Wikipedia Biography / Profile Background
Introduction : Who was Teresa Halbach ?
- Teresa Halbach was a photographer & victim of murder in Wisconsin, USA, in 2005. Her case gained a lot of media coverage on account of the convict’s history.
- Evidence suggested Steven Avery to be a prime suspect of the case. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and charged with life in prison with no parole.
- Netflix made a documentary television series called Making a Murderer based on the life of Steven Avery, also covering the murder case.
- Teresa was born on March 22, 1980, in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, & died on October 31, 2005, in Chilton, Wisconsin.
Personal Life : Parents, Family and Education
- Teresa Halbach, together with siblings Kelly, Michael, Katie, and Timothy was born to parents – Richard and Karen Halbach.
- A typical country girl, she was raised in a dairy farm owned by her great-grandfather that was 225 acres large! Her great-grandfather was a German immigrant.
- She would babysit her younger sisters while her father and two brothers tended to the cows on their farm – a herd of more than 60!
- Education : Teresa attended the Hilbert High School and is from the class of 1998.
- She graduated ‘Summa-Cum-Laude’ from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in photography.
- She’s a very energetic, spontaneous person. We were always up to something – hiking or swimming at High Cliff State Park on Lake Winnebago, quoted Kelly Pitzen, one of Teresa’s oldest and closest friends.
- Her lively personality has brought her to many places such as Australia and New Mexico, but being a family person she kept them close at heart wherever she went.
- She also coached her younger sister’s 7th-grade volleyball team at St John-Sacred Heart School.
- Ryan Hillegas, who was her boyfriend from high school to college, described Teresa as ‘a friend to everybody’.
- Teresa enjoyed having a good time and intended to meet her family at a bar for a Halloween party when she returned from her job. It was the final Sunday anyone saw her alive.
- The job was to take photographs of a minivan for sale on Auto Trader magazine at Avery’s Auto Salvage Yard, owned by convict Steven Avery.
- It was established that Teresa had met Avery before the job, which led to the discovery of her car at his property.
- Multiple sources informed that Teresa often felt awkward around Avery.
The Steven Avery Trial :
- Steven Avery was first wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder in 1985 & was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
- He served his sentence for 18 years before being fully exonerated following new DNA evidence proving him innocent beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Avery filed a $36 million lawsuit against Manitowoc County & another party involved for wrongful conviction. Two years later, he was arrested and charged for the murder of Teresa Halbach.
- However, due to the history between Avery and the Manitowoc Sheriff and Judge, there was a conflict of interest in their participation and suggested evidence tampering.
- Avery’s nephew, Brendan Dassey was later charged and convicted as an accessory to murder after confessing under interrogation. Nevertheless, he later recanted his confession, declaring that he was forced.
- Following the release of the documentary Making a Murderer, it was revealed that 7 out of 12 jurors voted not guilty, but the judge passed on a guilty verdict at the end.
- Allegedly, another juror told the filmmakers that he voted guilty for fear of his safety.
- As of today, there have been appeals but have not resulted in any conclusion.
Plz, contact me. I am having dreams about her ex-boyfriend…not sure but bothered by it. I don’t think it is Avery!