The Truth About Steven Avery's Ex-Wife

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

In 1982, Steven Avery married Lori Mathiesen, a single mother of one he had met just months prior. Together, the couple raised Mathiesen's son and went on to have four other children over the course of three years: Rachel, Jenny, and twins Steven Jr. and William, according to Express. In "Making a Murderer," Avery mentioned what attracted him to his ex-wife. "She was pretty. Beautiful, that's what I thought. She had a good head on her shoulders. She was making it on her own," he said, according to the outlet.  

On July 29, 1985, just days after Avery and Mathiesen's third wedding anniversary, Avery became a suspect in the sexual assault of Penny Beerntsen, per The National Registry of Exonerations. Avery was sentenced to 32 years that December. 

With her husband behind bars, Mathiesen was left to raise her five children on her own. "I just can't handle these kids anymore. Between the crying, yelling, talking back and fighting I just can't anymore," she wrote in a letter to Avery, according to Express. In 1988, she filed for divorce. In "Making a Murderer," Avery contended Mathiesen sent him threatening letters during that time. However, court documents show he was the one threatening Mathiesen, per Milwaukee Magazine. "I hate you, you got your divorce now you will pay for it," one letter read. "If you don't brang up my kids I will kill you. I promise. Ha. Ha," he said, per another letter. 

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