If you’ve been keeping up with the popular Netflix series ‘Making A Murderer’ you know that a single vial of blood was a key piece of evidence Steven Avery’s trial. Just four years prior to being arrested and charged with the murder of of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach, Avery was wrongfully locked away for 18 years, however was exonerated with the help of DNA testing. Now, Jerome Buting, Avery’s former attorney is speaking saying that science could be the key to releasing Steven once again.
Read more below.
That single vial of blood drawn from Steven Avery in 1996, was a key piece of evidence in the Teresa Halbach trial after Avery’s defense attorneys discovered that it had appeared to be tampered with. According to Avery’s attorneys this was a huge break in the case as the rubber stopper on the vial had been punctured by a needle and evidence tape had been broken. This supported their claims that their claims that somebody planted Avery’s DNA evidence at the crime scene.
The defense fell short in presenting this point at trial and the Manitowoc County police department denied that they had in any way tampered with evidence. In another attempt to prove that Manitowoc County planted the blood in Halbach’s car, Buting introduced EDTA testing to the court.
He suggested that the blood found at the scene be tested for EDTA, or the anticoagulant that is added to vials of blood to aid in their preservation. However in 2007, the reports came back saying the blood in the car was absent of EDTA but Buting challenged the reports saying the levels were too low to be detected.
Since 2007, it has not be noted if EDTA testing has improved significantly because the test isn’t common practice and not many labs preform it. However, if Buting and Avery’s defense attorneys plan to re-admisinster an EDTA detection test, and bring Avery back to court they would have to seek out a third-party lab capable of that technology and determine the he status of EDTA testing since 2007.
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