It was her initiation as Healer and Guide into the Lineage of King Salomon that amplified Kathleen's natural ability to flow this Light and love energy. Michael Peterson echoed these fears in an email to a family friend six days before Kathleen's death. Kathleen Peterson, 48, who was a successful business executive and was Michael's second wife, was found dead on 9 December 2001. The report also noted that she had been found holding clumps of her hair when she died. Self-professed psychic Irene Lalagos testified Thursday that Stacy Peterson feared her police sergeant husband would carry out a murderous threat if she ended their . Who is Constance Marten, the runaway aristocrat? A forensic analysis showed that she had been lying there alive for hours before Michael called 911 around 2:40 a.m. Diane Fanning explains the injuries in a little more detail in her book, Written In Blood. Her husband was the prime suspect. The judge resentenced him to 86 months, and Michael Peterson was released with time served. Before Michael met Kathleen in 1986, he was living in Germany with his first wife, Patricia Sue, and their two sons. What? He's currently behind bars in California's San Quentin prison. The fact that people even want to believe that is maddening. Whats more, she said, the feathers on Kathleen were likely from a pillow. Lestrade's access to Michael Peterson means the HBO Max adaptation has a wealth of source material to draw upon. According to Power, Privilege, and Justice, which produced a 2004 episode about the case titled Murder He Wrote, Peterson went upstairs to work on the computer while police were still on the murder scene. The exterior shots are very recognizable from The Staircase, but also the scenes inside the wood-paneled study inside the home. In the last two episodes of The Staircase, filmed in 2016 as Michael Peterson's legal case finally drew to a close, you might have noticed the lawyers mentioning "strangulation" injuries discovered in Kathleen Peterson's autopsy. There are the believers: In terms of the owl suspect, witnesses have helped the Durham County Police come up with a composite drawing, now being distributed widely throughout the region: If you see him, dont attempt to apprehend him as hes armed and dangerous, but do contact the Durham County Police Department immediately. The Petersons were close friends with Elizabeth Ratliff, who had two young daughters, Martha and Margaret. 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. Copyright 2023 The John Locke Foundation, This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Leandro v. State of North Carolina Explained. We know she had one biological daughter, Caitlin Atwater, two adopted daughters, Martha and Margaret Ratliff, and two step-sons,. She graduated first in her class. On May 5, HBO Max turned its eye to 1810 Cedar Street in Durham, North Carolina. Homicide detectives were called to the Peterson residence. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. 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.) Fury purchased the home from Jason Balius, the former co-owner of the Mad Hatter Bakeshop in Durham. Your tax-deductible investment will help us work to This content is imported from {embed-name}. Now, HBO Max has turned the story into a scripted drama, also called The Staircase and starring Toni Colette as Kathleen Peterson. Michael later became a novelist, weaving his real-life experiences in the military into the plots of his books. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. She had a crushed hyoid bone, which is evidence of strangulation. As mentioned above, Kathleen's high powered, high earning job meant she could afford to take out a hefty life insurance sum, which totalled $1.4 million. But those are just the basic facts. 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. Missing murder weapon. Michael was sentenced to 64 to 86 months in prison; having already spent 89 months in prison, he was deemed a free man. lacerations on the back of her head were consistent with a beating. Michael Peterson was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder on December 20, 2001, via WRAL.com. Cosmopolitan, Part of the Hearst UK Fashion & Beauty Network. Kathleen Hunt was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 21, 1953. The other thing is red neurons, Jones continued. 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. He developed a relationship with Sophie Brunet, the editor of the documentary filming his case. "The blood in the stairway, according to paramedics, was far too congealed to be from a fall that just happened," crime writer Dianne Fanning said. 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. Includes Address (6) Phone (4) Email (4) See Results. At the time of her death, she was a vice president at Nortel Networks at the companys Research Triangle Park offices. But as circumstantial evidence . In November 1985, Ratliff was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in her home. As of 2022, its hard to say exactly who occupies the Petersons former home. 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. Now 79 years old, he lives alone in a ground-floor . She co-edited The Emma Press Anthology of Illness, and previously spent all of her money on Kylie Cosmetics. The home was originally built in 1940 by architect George Watts Carr, who constructed the house for a wealthy businessman by the name of John Adams Buchanan. 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. Kathleen Peterson. Before marrying Kathleen, Michael Peterson was married to Patricia Peterson. endstream endobj 84 0 obj <>stream Margaret, Martha, Todd, and Clayton also believe the justice system failed their father. Prosecutors would later contend that Kathleen stumbled upon the trove of photos and messages while using Michaels computer she had left her own machine at work that day. If its not clear, play it that its not clear, Firth said. And as if the trial needed more sordidness, Brad the hooker was called to the stand, where he congenially answered the prosecutors questions about his services. But public interest in the case didnt really explode until the following year, when Netflix expanded and updated a documentary by French director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade to create a 13-part bingefest called The Staircase. He was granted a new trial in 2011 on the grounds that the prosecution had delivered misleading testimony. Kathleen's kind demeanor and easy-going approach to life rub off on everyone she encounters. Instead, Michael laid the blame for his murder conviction on humans. Apex is losing its only movie theater. Kathleen Hunt Atwater Peterson was a Greensboro, NC, native who grew up in Lancaster, Pa., and graduated with bachelors and masters degrees in engineering from Duke University. As well as being awarded her mother's life insurance payout, Atwater won a $25 million wrongful death suit against Michael Peterson. Jones isnt buying that. It had cobwebs on it but no blood, which appeared to snuff out the prosecutions theory that the implement acted as the murder weapon. Marked man. Jury selection began in May 2003, and the State vs. Michael Peterson trial started on July 1, 2003, via The News & Observer. Resides in Orange, CA. Also known as Cathleen Peterson, Cathy Peterson, Kathy M Peterson. As viewers of both the documentary and HBO Max's adaptation will quickly learn, the crime scene looked extremely shocking. 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.. 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. 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. Throughout the entire tragic ordeal, the Peterson home remained occupied. Thats all for this week. We find doubt uncomfortable., Jones isnt satisfied with that. Gates bought the house in June 1989. fbZC\/>W2n[Fi RzN`s_`%KZ@VZ!>W/wkUCenGU8vTO[&()wn %~*J%O1U`Yow O0?v_.^{Le#}k2^-@0\Lk 'k0nBtn9]IV^KA='9os7" actions. This week Sandy and I tackle a cold case from 2007 of Missing Mom Stacy Peterson who went missing from the home she shared with her abusive husband, former police officer Drew Peterson, who was later convicted of murdering his third wife, Kathleen. Bylines in the Daily Beast, Seattle Times, Classic Rock Magazine, LouderSound. Perhaps he was trying to delete some files. 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. Michael, a writer and would-be politician, called emergency . The prosecution put forth several possible motives for Kathleen's murder. The ending of Netflix's Triptych explained, Khlo Kardashian is living her best life on TikTok, Period-proof activewear to stop the leakage fear. Like the fact the couple were in a lot of debt when Kathleen died. As a young man, he divided his time between North Carolina and Germany. So who really was she? Cat is Cosmopolitan UK's features editor covering women's issues, health and current affairs. Inside Kathleen Petersons Mysterious Death And The True Story Behind The Staircase. Not inebriated. Her hands and arms had contusion bruises but not her legs, which suggests evidence of a struggle. He met his first wife, Patricia Sue, in West Germany, according to . Oh, and one more little thing: Investigators found thousands of gay male porn images and hookup conversations on Michaels computer. Then, yet another bombshell came up. We know Kathleen Peterson was 48-years-old when she died. 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