SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
By Sean Radican, PWTorch columnist
WrestleCrate, a monthly wrestling-themed subscription box, is looking to give wrestling fan Brendan Dassey, who was featured on the Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer,” a lifetime subscription to their service.
Dassey, of Wisconsin, was convicted in 2007 of the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach. Many people that watched “Making a Murderer” were sympathetic towards Dassey, believing he was not responsible for the murder.
It was evident from the footage shown in the documentary that Dassey’s confession to his involvement in the murder was coerced. Also, the judge that overturned the conviction cited the manner in which a confession was obtained from Dassey, who has a low IQ. Prosecutors have 90 days to bring Dassey to trial again or he will be released.
Dassey is now 26. Dassey’s uncle, Steven Avery, was the main subject of “Making a Murderer.” He is currently also serving time for the murder in Wisconsin.
Ed Allen, the owner of WrestleCrate, took an interest in Dassey’s case when watching “Making a Murderer.” Allen tells PWTorch exclusively that he believes Dassey was taken advantage of because of his IQ.
“I felt that the detectives took advantage of Brendan,” said Allen. “They knew he was just a simple kid and they used that to their advantage to get what they wanted out of him. It was sickening.”
Dassey connected with wrestling fans in the documentary in a scene where he called his mother and told her he didn’t want to miss WrestleMania 22 after being detained by the police.
“That part of the show touched me the most,” said Allen. “He didn’t understand the amount of trouble that he was facing and his innocence as a child struck me hard in that scene. That scene showed me that Brendan was innocent.”
Like many people that watched “Making a Murderer,” Allen was excited to hear about Dassey’s pending release from prison when a judge overturned his conviction last week.
“I was ecstatic,” said Allen of when he heard the news. “Brendan’s story has stuck with me since I watched it. He was a child that was taken advantage of and I hope his story brings changes to prevent something like this happening in the future to someone else’s child.”
Last week, Sean Waltman, who was a big fan of “Making a Murderer,” announced on his Twitter account that he would get Dassey tickets to Summerslam this weekend if Dassey was freed from jail quickly. Allen also got an idea to help Dassey adjust to life outside of prison and decided to offer Dassey a lifetime subscription to WrestleCrate’s monthly subscription box.
Allen tells PWTorch why he has decided to make this happen for Dassey. “Obviously Brendan is a wrestling fan, “said Allen. “We wanted to help him get caught up with the wrestling world. Each of our crates showcase wrestlers and wrestling events from the past and present. Hopefully the crates can bring him back to the joys of being a wrestling fan when he was a child and showcase some of the things he may have missed over the years. The overall goal is to bring a smile and some happiness to Brandon after years of suffering.”
One obstacle in the way of Allen getting Dassey signed up for a WrestleCrate subscription is getting in touch with his family. “We are in the process of reaching out to some people that are connected to him,” said Allen. “Or if someone connected to him sees this article first and gets in touch with us!”
If anyone has any information to help WrestleCrate contact Dassey, their email address is info@wrestlecrate.com. They can also be reached via their website WrestleCrate.com.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.