Michael Peterson was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder on December 20, 2001, via WRAL.com. Although Michael was still married with four children of his own, the new couple merged their families in 1987. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. On 8th December 2000, Michael Peterson called emergency services saying that his wife Kathleen Peterson had fallen down the stairs. There is even a scene filmed on the back staircase where Kathleen Peterson died. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Kathleen married Michael in 1997, and the couple proceeded to merge their two families. Fury is the second post-Peterson owner. He told police she may have fallen after mixing alcohol and Valium but was unsure because he was outside when she fell. 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. She graduated first in her class. The couple married in 1997 creating a very blended family. Kathleen's head injuries are not consistent with her having been beaten by a blunt object or on a stair, as she had no brain injury or swelling, no subdural hematoma, and no skull fracture. 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 . We've received your submission. 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. 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. Kathleen might have fallen down the stairs while struggling to extricate herself from the bird of preys talons, they opined. Kathleen Peterson in Indiana We found 32 records for Kathleen Peterson in Nappanee, Columbus and 21 other cities in Indiana. Colin Firth as Michael Peterson and Toni Collette as Kathleen Peterson in HBO Maxs. 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. Psychic Norbert will provide details . He was granted a new trial in 2011 on the grounds that the prosecution had delivered misleading testimony. Marked man. She was the first woman accepted into Duke Universitys school of engineering. But in 2003, he went to jail for life without the possibility of parole, a result of being convicted of the 2001 murder of his wife, Kathleen Peterson. She had been drinking and was wearing floppy shoes, so she probably tripped, Michael told police. The front of the house at 1810 Cedar St. is visible from the street, but the entire 3.4-acre property is gated. And as the Audubon Society pointed out, An owl strike can definitely cause blunt-force trauma. Lived In Santa Ana CA, Irvine CA, Corona CA. She confronted Michael about cheating on her, there was an argument, and he beat her to death with a fireplace implement, they alleged. Kathleen was 48 at the time of her death. 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. 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. 82 0 obj <>stream And it speaks to our desire for clarity. There was a bloody shoe print found on the back of her sweatpants, which was a match to Petersons shoe. Sociological errands. Michael moved into a two-bedroom condo, according to reporting from Cosmopolitan on June 11, 2018. August 8, 2008 What? Caitlin changed her mind after seeing the autopsy report, and ended up siding with the prosecution. "When we started shooting in February 2002 and when David Rudolf gave us access and the judge gave us access in the court room and we started to shoot and shoot and shoot then we realized how big it could be," the director told Metro in 2018. Before Michael met Kathleen in 1986, he was living in Germany with his first wife, Patricia Sue, and their two sons. We also talk about "life" on the Other Side with a new anecdote or two! Mr. Pollard, a long-time friend and neighbor of the Petersons, has suggested that microscopic owl feathers where found in Kathleen Petersons hand, mixed together with her own hair, during her autopsy, suggesting that she perhaps attempted to fight off an owl attack. By all reports, Michael and Kathleen enjoyed a close, happy marriage and were sought-after guests on the local social scene. Why Thomas Crapper's Name Is Synonymous With The Toilet Even Though He Didn't Actually Invent It, Eerie Facts About Point Nemo, The Most Remote Location On Planet Earth, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. The defendant had hired criminal defense attorney David Rudolf two days prior, following extensive searches and seizures taking place at his home. Kathleens company, Nortel, had a mass-firing, and the couple worried she might also lose her job, leaving the pair without a source of income to maintain their lifestyle. In November 1985, Ratliff was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in her home. HBO drops trailer for 'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of King Charles to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage so he can give it to disgraced Andrew, Hoda Kotb's lengthy 'Today' show absence finally explained, Ousted Chicago mayor blames loss on racism, gender but not her tepid response to crime, Fans troll Kim Kardashian for saving sexy two-piece look for kids prom, Chris Pine says Harry Styles did not spit on him, told a little joke instead, Presley Gerber says he made mistakes while battling depression, Gina Carano's Character Officially Written Out Of 'The Mandalorian' After Cancel Culture Backlash, Hoda Kotb's lengthy 'Today' show absence caused by 'family health matter'. The occupants of the home are not known; however, as HBO Maxs series unfolds, more information may come to light. At 2:40 a.m. on December 9, 2001, Peterson called 911 to say he'd found his wife's body at the bottom of a staircase. Time for a tome. However, NBC News reported that a medical examiner ruled that Kathleen's blood alcohol level was very low at the time of her death, so much so that she'd have been able to pass a breathalyzer test. Michael, a writer and would-be politician, called emergency . Police responding to N.C. 55 late Tuesday night found two people who had been shot. Among the 19 total rooms, there are five bedrooms and six bathrooms, along with a brick patio, slate patio, and both upper and lower galleries. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Cassandra told Ron that for months and months, The Long Island Medium's people kept bothering her to . Red neurons were present in her brain when the autopsy was done. Michael sold the house he shared with Kathleen in 2004, and a subsequent owner re-sold the property for $1.6 million in 2020. Inside Kathleen Petersons Mysterious Death And The True Story Behind The Staircase. Here's what you need to know about Kathleen Peterson's death, Michael Peterson's trial, and what's happened in the two decades since the case first hit the news. The authorities exhumed Liz Ratliffs body in 2003 and discovered multiple scalp lacerations, similar to those found on Kathleen Peterson. His fourth wife, Stacy. $.5.99 / minute. In 2003, Peterson was convicted of Kathleens murder and sentenced to life without parole. &"|)Y*>aB\#x@ }793K{&Doep GT@E! Cosmopolitan, Part of the Hearst UK Fashion & Beauty Network. Paramedics said that Kathleens blood had congealed, suggesting she died hours before he called 911. Bylines in the Daily Beast, Seattle Times, Classic Rock Magazine, LouderSound. endstream endobj 84 0 obj <>stream 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. "They had a real story, which lasted until May 2017. her blood-alcohol level was just below 0.08, the level at which a person in North Carolina is considered too drunk to drive. She divorced her first husband for his own indiscretions years before, and they said it is unlikely that she would have felt differently about Michaels own cheating. Michael Peterson accused of murdering his wife Kathleen in December 2001 Kathleen found unconscious by Michael in North Carolina home, died short after Michael was convicted for murder in 2003 . 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. Instead of facing a new trial in 2017, Peterson instead opted for an Alford Plea for voluntary manslaughter. Peterson, then 58, was a successful writer; Kathleen, then 48, a telecommunications executive. When Kathleen went inside to bed, he reportedly stayed outside to smoke his pipe. The site of Kathleen Peterson's death in 2001 a nearly 9,500-square-foot mansion on a sprawling 3.4-acre lot in the heart of Durham has become a point of interest for true-crime fans and. At the time of her death, she was a vice president at Nortel Networks at the companys Research Triangle Park offices. Evidence collected from 1810 Cedar Street included Peterson's computers, pieces of wood from the stairwell, swabs of . Forensic Files produced "A Novel Idea" back in 2006, but any murder story that includes well-educated mansion owners plus a cheerful male escort on the witness stand is sure to be revisited many times.. Pop-culture phenom. Then, she stumbled indoors and, disoriented, fell down the stairs and was knocked unconscious, unable to call for help. Photo of Kathleen and Caitlyn, from the Indyweek article linked below. Wikimedia CommonsIt has been theorized that a Barred Owl attacked Kathleen. Kathleen Hunt was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 21, 1953. .css-o05pt{display:block;font-family:Didot,Didot-fallback,Georgia,Times,serif;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;text-shadow:0 0 0 #000,0 0 0.01em transparent;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-o05pt:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-o05pt{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.25rem;margin-top:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-o05pt{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-o05pt{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-o05pt{font-size:1.39461rem;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}35 Classic Photos from the Academy Awards, 46 of the Coolest Set Photos in Movie History, 'Last of Us' Star Pedro Pascal Posts Upsetting IG, Everything to Know About the 95th Academy Awards, Storm Reid Knows How to Create Heartbreaking TV, Believe It: 'Ted Lasso' Returns This March, Ashley Park Joins 'Only Murders in the Building', Carrie & Aidan Go on a Beach Date in New Set Pics, Sam Smith Is Joining 'And Just Like That' S2, Elizabeth Banks on Cocaine Bear's Brilliant Chaos. On October 10, 2003, Michael Peterson was sentenced to life without parole for Kathleen's murder, via The New York Times. By 1997, Michael had finally divorced his wife, and he and Kathleen officially married. Hes a SHU-in. He made a futile attempt to get rid of blood evidence and then called 911, the prosecution contended. However, with Michael's Alford plea, the case has legally been put to rest. In one of his messages, Michael wrote that he was happily married to a dynamite wife but that he was very bisexual. But Kathleen had life insurance worth $1.2 million to $1.8 million, with Michael as the beneficiary. He won the right to a new trial after authorities discovered that expert prosecution witness Saami Shaibani had misrepresented his own professional credentials. Not inebriated. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Netflix acquired the series in 2018, once again reigniting fascination around the case. As noted by the publication, it was suggested that, while waiting for a work email on the night of her death, Kathleen could have discovered Michael's secret correspondence and the illicit imagery. Nonetheless, Michael Petersons lawyers never brought up the owl theory in the courtroom it was too bizarre and potentially fodder for, well, hoots of laughter. Her husband, novelist Michael Peterson, became the center of the investigation and was. We know Kathleen Peterson was 48-years-old when she died. Nonetheless, all five of Michaels children believed in his innocence at first. According to Bustle, Peterson's son Clayton now lives in Maryland with his two children. Theres no question that [Peterson] did it, she said. This content is imported from {embed-name}. The NBC series most recently broadcast an update of Down the Back Staircase in 2017. 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