Court refuses to hear challenge to Brendan Dassey’s conviction

The 28-year-old, jailed for rape and murder, appeared in ‘Making a Murderer’ series

The US supreme court is declining to weigh in on the case of Brendan Dassey, who was convicted of rape and murder and featured in the Netflix series ‘Making A Murderer’. File photograph: AP.
The US supreme court is declining to weigh in on the case of Brendan Dassey, who was convicted of rape and murder and featured in the Netflix series ‘Making A Murderer’. File photograph: AP.

The US supreme court is declining to weigh in on the case of a man who was convicted of rape and murder and featured in the Netflix series Making A Murderer.

The court's decision not to take the challenge leaves in place a lower court ruling against Brendan Dassey (28).

Dassey was 16-years-old when he confessed to Wisconsin authorities that he had joined his uncle Steven Avery in raping and murdering photographer Teresa Halbach before burning her body in a bonfire in 2005. He was interrogated him four times in 48 hours about the matter.

His attorneys say he is borderline intellectually disabled and was pressured into a false confession. They wanted his confession thrown out and a new trial ordered.

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Dassey’s attorneys can still try to get him a new trial but they would have to convince a judge that newly discovered evidence warrants one. - PA