The slow-burning legal saga of Making A Murderer subject Steven Avery took another glacial turn today, when a Wisconsin judge denied Avery’s lawyer’s request for a new trial, citing insufficient evidence. Avery made his request for a retrial in the wake of a different judge tossing out a confession given by his nephew, Brendan Dassey, who also featured prominently in the Netflix program.
Dassey is currently still in jail, awaiting a federal appeal that would force the state of Wisconsin to stop fighting his efforts to be freed. Avery, meanwhile, was convicted separately from his nephew for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach, and his lawyer says that, despite comments from the judge, they’ll continue to seek a new trial. “We are filing an amended petition because we have additional test results and witness affidavits. The scientific testing is not completed. We remain optimistic that Mr. Avery’s conviction will be vacated,” Avery’s attorney, Kathleen Zellner, told reporters.