'Making A Murderer' Update: Wisconsin Attorney Leaves Accidental Voicemail on Kathleen Zellner's Phone Prompting Second Letter Of Appeal

Kathleen Zellner filed a second letter to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the case of Steven Avery on Wednesday after a Wisconsin attorney left an accidental voicemail on her phone. The Making A Murderer lawyer posted the full letter on her website, which included a transcription of the voicemail from prosecuting attorney Mark Williams.

In the message, Williams brings up a pelvic bone, which could belong to Teresa Halbach, that may still be in possession of the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Zellner's client, Avery, is currently serving life in prison for the murder of Halbach, which he claims he did not commit. Zellner brought this set of possible human bones to the attention of Wisconsin for further DNA testing. She explained the bones, if Halbach's, could prove Avery is innocent, as they were found in a location removed from the original prosecution's presented theory of Avery's guilt. The Wisconsin Department of Justice told Zellner the bones had been returned to Halbach's family. They, allegedly, have never been tested for DNA.

The pelvis, however, was not on the original write-up, which caused Zellner to question its current location. The letter claims Zellner had been told of a pelvic bone the state has kept for the three years she's been Avery's wrongful convictions attorney.

She did not receive a response to her inquiry, only a voicemail that was not meant for her ears, she shared. "Hi, Tom. This is Mark Williams," Williams began in the voicemail left on Zellner's phone at 9:13 a.m. Wednesday. "Um, I'll send you an email later today, but I don't think we should do anything or respond to her [Zellner] at all until tomorrow, uh, when we look into the bag and—and see exactly the pelvic bones are in there or not. Um, so I—I would not respond, uh, until we look into the bag, uh tomorrow morning and then we can talk about it, uh, before we send a response. Thanks a lot. Bye."

kathleen zellner
Kathleen Zellner took the Steven Avery case after watching his story on "Making A Murderer." Netflix

In the letter, Zellner said this voicemail proves a misrepresentation of the bones the Wisconsin Department of Justice has in its possession. She questioned if the bones had been sent to the Halbach family, or if some were still in the possession of the Department of Justice. She also explained this implies the bones may have undergone DNA testing, which was not presented to Avery's council.

Zellner is currently aiming to appeal Avery's case. She told Newsweek in an email Thursday she found six Brady violations in Avery's case. A Brady violation entails information kept from the defense that could contribute to proving the innocense of the accused. The Supreme Court of Wisconsin is currently reworking its Brady violation system in a way that requires all exculpatory evidence to be revealed to the defense, according to a Law Professors blog. In her email, Zellner claimed this could be crucial in Avery's possible exoneration.

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Kelly started a career in journalism after completing her education at The New School in New York City. She currently ... Read more

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