if i hadn't been so starved is it human to adore liferstand the urgency of life this is "nightline." >> tonight, behind "making a murderer" with the strange saga of steven averyricans we traveled to wisconsin where the story played out. avery wrongfully convicted of rape only to be later charged with murder. innocent. >> our investigation leading us to the main players in the case. the defense attorney now an internet star. >> i want him out of prison. >> the prosecutor who many now see as a e your daughter gets raped. >> his life turned upside down. we know you the evidence the makers of this controversial netflix documentary left out.

with director spike lee, opening up about the oscar uproar, growing anger about the lack of diversity in the mith speaking out as well. >> that's not the hollywood that you want to leave behind. first the "nightline 5." >> get ready to show your roots. with root touchup from nice and easy. blends with leading shades, even salon shades, in 10 minutes. natural-looking color as real as you are. show the world your roots with root our treatment plan should focus on keeping your body strong so you can fight your cancer without ever missing a beat. that's the power of integrative therapies.r care is here. learn more at cancercenter.com.

seconds. lincoln mkx for $399 a month

good not since the o.j. trial has america been so fixated on a criminal case. the new netflix documentary series "making a murderer" has millions of us dissecting and bizarre story of steven avery. tonight we're going to take you to the place where it all unfolded to meet the central players and examine the evidenceut. here in this tiny frozen over speck on the map the scene of aome a national obsession. >> now to a hot trend ticking over tv -- >> a netflix do you want tear series captivated the>> reporter: "making the murderer" explores the strange odyssey of steven avery, 2007 sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of a 25-year-old woman. since the series was released a frenzy of binge watching fueling conspiracy theories and outrage.

even, and those who think the documentary is at best misleading. >> wake up, netflix! >> reporter: i'vet anitua county, wisconsin. >> after having absorbed ten hours of this story, to be here is strange. >> reporter: to see if i can wrap my head around the mystery at saga, is steven avery a killer? the documentary begins in 2003. been released from prison after serving 18 years for a rape he didn't commit. >> i'm just glad you're home,>> reporter: exonerated by dna evidence. then two years later, just as avery is in the middle of a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the authorities who put him away, those very sameies charge him with murder. >> i didn't do it, i'm innocent. >> reporter: the once-celebrated face of wrongful convictions now

young photographer who had come to the avery family scrap yard to take pictures of a vehicle he was selling. her charred remains found nearr. >> it's hard enough going to prison for something you didn't do, then you got to do it all over again? caught the attention of two aspiring filmmakers, moira demos and laura richardi, whooved to wisconsin. >> we were there because we wanted to ask bigger questions about the system. >> is itonable doubt, is the process fair, can we trust the verdict? >> reporter: they devoted a decade to the project, gainings to the main players, from avery who spoke to them by phone from jail -- >> they wouldn't look at nobody else.ir attention to me. >> reporter: to his family waiting on the outside. >> they don't care. they'll take an innocent man and make him guilty andey're doing right now. >> reporter: to avery's defense

client was being railroaded, alleging that the local sheriffs, furious about t, framed him. >> how many times will steven avery be charged with rapes heommit? >> reporter: the filmmakers capture key moments. >> this is a red letter day for the defense. >> reporter: when avery's attorneys discover a vial of their client's blood, evidence from his firstiction, appears to have been tampered with. >> some officer went into that file, took a sample of steven of ary's blood, and planted lso in the film we see that the lawyers believe the police planted something else. the key to teresa hallback's you came into that bedroom the first time, there was no key on the floor, was there? >> that's correct. >> reporter: it wasn't eventh search of avery's bedroom. and it just so happened to have been found by two members of the

had recently been deposed in s civil lawsuit. as you sit here today, all these years later, do you still believe the department or members of department framed steven avery? >> i'ml reason to suspect that. >> reporter: "making a murderer" transformed avery's former defense attorney, thel dean strang, into a digital-age folk hero. >> redemption will have to wait as it often does in human orter: we met him in his office where he said the case still troubles him nine years later. >> i want him out of prison. i really am haunted by the concern that he's sitting there >> reporter: in stark opposition to strang, some on the internet have identified a villain, the man who put avery away. prosecutor kenen we arrived he showed us nasty e-mails -- >> i hope your daughter gets raped and murdered. >> reporter: and threatening voice mails. >> i'm going to my power to free steve avery, then i'm coming after you. >> reporter: kratz blames the filmmakers.

all. it's still a defense piece of what they pick and choose, causes only one reaction and only one conclusion, that mr. avery >> reporter: kratz points out there was a mountain of evidence against avery. hallback's remains and her car both found on his property. and avery's dna found on thath kratz says was only discovered on the seventh search because that's when it fell out of the back of this bookshelf. kratz also points out the jury rejected thee. >> we the jury find the defendant, stephen a. avery, guilty of first degree intentional n part because they saw vital pieces of evidence the documentarians excluded, including that steven avery's dna from sweat wasn the hood latch of teresa hallback's rav 4. >> why is that important? because you can't sweat.

documentary? >> if his hand was there, why didn't you find fingerprints?ng for dna. that's what was looked for and >> they didn't look for fingerprints? >> i don't know. >> i wouldan important thing to know. you're alleging that he drove this vehicle and hid it. i would imagine would be all over the thing. >> they might have. i don't have the case file. >> reporter: according to krat s kratz, perhaps the most damninge series, avery made three calls to hallback the day she went missing and also requested her by name to come photograph the van he was selling. >> stevenavery did not just accident. he targeted her. >> if as you say avery was targeting teresa hallback, why would he cally request her? wouldn't that just be a trail right back to him?

theory is, thatame and a different phone number was good enough. >> that would require him to be pretty stupid. >> okay. ran kratz's complaints by the filmmaker. >> his argument that is you left out some key things. and that in thewas pro-steven avery misrepresentation. >> i disagree. >> it would be impossible for us to include all ofthat was presented at trial. that's called a trial. what we made was a documentary. kratz himself later said that he presented a circumstantialce case and that's what we tried to show in the documentary. he did not have direct evidence of steven avery's guilt. i'm sure if het. >> reporter: sometimes lost in the uproar over the avery case, that he was not the only one convicted for the murder of teresa hallback.

sent to prison, in part because of what he told police. >> who shot her in the head? >> he did.u tell us that? >> i couldn't think of it. >> reporter: was this admission troversial confession up next. and the surprising twist that landed the winning prosecutor back in the headlines.tion leads us down that dead-end road. >> that's an avery -- >> reporter: when "nightline" returns. speed... one way of driving on each and every road. but there is one car that can conquer them all. the mercedes-benz c-class.odes let you customize the steering, shift points, and suspension to fit the mood you're in...'re on. the 2016 c-class. lease the c300 for $399 a month at your localdealer.

the setting is just right. there's something in the air.hing: about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. well, viagra helps guys with ederection. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take ni or adempas for pulmonary hypertension. your blood pressure could drop to an unsafe level. to avoid long-term injury,ical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing... ...about viagra. available in single packs. awless as easy as... one... "tru"... three. with new trublend primer preps and smooths skin and trublend makeup blends flawlesslyd blush and bronzer from easy breezy beautiful covergirl.

and classic creations on one plate for $15.99. and bold flavors ghost pepper bbq shrimple-and-bacon shrimp are to good to last,

st. you went back into that room. we know you were back there. >> reporter: for some viewers of the netflix "making a murderer" this is the most infuriating part of the story. >> brandon, were you there when this happened?

>> okay. then or not? >> yeah. >> how do you know that? >> reporter: brandon dacey, steven avery's 16-year-old admitting he helped his uncle kill teresa halbach. >> tell me where he shot her. >> like in the head and in the >> reporter: critics say this video shows dacey, who has a low iq, being manipulated into giving a false confession.he interrogation tape of brendan dacey, what leaps out to you? >> cognitively impaired,man, led by intelligent, well-trained adults, using a of techniques to try to get him to reveal details or adopt a storyline. suggested to him. >> am i going to be atchool ends? >> probably not. >> reporter: but the judge ruled

freely and willingly so it was during dacey's trial. >> you feel confident what we're seeing is a legitimate confession? >> yes, i would invite any of your viewers to read the entire . and before again buying what is spoonfed them. >> reporter: even though furg during his trial brandon said he made it all up, he was prison. >> we the jury find the defendant brendan r. dayec guilty --hile so many people across the country are be obsessed with this s have you been here? >> three. >> reporter: this woman has taken it to the next level. >> they're okay letting you rummage through the file? >> yes,ake a point. >> mcbride has become a sort of freelance gumshoe. >> there's so much more that didn't even get through the funnel of the documentary.bing through the

she drove us around mishicot, he closer you get to the area where the averys actually live, the more likely people are to say, we're certain they're guilty. want to speak to us on camera about this case. and i feel sorry for teresa halbach's family who have to live through this story yet al victim here is almost forgotten in the media hype. >> reporter: a sentiment we heard echoed when we visiteded manitowoc's county sheriff. >> a decade later you have no concern some of your people might have done something evidence? >> no. i do not. >> zero? >> zero. >> reporter: in fact, the sheriff revealed to us that one of the deputies who found teresan steven avery's bedroom, then patrol sergeant colburn, now has a new position. >> he handles our evidence here and ouron. >> reporter: here's how former

strang responded when we told him what we'd heard.e strangest twist in this whole saga is three years after the trial, prosecutor ken kratz became embroiled in >> serial section er xter. a third woman saying he sent inappropriate e pled no contest after the associated press unearthed racy texts kratz had sent to a domestice victim. >> i hope to regain the trust of the crime victims community. >> reporter: he says his problems stemmed from a >> being the center of attention for 18 months every day, being in the limelight. i started medicating. >> and his job. but now, five years later, he says he is sober and running a business as a defense attorney. although he says his business has now dried

>> if this costs me my privateake that trade. thing. >> reporter: kratz mac y be embattled but prominent voices are including nancy grace. >> steven avery is the killer. the evidence showing his guilt, documentary. >> jimmy: steven avery and brendan are fighting back hard. avery has a new attorney with a history of freeing the wrongly ted. dacey is waiting on a decision from a federal judge that could allow a new trial. it's easy to walk away from the documentary thinking they may not have done it. >> i think ie before all the trouble started. >> reporter: but the more time i spent on the ground in wisconsin with people like jessica mcbride -- >> should we go to the high school where school? >> reporter: the more is. whatever conclusion you land on, you really have to get

uncomfortable facts. for example, if he did it -- >> you have to swallow theing was going right in his life and yet at the moment he was about to successfully sue law enforcement, was going to dold bring the full weight of law enforcement down upon him? >> i agree with that. so what the documentary did is it focused on the inconvenientre weird for the law enforcement authorities. and i think they're legitimate questions. >> reporter: in the end, i left wisconsin more i arrived. >> does any part of you suspect that he may, in fact, be guilty? >> a big part of me worries that he might be guilty.ger part of me says, you know, if convicting people on maybe's or possibly's was how the system worked, that's great,lap each other on the back and go out for a beer. but that's not how the system's supposed to work. >> reporter: in the end avery's nd the makers of "making a murderer"

mystery. and a bitterly contested mystery at that.t we reached out to the hall bach family for comment about "making a murderer" and they declined.ocal station "we are saddened to learn that individuals and corporations continue to create entertainment and to seek profits from our loss." coming up on "nightline," a of controversy, the uproar over race and the oscars. what will smith and spike lee are telling abc news tonight. eth" by kiss beth, i hear you calling... but i can't come home right now... me and the boys are playing... all night text beth, what can i do...ssage. pick up milk. oh, right. milk. introducing the newly

from volkswagen. d like to see more of the old lady. i'd like to see her go back to her more you know social side.n bright mind promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. (ray) it was shocking. aware. (jan) she loves the food. (ray) she wants to learn things. the difference has been incredible. p (vo) purina pro plan brightv mind. forms. looking for 24/7 digestive sunon-stop, sweet-treat-goodness hold-onto-your-tiara, kind-of-day. live 24/7 with 24/7 digestive support. try align, the undisputed #1 ge

milk! milk! milk! milk! milk! okay! fun's over. aw. aw. it would make me cool. they don't sound cool to me. guess not. you got to stick up for yourself, your price tool. people tell us their budget, not the other way around. aren't you lactose intolerant?

finally tonight we're going to hear from two of hollywood's biggest stars about a controversy rocking the oscars. here's my "nightline" coanchor juju there's a regressive slide toward separatism, towards racial and religious 's not the hollywood that i want to leave behind. >> reporter: hollywood heavyweight will smith speaking out as stars across tinseltown lambast theatic class year. >> talent is everywhere but opportunity isn't. >> reporter: elba deserved an oscar nod for

enough to nurture a talent -- >> reporter: george clooney won for "syriana," speaking out in support of diversity.ericans have a real fair point, that the industry isn't representing them well enough. >> every ten years, we get lucky. then when it happens, the hollywood's finally turned around, look how much we've made progress. then a drought for nine irector spike lee says even though he's skipping the glittery night in protest he's not calling for boycott. goes deeper than awards shows. >> we're not in the room in these green light meetings. until that happens, we'll to have these stories about the lack of diversity at the oscars. >> reporter: and yet lee says the message transcendsou're going to make more

workforce reflects the diversitycountry. let's go to the bottom line. if you don't change, you're going to lose money. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm juju chang in new york. >> we'll see more of h spike lee in a few weeks talking about his new documentary "michael jackson's journey from motown to off the wall." tune into gma tomorrow for the view with will smith. as always we're online on our