Along with much of the nation, I am fully under the Making A Murderer spell. Two days was all it took for me to binge-watch the addicting docuseries; but if I’m being completely honest, the only thing stopping me from pulling an all-nighter just to watch it all in one sitting was work. Every episode left me confused, pissed off, and shocked at what had been unraveled. After I had watched the whole series, I began binge-reading. Every thought in my head was full of theories and I was, and still am, in constant research-mode trying to put the fucked up puzzle together. With new information being discovered daily, I can’t get enough, and the more I read, the more information I find and obsess over.
Way too many people are in the same boat as I am: going back and forth wondering “did he do it?” and if he did do it, how and why? So many questions, too many WTF moments, and so many jaws dropped straight to the floor after the series shook the Earth to the core. I’m here to share the reasons why Making A Murderer made me lose my fucking mind.
The biggest debate right now is whether or not Steven Avery really committed the crime. I’m undecided after seeing the series and thoroughly researching the facts left out. I’ve considered every avenue of what could have happened, and opened my mind to the fact that he could’ve easily done it. Maybe he thought he could get away with it since he had been wrongfully convicted the first time? But this leaves me to ask myself “what was his motive?”. He was not far from receiving a colossal amount of money, so why would he kill a woman knowing this was so close to happening? The motive just isn’t there.
I know, I know. Even if he didn’t kill Teresa, he’s still not 100% innocent. After all, he did throw his cat over a fire after a dare from his friends when he was younger, but we were all young and stupid once, right? There’s a noticeable difference between being innocent and being not guilty. While there were some red flags, like the cat incident, that leave me feeling a little creeped out by Steven, I don’t think those automatically lead to someone being a cold-blooded killer.
Some facts considered strange in this case include: Steven Avery specifically requesting Teresa to come take the photos every time he needed it done; Steven dialing *67 to call her the first two times he called the day she was last seen; or the fact that his non-blood DNA was found on the hood of her vehicle. But of course, he could have called her because he liked the work she had done and wanted to remain consistent; it doesn’t necessarily prove he was obsessed with her. There is some speculation on whether or not she actually told her boss she was never returning to the Avery salvage yard again, because if she truly was creeped out by him, I would hope she wouldn’t go there again, at least not by herself. I know I wouldn’t go anywhere alone if I was afraid to do so.
Another question that absolutely drove me crazy during and after every episode is “how shady is the Manitowok County Sheriff Department?” There is no doubt in my mind at least some of the evidence they used in court was planted by the sheriff’s department. They should have, and were supposed to, butt out of the case to begin with, but kept suspiciously returning several months later where each time, SURPRISE, new evidence was brought to light.
Nonetheless, I truly believe no matter if he’s responsible for the death of Teresa or not, Steven Avery was dealt a shitty hand in life. There’s really no denying this. We will probably never know what really happened the day Teresa died. One thing I do know: he deserves a new trial far away from Wisconsin and Teresa Halbach deserves true justice once and for all.
Featured Image via screen-grab from Netflix’s Original Series Making A Murderer
