make North Carolina more free. Follow More from Medium andrew costa in Human Parts Today I. Michael Peterson and David Rudolf in court in 2017. The accident scene was a bloodbath inconsistent with a tumble down the stairs. Homicide detectives were called to the Peterson residence. The Staircase main players: Where are they now? They noted that Michael was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Forensic expert Henry Lee gave a live in-court splatter demonstration to refute some of the blood evidence against Michael. She possessed a wide range of skills. It was revealed during the trial that Kathleen was the only owner of their mansion and car and that Michael may have been enticed by her $1.8 million life insurance policy. The house was owned by nationally recognized scholar and author Henry Louis Skip Gates Jr., who lived there while teaching at Duke. Oh, and one more little thing: Investigators found thousands of gay male porn images and hookup conversations on Michaels computer. However, as Snell told jurors, "the seven wounds he observed while watching other forensic pathologists perform the autopsy were a major reason he changed his initial finding of 'accident' to homicide from a beating.". Clayton Peterson. This may have contributed to slipping down the stairs if she. And thats exactly what Larry Pollard, a friend and neighbor of the now-free but convicted felon Michael Peterson, says he believes happened to Kathleen Peterson on the night a jury was led to believe her husband, Michael, killed her. Novelist Michael Peterson told police he was sitting by the pool at the house at 1810 Cedar St. on the night of Dec. 9, 2001, and when he went inside around 2:30 a.m., he found his wife at the bottom of a back staircase, where she bled to death. Michael also adopted Margaret and Martha Ratliff, the daughters of his late friend, Elizabeth Ratliff, whose death would later come to play a part in his trial. Currently, Redfin estimates the home is worth just north of $2.3 million, whereas Zillow assesses the home at $3.3 million. A novelist couldnt have written Petersons story any better, full of outrageous twists as it is. On Dec. 9, 2001, novelist Michael Peterson found his wife, Kathleen, dead at the bottom of the back staircase. Woman killed in double shooting on Durham highway, Chatham County housing authority director arrested, accused of $200,000+ in wire fraud, Alligator living at Walmart in NC stirs debate, as many demand it be allowed to stay. Michael Petersons attorney, David Rudolf, told the court, Show me one piece of evidence, one person who says that Kathleen was upset because Mike was bisexual. Michael placed two 911 calls, and emergency services attended the scene soon after. We know she was married to Michael Peterson. For nearly 20 years, the mystery surrounding Kathleen Peterson's death has only grown, especially in the wake of Michael's trialwhere he was found guilty, but later managed to walk free . The house was listed at $1.175 million, but reduced to $975,000 in 2003. Furthermore, Jones said, a substantial amount of damning evidence was never included in the documentary. However, Michael Peterson himself didnt return home after his release. He stayed outside to smoke for 45 minutes or so and found her at the bottom of the stairs when he came back in. The couple threw dinner parties for dozens of friends at their spread, which included a swimming pool with decorative fountains. Investigators later brought in a forensic meteorologist who determined it was 51 to 55 degrees outside that night, a little too cold for beach clothes, which made investigators question whether he was really at the pool when Kathleen fell. Peterson said he was out by the pool, and when he finally went inside at about 2:30 a.m., he found his wife at the bottom of. The trial of Michael Peterson saw untold twists and revelations, and a new HBO miniseries starring Colin Firth as Michael and Toni Collette as Kathleen looks likely to blow the whole thing open again. If Michael received any money for the literary effort, it would have to go toward a $25 million award Caitlin Atwater won against him, he said. We know Kathleen Peterson was 48-years-old when she died. The interest on the twenty-something boys' loans were so high they had no money left to live on, and their father was concerned. Over the years, Dateline has continually covered the case of how writer Michael Peterson's wife, Kathleen, ended up dead at the base of a staircase in their 14-room house. Michael and Kathleen married in 1997. Margaret, Martha, Todd, and Clayton also believe the justice system failed their father. He told police she may have fallen after mixing alcohol and Valium but was unsure because he was outside when she fell. What makes this story interesting is that WRAL reports Mr. Fury says hes never heard of the case. After a stir in the local community, a 2004 true crime documentary titled The Staircase investigated the events leading to Kathleen Petersons death and the subsequent murder trial. "[Dr. Radisch, the state pathologist] moved her examination to the internal neck area, and discovered a bloodied fracture with haemorrhage on the small extension off of the left thyroid cartilage," the crime author wrote. But public interest in the case didnt really explode until the following year, when Netflix expanded and updated a documentary by French director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade to create a 13-part bingefest called The Staircase. Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home in 2001. Kathleen M Peterson, 74. When the jury found Michael Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in October 2003, however, the offer was immediately withdrawn. Fury is the second post-Peterson owner. Many people are already familiar with the tragic death of Kathleen Peterson, who in 2001 was dead at the bottom of a staircase in her North Carolina home . During his initial 911 call, Michael said that Kathleen was still breathing, per official court documents. "Throughout the weeks and weeks of testimony, Michael Peterson had taken extensive notes on legal pads," Aphrodite wrote, explaining that this was likely because of the book deal he had with Harper Collins. The thing about The Staircase is that, although it centres around the death of Kathleen Peterson, there's actually very little focus on Kathleen herself throughout the 13-part Netflix documentary. You can see the back of the property from the Kent Street side, which has barbed wire above the gate and No Trespassing signs. According to Esquire, the couple moved in together three years later. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2003. Per ABC News, Michael reported watching America's Sweethearts earlier that evening with his wife, then drinking some wine and sitting by the pool. In 2017, the then-73-year-old avoided a second trial by taking an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter in return for six years of house arrest. Instead of facing a new trial in 2017, Peterson instead opted for an Alford Plea for voluntary manslaughter. And some believe that Kathleen Peterson died of simple, malicious negligence that Michael chose not to help Kathleen after an accidental fall. Then, yet another bombshell came up. Around 2:40 a.m. on December 9, 2001, Michael Peterson called 911 to report finding Kathleen at the bottom of the back staircase in their million-dollar mansion. In Michael Peterson's murder trial, the prosecution's case focussed on money - or the couple's lack of it - as a motive. In the last two episodes of The Staircase, filmed in 2016 as Michael Peterson's legal case finally drew to a close, you might have noticed the lawyers mentioning "strangulation" injuries discovered in Kathleen Peterson's autopsy. However, SBI expert Duane Deaver claimed "based on the blood spatter on her husband's shorts and shoes, the wearer was standing directly over Kathleen Peterson when she was killed," via The News & Observer. "It would be a huge relief off my [shoulders] because I am worried sick about them," Michael's email read. And as the Audubon Society pointed out, An owl strike can definitely cause blunt-force trauma. By then, one of Michaels books, A Time for War, had made its way onto the New York Times bestseller list and generated enough cash to pay for the Colonial Revival-style house containing the now-famous staircase. After a stir in the local community, a 2004 true crime documentary titled The. Her husband, novelist Michael Peterson, became the center of the investigation and was. Kathleen was 48 at the time of her death. Will a warm February mean a brutal spring or summer? Previously, Michael had told people Liz Ratliff died from a brain hemorrhage, never mentioning a fall on the stairs, according an interview with Kathleen Petersons sister, Candace Zamperini, on Power, Privilege, and Justice. So who really was she? By all accounts, Michael and Kathleen were believed to have a happy marriage and blended family. The police were out to get him because he criticized them in columns he wrote for the Herald-Sun before Kathleens death, he told Dateline. Lived In Santa Ana CA, Irvine CA, Corona CA. And as CNN reported, Kathleen apparently had a $1.8 million life insurance policy, and prosecutors argued that Michael might have killed his wife for financial gain. We also talk about "life" on the Other Side with a new anecdote or two! .css-1xok8cp{background-color:#242424;border-radius:0;color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:HarmoniaSans,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:600;letter-spacing:0.03rem;padding:0.5rem 0.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-transform:uppercase;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;width:auto;}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1xok8cp{font-size:0.875rem;line-height:1.1;padding:0.5rem 0.6rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1xok8cp{padding:0.5rem 0.6rem;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-1xok8cp{font-size:0.9375rem;line-height:1.1;padding:0.5rem 0.6rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1xok8cp{font-size:0.9375rem;line-height:1.1;}}.css-1xok8cp:focus-visible{outline-color:body-cta-btn-link-focus;}.css-1xok8cp:hover{color:#fff;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;background-color:#B30010;border:none;}WATCH THE STAIRCASE ON HBO MAX. According to the BBC's Beyond Reasonable Doubt podcast, which also investigates the crime, Kathleen was a big earner making a six-figure salary. On Nov. 25, 1985, when Michael was living in Germany and married to his first wife, Ratliff turned up dead at the bottom of a staircase just as Kathleen Peterson did 16 years later. "This is one of the incredible things that happened during those 15 years. Katheleen Peterson was killed by her husband, Michael Peterson. By investing in the John Locke Foundation, youre transforming As the story is once again brought to living rooms across the nation with HBOs dramatized telling of The Staircase, Kathleen Peterson, the scholar, mother, and advocate, may finally get the attention she deserves. Kathleen Peterson and her then husband Fred Atwater, a physicist, welcomed Caitlin on April 27 1982. The authorities exhumed Liz Ratliffs body in 2003 and discovered multiple scalp lacerations, similar to those found on Kathleen Peterson. And they claim because a fountain was on in the pool that he [while sitting outside, as he claimed] wouldnt hear it? A video accompanying the in-depth News & Observer piece gave Michael an opportunity to talk about his everyday post-prison life. Life Coach, Psychic, Relationships, Tarot Kathleen Peterson. His explanation to cops, that she had been drinking and had likely taken a sleeping pill and fallen, was deemed unconvincing; he was arrested for her murder shortly thereafter. But there was one circumstance that Michael Peterson couldnt explain away. (The infamous blow poke was mysteriously found in the Peterson's garage during the trial, without any evidence of blood on it). Now, the case becomes a dramatization on HBO Max as a miniseries titled, once again, The Staircase. Premiering May 5, it stars Colin Firth as Michael, Toni Collette as Kathleen, Michael Stuhlbarg as defense attorney David Rudolf and Parker Posey as prosecutor Freda Black. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may apply. That description would fit with writer Aphrodite Jones' revelation in her book on the case, A Perfect Husband, that Michael Peterson had a book deal ready and raring to go after the trial - if he was found not guilty. Early on in The Staircase, a 13-part docu-series originally produced in 2004 in France that both confuses, confuddles, frustrates and leaves us longing for more, we learn that Kathleens apparent tumble down a flight of stairs looked a lot more like a murder then a fall. He made a futile attempt to get rid of blood evidence and then called 911, the prosecution contended. True-crime author Aphrodite Jones, who covered the case, hasnt seen the new series but thinks it isnt likely to tread any new ground if it follows the beats of the documentary. Michael also told the News & Observer that well-to-do friends from his and Kathleens napkin-ring and place-card days had deserted him. Over the years, Dateline has continually covered the case of how writer Michael Petersons wife, Kathleen, ended up dead at the base of a staircase in their 14-room house. At addition, she enrolled in Duke University's engineering school. Her husband, Mike, was convicted of her murder in a case that made national news on Court TV. There are the believers: In terms of the owl suspect, witnesses have helped the Durham County Police come up with a composite drawing, now being distributed widely throughout the region: If you see him, dont attempt to apprehend him as hes armed and dangerous, but do contact the Durham County Police Department immediately. Kathleen Peterson in Indiana We found 32 records for Kathleen Peterson in Nappanee, Columbus and 21 other cities in Indiana. Kathleen worried that she would lose her own $145,000-a-year job amid the downsizing, the AP reported. Kathleen and Fred married in 1977 and had a daughter, Caitlin, but they divorced after she discovered his affair. So whats happened to Michael Peterson since the 2018 Netflix series turned his story into an international entertainment sensation? Within this hair, microscopic feathers were found along with wood splinters and cedar needles. Also in 2019, Michael Peterson made a two-part appearance on Dr. Phil. Diane Fanning explains the injuries in a little more detail in her book, Written In Blood. And it looked as though someone had tried to clean up blood from the wall near the stairs. In February 2017, to avoid going to trial again, Michael Peterson entered an Alford plea, which "acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him of voluntary manslaughter and accepted the guilty verdict for the felony without admitting guilt," via The News & Observer. When he finally went indoors, "he said he found his wife, crumpled and bloody and barely breathing at the bottom of the stairs," per ABC News. 'The Staircase' has put Kathleen Peterson in the spotlight. However, with Michael's Alford plea, the case has legally been put to rest. In the early morning hours of December 9, 2001, authorities were called to the Durham, North Carolina home of Michael and . Information which may sway your opinion about how Kathleen Peterson died one way or another Kathleen was Director of Information Services at the Canadian firm Nortel Networks Corporation when she died. Investigators found out how Liz Ratliff, Margaret and Marthas mother, died. The Staircase left out one very important plot twist: The Owl Theory. One thing that absolutely wasn't mentioned in The Staircase is that Michael Peterson didn't remain single for all the years following his wife Kathleen's death. She was a successful student and was the first woman admitted to Duke University's School of Engineering in 1967, where she earned her bachelor's and master's degrees and met her first husband, physicist Fred Atwater. By the time Michael went to trial, Lestrade was already filming what would become his epic 13-episode documentary series. Then, after serving eight years in prison, Michael got a huge break. Price Point: What does $235,000 get in Triangles housing market today? Kathleen was also a successful lady. Who is Constance Marten, the runaway aristocrat? As reported by CNN, a judge ruled that the jury had been misled by former SBI agent Duane Deaver's bloodstain evidence; Deaver was also fired in 2011. Michael was required to remain under house arrest with a strict curfew, while wearing an ankle monitor. &"|)Y*>aB\#x@ }793K{&Doep GT@E! According to the houses current Zillow description, the 9,500-square-foot house sits on 3.5 acres, stands behind wrought iron gates, and is complete with stonewall walkways. Michael Peterson is an author and a military veteran who served in the Vietnam War. Insurance jackpot. The Staircase, starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette as Michael and Kathleen Peterson, explores the life of Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife Kathleen at their sprawling North Carolina home after she died under suspicious circumstances in December 2001.. Everyone knows at least one wacky guy who wears shorts in cold weather. She had a crushed hyoid bone, which is evidence of strangulation. After learning about the mysterious death of Kathleen Peterson, read the shocking story of Dalia Dippolito, whose murder-for-hire plot to kill her husband was caught on camera by police. The ensuing case would become the subject of one of the defining true-crime documentaries in the genre: Jean-Xavier de Lestrades The Staircase. The eight-part series debuted in France in 2004 and in America in 2005, then arrived on Netflix in 2013 with additional episodes shot by de Lestrade in the years after the initial case. Includes Address (6) Phone (4) Email (4) See Results. What? The New York Times would later describe Michael as having a theatrical personality. Kathleen was a live wire, too. Kathleen Peterson Born: February 21, 1953 Birthplace: Greensboro, North Carolina, USA Death: December 9, 2001, Durham, North Carolina, USA (lacerations to skull) Bio: Michael Peterson's Second Wife Olivia DeJonge Born: April 30, 1998 Birthplace: Melbourne, Australia Caitlin Atwater Born: April 27, 1982 Birthplace: North Carolina The home, built in 1940, was designed by Durham architect George Watts Carr Sr., who also designed buildings at N.C. Central University, N.C. 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