In addition to the widespread attention the 10-partMaking a Murdererdocumentary has brought to the cases of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, and the broader problems with Americas criminal justice system, an interestingphenomenon has emerged: Several of the shows more tertiary characters have become mini-celebrities online. Women in particular seem to loveSteven Averysdefense attorneys(Dean Strang is the Coach Taylor of the Wisconsin legal community, one Twitter user writes; If I had one of those lists of celebrities youre allowed to bone with impunity, I would put heartthrob Dean Strang on it, writes another). And then there are the two breakout reportersfrom the press room scenes in the documentary: silver fox Aaron Keller, and Angenette Levy, the bespectacled, no-nonsense local journalistwith a knack for asking tough questions of both the prosecution and the defense.
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Levy, who now lives and worksin Ohio, recently chatted withRolling Stone about evidence that was left out of the show, why shes surprised it took so long for the case to become a national story, and what its been like getting all this attention from random people on the Internet.
Whats itbeen like watching this case unfold on-screen several years after the fact?
Its strange for me to watch it.I feel like Im watching it from a completely different perspective than someone whos seeing all of this for the first time.Its interesting to see it all consolidated and condensed into ten, one-hour episodes.
Do you feel like the show presents the cases fairly? Did it track with your experience of actually being there?
[The filmmakers] had such incredible access to the Avery family, and they had tremendous access to the defense attorneys, with all of the behind-the-scenes footage. And, you know, theyre using Steven Avery as their main character, so I think youre going to see more of the case through their eyes.
I read an article with the filmmakers wherethey said they included the states best evidence, and I think Ive heard the defense attorney say the same thing. I did notice there were some parts of the states theory, and some other things that werent discussed in the documentary. Im not sure why those items were left out.
Yeah, theres been somegrumbling online about that: that Making a Murderer viewers werent presented with some of the evidence in the case. Did you find any of that problematic?
Well, I was surprised that there were some things that werent in there. For instance, there were some things that werent in there about Steven Avery requesting Teresa Halbach that day
You mean that Avery requested Halbach, specifically, to come out to the Avery car lot, right?
Thats correct. There was testimony to that effect during the trial, that he had specifically requested her, and that she had been there many times before, photographing the vehicles. I dont want to go back and forth about whether or not it was fair. I feel like thats best left to the attorneys. There were certainly some things that I didnt see in there that were presented during the trial. But it was a six-week trial. There was a lot that went on during that trial.
I mean, its pretty riveting. Ive talked to people who watched one episode, and they cant stop. Its definitely binge-worthy, and certainly appears to be very entertaining.
How do you feel about that the fact that people are so entertained by this true-crime story, sort of like they were with the Serial podcast? People are just eating it up, and some of them are even trying to investigate the case themselves.
I was always shocked that there wasnt more interest in the case when it was going on, because it was such an interesting story. It was a very sad story, it was very compelling, it had all of the elements of a whodunit. You had a sympathetic victim, but you also, in a lot of ways, had a sympathetic person being accused of the crime, because [Steven Avery] had been wrongly imprisoned.
[Now], its huge, and that doesnt surprise me, because it has all these crazy things that happened in it, these twists and turns. You have this guy being arrested for this crime, and then people wondering, Did he really do it? and then you bring in the nephew, who his case in particular has always saddened me.
I dont know about all of this online sleuthing. I can see why people are chatting about it. Im not sure whether thats good or bad, because youre not going to have all of the information in front of you.
You told Jim Romenesko recently that this case is a tragedy on so many levels. What most disturbed you about it?
The fact that the Halbach family was only left with bone fragments to bury from their daughter. I thought that was just absolutely horrendous. Its just so sad to me.
Its also sad to me that a 16-year-old boy became involved in this, in whatever way he was. I know he maintains that he was innocent, and I know Steven Avery maintains that he was innocent. But I think its a tragedy what happened in the beginning, in 1985, when he was wrongfully convicted. I think its clear that what happened in that situation was wrong, and the fact that he went to prison for 18 years for something he didnt do, that was wrong. And then he gets out and it seems like he was having some trouble adjusting to the outside world, as I would imagine anyone would after spending time in prison, and then hes charged with this crime. I find that to be very tragic, if he did indeed do it, as he was convicted of doing it. And I think the situation with Brendan Dassey, the fact that hes not eligible for parole until hes, what, 56 years old I think thats very, very sad.
Having actually been at the trial as opposed to the rest of us, watching this on Netflix did you come away with a strong sense of whether the police planted evidence in Averys home, or Dasseys confession was coerced?
No, I didnt come away with a sense about whether or not the evidence was planted. I think people are always going to have questions about things like the key that was found in Averys bedroom. People are always going to wonder about that. I dont know.
Brendan Dasseys confession Its three or four hours long. Its a pretty long tape, and I dont think the actual confessing starts until you get maybe a half hour or 40 minutes in. You didnt see all of that in the movie. I dont know if that statement was coerced or not. I just dont know. There were a lot of weird things in it, but the jury believed it.
Now that the documentary is out, people on the Internet are kind of obsessed with you. I saw a headline this morning that says The Reporter In Making A Murderer May Be The Hardest Crush Ive Ever Had In My Life, and this blogger goes on to say, Making a Murderer is a true crime tale about a brutal and horrific killing followed by the very fishy court case, but the moment Angenette Levy came on screen the main crime became theft of my heart. Thats pretty weird! Whats that been like?
Im very shocked when I read these things. Its kind of amusing, kind of weird. Its certainly been really surprising. I had no idea I was going to be in this documentary, so its taken me by surprise quite a bit.
There have been a lot of nice people who have tweeted me and messaged me. People have been really nice to me, which is refreshing, and then you have people who ask, Why didnt you ask this? Why didnt you ask that? and Im thinking to myself, We asked a lot of questions back then. I mean, we really did.
I think that comes through. It seems like part of what people are responding to is the fact you came off as very no-BS.
Well, I try, and I tried to ask tough questions of both sides. This was a very serious case. I mean, this was literally life-and-death. It may come across as entertaining in the documentary, but this was serious. These are peoples lives at stake.
Has anyone recognized you?
Last night I was out reporting a story, and I was interviewing a woman, and she said, Oh my gosh, is that you in Making a Murderer? and I said, Yes, it is, and she said, I knew that was you! So that was kind of weird, and Ive been getting people tweeting me who I went to high school with who said, I thought that was your voice, and then I saw your face! So its been kind of strange. I mean, its been kind of interesting, but it will fade.