Kumari Shreya
Netflix’s ‘Making a Murderer‘ is a gripping crime show that tells the story of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man convicted wrongfully once and then sent to prison a second time. The legal events covered within the documentary series allow viewers to understand the intricacies of the case involving Steven and his time in prison.
The first season of the show was released in 2015, creating much hype about the man in question. The second season only served to increase the attention on Steven, leading many in the public to become curious about his personal life. In particular, people cannot help but wonder about the current status of Steven’s romantic relationship with Lynn Hartman, and we are here to explore the same!
Steven Avery and Lynn Hartman’s Journey
In 1985, Steven Avery was sent to prison upon being wrongfully convicted of the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. It was this particular case that is heavily featured in the first season of the Netflix show. Notably, he was released from prison in 2003 — though little did anyone realize he would soon be standing another court trial. In November 2005, the Wisconsin native was arrested on counts of kidnapping, sexual assault, murder, and mutilation of a corpse in regard to the death of Teresa Halbach, a photographer who suddenly disappeared on Halloween 2005 and apparently was meant to meet up with Steven.
After being declared guilty of first-degree murder and illegal firearm possession on March 18, 2007, Steven was sentenced to life in prison without parole, with an additional five-year weapons-related sentence added to the same. However, due to some of the alleged discrepancies in the Halbach case and Steven’s own past experience with wrongful conviction, his story became well-known thanks to ‘Making a Murderer.’
It was Steven’s fame from the documentary series that caught the eye of Lynn Hartman, who used to work as a legal secretary and paralegal in the past. While going through a turbulent divorce, her daughter, Kamilia Woolsey, introduced Lynn to the Netflix show. “I was affected by it, I felt sorry for him, so I typed a letter,” the former one told The Sun. “He responded and we swapped a few letters, but it felt he wanted it to escalate immediately; he wanted handwritten notes, not typed, and wanted personal things I wasn’t comfortable with.”
The romance between Steven and Lynn thus officially started in February 2016. In July of the same year, the convicted man separated from his then-fiancé, Sandra Greenman. “He told me that the reason he wanted to stop seeing his current girlfriend Sandy is that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with his sex drive when he’s released, as it would require someone who could give him continuous sex four hours a day,” Lynn shared.
Though there were many things about Steven’s behavior that apparently did not sit well with Lynn, she admitted she would always make excuses on his behalf. Conversing through letters and notes, she shared that Steven would call himself her husband and would use heavily inappropriate nicknames for her. However, the two still got engaged in September 2016, shortly following which they were interviewed (the latter connecting via an audio call) on ‘Dr. Phil.’
Steven Avery and Lynn Hartman Are Living Separate Lives
As of writing, Steven Avery and Lynn Hartman are not together anymore. The latter has since shared that after she stated on ‘Dr. Phil’ that she would not live in the woods with her then-fiancé, and his supporters informed him of the same, things changed in every sense of the term. “That’s when everyone went nuts, family and supporters were telling him what happened on Dr. Phil, and he was furious that I didn’t want to live in the woods for the rest of our lives. I wouldn’t want to live in the woods with anyone, it’s just weird,” the former paralegal explained.
Upset by this, Steven apparently asked people to spread negativity toward Lynn. In days following her television appearance, the latter was heavily harassed on the internet. According to her, Steven would call her numerous times a day on the phone to yell at her. “He’d usually call two or three times a day, now it would be 25 times a day. I don’t know how he did it, [inmates are] not meant to have a phone all day long.” she revealed.
Tired of everything happening to her and wary of Steven’s behavior, Lynn decided to write him a postcard. “I said this is insane, I don’t want anything to do with it and wrote him a postcard saying I think we should split up. He was scaring me, this guy’s a freaking lunatic.” she stated. “When he’s rejected, he becomes the Steven Avery I read in the police transcripts. When he gets mad, it’s really strange, I’ve never seen anything like it. As soon as he started feeling rejected, the monster revealed itself.” In the days following the break-up, Lynn was even admitted to the hospital owing to all the stress.
Though Steven and Lynn apparently came to a truce and even responded to each other’s letters, the latter has stated that she continued to receive threatening messages and calls from her former betrothed for about a month until she was able to get a no-contact order with the help of the FBI. “My daughter was also getting letters from Avery and abuse online, she wouldn’t speak to me for a year. She was furious that she was getting all this treatment,” she confessed.
As for the former couple’s current standing, Lynn is seemingly still based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and seems to be doing her best to put these experiences behind her. Meanwhile, Steven is incarcerated at the medium-security Fox Lake Correctional Institution in Dodge County, Wisconsin. He and his lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, filed an appeal in August 2022 claiming that another person was responsible for Teresa’s 2005 passing, though the prosecution seems disinterested in accepting the evidence presented by them. As of writing, no hearings regarding the same have been scheduled.
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