she asked, referencing Avery's$36 million civil lawsuit against the county for hiswrongful conviction. All of these whispers caught the attention of lead investigator Bushman, who knew from Kocourek how to deal with citizens spreading rumors of corruption. Since it was released, the sheriff's department has gotten between 250 and 300 phone calls and hundreds of emails some positive, but many more negative about its role in the Avery case, Hermann said. As there were no other reported accidents or collisions that would account for the additional car parts found by Rickys house, everyone had good reason to suspect these newer car parts were from the striking vehicle. Just to set the stage a bit - The Kuss road incident has long been a famous unresolved mystery of this case, and for good reason. It all depends on the luck of the draw in terms of the appeals court judges Zellner gets. They were just sitting out in the open since October 31! Zellner worked closely with Ferak and told Newsweek the book explores important areas left out of the series. Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are innocent. We had quality law enforcement out at the scene they worked hard at the case to get to the truth. 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. Once he is released from prison, he probably needs to move far away from Wisconsin for his own mental health and well-being. Manitowoc County is now officially on the map for having the most corrupt (law enforcement officers) in the nation, congrats. This ^ level of inaction could only be the result of Kocourek sanctioning it. Your entire county is FILLED with white trash idiots and you have the audacity to bully and pick on him all this after falsely imprisoning him for 18 of his prime years of his life. For more information, please see our The coroner later quit due to the obstruction she faced. So yes, both the MCSD and Wisconsin DOJ wanted Steven's lawsuit to fail more than they wanted justice to be served to Teresa and her family. 149). ", 15. ", 19. Manitowoc, WI 34 87 162 5/1/2021 Lived in Manitowoc many years and fully support the local county sheriff and all their deputies. 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. The offered rationale is nearly non existent, and does nothing to explain where these car parts came from, if not the striking vehicle. After reportedly driving around all night to different dealerships with the improperly collected car parts in his vehicle (Pg. So Bushman's decision was to conduct no follow-up on damaged car parts found at the scene of a hit and run homicide? Ferak is not a fan of either, but specifically notes that Kocourek's legacy with the Sheriffs Department was one synonymous with crookedness and corruption (Pg. In 1999 the Hermann brothers (the ones who worked at MCSD) became unofficial suspects in a vehicular homicide of Ricky Hotchstetler, a case for which Sheriff Kocourek named Bushman as lead investigator. And they're turning their wrath on the east-central Wisconsincommunity. Manitowoc County is now officially on the map for having the most corrupt (law enforcement officers) in the nation, congrats. People are fascinated with this now, but give them a month and theyll have other television shows to be worried about.. 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. This was the third day police were on the Avery property without anything being found inculpating Steven. The series explores many collateral matters, while the book zeroes-in on suspects and motives for the murder, which was not a focal point in the series.". As you might have guessed, Kocourek didn't push Bushman to conduct an investigation that would result in a member of the Hermann family, a member of his own department, being indicted for felony vehicular homicide. Anonymous gets involved in Steven Avery case, claiming police corruption. Kocourek's legacy of corruption continued thriving thanks to Petersen becoming Sheriff. Although only MCSDs history is examined in the post, the same lesson applies to other departments. "I dont think weve peaked yet. Ferak himself believes "Teresa met her gruesome demise about a half mile away from the Avery property" (Pg. 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). I simply cannot comprehend how our (civilized) world can so easily step over the aspect of reasonable doubt. You are unbelievable. Like many here, I've read and seen a lot of stuff, and I'm continually frustrated by what appears to be constant in your face corruption that permeates this case. Why would they collect critical evidence without properly tagging or taking photos? Kocourek wanted underlings who felt indebted to him, who would cover for the department as he covered for them. Steven's lawsuit directly contradicted Attorney General Lautenschlager's report on the 1985 case, the report issued after the first criminal investigation of MCSD in 2003. Was Steven actively bleeding in the RAV or did someone plant his blood there from a limited source? The DOJ's criminal destruction of an apparent crime scene is extremely telling. I can, however, now look my children in the eyes and say, 'at least we dont live in Wisconsin. It's a concept that Sean Vandedrinck, 21, of Sturgeon Bay brought up jokingly. Manitowoc County (Jost) poorly manufactured the re-discovery of what he says were obviously human bones in Steven's burn pit. While the history museum can delete posts on the site, they cant remove reviews, even if they contain swear words or statements unrelated to the organization. The Hermanns were a critical feature of Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, with at least 3 members of the same immediate family having worked at the department throughout the years, starting in 1962. Bushmans accident was brought before the County's Accident Review Board, which quickly concluded no action would be taken, and that Sgt. 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). How sad for your countys image. She said she'll finish the series but didn't have an opinion on whether the men are innocent or not. Ferak correctly observed that, like Kocourek, "Bushman owed a tremendous debt of gratitude to the Hermann family.. The incident was not brought before the Departments Accident Review Board as was procedure when squad cars sustained damage. Many locals were unwilling to weigh inpubliclyon the series, but those who did are far less likely than outsiders to turn against officials anddont seem to give the series much weight. He really is very lucky he didnt hit another vehicle or a pedestrian. "May God forgive the morally corrupt officers who participated in this case. All evidence points towards the incompetence of your department I hope and pray your department and local police and that judge are found out, and YOU rot in jail. Like Bushman, Petersen was quickly hired despite his total lack of experience in LE. 79 of his book Ferak says, "PETERSEN and BUSHMAN would both ascend into top level leadership positions - tokens of gratitude for their unwavering loyalty and ability to follow orders from Sheriff Kocourek.". Your department is a JOKE. "The Wrecking Crew" takes a deeper look into Kathleen Zellner's legal process. Maybe she would have survived if she had been rushed to a hospital instead of run over by Petersen. It wasn't long before members of the community were whispering about a police cover-up, and this included Ricky's mother and father, who both had troubling run-ins with the department after their son's death. What originally drew you to the case of Avery? Manitowoc was likely panicked on November 10. After everything, MCSD escaped facing civil liability and a family was forced to say goodbye to their daughter. Seems about right. When all was said and done Bushman had decently wrecked one of the countys new Chevy Caprice squad cars, and the repairs cost the county close to $4 000 (in 1989 money). 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. People like you are a plague on our country. I wished to catch what type of reaction this would bring. Manitowoc County Drug Disposal Program is accepting unused and/or expired medications, over-the-counter medications, prescription medications and pet medications at no charge. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $225 in court costs. Dog handlers were turned away after being lead to the site by their canines. Bushman had the Hermann family to thank for getting the job, and Kocourek to thank for his many career advancements. And although she doesn't think it will affect the business in which she works, Cordova wondered if the series would deter people from visiting the county or the city. If they had simply done their job properly when collecting those car parts, no one could make such claims. "If youre taking pieces out of context, it definitely changes the outcome. Officers Bushman and Hermann improperly collected crime scene evidence from the scene of Ricky's hit and run death. "Generally speaking, for people who don't know how hard we're working to make Manitowoc a nice place, they would probably drive right by now," Cordovasaid. "Shocked seeing the Netflix series 'Making a Murderer.' 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. Again, Ferak theorizes Kocourek was steadily promoting those whose involvement in serious incidents he helped down play, such as Petersens running over a citizen, or Bushmans driving through an intersection at high speed and decently wrecking his squad car. The Hermann father helped elect Kocourek as Sheriff - and as Sheriff Kocourek would go on to repeatedly promote Petersen (See Part One). This film shows only three to maybe four hours of courtroom for Steven Avery and youre talking a trial that lasted approximately six weeks, so there is a lot of evidence missing.". This solidified his family's position of power and influence in the community. 166). "I am certain I did not see everything that happened in that trial. RELATED STORY: Politician: Steven Avery's eyes prove he's guilty, RELATED STORY:No Steven Avery evidence planted: detective. Since the vast majority of cases are based on circumstantial evidence (like Steven's case) everyone must accept we can't ever know exactly what happened. Manitowoc organizations not involved with the case also are feeling a backlash from the series. 20. And the sad thing is there is a murderer out there who has gotten away with it! Its unfortunate the word Manitowoc is causing some such grief, but again, these are people feeling that way from watching a television show, he said. I could see him getting a dog or two and maybe becoming a rancher. Only loyalists are hired and promoted and well meaning officers either burn out or are forced out. 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