Why Scott Tadych Is At The Center Of A New Teresa Halbach Death Theory In 'Making A Murderer'

The second part of “Making a Murderer” ended with an explosive allegation from Steven Avery’s post-conviction lawyer Kathleen Zellner: She believes that it was Brendan Dassey’s brother Bobby and his stepfather Scott Tadych who could have killed photographer Teresa Halbach — and that they assaulted her after she left the Avery property. And while Zellner’s theory might not hold water in court, it is true Tadych has a history of violence, both before and after this allegation was made.

The first season of the show, released in 2015, raised questions about the convictions of Avery and Dassey, who were both sentenced to life in prison in 2007 for the death of photographer Teresa Halbach two years earlier. The documentary suggested that police might have planted evidence on Avery’s property, and that investigators took advantage of Brendan Dassey’s limited intellect in order to coax him into confessing. Now, both Brendan Dassey’s brother and step-dad are getting fingered as possible suspects by Zellner.

Bobby Dassey was a star witness for the prosecution in Avery's trial, but Zellner is now claiming he lied during the testimony he made at that time. In Part 2 of the docu-series, Zellner said she’s obtained an affidavit from another Dassey brother, Bryan Dassey, which claims Bobby told him that he saw Halbach leave Avery’s property. That contradicts Bobby's original testimony. Zellner also claimed there is evidence that shows Bobby downloaded violent porn, some of which included decapitated women.

So where does Tadych come in?

Zellner put forth a motion in 2017 that claims to have evidence that supposedly puts Tadych and Bobby at the same location as Teresa Halbach during the last phone call she received before her death.

Tadych, who has adamantly denied having anything to do with Halbach’s death, has reacted to these allegations with rage.

In a phone call between Avery and Barb Tadych, the Dassey brothers’ mom, shown in Episode 10, "Trust No One," Scott Tadych can be heard in the background and he has quite a temper.  He denies having anything to do with the photographer’s death and says, “F___ Steven Avery. He is a piece of s___. He’s been all his f___ing life. … I wasn’t even on that f___ing property that day, you goddamn idiot.”

He then threatened to kick Avery’s ass.

That’s not the only time he’s gotten aggressive. Zellner tweeted out a screenshot of a Facebook post on Oct. 23 allegedly authored by Tadych in which he wrote, “I would like to take a minute of my time from reading all these nasty emails and messages to thank Kathleen Zellner for all false accusations against me and my stepson Bobby. And for ruining our lives I think your a f____en c___ thank you and have a good day."

Along with that post, Zellner added the caption, “Why would anyone think this 'prince' of a fellow would be angry enough to hurt a woman?”

Tadych does have a history of violence, and not all of it is alleged.

In 1997, Tadych was found guilty of battery, a misdemeanor charge, and was sentenced to 18 months in jail, according to online court records. Child abuse charges were originally filed against him regarding that case, but were later dismissed.

Tadych is also an avid deer hunter, as made evident both by the series and by the photos on his Facebook. According to Zellner’s theory, a deer hunter would make sense as a culprit behind Halbach’s murder because deer hunters know how to dismember a body, as Halbach’s was.

Given what Zellner has put forth, only time will tell if Tadych is ever officially named a suspect. 

[Photo: Netflix screengrab]