Steven Avery Case Confessions /// Off The Record

What this episode is about

The discussion centers around the Steven Avery case and a recent confession linked to it, highlighting the need for broader awareness of such developments in true crime narratives. The hosts reflect on the impact of regional accents in storytelling and the differing levels of public engagement with true crime cases.

Key takeaways

• Nostalgia: sometimes it’s just a time machine to laughable cringes we conveniently forget.
• True crime thrives on eccentric accents—turns ordinary tales into compelling, regional narratives.
• Confessions in legal cases come with motives; don't be fooled by a letter's fancy handwriting.
• Interested but indifferent? The public can be a fickle partner in crime stories; hype fades quickly.
• An attorney's integrity shines bright, especially in the murky waters of media-fueled cold cases.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Unknown Host (Host) · 15 min speaking
• Unknown Guest (Guest) · 10 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Ben Avery, Teresa Halbach, Making a Murderer, Brandon Dassie
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Ben Avery, Tony Muny, Teresa Halbach, Oxygen
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Oxygen, Home Alone
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Ben Avery
5. 20:00 – 24:47: Ben Avery, Making a Murderer, Oxygen

Notable quotes from "Steven Avery Case Confessions /// Off The Record"

• And but yeah, so we're talking about the Stephen Avery case this week. There was some news.

  about Ben Avery · at 1:51

• It's like I think it is because when I Google searched it, it was like pages and pages of like Inside Edition, the Today Show, like CNN. There's a bunch of people that at least covered the story.

  about Inside Edition · at 2:41

• Steven Avery would be innocent, meaning that Brandon Dassie would be innocent, meaning that he would have been the one that killed Theresa Halbach.

  about Teresa Halbach · at 4:43

• Newspapers here. He was considered a suspect because he was a bit of a traveling serial killer and he targeted children or boys the age roughly the age of Tony Muny, right? Katherine Zelner represented him.

  about Tony Muny · at 5:44

• That's what I'm guessing. I'm trying to blow it up so I can actually I know on oxygen.com there's actually says I'm making the claim to your reward for the information in the Stephen Avery.

  about Oxygen · at 7:42

• And as I was Shabboan, that's where the John Candy in Home Alone where his poker band was from.

  about Home Alone · at 10:00

• I've watched and I don't want to go back I cuz I just went back and watched the Adnon four-part series. I don't want to go back and watch Making a Murderer cuz it just takes so…

  about Making a Murderer · at 22:20

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Ben Avery — Person · Core topic (subject of the case) · 8 mentions · first at 1:51
  The episode centers on new purported evidence/confession related to the Teresa Halbach murder and its implications for Avery's guilt/innocence and legal posture.
• Teresa Halbach — Person · Victim / core case figure · 2 mentions · first at 4:48
  Her murder is the underlying crime in the Avery case; the alleged confession describes a narrative of her death and disposal that the hosts evaluate as likely false.
• Brandon Dassie — Person · Referenced co-defendant / impacted party · 1 mention · first at 4:43
  He is mentioned as another person whose innocence would follow if the confession were true, highlighting the broader stakes beyond Avery.
  Wisconsin. Through their research, he confessed to the crime, meaning that Steven Avery would be innocent, meaning that Brandon Dassie would be innocent, meaning that he would have been the one that killed Theresa Halbach.
• Tony Muny — Person · Referenced victim in prior case (analogy) · 2 mentions · first at 5:29
  Used as an example of Zelner's past work and integrity, where she represented a suspect and elicited confessions to other crimes.

Companies & orgs

• Oxygen — Company · Referenced publisher/source · 3 mentions · first at 7:47
  Oxygen.com is cited as a source summarizing the confession letter and related claims, shaping what details the hosts discuss.
• Inside Edition — Company · Referenced news outlet · 1 mention · first at 2:43
  Listed among outlets covering the confession story, supporting the claim that the news was widely reported.
• Today Show — Company · Referenced news outlet · 1 mention · first at 2:45
  Mentioned as another mainstream platform that covered the confession, reinforcing perceived newsworthiness.
  I think it is because when I Google searched it, it was like pages and pages of like Inside Edition, the Today Show, like CNN. There's a bunch of people that at least covered the story.
• CNN — Company · Referenced news outlet · 1 mention · first at 2:48
  Cited as part of the mainstream media coverage list, indicating the confession story received broader press attention.
  Searched it, it was like pages and pages of like Inside Edition, the Today Show, like CNN. There's a bunch of people that at least covered the story.

Media & podcasts

• Making a Murderer — Media · Referenced media framing the case · 3 mentions · first at 4:17
  The documentary series is treated as the major public lens on the Avery case and is referenced in relation to the new confession and broader public interest.
• Convicting a Murder — Media · Referenced upcoming/other documentary series · 1 mention · first at 4:22
  It is described as a separate documentary project whose research allegedly surfaced Joseph Evans and the confession, acting as the catalyst for the episode's news.
  Different set of team than who made Making a Murder, but I believe it's a series called Convicting a Murder, I believe. So, and it seems like they've been doing research on the documentary for about 18 months, and.
• Home Alone — Media · Off-topic pop-culture reference · 1 mention · first at 10:05
  Referenced briefly to connect the place name 'Shab(o)boan' to a John Candy scene, not materially related to the case analysis.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:19 All right. Howdy, partner. Welcome on in. Welcome on. Come on in. Come to the garage.

0:25 Don't let the door hit you. I love when people say your guys' accent cracks me up.

0:30 Well, it cracks me up, too. Smalter. Did you fer? Well, when you when you grew up watching this much HeiHehaw,

0:39 they call me Heihaw. Yeah. Which I It must have been really funny back then. Maybe it was never funny. I don't I don't know. I don't I don't know that I ever got that.

0:51 We were probably just too little. But but sometimes when you watch shows that you thought were funny for the you know as an adult you're like why did I laugh at this?

1:03 I used to think this was great. Shows you thought were funny when you were a child.

1:07 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'll skater. But on the land of I think we've talked about this before, but if you're going to make a a true crime documentary, if you're going to cover a case, one of the the best things you can do is is get subjects that talk a little funny

1:29 is de Yeah. Develop an Ohio accent. No, like with the West Memphis 3, it it made a little twist to the story and uh and it almost seemed like it put it Well, because we're not from that area, it seemed like it kind of puts it in a little box. Everybody becomes in that little world.

1:50 Yeah. And um but yeah, so we're talking about the Stephen Avery case this week. There was some news. There was a confession. Um,

2:02 is this Do you think that this news is like super widespread? It is because Well, what what's strange is

2:10 cuz I'm on I'm on the internet all the time and I don't think I've seen any Well, that's the thing.

2:16 Pop-ups. I didn't see any popups about it. I was told of this by you which which was

2:22 which was sent by a listener like, "Hey, have you checked this out?" Now, normally when something like this happens, maybe you get 10, 20 uh emails or direct messages on social media. I only got like one or two.

2:37 That's why I'm questioning if this is like widespread or do you think that it's like

2:42 I think it is because when I Google searched it, it was like pages and pages of like Inside Edition, uh the Today Show, like CNN. There's a bunch of people that at least covered the story. Do you think that maybe the interest level is kind of kind of bouncing around in the middle of of the meter there because it's kind of a we have some new information. There's a break in the case. Oh, we got to wait to find out if it's true. Well, so what happened was what happened was they had Stephen Avery's uh attorney come came out and I believe on Sunday she or Saturday night she actually posted a Twitter message saying here's the confession. I believe she actually showed a picture of the front of the letter. Um,

3:35 so but she even said this might not matter at all and and there's going to be a lot more work that we have to do on this and she didn't seem that confident. So for for somebody that if anybody knows anything about her um they know that she's a very confident person. Kathleen Zelner, amazing uh attorney, and I just like the way she views a lot of things. So, the fact that she came out and said, "Look, there's this there's a new documentary that's being made, and I think it's by a different set of team than who made Making a Murder, but I believe

4:22 it's a series called Convicting a Murder, I believe. So, and it seems like they've been doing research on on the documentary for about 18 months, and they got a known uh killer from Wisconsin. Through their research, he confessed to the crime, meaning that Steven Avery would be innocent, meaning that Brandon Dassie would be innocent, meaning that he would have been the one that killed Theresa Halbach. I do want to point out that I feel that Katherine Zelner, did I say her name right?

5:01 Yeah. Okay. I believe her to be of of great integrity as well. And that's why I I I love following her. I love that she is on this case. She strikes me as the type of defense attorney that would probably walk away from somebody that she believed to be guilty unless she can represent them in that fashion.

5:24 Right. Um, and I say that because a case we covered, the uh Tony Muny, which was a Columbus case, it's it's unsolved. It's incredibly cold by this time. It's I think it was 1983. There was a a suspect that was named as a suspect in the papers in our Columbus newspapers here. He was considered a suspect because he was a bit of a traveling serial killer and he he targeted uh children or boys the age roughly the age of Tony Muny,

5:58 right? Katherine Zelner represented him. And actually what she did was was not only represent him in in court, but she also got him to confess to future or future to other uh murders and other crimes. and she convinced him to to give a list, provide a list to her that, you know, and and that's kind of an old story, but that's really where her, if you want to call it fame, kind of started. That's where she became a household name in Illinois, I believe. And so, this is really interesting that this has come about because this could mean that there's a confession to the murder of Terresa Hallback. Uh there's some some things right away and I had not read the confession or didn't know the details of of such, but you and I had an interesting conversation before we flipped on the mics that my immediate thought was I I pointed out I said Katherine Zelner has offered or her team has offered a reward for

7:08 information in the case. Yeah. And that and that is what the the confession starts off with one attorney Kathleen or yeah Kathleen Zelner and it's saying I am making a claim to your reward offer for the information in the Stephen Avery case.

7:26 I would like the money. Yeah, that's what it starts off with. So that shows you the motive. I don't know why she Okay, maybe it was starting to get leaked out and that's why uh Zelnner posted this. That's what I'm guessing. Um I'm trying to blow it up so I can actually I know on oxygen.com there's actually um says I'm making the claim to your reward for the information in the Stephen Avery case. I've been trying to contact you by phone and through a friend and a family member but seem to get nowhere. It's hard to read because it's

8:14 it's a picture of and you have to zoom in. Yeah. And it's uh I wanted to say it was in cursive, but it's not it's uh but it's kind of it's not the clearest handwriting. Do you write in cursive? No, I speak in cursive though.

8:32 Okay. Uh but yeah. So I but but I again I'm fascinated by this because you can make claims all day and want to try to get that money, but if you can't prove it, and I think that's kind of what Zelner is saying. If this guy can't prove it, then you know this is just nonsense and who cares and we need to move on. So

9:02 likely my my gut tells me it's a lie. You know, unless we see some some information like you said and like she's saying, unless there's some way of backing up some of the story, it sounds like

9:17 the the inmate, which they've not named the inmate, right? No, they have. the they have

9:25 Yeah. Okay. Sorry. The article I read said that they would not name the inmate until such and such.

9:31 Well, that's why I think this blew up because it it started leaking. And so then of course it gets uh the inmate who identifies himself as Joseph Evans.

9:40 Oh. Started off his letter by stating, "I making a claim to your reward." The information in the Steven Avery case. Uh, but it says October 31st, 2005. I was on my way home back from Shabboan. And as as I was

10:05 Shabboan, that's where the um John Candy in Home Alone where his uh uh poker band was from.

10:15 Remember she hitch your ride? She had a hitch a ride. I'm trying to uh So, this dude's a convicted killer, correct? This Joseph Evans or who identifies himself as Joseph Evans?

10:28 Yeah, as I was It's hard. I can't make I need to make this damn thing bigger. I can't see it. Uh, zoom in.

10:38 Okay, while while you're figuring it out, let me go through this. It says, "Joseph Evans, a Wisconsin prisoner serving life imprisonment for murdering his wife." Yeah. So, yeah. So, on my way back from Shabboan and as I was coming, that would be the word, coming into Manito, I went out to Avery Savage uh Savageard. Salvage art.

11:11 Salvage. Sorry. Savage. It's both. It's a salvage and savage art. It truly is. You're You're right on both. Both.

11:20 It's just so weird because like if you saw the letter, like from a distance, it looks kind of clean, but it's just just little things like his his O looks like a I there. So, uh, [sighs] he was coming into, uh, he decided to go out to the salvage yard to see if they had a cover lens for the front passenger side. Uh, I I'm guessing that's

11:55 for his headlight or something. Yeah. So, it was for the light because my wife hit a car just weeks earlier and I needed to replace my back window on my Chevy Tahoe. So, when I went out there, I was told to go out in the yard and talk to a person named Earl or something like that. So, I drove and that's there might be more pictures of this letter, but this is the only one I'm seeing. I think they don't want to release

12:38 cuts off everything. Um but on oxygen.com because I want to give them at least credit says that um and his letter uh you know he's serving life sentence for killing his wife like you said claims he was stopped he stopped at the salvage yard looking for parts for his wife's car. He wrote that he visited the same day as Halbach. Uh he was and she was there taking photos of the car for her job. He claims that he was driving through the property. Halbox stepped in front of his car and he hit her causing her to fall and strike her head on a large rock. He said that he got out to check on her.

13:19 She was dead so he put her in in her rav before driving her up to the Avery home for help. Nobody was there. He wrote uh that he panicked, drank some brandy, and swallowed some pills before entering um Avery's unlocked trailer home where he claims he stole Avery's rifle. He wrote that he pulled Halbach's body out of her car, shot her three times, though he didn't explain why since she was supposedly dead already, and then he put her body back in the car. Evans wrote that he then uh burned her body in a burn barrel on the property all while drinking brandy and consuming more pills. Now, a lot of this to me sounds like nonsense, but the fact that you start going, "Well, he's consuming a bunch of pills and drinking."

14:18 But okay, so he was convicted in 2009 for killing his 40-year-old wife in 2008.

14:28 Yeah. He claims that he accidentally shot his wife, but we know that eventually he's convicted of her murder, serving life in prison.

14:37 Uh I I don't know what order any of this stuff is taking place in the the letter to Katherine Zelner, but

14:46 that's not clear. Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of you're getting little snippets, but here's a snippet that I found. This is according to patch.com.

14:56 Old patch.com. Yeah. Patchadams.com. All right. It says, and this is a quote. Don't anybody get mad at me. I didn't say this. Joseph Evans said it.

15:05 Oh god. Don't hear what I'm not saying. Uh, it says, quote, "Keep your panties on and your skirt down because I'm not out to screw you. This is a deal relationship. you, me, you'll win when I give all up and the full cover up story that took place and how the state and others used me to get to Steve. I'm done with all that. I'm jumping ship to look out for myself and my children and eight grandchildren. Your choice. I'm already set. Now it's up to you for the next move. So, so at some point in this letter, he's claiming that

15:46 he was aware of the cover up and involved Yeah. in the cover up. Well, here's one problem that he's facing is this jack ass wagon face. Um is this is letter is to Zelner. You know, keep your panties on. I'm not trying to [ __ ] you. Well, guess what, Joseph Evans? You ain't that smart. You're not smarter than Zelner. So, if you are telling the truth, she will get all the piece of of evidence that she needs, which is great. Uh, if it's true. And if you're lying, she will figure out that you're lying and you'll get nothing. and and now you just promoted your people now kind of know who you are now. Uh so good, you just promoted yourself as a scumbag. But the letter goes on to request I think a $2,000 down payment.

16:45 Um and he also requests uh a4 million instead of $100,000 originally offered. But son of Sam Laws, he wants to give this money to his kids and his grandchildren probably,

17:00 right? Because he's not going to be able to. So this patch.com patchadoms.com patchadams

17:07 has um one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. It has counting exercises. No, it's has seven um snippets of the confession letter if people want to get on there and and read more of that. Yeah. So, I guess um that Joseph at some point uh mailed uh different letters to several local news outlets in 2016 claiming claiming that Avery had confessed to him during their time as cellmates that he killed Halbach during the um during that time. So, okay. Oh, we we have a guy now confessing wanting money and but this guy earlier was saying that Avery confessed to him.

18:02 So that it's it's very strange. Very strange. And but I'll tell you how strange it is or if it's if it's just pathetic, right?

18:10 Right. I get that. But it's also like one of those things. It's it's he this this asshole's got nothing to lose. He's like, you know what I mean? He's probably thinking, "What are they going to do to me? give me another life sentence. I'm I'm stuck in here regardless. Maybe I can get some money for my family. The problem with that th this is how a lot of these dudes operate. They're just they're [snorts] self-centered. They care nothing about anybody else. And it's it's making a name for himself. It's it's getting his fat picture in the papers. And it's it's it's disgusting. And it and it is sad.

18:49 And here's the other bad part of it. If Stephen Avery is guilty of Yeah. Theresa Halbach's murder, then you're putting a very dangerous person back out in society.

19:00 And it's not that simple. They don't want Steven to go. We know that. Uh Zelnner is not an idiot. Like I said, I mean it. Look, if it was another lawyer on this case, they would be going, "We have a guy confessing,

19:14 right?" And that's why I'm glad that it's her on this case. And I'm glad that this this what I called a strange situation is now in her hands. I have full faith and confidence that she will handle it brilliantly and and handle it the best way that anybody possibly could. She'll get to the truth and that that's so for the people that think that Avery might be innocent or think that he might be guilty. I think you you can take you can take a whole bunch of good feelings out of knowing that that Zelner is the one working. Uh and I understand that she's working on his defense, but

19:55 yeah, there there's a lot of slime balls out there and I don't believe she is one of them.

20:02 Okay, so Newsweek reported this is just in a tweet. making a murderer uh confession may be false, but Kathleen Zelner says helpful tips have been shared. Okay. Um on the 24th she put all you need to know about the confession and then she posted a link. Um, yeah, it's basically saying that that that the confess confessor has no credibility. Um, but again,

20:41 did you see did you see his picture? Did you see his mug shot? I want to punch him in the face.

20:48 He looks like somebody you want to kick. Yeah, I would like to kick him right in the throat.

20:53 Hey, spread your legs, son. going to kick you in the grundle. Um, no. It's It's weird because there's a part of me that goes, "Ah, this is stupid." And my

21:04 It's interesting, isn't it? Stupid. Well, I mean, just we have there's been several cases that people have, you know, made weird false confessions to and they didn't go anywhere and it's just a distraction of getting to the truth. But there, but again, I love the fact that Zelner is on the case because she'll get to the bottom of the confession and if I mean, she's she's so good that she could probably get the guy if he's not telling the truth to be like, "Yeah, you're right. I I watched the documentary and I decided to get involved."

21:36 Um, but also if if it was true that, like you said, if it's not true, she's not going to just go to the end of the earth to try to get her client free,

21:49 right? Um, and so yeah, she's not the type to push forward uh these these crazy claims and outrageous

21:59 Yeah. theories. And I think that's the thing though, too, that people always wondered uh and we talked about with the OJ case, there was so much evidence against OJ, but there was also evidence of a cover up. There was also evidence of tampering with evidence. So, it can be both happening at the same time. And the more I've watched and I don't want to go back I cuz I I just went back and watched the Adnon four-part series. I don't want to go back and watch Making a Murderer uh cuz it just takes so long and you just go down all these rabbit holes. But just from what we've learned from her team and and some other people, this didn't go down in the manner in which they they first originally claimed. And we know that for a fact. So, what is the true story? Don't know. Um, and is Stephen Avery uh guilty of it? Um, don't know. I don't know. But it's uh it's very confusing and and hopefully we get some more answers.

23:11 Yeah. Yeah. And I I I I know that we will. I I feel very confident that we will. I don't know.

23:18 But I'm hoping this whole thing is not completely bogus and it's just a guy trying to get some attention and trying to outsmart people to get some money cuz one he like I said he won't outsmart him which is I know but if it is but maybe there's something there just like she said maybe the confession is [ __ ] but maybe there is something there that we just get more answers. So, if I got this correct, he originally states that Stephen Avery confessed to him.

23:47 Yeah. It seems like there was a claim in like 2016 and then then he his new story is I did it. Could

23:56 I'm wondering have we had any anybody publicly say that the two were actually cellmates

24:03 cellmates or had access to one another? It seems that I it doesn't seem that oxygen.com is confirming it, but it seems like they're

24:14 they're pushing that. They're led to believe that that was uh something that was true for but again, it could have been for 3 days or we're moving this prisoner around. So, you're here for a week,

24:25 right? Who knows, right?

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Steven Avery Case Confessions /// Off The Record"?

Unknown Host (Host), Unknown Guest (Guest).

What is "Steven Avery Case Confessions /// Off The Record" about?

The discussion centers around the Steven Avery case and a recent confession linked to it, highlighting the need for broader awareness of such developments in true crime narratives. The hosts reflect on the impact of regional accents in storytelling and the differing levels of public engagement with true crime cases.

What is mentioned in this True Crime Garage TV episode?

11 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Ben Avery, Teresa Halbach, Making a Murderer, Convicting a Murder, Brandon Dassie, Oxygen. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Steven Avery Case Confessions /// Off The Record"?

The episode runs 25 min; the transcript is about 3,686 words in 69 timestamped sections.

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