What the? Avery’s Blood Discovered in Unsealed Vial in Courthouse!
Steven Avery’s lawyers have discovered a vial of Avery’s blood in the Manitowoc County Courthouse. The blood is left over from his conviction in 1985 and was found in a container with a broken seal, and the vial was also unsealed. The announcement was made on 20 December, 2006.
Avery was charged with the murder of Teresa Halbach after his blood was found in Halbach’s vehicle. Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel made a point that the blood proved Avery was in Halbach’s SUV, but Avery has denied being in the vehicle.
Avery had the scar of a large cut when arrested, but investigators obtaining the Brendan Dassey confessions had Dassey stating that Avery received a small cut after the victim’s vehicle was hidden.
At Avery’s initial hearing, a DNA analyst, Sherry Culhane, said that blood in four locations matched or was consistent with his DNA. The analyst did not state the standard used to make this determination*.
She also said she matched Avery’s DNA with a key that was found by Manitowoc County deputies and in plain sight. This was on the seventh search of Avery’s home. A Calumet County deputy first claimed to find the key, however, it was discovered that the key was found by Manitowoc County deputies.
This key has been trouble for the prosecution. Special Prosecutor Ken Kratz claimed in press conferences that the key was well hidden as evidence that Avery was responsible for Halbach’s disappearance. How good the match to Avery’s DNA is will be important, but the questionable circumstances of the key will linger.
But, the blood discovery could have significance depending on how clearly future tests can differentiate between the blood in the vial and the blood found in the SUV. How large were the blood areas in the vehicle? How easy is it to determine the differences in age of a one-year-old sample and a ten-year-old sample? Or is the substance in the vial blood or the blood of someone else?
in category Steven Avery
