'Making A Murderer' Subject Brendan Dassey's Conviction Tossed

A federal judge on Friday overturned the conviction of a Wisconsin man serving time in the murder at the center of the popular Netflix series "Making a Murderer," reports CBS affiliate WDJT.

Brendan Dassey was in prison for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach along with his uncle Steven Avery.

CBS News

Avery was tried and convicted separately of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of photographer Halbach. Avery had been wrongfully convicted years earlier in a rape case and served 18 years in prison.

Dassey was 16 when Halbach was killed after she went to the Avery family auto salvage yard to photograph some vehicles. Dassey confessed to helping Avery carry out the rape and murder of Halbach, but attorneys argued that the confession was coerced.

The 10-part Netflix series raises questions about whether Avery and Dassey were wrongly convicted, spurring new scrutiny of the case and prompting armchair sleuths to flood social media.

The U.S. District Court in Milwaukee on Friday overturned Dassey's conviction and ordered him freed within 90 days unless the case is appealed.