CHILTON,
Wis. -
Outside the murder trial of his son Tuesday. Steven Avery's father spoke to TODAY'S TMJ4 sister station NBC 26 Tuesday morning regarding the finding of human bones on the Avery property, believed to be those of Teresa Halbach. Steven Avery allegedly killed Halbach while she was at his family's junkyard taking pictures for a magazine.
Allan Avery said he used to run Avery Auto Salvage until he turned it over to his sons.
"We're sick and tired of them saying that bones (were) found on Avery's auto salvage," he complained. "They found nothing on Avery's auto salvage. All they found is, somebody put a car there on Avery's auto salvage, and we're sick and tired of it!"
Allan Avery said he believed it was a "setup."
"If you start from the beginning, they plugged the highway off and kicked us out of our houses for eight days so they could plant evidence. and everything else," he said excitedly. "BBrendan Dassey is innocent and my son is innocent."
Allan Avery said he hopes they stop talking about bones found on the property.
"This is not right," he declared. "We need to have our justice system a good goin' over. Thank you."
Teresa Halbach's friend and ex-boyfriend, Ryan Hillegas, testified about the search efforts Halbach's friends and family undertook after her disappearance in 2005. He talked about her friends calling people Teresa knew to find her. Later, he described the search efforts as people drove and walked the land around Avery Auto Salvage looking for clues that could help find Teresa.
Teresa Halbach's second cousin, Pam Sturm, testified about finding Halbach's Toyota SUV hidden in the Avery salvage yard. Sturm indicated that the Avery family gave her permission to look for the vehicle. She discovered it and called Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel to report the sighting. The vehicle was hidden under brush and debris at the time. Sturm testified that she has experience searching for things as a previously licensed private investigator.
Two of Teresa Halbach's coworkers from Auto Trader Magazine also testified Tuesday.
Angela Schuster worked for Auto Trader Magazine to coordinate photographer schedules and make appointments. She said that Avery was a regular customer and that he booked his appointments in advance.
Schuster explained that photographers are given a list of appointments set up with the office of Auto Trader Magazine. But photographers are also allowed to shoot "hustle" shots where they take pictures without appointments and then try to sell advertising space in the magazine on their own. Photographers get a $10.00 bonus for "hustle" shots that they generate on their own.
Prosecutors argue that the photo shoot at the Avery property was Teresa's last appointment on October 31, 2005 - the day she is believed to have been murdered.
But Avery's lawyers emphasize the "hustle" shots that allow photographers to keep working even if they do not have appointments scheduled. Avery's Attorney Jerome Buting wants to raise doubt that Halbach could have had other "hustle" photo shoots after the scheduled Avery job. He introduced evidence about Halbach was motivated and regularly made unscheduled "hustle" shots.
Dawn Pliszka worked in the Hales Corners office of Auto Trader Magazine at the time of Halbach's death. Pliszka was the receptionist who took calls from customers and scheduled photographers. She recalled getting a call from Avery, who identified himself as "B. Janda" which is his sister's name. She said Avery specifically requested the photographer who had previously been on his property - Teresa Halbach.
Avery's attorney questioned Pliszka about previous "hustle" shots Halbach took for Avery. He showed log sheets indicating that Avery sometimes called Halbach directly to set up the appointments. Attorney Jerome Buting questioned why Avery would set up an appointment through Auto Trader Magazine's offices rather than contact Halbach directly. He indicated that a murderer would not leave a trail of interaction with the victim before a murder and therefore sees it as a sign of Avery's innocence that he contacted Halbach through her office instead of calling her directly.
Pliszka was also aware of a previous interaction between Avery and Halbach in which Halbach claimed that Avery came out of his trailer wearing only a towel. But Judge Willis refused to allow the jury to hear about the previous incident.
Check back here for updates throughout the day from TODAY'S TMJ4 reporter Mick Trevey, live in Chilton.
