Search Captions & Ask AI

Steven Avery Case Confessions /// Off The Record

December 30, 2025 / 24:47

This episode discusses the Stephen Avery case, featuring a recent confession related to the murder of Teresa Halbach. The hosts, along with attorney Kathleen Zelner, analyze the implications of this new information.

The conversation begins with the hosts reflecting on their regional accents and humor in old shows. They then shift to the Stephen Avery case, highlighting a recent confession from a Wisconsin inmate, Joseph Evans, who claims responsibility for Halbach's murder.

Kathleen Zelner, Avery's attorney, is mentioned as having received this confession. The hosts express skepticism about the credibility of Evans, who is currently serving life for murdering his wife. They discuss the potential motivations behind his confession and the implications for Avery's case.

The hosts emphasize Zelner's integrity and her ability to discern the truth amidst the chaos of false confessions. They also touch on the complexities of the case, including the possibility of both Avery's guilt and a cover-up.

Overall, the episode highlights the ongoing developments in the Avery case and the importance of thorough investigation in light of new claims.

TLDR

The episode covers a new confession in the Stephen Avery case, discussing its implications and the credibility of the confessor, Joseph Evans.

Episode

24:47
00:00:05
[music] [music] [music] All right. Howdy, partner. >> Welcome on in. >> Welcome on.
00:00:23
>> Come on in. >> Come to the garage. >> Don't let the door hit you. I love when
00:00:28
people say your guys' accent cracks me up. >> Well, it cracks me up, too. >> Smalter. Did you fer?
00:00:35
>> Well, when you when you grew up watching this much HeiHehaw, >> they call me Heihaw.
00:00:41
>> Yeah. [laughter] >> Which I It must have been really funny back then. Maybe it was never funny. I
00:00:47
don't I don't know. I don't I don't know that I ever got that. >> We were probably just too little. But
00:00:53
but sometimes when you watch shows that you thought were funny for the you know as an adult you're like why did I laugh
00:01:02
at this? >> I used to think this was great. >> Shows you thought were funny when you
00:01:06
were a child. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I'll skater. But on the land of I think we've talked about this before,
00:01:15
but if you're going to make a a true crime documentary, if you're going to cover a case, one of
00:01:22
the the best things you can do is is get subjects that talk a little funny >> is de Yeah. Develop an Ohio accent. No,
00:01:33
like with the West Memphis 3, it it made a little twist to the story and uh and it almost seemed like it put it Well,
00:01:42
because we're not from that area, it seemed like it kind of puts it in a little box. Everybody becomes in that
00:01:49
little world. >> Yeah. >> And um but yeah, so we're talking about the Stephen Avery case this week. There
00:01:57
was some news. There was a confession. Um, >> is this Do you think that this news is
00:02:04
like super widespread? >> It is because Well, what what's strange is >> cuz I'm on I'm on the internet all the
00:02:12
time and I don't think I've seen any >> Well, that's the thing. >> Pop-ups. >> I didn't see any popups about it.
00:02:19
>> I was told of this by you which which was >> which was sent by a listener like, "Hey,
00:02:24
have you checked this out?" Now, normally when something like this happens, maybe you get 10, 20
00:02:31
uh emails or direct messages on social media. I only got like one or two. >> That's why I'm questioning if this is
00:02:39
like widespread or do you think that it's like >> I think it is because when I Google
00:02:43
searched it, it was like pages and pages of like Inside Edition, uh the Today Show, like CNN. There's a bunch of
00:02:51
people that at least covered the story. Do you think that maybe the interest level is
00:03:00
kind of kind of bouncing around in the middle of of the meter there because it's kind of a we have some new
00:03:08
information. There's a break in the case. Oh, we got to wait to find out if it's true. Well, so what happened was
00:03:15
what happened was they had Stephen Avery's uh attorney come came out and I believe on Sunday she or Saturday night
00:03:24
she actually posted a Twitter message saying here's the confession. I believe she actually showed a picture of the
00:03:31
front of the letter. Um, >> so but she even said this might not matter at all >> and and there's going to be a lot more
00:03:43
work that we have to do on this and she didn't seem that confident. So for for somebody that if anybody knows
00:03:53
anything about her um they know that she's a very confident person. Kathleen Zelner,
00:04:02
amazing uh attorney, and I just like the way she views a lot of things. So, the fact that she came out and said, "Look,
00:04:11
there's this there's a new documentary that's being made, and I think it's by a different set of team than who made
00:04:19
Making a Murder, but I believe >> it's a series called Convicting a Murder, >> I believe. So, and it seems like they've
00:04:28
been doing research on on the documentary for about 18 months, and they got a known uh killer from
00:04:37
Wisconsin. Through their research, he confessed to the crime, meaning that Steven Avery would be innocent, meaning
00:04:46
that Brandon Dassie would be innocent, meaning that he would have been the one that killed Theresa Halbach.
00:04:54
I do want to point out that I feel that Katherine Zelner, did I say her name right?
00:05:01
>> Yeah. >> Okay. I believe her to be of of great integrity as well. And that's why I I I
00:05:09
love following her. I love that she is on this case. She strikes me as the type of defense attorney that would probably
00:05:18
walk away from somebody that she believed to be guilty unless she can represent them in that fashion.
00:05:24
>> Right. >> Um, and I say that because a case we covered, the uh Tony Muny, which was a Columbus
00:05:32
case, it's it's unsolved. It's incredibly cold by this time. It's I think it was 1983.
00:05:38
There was a a suspect that was named as a suspect in the papers in our Columbus newspapers here. He was considered a
00:05:47
suspect because he was a bit of a traveling serial killer and he he targeted uh children or boys the age
00:05:56
roughly the age of Tony Muny, >> right? Katherine Zelner represented him. And actually what she did was was not
00:06:05
only represent him in in court, but she also got him to confess to future or future to other uh murders and other
00:06:15
crimes. and she convinced him to to give a list, provide a list to her that, you
00:06:22
know, and and that's kind of an old story, but that's really where her, if you want to call it fame, kind of
00:06:30
started. That's where she became a household name in Illinois, I believe. And so, this is really interesting that
00:06:37
this has come about because this could mean that there's a confession to the murder of Terresa Hallback. Uh there's
00:06:44
some some things right away and I had not read the confession or didn't know the details of of such, but you and I
00:06:53
had an interesting conversation before we flipped on the mics that my immediate thought was I I pointed out I
00:07:01
said Katherine Zelner has offered or her team has offered a reward for information in the case.
00:07:10
>> Yeah. And that and that is what the >> the confession starts off with one attorney Kathleen or yeah Kathleen
00:07:18
Zelner and it's saying I am making a claim to your reward offer for the information in the Stephen Avery case.
00:07:26
>> I would like the money. >> Yeah, that's what it starts off with. So that shows you the motive.
00:07:33
I don't know why she Okay, maybe it was starting to get leaked out and that's why uh Zelnner posted this.
00:07:42
That's what I'm guessing. Um I'm trying to blow it up so I can actually I know on oxygen.com
00:07:50
there's actually um says I'm making the claim to your reward for the information in the Stephen Avery
00:08:00
case. I've been trying to contact you by phone and through a friend and a family
00:08:07
member, but seem to get nowhere. It's hard to read because it's >> it's a picture of and you have to zoom
00:08:15
in. >> Yeah. And it's uh I wanted to say it was in cursive, but it's not it's uh but it's kind of it's
00:08:27
not the clearest handwriting. Do you write in cursive? No, I speak in cursive though.
00:08:32
>> Okay. Uh but yeah. So I but but I again I'm fascinated by this because you can make claims all day and want to
00:08:46
try to get that money, but if you can't prove it, and I think that's kind of what Zelner is saying. If
00:08:54
this guy can't prove it, then you know this is just nonsense and who cares and we need to move on. So
00:09:02
>> likely my my gut tells me it's a lie. You know, unless we see some some information like you said and like she's
00:09:10
saying, unless there's some way of backing up some of the story, it sounds like >> the the inmate, which they've not named
00:09:21
the inmate, right? >> No, they have. the they have >> Yeah. >> Okay. Sorry. The article I read said
00:09:28
that they would not name the inmate until such and such. >> Well, that's why I think this blew up
00:09:33
because it it started leaking. And so then of course it gets uh the inmate who identifies himself as Joseph Evans.
00:09:40
>> Oh. >> Started off his letter by stating, "I making a claim to your reward." The
00:09:46
information in the Steven Avery case. Uh, but it says October 31st, 2005. I was on my way home back from Shabboan.
00:10:00
And as as I was >> Shabboan, that's where the um John Candy in Home Alone where his uh uh poker band
00:10:13
was from. >> Remember she hitch your ride? She had a hitch a ride. I'm trying to uh
00:10:21
>> So, this dude's a convicted killer, correct? This Joseph Evans or who identifies himself as Joseph Evans?
00:10:28
>> Yeah, as I was It's hard. I can't make I need to make this damn thing bigger. I
00:10:34
can't see it. Uh, zoom in. >> Okay, while while you're figuring it out, let me go through this. It says,
00:10:43
"Joseph Evans, a Wisconsin prisoner serving life imprisonment for murdering his wife."
00:10:52
Yeah. So, yeah. So, on my way back from Shabboan and as I was coming, that would be the word, coming
00:11:04
into Manito, I went out to Avery Savage uh Savageard. Salvage art. >> Salvage. Sorry. Savage. It's both. It's
00:11:15
a salvage and savage art. >> It truly is. You're You're right on both. Both. >> It's just so weird because like
00:11:23
if you saw the letter, like from a distance, it looks kind of clean, but it's just just little things like his
00:11:33
his O looks like a I there. So, uh, [sighs] he was coming into, uh, he decided to go
00:11:40
out to the salvage yard to see if they had a cover lens for the front passenger side.
00:11:50
Uh, I I'm guessing that's >> for his headlight or something. >> Yeah. So, it was for the light because my wife
00:12:01
hit a car just weeks earlier and I needed to replace my back window on my Chevy Tahoe.
00:12:12
So, when I went out there, I was told to go out in the yard and talk to a person named Earl or something like
00:12:25
that. So, I drove and that's there might be more pictures of this letter, but this is the only one I'm seeing. I think
00:12:37
they don't want to release >> cuts off >> everything. Um but on oxygen.com because
00:12:43
I want to give them at least credit says that um and his letter uh you know he's serving
00:12:50
life sentence for killing his wife like you said claims he was stopped he stopped at the salvage yard looking for
00:12:57
parts for his wife's car. He wrote that he visited the same day as Halbach. Uh he was and she was there taking
00:13:05
photos of the car for her job. He claims that he was driving through the property. Halbox stepped in front of his
00:13:12
car and he hit her causing her to fall and strike her head on a large rock. He said that he got out to check on her.
00:13:19
She was dead so he put her in in her rav before driving her up to the Avery home
00:13:26
for help. Nobody was there. He wrote uh that he panicked, drank some brandy, and
00:13:33
swallowed some pills before entering um Avery's unlocked trailer home where he claims he stole Avery's rifle. He
00:13:43
wrote that he pulled Halbach's body out of her car, shot her three times, though
00:13:49
he didn't explain why since she was supposedly dead already, and then he put her body back in the car. Evans wrote
00:13:57
that he then uh burned her body in a burn barrel on the property all while drinking brandy and consuming more
00:14:06
pills. Now, a lot of this to me sounds like nonsense, but the fact that you start going,
00:14:14
"Well, he's consuming a bunch of pills and drinking." But okay, so he was convicted in 2009
00:14:24
for killing his 40-year-old wife in 2008. >> Yeah. >> He claims that he accidentally shot his
00:14:31
wife, but we know that eventually he's convicted of her murder, serving life in prison.
00:14:37
>> Uh I I don't know what order any of this stuff is taking place in the the letter
00:14:43
to Katherine Zelner, but >> that's not clear. Yeah. >> Yeah. It's kind of you're getting little
00:14:49
snippets, but here's a snippet that I found. This is according to patch.com. >> Old patch.com.
00:14:57
>> Yeah. Patchadams.com. >> All right. >> It says, and this is a quote. Don't anybody get mad at me. I didn't say
00:15:03
this. Joseph Evans said it. >> Oh god. >> Don't hear what I'm not saying. [laughter]
00:15:09
Uh, it says, quote, "Keep your panties on and your skirt down because I'm not out to screw you. This is a deal
00:15:16
relationship. you, me, you'll win when I give all up and the full cover up story
00:15:23
that took place and how the state and others used me to get to Steve. I'm done with all that. I'm jumping ship to look
00:15:32
out for myself and my children and eight grandchildren. Your choice. I'm already
00:15:38
set. Now it's up to you for the next move. So, so at some point in this letter, he's claiming that
00:15:46
>> he was aware of the cover up and involved >> Yeah. >> in the cover up. >> Well, here's one problem that he's
00:15:53
facing is this jack ass wagon face. Um is this is letter is to Zelner. You know, keep your panties on. I'm not
00:16:06
trying to [ __ ] you. Well, guess what, Joseph Evans? You ain't that smart. You're not smarter than Zelner. So, if
00:16:14
you are telling the truth, she will get all the piece of of evidence that she needs, which is great.
00:16:23
Uh, if it's true. And if you're lying, she will figure out that you're lying and you'll get nothing. and and now you
00:16:32
just promoted your people now kind of know who you are now. Uh so good, you just promoted yourself as a scumbag. But
00:16:40
the letter goes on to request I think a $2,000 down payment. Um and he also requests uh a4 million
00:16:52
instead of $100,000 originally offered. But son of Sam Laws, he wants to give this money to his kids and his
00:16:59
grandchildren probably, >> right? >> Because he's not going to be able to. >> So this patch.com patchadoms.com
00:17:06
>> patchadams >> has um one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. It has counting exercises. No,
00:17:14
it's has seven um snippets of the confession letter if people want to get on there and and read more of that.
00:17:25
Yeah. So, I guess um that Joseph at some point uh mailed uh different letters to
00:17:34
several local news outlets in 2016 claiming claiming that Avery had confessed to him during their time as
00:17:43
cellmates that he killed Halbach during the um during that time. So, okay. Oh, we we
00:17:53
have a guy now confessing wanting money and but this guy earlier was saying that
00:17:59
Avery confessed to him. So that it's it's very strange. >> Very strange. And but
00:18:06
>> I'll tell you how strange it is or if it's if it's just pathetic, right? >> Right. I get that. But it's also like
00:18:13
one of those things. It's it's he this this asshole's got nothing to lose. He's like, you know what I mean? He's
00:18:19
probably thinking, "What are they going to do to me? give me another life sentence. I'm I'm stuck in here
00:18:24
regardless. Maybe I can get some money for my family. The problem with that th this is how a lot of these dudes
00:18:32
operate. They're just they're [snorts] self-centered. They care nothing about anybody else. And it's it's making a
00:18:39
name for himself. It's it's getting his fat picture in the papers. And it's it's
00:18:45
it's disgusting. And it and it is sad. And here's the other bad part of it. If Stephen Avery is guilty of
00:18:53
>> Yeah. >> Theresa Halbach's murder, then you're putting a very dangerous person back out
00:18:58
in society. >> And it's not that simple. They don't want Steven to go. We know that.
00:19:06
>> Uh Zelnner is not an idiot. Like I said, I mean it. Look, if it was another lawyer on this case, they would be
00:19:13
going, "We have a guy confessing, >> right?" And that's why I'm glad that it's her on this case. And I'm glad that
00:19:18
this this what I called a strange situation is now in her hands. I have full faith and confidence that she will
00:19:27
handle it brilliantly and and handle it the best way that anybody possibly could. She'll get to the truth and that
00:19:35
that's so for the people that think that Avery might be innocent or think that he
00:19:39
might be guilty. I think you you can take you can take a whole bunch of good feelings out of
00:19:46
knowing that that Zelner is the one working. Uh and I understand that she's working on his defense, but
00:19:55
>> yeah, >> there there's a lot of slime balls out there and I don't believe she is one of
00:19:59
them. >> Okay, so Newsweek reported this is just in a tweet. making a murderer uh
00:20:08
confession may be false, but Kathleen Zelner says helpful tips have been shared. Okay. Um
00:20:18
on the 24th she put all you need to know about the confession and then she posted a link.
00:20:27
Um, yeah, it's basically saying that that that the confess confessor has no credibility.
00:20:39
Um, but again, >> did you see did you see his picture? Did you see his mug shot?
00:20:45
>> I want to punch him in the face. >> He [laughter] looks like somebody you want to kick.
00:20:50
>> Yeah, I would like to kick him right in the throat. >> Hey, spread your legs, son.
00:20:56
going to kick you in the grundle. Um, no. It's It's weird because there's a part of me that goes, "Ah, this is
00:21:03
stupid." And my >> It's interesting, isn't it? Stupid. >> Well, I mean, just we have there's been
00:21:10
several cases that people have, you know, made weird false confessions to and they didn't go anywhere and it's
00:21:17
just a distraction of getting to the truth. But there, but again, I love the fact that Zelner is on the case because
00:21:24
she'll get to the bottom of the confession and if I mean, she's she's so good that she could probably get the guy
00:21:29
if he's not telling the truth to be like, "Yeah, you're right. I I watched the documentary and I decided to get
00:21:35
involved." >> Um, but also if if it was true that, like you said, if it's not true, she's
00:21:44
not going to just go to the end of the earth to try to get her client free, >> right? Um, and so yeah,
00:21:52
>> she's not the type to push forward uh these these crazy claims and outrageous
00:21:59
>> Yeah. >> theories. >> And I think that's the thing though, too, that people always wondered uh and
00:22:05
we talked about with the OJ case, there was so much evidence against OJ, but there was also evidence of a cover up.
00:22:12
There was also evidence of tampering with evidence. So, it can be both happening at the same time. And the more
00:22:20
I've watched and I don't want to go back I cuz I I just went back and watched the
00:22:25
Adnon four-part series. I don't want to go back and watch Making a Murderer uh cuz it just takes so long and you just
00:22:32
go down all these rabbit holes. But just from what we've learned from her team and and some other people, this didn't
00:22:40
go down in the manner in which they they first originally claimed. And we know that for a fact. So,
00:22:49
what is the true story? Don't know. Um, and is Stephen Avery uh guilty of it? Um, don't know. I don't
00:23:01
know. But it's uh it's very confusing and and hopefully we get some more answers.
00:23:11
>> Yeah. Yeah. And I I I I know that we will. I I feel very confident that we will. I don't know.
00:23:18
>> But I'm hoping this whole thing is not completely bogus and it's just a guy trying to get some attention and trying
00:23:24
to outsmart people to get some money cuz one he like I said he won't outsmart him
00:23:29
which is I know but if it is but maybe there's something there just like she said maybe the confession is [ __ ]
00:23:36
but maybe there is something there that we just get more answers. So, if I got this correct, he originally states that
00:23:44
Stephen Avery confessed to him. >> Yeah. It seems like there was a claim in like 2016
00:23:50
>> and then then he his new story is I did it. Could >> I'm wondering have we had any anybody
00:23:59
publicly say that the two were actually >> cellmates >> cellmates or had access to one another?
00:24:07
It seems that I it doesn't seem that oxygen.com is confirming it, but it seems like they're
00:24:14
>> they're pushing that. >> They're led to believe that that was uh something that was true for but again,
00:24:20
it could have been for 3 days or we're moving this prisoner around. So, you're here for a week,
00:24:25
>> right? >> Who knows, >> right? [music] >> [music]

Episode Highlights

  • Confession Letter Surfaces
    A convicted killer claims to have information about the Stephen Avery case, stirring controversy.
    “Keep your panties on and your skirt down because I'm not out to screw you.”
    @ 15m 11s
    December 30, 2025
  • Kathleen Zelner's Integrity
    Attorney Kathleen Zelner is praised for her commitment to uncovering the truth in the Avery case.
    “I have full faith and confidence that she will handle it brilliantly.”
    @ 19m 24s
    December 30, 2025

Episode Quotes

  • I love when people say your guys' accent cracks me up.
    Steven Avery Case Confessions /// Off The Record
  • Keep your panties on and your skirt down because I'm not out to screw you.
    Steven Avery Case Confessions /// Off The Record
  • I have full faith and confidence that she will handle it brilliantly.
    Steven Avery Case Confessions /// Off The Record

Key Moments

  • Accent Humor00:28
  • Confession Claims15:11
  • Zelner's Confidence19:24
  • Uncertainty24:20
  • Prisoner Movement24:22
  • Duration24:24

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown