UPDATED 8:28 p.m. ET.
Brendan Dassey, the nephew of Making a Murderer's main subject Steven Avery, has been ordered released from prison by a federal judge. Dassey's prior conviction in the murder of Teresa Halbach was overturned Friday, the Journal Sentinelreports.
Though Dassey previously confessed to assisting his uncle, Steven Avery, in the alleged murder of Halbach, attorneys in Milwaukee argued that his confession had been coerced by authorities. Furthermore, attorneys argued that Dassey's constitutional rights had been violated during the murder investigation.
Dassey was 16 years old at the time of the 2005 murder, with the investigation and subsequent conviction forming the basis of last year's wildly popular Netflix docuseriesMaking a Murderer. Steven Avery is currently serving a life sentence in the murder of Halbach. Avery's new legal team, helmed by Kathleen Zellner, has hinted at a new path to justice in recent interviews.
"We have a couple," Zellner, an accomplished wrongful conviction lawyer, toldNewsweek in March of possible new suspects. "I'd say there's one, leading the pack by a lot. But I don't want to scare him off. I don't want him to run." Zellner's team (and presumably Dassey's overturned conviction) will be profiled in the recently announced second season of Making a Murderer.
Asked about the ruling Making a Murderer filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos told Complex:
Federal Magistrate William Duffin's ruling in Milwaukee is expected to be appealed, the Sentineladded. Dassey can be retried on the charges within 90 days of Duffin's decision should an appeal be filed.
