Why? People like you are a plague on our country. "I am certain I did not see everything that happened in that trial. 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. The moment a corrupt leader enters the picture the corruption slowly becomes the culture in that department. Bushman proved to his law enforcement buds he was a good man to have around in a sticky situation, and was adept at making incriminating evidence vanish into thin air (a skill he would put to good use once more years later). If true, the theory would highlight an alleged historical culture of corruption in Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office, a disturbing claim which has been underlined by the two Making a Murderer series aired on Netflix to global acclaim. Honestly though, someone tell me, in what universe is that ^ level of destruction necessary when processing a crime scene that wasn't even properly photographed yet? "I am sure that after you are all exposed, you will not feel any regret for putting an innocent man in prison for the majority of his life; I am sure the only regret you will feel is that of being caught. Manitowoc County comprises the Manitowoc, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area. "He immediately became red around the face [] The desired response was received and the redness in his face indicated he was embarrassed, at that point indicating he himself had discussed the rumor.". Were the bones found in Steven's burn pit because the body was burnt there, or because the bones were moved there post burning? But we are dealing with the state of Wisconsin, a place I lived and worked at two different times in my life, and for that reason, I would say it's 50-50. "As the father of a Down syndrome age 16 daughter, I know how easy it is to manipulate a mentally challenged person by promising what they want at a precise moment. Although Petersens hire wasn't influenced by the Hermann family, we know his rise within the department was. 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. I couldn't believe Bushman wrote what he wrote in his report of his confrontation with the victim's father - Bushman MCSD Report, Pg. "Saw your show on Netflix! Jost) met with Lt. Bushman and due to the fact the pieces looked newer, he did not believe they belonged to the suspect vehicle on the hit and run fatality. "Tell me please, what has Steve Avery done to this community that he deserved to be set up for a murder? WOW! In 2005, Tadych fed her 16-year-old son, Brendan, who has a severe language impairment and 70 IQ, to corrupt Wisconsin law enforcement [Tom Fassbender (Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation investigator (Ret)) and Mark Wiegert, (current Sheriff of the Calumet County Sheriff's Office), who interrogated Brendan alone in a room], the better to elicit words that the cops could falsely state constituted a confession to murder of Teresa Halbach.Law enforcement then used Brendan's so-called confession to convict the innocent Steven Avery. 151). He would be granted three major promotions in the following 8 years, quickly reaching the upper echelon of the MCSD. The desired response was to embarrass the victim's father? A pattern could arguably be established. Vandedrincksaid that he hasn't seen a lot of the show and therefore doesn't know what was left out. ", 8. I see him wearing old tattered blue jeans, tank tops and sandals. 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. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $225 in court costs. If the Avery case was in the state of Nebraska, the state of Iowa and the state of Illinois, I would have to say there would be a 98 percent chance Zellner would be successful in winning a new trial or getting Steven Avery's conviction overturned, primarily based on the Brady violation allegations she has raised. Here's a snapshot of the worldwideoutrage directed at Hermann: 1. Its a shame theyre making money off it at the expense of the Halbach family. Privacy Policy. No mention of the accident or fatality can be found Petersens employment file or in any of his promotion notices. Only loyalists are hired and promoted and well meaning officers either burn out or are forced out. It's a concept that Sean Vandedrinck, 21, of Sturgeon Bay brought up jokingly. Hacktivism group plans to reveal police corruption. It's enough to convince me the case needs to be reviewed. I wished to catch what type of reaction this would bring. 85): Your past work product in the various positions held by yourself at the MCSD has always been excellent and I feel confident that this pattern of productivity will continue in your new position as Inspector. Ferak reveals that way back in 1978 the Hermann father helped elect Kocourek as Sheriff of the MCSD (Pg. 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. The "desired response" was received? 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.". ", 4. 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. Shame on you. Regardless of guilt or innocence, what your office did to manipulate that young mans testimony in the Avery case was repulsive and I would suspect unconstitutional. "John Ferak is an investigative journalist who is trying to figure out who committed the murder. In a word, she said, she's hearingthe series called "ridiculous.". Neither Steven nor his lawsuit had a snowflake's chance in hell if the authorities were willing to disregard their own laws in order to manipulate evidence and destroy crime scenes. Steven Avery, was accused and sent to prison in 1985 for the rape of a Manitowoc (Wisconsin) woman, Penny Beerntsen. In Florida, John Rider of the Village of Virginia . Of course, despite knowing MCSD shouldn't be trusted on the property (let alone in Steven's trailer) the DOJ happily turned a blind eye and gave the department carte blanche. Although a coroner determined Gina Hxxxxx died before being run over by Petersens squad car, such an opinion would ideally be backed up by a thorough investigation. "We just finished learning about the Teresa Halbach murder case. The retired Bushman, who had no prior involvement in the Halbach investigation, but was clairvoyant enough to show up bright and early on what turned out to be a critically important day. But still, "as far as the show goes, I wouldn't trust that guy. Ferak never suggests Bushman was intoxicated but the thought definitely crossed my mind. Not to myself but to members of our law enforcement community," Brey wrote. Way before the Hermann brothers were first and third in command; before Teresa, Ricky, or Penny, the Hermann family still had an enormous amount of influence within the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department (MCSD). Ferak spoke about The Wrecking Crew, Avery and Zellner in an exclusive interview with Newsweek. 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? Barb Tadych and the Manitowoc County Sheriff Dept remain close, even after Tadych's move to sacrifice Brendan caused Tadych to criticize the cops, in regret. Ricky's mother, however, was not so easily quieted. As it so happens, Bushman and Kocourek were eventually provided with an opportunity to pay the Hermann father back for jump-starting / advancing their lucrative careers in law enforcement. This ^ level of inaction could only be the result of Kocourek sanctioning it. Her DNA was found on a bullet from Avery's gun. 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. 170) a bold but carefully worded statement. 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. Im not sure I can look my kids in the eye and believe my own words anymore. The county historical societys star rating on its Facebook page plummeted after dozens of people most from outside Wisconsin began posting negative reviews and comments related to Avery. "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. So Bushman's decision was to conduct no follow-up on damaged car parts found at the scene of a hit and run homicide? Kocourek, Petersen and Bushman were a powerful and corrupt trio in the community. "Never have I heard of such corruption at the hands of law enforcement as in the case of Steven Avery. And of course, the crime lab reported nothing was found at the burial site. 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. 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. What a joke of a department. "Shocked seeing the Netflix series 'Making a Murderer.' And before we knew it our entire review section was tarnished and it had nothing to do with the actual historical society or what we do or our mission. Years later, Kocourek, Bushman and Petersen would all play critical roles in the 1985 wrongful arrest and conviction of Steven Avery, the 1999 Ricky H vehicular homicide case, and the 2005 Teresa Halbach case. The facts and evidence tell a different story. After everything, MCSD escaped facing civil liability and a family was forced to say goodbye to their daughter. In episode five of the series, Hermann said he noticed during an interview between Avery and law enforcement, the time counter jumps forward, then back, then forward again. The first post appeared on Dec. 21, a few days after the release of Making a Murderer., Then it kind of snowballed from there, said Amy Meyer, historical society executive director. ", 7. In the interest of explaining just how tangled this web is, I review the many, many familiar or social connections between the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, Calumet County Sheriff's Department, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice. 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. Steve Curtis Thompson II was convicted in Moore County, North Carolina, of voter registration fraud after voting twice in the 2012 general election. Amazing! How did they do it this time? Seems about right. He really is very lucky he didnt hit another vehicle or a pedestrian. And justice was served.. The report in which the AG cleared MCSD of any wrongdoing or ethical violations (even though there was evidence the department knew Steven was innocent and Gregory Allen was guilty). In addition to their ever increasing involvement in the Sheriffs Department, the Hermann family owned the long operating Cleveland Auto Salvage (CAS) in southern Manitowoc County, one of a select few salvage yards that competed with the Avery Salvage Yard (ASY). Everything your pathetic county stands for is forever tarnished with the mockery of justice that was promulgated in that courtroom. 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. We had quality law enforcement out at the scene they worked hard at the case to get to the truth. 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. 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). "[Making a Murderer] touched on some of my investigation and expert experiments but not in as much detail as the book. (The commenters) only connection to knowing anything about Manitowoc is Netflix and then going on social media. The DOJ then destroyed the burn pit all together (like straight up demolished it) ensuring no forensic examination could ever take place, thereby protecting Manitowoc County's frame job from crumbling. 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). It is sad to see for the world that the state of Wisconsin still lives in isolation and narrow-minded thinking. Both Petersen and Bushman were hired by MCSD with no prior experience in law enforcement; both were in serious collisions in their squad cars; both became loyal underlings to Sheriff Kocourek; and both names turn up during the 1985 Penny Bernsteen assault case, the 1999 Ricky Hotchstetler vehicular homicide case, and the 2005 Teresa Halbach criminal homicide case. One such challenge came on the day of Rickys funeral, when friends of the family arrived at the Hotchstetler house and found additional car parts in the melting snow very near their driveway, where the hit and run driver would have driven passed. 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. "I would be fearful to ever take my family on a trip and stop in your county to even get fuel. Eventually, citizens began discussing the possibility of a police cover-up, including Ricky's mother and father. Anonymous gets involved in Steven Avery case, claiming police corruption. At or around 10:30 a.m. Bushman's Group A discovered the burial site just off the Kuss Road cul-de-sac, not even a half mile from the Avery Salvage yard property boundary. 80-83): Gina Hxxxxx had accompanied her male companion on his motorcycle on a particularly foggy night. Ever God will deal with everyone who had a hand in this mess, you can be sure of that. I truly wonder about the way justice is meted out in Wisconsin and Manitowoc County in particular. There is no question defense attorneys did a good job to try and paint a negative picture and paint us in a negative light, but what theyre suggesting didnt happen.. "You kind of look like a goofball when youre calling up and venting like that to the wrong agency.. Manitowoc organizations not involved with the case also are feeling a backlash from the series. Manitowoc County / m n t w k / is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin.As of the 2020 census, the population was 81,359. Local officials and organizations havebeen bombarded with taunts and questions and requests over the Netflix docu-series, "Making a Murderer." Like Bushman, Petersen was quickly hired despite his total lack of experience in LE. A huge amount of activity was directed at the Kuss road burial site on Nov 7, 2005. She was there at one point. Whether Steven Avery or Brendan Dassey are innocent or guilty they sure got railroaded by the indecent actions of your department. 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. We'll just have to wait and see what happens next, won't we? I used to think of cranes when I heard the name Manitowoc, not. ", 6. Get this shit. The Gina Hxxxxx incident didn't slow down Petersen's rise within the department. 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. 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. The Hermann father helped elect Kocourek as Sheriff - and as Sheriff Kocourek would go on to repeatedly promote Petersen (See Part One). 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