Did an Infamous Serial Killer Murder Teresa Halbach and Frame Steven Avery?

The Netflix docuseries “Making A Murderer” raised serious questions about the case against Steven Avery, the Wisconsin man who, along with his teenage nephew, was convicted of murdering Teresa Halbach in 2005.

One question viewers have been stewing over for weeks is the obvious — if Avery and Dassey didn’t kill the 25-year-old AutoTrader photographer as the prosecution contends, who did? Everyone from Halbach’s ex-boyfriend to Avery’s brothers to Dassey’s step-dad have been discussed as possible alternative suspects, but the most bizarre theory we’ve heard yet involves a notorious serial killer who one investigator says liked to frame other people for his crimes.

John Cameron, a former cop and FBI cold case worker who has appeared on “America’s Most Wanted,”believes serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards (pictured left) murdered Halbach and then framed Avery for the crime. Edwards, who was once on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, died in prison in 2011, shortly after he was convicted and given the death penalty for the 1996 killing of Danny Boy Edwards in Ohio, one of five murders Edwards was actually convicted of.

However, Cameron believes he is actually responsible for hundreds of murders, including JonBenet Ramsey, Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, the Zodiac Killer murders, and Adam Walsh, the son of “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh. A few days ago, Cameron added Teresa Halbach to the list, posting “EDWARDS IS THE KILLER OF TERESA HALBACH AND SET-UP OF STEVEN AVERY AND BRENDAN DASSEY” as a headline on his website.

In an interview with Coast to Coast AM in 2014, Cameron described how killing was only part of Edwards’ objective, as framing someone else for the crime and watching them suffer for his misdeeds gave him an additional thrill.

“It was always about the setup,” said Cameron. “Starting a very young age, when he was 12 years old, he was able to set up a guy for a murder he had done. And the rest of his life he would get off on not only killing people but then setting up someone close to the victim and then watching the system execute them.”

According to Cameron, Edwards moved around a lot, assuming a new identity and posing as a trusted figure, like a cop or a preacher, before killing someone. Then he would target a person in the victim’s inner circle and set them up to take the fall, including tipping off the press to that person’s “guilt.” Then Edwards would kick back and watch as the media, the local community and, of course, law enforcement finished the job. One case Cameron described occurred in Berkeley, California, in the mid-’50s, Cameron claims that Edwards stowed away the victim’s body for three months while he worked to frame another man for the murder, planting the victim’s belongings in the man’s house and eventually depositing the body in a cabin before tipping off authorities. The man Edwards allegedly framed was convicted and executed.

So, what makes Cameron think Edwards killed Teresa Halbach and framed Steven Avery? For starters, according to Cameron, Edwards, who would have been 72 at the time, was allegedly living just an hour away from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where Avery lived and Halbach’s remains were found. Edwards also committed many of his crimes on Halloween, and Halbach was last seen on the Avery property on October 31, 2005. Lastly, Edwards would sometimes show up to the courthouse and actually watch the trial of the person he framed … and according to Cameron, Edwards was spotted at Avery’s trial, and can actually be seen in the background of one scene in “Making A Murderer.”

On his website, Cameron lays out an extensive timeline for all of the crimes he alleges Edwards is responsible for, and he’s written a book, It’s Me, Edward Wayne Edwards: The Serial Killer You Never Heard Of, on the subject. Cameron’s work with the FBI certainly lends him some credibility, at the same time, it’s hard not to think this theory is just too outlandish to be true. But given how many murders Cameron says Edwards has been able to get away with, we’ll probably never know.

Want to learn more about the Steven Avery case? Investigation Discovery is partnering with NBC News’ Keith Morrison to re-examine the evidence. STEVEN AVERY: INNOCENT OR GUILTY premieres Saturday, January 30 at 9/8c. The Front Page special will provide insight into unanswered questions from the Netflix series MAKING A MURDERER.

Read more: The Independent, Wikipedia, ColdCaseCameron

Photo: The Independent