On October 10th, 2003, Michael Peterson, a renowned author, was convicted of killing his second wife, Kathleen, in December 2001. The case was surrounded by controversy and doubt, and even a wild theory posited that an owl attacked Kathleen. The case is still filled with unknowns and mysteries, having since been the subject of a Max (formerly HBO Max) true crime series and a Netflix docuseries.
Meet Michael Peterson
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1943, Michael Peterson married his first wife, Patricia Sue, in 1968 and had two sons, Todd and Clayton. He also has two adopted daughters, Margaret and Martha. He served in the Vietnam War and was honorably discharged in 1971. Michael and Patricia eventually divorced in 1987, with Michael quickly meeting, moving in with, and marrying Kathleen in 1997.
Marine Corps and Literary Pursuits
After graduating from Duke University in 1965, Peterson took a job at a government think-tank, which led to his four-year Marine Corps career. After the war, he worked as a government consultant in Germany, where he met his first wife. He moved back to the U.S., to North Carolina, with his family in the late 1980s and began his literary career, drawing inspiration from his time in Vietnam. His novels received mixed reviews, never bringing national acclaim, but they paid the bills. While writing novels, he also worked as a journalist for the local newspaper.
Family Life and Relationships
Michael and Patricia, an elementary school teacher, lived in Graefenhausen, Germany, where they became friendly with the Ratliff family—Elizabeth, a war widow, and her daughters Margaret and Martha. In 1985, Elizabeth was found dead at the bottom of her staircase. Authorities ruled her death as the result of a brain hemorrhage, and the Petersons became Margaret and Martha’s guardians. After Patrica and Michael divorced, their sons lived with Patricia, while Elizabeth’s daughters lived with Michael and his soon-to-be wife, Kathleen Atwater.
The Fateful Night
Tragedy struck when Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in 2001. She was found lying on the floor, with her head resting on the staircase’s landing. Peterson reported that Kathleen must have fallen down the stairs after a night of drinking and taking Valium. As he was the only person in the house at the time of death, Peterson was accused of her murder, especially given the uncanny similarities to Elizabeth Ratliff’s death.
The Trial and Conviction
At Michael’s trial in 2003, the prosecution, led by Durham County District Attorney James Hardin Jr., argued that he had killed his wife after she had discovered more than 2,000 explicit images of men on Michael’s computer and other email evidence of an extramarital affair with a male escort. The defense, however, argued that Kathleen was accepting Peterson’s bisexuality. Nonetheless, Peterson was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
Doubts and a New Trial
The were several doubts about the original case. The coroner’s report indicated that Kathleen had died from repeated blows to the head, not consistent with a fall down the stairs. Additionally, Kathleen’s blood alcohol content was high, and she had Valium in her system, supporting Peterson’s version of events. After serving eight years, Peterson was granted a new trial when a judge ruled that the blood spatter analyst gave misleading testimony.
The Alford Plea
In 2017, rather than go through another trial, Peterson submitted an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter. This plea allows Peterson to avoid admitting guilt while acknowledging that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him. His new sentence was 86 weeks in prison, but he was freed immediately because he had already spent more time in prison than that.
The “Owl Theory”
One surprising theory from this complex case came to light after a microscopic feather was listed in the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) evidence list. The “owl theory” posits that an owl “slammed” into Kathleen, striking her on the head and lacerating her scalp. Kathleen is then thought to have run inside, subsequently falling down the stairs and blacking out, only to be found sometime later by her husband. The theory comes from Peterson’s neighbor, Larry Pollard.
Media Frenzy and Documentaries
The case was widely documented at the time because of who Peterson was and the manner of Kathleen’s death – especially when compared to Elizabeth Ratliff’s death. Since his appeal and release, the story has been the inspiration for a number of television productions, podcasts, and books. Shortly after the trial, a French documentary miniseries was released on Netflix, and in 2022, Max released “The Staircase,” starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette.
Sources
‘The Staircase’: Where Is Michael Peterson Now?
Wife’s staircase death at center of novelist’s murder trial
Who is Michael Peterson and why are people talking about him?
The Staircase: 5 things you might not know about the Michael Peterson case
