Sorry for taking longer than intended. My response has turned out to be quite long. So, I will post in two parts. The first part today, and the second part, when I am finished writing it, to include links, of course.
In any event, onward into the fray!
The big "
but" regarding the cat incident is that I originally felt Steven Avery minimized it. Which in turn, plays an extremely important role with regard to his underlying psychology as it relates to the potential of being a killer.
However, after reading this report over, several times over, in fact, there are so many incongruences!
His codefendant, Jerry Yanda, reported the incident. So, he just what? Waltzed into the Two River's PD, to let them know? Because why? And then there's Peter Dassey who helpfully corroborates the incident. And finally, there's Kenneth Petersen, himself.
Petersen was a 33 year old officer with the Manitowoc County Sheriff's department back in 1982, when he was informed by the Two Rivers PD regarding said incident.
And this bit is extremely important. Why?
For starters, the idea that someone killed a cat by burning it to death is understandably horrific. The claim that it was doused in oil and gas makes it an order of magnitude worse. Except. That is all it is. A claim.
This is not to discount that a cat was burned alive, rather question the events as reported by Jerry Yanda (
who was conveniently not convicted) & Peter Dassey.
That is, imnsho, Kenneth Petersen's view of Avery as public enemy #1, was cemented the day he learned of the cat incident. This is not to say he was unaware of other Avery legal problems, however, this was the one that cinched it for him.
Now, add to the above, he is also the very man who arrested Avery for the false rape conviction. And, who knew about the 1995 call,
as revealed in the Dr. Phil episode (
@1:40). And, he testified in the pre-trial hearing that he wasn't really sure Avery was innocent for the rape (
Making A Murderer, episode 4 @ 42:26).
This same said man stated to the media, paraphrased, "
if they wanted to get rid of Avery, they could have just killed him" (
Making a Murderer, episode 4 @ 35:26). And, in that same episode, he stated that Avery would "
kill again."
In other words, by 2005, he's totally steamed. Here's a guy, Avery, who not only has his rape conviction overturned but has the audacity to sue the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department?
Even so, this really isn't about Kenneth Petersen, as a single individual, per se.
Rather, it is to point out that his views epitomize the department he worked for, and eventually became leader, of. And this was a department that long viewed Steven Avery as an anathema to Manitowoc county. So strong were these "
shared" beliefs, that they were more than happy to frame an innocent man in 1985, while allowing the real rapist to continue preying upon, and raping, women.
Simply put, I am of the quite strong opinion that Manitowoc County Sheriff Department internalized Avery as the county's pariah. That he ran his cousin (
and wife of part-time MCSD deputy), Sandra Morris, off the road, and brandished a shotgun, confirmed their view that the guy was bad news, and worth taking out. Even if it meant framing (
literally, ala the framed sketch) him for the 1985 rape that he did not commit.
Now, fast forward to 2005. Having found other supporting documentation, I will cover the 2005 bit in part 2. The key in this part is to consider the long-standing mentality of the MCSD as it pertains to Steven Avery, as a whole.
Whew, that was long. Hopefully I didn't just add to the confusion.
Footnotes:
1. I am sure I read the cat report before. There's just so much out there. Importantly, I was not yet familiar with the various names!
2. For the tl;dr folk. Think of it like this. I am of the very strong opinion that MCSD is cultish when it comes to Steven Avery.
