Posted on 11/09/2005 2:32:54 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
A man who served 18 years in prison for a rape he did not commit said Tuesday night he is afraid he is being framed for the disappearance of a Calumet County woman whose car was found at a junkyard run by his family.
"It's a headache. Everybody's worried about it. They can't sleep, they're so worried," Steve Avery said of himself and his large family, who live in Manitowoc County, mostly in the Two Rivers area.
Calumet County authorities are searching for 25-year-old Teresa Marie Halbach of Hilbert. Halbach, a freelance photographer for Auto Trader Magazine, was last seen Oct. 31, when she had three scheduled appointments for the publication. One of the appointments was at the salvage yard run by Avery's brother.
Investigators on Tuesday discovered evidence that makes them fear for the safety of Halbach, the Calumet County sheriff said.
Investigators still were searching Avery's property Tuesday, Sheriff Jerry Pagel said. He refused to provide any details except to say the search included excavations on or near the Avery property.
Avery's parents, Delores and Allen Avery, live on the property, and Steve Avery said Tuesday he's been living rent-free in "a house trailer close to the junkyard."
Avery was convicted of a 1985 sexual assault and exonerated by DNA evidence 18 years later. He was released from prison Sept. 11, 2003. Since then, the high school dropout has "been helping out at the yard, eight hours a day," he said. His work is unpaid, but "they help me out with food and gas. I work for my older brother. It gives me something to do until the lawsuit is settled," he said.
Avery sued Manitowoc County and its former sheriff and district attorney for $36 million over his wrongful conviction, and he has said he fears someone is trying to set him up as a suspect in Halbach's disappearance. Avery said he has nothing to hide.
"Everybody's taking it pretty rough," Avery said. "My mother breaks down. My brother broke down."
Rumors are flying, Avery said.
"I'm afraid. I heard tonight that a cop put her car in the (Avery salvage) yard."
The junkyard, his parents' adjacent home and his trailer remain under control of the authorities, and his parents have not been able to get inside their home for his mother to retrieve her medications, Avery said.
"I can't go home. Nobody can go home. They got it all blocked off," he said.
"I had to borrow a car. They took my car. Where I'm going to stay tonight, I don't know. I might stay in the back of the car."
Avery's attorney, Walter Kelly, has said he's confident Avery had nothing to do with Halbach's disappearance.
Is Avery afraid they'll arrest him in connection with the missing woman?
"That's always in my mind," he said.
Manitowoc County Sheriff Ken Petersen couldn't be reached for comment on Avery's suspicions Tuesday night. A call to him was referred to Calumet County Sheriff Gerald Pagel, who also was unreachable.
"Calumet County is handling the investigation," a Manitowoc County sheriff's dispatcher said.
Manitowoc County District Attorney Mark Rohrer has appointed the Calumet County district attorney, Ken Kratz, special prosecutor in the Halbach case because he wants to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
Kratz said investigators executed search warrants on the Avery property as well as in other counties, including in Marinette County, where the Avery family has a cabin.
Halbach's vehicle was found at the Avery salvage yard Saturday, when Avery was at his father's vacation property near Crivitz. Officers searched the cabin Saturday and impounded Avery's car and a flatbed truck.
If you thought the police were intentionally framing you, would you really want them to administer a lie detector test to you.
BTW, I think this guy's as guilty as sin.
"The project innocence people have a different sense of things than you..."
They've been backpedalling for a week now on just about every media outlet they can find in Wisconsin, justifying their actions.
Think the reason Avery didn't kill anyone for the past 18 years was that we were safe from him while he was behind bars? *Rolleyes*
I have an updated article I'm going to post. The title will be, "Mishicot area residents upset by grisly news" if you're interested in looking for it. :)
Leni
Lying, guilty b--tard!!
Good Freeping, EEE! This guy so wanted to be caught. It's a shame that it took the death of Teresa Halbach and for him to involve his young nephew in her rape and death to put him back where he NEVER should've left in the first place; prison.
Those "Innocence Project" people screwed up Big Time. I hope they all get ulcers knowing what an animal they released back into our midst!
What timing. I just happened to be remembering this article I read yesterday on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/03/03/woman.slain.ap/index.html
It is terrifying to think of being in that situation and nobody to help.
"It is terrifying to think of being in that situation and nobody to help."
I blame Governor Jim Doyle (D, WI) for not allowing me to carry a concealed weapon to protect myself in public in my own home state. He's vetoed legislation TWICE in the past four years. Teresa's blood is on his hands, as is the blood of anyone else that's been maimed or murdered away from their homes (where amazingly we CAN defend ourselves) "on his watch" due to not being able to defend themselves with something as simple as a tazer or a set of brass knuckles.
Dave? Do you have any statistics showing how many people are killed at home (where they can at least defend themselves) versus those killed away from home, in states that don't allow CC?
It's infuriating. Not to mention the fact that sadistic animals such as Avery are ever released from prison in the first place, to re-offend and pick us off like flies. Grrrrr!
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