Steven's lawsuit directly contradicted Attorney General Lautenschlager's report on the 1985 case, the report issued after the first criminal investigation of MCSD in 2003. Of course IMO the decision to back away from the case was only for the benefit of the public's perception. Bushman was totally unaware he was approaching an intersection, it seems, and was looking in his rear view mirror long enough with such focus that he drove right through the intersection and off the road at highway speed! God Bless his mother and father who have had to live through this I would NEVER EVER visit your town in fear that if I were to run a stop sign, you would have me arrested on a murder charge. Bushman proved to his law enforcement buds he was a good man to have around in a sticky situation, and was adept at making incriminating evidence vanish into thin air (a skill he would put to good use once more years later). The first post appeared on Dec. 21, a few days after the release of Making a Murderer., Then it kind of snowballed from there, said Amy Meyer, historical society executive director. At or around 10:30 a.m. Bushman's Group A discovered the burial site just off the Kuss Road cul-de-sac, not even a half mile from the Avery Salvage yard property boundary. And before we knew it our entire review section was tarnished and it had nothing to do with the actual historical society or what we do or our mission. No mention of the accident or fatality can be found Petersens employment file or in any of his promotion notices. Like Bushman, Petersen was quickly hired despite his total lack of experience in LE. Tadych publicly protested Brendan's innocence, but Tadych also remains under suspicion for her defense of Bobby Dassey, Brendan's brother, who implicated the once-exonerated Steven Avery as the State's star witness, (Ferak, Appleton Post-Crescent). "I would be fearful to ever take my family on a trip and stop in your county to even get fuel. Although I don't believe Petersen is the sharpest knife in the drawer, it appears he at least knew to learn from Kocourek's mistakes re: the 1985 case. Hacktivism group plans to reveal police corruption. But we are dealing with the state of Wisconsin, a place I lived and worked at two different times in my life, and for that reason, I would say it's 50-50. ", 3. 163): "I (Sgt. In 2005, Tadych fed her 16-year-old son, Brendan, who has a severe language impairment and 70 IQ, to corrupt Wisconsin law enforcement [Tom Fassbender (Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation investigator (Ret)) and Mark Wiegert, (current Sheriff of the Calumet County Sheriff's Office), who interrogated Brendan alone in a room], the better to elicit words that the cops could falsely state constituted a confession to murder of Teresa Halbach.Law enforcement then used Brendan's so-called confession to convict the innocent Steven Avery. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Sharon McConnell of Manitowoc,approached as she was reading a newspaper at a local cafe,said she hasn't seen the series and doesn't plan to watch it. The incident was not brought before the Departments Accident Review Board as was procedure when squad cars sustained damage. This wasn't great for the boys, because as Ferak says, "the discovery of a genuine crime scene off Kuss road was not conductive to the: Steven Avery is a bloodthirsty-psychopathic-killing-machine' narrative that Ken Petersen wanted to gin up in the community, (Pg. Everything your pathetic county stands for is forever tarnished with the mockery of justice that was promulgated in that courtroom. This was Ferak's way of connecting the Ricky H and Teresa H cases. Bushman (who is likely involved in a police cover-up of Rickys death) decided to intimidate Rickys father; and the report it's not even subtle. One of the world's worst mothers, Barb Tadych, Brendan Dassey's mother, is featured in the Emmy-winning documentary, Making a Murderer. The film is definitely one sided, he said. The County Steven was suing? Notably, neither of the male motorcycle drivers were seriously injured in the initial collision. Among other things, Petersen told reporters Steven "could be a con man" (false and inflammatory) that he burned a cat alive (false and inflammatory) and that if he wasn't convicted of Teresa's murder he would kill AGAIN (speculative and inflammatory). Sheriff Petersen was still doing whatever he could to help cover up the truth from behind the scenes such as when he threatened Coroner Kakatsch with arrest if she tried to access the scene of Teresa's mutilation, as was required of her by statute. Eventually, citizens began discussing the possibility of a police cover-up, including Ricky's mother and father. The coroner later quit due to the obstruction she faced. ", 11. ", 8. Many locals were unwilling to weigh inpubliclyon the series, but those who did are far less likely than outsiders to turn against officials anddont seem to give the series much weight. I watched Making a Murderer, and I thought it was masterfully done. While Manitowoc County was supposed to have minimal involvement in the case, several deputies, including Andrew Colborn and James Lenk, helped find crucial evidence. Of course Hermanns declaration about the striking vehicle was based on an examination of evidence that had no real chain of custody. Why was the DOJ happy to stand aside, and even help clean up? IMO driving through an intersection and off the road at highway speed with your vehicle only coming to rest due an embankment is something youd expect from an intoxicated driver, not something youd expect from a sober officer driving his squad car. Kocourek praised Petersen endlessly in his many promotion notices, one of which read (Pg. And of course, the crime lab reported nothing was found at the burial site. Bushmans accident was brought before the County's Accident Review Board, which quickly concluded no action would be taken, and that Sgt. Not to mention, Hermann's decidedly unique access to nearly unlimited car parts from his family's Auto Salvage Yard fits in with such theories (again, I want to note such conspiracies originated in the community long ago, not on reddit after MAM). Again, once you know the events of November 7 - November 11, this theory presents itself fully formed. Unfortunately threats and intimidation are often effective. The series seems to have convinced much of its audience that two Manitowoc County men currently sitting in prison for the murder of a young photographer may, in fact, be innocent and the local. As there were no other reported accidents or collisions that would account for the additional car parts found by Rickys house, everyone had good reason to suspect these newer car parts were from the striking vehicle. Vandedrincksaid that he hasn't seen a lot of the show and therefore doesn't know what was left out. WISN/YouTube. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. How confident are you that Zellner will be able to exonerate Avery? 80-83): Gina Hxxxxx had accompanied her male companion on his motorcycle on a particularly foggy night. After all was said and done, Bushman didn't show up once after November 7, and never wrote a report about what he did at the scene on Kuss road (nor did Lenk or Colborn IIRC). McConnell said she feels bad that Halbach's parents have to go through this again now that the documentary has created such a furor. Again, Ferak theorizes Kocourek was steadily promoting those whose involvement in serious incidents he helped down play, such as Petersens running over a citizen, or Bushmans driving through an intersection at high speed and decently wrecking his squad car. It seems Kocourek did everything he could to sweep this under the rug, and quickly: It was determined an inquest into the young womans death was not necessary. Corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt corrupt January B. Wittmann, AZ 0 8 3 12/12/2022 Im not sure I can look my kids in the eye and believe my own words anymore. 95: I (Inv. And the sad thing is there is a murderer out there who has gotten away with it! "May God forgive the morally corrupt officers who participated in this case. Corruption County Manitowoc, Wisconsin Strikes Again; Targets Critic to Protect Old Wrongful Convictions Manitowoc County Sheriff Uses Office to Silence Critic of Wrongful Convictions Madison, Wisconsin Manitowoc, Wisconsin is Corruption County USA. I'm pretty sure at some point, Steven Avery's conviction will be overturned. Apparently those boundaries are blurred in this case, Meyer said. The docu-series, released Dec. 18, dissects the homicide cases against Steven Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey. I wished to catch what type of reaction this would bring. The 10-part Netflix series has turned an uncomfortable spotlight on Manitowoc, its sheriffs department and its legal system. What originally drew you to the case of Avery? Like many here, I've read and seen a lot of stuff, and I'm continually frustrated by what appears to be constant in your face corruption that permeates this case. The Manitowoc Sheriff's Department is known as a northern style "good ole boy" network that would rival the KKK counties in the south, complete with a lot of false arrests and arrogant, poorly trained and disciplined deputies. Your department has lost all credibility and right now is in the media because of your inability to prove justice One day it will come out that James Lenk and Andrew Colborn planted evidence in this case that lead (sic) to Stevens arrest. Manitowoc County is a county in the U.S. state of. But still, "as far as the show goes, I wouldn't trust that guy. The crime lab, however, was not called immediately. I've included a brief review of the 1999 Ricky Hotchstetler hit and run vehicular homicide case, for which the Hermann brothers were identified as unofficial suspects, while officer Bushman was named as lead investigator. We'll focus on Former Sheriff Kocourek (1978-2001) and his relationship throughout the years with officers Ken Petersen and Mxxx Bushman, loyal underlings who enjoyed frequent promotions under Kocourek's tenure as Sheriff. The repairs to vehicle set the department back nearly $4 000 in 1989 money. As a result we are free to draw an adverse inference from their decision to not investigate the matter, which might indicate consciousness of potential culpability by Petersen. The desired response was to embarrass the victim's father? Ferak argues the more than three hours between the discovery of the site and the arrival of the crime lab deepens suspicion about whether incriminating evidence of a crime scene was being hauled away (Pg. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, PART ONE: Fuck-ups, Cover-ups and Promotions. You better hope you have a good PR team handy. Ultimately, Deputy Jost went to the scene, met with the family and had no choice but to report the truth, which was that these newly found car parts were from a newer vehicle and that a piece of headlight was found and appeared to have some sort of manufactures number stamped into it (Pg. And then, when all was well within the department, the fickle finger of fate pointed at Steven Avery, leading to his exoneration in 2003, the filing of his 36,000,000 lawsuit in 2004, Teresa's death in 2005, Steven's arrest and ultimately his second wrongful conviction in 2007. They dont look at the great things were doing.. There are three different Sheriffs from Manitowoc County Sheriffs Department that get most of the attention / scrutiny in this series of posts: Kocourek and Petersen featured prominently in Part One; in Part Two, we learn who we have to thank for their good fortune within the department - the Hermann family. This burial site fiasco likely culminated in MCSD planting the bones in Steven's burn pit. And Surprise! Were the bones found in Steven's burn pit because the body was burnt there, or because the bones were moved there post burning? Now the boys had to come up with a way to reasonably dismiss these newly found car parts as being totally unrelated to Ricky's death, and as we can see below, it's painfully clear they were not up to the task (Pg. Both Petersen and Bushman were hired by MCSD with no prior experience in law enforcement, and both ended up being involved in serious collisions with their squad cars, collisions that were quickly swept under the rug by Sheriff Kocourek. While watching this vehicle in his rear view mirror, Bushman lost his bearing in relation to the intersection. Two years after Ricky's death (2001) Kocourek would retire and become an executive of the local Big Brothers and Big Sisters Program (where he would work alongside the wife of Calumet Investigator Mark Wiegert). As it relates to the January incident, Manitowoc police say what led to the exchange in a squad car . And like others, she expressed concerns that the series and the international reaction are re-opening wounds for Halbach's family. Hermann didnt watch the series when it was first released but spent his holidays doing just that after the hundreds of calls and emails from viewers and media outlets across the country. I'll also offer some theories about the the shocking and abrupt end to the 2009 DOJ investigation of MCSD. Anonymous gets involved in Steven Avery case, claiming police corruption. "The documentary exposes the level of corruption in your department. After reportedly driving around all night to different dealerships with the improperly collected car parts in his vehicle (Pg. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. "Some of the emails, in my opinion, have been borderline threatening. Id run the grave risk of being arrested for arson and armed robbery before my tank was filled with gasoline. The county historical societys star rating on its Facebook page plummeted after dozens of people most from outside Wisconsin began posting negative reviews and comments related to Avery. Disgraceful. "The Wrecking Crew" takes a deeper look into Kathleen Zellner's legal process. Ferak claims to have spoken to many former MCSD employees who said Petersen was driving way over the limit through the fog in a reckless manner. After darkness fell tower lights were set up to ensure they collected all the remains, which were then transported and planted in Steven's burn pit (by Bushman, Lenk or Colborn). Representatives of the Manitowoc County Historical Society, along with the Chamber of Manitowoc County, Manitowoc Area Visitor and Convention Bureau and other local leaders met Wednesday to discuss ways to bring a positive focus back to the community. The wildly popular "Making a Murderer" documentary. We'll just have to wait and see what happens next, won't we? So theres some transitive property here. No accident reconstruction occurred, and no one asked Petersen exactly how fast he had been driving through the thick fog. That the culture of corruption involving the key leaders at the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department is way more extensive than many people would realize from having just watched Making a Murderer. Was Steven actively bleeding in the RAV or did someone plant his blood there from a limited source? Then out of the blue in 1975 Petersen applied to the Manitowoc County Sheriffs Office (Pg. You are unbelievable. 2023 www.postcrescent.com. Manitowoc County is now officially on the map for having the most corrupt (law enforcement officers) in the nation, congrats. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $225 in court costs. The facts are obvious that your department had something to do with this and a cover-up looks to be very clear. Ferak's Kuss road theory matches up with what we on TTM have been saying for years - Manitowoc County found the remains at the burial site, planted the bones in Steven's burn pit, manufactured their re-discovery a day later (and ensured a quick but unprofessional recovery of the evidence) and a day after that they began obstructing the investigation into the scene of their planting, desperate to keep the coroner away from the scene. I think its important to get our side of the story out because that obviously wasnt covered in the film, said Hermann, adding the department was ordered by the judge not to talk about the case throughout the trial. Jost) met with Lt. Bushman and due to the fact the pieces looked newer, he did not believe they belonged to the suspect vehicle on the hit and run fatality. Avery, 23, professes his innocence and produces 16 alibi witnesses. But I hope that one day you will perhaps feel the embarrassment and shame that your families will feel and then maybe you will begin to understand that what you do has an (effect) on others. I hope that detective Lenk and Goulburn (sic) rot in hell as it is almost certain that they are behind this corruption and lies I hope use (sic) all cant sleep at night and justice comes your way. Bushman then let Hermann drive off with the improperly collected parts in his own personal vehicle (Pg. 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