Testimony Notes – 8 March 2007

Avery’s attorneys argued for a directed verdict or mistrial on the false imprisonment charge. This was a direct result of the Dassey Confession which has been shown to be false. The defense also argued for the suppression of several items of evidence.

The State has also altered the cause of death from throat cutting and strangulation to shooting.

Can evidence be suppressed if it is the result of a coerced false confession? The bullet fragment is an item of contention since the lab technician consumed all the DNA sample in making the test plus violated protocol. And this fragment was one of the purposes of the Dassey confession script. The confession has been hinted from time to time in this trial, but so far has not been addressed directly. We will have to wait until the trial of Brendan Dassey to get the behaviors of the various involved parties unless charges are dropped.

The histrionics of Ken Kratz when he announced the Dassey confession were addressed, but Kratz was not named as the source. Kratz was in the unique position that he had to address his own misbehavior. He admitted that the State now claims that Halbach was murdered in Avery’s garage. Kratz claimed that a telephone call from Avery to Auto Trader Magazine was sufficient to show intent to lure. He did not explain how that translated into false imprisonment.

Kratz also complained that he was not allowed to present Avery’s behavior from twenty years ago, But, Kratz would have to misrepresent those behaviors greatly to draw a relation to actions in the crime at hand.

Defense witnesses contradicted the prosecution time line and scenario from 31 October, 2005. A school bus driver, Lisa Buchner, stated she saw a woman taking photos of a van around the time of Halbach’s disappearance. She wasn’t sure of the date, but she was sure of the time: between 3:30 and 3:40 P.M.

She also testified that soon after when she saw police block a road near her home that she walked to the barricade and related what she saw.

Special Prosecutor Norm Gahn attempted to have her state she went to a different barricade, but she was adamant on that issue. He was able to get her to admit she wasn’t certain about the date, and it could have been that week or the week before. But, the defense reiterated that the sighting was close to the time that the area was blocked off by police.

I found her to be credible despite the shifting time line that Gahn produced. The bottom line is that she observed this photographer close to the time of the blockade of the Avery Property. Given the holes in the prosecution case, this could be important.

A propane delivery truck driver stated he saw a van that was similar to the description of the Halbach Toyota RAV leave the Avery Salvage Yard in the afternoon between 3:30 and 4:00. He didn’t know for sure if it were Halbach’s vehicle or if a man or woman were driving.

Roland Johnson, the owner of the two firearms found in Steven Avery’s home, testified about shooting The Marlin 22 caliber at various places around his property. He also owns the property and buildings where Steven Avery resided on 31 October, 2005. He stated that shell casings could have landed in the garage. Johnson also identified the ammunition offered as evidence by the prosecution as his. I’m not sure how this will affect the felon possessing a firearm charge. He owned the burn barrel as well.

Johnson also testified that authorities trashed the mobile home by ripping up carpets and tearing out paneling. Furniture was severely damaged. Doors were broken.

It appears that deputies and investigators believed this was Avery property and wanted to leave a message.

The final witness of the day was unfortunately cut short. The Manitowoc County Coroner Deb Kakatsch, an elected official, was prevented from doing anything on the Halbach murder case for an unknown reason.

She first became aware of the case via televised news reports. Then she mobilized a team of experts from various locations. When she contacted Investigator Mark Wiegert to offer assistance, she was rebuffed. First, he said he would contact her and then nothing. Eventually, the Manitowoc County Executive and Corporation Counsel prevented this elected official from performing her duties.

Special Prosecutor Norm Gahn objected to the witness. He claimed she was a disgruntled employee but was not required to justify his defamatory statement. Judge Patrick Willis sustained the objection.

Judge Willis made a comment about a turf war although he did not elaborate. I’m sure he knows more about the machinations of Manitowoc County Government than I. He stated that this testimony was likely to confuse the jury. The rambling and self‑contradictory testimony of Marc LeBeau was considered helpful by this same judge.

If this case is appealed, this can be a very important factor. The two lead investigators stonewalled assistance that would have helped in preserving evidence and providing timely documentation of a crime scene.

These same two lead investigators were responsible for extracting a false confession from a sixteen‑year‑old special education student. The “confession” was used to execute a search warrant that produced a magical bullet found five months after the first search concluded. The confession also addressed the thorny issue of possible burned human bones found on an adjacent property.