'Making a Murderer' subject Steven Avery is reportedly engaged and his former fiancee doesn't approve
Steven Avery, one of the main subjects in Netflix's documentary series "Making a Murderer," is now engaged to a 53-year-old legal secretary named Lynn Hartman, The Daily Mail is reporting.
The pair began secretly communicating eight months ago, and have exchanged numerous letters and phone calls. They met in person for the first time last week, according to The Daily Mail. Hartman says she has already been bullied because of the relationship.
"She's going to be my future wife, we'll be laughing forever," Avery told The Daily Mail. "I'm happy, she treats me decent, she loves me, she's kind of spoiling me right now. I just want to be happy and enjoy my life, I think I did enough time."
Curtis Busse, who runs the "Steven Avery Project" Facebook page, posted the pair are "very much in love."
This is the not the first behind-bars romance that 53-year-old Avery - who was sentenced to life without parole after he was convicted for the murder of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005 - has enjoyed.
"Making a Murderer" viewers will remember his former fiancé Sandra Greenman, who has been in contact with Avery for over a decade and was trying to help him appeal his case at the end of the docuseries. She believes Hartman may be pursuing Avery for the wrong reasons.
"She's very pretty, there's no way she'd want Steven Avery usually," Greenman told The Daily Mail about Hartman. "All the family are afraid of her, something isn't right, I know she wants fame, and she's looking for money."
The money Greenman refers to could come if Avery's case is ever successfully appealed. Before the murder of Halbach, Avery was convicted of rape in 1985 and imprisoned for 18 years before he was exonerated in 2003 with DNA evidence. He was suing the County of Manitowoc in Wisconsin for $36 million for the wrongful rape conviction before he was arrested for the murder of Halbach in 2005.
It's possible that if he was absolved of the Halbach murder, Avery could sue again for a similarly staggering amount of money.
Before Avery's ex-fiancé Greenman, he was also involved with Jodi Stachowski, a relationship that was detailed prominently on Netflix's "Making a Murderer." The pair started dating after Avery was exonerated in 2003. Stachowski broke off their two-year relationship shortly before Avery's trial.
In 2015, she gave an exclusive interview with HLN's senior producer Natisha Lance for "Nancy Grace," in which she called Avery "abusive" and a "monster," detailing distressing incidents of domestic violence, including one time when he hit, choked, and dragged Stachowski out the door and into his car.
Avery has also been married once before to Lori Dassey (née Mathiesen). They had four children together, though she later divorced Avery while he was in prison for the 1985 rape.
After the 2015 premiere of "Making a Murderer," Avery and his case have gained national attention. Avery is now represented by the Illinois law firm of Kathleen T. Zellner and Associates, which says it has exonerated 17 wrongfully imprisoned people and has the "highest-ever wrongful conviction verdict in the United States, based on per-month compensation." Zellner has said there is evidence of a new murder suspect.
Avery's then-16-year-old nephew, Brendan Dassey, was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Dassey's conviction was overturned by a federal judge in August, but the State of Wisconsin is appealing the decision. Dassey and his legal team have asked that the now-26 year old be released from prison on bond during the appeal.
You can read more about Avery and Hartman over at The Daily Mail.