'Convicting a Murderer' Episode 4 discusses inconsistent statements made by Steven Avery

A week since the series' premiere, "Convicting a Murderer" has released its fourth episode about the 2005 murder of 25-year-old Teresa Halbach and convictions of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey.

"Convicting a Murderer," which premiered its first three episodes Sept. 8 on DailyWire+, a streaming platform owned by conservative media company The Daily Wire, is rolling out the remaining episodes in the 10-episode series every Thursday. The first episode remains free to view on X, formerly Twitter.

The series is a clapback to "Making a Murderer," which garnered international attention after its premiere on Netflix in December 2015. While the show convinced many that Steven Avery was unfairly treated by law enforcement and wrongfully convicted of Halbach's murder, it drew criticism from others for not presenting all the evidence in the case.

In 2007, Avery was convicted of Halbach's murder, along with his teenage nephew, Dassey, who was also convicted of sexual assault and mutilating a corpse. Avery claims he was falsely convicted for the second time in his life — in 1985, he was sentenced to prison for a sexual assault he did not commit, and was only released in 2003 after DNA evidence identified the real perpetrator.

Here are five notable takeaways from Episode 4: Shifting Timelines.

Avery made changing statements in the aftermath of Halbach's disappearance

A primary focus of Episode 4 of "Convicting a Murderer" is evidence Avery may have been trying to hide his guilt in the days immediately following Halbach's disappearance.

Halbach disappeared Oct. 31, 2005, after shooting photographs at multiple locations for Auto Trader Magazine. Investigators initially did not know if Halbach's last stop was at Avery's Auto Salvage near Two Rivers, or at the nearby residence of a man named George Zipperer. Both Zipperer and Avery were interviewed by investigators.

The episode establishes a timeline of statements Avery made to investigators:

• Nov. 3, 2005: Manitowoc County Sgt. Andrew Colborn talks to Avery at Avery's Auto Salvage around 7 p.m., after the Halbach family reports their daughter missing. Avery tells Colborn that Halbach came out to take photos of Avery's sister's vehicle on Oct. 31, but says he never spoke to her, only saw her out the window of his trailer.

• Nov. 4, 2005: Two investigators from Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, Lt. James Lenk and Detective Dave Remiker, go out to Avery's home and talk to him. Avery tells them Halbach came to his trailer after taking photos, where they briefly engaged in small talk, and he paid her for her services.

• Nov. 5, 2005: In an interview with Marinette County Detective Anthony O'Neill, Avery said he went outside to meet with Halbach when she arrived to take the photos, she gave him an Auto Trader book and he paid her there.

The show's host, conservative political commentator Candace Owens, says Avery was a suspect early on in the Halbach investigation partly because "he made so many inconsistent statements."

RELATED: Takeaways from first 3 episodes of 'Convicting a Murderer,' the response to 'Making a Murderer'

Avery's brother believes he's guilty

In Episode 4, Avery's youngest brother, Earl Avery, tells filmmakers he believes Avery killed Halbach.

“I don’t know why her. He had, what, a couple weeks to wait, and he would have been a rich man," Earl Avery tells an interviewer. "And then he just goes and does this here, the unthinkable here. Just because he thought he could get away with it. And I do think he’s guilty.”

The episode also includes footage from an interview with Earl's ex-wife Candy, who makes her guess as to what happened between Halbach and Avery that day.

“I don’t think Teresa liked Steven the way Steven wanted her to like him. So he took his chance and it turned out to be bad and he made it even worse," she says in the episode.

Avery called Halbach twice from a blocked number before she arrived

Throughout the show so far, Owens repeatedly voices criticism of "Making a Murderer."

"There were a lot of coincidences on the day that Teresa Halbach was killed, and ‘Making a Murderer’ either completely omitted them, or only presented half of the story," Owens says in Episode 4. "For example, Steven Avery’s behavior, he acted in ways that he had never acted before."

On the morning of Oct. 31, 2005, Avery called Auto Trader to request Halbach take photos of a vehicle that day. Instead of identifying himself, however, Avery gave the name "B. Janda" and the address and phone number of his sister Barb Janda.

Although Halbach had met with Avery at the salvage lot for photos on multiple occasions, and he had her personal number, he did not identify himself in the call. Around 11:40 a.m., Halbach left a message on Janda's answering machine, in which she stated "I don't have your address or anything, so I can't stop by without getting a call back from you."

Around 2:30 p.m., Halbach called the Auto Trader receptionist who received the initial call for B. Janda. Halbach informed the receptionist she had learned the call was for "the Avery brothers."

Additionally, Avery told investigators he left work that day around 11 a.m. to go home for lunch and never returned, because he "got lazy."

In the afternoon before Halbach's arrival, Avery made two calls to Halbach's cellphone using *67, which blocks the caller ID.

"Convicting a Murderer" suggests Avery may have avoided providing his name to Auto Trader and blocked his number when directly contacting Halbach because he may have thought Halbach would not want to meet with him. Previous episodes included testimony and interview footage of people saying Halbach made comments about feeling uneasy around Avery, after he once answered the door wearing nothing but a towel.

"One of the theories is that Steve may be concerned that she's a little leery of him and may not come out," retired Department of Justice Special Agent Tom Fassbender tells an interviewer in the episode.

The second blocked call was made approximately an hour before Halbach's arrival. Avery did not use his phone again until nearly two hours after the time Avery told investigators Halbach left, to call Halbach again from an unblocked number. Avery told authorities he called Halbach because he thought of something else she could take a picture of if she returned.

More: While Steven Avery awaits decision on request for new hearing, he files letters questioning delay

RELATED: Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey remain imprisoned. Here's where their court proceedings stand.

RELATED: Steven Avery, Brendan Dassey and ‘Making a Murderer’: Complete coverage

'Making a Murderer' edited phone call audios

Throughout the series so far, Owens has repeatedly claimed the filmmakers of "Making a Murderer" purposely left out certain pieces of evidence and edited audio recordings to better convey the narrative that there was a lack of evidence against Avery and law enforcement unfairly treated him.

On multiple occasions, "Convicting a Murderer" includes side-by-side comparisons of clips from "Making a Murderer" and unedited audio recordings. Episode 4 points out that "Making a Murderer" cut out the end of the voicemail message Halbach left the morning of Oct. 31, 2005, in which she stated she did not know what address she was going to for B. Janda.

The Netflix series also edited out part of a phone conversation between a dispatcher and Manitowoc County Sheriff's Detective Dennis Jacobs during which Jacobs asks, "Do we have Steven Avery in custody yet?" The edited part of the conversation, played on "Convicting a Murderer," provides more context as to why Jacobs believed Avery was arrested, Owens argues, and is not evidence that law enforcement unfairly limited their investigation to only Avery, as "Making a Murderer" might suggest.

Quick discovery of Halbach's car is not evidence of conspiracy, host Owens says

During a search of Avery's Auto Salvage on the morning of Friday, Nov. 5, 2005, Pam Sturm, a cousin of Halbach's located Halbach's vehicle, a Toyota RAV4, within about 30 minutes.

At Avery's trial, Sturm testified that she believes she was able to find it so quickly because "God showed us the way." Skeptics suggest Sturm was part of a conspiracy against Avery, set up by law enforcement to find the vehicle, because the lot was too large to find a vehicle that quickly. "Convicting a Murderer" interviews some "case enthusiasts" who share this belief.

Owens argues, however, that Sturm and other searchers did not go directly to the vehicle, which was on a ridge at the edge of the Averys' lot, but naturally would have seen the ridge of vehicles based on the directions Earl Avery gave searches for navigating the salvage yard.

Additionally, "Convicting a Murderer" argues that there is evidence Avery was hiding Halbach's RAV4 at the edge of the Avery property until he could quietly crush it, possibly that coming weekend. Episode 4 included footage of Brendan Dassey telling investigators this was the case.

Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.

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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: 5 Takeaways from 'Convicting a Murderer' Episode 4