‘Making A Murderer’ Disgraced Prosecutor Ken Kratz Planning A Tell-All To Clear His Name

With all the attention that shows receive these days, none perhaps have been an instant success as much as the recently aired Netflix Original, Making A Murderer, which premiered in mid-December. But Ken Kratz, the former Calumet County District Attorney, says that the show’s producers failed to give the whole story and left out crucial pieces of evidence. According to Vulture, this is leaving the door open for Kratz himself to write a tell-all in hopes to clear his name.

The show follows the wrongfully convicted rapist, Steven Avery, who was accused of raping a jogger named Penny Beerntsen but, after serving 18 years behind bars, was released after DNA evidence exonerated him. Now, Kratz, the prosecutor behind Avery’s second conviction, murder, says he’s writing a book to tell the story that Making A Murderer failed to do.

Avery, after being exonerated for the rape in 2003, filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the Manitowoc County for being wrongfully convicted. However, before the lawsuit could be finalized, Avery was arrested for the murder of Teresa Halbach.

The Netflix documentary shows how the prosecutors argued their case: found on the property of Avery’s was Halbach car, which had Avery’s DNA in it and on the hood, fragments of bone and tissue belonging to Halbach found behind Avery’s mobile home, and Avery’s nephew, Brendan Dassey, who was also convicted of murder, confessed to authorities how, with the help of Avery, they raped and killed Teresa Halbach.

However, despite DNA evidence being found at the crime scene, the defense argued that the officers that were investigating Avery for Halbach’s murder had a conflict of interest as they were the ones being sued in Avery’s multi-million-dollar lawsuit. And despite handing over the investigation to a neighboring county and being told to stay away from the investigation, the Manitowoc county police department continued to investigate Avery’s property.

When key evidence was found linking Avery to Halbach, it was found by the Manitowoc police officers, opening the door for the defense to argue that the evidence had been planted. The defense argued that the Manitowoc police department planted incriminating evidence against Steven Avery amid the pending lawsuit.

But Kratz stands his ground saying that Making a Murderer left out crucial evidence that would’ve led viewers to reach the same conclusion as the jury that found Avery guilty of murder.

“I believe there to be 80 percent to 90 percent of the physical evidence, the forensic evidence, that ties Steven Avery to this murder never to have been presented in this documentary,” Kratz recently stated to WLUK.

Kratz also told Page Six a similar statement, “If I was spoon-fed only what the Netflix documentary wanted me to see, I’d come to exactly the same conclusion [as most viewers]. I’d be outraged.”

The shows producers meanwhile have stated that the show wasn’t intended to prove or not prove a person’s innocence but to take a look into the failures of how the justice system operates. They also have said that Kratz was asked if he wanted to make statements on the documentary but chose not to. Kratz says the producers never came to him during the filming of the show.

Kratz, for his part, says that his new book will tell the story that has been forgotten, Teresa Halbach’s story. “Finally grateful to tell the whole story,” Kratz said to WBAY-TV on Sunday, “the one voice forgotten to this point is Teresa Halbach.”

Steven Avery remains in prison, where he was denied the request to watch the Netflix documentary.

As for Kratz, his law license was suspended after he was accused of sexual harassment via text messages. Kratz resigned from the prosecution in 2010 after the Associated Press reported the texts. He currently owns his own practice and his book will be represented by David Vigliano out of New York City.

Tell us! Would you read a book by Ken Kratz? Let us know in the comments and check out Kratz in an interview below where he explains all the evidence left out of Making A Murderer.

[Image via Netflix]