Dassey Retrial Hearing Day Five

The hearing for a request for retrial of Brendan Dassey continued on 22 January, 2010. Dassey was convicted in 2007 for the 2005 rape and murder of Teresa Halbach. Dassey’s uncle, Steven Avery, was convicted for the murder of Halbach.

Calumet County Investigator Mark Wiegert repeated the litanies he and Wisconsin Special Agent Tom Fassbender made throughout the case.

Wiegert claimed Dassey was originally a witness rather than a suspect. He claimed knowledge from a family member that Dassey was falling apart raised suspicions of the interrogators.

I have yet seen a defense attorney ask the name of the source used for the pretense to go after Brendan Dassey. Even at this hearing the mysterious family member was not named.

The confrontational nature of the 27 February, 2006 interviews by Wiegert and Fassbender are clearly interrogations ,however. And, the aim from the start was to coerce Brendan Dassey’s statements about a burning body and knowledge of the crime. They started by insisting he felt bad about his involvement.

Wiegert claimed that the Miranda Warnings given in all the interrogations were proper. Actually, the proper Miranda was given in 13 May, 2006, interrogation. And, the prosecution had to suppress that session because it was so damaging to their case.

At the 27 February 2006, Mishicot High School session, there was no discernible warning. At the 27 February, Two Rivers Police Department session, the Miranda was immediately negated by Tom Fassbender when he stated, “We have no way of getting you a lawyerâ€¦”

The 1 March, 2006 Miranda was first given in a car when Brendan was confined to the rear seat. The investigators then gossiped about mundane items until the three arrived at the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department. Then Wiegert briefly referenced the earlier warning,”Um, I just wanted to go over this real quick again. Do you remember these rights, your Miranda Rights that I read to you?” So was the proper warning given in a timely manner? There was a gap in the time of the warning and the start of the interrogation plus the setting was entirely different.

Even if Dassey had remembered the earlier warning and understood it, he was not free to go. He was trapped in a room in the Sheriff’s Department with no way of getting back to school. When his mother arrived, he was not informed or her arrival and she was not allowed to see her son, although Wiegert testified that she was welcome to attend.

Dassey’s mother Barb Tadych testified. She stated that she wanted to attend the interrogation, but police persuaded her to stay away. She said that if she were aware that her son was to be accused of murder that she wanted to be present.

And, after the interrogation, Wiegert invited Taydich into the interrogation room. But, when Brendan recanted his confession, Wiegert immediately stepped in and separated them.

Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Tom Fallon had two jailhouse telephone tapes played. One had Brendan’s grandfather telling him to stick to his guns. The other had his mother reminding him of his statement that the police tricked him.

Earlier in the hearing the defense showed a video of Brendan recanting his confession and saying the interrogators got to his head. Now, Fallon wanted to make things appear as if Dassey’s relatives pressured him to deny guilt. But, the relatives were reminding him of his statement immediately after the March, 2006 interrogation.

Despite the video showing the recantation, the Post~Crescent showed its bias with the heading “Evidence shows Brendan Dassey was under pressure from family to recant confession that he and Steven Avery killed Teresa Halbach.” Even the statement by his grandfather was exhorting him to stick with his statement at the end of the 1 March, 2006, interrogation.

Thus, the so‑called coercing was really a reminder that was well grounded in Dassey’s own words.

Now we wait for more court filings and the decision by Judge Jerome Fox.