[Warning: The following content is graphic in nature.]
At age 16, Brendan Dassey admitted in a four-hour confession to raping, killing and dismembering 25-year-old Teresa Halbach with his uncle, Steven Avery, a Wisconsin auto salvage owner who’d previously served 18 years for a rape he did not commit. Dassey, whose IQ is below 70, is currently serving a life sentence for his role in the crime. The following portions of Dassey’s confession, which were elicited without a defense lawyer present, were not included in Netflix’s Making a Murderer series — but HLN host Nancy Grace recently shared them with The Hollywood Reporter.
BRENDAN DASSEY INTERROGATION
MAY 13, 2006 – CALUMET CO. SHERIFF’S OFFICE
DASSEY: He went to go pick up some stuff around the yard then after that we, he asked me to come in the house cuz he wanted to show me somethin‘. And he showed me that she was laying on the bed, her hands were roped up to the bed and that her legs were cuffed. And then he told me to have sex with her and so I did because I thought I was not gonna get away from ’em cuz he was too strong, so I did what he said and then after that, he untied her and uncuffed her and then he brought her outside and before he went outside, he told me to grab her clothes and her shoes. So we went into the garage and before she went out, when before he took her outside, he had tied up her hands and feet and then was in the garage and he stabbed her and then he told me to. And, after that he wanted to make sure she was dead or somethin‘ so he shot her five times and while he was doing that I wasn’t looking because I can’t watch that stuff. So I was standing by the big door in the garage and then after that, he took her outside and we put her on the fire and we used her clothes to clean up the, some of the blood. And, when we put her in the fire, and her clothes, we were standing right by the garage, to wait for it to get down so we threw some of that stuff on it after it went down.
Related Stories
“He was gonna take her out to the garage.”
POLICE: Come on, Brendan. What’s he telling her at this time? We know there’s some talking going on, OK. We, we know that.
BRENDAN: That he said that he was gonna take her out to the garage and stab her and shoot her.
POLICE: He actually says that to her or does he say that to you or who’s he saying that to?
BRENDAN: To both of us.
POLICE: And what is she saying when he tells her that?
BRENDAN: To not do that.
POLICE: Does he have a weapon at this time when he’s untying her and tying her back up?
BRENDAN: Well, when he was done roping her her roped her, he grabbed the gun and then he grabbed her.
“Where does he stab her?”
POLICE: OK. Let’s start with when you bring her out to the garage. Where do you put her?
DASSEY: On the floor.
POLICE: And continue, tell us what happens.
DASSEY: And then he stabs her and then he tells me to and then he puts her into the jeep and then he said he would rather burn her so then he put her back on the floor and then he shot her five times.
POLICE: Where does he stab her?
DASSEY: In the chest.
POLICE: Show me where.
DASSEY: Like right here.
POLICE: Where do you stab her?
DASSEY: In the stomach.
POLICE: What does she say when you stab her?
DASSEY: To stop what I was doin‘.
POLICE: What’s that? Is she screaming?
DASSEY: Yeah.
POLICE: Is she screaming and saying stop what you’re doing? Is she swearing at you? Is she struggling or what? Tell us how that happened.
DASSEY: Just that she was crying a lot.
POLICE: Are you holding her down?
DASSEY: No.
POLICE: Who is?
DASSEY: Steven is.
“Five shots”
POLICE: And I’m not gonna sit here Brendan and allow you to lie to me anymore. I don’t need you to. I’ve got enough evidence without you. If you wanna help yourself, you have that opportunity right now to do that. Is that what you wanna do? Do you wanna help yourself? Then why are you lying? Look at me Brendan. Brendan? Brendan. Brendan.
DASSEY: What?
POLICE: Look at me once.
DASSEY: I don’t want to.
POLICE: Why? Do you wanna continue this and talk with us and be honest with us so we can get through this, get this off your chest?
DASSEY: The last time I seen the gun was on th-the rack.
POLICE: OK. Did you shoot her?
DASSEY: No.
POLICE: How many times did Steve shoot her?
POLICE: To the best of your memory.
DASSEY: Well I heard five shots.
“Were you involved?”
POLICE: Were you involved with the murder of Teresa Halbach, yes or no?
DASSEY: Yes.
POLICE: Who else was involved with it?
DASSEY: Steven.
POLICE: Steven who?
DASSEY: Avery.
POLICE: OK, anybody else?
DASSEY: No.
“Planned this”
POLICE: Why did you go over there? You had this stuff planned out already, didn’t you? You and Steve had this planned? Yeah? Yes or no?
DASSEY: Yeah.
POLICE: OK and when did you plan it?
DASSEY: For a few days.
POLICE: OK. And what did you have planned? Tell me what you had planned. Come on. Brendan did you have this planned? Yes or no?
BRENDAN: Yes.
POLICE: Who did you plan it with?
DASSEY: Steven.
POLICE: When?
DASSEY: A few days before it happened.
POLICE: OK, and what did you have planned to do? (pause) The details are easy, come on, you’ve already given me that you were involved in it, so just go on with the details, paint the picture for me. Obviously I know already, I know a bunch of this already. I keep proving that to you. The details are easy, just tell me what you guys planned and what you did, no sweat.
DASSEY: That I had sex with her.
“Why did he pick Teresa?”
POLICE: Why did he pick Teresa?
DASSEY: Cuz she was comin‘ over that day.
POLICE: Did he tell you she was coming over? Did he tell you she was coming over?
DASSEY: Yeah.
POLICE: And what did he say he was going to do?
DASSEY: That he was gonna to kill her.
POLICE: Did he say why?
DASSEY: No.
POLICE: Did he tell you to come over then? To help him or what did he tell you? What did he tell you Brendan?
DASSEY: That he wanted me to help ’em.
POLICE: And did you agree to do that?
DASSEY: Yeah.
“What Steven was gonna do”
POLICE: Did he tell you about Teresa, that he had met her before?
DASSEY: Yeah.
POLICE: OK. Tell me about that. What did he say about her?
DASSEY: That she looked good and she was pretty nice.
POLICE: OK. Did he tell ya where she worked?
DASSEY: No.
POLICE: Did he tell ya how he was gonna get her in the house?
DASSEY: No.
POLICE: How did he, do you know?
DASSEY: No.
POLICE: OK. So a couple days prior you said there this lady he knows or tell me how he says that. I don’t wanna put words in your mouth, tell me how he says it to you.
DASSEY: That he had a girl coming over to take a picture of a van.
POLICE: OK. What else?
DASSEY: And then that he would do that to her.
POLICE: No, wha-tell me exactly what he said.
DASSEY: That he would kill her.
POLICE: Did he laugh about it or what? Why did, why did he say he was gonna kill her?
DASSEY: ‘Cause he was pissed off that Jodi was in jail again.
Related Stories
Update: The full confessions have been uploaded to YouTube.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qbvLpbCwp5%2BZv6a8zqurnqpemLyue82erqxnl5q7pr7ApWSnnaeofK6tyqKloGWRYrq2vsOeqZ6qXZe%2FprrDmqVmnJGowKbFjHFsb2tkaHw%3D