He lost the election. We also talk about "life" on the Other Side with a This, however, barely featured in The Staircase's depiction of the trial. 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. Both Zillow and Redfin show the house was sold on Aug. 8, 2020 for $1.6 million dollars. But when paramedics arrived on the scene 10 minutes later, Kathleen was dead - and it appeared to them that she had been dead for far longer than just a few minutes. Michael Ivor Peterson graduated from Duke University, where he was editor of the school newspaper, then joined the Marines and earned silver and bronze stars for service in Vietnam. He was granted a new trial in 2011 on the grounds that the prosecution had delivered misleading testimony. Here are some of the random interesting facts we know about the house at 1810 Cedar St.. The house is currently owned by clairvoyant and medium Biond Fury, who paid $1.3 million for it in 2008. Although skeptical, the TV psychologist gave Michael a chance to defend himself. So who really was she? But Michael hit a rough patch when he decided to run for mayor of Durham. That part of the prosecutions case doesnt seem impressive. View Kathleen Peterson results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. On May 5, HBO Max turned its eye to 1810 Cedar Street in Durham, North Carolina. Police believed it was a fireplace blow poke that someone took outside to hide, leaving bloodstains on the door. Kathleen is an acclaimed Contact Center consultant and recognized industry visionary. But Kathleen had life insurance worth $1.2 million to $1.8 million, with Michael as the beneficiary. She was lying in a dried pool of her own blood. Kathleen Peterson had consumed alcohol and the autopsy report shows that she was almost in a state where she was too drunk to drive. By all reports, Michael and Kathleen enjoyed a close, happy marriage and were sought-after guests on the local social scene. Time for a tome. 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. He was in prison for eight years before his conviction was overturned because of improprieties at the State Bureau of Investigation. 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. The Petersons were close friends with Elizabeth Ratliff, who had two young daughters, Martha and Margaret. But at Target, a less affluent, more diverse crowd welcomes him because they know firsthand how unfair the law can be, he said. Now 79 years old, he lives alone in a ground-floor . What makes this story interesting is that WRAL reports Mr. Fury says hes never heard of the case. However, that meeting never transpired, and it's unclear if Kathleen knew about her husband's sexuality or not. %PDF-1.6 % NetflixKathleen Peterson and Michael Peterson in an undated photograph. 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. We know she was married to Michael Peterson. Drew is serving a 38 year sentence in prison after he was found guilty of murdering his third wife Kathleen Savio. 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. She graduated first in her class. The most recent Durham County tax appraisal is $1.9 million. Here are five facts to know about the case: 1. She moved to Baltimore to study how to . 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. This, they said, led to a heated argument that ended with Michael pushing Kathleen down the stairs. The Staircase left out one very important plot twist: The Owl Theory. 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. The defendant had hired criminal defense attorney David Rudolf two days prior, following extensive searches and seizures taking place at his home. 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. A successful career as an executive at the communications firm Nortel followed. Kathleen's kind demeanor and easy-going approach to life rub off on everyone she encounters. By investing in the John Locke Foundation, youre transforming Per ABC News, Michael reported watching America's Sweethearts earlier that evening with his wife, then drinking some wine and sitting by the pool. Cathleen Peterson-Layne, PhD, MD Empowering Leaders and Teams to lead with greater clarity and courageous decision-making. Still, experts could not say with certainty that this was her cause of death. Cat is Cosmopolitan UK's features editor covering women's issues, health and current affairs. The Petersons were heavily in debt, owing over $100,000 in credit debt. 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. At 2:30am, Michael Peterson called 911. Colin Firth as Michael Peterson and Toni Collette as Kathleen Peterson in HBO Maxs. The couple combined their families into one household in the 5-bedroom 5-bath abode in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Durham. Gates is the host of Finding Your Roots on PBS. When Kathleen went inside to bed, he reportedly stayed outside to smoke his pipe. Kathleen Peterson and Michael Peterson in an undated photograph. The New York Times would later describe Michael as having a theatrical personality. Kathleen was a live wire, too. And some believe that Kathleen Peterson died of simple, malicious negligence that Michael chose not to help Kathleen after an accidental fall. Bylines in the Daily Beast, Seattle Times, Classic Rock Magazine, LouderSound. A medical examiner testified that Ratliffs cause of death was homicide via blunt force trauma. All was calm until the evening of Dec. 9, 2001, when Kathleen died. The house was owned by nationally recognized scholar and author Henry Louis Skip Gates Jr., who lived there while teaching at Duke. The actors in the new Staircase seem content to accept the cases ambiguities. Now, the case becomes a dramatization on HBO Max as a miniseries titled, once again, The Staircase. Premiering May 5, it stars Colin Firth as Michael, Toni Collette as Kathleen, Michael Stuhlbarg as defense attorney David Rudolf and Parker Posey as prosecutor Freda Black. On Dec. 9, 2001, novelist Michael Peterson found his wife, Kathleen, dead at the bottom of the back staircase. 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. 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. Fury purchased the home from Jason Balius, the former co-owner of the Mad Hatter Bakeshop in Durham. At the time of her death, she was a vice president at Nortel Networks at the companys Research Triangle Park offices. In 2018, Fury launched a GoFundMe campaign to help him pay for his own repairs, only to later list the home at a price of $1.9 million in 2020. :t M \o[c@zhR_C-*jBR'FoK zm1%DVtW?ZN Ib:Iiw;+ eo=9q(DO5l'\s"dVsN9Q(Ru-tzzv%xVM'`]U CI%D"-.AGiGA Cir+A=[m9'l=lZt^:\j'Su.G{0GwO/"Ju)i&3BY PO0y\W{p"n$a,L2x[ But first, heres a recap of A Novel Idea along with extra information drawn from internet research: Full house. As well as being awarded her mother's life insurance payout, Atwater won a $25 million wrongful death suit against Michael Peterson. And a 2009 forensic analysis detailed traces of wood splinters and cedar needles in her hair, along with microscopic bits of feather. Other online correspondence allegedly proved he was trying to hook up with men on the side, including a chipper prostitute called Brad. Meanwhile, Michael has two sonsTodd and Clayton Petersonfrom his first marriage. The couple had three daughters in college and credit card debt of $142,000. 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. 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. By using this site, you agree to the Terms . She had been drinking and was wearing floppy shoes, so she probably tripped, Michael told police. Although Michael Peterson reported Kathleen's death as an accident to the 911 dispatcher, when paramedics and police officers arrived at the Petersons' home, they were . Kathleen Peterson, 48, who was a successful business executive and was Michael's second wife, was found dead on 9 December 2001. Per ABC News, "From the beginning Peterson maintained that Kathleen had simply slipped on the stairs in a tragic accident after drinking wine and taking valium." (And those investigators must have had money to burn they could have looked online or asked an autistic savant to recall the temperature that evening.). However, with Michael's Alford plea, the case has legally been put to rest. On Nov. 25, 1985, when Michael was living in Germany and married to his first wife, Ratliff turned up dead at the bottom of a staircase just as Kathleen Peterson did 16 years later. Instead of facing a new trial in 2017, Peterson instead opted for an Alford Plea for voluntary manslaughter. There was a bloody shoe print found on the back of her sweatpants, which was a match to Petersons shoe. Michael later became a novelist, weaving his real-life experiences in the military into the plots of his books. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. We want it. Copyright 2023 The John Locke Foundation, This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Leandro v. State of North Carolina Explained. It was in 1986 that Kathleen first met novelist Michael Peterson. When he finally went indoors, "he said he found his wife, crumpled and bloody and barely breathing at the bottom of the stairs," per ABC News. In the first 911 call, Michael Peterson frantically tells the operator that Kathleen is "still breathing" and urges them to hurry. In Michael Peterson's murder trial, the prosecution's case focussed on money - or the couple's lack of it - as a motive. Kathleen was always an accomplished student, engineer, volunteer and leader. Fk2 0yl0S] n[IEz T We know Kathleen Peterson was 48-years-old when she died. 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. According to the BBC's Beyond Reasonable Doubt podcast, which also investigates the crime, Kathleen was a big earner making a six-figure salary. But perhaps the most shocking element of the trial revolved around the mother of Michael Peterson's two adopted children. The front of the house at 1810 Cedar St. is visible from the street, but the entire 3.4-acre property is gated. Her husband, Mike, was convicted of her murder in a case that made national news on Court TV. Email trail. Kathleen Hunt was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 21, 1953. (The infamous blow poke was mysteriously found in the Peterson's garage during the trial, without any evidence of blood on it). If I were to be telling this story, we would know that he did it., 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Mansion from BBCs Pride and Prejudice lists for $7.3M in England, Film producer Charles Cohen has prescription for resilient New York, How Stanley Tucci lost his taste and almost his love of food to cancer, Emmy nominee Josh OConnor proves hes a movie star in Mothering Sunday. $.5.99 / minute. May 5, 2022, 9:41 AM PDT. Lestrade's access to Michael Peterson means the HBO Max adaptation has a wealth of source material to draw upon. Michael's sons, Clayton and Todd Peterson, were also in severe debt. It had cobwebs on it but no blood, which appeared to snuff out the prosecutions theory that the implement acted as the murder weapon. This article was originally published on June 8, 2018, Heres What Happened To Riley In 'The Last Of Us' Video Game, Twitter Is Losing It Over Succession Ending With Season 4, Everything To Know About 'And Just Like That' Season 2, This 'The Last Of Us' Filming Error Reminds Fans Of 'Game Of Thrones' Mistakes, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. In court and on camera, Peterson initially presented his marriage to Kathleen as an enormously happy one, but prosecutors unearthed evidence that he had been secretly seeing men and that the couple had argued about it shortly before her death; they also found a trove of male pornography on his laptop, which they used to further cast scrutiny on his claims of being content in the marriage. Irresistible deal. And since 2017, he has been a free man after his charges were reduced to manslaughter and he was released on time served. Jones isnt buying that. We find doubt uncomfortable., Jones isnt satisfied with that. Michael Peterson echoed these fears in an email to a family friend six days before Kathleen's death. 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 . She offers a refreshing and sometimes challenging philosophy to positioning the Contact Center as the true lifeline of the enterprisebelieving that vision, brand . But by the time paramedics arrived, they couldnt find a pulse. Still, there was no serious drama until Dec. 9, 2001, when Michael Peterson made a desperate 911 call to report his wife had fallen down the stairs but was still breathing. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Kathleen was also a successful lady. Peterson is now serving a life term. Then, she stumbled indoors and, disoriented, fell down the stairs and was knocked unconscious, unable to call for help. Subsequent chapters were filmed after the house was sold. As of 2022, its hard to say exactly who occupies the Petersons former home. "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. Nortel had forced her to lay off some well-liked employees, according to an AP account from May 22, 2002. By the way, WRALs story also says Mr. Fury attended grad school at Duke. In 2009, during investigations by Michael Peterson's legal team that would eventually lead to his reprieve, it emerged that Kathleen Peterson had been holding clumps of her own hair in her hands when she was found dead at the bottom of the stairs. She confronted Michael about cheating on her, there was an argument, and he beat her to death with a fireplace implement, they alleged. Kathleen has one biological daughter, Caitlin Atwater, from her first marriage. Related To Heather Peterson, Tiffany Peterson, Michael Peterson, Ronald Peterson. Lived In Hayward WI, Pine City NY, Pine City PA, Saginaw MI. Friends of Liz Ratliff, who lived on the same German military base as Michael and his first wife, testified about the bloodiness of the scene of her demise. In the early hours of Dec. 9, 2001, novelist Michael Peterson made a panicked, tearful 911 call: He had found his wife Kathleen unconscious and bloody at the bottom of a staircase in their Durham, North Carolina, house. Theory 1: Murder. After a stir in the local community, a 2004 true crime documentary titled The Staircase investigated the events leading to Kathleen Petersons death and the subsequent murder trial. That means a decreased flow of blood to the brain, and it takes hours for that to happen. Caitlin changed her mind after seeing the autopsy report, and ended up siding with the prosecution. By then, one of Michaels books, A Time for War, had made its way onto the New York Times bestseller list and generated enough cash to pay for the Colonial Revival-style house containing the now-famous staircase. By the time Michael went to trial, Lestrade was already filming what would become his epic 13-episode documentary series. Autopsyfiles.org - Kathleen Hunt Atwater Peterson Autopsy Report Keywords: Autopsyfiles.org; kathleen hunt atwater peterson; autopsy report; homicide; blunt force trauma to the head; subarachnoid hemorrhage; michael peterson; veronica hunt; director of informational services; nortel; fallen down stairs; alcohol; xanax; december \ 9; 2011 Kathleen Peterson and her then husband Fred Atwater, a physicist, welcomed Caitlin on April 27 1982. The value of Kathleens Nortel stock had dropped from more than $2 million at its peak to $50,000. Lived In Santa Ana CA, Irvine CA, Corona CA. 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. 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. 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. The report also noted that she had been found holding clumps of her hair when she died. Michael was required to remain under house arrest with a strict curfew, while wearing an ankle monitor. It still sports its grand staircase, library and game room, as well as its pool. And it looked as though someone had tried to clean up blood from the wall near the stairs. 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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. 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. Includes Address (6) Phone (4) Email (4) See Results. The couple lived together for a time after his release, he said. Her husband was the prime suspect. She was a successful student and was the first woman admitted to Duke Universitys School of Engineering in 1967, where she earned her bachelors and masters degrees and met her first husband, physicist Fred Atwater. About. 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. Psychic Discusses Kathleen Peterson Murder In this special episode of Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast a medium is asked to discuss the unsolved mysteries of the murders of Sister Cathy Cesnik and Kathleen Peterson, the kidnapping of Sherri Papini, and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Before marrying Kathleen, Michael Peterson was married to Patricia Peterson. This story was originally published July 18, 2018, 11:15 AM. What really happened in the Peterson household in the early hours of December 9 will likely always remain a mystery. 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. Kathleen's autopsy later concluded that the manner of her death was homicide, due to "multiple blunt force impacts to [the] back of the head." Every product on this page was chosen by a Harper's BAZAAR editor. Regardless of the truth, the similarities between Kathleen and Ratliff's deaths didn't help Michael's case. So what were really looking at here is someone who allowed his wife to bleed out on the floor for hours before he called 911.. Michael was sentenced to 64 to 86 months in prison; having already spent 89 months in prison, he was deemed a free man. Before marrying. Although the case is more than two decades old now, Kathleen Peterson's death and the trial that followed are still a subject of fascination for many. his wifes accidental fall down the stairs, used for the construction of the original. 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.