Justice at last

It was a Friday morning in October 2001. Teresa Halbach walked into the editors' office at the Fourth Estate, our student newspaper at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Teresa, as one of our photographers in my days as editor in chief, was confused. She had been assigned to take pictures of the university's old, abandoned child-care center in a wooded area of campus — but it wasn't there. It had disappeared. Sure enough, as I soon verified for myself, the old child-care building was suddenly gone — apparently demolished — without a trace.

On Oct. 31, 2005, Teresa Halbach herself disappeared. She was reported missing a few days later, and it immediately worried me. Having by that time become a reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette, I found myself in the odd situation of having someone I knew in the news. At first, I actually had to make sure the editors included her disappearance in our newspaper, since she was last seen a little south of our readership area. But as searches proceeded, the matter became big news all over the state. Then, the case got stranger and sadder when her remains were found in a salvage yard in Manitowoc County, Wis., where she was last seen taking photos for an auto-sales magazine. It even eventually made the front page of The New York Times.

The case became such big news because Steven Avery, the man who was soon charged with murdering Teresa and disposing of her body at his family's salvage yard property, was no stranger to the media spotlight. Two years earlier, he had been released from prison after 18 years for a crime that DNA evidence proved he didn't commit. I felt pretty helpless amid all this as a newspaper reporter. One of my only contributions was a column that shared perspectives from old classmates on the UWGB newspaper in hopes of not letting Teresa's vibrant life and infectious smile get lost in the sad, strange details of the case. (As referenced in the column, the photo of Teresa, waving goodbye and characteristically smiling, was taken for the campus paper just prior to her graduation in 2002).

It was the day before Teresa disappeared on Halloween 2005 that I received my call — my realization during a church service that I needed to become a pastor. This whole developing tragedy with Teresa and my inability to help served as a sort of confirmation that I might indeed be better able to help people through the ministry than through journalism. And it reminded me how important it is to take the time to appreciate every person who comes into my life. Sadly, I never got to know Teresa that well — strangely enough, the most time I spent with her was at a classmate's Halloween party in 2001.

The time since Teresa's murder has been difficult for a lot of people — much more difficult for her family and her close friends than it has been for me. It got particularly painful after Steven Avery's 16-year-old nephew confessed in horrible detail to helping Avery in the torture and killing. But for so many of us, one of the real comforts has been faith. Teresa and her family have been devoted Christians. It was particularly encouraging to hear from an old classmate about how Teresa had told her not long before her disappearance that God's will is bigger than any one of us and how we can't expect that things will always go our way. And like many others, I think of how Teresa is out there somewhere, still smiling.

For Teresa's friends and family, today brought what's probably the best news since her disappearance. A jury in eastern Wisconsin found Steven Avery guilty in Teresa's murder, which all but guarantees that he will spend the rest of his life in prison. I have been following the coverage for the past five weeks and kept checking throughout this weekend for a verdict. At last, this evening, we all got some resolution. My wife and I huddled around my computer to watch the streaming video, and a couple classmates called or text-messaged me to make sure I had heard the news. The Press-Gazette even contacted me for a reaction. It was an exciting time, even though it didn't make me much happier. Teresa is obviously gone from this world. And the case isn't wrapped up yet — Steven Avery's nephew goes to trial next month, and it seems like appeals on Avery's behalf are likely. My heart goes out to Teresa's family and close friends.

But at last, many have found assurance that even though terrible things happen in this world, God, through police and the court system, brings about justice. And even where that falls short of making Teresa reappear on earth, we know that, as her brother, Mike, told the media today, "We’re going to see her again — I can promise you that."