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Culture June 29, 2017
Was he coerced into confession or was it the making of a murderer?
Photo via Instagram / @makingamurderernetflixBrendan Dassey, the nephew of Steven Avery, was convicted of being a party to first-degree intentional homicide, second-degree sexual assault and mutilating a corpse in 2007 while aiding his uncle in the death of Teresa Halbach.
This crime was documented by the Netflix hit “Making a Murderer.” But was his confession really influenced by the James Patterson “Kiss the Girls” book?
Here’s what we found out.
Dassey was 16 at the time of his confession but also had a low IQ score of 73, equivalent to that of a fourth grader. While the confession played a big factor in his conviction, his defense argued that it was coerced. They said Dassey was “easily suggestible” and not fully-aware of what was going on.
In his confession, he admits to raping and stabbing Halbach to death because Avery told him to. And according to him, Halbach, who was cuffed and tied up, pleaded him not to listen to Avery. Dassey, however, watched Avery shoot Halbach with a gun afterward. He also said he cut Halbach’s hair and helped Avery burn her body.
In the confession, he references Avery’s reason for committing the crime was to go back to jail because he “missed it.”
And according to Dassey, Avery chose Halbach as his victim because the 25-year-old photographer was set to take pictures of his vehicle on the day of the crime.
Federal Judge William E. Duffin overturned Dassey’s conviction in August of 2016, ruling that Dassey confessed due to manipulation tactics.
According to Duffin, Dassey did not have the mental capability to relay accurate information while undergoing four interrogations. Not only that, but he was made “false promises” during the process.
Dassey’s attorneys Steven A. Drizin and Laura Nirider released a statement with their explanation of the ruling:
The court’s decision rests on a fundamental principle that is too often forgotten by courts and law enforcement officers: Interrogation tactics which may not be coercive when used on adults are coercive when used on juveniles, particularly young people like Brendan with disabilities.”
Duffin called for Dassey to be released unless prosecutors brought an appeal against him in 90 days. Currently, the prosecution is going through the appeal process.
Dassey was asked how he was able to give so much gory detail about the crime if it was not true.
His response?
He described scenes written in James Patterson’s “Kiss the Girls” book. The book follows two murderers from opposite sides of the United States who work together to rape and kill women.
While rape and murder are consistent in both Dassey’s confession and the “Kiss the Girls” book, other details are not.
The parts of the confession detailing how Halbach was raped, stabbed, shot and ultimately burned do not match any details from the “Kiss the Girls” book. However, it’s possible Dassey combined basic details from the “Kiss the Girls” book with the movie adaptation of the story.
The film does feature a murderer cutting a female victim’s hair before burning her alive. But, it’s still pretty unclear if his confession came from reading the novel or if it was actually the truth.
Brendan Dassey’s conviction was overturned because a federal judge said it was coerced. Photo via Instagram / @whomagazine
The series is expected to return to Netflix sometime in 2017. And according to the company, “This next chapter will provide an in-depth look at the high-stakes post-conviction process, as well as, the emotional toll the process takes on all involved.”
Hopefully, the second season provides some answers for viewers about the connection between the “Kiss the Girls” book and Dassey’s case.
We can only hope that the truth will come out and justice will be served.
