Halbach case a criminal investigation
Posted November 8, 2005
By John Lee
Post-Crescent staff writer
MISHICOT - Investigators sought evidence of an abduction and homicide in the Teresa Halbach disappearance when they requested a court order to seize Steven Averys car and a tow truck owned by his brothers.
Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel said the investigation surrounding Halbachs Oct. 31 disappearance has moved from a missing-person case to a criminal investigation.
According to Calumet County Circuit Court documents reviewed Tuesday in Chilton by The Post-Crescent, the first of nearly 20 search warrants was returned after officers seized Averys 1993 Pontiac and a red 2005 tow truck registered to Charles and Earl Avery, Stevens brothers.
Charles and Earl Avery operate the northern Manitowoc County salvage yard where the search for Halbach, a 25-year-old rural Calumet County woman, is centered.
Steven Avery, 43, served 18 years in prison on a sexual assault charge. He was released in 2003 after DNA evidence exonerated him.
The Halbach cases status changed after the state Crime Lab analyzed evidence found by investigators after the missing womans vehicle was discovered Saturday.
The search warrant request said investigators sought Halbach, clothing she was wearing when she disappeared, and other property she owned, such as photography equipment and electronic storage devices.
The warrant also sought forensic evidence "including, but not limited to, fiber evidence, blood, hair, saliva, semen and fingerprints."
Also, the warrant request said, police sought "instrumentalities capable of taking a human life including, but not limited to, weapons, firearms, cutting instruments, ropes and ligatures."
That warrant was issued by Calumet County Circuit Judge Donald Poppy at 12:15 p.m. Saturday, about two hours after Halbachs sport utility vehicle was found in the Averys salvage yard.
Calumet County Dist. Atty. Kenneth Kratz, the special prosecutor in the Manitowoc County case, told The Post-Crescent Tuesday night the search warrants were issued on the assumptions of early evidence.
"The search warrant requires us to choose from a plethora of criminal choices, and the circumstances surrounding this include a homicide, kidnapping and sexual assault," Kratz said. "The circumstances surrounding the missing person suggested one or more of those crimes."
Kratz said most of the search warrants have been issued in Calumet and Manitowoc counties, with the "lions share" in Manitowoc County.
Court records searched Tuesday by The Post-Crescent also disclosed that Charles Avery, 51, has a criminal record, including arrests for disorderly conduct, domestic violence and sexual assault.
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