Episode 44: The Sinister Staircase (Case of Michael & Kathleen Peterson)
From the outside - they’re perfect. Wealthy, educated, compassionate, veteran, with 5 children in a blended marriage.
When Kathleen is found dead at the bottom of the staircase - all of the Peterson’s family secrets come to light. We have more questions than ever…
IF she fell (like Michael Peterson claims) why was there blood soaking the floor & walls? Why did Michael delete personal emails right after he found out his wife died? Why do people believe an owl (the bird) killed Kathleen?
And what about the other woman in Michael’s life found at the bottom of a staircase?
Source notes: (This case is interesting because most people/publishings tend to have a strong opinion about his innocence or guilt so I tried to gather information from both angles)
The Staircase 13 Part Docuseries on Netflix (warning - this one is heavily biased and doesn’t give you the full story but it’s a great interesting watch to understand some of the key players in the trial + Michael Peterson himself)
ID’s "American Mystery - The Staircase (not that in-depth but has interviews with Kathleen’s sister)
https://web.archive.org/web/20131203035409/http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/sc/opinions/2007/547-06-1.htm
https://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/news/local/2017/03/13/16582208/20170313112617080.pdf
https://thecinemaholic.com/michael-peterson/
https://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/crime/article213494999.html
https://www.wral.com/michael-peterson-walks-free-after-15-year-murder-case-ends-with-plea-deal/16546848/
https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/tv/warm-tv-blog/article213085459.html
https://decider.com/2018/06/11/the-staircase-sophie-brunet/
https://web.archive.org/web/20120214125030/http://www.news-record.com/content/2011/12/16/article/durham_novelist_peterson_walks_out_of_jail_awaits_new_murder_trial
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-1-crime-or-accident/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-2-secrets-and-lies/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-3-a-striking-coincidence/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-4-a-prosecution-trickery/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-5-a-weak-case/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-6-the-prosecutions-revenge/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-7-the-blow-poke-returns/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-8-the-verdict/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-9-reopening-the-case/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-10-the-last-chance/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-11-looking-for-closure/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-12-between-anger-and-despair/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/chapter-13-flawed-justice/
https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/the-owl-theory/
https://web.archive.org/web/20100831081004/http://www.thedurhamnews.com/2010/08/25/203219/three-experts-back-owl-theory.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/north-carolina-state-bureau-of-investigation-duane-deaver_n_1516328
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheStaircase/
https://abc11.com/sbi-blood-testing-agent/22937/
https://www.wnpr.org/post/forensic-expert-henry-lee-defends-reputation-after-court-throws-out-murder-convictions
DISCLAIMER: Some links are listed in the source material but the material may never be discussed in the podcast (I just wanted to list them because they gave me a deeper picture of the case in full). If there are un-verifiable sources (ie Reddit) - they are typically referred to as un-verified sources, opinions, and or theories in the podcast and not treated as fact.