Nearly seven weeks after Wisconsin toddler Elijah Vue went missing, searchers have turned their sights to the scrapyard where Steven Avery dumped a woman’s body in 2005. The 3-year-old was last seen in late February, with his mother, Katrina Baur, and her boyfriend, Jesse Vang, facing felony charges for child neglect in his disappearance. Baur left her son with Vang for several weeks to teach him to “be a man,” according to a criminal complaint. Vang reported Elijah missing from his home on Feb. 20, saying the boy was gone after a nap. There is no direct connection between Vue’s disappearance and Avery’s scrapyard, but the property is nearby.
The reward for information leading to the Recovery of Elijah Vue is $65,000, with the boy being described as Hmong and White with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. He is 3 feet tall with a birthmark on his left knee. Investigators found one of his shoes near Vang’s apartment. Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and mutilation of a corpse in the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2005. Avery had previously been wrongfully convicted of attempted murder and sexual assault, leading to an 18-year prison term that was overturned. Avery was in the midst of a civil suit against Manitowoc County when he was arrested for Halbach’s murder.
Avery and Dassey’s trials in 2007 are the subject of the Netflix series “Making a Murderer.” Avery is currently serving a life sentence, but his defense attorney, Kathleen Zellner, has suggested that new evidence points to Dassey acting alone in Halbach’s murder. New witnesses have emerged, providing compelling evidence that links Bobby Dassey to the murder and framing of Avery. Evidence found in 2005, such as Halbach’s DNA in a burn pit, blood samples matching Halbach and Avery in a vehicle, and a bullet with Halbach’s DNA in Avery’s garage, were used to convict them. Avery has claimed that his blood was planted at the scene.
Recent developments in Avery’s case include a special prosecutor responding to a request for touch DNA testing on evidence. The special prosecutor argued that jurisdiction lies with the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and that circuit court judges do not have the authority to rule on the matter. The search for Elijah Vue continues, with searchers hoping for a positive outcome. Despite the proximity of Vue’s disappearance to Avery’s scrapyard, there is no direct connection between the two cases. The investigation into Vue’s disappearance is ongoing, with his mother and her boyfriend facing neglect charges.
