“He’s Not Innocent”: Steven Avery’s Ex-Fiancée Claims The ‘Making A Murder’ Subject Was Abusive

This post contains discussion of domestic violence. It also features spoilers for Making A Murderer.

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Just like Sarah Koenig’s investigation of Adnan Syed before it, the new Netflix docu-series Making a Murderer has captivated audiences with a story of a convicted murderer’s potential innocence. This time it’s Steven Avery — a man who was found guilty of killing a young woman in 2005, shortly after being released from 18 years of imprisonment for a sexual assault he did not commit. The throughly detailed ten-part series breaks down the circumstances outside of this crime — which include significant allegations of police corruption — and creates a shocking, albeit deliberate, portrait of a justice system in tatters.

This has really affected people. With millions following the story, burning impressions of their laptops into their stomachs each night, people have rallied against the apparent injustices they saw on screen. A petition featuring more than 420,000 signatures has been submitted to the White House requesting not just a retrial for Avery, but a full exoneration — for the record, this isn’t something the White House can do, as it’s a matter within the state justice system. Online, Avery’s defence lawyers have become heroes and the Manitowoc County Police Department are a running joke; a shorthand for bias and villainy.

Making a Monopoly Board #MakingAMurderer pic.twitter.com/8v5cKo3WUT

— Notre Blaine (@BlaineJacob) January 12, 2016

Now, the waters are getting a little muddier. After a wave of journalists reporting on potentially significant evidence which was left out of the show, Avery’s former fiancée Jodi Stachwoski has come out with new allegations in an interview with US cable network HLN. Though she appeared supportive of Avery during numerous interviews in the series, she now says those statements were coerced as she was living in an abusive relationship.

“It was all an act,” she said, visibly distraught. “He told me how to act. Smile, be happy. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to get hurt.”

“He beat me all the time,” she told journalist Natisha Lance in the one-on-one pre-recorded interview. “[He’d] punch me, throw me against the wall. I’d try to leave and he’s smash my window … He told me once — excuse my language — ‘all bitches owe him’ because of the one that sent him to prison the first time. We all owed him and he could do whatever he wanted.”

“Steven called me and told me — it should all be on police phone records — that if I didn’t say anything good and nice about him, I’d pay.”

Nothing is yet known about whether those recordings still exist or not, but Lance does state Stachwoski’s other comments can be backed up by police records. She claims there are a number of domestic incidents filed from the Avery home around this time.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Avery’s former defence attorney Jerry Buting, has laid doubt on these claims, or more specifically, her decision to speak out against her former partner at this time.

“[Stachwoski] was getting a lot of pressure, even while the trial was going on, to try and turn her away from Steven Avery,” he said. “It’s [been] many years, who knows what kind of pressure and influences have been exerted against her to try and make her express that kind of opinion. Bottom line is that when things were contemporaneous, happening back during that time, she did not have that opinion. She was very supportive of him. So, why is she changing her opinion? I don’t know at this point.”

During the interview, Stachwoski claims this isn’t the first time she’s expressed this opinion. She claims that before the series came out she approached the filmmakers. Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, asking them not to include footage of her. “It was all lies,” she said. “[I want people to know] the truth … What a monster he is. He’s not innocent.” Ricciardi and Demos are yet to respond.

This interview aired the same day of reports stating Steven Avery has filed an appeal to overturn his conviction.

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If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

Men can access anonymous confidential telephone counselling to help to stop using violent and controlling behaviour through the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.