Kathleen Zellner, the attorney for Making a Murderer subject Steven Avery, has filed additional documents seeking a new trial.
The documents, filed as a supplement to last week’s motion for reconsideration, contain the accusation that Barb Tadych, the mother of co-defendant and Avery nephew Brendan Dassey, fought back with Avery over claims the Dassey computer was full of violent pornography in 2005, hid evidence, and knows other relatives lied by implicating Avery at trial. (During the 2005 trial and in the Netflix film, Tadych was known as Barb Janda.)
Among the accusations are the following:
(1) Barb Tadych Denied Having Internet Access.
In a recorded prison telephone call between Avery and Tadych, Tadych denied having Internet access around the time of Halbach’s murder in 2005.
Zellner believes that is a lie.
The recorded call occurred just one day after Zellner last week filed a motion accusing Tadych son, Bobby Dassey, of searching for violent pornography on the Dassey/Tadych family computer before and after the Teresa Halbach murder of October 31, 2005.
The conversation began with Avery asking, “Why is all that s–t on the computer?”
Tadych replied, “There was nothing on my f–king computer. All this — I didn’t even have f–king internet back then.”
Avery said, “Yes you did.”
The argument continued as to whether or not Tadych, who in 2005 was known as Barb Janda, had the internet around the time of the Halbach murder.
Zellner argues:
“Barb’s vehement denial that her computer had access to the internet at the time of Ms. Halbach’s disappearance is probative because it is unequivocally false. As cited in Mr. Avery’s motion for reconsideration, a forensic examination of Barb’s computer . . . shows that the computer was used to access violent images of young deceased females, rape, torture, incest, and pedophilia on the internet at times when only Bobby was home.”
(2) Barb Tadych Says Halbach Left The Avery Property
This is a biggie.
In the recorded phone call, Barb Tadych asserts that Halbach left the family property after taking photos of a vehicle for sale.
At trial, however, Barb Tadych’s son, Bobby Dassey, testified he saw Halbach walk toward Steven Avery’s trailer. Independent witnesses did not see her after that point.
The conversation went this way:
Avery: Bobby’s home.
Barb Tadych: He wasn’t always home.
Avery: Well you — well, most of the time he was home.
Barb Tadych: No.
Scott Tadych (Barb’s Current Husband): He doesn’t know f–king s–t.
Avery: And he said he [sic] left. [Ms. Halbach] left.
Scott Tadych: That’s right.
Barb Tadych: Yeah. She left.
Avery: Yeah.
Barb Tadych: Yeah.
Avery: Well, he didn’t testify for [sic] that.
Zellner says Scott Tadych also threatened to put Avery “in the f–king ground” during the call.
Zellner says this information is critical in attacking the state’s case, which hinged in many respects on Bobby Dassey’s testimony that Halbach approached Avery’s trailer.
Zellner also says Barb Janda made statements on Facebook within the last several days which suggest Bobby Dassey lied at trial.
(3) Barb Tadych Tried To Delete Material From Her Computer
According to Zellner, Barb Tadych’s stepson, Brad A. Dassey, says Barb Tadych “hired someone to re-format” her computer. Brad A. Dassey says the re-formatting occurred shortly before authorities seized her computer and that she had inquired whether the procedure would remove what was on the computer.
Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were convicted by separate Wisconsin juries in 2007 for Halbach’s murder. LawNewz made attempts to reach Tadych for comment.
Aaron Keller is an attorney and streaming trial host for the LawNewz Network. He, as a local journalist in Wisconsin, covered the Halbach case in its entirety from 2005-2007. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @AKellerLawNewz.
[Editor’s note: This piece has been updated to correct a minor spelling error.]
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