Judge Orders 'Making a Murderer' Subject Brendan Dassey's Release From Prison Pending Retrial

Brendan Dassey, one of the subjects of Netflix's 'Making a Murderer,' will be released from jail pending a possible retrial.

November 14, 2016

Not Available Lead — Image via Complex Original
Complex Original

The release of Making a Murderer subject Brendan Dassey has been ordered by a federal judge. The conditional release was set forth by the district court judge Monday, WTMJ-TVreported. Though Dassey was initially accused of assisting his uncle, Steven Avery, in the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2005, a judge ruled earlier this year that Dassey's conviction should be thrown out. The state appealed that ruling shortly after.

The filmmakers behind Making a Murderer, which was recently renewed for a second season by Netflix, told us shortly after news broke that Dassey's conviction had been thrown out that they intended to keep following this story. "Today there was a major development for the subjects in our story and this recent news shows the criminal justice system at work," Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos told Complex in a joint statement. "As we have done for the past 10 years, we will continue to document the story as it unfolds, and follow it wherever it may lead."

Kathleen Zellner, the attorney who started representing Avery earlier this year, told the New York Times in August that presenting a new "alternate-suspect theory" in the death of Halbach was possible. "There is evidence that already exists in the case that points to a different location and a different suspect," Zellner said. "We've got a combination of forensic evidence and a tip from somebody that we’ve interviewed multiple times that we think is credible."