Day 1 - April 16, 2007

Opening Statements, Halbach Family Testimony, and Fassbender Testimony

11Proceedings

9Pages

3Witnesses

1,205Lines

Day 1 of 9

Appearing:

The jury was sworn and instructed before both sides gave opening statements. Karen and Katie Halbach testified, and investigator Thomas Fassbender described the property search and Dassey’s garage-cleanup account before qualifying several points on cross-examination.

Full day summary

Counsel appeared, the jury was sworn, and Judge Fox instructed jurors on the charges, the presumption of innocence, and the State’s burden of proof. In opening statements, the State previewed Dassey’s recorded statements and evidence it expected to offer; the defense urged jurors to distinguish evidence concerning Steven Avery from evidence concerning Dassey and to scrutinize the statements and officers’ questioning. Before the jury returned, the judge deferred a final ruling on whether the defense could ask an officer about Dassey’s May 13 interview statements, while indicating it could not do so at that stage. Karen Halbach testified about Teresa’s photography work and the family’s search after Tom Pearce called on November 3. On cross-examination, she said Teresa had not mentioned Brendan Dassey to her. Katie Halbach identified a lanyard she gave Teresa and jeans she selected as similar to Teresa’s, not Teresa’s own pair. Investigator Thomas Fassbender described the Avery property search, recovered items, and Dassey’s account of cleaning a garage-floor stain. On cross-examination, Fassbender agreed that he first suggested the stain might be blood. He said he knew of no material on the RAV4 hood connecting it to Dassey and that no blood was found on Dassey’s jeans, while noting he had been told the jeans were washed. He also corrected his earlier account of where two sets of leg irons were found.

Procedural

Appearances and Jury Swearing

10 lines

Counsel appeared, the jury was sworn, and the judge turned to planned preliminary instructions.

Jury Instruction

Preliminary Jury Instructions and Offense Elements

5 lines

Judge Fox gave preliminary instructions on juror conduct, the three charged offenses, party-to-a-crime liability, and reasonable doubt.

Highlights

Preliminary Jury Instructions and Offense Elementsjury eventThe judge instructed on the presumption of innocence and the State's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Opening

State's Opening Statement Kenneth R. Kratz

23 lines

Kratz outlined the State's theory that Dassey helped Avery assault and kill Halbach, then previewed Dassey's recorded statement and evidence the State said would corroborate it.

Highlights

State's Opening Statement“Was he there? And did he help?”— Kenneth R. KratzKratz's concise framing of the State's central questions about Dassey's alleged participation.State's Opening StatementotherKratz previewed the full March 1 recording and attributed to Dassey an account of sexual assault, killing, burning Halbach's body, and concealing the vehicle.

Opening

Defense Opening Statement Mark R. Fremgen

15 lines

Fremgen previewed an alternative account of Dassey's Halloween evening and challenged the expected physical evidence and reliability of his recorded statements.

Highlights

Defense Opening Statement“It is important to remember who is on trial. This is not the Steven Avery trial.”— Mark R. FremgenStates the defense's central distinction between evidence concerning Avery and evidence concerning Dassey.Defense Opening StatementotherFremgen challenged the reliability of Dassey's recorded statements, asking jurors to examine what was not corroborated, changes between statements, and the officers' questioning; he said the defense would offer school and psychological testimony about Dassey's vulnerability to suggestion.

Procedural

May 13 Interview Cross-Examination Dispute

12 lines

The judge deferred a final ruling on whether the defense could ask an officer about Mr. Dassey's May 13 interview.

Highlights

May 13 Interview Cross-Examination DisputerulingThe judge deferred a final ruling while expressing the view that the defense was, at least for now, precluded from asking about the May 13 interview statements. Defense counsel then asked for an opportunity to revisit the issue before cross-examination if an officer's testimony reached statements involving Dassey.

Direct

Karen Halbach — Direct Karen Halbach Kenneth R. Kratz

210 lines

Karen Halbach described Teresa's life, her last family visit, the search after she went missing, and exhibits the court received.

Cross

Karen Halbach — Cross Karen Halbach Mark R. Fremgen

12 lines

Karen Halbach said she did not think she had heard of Brendan Dassey before November 5, and that Teresa had not mentioned him.

Highlights

Karen Halbach — Directtestimony highlightKaren said Tom Pearce called on November 3 after Teresa missed time at the studio and her voicemail became full; Karen then contacted family, AutoTrader, and the Calumet County Sheriff's Department.

Direct

Katie Halbach — Direct Katie Halbach Kenneth R. Kratz

136 lines

Katie Halbach identified a lanyard she gave Teresa, described jeans she selected as similar to Teresa's, and said she had not seen or heard from her sister after October 30.

Highlights

Katie Halbach — Directevidence eventKatie identified Exhibit 13 as jeans she selected at Kohl's because she thought they were similar to Teresa's, rather than as Teresa's own pair.Katie Halbach — Direct“Um, it's a pair of jeans that I picked out at Kohl's one time that I thought were similar to the jeans that Teresa owned.”— Katie HalbachKatie distinguished the selected comparison jeans from Teresa's own pair.

Direct

Thomas Fassbender — Direct Thomas Fassbender Kenneth R. Kratz

440 lines

Fassbender described the Avery Yard search, RAV4 handling, recovered items, and Dassey's reported February 27 account of garage-floor cleanup; the court limited two exhibit admissions.

Highlights

Thomas Fassbender — Directtestimony highlightDescribing the February 27 interview, Fassbender said Dassey initially described garage-floor stains as dark red but believed them to be oil, then said he believed the substance could have been blood. Fassbender said that account was one reason for a later interview, not the only reason.

Cross

Thomas Fassbender — Cross Thomas Fassbender Raymond L. Edelstein

320 lines

Edelstein challenged the physical links to Dassey and elicited Fassbender's acknowledgment that he first suggested blood in the garage-floor interview.

Redirect

Thomas Fassbender — Redirect Thomas Fassbender Kenneth R. Kratz

22 lines

Fassbender identified two tagged pairs of handcuffs from Barb Janda's bedroom and confirmed restraints were also found in Steven Avery's bedroom.