Making A Murderer
As many of you have likely heard, there is a docu-series released on Netflix called Making A Murderer. It profiles the story of Steven Avery, of Wisconsin, and the Teresa Halbach murder.
I actually watched this case when it happened, and I had strong feelings at the time about it. I have yet to see Netflix’s version of the story. As a non-Netflix subscriber, I don’t know if I will watch it.
What are your thoughts? Do you think Steven Avery is guilty of killing Teresa Halbach?
[polldaddy poll=9251750]
What is the point of these types of surveys you post in your blog? You haven’t watched the documentary, and probably won’t be watching it. Yet you have “strong feelings” about this case that you refuse to share? Just like the Paige/WalMart story and the kayaking death case, you put these stories out there, offer a poll, and then never follow up with your impressions and believes. It’s very frustrating to those of us who are trying to learn how to read behavioral cues to discern truth when you don’t provide your insights about what you see in these cases.
I am sorry you are frustrated Llyn. You must have missed the post where I shared I am no longer making public opinions. I gave free analysis for 10 years, and I thought that was kind and generous, and I’m sorry if that wasn’t enough for you. There is a plethora of free analysis still available on my blog.
I work for a living and found that sharing my opinion was counter productive to my work, so I am no longer doing it.
If people are interested to pay for a subscription to my blog, I would consider it. But there has to be enough interest. Everyone loves something for free, but how much do you value it?
As for the polls, I thought people would enjoy a place where they can see what others think. I find value in that and on Facebook, the consensus was so do others.
I would also pay for a subscription! Or would you consider a pay-for-article about particular topics. I would definitely pay to read your analysis on this case, either a one-time fee for this case or a monthly subscription. I really appreciate everything that you provide at no cost to the readers.
I would definitely pay to see your analysis on this website. I’m a long time reader of your blog, but have never posted before. I just finished the series and am so curious of your thoughts on this. Please consider it for this case- a one time fee even. I love your insight and so wish I were as talented as you. Thank you!
Patreon could be a good model. Lots of people who free content for sites like YouTube do that. You can start out small like $100/month (or whatever it would be) you could review one case, for X amount more you could do more.
I would love to see more real life content. There was a woman released after 20 years because the arresting cop was dirty, but everyone in the Arizona press thinks she got away with murder. I would love to see your analysis on her press conference.
I hadn’t thought about Patreon, but yeah, I know of a lot of people on YouTube or Twitch who use that to help support their content.
I’ll be honest – I didn’t visit all that frequently; I only tended to check in for select cases I cared about – this being not only the most-recent one brought to my attention, but also the one I feel emotionally invested in the most. I feel more certain about this than I did even in the WM3 cases, and so I was hoping to hear a professional’s opinion on the matter, but now I know that isn’t going to happen.
I don’t have a ton of disposable income to just throw around to read someone’s blog, unfortunately. I suppose this means I’ve got no reason to keep my bookmark anymore.
I’m currently paying 5.99 via tiny pass to support my favorite editorial site. Your site is one I would be willing to pay for as well.
I’ve watched the first episode. Holy Cow. I can only imagine it gets worse for Avery from here. I do hope you get to watch the series Eyes. The producers have made all the episodes available on YouTube. I know that we have access to YouTube on our TV through our Cable/TV service. You could check on that with your service.
Ok. I haven’t looked at the votes or read any comments yet. I just watched the trailer and the first 60-90 seconds of the first episode, about up until he gets out of the car and hugs a woman. Instinct: guilty. Maybe it’s too early to see anger or other mixed emotions yet. Obviously, this is not my final thought because I really haven’t seen anything. I’m going to watch, be open, and see how it plays out.
Paul, when he got out of that car and hugged that woman he had just been exonerated by DNA evidence of an crime of assault that he spent 18 years in prison for. There was no zero physical evidence that he participated in the crime, he had a solid alibi for when the crime occurred and the prosecution was repeatedly told there was someone else that should be looked into – someone that had a history of violent sexual assaults – but all this was ignored. Even when that person eventually admitted he was the perpetrator, LE kept that information to themselves.
I encourage you to watch and keep an open mind. It’s a compelling story however you might feel about it. While I’m still on the fence about Steven Avery’s guilt or innocence on the murder, I’m not sure I could convict him based on the evidence presented.
Keep watching. Excellent show! And the prosecutor is a pig! This is why I don’t trust law enforcement and why I don’t believe in the death penalty.
So I just watched the entire series. All I can say is, wow! If I was sitting on that jury, I don’t think I could have convicted him for the murder – the timing was so coincidental, her appearing-out-of-thin-air key ring had none of her DNA but somehow contained his, the tampered with evidence file with the hole in the blood tube, the license plate of Theresa’s car being called in 2 days before it was “found” on his property….
That being said, I have trouble feeling a whole lot of sympathy for Steven although he obviously drew the short stick in life. He seems fairly manipulative which makes me uneasy. His attorneys were beyond top notch – he could not have asked for better representation.
I do feel a lot of sympathy for his nephew who has some obvious learning and social impairments and was obviously used by the prosecution and his own attorney and was bullied into giving a confession. While I really don’t know if this confession was false or not I lean toward it being so. Even if it was true, I don’t think he deserved the sentence handed down to him. He knew those actions to be wrong but he is obviously someone that can be easily manipulated to the point that his culpability should be lessened.
Can we have one line from you on this, Eyes, telling us whether you lean towards his guilt or not?
I would pay for a subscription to your blog, which has become one of my most passionate hobbies. We are just pouting because we miss you! I’m addicted to the mystery news shows and until you I had no playmates in my “who really done it” game, let alone an actual teacher. I would love to take your publicized class but can’t afford it at this time. Even so, every time I see your ad for it, I’m so proud of you. You made it happen!!!! As a single girl I have found a pleasant side effect of all that I’ve learned from your blog is increased confidence in scary things that I have to do on my own, such as buy a car or interview to get into school. I don’t feel I missed a lot before, but taking in subtleties is even more second nature to me now. So, yes, I think I am among many who would purchase a subscription to your blog. Also, you likely would have more polite clientele.
Thank you for sharing this, Jennifer. I will keep you updated if I offer this service 😉
I would definitely pay a subscription for your blog! Your analyses are always spot on. I love all things investigative; journalism, reports, tv shows, etc. Your website is one of my favorites, thanks for all you do!
I would pay cash for you to watch the segment of the trial where Sargent Colburn is being interrogated about the call he made to dispatch regarding TH liscense plates two days before the car was found. That was amazing for a body language read.
Ha. I came in here specifically looking to see if you watched this. It’s so messed up…I spotted a few hotspots and wanted to see if I was right or not.
Me too.
I too came here to see your opinion. I do understand your position of not giving it away for free. It makes sense and you have given us enough.
I’ll share my impression. I’d also like to find out more about taking the test to see if you can detect liars, since most of the time I agree with you.
what are your thoughts on Brendan?
I, too, just came here after a long absence in order to see your opinion on this case! I am halfway through the series and thought to myself I couldn’t wait to see “eyes” take on it! I had forgotten that last time I visited you had posted you were no longer giving your updates on media cases. However, as many others, I would definitely subscribe to a blog where you *do* go back to things as they were and/or a fee for “one time” case opinions where we choose which case we would like to pay to read about (though I’d prefer a full service access, I can understand you’re limited these days 🙂 )
All that said, I up-voted KellyCQ for saying pretty much how I feel. I need to finish watching the remainder to finish fleshing out my final determination, but it troubles me that my gut has yet to give me a straight answer on how it feels yet on Steven – that’s not my norm at all!!
I didn’t watch the series or read much about it. I did watch part of one of the police interviews of his nephew. His nephew was also charged in the rape and murder. Wow what a high pressure, leading interrogation (at least the 20 minutes I saw). I’m not against these types of interviews, but what comes out should match the evidence and make sense. The way he described it there should either be a lot of blood evidence, or evidence of a massive clean up. His 16 year old nephew being anywhere near near a kidnapped or drugged or whatever woman makes no sense. Maybe he eventually changed his story from what I say, but I doubt it.
Found the video. It starts to get a little bit leading at 18:00, and at 23:39 they really put the fear of god in him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYOaIDxirHE&ab_channel=StevenAvery&BrendanDasseycases(OpAveryDassey)
I, like many, value your opinions above others. I too would pay for such. Could you ever think about, please, offering a paid for subscription. Obviously you would have to choose your own way and subject matters, but I think there are at times, some obvious key cases, where the majority of your supporters would have a high interest, I also respect you cannot please all of the people all of the time, but you can please very well most. Thanks for all your hard work and efforts Eyes, with huge respect, Jackie
Hi Eyes for Lies! I am a big fan of your work and am dying to hear your thoughts on the Steven Avery case. Several people have mentioned here that they would pay for your posts, and I would also. Would you consider charging for your notes on Steven Avery?
Thank you for all of the free blogs you have posted—I loved reading all of them!
Just as an FYI, I will not be commenting on this case. I apologize.
You should get paid for your talents! I am a business and tax attorney who loves working with small business development, so I understand your situation…at a certain point you have to stop working for free even if you enjoy what you are doing or like the people you are helping. Considering how much I’ve gotten out of your blog, I’d be happy to offer some of my time to help you grow your business or explore your options. Either way, I appreciate all the valuable information you have already provided and the huge amount of time that went into this site! Thank you!
This post felt like a tease. I haven’t been to your site in a while and felt like coming to see if you had written anything on the 2016 presidential election and saw this post. I know you stopped giving your views on these type of things which is absolutely your right, but throwing these entries out there seems like a waste if you won’t tell us your impressions.
I think what you do is amazing and I think you should look into the idea for charging. I’m not sure if I would subscribe or not. I do value what you do and I appreciate that we got it for free for a long time but I’m also poor and wouldn’t be able to spend a lot of money on something that isn’t necessary for me. I think you could probably get a lot of people to pay $4-6 a month, but that might not be beneficial enough to you to offset what posting takes away from your income.
Please keep us updated on this idea.
Or maybe consider some advertising revenue ads (pay per click) just on the blog pages. It doesn’t even have to be relevant. You can get money for each view of the page, and then it’s still free for users. And we all stop whining 🙂
While I cannot say with absolute certainty that Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are innocent, I do believe that reasonable doubt was established and there is something hinky about the jury. At the very least they should be given new trials relying on a confession from a cognitively challenged 16-year-old is to be fair preposterous. Now I will say we only got so much of that interview however when the Detective comes out and says, “So who shot Ms. Halbach” that left me cold and convinced me that there is something seriously wrong within this police department. With the lawsuit against the county, Detectives and state, there is no way a judge could be impartial and a change of venue should have been ordered from the beginning. That being said I cannot say with certainty that they are innocent however I can say with a certainty that there was no fair trial. There was so much (police) procedural misconduct in the investigation, so much conflict of interest that I am absolutely taken aback that this has happened in MY state. I remember when this happened, I read the news articles and believed he was guilty but now I question that belief. Please feel free to email me your opinions. Thank you.
I, too, would subscribe to a paid service. I spend $10 USD on Mysterious Universe podcasts; this is equally as entertaining and educational. Please consider offering this service!
I have followed your blog for years. I like to check in to see your opinion about specific cases to keep track of how well I’m doing. I learned that sometimes, I’ll talk myself out of what I know to be true, because I don’t want to believe it.
To say your blog has changed my life sounds dramatic, but it’s true. After following your blog for many years, my brother was found dead of an “apparent suicide.” I saw red flags everywhere, but no one would listen to me. The detectives convinced my family that it was a suicide. I believed them too for a while, but I couldn’t get the red flags out of my head. I started investigating the case myself and I actually found proof of homicide! I eventually managed to get the case reopened. I shouldn’t say more because the case is ongoing.
I just wanted to say that what you do is important!!!! It helps people. It can alter lives and give people the tools they need to manage the worst situations just when they need it.
Please don’t shut people out from what you have to offer. Do a subscription, write a book, make a video series to sell. You could even write an article for each case and charge on a by article basis. Whatever you do, please find a way to help other people to learn these skills. I am well on my way to getting justice for my brother. If I had never read your blog, everyone would still be calling it a suicide.
I don’t know where it is that I read that Steven phoned the victim of the crime for which he was exonerated and asked her for money to buy a house. This was an account given by the victim. That to me is telling of his character. But I’m not Eyes for Lies…. I am not sure what is going on in this crazy story. Leaning toward guilt. Not clear on Brendan. But he said his attorney likes cats too when asked if he is getting to know his new attorney. That made me inexplicably sad, because I am not sure this kid was ever intellectually capable of looking out for himself.
OMG, i was shocked when i saw the poll results, its nearly a three way even split….but you only gave three choices, my personal leanings are that he could be guilty, but the LE in this case has proven so untrustworthy that I could never vote guilty in a trial, they have fouled the process in this the case so badly that the Halbach family can never receive justice, thats so sad…
Not sure if you have posted a pole asking if people would be willing to pay a subscription fee or not but I would def be willing to. Maybe you could post one with multi questions to get an idea how many people would be willing to pay and an idea of how much people would be willing to pay.
Since you followed the case, you would probably be able to spot all of the things the “documentary” left out. I remember following the case, and remember thinking that the jury came to the right decision. After watching the Netflix show (and I call it show for a reason), I can see why people are outraged and calling for a new trial. However, having actually followed the trial, I still believe the jury made the correct decision.
PS I too would pay for a subscription.