Making a Murderer's Steven Avery's dad dies as he keeps fighting prison sentence

Allan Avery, the father of Making a Murderer’s Steven Avery, has died at the age of 89. The family’s lawyer, attorney Kathleen Zellner, who has worked extensively in wrongful conviction advocacy, announced his death on social media.

She described him as Steven’s “strongest supporter” and said he believed his son is “100 per cent innocent” of the crimes he was convicted of. Steven’s case was picked up by Netflix in 2015 and became one of the platform’s most widely discussed true-crime docuseries.

Steven, now aged 64, is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the Fox Lake Correctional Institution in Wisconsin for the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach. He previously spent 18 years in prison for the 1985 rape and attempted murder of Penny Beernsten - but was exonerated after DNA evidence proved it was not him. The new DNA evidence instead revealed that the real rapist was Gregory Allen.

In 2005, Steven was arrested for the murder of Teresa Halbach, whose charred remains were found in a burn pit outside of his home. He was found guilty in 2007 of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, alongside his nephew, Brendan Dassey.

‘Rest in peace, Allan’

Sharing the news about Allan Avery’s death on October 23, Zellner wrote on X: “With great sadness, we announce that Allan Avery passed away yesterday. Predeceased by his beloved wife, Dolores, he was his son Steven Avery’s strongest supporter and believed 100 per cent in his innocence. His love and loyalty never wavered. Rest in peace, Allan.”

In response, Netflix viewers shared their condolences while commenting on the handling of the court case, as presented in the documentary. One user said: “Bless him and condolences. So sad and unjustified that Steven and Brendan are still in prison.”

Another user added: “Sad that both his parents are now gone. Sad that he’s still in prison to be honest after being set up which is blatantly obvious and always has been.” A third user said: “Sad and a current example of the suffering families live through at the hands of a corrupt and broken so-called justice system.”