Fans of 'Making a Murderer' Want to Know If Steven Avery's Parents Are Still Alive

Fans of the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer want to know if the parents of Steven Avery are still alive. Avery is the subject of the fascinating docuseries, which followed Avery as he was exonerated for a sexual assault after spending 18 years in prison. The docuseries also follows Avery's case after he was arrested two years after his 2003 release for the murder of 25-year-old Teresa Halbach.

Avery was convicted of her murder, along with his then-16-year-old nephew, but questions about his guilt remain due to questionable interrogation tactics used by the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office. Avery was also suing for his wrongful conviction at the time of his arrest, and there was speculation that he was framed over the $36 million lawsuit. A request to review his case was recently denied by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and people want to know if Steven's parents are still alive.

Steven's mother, Dolores Avery, died back in 2021. Dolores was 83 at the time of her death, and she was a prominent figure in the docuseries about her son. She maintained that he was innocent until the day she died. Steven's father, Allan Avery, is still alive, and Steven has said that he hopes to be released one day from prison so that he can care for his ailing father.

Avery is now 63 and is being housed at the Fox Lake Correctional Institution in Fox Lake, Wis. He was convicted of murdering Teresa, who was a freelance photographer for Auto Trader magazine. She had been assigned a story that required her to go to Avery Auto Salvage in October of 2005 to take pictures of the 40-acre salvage yard in Two Rivers. Teresa never returned, and her car was later found hidden in Avery's salvage yard.

Teresa's cell phone and camera were also found in a burn barrel on Avery's property, and drops of his blood were allegedly found inside the victim's car. The car key was also allegedly found in Avery's bedroom, and the license plates from her car were also allegedly found on the property. Avery's lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, claims that the sheriff's department framed her client over his lawsuit.

Kathleen also said that the authorities got a false confession out of Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey. Brendan has a low IQ and intellectual disability, and he was just 16 at the time of his confession. He told the police that he sexually assaulted Teresa at Avery's request. The teen also said he helped Avery kill Teresa and burn her body. However, the teenager contradicted himself multiple times during the interrogation.

Brendan later recanted his confession and claimed he was coerced. Both Brendan and Avery were given life sentences for Teresa's murder.

Three Wisconsin Court of Appeals District II judges ruled that Avery's motion was "insufficiently pled" and that there was not sufficient evidence to warrant an evidentiary hearing.

Making a Murderer is available to stream on Netflix.