The Staircase Murder of Kathleen Peterson: What Really Caused Her Death? (2024)

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    Article Details:

    The Staircase Murder of Kathleen Peterson: What Really Caused Her Death?

    • Author

      Sara Kettler

    • Website Name

      aetv.com

    • Year Published

      2022

    • Title

      The Staircase Murder of Kathleen Peterson: What Really Caused Her Death?

    • URL

      https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/kathleen-peterson-death

    • Access Date

      July 12, 2024

    • Publisher

      A+E Networks

In December 2001, Kathleen Peterson’s body was discovered in a pool of blood at the foot of stairs in her Durham, North Carolina, home. In October 2003, her husband, Michael Peterson, was convicted of first-degree murder for her death.

Peterson’s conviction was vacated in December 2011 because a state blood analyst had misled the jury. In February 2017, a 73-year-old Peterson accepted an Alford plea for voluntary manslaughter. Peterson had always said he didn’t kill his wife, and this plea allowed him to still maintain his innocence.

Though the case is closed, questions remain about Kathleen’s murder.

The Death of Kathleen Peterson

Michael and Kathleen Peterson spent the evening of December 8, 2001, together. Peterson, then 58, was a successful writer; Kathleen, then 48, a telecommunications executive. Their marriage, a second for both, seemed happy.

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. Investigators considered Kathleen’s death suspicious because there was a great deal of blood at the scene.

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The medical examiner found that Kathleen’s scalp had seven deep lacerations. The death was ruled to be the result of blunt force trauma.

On December 20, 2001, Peterson was indicted by a grand jury for first-degree murder.

Michael Peterson Is Tried for Murder

Peterson’s murder trial began in July 2003.

Pictures of naked men had been found on Peterson’s computer, as had communications about Peterson meeting a man for sex. The prosecution contended Kathleen could have discovered this information and confronted her husband about his bisexuality.

The defense argued the Petersons had a happy marriage.

Kevin McMunigal, a criminal law professor at Case Western University’s School of Law and former federal prosecutor, tells A&E True Crime that introducing Peterson’s bisexuality was “pretty relevant in terms of how happy their marriage was, and whether or not they were arguing, but it also was very prejudicial.”

“You could imagine, especially back then, there could be some jurors who would condemn him for that…and maybe decide the case on an emotional basis,” says McMunigal.

Prosecutors also brought up Peterson’s ties to an earlier death.

Earlier Staircase Murder With Ties to the Petersons

Elizabeth Ratliff, 43, was a close Peterson family friend who died in Germany in 1985. Like Kathleen, she’d been found at the bottom of a staircase. Peterson had been at her house the night before her death. He later adopted Ratliff’s two daughters, Martha and Margaret.

German investigators ruled Ratliff had died due to a cerebral hemorrhage. But in 2003, the same medical examiner who’d performed Kathleen’s autopsy conducted a second autopsy on Ratliff’s exhumed body. The examiner concluded she had been beaten to death, like Kathleen. No one was ever charged in Ratliff’s murder.

A large part of the prosecution’s case relied on blood spatter evidence. An analyst from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) stated that droplet patterns found on the walls and steps of the stairs at the Peterson house matched what would result from a beating.

Jennifer Shen, retired director of the San Diego Police Department Crime Laboratory, tells A&E True Crime, “This particular field [of blood spatter reconstruction] should be approached with great caution and scientific reservation.”

“An analyst will use scientific principles, experience and training, but ultimately they are deriving their best scientific guess as to what actions occurred to create the evidence viewed at the scene,” says Shen. “This…leaves a broad spectrum of interpretations based upon someone’s experience, training and, frankly, self-confidence.”

The murder weapon has never been found. According to the prosecution’s blunt-force theory, the likely weapon was a long, thin, rounded object—initially presumed to be the home’s fireplace blow poke, which was missing during the early investigation. But the blow poke turned up in the home’s basement late in the trial, and was admitted into evidence by the defense, showing no sign of having been used in a murder.

The defense team argued Kathleen had died after she fell at least two times on the dimly lit stairs, hitting her head repeatedly on sharp molding, after drinking wine and taking Valium. She was wearing flip-flops. They also raised doubts about the prosecution’s assumption that blunt-force trauma had caused her death. Despite having lacerations on her skull, the defense pointed out, Kathleen had suffered no skull fracture and no brain injury or swelling, which typically occur with blunt-force injuries.

Following a three-month trial, Peterson was found guilty October 10, 2003. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Owl Theory, And Peterson’s Conviction Is Vacated

Peterson was sent to North Carolina’s Nash Correctional Institution. While he was behind bars, his attorneys filed multiple unsuccessful appeals.

In 2009, an attorney who was Peterson’s neighbor, T. Lawrence Pollard, filed a motion with a new theory for Kathleen’s death: She had been injured by an owl before falling down the stairs. Her scalp wounds supposedly had been caused by the owl’s talons.

Pollard found a single, microscopic feather listed in an SBI crime lab report. He submitted a motion stating there were more feathers in hair found in Kathleen’s left hand.

The owl theory drew attention, and ridicule, but did not result in a new trial for Peterson.

Then a 2010 independent report revealed multiple cases of distorted or false evidence from the SBI’s blood analysis unit. Peterson’s case wasn’t among those listed in the report, but the blood analyst who’d testified at his trial was involved in many of those cases.

On February 14, 2011, Peterson filed a motion for a new trial.

On December 14, 2011, the judge who’d overseen Peterson’s first trial vacated his conviction due to “materially misleading” and “deliberately false” testimony from the blood analyst.

Peterson, who had spent eight years behind bars, posted bail. He was released on house arrest on December 16, 2011.

Peterson Takes an Alford Plea

Prosecutors appealed the overturning of Peterson’s verdict, but North Carolina’s Court of Appeals upheld the decision in July 2013. The state Supreme Court chose not to hear the case.

Peterson’s lawyers tried to have the case against their client dismissed because physical evidence from the investigation had not been properly preserved. This was denied in November 2016.

Peterson was tentatively scheduled to go on trial in May 2017. In court, the owl theory could have been part of his defense. “It might create reasonable doubt,” McMunigal says.

But on February 24, 2017, Peterson entered an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter in Kathleen’s death. He still said he didn’t kill his wife, but an Alford plea allows people to continue to maintain their innocence while accepting there is enough evidence to convict them.

Taking a deal can be tempting for someone who’s facing a possible return to jail, says McMunigal. But he adds of Alford pleas, “A lot of people think it’s bad. Because if a guy is going to be…punished by the government, then somebody ought to establish that he committed the crime. Either a jury—or he should admit it.”

The plea made Peterson a convicted felon, but with credit for the time he’d served in prison, he was able to leave the courtroom.

According to Hello Magazine, as of 2022, Peterson is living in Durham, North Carolina in a ground-floor condo. His defense attorney David Rudolf said in a statement, the home has “no stairs.”

Kathleen’s family continues to believe Peterson killed her. In particular, her sister Candace Zamperini has been vocal about her belief that Michael Peterson killed her sister.

In an interview with a BBC Radio podcast she said, “Many times during the trial, something would happen, and I would want to tell Kathleen… And then, oh that’s right, she’s dead. ‘Oh that’s right—it’s you, Kathleen, whose murder we’re talking about.’ It was like constantly a bucket of cold water in my face. I still have a hard time… My sister is the story here; she is the murder victim.”

Further inquiry into what happened to Kathleen is stymied by Peterson’s plea deal.

“Once he said…’I’m willing to accept a conviction,’” says McMunigal, “basically it’s over.”

Related Features:
What Is a Plea Bargain—and Who Takes Them?

How Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Works and Why It’s So Controversial

Experts on the Twisted Reasons Why Some Husbands Kill Their Wives

The Staircase Murder of Kathleen Peterson: What Really Caused Her Death? (2024)

FAQs

The Staircase Murder of Kathleen Peterson: What Really Caused Her Death? ›

And that, at the end of the day, is the key question in this case – what caused the injuries to Kathleen Peterson's scalp? Those were the injuries that actually caused her death. Exsanguination was the cause of death – not blunt force trauma to her brain, not a fractured skull, not strangulation. Loss of blood.

What was the cause of death in The Staircase? ›

The medical examiner, Deborah Radisch, concluded that Kathleen had died from lacerations of the scalp caused by a homicidal assault.

Was Kathleen attacked by an owl? ›

In brief, Pollard believes that Kathleen Peterson was the victim of an owl attack in the front yard of her Forest Hills mansion. The raptor, he claims, continued its attack as Peterson ran through her front door, collapsing and then bleeding to death at the foot of her staircase.

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 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.

What actually killed Kathleen? ›

Who killed the woman in The Staircase? ›

Max's (formerly HBO Max) true crime series The Staircase chronicles the lengthy saga of Michael Peterson, a novelist and military veteran who was convicted of killing his wife, Kathleen Peterson, who died on the stairs in their Durham, N.C., home in December 2001.

What was the cause of death for Kathleen? ›

And that, at the end of the day, is the key question in this case – what caused the injuries to Kathleen Peterson's scalp? Those were the injuries that actually caused her death. Exsanguination was the cause of death – not blunt force trauma to her brain, not a fractured skull, not strangulation. Loss of blood.

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.

Who killed Dennis Rowe in The Staircase? ›

The real Rudolf's reaction: In real life, he says, “Dennis Rowe did get murdered (by Tyrone Lacour). ... But to somehow suggest that he was murdered without any skull fractures, and that somehow that had some significance to anyone is, again, an absurdity.

Was The Staircase killer guilty? ›

Peterson's defense attorney, David Rudolf, countered that Kathleen had fallen down the stairs. 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.

Is there a conclusion to The Staircase? ›

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

Is the guy from The Staircase still in jail? ›

Michael Peterson served time in prison for the murder of his wife Kathleen, but was granted a new trial in 2011 due to misleading testimony from a key prosecution witness. After his release, Michael lived with his ex-wife Patty and wrote two books about the case, with proceeds going to charity.

Who owns Michael Peterson's house? ›

Clairvoyant and medium Biond Fury purchased the house from Balius in 2008, and paid $1.3 million for it. In late 2018, Fury started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for repairs at the home.

Who is the killer in the movie The Staircase? ›

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.

Where are Michael Peterson's children? ›

Clayton and Todd Peterson

Peterson's sons have always stood by their father, who has maintained his innocence for the past twenty years. According to The News & Observer, Clayton now lives in Maryland with his wife and children, and Todd lives in Tennessee.

Was the staircase killer guilty? ›

Peterson's defense attorney, David Rudolf, countered that Kathleen had fallen down the stairs. 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.

How did the staircase killer get free? ›

In 2017, on the eve of a new trial, Peterson entered an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter. He has remained free since then. For more on Michael Peterson, watch Investigation Discovery's An American Murder Mystery: The Staircase on ID GO now!

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.

Did Kathleen Peterson's daughter get money? ›

On February 1, 2007 Caitlin Atwater and Michael Peterson settled the wrongful death claim for $25 million, which was finalized on February 1, 2008.

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