Court Denies Motion To Test Bones That Steven Avery’s Lawyer Claims Will Prove He Was Framed

Steven Avery, the subject of the hit Netflix docu-series "Making a Murderer," will have to wait a while longer for bones found behind his trailer, which his lawyer believes will prove that evidence was planted, to be tested.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has denied a motion filed last month on Avery's behalf which requested “rapid DNA identification” testing to be conducted on the bones believed to be victim Teresa Halbach’s remains, according to WBAY-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The ruling was handed down on Dec. 28.

However, Avery’s post-conviction lawyer Kathleen Zellner isn’t discouraged. She told Rolling Stone that it's still possible for the bones to be tested in the future. Zellner explained that the court wants to resolve other issues in the case that had been raised prior on appeal.

In mid-December, Zellner tweeted enthusiastically about the motion stating, “If this testing is allowed, we believe the bones will be Ms. Halbach's.”

In one tweet, she explained, “This will prove the murder and mutilation occurred in the Manitowoc County Gravel Pit and the bones were planted in Mr. Avery's burn pit to frame him.”

Zeller said she believes it was the killer, and not the cops, who planted the bones.

She said that one of the “world’s leading DNA experts” would “test the bones from the Manitowoc County Gravel Pit” using new DNA testing technology. One Twitter user asked how likely it would be that they would get permission to test the bones and Zellner replied a motion would be granted "in most states 95%."

The first season of the show, released in 2015, raised questions about the convictions of Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, who were both sentenced to life in prison in 2007 for the death of Halbach, a photographer, two years earlier. The documentary suggested that police might have planted evidence on Avery’s property, and that investigators took advantage of Dassey’s limited intellect in order to coax him into confessing.

Wisconsin authorities stand by their conclusion that Avery murdered Halbach and burned her body on his property.

On New Year’s Day, Zellner tweeted about her dedication to find justice for her client.

“Steven Avery’s fight for freedom is never going to end,” she wrote. “Every new DNA test, new witness, new case just fuels the effort. We’ll create the biggest court record in America if necessary to free him...just warming up for 2019.”

[Photo: Getty Images]