Making a Murderer Sued for Defamation by Sergeant Andy Colborn

It’s not shocking that a member of the Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Police Department is suing Netflix for defamation, but it is shocking that it took this long.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sergeant Andy Colborn has filed a defamation suit and the documentary filmmakers of Making a Murderer, over his portrayal in the Netflix series. For those of you who don’t have the details of the hit docu-series seared into your memory, the documentary heavily implied that Colborn played two important roles in framing Steven Avery for the murder of Teresa Halbach. Avery’s lawyers argued that he and another officer planted evidence in Steven Avery’s trailer linking him to the crime and that Colborn may have found and relocated Halbach’s vehicle after she went missing so that it would be found on Steven Avery’s property.

Colborn retired earlier this year from the force and has now officially filed a defamation suit.

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“Despite overwhelming evidence proving Avery and Dassey’s guilt and the utter absence of evidence supporting defendant’s accusations of police misconduct, defendants falsely led viewers to the inescapable conclusion that plaintiff and others planted evidence to frame Avery for Halbach’s murder,” states the complaint. “Defendants omitted, distorted, and falsified material and significant facts in an effort to portray plaintiff as a corrupt police officer who planted evidence to frame an innocent man. Defendants did so with actual malice and in order to make the film more profitable and more successful in the eyes of their peers, sacrificing and defaming the plaintiff’s character and reputation in the process.”

Avery’s lawyers postulated that Colborn and his fellow officers had a score to settle with Avery after Avery sued the county for his previous wrongful conviction, which is why they framed him for Halbach’s murder. The docu-series leans heavily on this argument, and many viewers came away from the series with the opinion that the officers of Manitowoc County were corrupt.

Making a Murderer Part 1 and Part 2 are currently streaming on Netflix.

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Photo: Courtesy of Netflix