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Steven Avery & Brendan Dassey— Case Archive
personpersonKaren HalbachKaren HalbachTeresa Halbach's mother and a witness concerning the family's contact with and search for her.← All People
Witness

Karen Halbach

Teresa Halbach's mother and a witness concerning the family's contact with and search for her.

AppearedSteven AveryBrendan Dassey
145 lines·12 proceedings·9 mentions·2 trials

About

Karen Halbach, Teresa Halbach's mother, testified about their regular contact and the family's response when Teresa could not be reached. She recounted a November 3 call from Thomas Pearce concerning Teresa's absence from work and full voicemail, and said she had not heard Teresa's voice after October 31. In Brendan Dassey's trial, she also described contacting relatives and searching for Teresa, and identified photographs, a missing-person poster, and personal-device materials. In Steven Avery's trial, she identified receipts for Teresa's cell phone and Palm device that were admitted as exhibits. Asked about Dassey, Karen said she did not think she had heard of him before November 5, 2005, and that Teresa had not mentioned him.

Trial Record (12)

AverySteven AveryFeb 12, 2007 – Mar 18, 2007Called by prosecution

In Steven Avery's 2007 trial, Karen Halbach testified about her regular contact with her daughter Teresa and a November 3 call concerning Teresa's absence from work. She also identified receipts for Teresa's cell phone and Palm device that the court admitted.

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DirectKaren Halbach — DirectKaren HalbachKenneth R. Kratz3highlights46lines spoken

Summary

Karen Halbach described Teresa's family routines, recounted a November 3 call expressing concern about her absence, and identified three records of Teresa's personal devices that the court admitted.

Highlights (3)

testimony highlightKaren Halbach described frequent contact with Teresa and a family birthday gathering on the Sunday before October 31.Open in transcript →
Quote“She'd come over a lot on the weekends to spend time with us and her two sisters.”— Karen HalbachDescribes Karen's regular contact with Teresa.Open in transcript →
Quote“He called about one o'clock in the afternoon and he told me he was worried about Teresa because, not only had she not shown up for work Tuesday or Wednesday, but he had tried calling her on her cell phone, and it said the voicemail was full, and that concerned him because her cell phone was her business phone.”— Karen HalbachPreserves Karen's account of why Pearce contacted her about Teresa.Open in transcript →

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DasseyBrendan DasseyApr 16, 2007 – Apr 25, 2007Called by prosecution

Karen Halbach testified for the prosecution in Brendan Dassey's 2007 trial about Teresa Halbach's disappearance, the family's search, and related exhibits. On cross-examination, she said she did not think she had heard of Dassey before November 5, 2005, and that Teresa had not mentioned him.

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