Those who can't wait for the return of the Netflix original series Making a Murderer don't have to hold on much longer. Dateline NBC will air a new special this week that includes interviews from lead investigators in the case that has become infamous thanks to the streaming platform's docu-series.
The Dateline special titled Return to Manitowoc County: The State vs. Steven A. Avery will focus on latest developments in the case and include interviews from former prosecutor Ken Kratz, as well as the first TV interview with Tom Fassbender, the former co-lead investigator.
It's Fassbender who is now speaking out to deny allegations that investigators working on the Avery case had any involvement in planting evidence against the defendant in an attempt to frame him for the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach.
And when it comes to the case of Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey who was also convicted for his role in the murder, Fassbender says that the then teen boy was not coerced into making a false confession.
"We didn't try to manipulate Brendan. We tried to get at the truth... and I don't believe that it was a false confession," Fassbender tells Dateline's Andrea Canning. "Are there parts of it that he may have not done, I don't know. You know, I just don't know."
But there are always two sides to every story.
"Those officers wanted that information in the worst way and they got it in the worst way by feeding it straight to Brendan Dassey," Laura Nirider, Dassey's attorney tells Dateline.
And Nirdier—along many viewers who streamed Making a Murderer—is not alone on that.
William Duffin, a federal magistrate judge in Milwaukee, overturned Dassey's conviction back in August, ruling that Dassey's rights were violated after the prosecution team made false promises to the boy during interrogations.
However, the decision to free Dassey is pending appeal.
The saga continues to play out in court, with Brendan Dassey appearing in federal appeals court on Tuesday. And while arguments were made by Nirdier and Wisconsin's deputy solicitor general, Luke Berg, the ruling could take months.
As the plot thickens, those interested in the case can tune into Dateline NBC: Return to Manitowoc County: The State of Wisconsin vs. Steven A. Avery to learn more about the details in the latest efforts to free both men convicted.
The special will include rarely seen interrogation video, and includes interviews with Avery's ex-fiancée Sandy Greenman, Halbach's friend Kim Peterson, Avery's former defense attorney Jerry Buting, Avery's cousin Kim Ducat, Dassey's current lawyers Laura Nirider and Steven Drizin, Dassey's former lawyer Len Kachinsky, and Avery's defense attorney Kathleen Zellner.
Dateline NBC: Return to Manitowoc County: The State of Wisconsin vs. Steven A. Avery airs on Friday, Feb. 17 at 10 p.m. ET.
