Other online correspondence allegedly proved he was trying to hook up with men on the side, including a chipper prostitute called Brad. And since 2017, he has been a free man after his charges were reduced to manslaughter and he was released on time served. August 8, 2008 What? Corrections officers at the prison didnt always find him as charming as his old dinner party friends did, and he earned some time in solitary for mouthing off, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. The couple threw dinner parties for dozens of friends at their spread, which included a swimming pool with decorative fountains. The theory, left out of the 2018 Netflix documentary The Staircase, posits that the lacerations found on Kathleen Petersons scalp were caused by the talons of an owl that attacked her outside. On December 9, 2001, Kathleen Peterson was found unconscious at the bottom of a staircase in Durham, NC. Some psychic. However, with Michael's Alford plea, the case has legally been put to rest. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2003. 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. Nortel had forced her to lay off some well-liked employees, according to an AP account from May 22, 2002. But the autopsy also revealed she sustained several lacerations on her head as a result of beating and died from blood loss hours after she fell. He needed her money to survive the way he wanted to survive," she said. She graduated first in her class. Michael Peterson while incarcerated at Nash Correctional Institution, 2003. And as the Audubon Society pointed out, An owl strike can definitely cause blunt-force trauma. Kathleen and Fred married in 1977 and had a daughter, Caitlin, but they divorced after she discovered his affair. A Forensic Files Murder That Went on a Binge(A Novel Idea, Forensic Files), Note: You can listen to this post as a podcast. Per Lawrence Journal-World, the Petersons had accrued "credit card debt of $143,000" at the time of Kathleen's death. The front of the house at 1810 Cedar St. is visible from the street, but the entire 3.4-acre property is gated. On December 9, 2001, Michael Peterson found his wife, Kathleen Peterson, dead at the bottom of the back staircase in the 11,000-square-foot mansion that they shared with their children in Durham, North Carolina. After several appeals, he entered an Alford plea meaning a defendant acknowledges that the prosecution has enough to convict them but maintains their innocence in 2017 to have his charge reduced to manslaughter. Peterson was arrested May 7th, 2009, in connection with the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. 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. Her hands and arms had contusion bruises but not her legs, which suggests evidence of a struggle. Insurance jackpot. While Michael was a novelist and newspaper columnist of varying success, Kathleen was an executive at communications firm Nortel, earning around $150,000 per year, via NBC News. A death in the home apparently isnt a buyer beware for everyone. The prosecution put forth several possible motives for Kathleen's murder. The exterior of the Peterson home in 2017. "Without Kathleen's job and her pay check, he could not continue to support his two adult sons, he could not continue to maintain that home, he could not live the lifestyle he'd grown accustomed to. Two Ukrainian women look back at one year of war, Why you shouldn't go into TikTok's "monk mode", 9 interesting things about Kathleen and Michael Peterson that were left out of 'The Staircase'. 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. Netflix. Price Point: What does $235,000 get in Triangles housing market today? Missing murder weapon. Deaver further made a convincing argument that the missing blow poke could have been a possible murder weapon. Includes Address (6) Phone (4) Email (4) See Results. Following the show's airing, though, some want to learn more about the real details of . 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. actions. Police believed it was a fireplace blow poke that someone took outside to hide, leaving bloodstains on the door. convicted in one of North Carolinas longest trials, Peterson entered an Alford plea while awaiting a new trial in 2017. nationally recognized scholar and author Henry Louis Skip Gates Jr. As Peterson documentary debuts on Netflix, Durham braces for new attention -- and scrutiny, recent drone video that the house still has the swimming pool. 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. Drew is serving a 38 year sentence in prison after he was found guilty of murdering his third wife Kathleen Savio. You'd think this would have been a major point of evidence, but for some reason, up until then it had never been referenced in the docuseries. NC climate expert weighs in. Photos of her shaved head surfaced early on in the investigation, leading detectives (and later the prosecuting team) to believe she had been struck multiple times with a large, blunt object (the notorious blowpoke as referenced in the film.) His fourth wife, Stacy. Regardless of the truth, the similarities between Kathleen and Ratliff's deaths didn't help Michael's case. 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. When will the curtain come down? Diane Fanning explains the injuries in a little more detail in her book, Written In Blood. Michael also told the News & Observer that well-to-do friends from his and Kathleens napkin-ring and place-card days had deserted him. He and his first wife, schoolteacher Patricia Sue Peterson, had sons Todd and Clayton then acquired two daughters, Margaret and Martha, when the couples friend Liz McKee Ratliff died. She possessed a wide range of skills. Pollard theorised that Kathleen could have been attacked outside by one of these owls, which would account for the seven unexplained lacerations to her head. The staircase she was found dead at the bottom of was just one of many in the vast property, and the couple were thought to have been relaxing by the swimming pool in the garden prior to Kathleen's death. He developed a relationship with Sophie Brunet, the editor of the documentary filming his case. "It was an injury unlikely to occur in a fall. At the time of Peterson making the 911 call, he had claimed that Kathleen was "still breathing" however, when the authorities arrived, Kathleen had passed away from her injuries. At 2:30am, Michael Peterson called 911. When the jury found Michael Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in October 2003, however, the offer was immediately withdrawn. Of course, none of this absolutely *proves* it was a barred owl that inflicted the initial wounds on Kathleen Peterson. 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. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill. Her bylines include Harper's BAZAAR, Nicki Swift, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, ELLE, The Independent, Bustle, Healthline, and HelloGiggles. Kathleen Peterson may refer to: Kathleen Peterson (murder victim) Kathleen Peterson (artist) This page was last edited on 9 August 2022, at 12:05 (UTC). &"|)Y*>aB\#x@ }793K{&Doep GT@E! 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 . They ranged from simple companionship to just about anything under the sun sexually. 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. The Staircase left out one very important plot twist: The Owl Theory. Every product on this page was chosen by a Harper's BAZAAR editor. Psychic Norbert, the only psychic asked by the family of Stacy Peterson to investigate her disappearance, correctly predicted the arrest of her husband, former Bolingbrook, IL police officer Drew Peterson. In December 2011, after spending eight years in prison for Kathleen's murder, Michael was granted a new trial. Irresistible deal. We know he stepped in her blood and stepped on her. But first, heres a recap of A Novel Idea along with extra information drawn from internet research: Full house. 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. If she was attacked by an owl, she would have been screaming her head off, she said. According to Cosmopolitan, barred owls are native to the area and known to attack joggers with some frequency. Shortly after the tragedy, Peterson allowed French documentary filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade to conduct interviews with him, his kids, and his attorneys, most of which took place in the Peterson household. Their marriage, a second for both, seemed happy. Jury selection began in May 2003, and the State vs. Michael Peterson trial started on July 1, 2003, via The News & Observer. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may apply. They noted that Michael was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. The house was owned by nationally recognized scholar and author Henry Louis Skip Gates Jr., who lived there while teaching at Duke. 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. The other thing is red neurons, Jones continued. Totally compatible with one another.". Cathleen Peterson-Layne, PhD, MD Empowering Leaders and Teams to lead with greater clarity and courageous decision-making. For this week, I looked into whats happened to Michael Peterson since the Netflix series ended in 2018 and whether a theory that a rogue owl played a role in Kathleens death ever got any traction. He was granted a new trial in 2011 on the grounds that the prosecution had delivered misleading testimony. Before marrying Kathleen, Michael Peterson was married to Patricia Peterson. 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. 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. The actors in the new Staircase seem content to accept the cases ambiguities. 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 . Caitlin Atwater, Katherines daughter from her first marriage, later switched sides. Stacy Peterson went missing in 2007 and her bloated piss bag of a husband Drew Peterson probably had everything to do with it. This type of plea allows the accused to maintain their innocence while also acknowledging that the prosecution likely has sufficient evidence to convict. Fk2 0yl0S] n[IEz T
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. He did find himself a post-lockup girlfriend, however, in one of the editors of The Staircase. Her husband, Mike, was convicted of her murder in a case that made national news on Court TV. The occupants of the home are not known; however, as HBO Maxs series unfolds, more information may come to light. In 1992, they bought a 14-room mansion on three acres in the Forest Hills neighborhood. Psychic Norbert will provide details . Tide turns. Related To Carol Peterson, Lisa Peterson. What has yet to be determined was exactly how Kathleen met her demise. Furthermore, Jones said, a substantial amount of damning evidence was never included in the documentary. View Kathleen Peterson results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. She confronted Michael about cheating on her, there was an argument, and he beat her to death with a fireplace implement, they alleged. Michael Peterson was a writer, and many said he has the kind of ego which craves the spotlight. As reported by CNN Law Center, medical examiner Dr. Kenneth Snell had initially marked Kathleen's death as an "accident" caused by falling down the stairs. You can read more in depth information about the owl theory here. Kathleen might have fallen down the stairs while struggling to extricate herself from the bird of preys talons, they opined. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. When there weren't many jobs in education in New York in the 70s, Kathleen Peterson, an aspiring high school teacher, took some advice and chased down an opportunity in an emerging field where she could apply her skills in science and data. A video accompanying the in-depth News & Observer piece gave Michael an opportunity to talk about his everyday post-prison life. He mentioned receiving a chilly reception from the primarily white upper middle class shoppers at Whole Foods. The police found blood splatter between the legs of Michaels shorts and his bloody footprint on Kathleens clothes, which suggested he was standing over her and beating her. 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. Your tax-deductible investment will help us work to Within six months of his wifes death, Michael Peterson had collected $347,000 from his late wife's assets to fund his legal defence. In the lead-up to Kathleen's death, Nortel had been making a large proportion of its staff redundant - as many as two thirds (or 45,000 workers) apparently. 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