Has Jodi Stachowski Seen "Making A Murderer?"

Earlier this week, one of the major figures of Netflix's hit documentary series Making a Murderer sat down for an interview with HLN, and it made for major news. The woman in question was once Steven Avery's fiancee, who you'll probably remember pretty clearly if you've watched the show. She was still with Avery when he was charged with murdering Teresa Halbach in 2005, but her attitude towards him has changed considerably since. And, for the record, no: Jodi Stachowski has not watched Making a Murderer . although she's aware of the intense media scrutiny that's followed in its wake.

Judging by what Stachowski is now saying about her time with Avery, that probably shouldn't come as much surprise. In the interview, which aired on HLN on Friday, she called Avery a "monster" who she believes did indeed murder Halbach. She also made some harrowing domestic violence allegations against him, including claimed she'd been punched, choked, and that he'd threatened to kill her. Even further, she described feeling racked with guilt that her release from jail (she'd been arrested for a DUI months prior) was narrowly too late for her to have been with Avery when Halbach disappeared, as she still feels she could've prevented the 25-year-old photographer's death if she'd been there.

Obviously, these are highly charged allegations. If you take Stachowski at her word, however, then it's not hard to see why she wouldn't want to watch Making a Murderer. When HLN's Natisha Lance asked her if she'd seen it, her reply was quick and unflinching: "No, I haven't. ... Don't want to." She then characterized the positive, supportive things she'd said about Avery in the documentary as "all lies."

There's been no response from Avery about Stachowski's allegations yet, but his former defense attorney Jerry Buting did discuss it with Rolling Stone. He said that Stachowski had been under a lot of pressure to distance herself from Avery both during and after the trial, and said he didn't know what had changed since then.

Realize that there was a fair amount of coverage with Jodi [in the documentary]. She was getting a lot of pressure, even while the trial was going on, to try and turn her away from Steven Avery. It's many years, who knows what kind of pressure and influences have been exerted against her to try and make express that kind of opinion. Bottom line is that when things were contemporaneous, happening back during that time, she did not have that opinion. She was very supportive of him. So, why is she changing her opinion? I don't know at this point.

For her part, Stachowski alleges that Avery threatened her into making positive statements in the documentary, something she frames as part of a larger pattern of behavior. One person she does believe is innocent, however, is Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey, who was also convicted for Halbach's murder ― she said she believes that Dassey, who was 16 at the time, could have been threatened by Avery as well. Dassey is currently serving a life sentence, but will be eligible for early release in 2048, while Avery is serving a life sentence without parole.

Image: HLN