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CHILTON Wis. - Steven Avery's nephew, Bobby Dassey, testified Wednesday that Avery asked for his help in disposing of "the body." Bobby Dassey said he did not help. Bobby Dassey's younger brother, Brendan Dassey, is charged as an accomplice in the murder.

Avery's attorney, Dean Strang, called the testimony an "unfair surprise" because he did not expect Bobby Dassey to give information which Strang sees as essentially "a confession." 

"This caught me completely unaware," Strang said. 

Strang moved for a mistrial because he said there was no indication of Bobby Dassey's account about "a body" in any of the police reports or evidence Strang reviewed before the trial. The judge denied the mistrial motion and offered Avery's attorneys leeway to cross-examine Dassey Wednesday and then again at a future time. Attorney Strang plans to cross-examine Bobby Dassey first thing Thursday morning.  

Judge Patrick Willis also offered a possible instruction to the jury at the end of the trial to help shape how they use the testimony in their final verdict.

 Watch lawyer reaction to the day's events in court

"The surprise, which I thought was unfair, was a problem from the standpoint of assuring a fair trial for Mr. Avery," said Strang.

Kratz disagreed. He said Avery's attorneys should've done their homework and known what Bobby Dassey said was found on police reports.

"We established in two different places they had notice of that particular conversation," he said.

In the end, the prosecutor doesn't think the case will be decided by Thursday's testimony.

"I hope they base their decision on guilt or innocence on physical evidence on what witnesses saw… I don't this fits into either one of those catergories," said Kratz

Here is how Dassey recalled a conversation he had with Steven Avery on November 3 - several days after Halbach was allegedly murdered.

Prosecutor Ken Kratz: "Could you tell us what your Uncle Steven told you that day?"

Bobby Dassey: "Well my buddy, Mike, was over too. And he asked us - it sounded like he was joking, honestly - but he asked us if he wanted us to help him get rid of the body."

Prosecutor Ken Kratz: "Your Uncle Steven asked you if you wanted to help get rid of the body?"  

Bobby Dassey: "Yeah."

Prosecutor Ken Kratz: "What was your response?"

Bobby Dassey: "No."

The Dasseys lived in a mobile home on the Avery salvage yard property near the mobile home where Steven Avery lived. Bobby Dassey's mother, Barb Janda, is Steven Avery's sister. 

Bobby Dassey recalled seeing Teresa Halbach take pictures of a van for Auto Trader Magazine. He said he saw Teresa Halbach walk up to Steven Avery's trailer after she finished taking pictures of the van but that she did not go inside. 

After he saw Halbach, Bobby Dassey says he took a shower, got dressed, and went outside to go deer hunting. When he walked out to his car, he saw Halbach's SUV still parked at the salvage yard but did not see Halbach.

Around 5:00 p.m., he returned from deer hunting but did not see Halbach's SUV. He then went to sleep because he worked third shift at a factory. He told the court he is a sound sleeper and did not hear any noise.

Jeff Wagner, former federal prosecutor and host of Newsradio 620's Jeff Wagner Show, stopped by TMJ4's studios to discuss the gravity of Wednesday's developments with Courtny Gerrish and Shelley Walcott.

 Watch Wagner's interview

Check back here for updates throughout the day from TODAY'S TMJ4 reporter Mick Trevey, live in Chilton.

For more information, visit:  Newsradio 620 WTMJ-AM

 BEFORE THE TRIAL: