted of that crime although the
person did not directly commit it.
The State contends that the defendant
was concerned in the commission of the crime of
first degree sexual assault by either directly
committing it or by intentionally aiding and
ab -- and abetting the person who directly
committed it. The person intentionally aids and
abets the commission of a crime, then that person
is guilty of a crime as well as the person who
directly committed it.
Person intentionally aids and abets the
commission of a crime when acting with knowledge
and belief that another person is committing or
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intends to commit a crime, he knowingly either
assists the person who commits the crime or is
ready and willing to assist, and the person who
commits the crime knows of the willingness to
as -- to assist.
To intentionally aid and abet the crime
of first degree sexual assault, the defendant
must know that another person is committing or
intends to commit the crime of first degree
sexual assault and have the pers have the
purpose to assist the commission of that crime.
Before you may find the defendant guilty
of first degree sexual assault as a party to a
crime, the State must prove by evidence which
satisfies you beyond a reasonable doubt that the
defendant directly committed the crime of first
degree sexual assault or intentionally aided and
abetted the commission of that crime.
All 12 jurors do not have to agree
whether the defendant directly committed the
crime of first degree sexual assault or aided
and -- and abetted the commission of that crime.
However, each juror must con -- be convinced
beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was
concerned in the commission of the crime in one
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of those ways.
First degree sexual assault, as defined
in Section 940.225 (1) (b) of the Criminal Code of
Wisconsin, is committed by one who has sexual
intercourse with another person without consent
and by use or threat of a dangerous weapon.
Before you find the defendant guilty of
this offense, the State must prove by evidence
which satisfies you beyond a reasonable doubt
that the following three elements were present:
Number one, the defendant had sexual
intercour -- course with Teresa Halbach.
Number two, Teresa Halbach did not
consent to the sexual intercourse.
Number three, the defendant had sexual
intercourse with Teresa Halbach by use or threat
of a dangerous weapon. This requires that the
defendant actually used or threatened to use the
dangerous weapon to compel Teresa Halbach to
submit to sexual intercourse.
If you are satisfied beyond a reasonable
doubt that all three elements of first degree
sexual assault have been proven, you should find
the defendant guilty. If you are not so
satisfied, you must find the defendant not
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guilty.
In reaching your verdict, examine the
evidence with care and caution. Act with
judgment, reason and prudence.
Defendants are not required to prove
their innocence. The law presumes every person
charged with the commission of an offense to be
innocent. This presumption requires a finding of
not guilty unless in your deliberations you find
it is overcome by evidence which satisfies you
beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is
guilty.
The burden of establishing every fact
necessary to constitute guilt is upon the State.
Before you can return a verdict of guilty, the
evidence was -- must satisfy the -- you beyond a
reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.
If you can reconcile the evidence upon
any reasonable hypothesis consistent with the
defendant's innocence, you should do so and
return a verdict of not guilty.
The term "reasonable doubt" means a
doubt based upon reason and common sense. It is
a doubt for which a person can be given uh,
for which a reason can be given arising from a
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fair and rational consideration of the evidence
or lack of evidence. It means such a doubt as
would cause a person of ordinary prudence to
pause or hesitate when called upon to act in the
most important affairs of life.
A reasonable doubt is not a doubt which
is based on mere guesswork or speculation. A
doubt which arises merely from sympathy or from
fear to return a verdict of guilt is not a
reasonable doubt. A reasonable doubt is not a
doubt such as may be used to escape the
responsibility of a decision.
While it is your duty to give the
defendant the benefit of every reasonable doubt,
you are not to search for doubt, you are to
search for the truth.
The lawyers will now make opening
statements. The purpose of an opening statement
is to give the lawyers an opportunity to tell you
what they expect the evidence will show so that
you can better understand the evidence as it is
introduced during the trial. I must caution you,
however, that the opening statements are not
evidence. Mr. Kratz? Juror Covington, were you
able to hear me when I gave these instructions?
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JUROR COVINGTON: Yes.
THE COURT: All right. Let's proceed.
ATTORNEY KRATZ: Can everybody hear me
okay? As our tech guy comes up here, I wanted to
say good morning. Thank you for the service that
you have offered in this case. Uh, you are from
Dane County. You're not a Manitowoc County jury,
and so it's a great inconvenience, I know, for
all of you to sit and listen to this very
important case. But let me assure you that this
process, the process that you've been going to in
the next couple of weeks, urn, may include one of
the most important decisions, uh, that you're
ever going to have to make.
Uh, it is a, uh -- a daunting task for
citizens to go through, uh, but it is, uh,
obviously important not just to Mr. Dassey, but
to the, uh, Halbach family, to the friends of the
family, uh, of Teresa Halbach, to the citizens of
Manitowoc County, uh, where we currently, uh, are
holding this trial.
Uh, the trial, itself, or my opening
statement, itself, uh, is not intended to be
evidence. The Judge already told you that. Urn,
but it will be a little bit lengthy, uh, in that
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we have to take what, uh, may be six or seven
weeks of testimony into a trial, uh, and at least
in this case fit it into about three days, uh,
worth of testimony. And much of the evidence in
this case is not contested, uh, will be
stipulated to, meaning agreed to, uh, and so you,
the jurors, since you don't have the same basis
of knowledge that the lawyers do, uh, you have to
be told the background and a lot of those facts,
and so I'll be doing that in my opening statement
as well as having some witnesses testify, uh,
about that, uh -- about that as well.
Uh, you will notice around the courtroom
are, urn, screens, uh, which, urn, do, in most
regards, urn, have the, uh, text or photos or the
videotapes that you'll be watching. Uh, they are
meant to assist you and give you different places
to, uh -- to see those things, and so I wanted to
encourage you to do that as well.
Let me also remind you that this is not,
urn, a closed system in that you can't, uh,
participate. Uh, the one way that you can
participate, uh, is if one of you needs a break
for some reason. Uh, I need to let you know that
if you need a break, uh, either, if you're, urn,
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not concentrating well enough, or you just need
a -- a regular, uh, kind of other kind of break,
just raise your hand, all right? Get my
attention or the Judge's attention, and we'll
take a break.
And, certainly, during this opening
statement, you'll get at least one, and perhaps
two, breaks, uh, so that you're able to remain
fresh, you're able to, urn, listen to the very
important statements that myself and the defense
will be giving in this opening statement. All
right?
First thing I want to talk about is an
introduction of the prosecution team. That is,
the people that are sitting at or near this
table. My name's Ken Kratz. It's the first
chance I've had to address each of you. Uh,
a district attorney. I'm the D.A. of Calumet
County, which is the county just east, uh, of
Manitowoc, of, uh -- excuse me, just west of
Manitowoc, uh, where we are, uh, right now.
I am
Uh, and I am the lead counsel. Nothing
special about that term. It just means that, uh,
I have, uh, coordinated the, uh, investigation
and prosecution of this case, uh, and will be
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assisting in the presentation of the case as
well.
Urn, Mr. Fallon, who you already heard
from, is an assistant, uh, district attorney.
Urn, Mr. Fallon, uh, works for the Department of
Justice in Madison. Uh, he's the gentleman in
the middle, and, uh, will be another prosecutor
in this case.
And, finally, Mr. Gahn is a Milwaukee
County Assistant District Attorney. Uh, Mr. Gahn
will be presenting the parts of the case, you'll
notice, where Mr. Gahn has expertise. Uh, that
is in DNA evidence, uh, and in the sciences and
some of the other places. So I at least wanted
to let you know why we're involved.
We, by the way, are helping, we're doing
a favor, if you will, for Manitowoc County. Uh,
the three prosecutors that have been assigned
responsibility for this, uh, important case and
the case involving Steven Avery, uh, which were
the same prosecutors, the same prosecution team,
uh, assisted Manitowoc in, urn -- in the efforts
of the prosecution.
Two lead investigators were involved in
this case. Uh, they are, urn, Mr. Mark Wiegert,
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who is the gentleman in the glasses. Mr. Wiegert
is an investigator with the Calumet County
Sheriff's Department. And Mr. Tom Fassbender,
who is seated next to him, works, again, for the
Department of Justice, Division of Criminal
Investigation.
You're going to learn in this case that
several hundred law enforcement officers were
involved. Urn, that the personnel and the search
efforts in this case were, uh, overwhelming. In
fact, you're probably going to learn that this
was one of the largest, if not, the largest, at
least by resources, investigation, criminal
investigation, homicide investigation in
Wisconsin history. And because of the scope of
this case, because of the size of this case, it
required investigators to coordinate or to make
sure that everything was done, uh, not only
properly, but leadership, uh, and direction was,
uh -- was certainly required in this case.
If I could have, uh, just a minute.
We're going to try to fix at least these two
screens so that all of the, uh, text shows, but
that doesn't mean I'm going to stop. I'm a
lawyer so I can -- I can just keep, uh -- keep
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talking.
Opening statements, as the Judge told
you, are an opportunity to tell you what we think
the evidence is going to show. But more than
that, it's a, uh -- it's a roadmap. It's an
overview. Since evidence comes in in bits and
pieces, some people describe, uh, trials as, urn,
puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, if you will, and how
evidence may fit into there.
You need to know how each little piece
of evidence in this two-week trial is going to
fit into the big picture. Is going to fit into
whether or not Brendan Dassey is guilty of the
three offenses for, uh, which he has been
charged.
Uh, I've told you, and you know, and
most of you, in fact, I think all of you, uh,
have indicated in your questionnaires that you
were at least somewhat familiar with the Steven
Avery, uh, case. But you didn't hear the
evidence in that case. Urn, and some of that
evidence, as I mentioned, may or may not be
contested, but because of the importance of this
case, it's still necessary to tell you the whole
story. It's necessary to explain all of the
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physical evidence, as well as the evidence that
may be directed towards, uh, Brendan Dassey, and
some of that evidence, again, will be physical
evidence and some is going to be statements. Uh,
and so we intend, uh, to tell you about all of
that, certainly, during this opening statement
and, uh -- and during this process.
The Judge told you that Mr. Dassey's
been charged with three separate offenses; first
degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse
and first degree sexual assault. He told you the
elements. That is, what it is the State has to
prove. And we certainly intend to do that.
All right. The first legal concept that
I want to talk about is party to the crime. The
Judge has instructed you that party to the crime
is a, uh -- a concept, a -- a form of criminal
liability, that, uh, is committed either when
somebody commits a crime, themselves, or when
they aid and abet the commission of the crime.
Now, this is the law. Judge Fox will
tell you what the law is. So whether you think
this is a good idea or a bad idea, it's the law
and you have to follow this law. And so the
description or the explanation of, as an example,
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what aiding and abetting means, is important for
you to know.
The Judge has told you that a defendant
can aid and abet the commission of crime, urn, if
he assists somebody who commits it or,
importantly, and what you might hear in this
case, as the evidence may show in this case, uh,
quite a bit, is that the individual, in this
case, Brendan Dassey, stood ready and willing to
assist, and that the actor, in this case, Steven
Avery, uh, was an individual who knew of
Brendan's willingness to aid and abet. All
right?
Now, I'm telling you that this early in
the case because this is an important concept.
It's important for you to understand what the
criminal liability is, and, again, whether you
agree with or don't agree with that concept, with
the concept of party to the crime, it's something
the Judge tells you you have to accept and you
have to adopt.
I'm going to introduce you to a lovely
young woman. This is Teresa Halbach. Ms.
Halbach was 25 years old on Halloween of 2005.
You're going to hear evidence in this case that
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Ms. Halbach was single. That Ms. Halbach was a
college graduate. Ms. Halbach was a freelance
photographer. She was a daughter. She was a
sister. She was a friend. And she had her whole
life ahead of her.
You're also going to hear evidence that
all of that came to an end on Halloween of 2005.
This story, this case, begins at about 8:12 a.m.
on Halloween Day of 2005 when the plan was set
into motion to take this young woman's life. The
plan was set into motion to rape, and to kill,
and to mutilate this 25-year-old innocent, young
woman.
The investigation of this case begins
when we learn that Ms. Halbach was reported
missing on Thursday, the 3rd of November, 2005.
She was a photographer. One of her contracts,
one of the reasons, uh, that she was a
photographer was she worked for a magazine. She
worked for something called AutoTrader Magazine,
which was a magazine that sells cars. It -- it,
uh, put ads in the cars, and it requires
photographers to go around and take pictures, uh,
of those cars.
Uh, and so learning about Ms. Halbach,
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or learning how she worked for AutoTrader
Magazine, is important for you to understand
about the investigation, because you will learn
that the investigation, or at least the missing
persons investigation, determined that the last
place that Ms. Halbach was on the 31st was a
place called the Avery Salvage Yard.
Uh, this is a place located here in
Manitowoc in a place called the town of Gibson.
It's rural Manitowoc. It's kind of the northern
edge, uh, of Manitowoc, uh, but it's a -- a
junkyard, a -- a salvage business that has junked
cars. Uh, and the, uh, other determination early
on in this case was that a man by the name of
Steven Avery made an appointment at 8:12 that
morning to have Ms. Halbach come to that
residence, or to come to that property, which was
the Avery salvage property.
I've alluded a little bit earlier about
the case against Steven Avery, and you first need
to know about the case against Steven Avery, the
investigation, uh, that pointed towards Steven
Avery being involved in this case.
You may already know, and many of your
jury questionnaires told us that you knew, at
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least some things about this man, about Steven
Avery, that he had achieved some degree of
notoriety in 2003 when he was exonerated, when he
was released from prison for a 1985 sexual
assault.
You may know that Mr. Avery, or you'll
hear in this case, that Mr. Avery was exonerated
or set free because of something called DNA
evidence. Because there was some DNA evidence
from the '85 case that didn't match, uh, in that
case, and that an analyst from the State Crime
Lab, one particular analyst, found DNA on one
piece of evidence, on a hair that was collected
from the 1985 case, that didn't match. That
didn't match Steven Avery. And so Mr. Avery was
released. He was released from prison.
Ironically, you will hear, that that~
urn, analyst from the Crime Lab, the DNA, urn,
specialist who exonerated Steven Avery, was a
woman named Sherry Culhane. You're going to hear
her name later on in this case, because Ms.
Culhane, as evidence is developed in this case,
happens to be the very same analyst that does the
DNA, urn, workup. That does all of the testing of
the DNA case.
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All right. I'm going to -- Because the
side screens are not quite as large, the bottom's
cut off or the top is cut off, you're going to
have to look behind me at least until we take our
break when we fix, uh, these side screens.
But this is the very first time, and the
very first important photo that I want you all to
look at. This is the Avery salvage property.
The Avery Salvage Yard. It consists of about 40
acres of junked cars. It consists of four
different residences. Four trailers on this
peep -- piece of property.
The Steven Avery trailer, which is
located in the bottom left-hand corner of the
screen, or which would be the northwest corner of
the property. Right next to Mr. Avery's trailer
is his- sister's, uh, property. Her name at -that
time was Barb Janda. Also living with Barb at
the time were her sons, four sons, all with the
name of Dassey. Uh, they included, uh, the
defendant, Brendan Dassey, uh, his brothers, uh,
Blaine and Bobby and Bryan. They all lived on
that property as well.
Another trailer that's located on this
property was the Allen and Delores Avery trailer.
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These were the grandparents of Brendan, or the
mom and dad, if you will, of, uh, Steven and, uh,
his sister, Barb.
And also on the property was the -- his
brother, Chuck's, trailer. So there's four
residences. You can see of the buildings that
are on this massive, urn, urn, property for them
are businesses. You'll also notice on these, urn,
aerial photographs that there's lots of
buildings. There's outbuilding, there's business
buildings, there's, uh, a lot of sheds and those
kind of things that, uh, you need to be familiar
with as you hear about some of the searches and
where some of the evidence, uh, is -- is found.
All right?
Well, the investigation takes a dramatic
turn on- the morni-ng of, -uh, Saturday,. -November 5-,
when, uh, two citizen searchers, uh, uh, Nikole
and Pam Sturm, uh, when given permission to
search the Avery salvage property, these 40
acres, uh, happened to find the picture that
you've seen here. They happened to find Teresa
Halbach's SUV.
Uh, you'll notice, uh, Teresa Halbach's
SUV is covered. It is concealed. Uh, there'll
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--
be testimony that it was intentionally concealed,
uh, with branches of debris and this very large,
urn, hood for a vehicle. A -- a -- a large, uh,
either car or truck hood is -- is leaned up
against it.
Suffice it to say, though, that at 10:30
in the morning on the 5th of November, this case
takes a very dramatic turn. You'll hear that the
VIN number, that is the Vehicle Identification
Number, when they're looking for Teresa, when the
citizens are searching for Teresa, actually
matches, uh, and so they know at that time that
the, uh, vehicle is, in fact, the vehicle in
question.
Importantly, you'll hear evidence about
where the vehicle was found. Ms. Halbach's
vehicle was found in the oppos-ite corner- of ___ ooth
the Avery and Dassey, uh, trailer. Uh, and,
again, it's behind kind of a pond, but it's
immediately adjacent to or close to a car
crusher.
Uh, that, uh, car crusher is equipment,
you will hear in this case, evidence will show,
uh, is the kind of equipment designed to crush
cars. It kind of makes sense. It's -- it's
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1 called a -- a car crusher. But to make vehicles,
2 urn, very, very small, almost unidentifiable, and
3 easily removed, uh, from the property. And
4 you'll see why, and you'll hear why, uh, Teresa
5 Halbach's vehicle is placed, uh, in that
6 location. That is, that proximity to the car
7 crusher.
8 You'll also hear later on that night,
9 after search warrants are obtained-- You'll hear
10 what search warrants are. Search warrants are
11 judicial authorization. Uh, that is, a judge
12 tells law enforcement that you can go ahead and
13 search a property for, urn, evidence of a crime.
14 Uh, and after those search warrants were
15 obtained, you're going to hear that first evening
16 that, uh, some K-9 units, what are called cadaver
do-gs( -at -least tnsentence _...;. insensitively called
18 cadaver dogs, uh, dogs that are trained to find
19 and detect human remains, urn, they, in fact, uh,
20 hit on, uh, the, urn, vehicle of, uh, uh, Teresa
21 Halbach, uh, alerting, indicating that there was
22 either a deceased individual in the back of that
23 car, or that there's human blood, uh, in the back
24 of the car.
25 You're going to hear evidence that this
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vehicle was loaded onto an enclosed trailer. It
wasn't processed there at the scene. It was
actually driven to Madison, to the Madison Crime
Lab, for processing at that time. All right?
Now, let me just tell you, again, this
is a lot of information. This is, uh, days and
days and days worth of, uh, testimony that,
again, we're going to try to, uh, kind of fit
into a short period of time because, uh, it's
important to get to the crux of this case, uh,
what we'll be able to show a little bit later.
But on Saturday, residences and places
are starting to be searched. All right? The
first place, or at least one of the first places
to be searched, is the trailer of, uh, Steven
Avery.
You'-11 -:ne-ar -from --A:gent--Fas-sberiaer, --anaothers
that are involved in this search effort,
that they want to find Teresa. Their first
efforts -- And early on in this case, uh, even
though they found her vehicle, Teresa hasn't been
found yet. And so they're desperately looking
for Teresa Halbach, hopefully, alive. They're
hoping to find her on this property alive.
And so you're going to hear of the law
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enforcement effort to search all of these
residences, again, which include the trailer,
which include the garage of Steven Avery, and
other residences, including Brendan Dassey's, uh,
home, uh, business, uh, properties, uh, on the
property, uh, and also other, urn, vehicles. In
fact, all of the junked cars. Uh, you'll see
photos of 4,000 junked cars.
I hope at the end of this case you'll be
able to appreciate just how many cars that is to
search, each and every one of those cars, on at
least two or three different occasions, by not
only law enforcement, but volunteer firefighters
and other, uh, citizen searchers. All right?
Urn, also, on, uh, the next day, that is
on the 6th, that Sunday, the 6th of November,
you're going to he_a_r_ t-hat every one of Enos-e
junked cars is opened, is searched. Again,
they're looking for Teresa Halbach's body.
You're going to hear that a rifle, one
of the two rifles that was in Steven Avery's
residence was seized that Sunday. Uh, this rifle
is a .22 caliber Marlin Glenfield semi-automatic,
uh, rifle. You'll hear about the significance of
this rifle, but you'll hear that it was actually
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hanging on the wall at least when officers
found it -- hanging on a gun rack right on the
wall in the bedroom of Steven Avery.
You're going to hear about, uh, a phone
message, uh, that was, uh, recovered. Uh, this
phone message was recovered from Brendan
Dassey's, uh, home. Uh, you're going to hear in
this case -- and I know that I've advanced a
little bit quickly for you, but when Steven Avery
made the appointment to lure Teresa Halbach to
the property, evidence will show that he used the
name, B. Janda. His sister's name is Barb Janda.
So using his sister's name, using his
sister's phone number, or the call back number,
uh, you're going to hear, uh, this or expect
you'll hear this, uh, tape, this, urn, uh, voice
recording of Teresa, indicatihg that she qbt the
message, uh, that, uh, the time that, uh, she
would be able to come and take photographs of a
van that was for sale was sometime after 2:00,
uh, on that day. But, again, it was recovered
and you'll be able too hear, urn, that evidence.
On Monday, uh, the 7th, the Crime Lab --
uh, and, again, it's a little bit better if you
look at -- at this -- urn, they make a startling
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1 discovery. Remember the SUV of Teresa was taken
2 to the, urn -- the Crime Lab for processing? They
3 found male blood in six different locations in
4 the SUV and they found a great deal of female
5 blood in the back, or what's called the cargo
6 area, of Teresa's, uh, SUV. These were the first
7 results, uh, they had gotten. They didn't get
8 any D re DNA results back yet, but they could
9 tell it was male blood, and they could tell that
10 it was both, uh, female blood.
11 You'll hear from investigators, from
12 Mr. Fassbender, and even from some of the Crime
13 Lab people, that when you find male blood and you
14 find that amount of female blood, uh, in the back
15 or in the cargo area of an SUV, it became very
16 obvious on Monday, the 7th, just a couple of days
17 into this invest-igation, that something terribl-e
18 had happened. That a crime had happened.
19 Criminal behavior, uh, was afoot, and that, uh,
20 the search then began for what person or persons
21 were involved in committing these crimes.
22 Also, on Monday, you're going to hear
23 about a burn barrel that was recovered from just
24 outside of Steven Avery's, uh, residence. Uh,
25 the Steven Avery and the Brendan Dassey, uh,
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residences, again, are next to each other, kind
of between them, closer to Mr. Avery's house, is
an Avery, urn, burn barrel.
Uh, this is another photograph to kind
of give you a -- an idea of how close not only
the burn barrel is to the Steven Avery trailer,
but also, and more importantly, how close this
burn barrel is to the van. This is the maroon
van that Teresa Halbach, the evidence will show,
was asked to come and take pictures of on
Halloween Day on 2005, and so you'll hear about,
uh -- about all of those things.
The next day, Tuesday, uh, the 8th,
you're going to hear that a thorough search was,
urn, performed of Steven Avery's trailer. Uh, and
found in Steven Avery's bedroom was a key. This
-was -a Toyota- -key-;.- --You wi-li hear evi-dence- tha-t
later this Toyota key matches the key of Teresa
Halbach's SUV. It starts the ignition. It
turns, uh, urn, the ignition.
The second important finding on the 8th
was Teresa's license plates. These are found in
a junked vehicle, uh, kind of on the path on the
way to Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey's, uh,
residence.
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And the third, and most chilling,
discovery, uh, on the 8th, the evidence will
show, is, uh, this burn area.
Now, to give you an idea or an overview,
again, of this corner, this quadrant, of the
Avery property, again, the, uh, Dassey and Janda
trailer, Steven Avery trailer, the van that was
for sale, you'll be able to see that, uh, this
burn area, uh, was found just a a few feet
behind the garage of Steven Avery.
You're going to hear evidence that
within this burn area, urn, obvious human bone
fragments were found. You're going to hear that
the Crime Lab came to process this scene, that
arson investigators came to process the scene.
They recovered, uh, at least on that first day,
that -±-s-, Tuesday,.--t-he 8th, as many- of-the bones---
that they could recover from this obvious, urn,
uh, destructive, uh, area, this burn area, and
the evidence will, uh, show that, urn, uh -- how
the bones were, uh -- were recovered and
transported for identification and examination.
You're going to hear that officers
Remember, this is Tuesday. They had gotten there
Saturday already. That officers weren't able to,
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urn, recover or to even examine this area. Uh,
either police officers, themselves, humans, or
with the assistance of K-9s, cadaver dogs, or
bloodhounds, or any kind of search dogs, were not
able to, uh, inspect this particular area, urn,
because of a German Shepherd that was, uh,
vicious and that was guarding that particular,
uh, area. That particular burn area.
This is a photo that just assists you
and explains why it took until Tuesday to find
these, urn, human remains in that area. All
right?
We'll move a little bit more quickly
into the following -- or into the balance of that
week. Uh, the recovery of those bones, you will
hear, were in very, very, uh, small, urn, size.
They were also-very-, -urn, -degraded~ -They -were -
charred. Urn, but they were all examined, urn, by
a forensic anthropologist. We'll talk about that
a little bit, uh, later in the case. But what
you need to know on Wednesday is that they were
able to say that they're human bones and that
they're from an adult female.
Uh, officers, obviously, at this point
believe that this is the site of the mutilation
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and the disposal of Teresa Halbach.
Later, on the next day, on Thursday, uh,
this burn area -- this is a little
computer-generated image of the burn area, uh,
officers, urn, are able to further excavate and,
urn, recover all the rest of the bones that, uh,
are found in that area.
And let me just take a -- a moment, uh,
to tell you about these computer~generated
images, uh, that you're going to see. There's a
gentleman by the name of Tim Austin. He is a,
urn, employee with the Wisconsin State Patrol.
Uh, Tim Austin was at the scene for, uh, at least
seven of the days, uh, that led up to or included
the processing of the scene, and Mr. Austin --
you're going to hear evidence he took at least
4--,-100- mea-surements--and lat-er cre-ate-d( uh, -not--
only still images, uh, of the exterior of the
property, exterior of Mr. Avery's, uh, garage,
and trailer, and the burn area, and, uh, the
Janda and Dassey areas, urn, but also some of the
interiors.
Because you're not going to be able to
go out there, because you're not going to be able
to do a -- a scene visit, urn, Mr. Austin created
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for you, uh, kind of a tour. Urn, many of you
might be familiar with at least with some kind of
computers, virtual tours, that you're able to
kind of tour the area and -- and get kind of a
a -- a lay of the land, if you will, and you'll
hear how accurate, uh, the depictions are.
You're going to see it. You're going to see the
virtual tour so that you get a better flavor or
feel for where one item might be in relation to
another. All right? So, uh, we also have for
11 you these computer-generated images, urn, that
12 you'll see.
13 Now, you heard about Sherry Culhane.
14 You heard about her doing some DNA work in this
15 case. Now, you're going to hear that Ms. Culhane
16 received from law enforcement 180 items -- 180
17-- - --i-'E-ems---ef- ev-iclence, uh-, -where-~-of-f-±ce-rs --a-s-ked -t-hat--
18 a DNA profile be developed. Uh, you're going to
19 hear that that is the largest submission of
20 evidence, ever, at the Wisconsin State Crime Lab,
21 uh, and that the amount of DNA work in this case,
22 uh, was absolutely overwhelming.
23 Ms. Culhane, and although not as
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important, uh, in, uh, this case, uh, will still
tell you about all of the profiles that she was
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able to develop. She'll tell you what DNA is,
and it's a genetic fingerprint, and how you can
make matches and all those kind of things. All
right?
With that having been said, though,
you're going to hear that one of the bones that
was recovered, one of the bones that was
recovered in the pit, still had some tissue on
it. So it had some muscle tissue on the bone.
It wasn't completely burned. It wasn't
completely degraded. This allowed Ms. Culhane,
uh, to develop a DNA profile, uh, and, in fact,
positively match this leg bone, uh, to the
sample, to the exemplar, to the standard of
Teresa Halbach.
So after that, urn, bone is examined, and
-a-:Et-er- a- DNA--t:>re-f-i±e -is---es-tabl-i-shed, -there ±-sn-' t----
any more question as to who this female skeleton
is, this mutilated, urn, fragmentary skeleton
belongs to, and that is, with 100 percent
certainty, Teresa Halbach.
So the investigative timeline, that is,
the first, urn, eight or ten days of this case,
urn, includes -- These aren't going to help you
because we have stuff on the bottom. So you're
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going to have to look forward. Again, I
apologize for that. That will be fixed at, uh --
at the break.
But on the 31st of October, urn, Teresa
Halbach is killed. You're going to hear about
the tirneline of October 31. You're going to hear
that at 8:12 in the morning on the 31st, Steven
Avery lures or calls, urn, AutoTrader Magazine,
and Teresa Halbach is asked to come out to the
scene. You're also going to hear she'd been
there five times before, urn, but always with the
name of, uh, Steven Avery. Uh, at least I think
that's what the evidence is going to show. But
Mr. Avery used a different name, uh, that is, B.
Janda, to get her to come out on that afternoon.
You're going to hear at 11:43 that
- ---mG±ning-,--se--serne-"tirne-jus-"E-- l:>efore noon-,-Teres-a
Halbach makes that call, that's recorded, to
Brendan Dassey and Barb Janda's answering machine
saying, I can come out. Uh, I'll be out there
sometime after 2:00, uh, today.
You're going to hear about the two stops
she made before Steven Avery's and Brendan
Dassey's residence. That is, at the Steven
Schmitz residence about 1:30, and sometime
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between 2 and 2:30 at a woman by the name of
JoEllen Zipperer's. Uh, the similar kind of
stops. She stops, she takes pictures of the
cars, she gives them an AutoTrader Magazine, a
bill of sale, she completes the transaction
before taking the photo for Auto Trader, and then
she goes on to her next stop that day.
Well, her next stop that day, uh, was
that of, urn -- at the Steven Avery salvage
property. You're going to hear at 2:27 p.m. a
woman from AutoTrader, Dawn Pliszka, talks to,
uh, Teresa Halbach. You're going to hear that
during that conversation, urn, Ms. Halbach says,
I'm on my way. I'm on my way to the Steven Avery
property. So when we talk about a tirneline, when
was she there? About when does she get there?
- ---- -You 1 -:r:-e- going --to--hear-t.hat--t.he --Z-i-pperer-----
residence is less than ten minutes from the Avery
property. And if at 2:27 she says, I'm on my
way, it can be no longer or later than 3:27 or
about 3:40. Excuse me, 2:27 or about 2:40 in the
afternoon, 20 to 3, that Teresa Halbach gets to
Steven Avery's property where the photos are
taken.
You will hear evidence that she
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completes the transaction. She takes the photos
of the van just like she's been asked to do. Uh,
you will then hear, uh, in, unfortunately,
graphic detail, what happens at Teresa Halbach
after 2:40 in the afternoon.
Let's go back to the investigation for
just a minute, though. Teresa doesn't show up
for work on the 1st or 2nd of, urn, November. On
the 3rd, the Halbach family and friends become
understandably concerned, and they begin to
retrace Teresa's steps. Where is Teresa? How
12 can we find her?
13 On the 4th, both the citizen efforts and
14 the law enforcement efforts to find Teresa are
15 kind of ramped up. Urn, they do aerial searches,
16 uh, they look at financial transactions, they
17- ·---check- -out-her--ce-l-l-phone- re-cords-,--and- whi-ch ___ _
18 towers that her cell phone kind of ping off of,
19 or bounce off of, and also you'll hear about the
20 distribution of missing person posters at that
21 time by citizens.
22 You'll hear that on the morning of the
23 5th her vehicle is found at 10:30 in the morning
24 by the Sturms. At about 2:00, investigators, uh,
25 become actively involved in searching, or at
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least in obtaining search warrants, and then, uh,
searching the property, and you'll then hear
about the searches continuing.
Uh, very quickly, on Sunday, the, urn,
firearms and garage is searched, and you'll hear
about the evidence, uh, that is obtained.
On the 7th, it becomes more full scale.
Lots and lots, in fact, hundreds of law
enforcement officers and volunteers and citizens
become involved in the search of this massive
40-acre property. Uh, at that time all the
junked vehicles, uh, are searched, and you'll
hear about the discovery of the burn barrel.
On the 8th, those three critical
discoveries that we talked about, uh, that is,
the Toyota key being found in Steven Avery's
-E>eEi-:r:-eem,- uh-, BBV--t:>l-a-tes--a-re f<Jund--a-t---th-at--t±me-,-- -
and the burn area is discovered, which -- excuse
me -- contains, uh, those human remains.
The 9th becomes an important day.
Steven Avery's arrested. Steven Avery's arrested
for a weapons charge. On the 9th, he's
interviewed. But what you'll also hear about the
Steven Avery contact on the 9th, uh, is that
officers take some photographs. They do a, uh,
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physical examination of Steven Avery, and they
find a cut that you'll see in just a few minutes.
On the lOth, the burn area is further,
urn, examined. On the key, itself, on the key
that was found in Steven's bedroom, they find his
DNA. We'll talk about that a -- a -- a little
bit, uh -- a little bit further.
On the 11th, urn, the victim's blood,
that is the female blood, from within the SUV
Remember the big pool? Or the big, uh, stains in
the cargo area in Teresa's, uh, SUV? Uh, those
now match, uh, a soda can that Teresa had up in
the front of the vehicle. It's then presumed,
uh, to be that of Teresa Halbach's.
So those are the first, uh, eight days
or so of the investigation and what you need to
----------1-7--- -- - -- --k-now-. -A9-a-±-n,---t-h-at-'-s--probab±-y-,- you-know-,------- ----------
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two-and-a-half or three weeks, or could be, of
testimony that, in this case, we're going to try
to fit into a layer of evidence, try to fit into
about two days, maybe two-and-a-half days. So
it's going to go quickly, but it's meant to give
you a flavor of the size of this case, the scope
of this case, uh, and also, to the credit not
only of the Halbach family and to the memory of
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Teresa, but you need to hear it. You need to
hear the whole story, uh, of the investigation.
We talked about those DNA matches that,
uh, Ms. Culhane developed at the, uh, Crime Lab.
You're going to hear that Teresa's, urn, blood,
uh, is, in fact, later positively identified,
positively matched, to a standard in the cargo
and -- and panel, uh, area.
The back cargo door. You're going to
hear about, uh, blood having been actually flung,
uh, onto that door. You're going to hear from a
person by the name of Nick Stahlke, a blood
spatter expert, as to how those kind of blood
spatters, uh, can be left in a very violent, uh,
kinds of -- uh, of episodes.
You're going to hear her blood was found
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again, on the -- on the soda can.
Uh, Steven Avery's blood, uh, is found,
like I told you, in six different places in the
vehicle. Positive matches, uh, for Steven Avery,
on the, uh, rear passenger door, near the
ignition area, urn, where Steven Avery's actively
bleeding finger actually leaves some DNA, uh, in
the ignition area. Also, in the front, that is
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the front passenger part, of the SUV, that is on
the, uh, CD case and, uh, on both of the front
seats.
I told you before about the cut, the
actively bleeding cut, on Steven Avery, uh, on
the 9th. We will show you pictures, uh, of the
remnants of that cut. It was healing, uh, but
just how deep that cut was. And you can draw the
conclusions, and, in fact, uh, it may or may not
even be contested that his finger was actively
bleeding on the 31st when he struggled with
Teresa, uh, and when he, uh, loaded her in the
back of, uh, uh, the vehicle, uh, and helped and
dispose of the vehicle to, uh, conceal that
particular crime.
16 And, finally, you're going to hear
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on Teresa Halbach's key. You're going to hear
about how DNA is the same whether it's in your
blood, whether it's in other bodily fluids, urn,
perspiration, skin cells, semen, uh, other kinds
of places. It's the same genetic code. It's the
same DNA that's found. And when Steven was
handling, uh, that, uh, key, uh, he left his
perspiration, he left his sweat on that key, and
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Ms. Culhane, excuse me, was able to develop a
full profile. All right?
Everybody take a deep breath, because
we're now going to start talking about the reason
that you're here. That was all of Steven Avery's
case where the evidence that pointed -- excuse
me -- to Steven Avery.
Uh, this is going to be a time when the
Judge is going to allow you to take a few minute
break, your morning break. Excuse me. After you
return, we will then tell you about what evidence
it is that the State intends to show, uh, and 

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