Prosecutors: No merit to ‘Making a Murderer’ trial request

APPLETON, Wis. – Prosecutors say there’s no merit to a request for a new trial for a Wisconsin man who was the subject of the hit Netflix series “Making a Murderer.”

Steven Avery’s attorney filed a nearly 1,300-page court document Wednesday asking for a new trial, arguing Avery’s conviction was based on planted evidence and false testimony.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice later released a statement saying it was confident Avery’s motion would be rejected.

Avery was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in the 2005 death of photographer Teresa Halbach in northern Wisconsin.

Avery’s nephew, Brendan Dassey, told detectives he helped his uncle rape and kill Halbach in the Avery family’s salvage yard. A judge overturned Dassey’s conviction in August. State attorneys are appealing that decision.