How Kathleen Peterson's Death At The Bottom Of A Staircase Became One Of America's Biggest True Crime Mysteries (2024)

After Kathleen Peterson died after falling down a staircase in 2001, her husband was convicted of her murder — but did Michael Peterson really kill his wife?

How Kathleen Peterson's Death At The Bottom Of A Staircase Became One Of America's Biggest True Crime Mysteries (1)

NetflixKathleen Peterson and Michael Peterson in an undated photograph.

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. She was lying in a dried pool of her own blood.

A forensic analysis showed that she had been lying there alive for hours before Michael called 911 around 2:40 a.m. He claimed he found her after lingering outside for several hours after dinner, but the police soon arrested him, and he was found guilty of Kathleen’s murder in 2003.

However, Michael Peterson was released from prison to serve house arrest in 2011 after a judge found that a witness had misrepresented facts at the trial. And since 2017, he has been a free man after his charges were reduced to manslaughter and he was released on time served.

But despite a 10-part Netflix documentary about Kathleen Peterson’s death and now an HBO miniseries called The Staircase, starring Colin Firth as Michael and Toni Collette as Kathleen, the circumstances surrounding her fall remain a mystery. And one intriguing theory involving an owl suggests that it may not have been a murder at all.

What Happened To Kathleen Peterson?

Kathleen Hunt was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 21, 1953. 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.

Kathleen and Fred married in 1977 and had a daughter, Caitlin, but they divorced after she discovered his affair. Shortly afterwards, Peterson, then still Kathleen Atwater, moved to Durham, North Carolina, and met Michael Peterson, a local novelist and occasional columnist for The Durham Herald-Sun who had served in Vietnam with the Marines.

Although Michael was still married with four children of his own, the new couple merged their families in 1987. Kathleen’s career as a telecommunications executive was thriving, and Michael had received a half-million-dollar advance on a book deal. In 1992, they bought a 14-room mansion on three acres in the Forest Hills neighborhood.

By 1997, Michael had finally divorced his wife, and he and Kathleen officially married. Over the years, there had been some tense moments over money and Michael’s mayoral election bid, and the two frequently fought and made up. But nothing could have prepared the family for what would happen shortly before Christmas in 2001.

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. He told the operator she was still breathing. But by the time paramedics arrived, they couldn’t find a pulse.

He told police she may have fallen after mixing alcohol and Valium but was unsure because he was outside when she fell. 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. 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.

Soon, the investigation looked inward at Michael as more of their personal life came out. Within days, the police arrested Michael Peterson, and prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder.

Inside The Trial Of Michael Peterson

How Kathleen Peterson's Death At The Bottom Of A Staircase Became One Of America's Biggest True Crime Mysteries (3)

Durham County Tax AdministrationThe exterior of the Peterson home in 2017.

During the trial, evidence suggested she was hit with a fire poker after a heated argument about Michael Peterson’s closeted sexuality. Evidence was found of Peterson soliciting male escorts and was paying for sex when Kathleen was murdered.

Though it is unknown how Kathleen may have felt about Michael’s bisexuality, the prosecution argued that she would not have tolerated his infidelity. She divorced her first husband for his own indiscretions years before, and they said it is unlikely that she would have felt differently about Michael’s own cheating. This, they said, led to a heated argument that ended with Michael pushing Kathleen down the stairs.

The defense challenged this version of events. Michael Peterson’s attorney, David Rudolf, told the court, “Show me one piece of evidence, one person who says that Kathleen was upset because Mike was bisexual. Or Kathleen was upset because Michael was seeing other people outside the marriage. Not one shred of evidence. Not one.”

In response, the prosecution also argued that the motive could have been money. The Petersons were heavily in debt, owing over $100,000 in credit debt. 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.

Kathleen’s 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. Her life insurance would have ensured Peterson would be able to maintain his public persona.

On October 10, 2003, the jury found Michael Peterson guilty, and the judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole. 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.

The judge resentenced him to 86 months, and Michael Peterson was released with time served. What has yet to be determined was exactly how Kathleen met her demise.

The Surprising Alternate Theories About Kathleen Peterson’s Death

How Kathleen Peterson's Death At The Bottom Of A Staircase Became One Of America's Biggest True Crime Mysteries (4)

Wikimedia CommonsIt has been theorized that a Barred Owl attacked Kathleen.

During one of Michael Peterson’s appeals, an unusual theory emerged about Kathleen Peterson’s death: she was not murdered at all, but died after being attacked by a barred owl.

The theory, left out of the 2018 Netflix documentary The Staircase, posits that the lacerations found on Kathleen Peterson’s scalp were caused by the talons of an owl that attacked her outside. Then, she stumbled indoors and, disoriented, fell down the stairs and was knocked unconscious, unable to call for help.

According to Cosmopolitan, barred owls are native to the area and known to attack joggers with some frequency. And a 2009 forensic analysis detailed traces of wood splinters and cedar needles in her hair, along with microscopic bits of feather. The report also noted that she had been found holding clumps of her hair when she died.

And an owl expert testified that “the appearance of a trident with three limbs converging to a point at roughly 30 degrees from each other, and a fourth limb converging to the same point at nearly 180 degrees from the centre limb of the other three limbs.”

Still, experts could not say with certainty that this was her cause of death. And some believe that Kathleen Peterson died of simple, malicious negligence — that Michael chose not to help Kathleen after an accidental fall.

Others theorize that one of Michael Peterson’s sons may have killed her out of jealousy or that a tree branch may have been the actual murder weapon.

Though one of their sons was at the scene before police, and the tree branch would have been easy to dispose of and could explain the needles and feathers, many of these and other theories do not have enough evidence to hold up to scrutiny.

As the story is once again brought to living rooms across the nation with HBO’s dramatized telling of The Staircase, Kathleen Peterson, the scholar, mother, and advocate, may finally get the attention she deserves.

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. Then, learn about Susan Powell, who warned her family her death might not be an accident.

How Kathleen Peterson's Death At The Bottom Of A Staircase Became One Of America's Biggest True Crime Mysteries (2024)

FAQs

What was the outcome of the staircase documentary? ›

Peterson was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. The question, how did Kathleen Peterson die, has remained unanswered for 22 years. French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's Netflix documentary about the case, “The Staircase,” and last year's HBO mini-series of the same title were huge hits.

Is the owl theory plausible? ›

Could an owl have killed Kathleen Peterson? The Owl Theory has never been tested in court, but in 2018, Peterson's attorney David Rudolf (who argued in the 2003 trial that Kathleen Peterson died after falling down the stairs while inebriated) said the theory is plausible.

How much did Michael Peterson pay Caitlin? ›

On February 1, 2007 Caitlin Atwater and Michael Peterson settled the wrongful death claim for $25 million, which was finalized on February 1, 2008. 'The Staircase': Did Michael Peterson Kill His Wife Kathleen?

What evidence was left out of the staircase? ›

In real life, an expert testified that Michael had staged the crime scene. Apparently, the police found a bottle of wine and two “neatly arrayed” wine glasses, but Kathleen's fingerprints weren't present on them, and she was found to have a low blood alcohol content in her autopsy. This part of the case was omitted.

What actually happened to Kathleen? ›

However, Kathleen's autopsy report also made clear that she'd endured severe head-and-neck trauma consistent with being intentionally and furiously beaten by a blunt object, and that she actually died after bleeding out for more than 90 minutes.

What was the forensic evidence on The Staircase? ›

During Michael Peterson's trial for the murder of his wife Kathleen Peterson, Deaver was an important witness for the prosecution. He testified that the blood patterns seen on the walls and stairs of the Petersons' home, where Kathleen Peterson's body was found, were consistent with a person being beaten to death.

Was Kathleen attacked by an owl? ›

At least two of the wounds on Kathleen Peterson's scalp are in the shape of the talons of a barred owl, as shown on autopsy photos. The tiny wounds on Kathleen's face are consistent with the tip of an owl's beak. A feather was found on Kathleen Peterson's body.

Why wasn't the owl theory in The Staircase? ›

"Because it was never introduced inside the courtroom, I decided not to talk about that theory," The Staircase director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade told Vulture. "It's really a mystery, the way she died." It's no mystery, my friend. It's an absolutely massive owl.

What is Michael Peterson doing today? ›

He resides in Durham, N.C., but has since sold the house where Kathleen died. (The house was on the market for $1.9 million, according to ABC 11 News.) He had been living with his ex-wife, Patricia, for two years until her death from a heart attack, his son Clayton told The News & Observer in 2021.

Do the Peterson kids still believe their dad? ›

Todd was the first person to see Michael after Kathleen died, as shown in the first episode of HBO Max's new series. Peterson's sons have always stood by their father, who has maintained his innocence for the past twenty years.

Do Margaret and Martha still talk to Michael? ›

Today, Margaret resides in California, and Martha relocated to Colorado. If the footage from the later episodes of Netflix's The Staircase from 2012 and 2016 are anything to go by, they are still close with Michael Peterson.

Did Kathleen Peterson have life insurance? ›

Authorities also found that Kathleen's insurance was around $1.4 million, which Michael would pocket if the case was called an accident.

What happened to the parents of the boy under the stairs? ›

Jordan's father, Bradley, and stepmother, Tammi, were arrested and charged with felony child endangerment. WATCH A Dr. Phil Exclusive: The Boy under the Stairs? “It's something no child should ever, ever have to endure,” said Jordan's biological mother, Windy, in an exclusive interview with Dr.

Was The Staircase killer innocent? ›

And despite the jury not being convinced when they delivered their initial verdict, Michael was judged to be innocent of murder. As far as the original jury for his trial was concerned, the novelist was responsible as they found him guilty of the crime in 2003.

Is there a conclusion to The Staircase? ›

At the end of The Staircase, Michael Peterson is officially free after entering his Alford plea.

What did the ending of The Staircase mean? ›

The series comes to an end with Michael Peterson telling Lestrade he had lied about his wife knowing about his bisexuality and hook-ups with men. During the case, the prosecution successfully argued a motive Michael Peterson may have had to kill Kathleen Peterson was that she had found out about his affairs with men.

What was the verdict on the Peterson staircase? ›

The jury concluded the trial by finding Michael Peterson guilty of murdering Kathleen Peterson. He received the punishment of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Did The Staircase killer do it? ›

It tells the story of Michael Peterson, who was convicted in 2003 of killing his wife by beating her over the head. During the trial it was revealed that many years previously a friend of Peterson's, whose children he would later adopt, died under seemingly similar circumstances.

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