Kayla

The hearing on whether Brendan Dassey deserves a new trial started on Friday, 16 January, 2010, before Manitowoc County Judge Jerome Fox. Brendan Dassey’s appeals attorneys are making a case for ineffective counsel and whether the interrogations before and after the one partially used at trial were incorrectly suppressed.

The State of Wisconsin claimed that Steven Avery murdered Teresa Halbach on 31 October, 2005, and he and Dassey burned her body in a very public bonfire that evening.

One of the defense witnesses on first day of the hearing was one of the Special Prosecutors, Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz. He claimed that originally Brendan Dassey was considered as a witness rather than a suspect and it was only during the 1 March, 2006 interrogation that Dassey became a suspect.

That claim is remotely true since Dassey was an alibi witness for his uncle Steven Avery. But, Dassey’s statements were contrary to the State’s claim of timeline. And, the State was committed to make Steven Avery the perpetrator. The State needed to change his testimony and the way they conceived of to do that was to make him a witness to the crime or part of the crime.

But, to target Brendan Dassey the investigators and prosecution needed a pretense for an interrogation.

Wisconsin Special Investigator Tom Fassbender testified that family members stated that Dassey had been having bad dreams and was crying in his sleep. Fassbender and Calumet County Investigator Mark Wiegert also claimed that Brendan Dassey had lost a great deal of weight. These two lead investigators psychoanalyzed that such things could only mean that Dassey was suffering psychological trauma from events relating to the disappearance of Teresa Halbach.

It turns out that the State used a girl who was fourteen‑years‑old around the time of the Halbach disappearance. That girl was Brendan Dassey’s cousin, Kayla Avery.

The first police contact with Kayla was at Mishicot Middle School in December, 2005. Kayla had reported a concern that Steven Avery had asked a nephew to help bury a body. Kayla also asked if blood could rise up through concrete.

Steven Avery did ask his nephew Bobby Dassey and friend to help bury a body. That occurred the day after the Halbach disappearance was first publicized in November, 2005, and was part of banter. Bobby Dassey’s friend asked whether Avery had a body hidden in his closet and Avery replied with the request. The State claims that Halbach’s body was burned on 31 October, 2005.

When the State felt its case was getting shaky, investigators looked for a means to get at Brendan Dassey. They felt that Kayla was an opportunity to exploit. Wiegert testified that he met with Kayla on 20 February, 2006, in the presence of her parentâ€™s Earl and Candy. It was from this interview that Wiegert and Fassbender made their claims that Dassey was crying at night and had lost forty pounds in ten weeks. They were using a teenaged girl as a medical expert.

It is true that Brendan Dassey lost weight, but neither his immediate family members not school officials noted any morbidity in his appearance of behavior. The fact that the two investigators as well as the prosecution team made use of this is bizarre. They had no medical or other scientific evidence to verify their speculations.

The first interrogation of Dassey took place on 27 February, 2006 at Mishicot High School. The interrogators began by insisting that Brendan was feeling bad and it had to because he saw terrible things. During this interrogation, Fassbender and Wiegert pushed Dassey to say he saw body parts such as a forehead in the Halloween bonfire that Steven Avery made.

This first interrogation was followed by a session at the Two Rivers, WI police department the same day and an unrecorded interrogation that evening.

On 1 March, the two interrogators went after Dassey again. Although they told him key pieces of information, they used this fed information as gold.

Wiegert testified that he reinterviewed Kayla on 7 March, 2006. This was in the presence of her mother. At this interview Kayla told him that Dassey saw body parts in the fire and he saw Teresa Halbach “pinned up in a chair.”

None of these sessions with Kayla were recorded. And, given the behavior of Wiegert and Fassbender the information was most likely suggested by investigators.

Dassey’s defense attorneys were remiss in not exploring these claims. They did not make an effort to find which family members made the claims and determine their validity.

Further, none of the defense attorneys made an attempt to verify the forty pounds of weight loss in ten weeks that investigators testified to. Testimony from family members did verify a weight loss, but not such a great amount. And the testimony was that Dassey wanted to lose weight because peers were teasing him. At the time of the interrogations and his arrest, Brendan did not appear to be underweight.

When the trial came, Special Prosecutor Ken Kratz stated during opening arguments that Brendan had threatened a woman about her knowledge of the case. This never surfaced during the trial. Was this another case of investigators coercing statements from the fourteen‑year‑old?

When Kayla, now age fifteen, was called to testify for the prosecution, the efforts of the investigators fell apart. Assistant Attorney General Tom Fallon took charge of her testimony. She spoke of seeing the bonfire and asking her mother to see it. Her mother declined.

When Fallon pushed for the desired statements, Kayla Avery stated that she had lied to investigators and she was sorry that she did. Fallon moved on and asked whether she had stated on December 2005, that Brendan Dassey told her that he saw body parts in the huge bonfire. Kayla denied making that statement.

When lead defense attorney Mark Fremgen asked Kayla about her statements, she replied that she was confused during the police interviews and didn’t know what to do. Thus, she fabricated based upon news reports.

Kayla was followed on the stand by intern school counselor Susan Brandt. Brandt recounted the December 2005 contact. She did not testify that Kayla made any statements about body parts.

Mark Wiegert subsequently testified that Kayla told him that Dassey told her about body parts during his March interview/interrogation of her. He also testified that “pinned up in a chair” has the same meaning as handcuffed to a bed.

When Fallon cross‑examined Brendan Dassey he asked why Kayla told the counselor during the December meeting that he saw body parts. Kayla had already denied that statement. The defense attorneys did not object to this introduction of false information.

In the end, this young woman demonstrated more integrity than the investigators and prosecutors. She apologized for her statements and said they were false. She was no doubt unaware that her statements had been manipulated.

If her parents recollect the interviews, I’m sure they will realize their daughter was manipulated. I know if my child were used in such a manner and that I would be hopping mad.