And the sad thing is there is a murderer out there who has gotten away with it! You better hope you have a good PR team handy. 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. Everything your pathetic county stands for is forever tarnished with the mockery of justice that was promulgated in that courtroom. 154) the older Hermann brother announced to the press in the morning that the striking vehicle was determined to be an older Chevy or Van. After failing to find employment in his chosen field Petersen begrudgingly took a retail store job to make ends meet. The state's role in a criminal investigation is to collect all available evidence strictly according to established protocols and procedures, so that as few questions as possible could be raised about the integrity of the case. Why would they collect critical evidence without properly tagging or taking photos? McConnell said she feels bad that Halbach's parents have to go through this again now that the documentary has created such a furor. she asked, referencing Avery's$36 million civil lawsuit against the county for hiswrongful conviction. In 2016 especially and also in 2017, I made countless trips to the Manitowoc County Courthouse and to the Avery Salvage Yard, as well as to the Manitowoc County government building, where I reviewed hundreds and hundreds of employee personnel records for Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department officials, past and present. 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. . One thing Ferak does well in "Wrecking Crew" is detail how corruption flourished in the MCSD for decades, eventually becoming a contributing factor to Averys 2007 conviction for Teresa Halbach's murder. "Never have I heard of such corruption at the hands of law enforcement as in the case of Steven Avery. They have to realize the separation between a museum and a judicial issue. Bushman was unable to stop the squad car before it ran off the road though the T intersection the squad car, at just less than highway speed, struck the embankment and came to a rest investigation into the accident showed the case to be a result of inattentive driving.". 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. In this THREE PART series of posts I will explore information about the troubling history of Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department as revealed by Jxxx Ferak in his book, "Wrecking Crew: Demolishing the Case Against Steven Avery". Here is a link to PART ONE: Fuck-ups, Cover-ups and Promotions, largely concerning Sheriff Kocourek and his repeated promotions to inexperienced new hires, Petersen and Bushman, who both happened to be involved in (separate) grossly negligent on-duty traffic accidents that were quickly swept under the rug by Kocourek. Steven Avery, was accused and sent to prison in 1985 for the rape of a Manitowoc (Wisconsin) woman, Penny Beerntsen. You are unbelievable. 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. Serving our citizens with P.R.I.D.E. Just because the Pope said God welcomes sinners doesnt mean the door is open for Manitowoc County I am a Christian woman and am having a very hard time with what I have seen. Just before Steven's trial began in 2007 a member of the Hermann family finally became Sheriff, and immediately promoted his younger brother to Deputy Inspector of Operations - third in command of the entire Department. MANITOWOC - The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, which has been accused of framing Steven Avery for a 1985 rape and planting numerous clues to convict Avery for the 2005 murder of. Not to mention, was Ricky's father even embarrassed, or was he red faced and flustered because he realized a corrupt cop was trying to intimidate him into staying silent about his concerns of a police cover-up? 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. Its county seat is Manitowoc. While Manitowoc County was supposed to have minimal involvement in the case, several deputies, including Andrew Colborn and James Lenk, helped find crucial evidence. Part one will focus on Sheriff Kocourek and Sheriff Petersen. 57m As Steven starts creating a new life for himself, he pursues a lawsuit against Manitowoc County law enforcement officials for corruption in his case. "Tell me please, what has Steve Avery done to this community that he deserved to be set up for a murder? Ferak reveals that way back in 1978 the Hermann father helped elect Kocourek as Sheriff of the MCSD (Pg. Permanent Dropbox Locations: Manitowoc Police Department, 910 Jay St., from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday thru Friday First, Ricky's case, detailed in "Wrecking Crew" Chapter 15 (Cover-up) and Chapter 16 (Nothing There), Pages 147-165: One fateful night in January 1999 the snow was steadily coming down and while walking home at night, and less than a mile from his house, Ricky Hotchstetler was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver who dragged the boy under their vehicle for nearly 50 yards, and then kept driving past the boy's house and away into the night towards the village of Cleveland in southern Manitowoc County (Pg. Hundreds of emails sent to Hermann and other county officials in December and Januarywere recently turned over to the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin to comply with a public records request. ", 11. "I dont think weve peaked yet. A crucial part of this theory involves the swapping of vehicle parts. And they're turning their wrath on the east-central Wisconsincommunity. He would be granted three major promotions in the following 8 years, quickly reaching the upper echelon of the MCSD. ", 6. 79) only 15 minutes from the Hermann family's Auto Salvage Business (yes, the same Hermann family whose son would eventually take over for Petersen as Sheriff). I think if it documented everything correctly and wouldnt have downplayed some of the key points, the response would have been totally different. Keep in mind, Ferak attempts to draw a correlation between Bushman's conduct during Ricky's case compared to his conduct during Teresa's case. 78). The Coroner at the time in 1981 (Mxxxx Cummings) claims Gina died from a head injury sustained in the crash of the motorcycles, and immediately goes on to say: A squad car later collided with the wreckage and the victim offering no further thoughts on the incident. huge amount of activity was directed at the Kuss road burial site on Nov 7, 2005. literally demolished what was apparently a critical crime scene. People are seeing our community presented in a bad light by this show and its pretty unfair to the people who live here, said Jason Ring, president of the bureau. Carl. Its flowing in pretty good yet," he said. Andrew Colborn, whose integrity is questioned in the film. To be sure, I am not saying Mr. Avery was innocent, but, there was clear and convincing evidence, to me, of a massive amount of reasonable doubt which means he is innocent in this country. ", 17. Indefensible 67m At this time, no further follow-up will need to be done.". '", 13. Four critical aspects of this corruption are: Fraudulent prosecutions (utilizing criminal conduct) that appear to be done as favors so that well-connected insiders can profit in the civil realm from the fraudulent criminal convictions. LETTER: Lt.Andrew Colborn fires back at"Making a Murderer" critic, LETTER: Sheriff Rob Hermann urges letter writer to do more research, LETTER: Manitowoc politician calls emails "borderline threatening.". It's enough to convince me the case needs to be reviewed. The Hermann boys was saved, largely thanks to Bushman, although everyone helped, including then Sheriff Kocourek, who downright refused assistance from the Wisconsin State Patrol's Technical Crash Reconstruction Experts (Pg. Ferak argues Petersen may have caused the death of a young woman, citizen Gina Hxxxxx. As of Wednesday,the historical society hadreceived two phone calls, 14 emails and 72 Facebook comments or reviews. This presented a problem for the department because Hermann had already informed the press the striking vehicle was an older Chevy or Van, definitely not a newer vehicle (wink wink). 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). MANITOWOC - The Manitowoc community is pushing back as it finds itself in the suddenly uncomfortable glare of a documentary that has brought international attention to the shores of Lake Michigan. Manitowoc County Departments Our purpose is to improve the quality of life in Manitowoc County by providing effective, high quality, and responsive public services that promote the prosperity, self-sufficiency, and well-being of individuals, families, businesses, and communities. 80). As it turns out Schetter grew up with the Hermann boys in Manitowoc County, even serving as a groomsman at the younger Hermann brothers wedding (Pg. As for Bushman, he was involved in a questionable single car collision in Sept of 1989. Dogs don't lie, and this was a cadaver dog alert (scent of death) PLUS a bloodhound alert (scent of Teresa). One of the loudest voices in the public conversation about Steven Avery's possible innocence is Kathleen Zellner, Avery's attorney, who was featured on the Netflix documentary series about the Wisconsin murder case, Making a Murderer. 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). Zellner worked closely with Ferak and told Newsweek the book explores important areas left out of the series. It said it would get involved in the legal dispute between the Manitowoc County Sheriff Department and Steven Avery to reveal police corruption. In a word, she said, she's hearingthe series called "ridiculous.". TL;DR: Manitowoc County's Culture of Corruption 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. Manitowoc County is now officially on the map for having the most corrupt (law enforcement officers) in the nation, congrats. I'll save that drama for PART THREE: "Thin Blue Lines and Suicides". Why? I can, however, now look my children in the eyes and say, 'at least we dont live in Wisconsin. The Hermann brothers (from MCSD) were unofficial suspects in Ricky's death, and they were even investigated by the DOJ regarding those allegations. Once he is released from prison, he probably needs to move far away from Wisconsin for his own mental health and well-being. How did they do it this time? Organizations that had nothing to do with the cases have been feeling the backlash, too. If Kakatsch made it through their corrupt defense and forensically examined the burn pit all hell might break loose. She was hearing a lot of skepticism around town. ", 7. Steve Curtis Thompson II was convicted in Moore County, North Carolina, of voter registration fraud after voting twice in the 2012 general election. Was Bobby conducting those disturbing searches on the computer recovered from his room, or was it someone else? Allegedly, the older Hermann brother (instead of driving around all night to different dealerships) took the improperly collected evidence to his familys salvage yard and swapped out the damaged car parts from the scene for older car parts so to redirect the upcoming vehicular homicide investigation away from the Hermann family, their business and vehicles. "Saw your show on Netflix! Get this shit. I used to think of cranes when I heard the name Manitowoc, not anymore . The whole trial, despite. That was a defense strategy and it carried through into this film, said Hermann, who was undersheriff at the time of the Avery investigation. Part Three (Three Criminal Investigations) will focus on reviewing the multiple different DOJ Criminal Investigations of Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department throughout the years, including investigations concerning the department's handling of the Steven Avery and Ricky Hotchstetler cases. ", Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Shame on you. Manitowoc was likely panicked on November 10. I will also draw many connections between the Manitowoc County, Calumet County, and the DOJ in the interest of highlighting just how tangled this web is. I just can't be sure if it happens at the state of Wisconsin appeals level, the state Supreme Court level or before a federal court. I'll finish by reviewing how critical the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department was during the discovery, planting, re-discovery and recovery of the bones, and why it's reasonable to believe both the MCSD and Wisconsin DOJ were working together to cover up the truth of Teresa's death via obstruction of justice and the destruction of a crime scene. ", 9. You are responsible for the distrust and hatred for law enforcement that is ever-prevalent in our society and these sentiments are DESERVED. This was Ferak's way of connecting the Ricky H and Teresa H cases. 154). Terrible and corruption run rampant!!! 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. Bushman in particular would prove to be a central figure in helping the boys out of tough spots. I find it amazing that anyone involved from your county involved in the Steven Avery case can sleep at night. So many theories pop up because it's so obvious (at least IMO) the body was, at one point or another, concealed via the burial site. Dog handlers were turned away after being lead to the site by their canines. 151). For more information, please see our In 1981 Officer Petersen was involved in a traffic accident that may have caused a citizen death, possibly a preventable death Ferak argues. The County Steven was suing? Averys sweat DNA found on the hood latch of Halbachs vehicle discovered by Calumet County law enforcement. Seems about right. All of this created a BROKEN CHAIN OF CUSTODY. Next I'll briefly review all three (yes, three) criminal investigation of Manitowoc County Sheriff's department conducted by the Wisconsin DOJ Division of Criminal Investigation (one in 2003, one in 2004 & and the last in 2009). Petersen is also on record casually discussing how murdering Steven Avery would be preferable to framing him, a remarkable statement about an extrajudicial killing from the County's top law enforcement officer - a statement both the defense and filmmakers said deeply troubled them. Thanks Hermann! She said Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels has been working hard to bring people to the city's downtown, and this kind of publicity won't help that effort. Christ almighty that pissed me off. The incident was not brought before the Departments Accident Review Board as was procedure when squad cars sustained damage. People that are passing judgment on just the facts in that film, I think theyre way off base. 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