Her hands and arms had contusion bruises but not her legs, which suggests evidence of a struggle. The Petersons' neighbour, lawyer Larry Pollard came up with a theory that a barred owl, a breed that's native to the area, may have been responsible for Kathleen's death. Then, after serving eight years in prison, Michael got a huge break. However, with Michael's Alford plea, the case has legally been put to rest. Toxicology showed a blood alcohol content of 0.07 percent, just under the legal limit, and blood concentration of Valium consistent with a therapeutic dose. Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home in 2001. Posted 2/5/2010 12:01 AM. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Born and raised in Greensboro, N.C., Kathleen was the first woman admitted to Duke University's school of engineering, from which she went on to jobs with a pharmaceutical company and, more. Peterson could have been sentenced to 64 to 86 months in prison, but the judge acknowledged the 89 months hed already been incarcerated, and thus, Peterson was made a free man. The couple threw dinner parties for dozens of friends at their spread, which included a swimming pool with decorative fountains. View Kathleen Peterson results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Her husband, Mike, was convicted of her murder in a case that made national news on Court TV. Peterson was charged with her murder, convicted at. Day 26: Alex Murdaugh jury to visit Moselle Wednesday before closing arguments, SC attorney general steps in to close out states murder case against Alex Murdaugh. In 2003, Peterson was found guilty in the initial trial. As of 2022, its hard to say exactly who occupies the Petersons former home. Forensic expert Henry Lee gave a live in-court splatter demonstration to refute some of the blood evidence against Michael. She co-edited The Emma Press Anthology of Illness, and previously spent all of her money on Kylie Cosmetics. In April 2019, an extensive News & Observer story by Andrew Carter reported that Michael had written an e-book titled Behind the Staircase to exonerate himself, with any profits going toward charity. But after eight years in prison, he was released after it was found that a key witness had given misleading testimony. Balius paid $640,000 for the house in 2004 and did renovations before placing it back on the market in 2007. Not one shred of evidence. She had been drinking and was wearing floppy shoes, so she probably tripped, Michael told police. The documentary director told Metro that he began filming Peterson in February 2002 and didn't wrap until 2018. Then 68-years-old, Michael was released from prison pending a new trial, and after posting a $300,000 bond, via The News & Observer. He told the operator she was still breathing. The man who claims he's a psychic and goes by the name Biond Fury has reportedly purchased the Durham home that sadly served as the murder site for Nortel executive Kathleen Peterson. The Staircase documentary is a vehicle for Michael Peterson, said Jones. They argued Michael's plan to kill his wife revolved around the $1.4 million life insurance policy she had in place. The NBC series most recently broadcast an update of Down the Back Staircase in 2017. It came out that a leg injury he said happened during battle actually came from a car accident. 1y. Margaret, Martha, Todd, and Clayton also believe the justice system failed their father. 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.. Fk2 0yl0S] n[IEz T 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. They noted that Michael was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. 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. Diane Fanning explains the injuries in a little more detail in her book, Written In Blood. On December 9, 2001, Michael Peterson's wife, Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of their staircase with severe injuries. She graduated first in her class. Michael claimed that Kathleen had been suffering from blackouts due to stress. At a news conference, Michael said, "Accepting this Alford plea has been the hardest thing I've ever done," via ABC11, as he had hoped to clear his name. While strictly circumstantial, the prosecution still achieved a guilty verdict, but many who have followed the case or have now learned about it from the series were never convinced that her husband Michael killed her OR that she fell down a flight of stairs. As Michael was the only one in the . Scott was an early suspect in the investigation due to his "strange behavior.". Kathleen is an acclaimed Contact Center consultant and recognized industry visionary. But as circumstantial evidence . Kathleen Peterson. The prosecution put forth several possible motives for Kathleen's murder. The house was listed at $1.175 million, but reduced to $975,000 in 2003. make North Carolina more free. Her husband was the prime suspect. Also known as Cathleen Peterson, Cathy Peterson, Kathy M Peterson. On 8th December 2000, Michael Peterson called emergency services saying that his wife Kathleen Peterson had fallen down the stairs. Born Kathleen Hunt on February 21, 1953, she graduated first in her class from J.P. McCaskey High School andreports Indy Week"became the first female student accepted into Dukes engineering school." Kathleen Peterson's life insurance was later split between her daughter, Caitlin Atwater, and her first husband Fred Atwater. So whats happened to Michael Peterson since the 2018 Netflix series turned his story into an international entertainment sensation? 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. Usually it was the result of direct trauma to the bone and was common in strangulation or attempted strangulation," she noted. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Bylines in the Daily Beast, Seattle Times, Classic Rock Magazine, LouderSound. Cathleen Peterson-Layne, PhD, MD Empowering Leaders and Teams to lead with greater clarity and courageous decision-making. Michael Iver Peterson "Mike" to his friends is a 78-year-old novelist and decorated military veteran who once ran for mayor of Durham, North Carolina. Also known as K Peterson. "They had a real story, which lasted until May 2017. lacerations on the back of her head were consistent with a beating. And it speaks to our desire for clarity. Like the fact the couple were in a lot of debt when Kathleen died. The Cosmopolitan story includes information from ornithology experts who believe a barred owl could have tangled its claws in Kathleens hair and made the gashes in her head that prosecutors alleged came from a metal implement. Menu Log In Sign Up Convicted murderer and former police officer Drew Peterson was sentenced to 38 years in prison back in 2012 in connection to the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. In 2018, Academy Award-winning French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade released The Staircase, a 13-episode Netflix documentary investigating the real causes of Peterson's passing. And the happy hustler was off the table too the seizure of Petersons computer messages was ruled unlawful, so Brad couldnt testify again. It does resist clarity. Pop-culture phenom. 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. Follow More from Medium andrew costa in Human Parts Today I. We want certainty. We know she had one biological daughter, Caitlin Atwater, two adopted daughters, Martha and Margaret Ratliff, and two step-sons, Clayton and Todd Peterson. Resides in Orange, CA. If that address sounds familiar to you, its probably because you know the grisly history contained within its walls. In 2003, Peterson was convicted of Kathleens murder and sentenced to life without parole. Case Notes: On December 9th 2001, Kathleen Peterson was found by her husband, Michael Peterson, at the bottom of the stairs in the home that they shared in Durham. Monday, July 13, 2020. She was an executive at Nortel, mother to Caitlyn, step-mother to Clayton and Todd (Mike's kids from a previous marriage . According to WRAL.com, the initial report suggested that she'd "died of a stroke," but that she was also found to have "several deep cuts to her scalp.". And it looked as though someone had tried to clean up blood from the wall near the stairs. Chief among them: A close friend of Petersons, Elizabeth Ratliff, had also been found dead at the bottom of a staircase, in 1985. An agent from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Raymond Young, assessed the couples finances and discovered that they had more than $142,000 in debt spread across 20 different accounts. I provide empathic and compassionate care in a safe space for individuals to explore . 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. Once the strange coincidence of the unusual death was discovered, Elizabeth's body was exhumed as part of Michael's trial, and an autopsy concluded that she had died as the result of a "homicidal assault," and not a stroke, per The News & Observer. It was determined that Kathleen died because of blood loss 90 minutes to two hours after she received several blows to the back of the head with a blunt object. Nonetheless, in the end, there was just too much evidence against Michael Peterson. Here are five facts to know about the case: 1. 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. She was lying in a dried pool of her own blood. The other theory about Kathleen Peterson's death, Harry and Meghan 'evicted' from Frogmore Cottage. The man who claims hes a psychic and goes by the name Biond Fury has reportedly purchased the Durham home that sadly served as the murder site for Nortel executive Kathleen Peterson. Per the publication, some reports have suggested that Michael Peterson was the last person to see Elizabeth alive, but Michael's lawyer pointed out inconsistencies with this theory. In the first 911 call, Michael Peterson frantically tells the operator that Kathleen is "still breathing" and urges them to hurry. It has been theorized that a Barred Owl attacked Kathleen. Theory 1: Murder. Son uncooperative. At 2:30am, Michael Peterson called 911. The couple combined their families into one household in the 5-bedroom 5-bath abode in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Durham. But other evidence pointed convincingly to Michaels guilt. I walked away with less of an opinion of what happened than when I went into it, Sophie Turner, who plays Ratliffs daughter Margaret, told ABC, with Firth echoing her sentiment. 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. Irresistible deal. CNN reported that Young testified during the trial, revealing the Petersons had been spending $100,000 a year more than they made for three years before Kathleen Peterson's death. According to the show's director, Jean-Xavier Lestrade, this relationship had no influence on how Brunet edited the series. That means a decreased flow of blood to the brain, and it takes hours for that to happen. The last thing anyone wants to see is one of these fierce-looking tree-dwellers flying straight towards them, sharp talons extended as it prepares to latch onto the scalp. He did find himself a post-lockup girlfriend, however, in one of the editors of The Staircase. 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 . Another motive suggested by the prosecution hinged on the Peterson family's tenuous financial situation. Kathleen Peterson had consumed alcohol and the autopsy report shows that she was almost in a state where she was too drunk to drive. the beliefs you hold dear into a tangible, results-oriented set of Kathleen Hunt grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was so bright that she took advanced Latin classes at a nearby college while still in McCaskey High School, according to the Lancaster New Era newspaper. Charnel house. That part of the prosecutions case doesnt seem impressive. The Staircase left out one very important plot twist: The Owl Theory. Team Michael also furnished a fireplace blow poke they said they found in the house. While the prosecution argued that Michael most likely murdered Kathleen with a fireplace blow poke that was deemed missing from their Durham home at the time of her death, Michael's defense attorney argued that Kathleen died from a fall down the stairs. 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