Prosecution Rests Case In Avery Trial

CHILTON, Wis. -- The prosecution rested its case on Tuesday in the murder trial of Steven Avery.

This means that the defense will begin its case on Thursday in the trial of the 44-year-old Avery on charges in the killing of 25-year-old freelance photographer Teresa Halbach.

Prosecutors have spent more than three weeks calling witnesses as they try to prove that Avery lured the woman to his family's auto salvage lot near Mishicot in rural Manitowoc County, killed her and burned her body on Halloween 2005.

Defense lawyer Jerome Buting said that he expects the case to wrap up next week. After court on Wednesday, he told reporters that there still are many unanswered questions and Avery's team believes there's reasonable doubt as they head into the next phase of the trial.

Special prosecutor Ken Kratz said that if Avery takes the witness stand, he looks forward to cross-examining him, given Avery has given several statements to police already. Kratz said that the evidence against Avery is more than circumstantial and it points to one person responsible for the crime.

A state arson investigator testified on Wednesday that he found remains of tires in a burn pit behind Avery's home and they would have made any fire there burn hotter.

Rod Pevytoe, of the state Division of Criminal Investigation, said that some bone fragments were found entwined in the wires left by steel-belted radial tires after they were burned.

Earlier witnesses have testified about the charred pieces of bone and teeth found in the pit.

Pevytoe said that investigators also examined a wood boiler and a metal smelter at the Avery property where Avery lived but found no evidence of anything burned in them that related to Halbach's death

Avery's 17-year-old nephew, Brendan Dassey, is also accused in the killing and scheduled for trial next month.

Halbach went to the property on a photo shoot for Auto Trader magazine. Her vehicle was found later partially concealed in the salvage yard, authorities said.

Avery is on trial for charges of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, false imprisonment and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In January, a judge dismissed sexual assault and kidnapping charges against Avery because prosecutors didn't indicate by a court deadline whether Dassey would testify. Dassey's testimony was needed to support the charges that were dismissed.

Testimony in Avery's trial started in February. The trial continues on Wednesday in Circuit Court at Chilton.