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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN BRENDAN DASSEY, Petitioner, v. Case No. 14-CV-1310 MICHAEL A. DITTMANN,

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Respondent. DECISION AND ORDER

I.

Facts and Procedural History A.

The Initial Investigation

Teresa Halbach, the oldest daughter of northeastern Wisconsin dairy farmers, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay in 2002. By the time she was 25-years-old she was running her own photography business. Halbach’s family and friends became concerned in early November 2005 after she had not been seen or heard from for a few days. Uncharacteristically she had not stopped by

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Records of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections state that petitioner Brendan Dassey is currently incarcerated at Columbia Correctional Institution, http://offender.doc.state.wi.us/lop/, and the warden of this institution is Michael A. Dittmann, http://doc.wi.gov/families-visitors/find-facility/columbia-correctional-institution (last visited August 12, 2016). Therefore, in accordance with Rule 2(a) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases and Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d), the caption is updated accordingly.

Case 1:14-cv-01310-WED Filed 08/12/16 Page 1 of 91 Document 23

her photography studio and her voicemail was full. Family, friends, and law enforcement distributed thousands of missing person posters, scoured roadside ditches in case she had had an accident, and retraced her last known activities. Searchers learned that Halbach had been photographing vehicles for Auto Trader Magazine on October 31, 2005. After photographing vehicles at two residences that day, Halbach was scheduled to photograph a minivan that was for sale at the Avery Salvage Yard. Halbach had not been seen or heard from since. On Saturday, November 5, 2005, volunteer searchers, with the permission of the owners of the property, undertook a search of the Avery Salvage Yard. The salvage yard property was expansive, spanning 40 acres and containing roughly 4,000 vehicles. Amidst the thousands of salvaged vehicles, partially covered by tree branches, fence posts, boxes, plywood, and auto parts, a pair of searchers found Halbach’s 1999 Toyota RAV4. As a result of this discovery, investigators obtained a search warrant for the entire salvage yard property, which encompassed roughly fifteen buildings and included residences of various members of the extended Avery family, garages, and other outbuildings. The search was extensive, involving many different agencies, dozens of law enforcement personnel, and dozens more volunteer firefighters, along with dive teams for the ponds and dogs trained to detect blood and human remains. The search lasted a week and covered not only all of the buildings but also each of the


4,000 salvaged vehicles, some of which had been crushed and required specialized equipment to inspect. Steven Avery, a son of the owners of the salvage yard, lived in a residence on the property. Investigators recovered two firearms from a gun rack above Avery’s bed and a key to Halbach’s RAV4, found in Avery’s bedroom. In a burn barrel and a roughly four-foot by six-foot burn pit near Avery’s residence, investigators located charred human bone and tooth fragments. Also recovered from the burn areas were the burned remnants of electronics, a zipper, and rivets from a woman’s jeans. In a vehicle in the salvage yard a searcher found the license plates that had been on Halbach’s RAV4. Subsequent investigation determined that the recovered human remains were those of an adult female who was no more than 30-years-old. Analysis of the skull fragments determined that she had been shot twice in the head. DNA testing of tissue remaining on one of the bone fragments was consistent with Halbach’s DNA profile, with the chance that the DNA was from a source other than Halbach being one in a billion. Additionally, investigators determined that the burned electronics were from a mobile phone, personal organizer, and digital camera of the same makes and models that Halbach was known to have owned. Halbach was seen wearing jeans shortly before she arrived at the Avery property on October 31, and the rivets recovered from the burn
