"I want to kill this guy."
That's what Steven Avery's cellmate told prison leaders in September 2015, according to prison documents obtained by WTMJ-TV.
That cellmate, Jason Thomaschaske, also said Avery was "disrespectful" and "a disgusting human being," according to the documents. Avery is housed at Waupun Correction Institution, where he is serving a life sentence for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach.
The prison documents also show that in 2014, Avery's brother Earl Avery alerted prison officials that Steven had violated an order not to contact him. Steven had been told to "cease any and all contact with Earl Avery." Steven had been mailing letters to Earl and his ex-wife that were "threatening in nature," according to the documents.
Filmmakers interviewed
The Boston Globe checked in with Making a Murderer filmmaker Moira Demos, a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. Demos put together the documentary series with Laura Ricciardi after seeing Steven Avery's story featured in the New York Times.
In the Q&A, Demos again reiterates that they had no intentions of steering viewers in any direction. When asked whether or not they wanted viewers to come to a conclusion on Avery's guilt or innocence, here's her response: "Absolutely not. The series is intended for people to ask questions about what they hear on the news. We are showing how the bulk of the story is not making it to the public."
Both Demos and Ricciardi also were featured in an interview about Making a Murderer from BBC News. One interesting portion of the nearly seven-minute clip is a question about what differentiates the Netflix series the filmmakers created and what TV producers, like the one from Dateline interviewed in Making a Murderer, are known for doing.
"I think our motives for making the series had nothing to do with ratings," Demos said, "whereas I think news directors are concerned with ratings."
Ricciardi also adds that their process was "much more organic" as compared to TV producers.
Other bits
► Avery's lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, marches on with her Twitter campaign to spread her message of her client's innocence. Her latest tweet, which landed online Tuesday night, hits on some of the stories about Avery that have circulated in the wake of "Making a Murderer."
One story, which suggests Avery targeted Teresa Halbach and had answered the door wearing just a towel during one of her previous visits to his home, was one of the talking points from former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz in interviews following the release of the Netflix series. Zellner's tweet calls the story "unreliable."
As for the story that Brendan Dassey accused Avery of molesting him, which resurfaced last week, Zellner points out Avery was "never charged."
► Business Insidertakes another look at what Laura Nirider, a Chicago attorney and part of the legal team helping with Dassey's appeal, had to say during her recent appearance at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. They offer a breakdown of four key reasons why Nirider said Dassey's confession wasn't truthful.
► If you missed it, John Ferak of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin took a look at what Avery stood to gain in his $36 million lawsuit. The story also compares Avery's case to other similar situations to see how much money he likely would have collected. For instance, one man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit was awarded more than $16 million.
