41 Facts About Brendan Dassey

Brendan Dassey was sentenced to life in prison with the earliest possibility of parole in 2048.

Brendan Ray Dassey was born in 1989 to Barbara and Peter Dassey in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

Brendan Dassey lived with his three older brothers, and an older half-brother on his father's side.

Brendan Dassey's mother married Tom Janda, who moved in until they separated in 2005 pending divorce.

Brendan Dassey lived in a trailer by Avery Auto Salvage in the town of Gibson, within the mailing area of Two Rivers.

Brendan Dassey attended Mishicot High School, traveling on the school bus with his brother Blaine.

Brendan Dassey was quiet and respectful to teachers, but was enrolled in special education classes.

Brendan Dassey was in some regular classes due to federal regulations.

Brendan Dassey could read and speak intelligibly in sentences, a developmental milestone achieved between the ages of four and six.

Bobby Brendan Dassey, who was home alone, said he saw her from his window before he left.

Brendan Dassey was in school in Mishicot when Halbach arrived at the Avery property.

Brendan Dassey arrived home around 3:40pm as usual, with his brother Blaine, and according to them he played on their Playstation.

Brendan Dassey was taken with his mother to the police station, where he repeated such answers on video.

Brendan Dassey replied that Avery shot her outside, then changed the location to the garage after prompting.

Brendan Dassey had no counsel or parent present, although Dassey and his mother consented to the interrogations, in which investigators made false promises to Dassey using approved interrogation techniques.

Brendan Dassey was interrogated via the Reid technique, which was developed to permit and encourage law enforcement officers to use tactics that pressure suspects to confess, whether true or false.

Brendan Dassey had several of the traits which can make false confessions more likely.

Detectives therefore interrogated Kayla Avery again, who now said Brendan Dassey had told her several different incriminating things.

Brendan Dassey's first appointed lawyer, Ralph Sczygelski, left the case due to being on the Halbach family tree, after waiving a right to a preliminary hearing, which Brendan Dassey would never have.

Brendan Dassey confessed for O'Kelly, while telling him his confessions had been false because of what the police were telling him.

In June 2006, Brendan Dassey recanted in writing to the trial judge, except for keeping the suggestion that he attended a bonfire on October 31,2005.

Brendan Dassey had declined but then agreed on condition that expert fees were paid to hire lawyer colleague Ray Edelstein, who dealt with the interrogation tapes.

Brendan Dassey did not hire a psychology expert who could testify on specific police interrogation methods, such as Richard Leo or Lawrence T White.

Brendan Dassey did not testify, and the prosecution did not say that anyone else was involved.

Brendan Dassey was barely mentioned, although during jury selection it was apparent the jurors were aware of the Brendan Dassey story from press conferences.

Brendan Dassey had a recollection of seeing a lady photographing a junk vehicle nearby, but accepted she wasn't sure which day or week.

The Brendan Dassey trial began on April 16,2007, with a sequestered jury from Dane County, Wisconsin.

Contrary to his own defense that held the police interrogators responsible along with his own suggestibility, Brendan Dassey testified that he did not know why he said what he did.

Brendan Dassey was cross-examined by state special prosecutor Tom Fallon, while Ken Kratz dealt with the defense psychologist.

The prosecution did not make a case that any forensic evidence of Brendan Dassey was found at any alleged crime scene or item.

Brendan Dassey maintained his innocence to the families in court and afterwards, referring to the interrogators wanting particular answers.

Brendan Dassey would be incarcerated at the maximum security Columbia Correctional Institution.

Brendan Dassey referred to expert doubts about the interrogations and Dassey, and a lack of forensic evidence.

Brendan Dassey's case was taken up in 2008 by confession expert Professor Steven Drizin, from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, who thought his wrongful convictions clinic could help and it would be good for his students to work on.

Brendan Dassey assigned it to a third-year law student Laura Nirider, who gradually became the lead attorney.

The Netflix series, which chronicles the trials of Avery and Brendan Dassey, generated global dialogue centered around wrongful convictions, coerced confessions, interrogation of minors, and criminal justice reform.

In December 2015, Brendan Dassey's attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court for release or retrial, citing constitutional rights violations due to ineffective assistance of counsel and a coerced confession.

Legal analysts suggested the state would not want a retrial, due to lack of independent evidence and to the solid alibi Brendan Dassey had until at least 5.20pm.

In November 2016, the Wisconsin Justice Department appealed Duffin's decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which blocked Brendan Dassey's release pending a hearing.

Any further options for Brendan Dassey were said to be extremely unlikely, unless new evidence were uncovered such as by Avery's lawyer Kathleen Zellner.

In 2023, a documentary called Convicting a Murderer argued that Brendan Dassey's confessions were spontaneous and that, although his sentence was long, he should have taken a deal to plead guilty.