Evidence in 'Making a Murderer' case to be retested

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- New testing of several pieces of evidence used to convict Steven Avery in a 2005 murder, chronicled in the Netflix series "Making a Murderer," was approved by a judge Wednesday.

Judge Angela Sutkiewicz issued an order approving independent testing of certain evidence, including blood in Avery's car, as the Department of Justice and Avery's lawyers reached an agreement on conducting the tests.

Avery's case gained global attention after the Netflix series, with workplace cooler conversations centered on whether or not he was guilty of sexually assaulting and killing Teresa Halback in 2005.

"It's encouraging that the attorney general's office was so cooperative and helpful in expediting these tests," Avery's lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, told USA Today. "Our experience in our other exonerations is that's the best attitude in working toward trying to discover [the truth]."

Independent investigators will review several blood samples recovered from Avery's car, which Zellner said predate Halback's killing -- and may be proven using new DNA technology. In at least one case, Zellner has suggested samples may have been fabricated and used to wrongly convict Avery for the murder.