An Audiovox Cell Phone Was Found Near the River in Mishicot, Close to Sightings of Teresa Halbach's RAV4 in a Turnaround on Highway 147

Across the street from 3405 Main Street/Highway 147 Jill J. Rhein saw a suspicious car on November 1, 2005 (this is near Ridge Road and a turnaround by the East Twin River in Mishicot).



On November 11th, 2005, Jill J. Rhein stopped at the command center at Avery Auto Salvage and told investigators that on November 1st she saw a suspicious car across the street from 3405 Main Street/Highway 147 in Mishicot.

Rhein's statement was noted in the Calumet County (CASO) log on page 79 (image below), but there was no follow up (no report by investigators in the CASO file).

Kathleen Zellner filed a new motion on October 23rd, 2017. In it she reveals a new witness, Kevin Rahmlow, who recently came forward with claims that he spotted Teresa Halbach's RAV4 on November 3rd and 4th, 2005, parked two days in a row in a turnaround on highway 147, near the old damn and bridge over the East Twin River in Mishicot.

On November 4th, Rahmlow saw a missing persons poster of Teresa and her RAV4 in the Cenex station in Mishicot and recognized the vehicle as being the one parked in the turnaround. He spotted a Manitowoc County sheriff's deputy at the Cenex station in Mishicot and told him about it. He didn't know the deputy's name, but when he watched Making a Murderer in December 2016, a year after its release, he recognized the deputy as Andy Colborn.

Confirmation of the poster being up at the Cenex station in Mishicot is in the dispatch calls (3:20 mark in the video below) -- the caller (Ryan Gilbert, Chief of the Mishicot PD) lists the posters at Cenex and channel 11 (Ryan Hillegas also mentioned at the trial that they faxed missing person posters to all the gas stations).

The following is a screen shot from the motion as it pertains to Kevin Rahmlow (who didn't know his information was important until he watched Making A Murderer in December 2016).




Kevin Rahmlow saw Teresa's RAV4 parked in a turnaround by the East Twin River on November 3rd and 4th, 2005 (image above was captured on December 31, 2004). This is the same area on highway 147 (Main Street) where Jill Rhein saw a suspicious car on November 1st. 

From the affidavit of Kevin Rahmlow, attached as Exhibit D to Zellner's October 23rd, 2017 motion:

"On November 3 and 4, 2005, I was in Mishicot. I saw Teresa Halbach's vehicle by the East Twin River dam in Mishicot at the turnabout [by] the bridge, as I drove west on Highway 147. Around midday on November 4, 2005, I stopped at the Cenex gas station at the intersection of Highway 147 and State Street in Mishicot. While there, I saw and read a missing person poster for Teresa Halbach. I remember that the poster had a picture of Teresa Halbach and written descriptions of Teresa Halbach and the car she was driving. I recognized the poster attached as Exhibit A to this affidavit as a copy of the one I saw at the Cenex station on November 4, 2005. I recognized that the written description of the vehicle on the poster matched the car I saw at the turnaround by the dam. 

"While I was in the Cenex station, a Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department officer came into the station. I immediately told the officer that I had seen a car that matched the description of the car on Teresa Halbach's missing person poster at the turnaround by the dam. In December 2016, I watched Making a Murderer. In the series, I recognized the officer who I talked to at the Cenex station on November 4, 2005. A photograph of this officer is attached as exhibit B to this affidavit. Having watched Making a Murderer, I now know that his name is Andy Colborn."

Mr. Tadych’s failure to respond to Kevin Rahmlow’s text about seeing the RAV4 at the turnaround by the old dam in November, 2005, before the discovery of the Halbach vehicle on the Avery property, is also suspicious. [Second Supplement to Previously Filed Motion for Reconsideration, November 16, 2017]





On December 12th and 19th, 2016, Rahmlow, who knew Scott Tadych through his brother, sent text messages to Scott about seeing the RAV4 in the turnaround and telling Colborn about it when he ran into him at the Cenex station on November 4th, 2005. Scott never acknowledged the messages.





Colborn testified that he was not scheduled to work on November 4th-6th, 2005: that these were the three days he was scheduled to be off ("he worked a six day on, three day off rotation," noon to 8:00 PM shift, and he was scheduled to be off November 4-6th).

On January 11th, 2007, Colborn was interviewed by CASO's Steier, who asked Colborn if he could recall what he had done on Friday, November 4th, one of his scheduled days off. Colborn told Steier he could not recall what he had done on the 4th.

Colborn feigned ignorance about what he did on November 4th because he didn't want it to be public record that he worked overtime on November 4th to assist with the Teresa Halbach missing person's case, just as he worked overtime on Saturday, November 5th and Sunday, November 6th.

The following is part of Colborn's testimony at Avery's trial:

Q. Sergeant, you hold the rank of sergeant?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And in early November of 2005, did you hold that same rank?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What were your duties back in early November of  '05?
A. Essentially the same duties that I hold today. I was a patrol supervisor on -- I work a six day on, three day off rotation. So on the days that the lieutenant that's assigned to the shift is off, I would be the shift commander.
Q. So you have supervisory responsibilities as well?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. I'm going to direct your attention to November 3rd of 2005, ask if you were employed on that evening?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you recall what your duties were on November 3rd?
A. I was the shift commander for the noon to 8 shift, that's the shift I'm assigned to.
Q. Sometime during that shift, Sergeant Colborn, were you informed of a Calumet County missing persons investigation that was ongoing?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And being involved in that -- or excuse me, being aware of that investigation, were you asked to assist in any way?
A. Yes, sir.
[...]
Q. Did you do anything on the 3rd of November to further investigate Mr. Avery?
A. On November 3rd?
Q. Yes.
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever go back onto his property on the 3rd?
A. No, sir.
[...]
Q. After going to the Zipperers with Detective -- I think it was Remiker and Dedering, what did you do after that?
A. After we were done, completed at the Zipperers?
Q. Yes.
A. I went home. I was done with -- you know, I was already on overtime. I checked out and went home.
Q. Do you know about what time that was?
A. 10:30, 11:00 at night, maybe.
Q. All right.  Do you remember what you did the rest of that evening?
A. Just probably fell asleep on the couch.  I went to bed and, you know, fell asleep.
Q. The next day, on the forth of November, were you working that day?
A. No, sir, I was off that day.
Q. It's a Friday; is that right?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember what you did on the 4th?  We'll get back to that, but do you recall, generally, your day on the 4th of November?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Move your attention one day further, on the 5th, Saturday, the 5th of November; do you recall what you were doing that day or that morning?
A. That was also a regularly scheduled day off for me. Yes, I recall what I did on that day.
Q. We'll get into the morning, but let me just jump right to this investigation.Were you contacted at all by any supervisors or superiors that day and asked to participate in this case?
A. I was contacted by the noon to 8 shift commander for that day, and he did ask me to come into work and pick up a patrol vehicle and respond out to the Avery Salvage Yard.
Q. Did you do that?
A. Yes.
Q. In a marked vehicle?
A. Yes, I did take a marked vehicle out there.
Q. And about what time was it that you arrived at the Avery scene itself; do you recall?
A. I know I left my house between 4:00 and 4:30. I probably got out to the Avery Salvage Yard between 5:15, 5:30 maybe.
Q. To your best recollection?
A. Yes.
[...]
Q. The next day, that is, on the 6th of November, were you asked to come back to the scene?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And what were you asked to do on the 6th?
A. On the 6th, when I came out there, again, with Detective Remiker and Lieutenant Lenk and I believe just -- this time just Lieutenant Lenk went into the Command Post to make contact with who we would be working with with Cal County that day. And Detective Remiker and I just kind of waited until he came back out. And we were introduced to Deputy Kucharski. And then Deputy Kucharski informed us what our assignment would be for that day.

The image above shows the turnaround at the East Twin River, 590 yards east of Scott Tadych's trailer, where Kevin Rahmlow saw Teresa's RAV4 on November 3rd and 4th, 2005 (the image was captured in October 2008) -- Rahmlow told Andy Colborn about this on November 4th, 2005, when he saw Colborn at the Cenex gas station in Mishicot (Colborn didn't file a report about it).

Near this turnaround is also were a cell phone was found -- Andy Colborn and James Lenk were with CASO deputy Craig Wendling when this cell phone was collected into evidence on November 9th, 2005.



In his report of activity for November 9th (page 185 of CASO's investigative file), CASO deputy Craig Wendling noted that MTSO deputies James Lenk and Andy Colborn were with him when he collected into evidence (tag no. 8451) an Audiovox phone, silver in color, Model CDM8815UT STAR CAM.

Wendling noted that Colborn did all the photography for him, but he collected the phone and kept it in his possesssion.

Wendling mentioned John Campion in his report but not Pam Sturm.

John J. Campion, owner of Chiller's Bar & Grill, who was searching with former private investigator Pam Sturm (jury trial day 2, page 234), actually found the cell phone (Pam testified that she couldn't recall the day that it was found).

Campion found the phone just east of Ridge Road, on highway 147, in the north ditch, along the gravel line.

This is near the sighting by Jill Rhein of a suspicious vehicle across the street from 3405 Main Street/Highway 147 in Michicot on November 1, 2005.

Did they check the number for this phone? Was it a disposable phone?



Pam Sturm (and Sheriff Pagel's cousin by marriage) found business papers along the East Twin River in Mishicot; however, she testified she didn't recall any such papers. She testified instead to finding the Audiovox cell phone that Champion found and turning it over to a sheriff's deputy in uniform. She testified she wasn't sure who the deputy was, and she never gave a name when cross examined.

Out of the presence of the jury, the judge asked Buting, "How did you know how to ask the questions about it?" (the cell phone and business papers found near the river in Mishicot). Buting explained: "We get tips too, just like they do (the prosecution). Sometimes useless, sometimes not. This one sounded like maybe it might be more legitimate, so I thought I would ask her about it. But I had no confirmation of it, until today." Wiegert claimed to know nothing about the police action taken.

When Buting asked her what day she found the phone, she couldn't recall. She said it was after November 5th, the day she found the RAV4 at Avery's Salvage Yard. She first testified that it was Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, but then later changed her story and said, "No, I don't think I worked on the 6th. I think I had off on Monday or Tuesday and I went back to help out." When asked what she did after the deputy took possession of the cell phone, she testified that "we met up with the search party again."

Pam testified that it was found by the river about 1/4 mile outside of Mishicot by a "turnaround."

During Avery's trial, the defense team received a tip from the public about the phone and business papers being found near the turnaround (the prosecution must not have turned over to the defense a copy of Craig Wendling's report or the defense team overlooked it in the discovery materials).



Robert Fabian, Earl Avery's brother-in-law, told CASO investigators that around 8:00 a.m. on November 3rd "he observed a green jeep backed all the way up at a parking area on highway 147 by the river." Investigators noted that "Robert described this area as a turnaround" and that "Robert recalls seeing this jeep at 8:00 a.m. because he had seen a male subject talking on TV about a green jeep being in the area" (page 320).

NOTE: It was (and maybe still is) typical for people in the area to refer to SUVs as "jeeps" (Brendan, Fabian, Siebert); therefore, when a witness says "jeep" he could be referring, in general, to any SUV.



Ervin Koehnke would have been the "male subject" Fabian had seen on TV. Koehnke was interviewed by a local television station and he stated that on the morning of November 3rd, 2005, he saw Teresa's RAV4 in a turnaround on highway 147 east of I-43 (page 221).

On or about January 21st, 2006, Ervin Koehnke called MTSO dispatch, and his contact information was passed onto CASO's Dedering ("as he does not have long distance service"). Dedering wrote (CASO page 353) that Koehnke said he saw "a unit parked in the turnaround in Mishicot, just west of town, on November 4th." He said the vehicle was parking facing east and that he observed a large hole in the windshield as well a a large hole in the driver's side window. Dedering wrote that Koehnke said "the one on television wasn't the same color" (the RAV4 in evidence, which looked green or blue, depending on lighting, doesn't have a large hole in the windshield or driver's side window). According to Dedering's report, "Koehnke further indicated the vehicle shown on television as a result of the preliminary hearing on 12/06/05 did not seem to be the same unit."

According to reddit user Ghwoodall: "Koehnke made that last comment about the vehicle not being the same unit because LE convinced him it wasn't the right one. In the MTSO dispatch calls, there are two guys who call in, and the one older man is upset that the press is asking him questions, and he's saying, "But I didn't know," and they transfer his call to Gary Steier to calm him down. It just so happens that the man who called has passed away, but the guy with him, who is upset, is still alive. He was told by LE that he saw the wrong RAV4. I've spoken with a friend of his, and since the man isn't on social media, I asked his friend to please contact Zellner because this man also saw Andy Colborn with the RAV4 that he saw. Funny, Colborn never made a report about the RAV4, yet he was spotted with it."

Avery's neighbor on Jambo Creek Road, Wilmer Siebert, said he saw a vehicle matching the color, style and size of Teresa Halbach’s Toyota RAV4 driving into the back of Avery’s Auto Salvage via quarry roads days before Pam Sturm found it abandoned in the salvage yard on November 5th, 2005. Sibert saw an older model white jeep with paint chipping off the hood closely following the RAV4 down the access roads into the gravel pits. A short time after seeing the two vehicles enter the gravel pits, he saw the white jeep exit the gravel pits, again using the same access roads just south of his house on Jambo Creek Road.


Above are images captured by Google Maps in September 2009 of Andy Colborn's driveway, and in his driveway is a 1999 white Isuzu Rodeo (SUV).

Attached as an exhibit to Kathleen Zellner's post-conviction petition filed on June 7th, 2017 is an affidavit from Siebert signed on March 23, 2017.

Paul Metz, a farmer whose cattle are located at the intersection of Jambo Creek Road and Zander Road, was interviewed by CASO detective Dedering.

Attached as an exhibit to Kathleen Zellner's post-conviction petition filed on June 7th, 2017 is an affidavit from Paul Metz, dated April 21, 2017. He says that law enforcement misrepresented his statements in their report. The following is from Metz's affidavit (PC exhibit 99):

"Around dusk on October 31, 2005, I heard a loud buzzing sound that reminded me of electrical wires pulsating. I then smelled what I thought was insulation burning. I initially thought that the high-power tension wires that run just south of my property were overloading, causing the buzzing sound and the bad odor. I did not confuse the smell with that of a burning body. I know what a burning body smells like from my time as a volunteer firefighter. I was interviewed by officers from the Manitowoc County Sheriff s Department ("MCSD"). I did not initiate contact with MCSD and I do not know how MCSD learned about this incident. During the interview, I would not have describe the sound I had heard as a 'whoosh.' Rather, it was a buzzing sound. I did not tell officers from MCSD that the sound reminded me of instances when I poured gasoline or other highly volatile substances on a fire. I did not tell anyone that I thought the smell was coming from the south or from the vicinity of the Avery property off of Highway 147."

Two people who lived on or near Twin Bridge Road in Mischicot contacted the sheriff's office to report a suspicious van parked for three consecutive days at Kruger Road and Twin Bridge Road, an area about two miles north of Avery Auto Salvage. The car was parked there during the day but was always gone in the evening. This was early in the week that Teresa went missing. The one witness described it as a black, four-door van. She also said that, during the first part of the week that Teresa went missing, her dog outside in the pen barked for a solid 20 minutes and she was unable to settle it down.



At 24:30 in the calls to Manitowoc County dispatch, turkey hunters at the Richard Drum Forest and the West Twin River bridge on highway 147 saw a dark or green-colored truck and a guy in waders in the trails below the bridge on Thursday, November 3rd [Scott Tadych drove a green Ford Ranger with a cap at the time]. The hunters felt it was important enough to call the sheriff about what they saw. Whatever the turkey hunters saw was more than just a guy in waders and a truck. They're outdoor sportsman, and they know what is normal and what is not when it comes to hunting and fishing. It was something out of the ordinary that prompted them to take the time to call the sheriff about it. The call was forwarded to Calumet County. [Several people, including Steven, referred to the RAV4 as a truck or jeep at times (rather than calling it a SUV), so it's possible the turkey hunters saw the RAV4 and just called it a truck when reporting it (Teresa's RAV4 looked blue in photographs but looked green in person to most people).]

Just southwest of the West Twin River bridge on highway 147 in Maribel there is a hunting cabin with what looks like a cooker at 7507-7549 W. Main Street (image below). The cooker is used to cook wild game, such as deer and bear, at high temperatures. The secluded cabin with the cooker is only 200 meters south of the bridge and is probably less than a five-minute walk.

Ryan Hillegas is the Prime Suspect in the Murder of Teresa Halbach, According to Steven Avery's Post-conviction Counsel

Teresa Halbach and Ryan Hillegas: the two dated  "for five years or so," stretching through the end of high school and part of college (Teresa and Ryan were both born in March 1980; however, Teresa graduated in May 2002 from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and Ryan graduated three years later, in 2005, from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh).


In HDTV it looks like Ryan has a black and blue bruise just below his hat, between his left eye and ear (click on image for video); it could be a bite mark.

Ryan Hillegas' Cross Examination (Excerpt):

Q. Okay. Now, did the investigators ask you any questions about the nature of your relationship with Teresa?

A. Yeah.

Q. And they learned that you were a former boyfriend, stayed good friends with her?

A. Well, I believe I just said that I was a friend of hers. I don’t think I mentioned that I was an ex-boyfriend.

Q. Okay. And they didn’t pursue that and ask if you had ever had anything more than a friendship, is that what you are saying?

A. I believe so. It came out eventually, I just didn’t feel that it mattered.

(Court reporter coughing, asked him to repeat.)

Q. Let me try again.

A. Ask it again, please.

Q. Did the police ever probe further and ask if you had — the nature of your relationship with her beyond whether there was ever anything more than friendship?

A. I don’t think they really probed into that. I mean, I don’t remember when it came out or who was the one that mentioned that we used to date.

Q. Okay. But it wasn’t talked about that night?

A. I don’t believe so.

Q. When they were trying to find out what was happening — or what had happened to this missing person, right?

A. Yeah.

November 9, 2005, Greenbay Press Gazette:

"Hillegas..... works closely with Police. He meets with them daily. They tell him the areas to search, what would be helpful and what would be 'getting in the way.' And he stays in touch with them by cell phone."

August 6, 2006, The Post Crescent:

"Calumet County Sgt. Mark Weigert and Ryan Hillegas, a friend of Halbach's who coordinated the volunteer searchers, testified that police did not direct the search or give any instructions to searchers."





In a rare interview with TheLipTV (video below) in February 2016 (other than social media, Zellner has been tight-lipped with press), she explained what compelled her to take the case, saying that she “intends to prove” who killed Teresa Halbach, and that it’s “fairly obvious” who did it if you review the evidence in the criminal case. “It’s the evidence,” she asserted to TheLipTV. “In having had a number of these cases, it has the signature of a wrongful conviction case. They only focused on Steven Avery. They did not look at a lot of other suspects, certainly some very key people they should have been looking at. There was a very poor investigation done of the victim’s background, who she was involved with, the circumstances of her life. It had all of the hallmarks of a wrongful conviction case.”



Steven Avery's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, wrote in her motion for post-conviction relief that the correct explanation of the blood spatter on the rear cargo door of Teresa Halbach's RAV-4 would have provided a completely different scenario of the attack upon her than the one presented by Ken Kratz.

Zellner's expert, Stuart H. James, says that the blood spatter on the inside of the rear cargo door was the result of Teresa being struck with an object consistent with a hammer or mallet while she was lying on her back on the ground behind the vehicle after the rear cargo door was opened.

State's biggest blood spatter error. TH was hit on head when she stopped & opened rear cargo door #MakingAMurderer - Kathleen Zellner, Twitter, July 8, 2017

The following is from Zellner's June 7th motion for post-conviction relief (not in the exact order as it appears in the petition).

A blood spatter expert has refuted the testimony of the State's expert, Nick Stahlke, that the blood spatter on the rear cargo door was created when Ms. Halbach was thrown into the rear cargo area of the RAV-4.

Stuart H. James, a forensic scientist and bloodstain pattern analyst with James and Associates Forensic Consultants, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, opines that Mr. Stahlke mistakenly described the blood on the rear cargo door as having been projected from Ms. Halbach's bloodied hair after she had been shot and as she was thrown into the cargo area of the vehicle.

Mr. James, by overseeing a series of experiments, opines that the State's description of the cause of the blood spatter on the rear cargo door, resulting from Ms. Halbach being thrown into the cargo area and blood being projected from her bloodied hair on the cargo door, is demonstrably false. The erroneous blood spatter testimony of the State's expert Mr. Stahlke resulted in the State presenting a false narrative to the jury about the sequence of events surrounding the attack on Ms. Halbach. The State presented a scenario where Ms. Halbach was already fatally injured in Mr. Avery's garage prior to being thrown in the back of the RAV-4.

Mr. James will demonstrate that Ms. Halbach was behind her car and the cargo door was open when she was attacked. The experiments overseen by Mr. James demonstrate that Ms. Halbach was struck on the head after she opened the rear cargo door. She fell to the ground next to the rear bumper on the driver's side where she was struck repeatedly by an object similar to a mallet or hammer.

Ryan Hillegas has no alibi for October 31, 2005, the date Ms. Halbach was murdered, or the subsequent days when her body was burned and bones planted. Mr. Hillegas was never asked by law enforcement to provide an alibi for October 31, 2005. Trial defense counsel failed to conduct any substantive investigation of Mr. Hillegas, choosing to name him as a potential suspect at one point but failing to meet the requirements of Denny.

Mr. Hillegas' cell phone records show significant gaps during time periods in question. On October 31, 2005, there was a six hour gap -- a time frame in which there were neither incoming nor outgoing calls -- from 9:41 a. m. to 3:48 p.m. It is most likely that, during this time frame, Ms. Halbach departed the Avery property, departed the Zipperer property, and was killed after she arrived home at approximately 3:40-3:50 p.m. Ms. Halbach's day planner indicated that she wanted to "get Sarah's stuff from mom" at about 3 p.m. and "do biz paperwork" at approximately 4:30 p.m. Also on October 31, there was an over two-hour gap in Mr. Hillegas' phone records from 3:50 p.m. to 6:01 p.m. 

Mr. Hillegas' phone records have an over 17-hour gap from 7:47 p.m. on October 31, 2005, to 1:31 p.m. on November 1, 2005, during the time where Ms. Halbach's body was transported and burned. Subsequently, Mr. Hillegas had more suspicious gaps in calls. There was a six-hour gap in phone activity on November 2, 2005, from 10:06 a.m. to 4:12 p.m., and a gap on November 3, 2005, from 7:31 p.m. to 8:10 p.m, the time when Mr. Avery reported seeing headlights taillights on his property. His last call on November 3, 2005, was at 10:44 p.m.; Mr. Hillegas did not make another call until 7:52 a. m. the next morning. On November 4, from 4:15-7:25 p.m., Mr. Hillegas received 21 calls from an unidentified, hidden phone number. It is reasonable to conclude that the calling party intentionally hid its phone number and may have been law enforcement.





Knowing that he was likely to be a prime suspect due to his prior romantic relationship with Ms. Halbach, the killer, who was highly organized, devised a plan to burn the body and plant evidence which would focus law enforcement on someone else.

Because the killer found appointment details in the paperwork in the RAV-4, he knew Ms. Halbach had an appointment with Mr. Avery earlier that afternoon. The killer formulated a plan to move the body and the vehicle near the Avery property, with the intent of planting the RAV-4 on the Avery property and Ms. Halbach's bones and electronic components as soon as the body and electronic components were burned in the adjacent gravel pit [the Radandt Pit owned by Badgerlands Aggregate, formerly Fred Radandt & Sons].





The killer was familiar with the Radandt and Manitowoc County pit [images above]. He devised a plan to bring the RAV-4 to the Avery property. His chief objective was to plant the vehicle on the Avery property.

The killer would have been familiar with Mr. Avery and his fame as a wrongfully convicted exoneree who was suing Manitowoc County.

The killer was organized and methodical, and likely had a background in science. He knew that he needed to put something with the DNA of Mr. Avery in the RAV-4.

On November 3, the killer learned vital information from law enforcement during his police interview. He quickly realized that law enforcement was focused on Mr. Avery and not on him.

At approximately 7:30 p.m. [on Thursday, November 3rd], Mr. Avery was exiting the Avery property onto Highway 147 when he observed taillights of a vehicle close to the front of his trailer. Mr. Avery contends that the only way the vehicle could enter his property from the direction it was pointed was if it was driven by way of Kuss Road and then across the field to the front of his trailer. Mr. Avery believes the vehicle's taillights were similar to those of the RAV-4 and not a squad car. Mr. Avery instructed his brother Chuck to turn around and drive back to the trailer, but by the time they drove back to Mr. Avery's trailer, the vehicle had departed into the darkness. (Mr. Avery and Chuck went to Menards and the county jail to drop off money for Mr. Avery's girlfriend. Mr. Avery arrived home at approximately 10:00-10:30 p.m. Mr. Avery did not enter the bathroom and went straight to bed.)



The metal post that the killer hit with Teresa's RAV-4 around 7:30 PM on November 3rd as he was attempting to plant it near Avery's trailer after driving it from the cul-de-sac at Kuss Road and across the field road bordering the Avery property

Northwest of Mr. Avery's trailer, between the Avery property and the cul-de-sac at Kuss Road, there was a metal post protruding approximately 2 ½ feet from the ground. When the killer attempted to plant Ms. Halbach's vehicle near Mr. Avery's trailer, he collided with this post, causing the damage to the front end of Ms. Halbach's RAV-4 and knocking out the driver's side parking light. He recognized the need to retrieve the parking light because leaving it, or any pieces of it, in the field would show the RAV-4 left the Avery property, contrary to Mr. Kratz's theory that the RAV-4 never left the Avery property. (Evidence from the scent and cadaver dogs supports the conclusion that the killer drove the RAV-4 onto the Avery property from Kuss Road, across a field to the vicinity of Mr. Avery's trailer.)

Once Mr. Avery departed, the killer began to drive the RAV-4 onto the Avery property. When Mr. Avery spotted the RAV-4's taillights and turned around and drove back to check it out, the killer retreated to Kuss Road. Once Mr. Avery left again, the killer drove back to the trailer. The south door on the east side of Mr. Avery's trailer was unlocked, and the killer entered the trailer, intent on finding an item of Mr. Avery's with his DNA that he could use to plant DNA in the RAV-4 to connect Mr. Avery to Ms. Halbach's murder. In the small trailer, the killer noticed fresh blood in the bathroom sink.



The killer recognized from his scientific background that if this blood was in Ms. Halbach's RAV-4, Mr. Avery would immediately become the only suspect. The killer quickly collected the blood from the sink in Mr. Avery's bathroom and deposited the blood in several spots throughout the RAV-4. The killer recognized that the blood had to be planted quickly, within 15-28 minutes and before it coagulated. He then hid the RAV-4 in the vicinity of the Kuss Road cul-de-sac.

Only someone who committed the murder and/or was involved in the effort to plant the vehicle on the Avery property would know the significance of the broken parking light and that it had been placed in the RAV-4 to conceal the fact that the vehicle was moved onto Mr. Avery's property from elsewhere.

When Mr. Hillegas volunteered false information about when the parking light damage occurred, it raised red flags about his involvement in the murder and the effort to frame Mr. Avery.

Mr. Hillegas intentionally diverted investigators by reporting that the damage to the driver's side bumper and parking light of Ms. Halbach's RAV-4 occurred months before her disappearance and that she had filed an insurance claim for the damage. Current post-conviction counsel, through its investigator, has confirmed that Ms. Halbach never filed an insurance claim for this damage to her vehicle, and further contends that the damage to Ms. Halbach's vehicle occurred after she left the Avery property on October 31, 2005.

The most reasonable explanation for Mr. Hillegas' intentional misleading of law enforcement regarding the damage to Ms. Halbach's parking light is that Mr. Hillegas wanted to divert attention from the parking light that was tossed in the rear cargo area of the RAV-4 by the killer when he was trying to plant the car on Mr. Avery's property and inadvertently hit a post on Radandt's property. Mr. Hillegas would not want the searchers looking for other pieces of the parking light on the Radandt property because, if those pieces were found, it would destroy the State's narrative that, after the murder, the RAV-4 never left the Avery property. If the narrative implicating Mr. Avery was refuted, the investigators might begin looking at more likely suspects such as Mr. Hillegas himself.

Certainly, Mr. Hillegas had no motive to frame Mr. Avery unless he himself murdered Ms. Halbach. It is difficult to imagine a much more compelling motive to frame Mr. Avery than the one possessed by the murderer of Ms. Halbach. The alleged motive, presented by trial defense counsel, that MCSD investigators were trying to derail Mr. Avery's civil rights lawsuit against them, pales in comparison to the killer's motive to frame Mr. Avery.

Mr. Hillegas was aware of Sheriff Pagel's intention to conduct aerial surveillance of the Avery property and surrounding properties on November 4, 2005, to search for Ms. Halbach's vehicle.

On November 4, the killer decided to make another attempt to plant the vehicle.

I was told by DOJ agents that they believed Teresa Halbach's vehicle was driven to the Kuss Road cul-de-sac by driving west through an empty field, then south down the gravel road past the hunting camp until reaching an intersection with a gravel road that ran northeast into the Avery property. They told me that they believed Halbach's vehicle turned northeast onto the gravel road and entered the Avery property at its southwest corner. It is my understanding that this theory was based on the work of scent tracking dogs. [Excerpt from Joshua Radandt's 2017 affidavit]

After the flyover ended around 6:00 p.m. on November 4, the killer drove Ms. Halbach's vehicle to the southeast corner of the Avery property.

The killer parked the RAV-4 in the southeast corner of the Avery property on a ridge overlooking a pond. The killer parked the RAV-4 facing west, although the vehicles surrounding the RAV-4 all faced east, and tried to conceal the RAV-4 using tree branches, cardboard boxes, and a rusty car hood as an explanation for why the car was not seen in the flyover video. (Mr. Kratz admitted that the RAV-4 was not visible in footage taken during the November 4, 2005 aerial surveillance.)

The killer, who drove the RAV-4 into the Radandt Pit in the late afternoon of November 4, was aided by an accomplice who drove another vehicle into the Radandt Pit to give the killer a ride out after the killer planted Ms. Halbach's vehicle on the Avery property.


Google Maps captured an image in September 2009 of a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo in Andy Colborn's driveway. In 2005, in was not uncommon for Wisconsinites to refer to SUVs as "jeeps" or "trucks." 

A new witness describes seeing a vehicle similar to Ms. Halbach's RAV-4, followed by a white jeep, enter the Radandt Pit from Jambo Creek Road using an access road immediately south of his house. Only the white jeep returned.

Wilmer Siebert, ("Mr. Siebert") observed a vehicle similar in color, size, and style to Ms. Halbach's RAV-4 enter the Radandt Pit using an access road immediately south of his house. Mr. Siebert's house is immediately north of the east entrance to the Radandt Pit off of Jambo Creek Road. After observing the vehicle enter the Radandt Pit, Mr. Siebert saw pictures of Ms. Halbach's vehicle on the news. Mr. Siebert remembers the vehicle he saw driving into the Radant Radandt Pit had the same spare wheel and wheel cover on the rear cargo door as Ms. Halbach's RAV-4. Mr. Siebert observed a white Jeep accompanying the other vehicle into the Radandt Pit. Mr. Siebert remembers the paint was chipping off of the hood of the white Jeep. Mr. Siebert remembers the two vehicles were traveling at a high rate of speed when they drove down Jambo Creek Road and turned east onto the gravel road that leads into the gravel pits. Shortly after the two vehicles entered the Radandt Pit, Mr. Siebert observed the Jeep, unaccompanied by the other vehicle, exit using the same gravel road immediately south of Mr. Siebert's house. Mr. Siebert's daughter, Vicki Siebert ("Ms. Siebert"), called Manitowoc County dispatch to report the activity observed by Mr. Siebert. Suspiciously, the recording of this call was not turned over to trial defense counsel.

A screenshot showing Seibert’s Jambo Creek Road property in relation to the quarry road and Avery’s Auto Salvage.

The killer returned to the Avery property with Sgt. Colborn in the evening on November 4, 2005, under the pretense of helping Sgt. Colborn search for Ms. Halbach's vehicle [Sgt. Colborn's scheduled days off were November 4-6, but he worked overtime those days to help with the Teresa Halbach missing persons' case].

Colborn testified that he was not scheduled to work on November 4th-6th, 2005: that these were the three days he was scheduled to be off  ("he worked a six day on, three day off rotation," noon to 8:00 PM shift, and he was scheduled to be off November 4-6th). 

On January 11th, 2007, Colborn was interviewed by CASO's Steier, who asked Colborn if he could recall what he had done on Friday, November 4th, one of his scheduled days off. Colborn told Steier he could not recall what he had done on the 4th. 

Colborn feigned ignorance about what he did on November 4th because he didn't want it to be public record that he worked overtime on November 4th to assist with the Teresa Halbach missing person's case, just as he worked overtime on Saturday, November 5th and Sunday, November 6th..

The following is part of Colborn's testimony at Avery's trial: 

Q. Sergeant, you hold the rank of sergeant?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And in early November of 2005, did you hold that same rank?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What were your duties back in early November of  '05?
A. Essentially the same duties that I hold today. I was a patrol supervisor on -- I work a six day on, three day off rotation. So on the days that the lieutenant that's assigned to the shift is off, I would be the shift commander.
Q. So you have supervisory responsibilities as well?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. I'm going to direct your attention to November 3rd of 2005, ask if you were employed on that evening?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you recall what your duties were on November 3rd?
A. I was the shift commander for the noon to 8 shift, that's the shift I'm assigned to.
Q. Sometime during that shift, Sergeant Colborn, were you informed of a Calumet County missing persons investigation that was ongoing?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And being involved in that -- or excuse me, being aware of that investigation, were you asked to assist in any way?
A. Yes, sir.
[...]
Q. Did you do anything on the 3rd of November to further investigate Mr. Avery?
A. On November 3rd?
Q. Yes.
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever go back onto his property on the 3rd?
A. No, sir.
[...]
Q. After going to the Zipperers with Detective -- I think it was Remiker and Dedering, what did you do after that?
A. After we were done, completed at the Zipperers?
Q. Yes.
A. I went home. I was done with -- you know, I was already on overtime. I checked out and went home.
Q. Do you know about what time that was?
A. 10:30, 11:00 at night, maybe.
Q. All right.  Do you remember what you did the rest of that evening?
A. Just probably fell asleep on the couch.  I went to bed and, you know, fell asleep.
Q. The next day, on the forth of November, were you working that day?
A. No, sir, I was off that day.
Q. It's a Friday; is that right?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember what you did on the 4th? We'll get back to that, but do you recall, generally, your day on the 4th of November?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Move your attention one day further, on the 5th, Saturday, the 5th of November; do you recall what you were doing that day or that morning?
A. That was also a regularly scheduled day off for me. Yes, I recall what I did on that day.
Q. We'll get into the morning, but let me just jump right to this investigation.Were you contacted at all by any supervisors or superiors that day and asked to participate in this case?
A. I was contacted by the noon to 8 shift commander for that day, and he did ask me to come into work and pick up a patrol vehicle and respond out to the Avery Salvage Yard.
Q. Did you do that?
A. Yes.
Q. In a marked vehicle?
A. Yes, I did take a marked vehicle out there.
Q. And about what time was it that you arrived at the Avery scene itself; do you recall?
A. I know I left my house between 4:00 and 4:30. I probably got out to the Avery Salvage Yard between 5:15, 5:30 maybe.
Q. To your best recollection?
A. Yes.
[...]
Q. The next day, that is, on the 6th of November, were you asked to come back to the scene?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And what were you asked to do on the 6th?
A. On the 6th, when I came out there, again, with Detective Remiker and Lieutenant Lenk and I believe just -- this time just Lieutenant Lenk went into the Command Post to make contact with who we would be working with with Cal County that day. And Detective Remiker and I just kind of waited until he came back out. And we were introduced to Deputy Kucharski. And then Deputy Kucharski informed us what our assignment would be for that day.

Mr. Avery's brother Chuck told police that on November 4 he saw unidentified headlights in the salvage yard that evening.  At 7:20 p.m. on November 3, 2005 November 4, 2005, Chuck called Mr. Avery about seeing headlights in the area where Ms. Halbach's vehicle was found. By the time Mr. Avery went to check out this sighting, the headlights were off. Mr. Avery called Chuck back at 7:25 p.m. to report that he could not see the headlights.

The headlights were from Sgt. Colborn's personal vehicle, and he had a friend of Ms. Halbach with him to search the Avery property without a search warrant because he did not have probable cause to be on the Avery property at that point in time.

Sgt. Colborn, without probable cause for a search warrant for the Avery property, unwittingly relied upon the killer, a civilian, to find Ms. Halbach's vehicle on the Avery property.

On November 4, 2005, Sgt. Colborn discovered Ms. Halbach's vehicle and called dispatch, on a personal line, to confirm Ms. Halbach's license plate number. Audible in a recording of Sgt. Colborn's call to Manitowoc dispatch regarding the victim's plate number, a third party states, "it's hers."



The killer led law enforcement to Ms. Halbach's vehicle later in the evening on November 4. The killer represented to law enforcement that he would be willing to search the Avery property, something that the police could only do with a warrant based on probable cause, which they did not have on November 4. The killer, accompanied by law enforcement, went to the Avery property, and the killer proceeded to Ms. Halbach's vehicle in the southeast corner of the salvage yard. When the killer looked into Ms. Halbach's vehicle, he called out," it's hers," because he recognized her personal items in the vehicle, in addition to her vehicle itself.

The individual who helped Sgt. Colborn to the RAV-4 on the Avery property was most likely the killer because he was able to enter the Avery property and quickly locate the vehicle in the dark or with limited lighting. His words, "it's hers," shouted out when he looked in the vehicle and clearly recognized her personal effects, established that he was a close friend of Ms. Halbach. Sgt. Colborn called MCSD dispatch to confirm Ms. Halbach's license plate number. The dispatcher who answered Sgt. Colborn's call usually worked from 2:00-10:00 p.m.

Sgt. Colborn confirmed the identity of Ms. Halbach's vehicle by calling MCSD dispatch on his cell phone around 7:30 p.m. on November 4. Sgt. Colborn was with Mr. Hillegas, who led him to Ms. Halbach's vehicle, which had been previously planted by Mr. Hillegas on the afternoon of November 4, 2005, after a failed attempt to plant it closer to Mr. Avery's residence on November 3, 2005. Realizing such a call would be recorded, Sgt. Colborn removed the license plates from Ms. Halbach's vehicle to conceal that he had actually located the vehicle at the point in time, when he made the call about the license plate.

Sgt. Colborn's dispatch call was produced to trial defense counsel among other calls recorded by Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department on a CD. The recordings, which are labeled "Track 1" through "Track 30," give no outward indication of when they were left. However, based upon a review of the content of the recordings, it is apparent that the recordings are organized chronologically on the CD.

Sgt. Colborn's dispatch call was titled "Track 3." The preceding recording, "Track 2," is a call to Manitowoc Dispatch from an unnamed officer regarding George Zipperer. The officer requested a criminal records check of George Zipperer from the dispatcher. It is reasonable to conclude that this call was placed by one of the MCSD officers who was with CCSD Det. Dedering before they proceeded to the Zipperers on November 3, 2005 [around 9:30 p.m.]. Therefore, it follows that Sgt. Colborn's call to dispatch occurred after he responded to the Avery property to make contact with Mr. Avery and after he drove back to the MCSD. Further, based upon the order with which Inv. Dedering organized his report, Sgt. Colborn's call to dispatch occurred after he (Sgt. Colborn) informed the officers assembled at the MCSD about his contact with Mr. Avery.

On the afternoon and evening of November 4, 2005 [from 4:15-7:25 p.m.], Mr. Hillegas received twenty-two phone calls from a number or numbers with no identifiers. It is reasonable to conclude that law enforcement officers were calling Mr. Hillegas in connection with conducting an illegal search of the Avery Salvage Yard, using Mr. Hillegas to access the property.

It is during this time period that Sgt. Colborn called dispatch to confirm the license plate on Ms. Halbach's car.

In his pre-trial hearing testimony, Mr. Hillegas stated that although he was not sure how many times he talked with Sheriff Pagel on November 4, 2005, they spoke at least once. Mr. Hillegas did not recall whether he had contact with Inv. Wiegert on November 4, 2005. [According to Wiegert, he first interviewed Hillegas at 10:08 a.m. on November 4.]

On November 5, 2005, with information obtained from law enforcement in twenty-two unrecorded calls on November 4, 2005, Mr. Hillegas directed Pam to search Avery's Auto Salvage. While Mr. Hillegas provided only maps and missing person posters to other citizen searchers, Mr. Hillegas provided Pam and her daughter Nikole, the only searchers allowed access to the Avery Salvage Yard, with a digital camera and Calumet County Sheriff Pagel's direct line.

Clearly, Mr. Hillegas knew that Pam would discover Ms. Halbach's vehicle. Pam located Ms. Halbach's vehicle on the Avery salvage yard -- among 4000 other vehicles on the forty acres of uneven topography -- within thirty minutes of her arrival, a true statistical improbability. It is clear that Pam was provided information pertaining to the location of Ms. Halbach's vehicle by Mr. Hillegas.




Once the vehicle was found on the Avery property, the investigation of any other potential suspects halted, and, just as the killer planned, the whole case was focused on Mr. Avery. The killer duped law enforcement into focusing exclusively on Mr. Avery and helped them justify planting additional evidence to frame Mr. Avery.

In addition to maintaining control over Ms. Halbach's home and possessions, Mr. Hillegas personally searched property surrounding the Avery Salvage Yard and entered the salvage yard on multiple occasions. Even after November 5, 2005, the police allowed Mr. Hillegas through checkpoints to come and search the area. On November 7, 2005, Mr. Hillegas accessed the Avery property from 9:03 a.m. to 9:53 a.m. Mr. Hillegas made a second entry to the Avery properly on November 7, 2005, exiting the property at 4:28 p.m. Suspiciously, Mr. Hillegas never logged into the property when he entered the second time, meaning there is no way to know when he arrived or how long he had access to the property. (On at least one occasion, Mr. Hillegas also accessed the Avery and surrounding properties using a fake name.)



This access to the salvage yard would give Mr. Hillegas opportunity to plant the bones of Mr. Halbach, and her electronic devices, on November 6 and 7, now that the investigation was already focused on Mr. Avery. This would also explain why, despite previous searches of the Avery and Janda burn barrels, bones were not discovered until November 8, 2005.



Ms. Halbach was at a higher risk for being a victim of violence because of her involvement in nude photography and her affair with a married man and with her ex-boyfriend's best friend.

Ms. Halbach's ex-boyfriend was verbally and physically abusive to her during their relationship;

Ms. Halbach's ex-boyfriend had sustained visible injuries to his hands, from fingernail scratches, around the time of her disappearance.

Ms. Halbach's ex-boyfriend initially gave the police a false name, minimized his relationship with her, lied about crime scene evidence, controlled and led the searchers to Ms. Halbach's vehicle, had unrestricted access to the Avery property to plant evidence, assisted law enforcement in locating her car, and was living in her house after her murder in complete control of the evidence, disseminated to law enforcement, from her personal papers and effects.

At first, Mr. Hillegas told law enforcement that he was just a friend of Ms. Halbach's. Despite authorities eventually learning that Mr. Hillegas was Ms. Halbach's ex-boyfriend, he testified that he was never treated like a suspect in any way.

Mr. Hillegas was trained as a nurse but was unemployed in October and November 2005. He had no alibi for October 31, 2005.

Mr. Hillegas was not asked to provide an alibi. When asked by police about his last interactions with Ms. Halbach, Mr. Hillegas testified that on October 30, 2005, he dropped something off for Ms. Halbach at her house. Suspiciously, Mr. Hillegas does not recall what he delivered to Ms. Halbach nor can he remember anything about what time of day it was when he went to Ms. Halbach's residence even though this was supposedly the last time when he saw Ms. Halbach alive.

He was not asked to explain his past relationship with Ms. Halbach or to provide an alibi for the afternoon and evening of October 31. He was not asked about the scratches on his left hand or why he knew Ms. Halbach's voicemail password.

The killer was not treated like a suspect. Mr. Avery would immediately become the only suspect.





Failure of Law Enforcement to Investigate Ms. Halbach's Background to Realize That She Was at an Elevated Risk of Becoming a Victim of Violence

[Ms.] Halbach, the victim in this case, could be considered to be at an elevated risk for becoming the victim of violence due to her prior abusive relationship with her ex- boyfriend, [Mr.] Hillegas, and her business, which involved nude photography. Third party advertisers began advertising Ms. Halbach's business as providing "adult entertainment services." Although there is no proof that Ms. Halbach herself chose to advertise her business as providing "adult entertainment services," her nude photography business led others to advertise her business as providing "adult entertainment services."

Failure of Law Enforcement to Identify Prior Abuse in Ms. Halbach's Romantic Relationships to Correctly Assess the Motive for Her Murder

Based upon violent crime statistics, the killer most likely knew Ms. Halbach and may have been involved, at some point in time, in a romantic relationship with her.

The relationship was characterized by verbal and physical abuse by the killer towards Ms. Halbach. Even after Ms. Halbach ended their relationship, the killer continued to attempt to exert control over her by living nearby and coming to her home frequently.

Before Ms. Halbach's murder, the killer most likely became aware that she was sexually involved with a married man [Brad Czech] and a second male [Scott Bloedorn], who was a very close friend of the killer's.

The Killer's Post-Mortem Activities to Conceal Evidence and Frame Mr. Avery

The killer wanted as much time as possible before the people close to Ms. Halbach realized she was gone. As she received more and more phone calls, her voice mailbox became full, something uncharacteristic of Ms. Halbach. The killer, who knew the password to her voice mailbox, deleted several of Ms. Halbach's voice messages to buy himself time before Teresa's family and friends realized that she was missing and began searching for her.

Before her death, Ms. Halbach was known to regularly check and respond to her voicemails. If family and friends were to call Ms. Halbach and receive a message that Ms. Halbach's voicemail was full, it can be assumed that they would have been alarmed. When Ms. Halbach's voicemail was discovered to be full on November 3, 2005, it triggered her friends and family to notify law enforcement that she was missing.

The killer deleted voice messages from Ms. Halbach's voicemail in order to prolong the window of time before Ms. Halbach was reported missing, thereby increasing the amount of time the killer had to dispose of Ms. Halbach's body and personal effects.

The method of deletion, in order to leave no record in Ms. Halbach's cell phone records, could only be accomplished in one way: her voicemail had to be accessed from another phone by using Ms. Halbach's voicemail password.

Ms. Halbach's phone records do not indicate that her voicemail was accessed using her own phone after 2:12 p.m. on October 31, 2005. This indisputable fact means the person who accessed Ms. Halbach's voicemail, prior to the authorities realizing she was missing on November 3, 2005, had to be the killer, who knew Ms. Halbach's password, which would be required to delete voicemails recorded to her phone.

The killer knew Ms. Halbach very well in order to know her password. Clearly this person was not Mr. Avery.

The killer wanted to control the investigation and direct it towards the single goal of framing Mr. Avery for the murder. To accomplish that goal, he volunteered to take control of the citizen search as a means of both staying informed and controlling the focus of the investigation.

In his initial contact with law enforcement, the killer immediately attempted to misdirect their investigation by not telling them about his relationship with Ms. Halbach or her relationship with other men.

The killer participated in the discovery of major pieces of evidence, even going as far as leading searchers to the vehicle that he planted.

The Killer, and Not Law Enforcement, Planted Mr. Avery's Blood in the RAV-4

Current post-conviction counsel's blood spatter expert has demonstrated that Mr. Avery's blood was planted in Ms. Halbach's RAV-4. The only parties who may have had motive to plant evidence inculpating Mr. Avery were the killer and law enforcement, namely MCSD, in light of Mr. Avery's pending civil action against Manitowoc County.

- END EXCERPTS FROM POST-CONVICTION PETITION -





From Zellner's August 26, 2016 motion: "Individual B accessed the property using a false name ... Exhibit G."



Zellner Names Ryan Hillegas as Prime Suspect and Says Jealousy was His Motive

Zellner told USA TODAY NETWORK on June 12, 2017 she is not obligated by the criminal justice system "to prove Ryan Hillegas murdered Teresa Halbach" to get Steven Avery's conviction vacated.

"Rather, we are trying to show Hillegas had motive, opportunity and a connection to the crime that meets the Denny (third-party suspect) standard. The jury should have been presented with this evidence. It may have created a reasonable doubt about Steven's guilt."

Avery's Neighbor Saw a Green/Blue RAV4 Accompanied by a White Jeep Before Pam Sturm Found It in the Salvage Yard

So this is what I think they did... They were lying in wait in the back of the Avery Auto Salvage, waiting for Steven Avery to leave, and once he left with his mother and nephew, Bryan Dassey, for Crivitz around 6 AM on 11/5, the Motley crew moved in heavy, with everything they needed, including towing capabilities, to move these cars around, just so they could place Teresa Halbach's RAV4, cover it up with all that stuff, and set the stage. All of this was done before Earl Avery, the only Avery sibling who didn't live on the property, even arrived (Chuck Avery had left for Crivitz with Brendan around 8 PM on 11/4; Allan Avery had left on 11/3). Meanwhile, back at Teresa's farmhouse, Ryan Hillegas, LE, and specifically Pam Sturm, are going over the next phase, getting ready for the FIND. You can definitely see bushes or trees on 11/4, and then two cars take their place on 11/5. The blob behind the white SUV/station wagon was definitely replaced. They sped up the playback of the 11/4 flyover video when they made the edited copy: not only are segments missing, it's intentionally sped up to create the crazy footage we see. [Reddit Comments]

Dispatch Call at 26:37: Vicky Siebert, Calling for Her Father, Who is Reporting Activity at the Back Quarry Entrance


What Steven Avery’s former neighbour witnessed
By Jeff Klassen
April 28, 2016

Steven Avery’s former neighbor said he saw things around the time of Teresa Halbach’s murder that raise a lot of questions – and no one has asked him about it before.

The recent Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer has made international headlines and raised many questions surrounding the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach’s in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin and the subsequent trial that convicted Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey in crimes related to murder.

Wilmer Seibert in his backyard. Seibert said he thinks he may have seen Teresa Halbach’s Toyota Rav4 driving into the back of Avery’s Auto Salvage via a back quarry road days before a volunteer search party found it abandoned with blood on it in 2005.

One of the key pieces of evidence in the case was Halbach’s blue/green Toyota Rav4 discovered by a volunteer search party in the rear area of Avery Auto Salvage on November 5^th, 2005.

On the southeast side of the Avery Auto Salvage, off Jambo Creek road directly beside the entrance to the quarry behind the yard, lives Wilmer Seibert, a man in his 70s who considers himself friends with the Averys.

Seibert said he saw what he thinks might be Teresa Halbach’s Toyota Rav4 accompanied by another vehicle, a mysterious white Jeep, “days” before the search party found the Rav4 on the salvage yard.

Seibert said he was just hanging out in his backyard one day when he saw the Rav4 speeding quickly down the backroad that leads into the quarry behind the Avery Auto Salvage, and directly behind it was the white Jeep.

About half an hour later only the Jeep returned he said.

A screenshot showing Seibert’s Jambo Creek Rd. property in relation to the quarry road and Avery’s Auto Salvage.

“It was a white Jeep, just a smaller Jeep, and it looked liked the paint was peeling off the hood. You could see like an undercoating on the hood. The Jeep was what I saw come back out but I didn’t see the (the Rav4 come out),” said Seibert.

Siebert cannot precisely remember the day or time he saw the vehicle because of how long ago it was now, but he estimates he saw the vehicles “less than a week,” perhaps “a couple days or three days,” before it was discovered by the search party.

Seibert said vehicles regularly travel down the quarry road but he noticed these two particular vehicles because they were driving faster than usual.

“They must have been going about 40 miles an hour,” said Seibert.

Seibert could not tell who or how many people were in either vehicle.

“Shortly after (the incident he witnesses) the lady found the car back there,” said Seibert referring to the vehicle’s discovery by Pamela Sturm as she participated in a volunteer search party.

Seibert stands on the edge of his property and by the road where he said he thinks he saw Teresa Halbach’s Rav4 days beforea volunteer search party did in 2005.

Seibert said he cannot be 100 percent certain it was Halbach’s Rav4 but, because it was the same green/blue color, and because he rarely saw Rav4s, he’s pretty sure it was.

Seibert said he’s been buying parts from Avery Auto Salvage since before he moved to the home in the 1970, he also raised questions about how the search parties could have found the vehicle so quickly.

“I don’t know how (the search party) could find that car that quick because I needed a gas tank for a truck (once) and they gave me the row (that it was in) and what kind of truck it was and I didn’t find that truck in that short of a time,” said Seibert.

Chuck Avery, who is also Steven Avery’s brother, has owned the salvage yard since the 1990s, and he confirmed that at the time of Teresa Halbach’s murder the back of the Avery lot could be accessed from the quarry road, but since that time the rear entrance has been blocked.

Seibert said he was not questioned by police or lawyers except for when an FBI agent came to his door shortly after Halbach went missing and showed him a picture of Halbach and asked if he knew her, which he didn’t.

Seibert is a quiet family man and he said that because no one asked him directly about it at the time he never thought to tell anyone.

“I really didn’t want to get involved. I didn’t know for sure what was going on and how this was going to be handled,” said Seibert.

Seibert said he is not looking for attention and he is only speaking about it now because Netflix documentary made him ask questions.

Another view of the entrance to the quarry road. Seibert’s property is to the right starting at the fence.

Seibert said during the investigation of Halbach’s murder the police barricaded the quarry road entrance, about 50 feet from his back steps, and blocked the same section of road that he had observed the Rav4 and Jeep earlier.

“He said if anyone moves those barricades give me a call, but he never gave me a number. How would I get ahold of him?” said Seibert.

One evening Siebert said he witnessed Manitowoc County Sherriff’s Department vehicles driving past the barricade and then going through the Avery property with lights late into the night.

He said he wanted to report that someone had crossed the barrier but he didn’t know who to call, so he told his daughter, Victoria Seibert, to call the local police who then told her that there was nothing to worry about.

His daughter confirmed this.

Wilmer Seibert said the next day it was announced on television that they had found Teresa Halbach’s keys on the property but doesn’t make any claims to what that might mean.

Seibert actually likes the Averys and considers them friends.

He said since buying his house and raising nine children neither him nor anyone from his family, that he knows of, has ever had a bad dealing with any of the Avery family.

Seibert had even been on fishing trips with Allen Avery, Steven’s father.

“I can’t really find no fault with them because I never had any trouble with them. I always thought they were good people. They treated me fair at least,” he said.

- END ARTICLE -




Google Maps captured an image in September 2009 of a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo in Andy Colborn's driveway. In 2005, in was not uncommon for Wisconsinites to refer to SUVs as "jeeps" or "trucks."

Critics of Siebert's statements have pointed out that the 'white Jeep' might, in fact, have been a light silver Suzuki owned by the Averys. On Reddit, where Avery's guilt or innocence continues to be a hot topic, people have parsed how likely it would be to confuse a Suzuki for a Jeep, and whether, in certain lighting, silver could be perceived as white." [Rolling Stone, July 8, 2016]

However, in October/November of 2005, Avery's gray Suzuki was parked in his garage and could not be driven because the clutch was out.