GUILTY NC - Kathleen Peterson, 48, found dead in her Durham home, 9 Dec 2001

[Springrain]

As noted from all of us, its bogus to think an owl made its way into the house, violently attacked a woman who wound up downstairs, and then found its own way out of the house as quickly as it came in.

Not to mention, left a giant, haunted house-sized volume of blood splatter of the walls - without more than a single feather left behind.

Maybe the owl got a haircut (feathercut) before the homicide?

On a serious note even small birds landing in your hair and flying away leave your hair more of a mess than hers was.

 

[MartinDupuis]

Ok, lets say I buy wholeheartedly into the common feather theory. Lets even say there was feathers galore.

Even with that, there was no mention of chunks of her hair found at any place in the house, nor was there any reports of chunks of her hair missing from her scalp. I find it very hard to believe that an owl could have specifically attacked her scalp , lacerated her head seven times, and managed not to make her lose any hair at all.

Picture an owl perching on your own head, or someone elses, and violently attacking them with their talons. At some point, the person is going to try and remove the owl from their head. I don't see how she could have had her head lacerated by an owl and still not have any hair missing, at all.

You can forget the owl story....first of all if it was the case you would have found several feathers where the supposed attack happened....second she would have screamed her head off and the husband would have heard that no problem (10 o'clock at night in a quiet neighborhood sitting in the jacuzzi)...and last Elisabeth Ratliff just like with Peterson's wife Kathleen, suffered similar lacerations to her head...what are the odds that 2 wives end up dead from falling from stairs with similar lacerations cause by owls?!?!? Michael Peterson is a murderer!

 

[Skigirl]

What I heard about the origins of the owl story is that the man who first developed the "theory," had lent MP a large sum of money for his defense, and that MP would not be able to repay him from money earned writing a book the "accident," unless he was acquitted. That said, he's been out of prison for years now and no book has been forthcoming. I don't know if that has anything to do with his plea, or if he was advised not to write it by an attorney, or if he just didn't want to write one.

 

[MartinDupuis]

It would have been a book of lies anyway

 

[Deleted member 199554]

HBO releases first photos from its upcoming ‘Staircase’ series on Michael Peterson case

No release date has been given for the series, but HBO says it will debut “this spring.”

Hopefully, the series isn't as pro-MP as the doc was. Colin Firth says he didn't reach out to MP to develop his role so I have hope. Maybe we will get some new info/reaction from everyone involved after the series debuts. Such a fascinating case.

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

 

[Skigirl]

I can't remember if I posted this previously, but his ex wife died relatively recently, and the first house that they lived in together in Durham, in the same neighborhood, is currently for sale.

 

[Seattle1]

The owl did it, and other reasons true crime fans love The Staircase

Everything you need to know about The Staircase (the documentary) before you watch The Staircase (the docudrama).

www.vox.com

Peterson’s trial had many side issues with prosecutorial team corruption, even beyond what we see in The Staircase. The district attorney who launched Peterson’s trial, Mike Nifong, was disbarred in 2007 because of extensive deceit and malfeasance regarding the Duke lacrosse scandal in 2006. Tracey Cline, the district attorney who argued against Peterson in 2011, was removed from the position in 2012 after a judge found she made statements “with malice and reckless disregard for the truth” about Judge Orlando Hudson, who oversaw the Peterson case.
__________________

Wow -- stands to reason why this murder case still attracting camera time.

 

[twall]

What I heard about the origins of the owl story is that the man who first developed the "theory," had lent MP a large sum of money for his defense, and that MP would not be able to repay him from money earned writing a book the "accident," unless he was acquitted. That said, he's been out of prison for years now and no book has been forthcoming. I don't know if that has anything to do with his plea, or if he was advised not to write it by an attorney, or if he just didn't want to write one.

He has written books, Behind the Staircase and Beyond the Staircase, both available on Amazon.

 

[Skigirl]

He has written books, Behind the Staircase and Beyond the Staircase, both available on Amazon.

Thanks, I didn't know that. But what surprises me more than that he he has written books post-prison is that one is advertised as "all money goes to charity" -- I thought that he owed his stepdaughter money for the wrongful death suit and that any proceeds would be going straight to her.

 

[Seattle1]

Thanks, I didn't know that. But what surprises me more than that he he has written books post-prison is that one is advertised as "all money goes to charity" -- I thought that he owed his stepdaughter money for the wrongful death suit and that any proceeds would be going straight to her.

I recall the first book written following MP's release from prison (Behind the Staircase, 2019) was self-published and was first available for free download. I'm not sure when Amazon picked it up with all profits donated to charity. MOO

ETA:
The copyright owner of this book has dedicated it to the Public Domain. Everyone is free to copy, reproduce, and disseminate this book without fear of copyright infringement.

December 2001 was the beginning of the long, arduous journey for Michael Peterson, who was accused, placed on trial, and convicted of murdering his second wife, Kathleen Peterson. In Behind the Staircase, a memoir, Peterson recounts the events leading up to the incident which would forever change his life.
[..]

Behind The Staircase | Michael Peterson | download

Behind The Staircase | Michael Peterson | download | Z-Library. Download books for free. Find books

usa1lib.org

 

[twall]

Thanks, I didn't know that. But what surprises me more than that he he has written books post-prison is that one is advertised as "all money goes to charity" -- I thought that he owed his stepdaughter money for the wrongful death suit and that any proceeds would be going straight to her.

You're welcome! The money is going to charity and not to him so he doesn't have to pay her.

 

[swedeheart]

Michael Peterson talks about relationship with The Staircase editor

Speaking on This Morning, Michael Peterson, from North Carolina, said the director would 'never have allowed' editor Sophie Burnett to skew the Netflix documentary The Staircase in his favour.

www.dailymail.co.uk

"Peterson was the subject of a 2018, 13-part Netflix documentary, also called The Staircase, filmed across 16 years. However, it emerged in 2018 that he had engaged in a 15-year relationship with one of the series' editors, Sophie Burnett.

But speaking on This Morning today, Peterson said the documentary, which provided footage that helped to overturn his murder conviction, was not influenced by his relationship with Sophie."

...

This Morning host Phil Schofield said: 'Some would say that if you are dating the editor of the documentary that there's a fair chance that she's going to go easy on you, especially if she thinks you might be innocent.'

...

Host Holly Willoughby suggested: 'She may have been falling for you while watching that?'


He replied: 'Well that I wouldn't know. That I don't know... I would ask her "Why? Oh my God, you're married. You have a wonderful career. You have a child. Why are you coming to see me?".

'And part of it was [her saying] "I knew you were innocent from all of that".'

He went on: 'But to suggest that she had skewered the documentary to make it look that way, no, she didn't do that.

 

[pcrum12]

As the post you quoted said, finding tiny, microscopic feathers in one's hair seems so common and benign that it's weird that it was mentioned. She was outside, she liked to garden, there are owls in the Durham area (albeit not homicidal ones), it doesn't seem like a stretch that feathers would land on her head. I never understood this theory as portraying North Carolina owls with a thirst for human blood and suffering. It also seems questionable at best to me, the idea that an owl would swoop in, violently attack a woman, and then leave only one single microscopic feather behind as a clue. And to emphasize what you said - At some point, the person is going to try and remove the owl from their head. I don't see how she could have had her head lacerated by an owl and still not have any hair missing, at all. Was she supposed to just be chilling while an owl was using its talons to try to tear her scalp apart, while also sneakily leaving her hair intact? I just don't get it...



Sisters in clumsiness!

She actually had both hands full of her own hair.

 

[lisette]

Michael Peterson talks about relationship with The Staircase editor

Speaking on This Morning, Michael Peterson, from North Carolina, said the director would 'never have allowed' editor Sophie Burnett to skew the Netflix documentary The Staircase in his favour.

www.dailymail.co.uk

"Peterson was the subject of a 2018, 13-part Netflix documentary, also called The Staircase, filmed across 16 years. However, it emerged in 2018 that he had engaged in a 15-year relationship with one of the series' editors, Sophie Burnett.

But speaking on This Morning today, Peterson said the documentary, which provided footage that helped to overturn his murder conviction, was not influenced by his relationship with Sophie."

...

This Morning host Phil Schofield said: 'Some would say that if you are dating the editor of the documentary that there's a fair chance that she's going to go easy on you, especially if she thinks you might be innocent.'

...

Host Holly Willoughby suggested: 'She may have been falling for you while watching that?'


He replied: 'Well that I wouldn't know. That I don't know... I would ask her "Why? Oh my God, you're married. You have a wonderful career. You have a child. Why are you coming to see me?".

'And part of it was [her saying] "I knew you were innocent from all of that".'

He went on: 'But to suggest that she had skewered the documentary to make it look that way, no, she didn't do that.

He is disgusting.

 

[Skigirl]

She actually had both hands full of her own hair.

There were strands of hair, her hands were not "full of hair," and nothing about that fact that says that she was attacked by an owl, there are lots of ways to explain those.

 

[pcrum12]

There were strands of hair, her hands were not "full of hair," and nothing about that fact that says that she was attacked by an owl, there are lots of ways to explain those.

Didn't say it did mean an owl. 35 hairs in one hand alone. She pulled her own hair out.

 

[pcrum12]

Didn't say it did mean an owl. 35 hairs in one hand alone. She pulled her own hair out.

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. Within this hair, microscopic feathers were found along with wood splinters and cedar needles.

 

[Skigirl]

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. Within this hair, microscopic feathers were found along with wood splinters and cedar needles.

Will you please provide the source? I know one of the investigators and he says that "clumps" is an exaggeration.

 

[Seattle1]

Will you please provide the source? I know one of the investigators and he says that "clumps" is an exaggeration.

Are the discovery and/or autopsy reports available online?

I don't know that there's anything official but the documentary depicts strands of Kathleen's hair found in her own hands, and microscopic evidence of feathers, needles, and wood splinters as cited by others.

In other words, hair tested to be the victim's hair in her hands is notable whether or not it be a clump or strands. MOO

ETA: add link w/autopsy which confirms hair in each hand, pine needles, and splinters in scalp hair. I'm not seeing 3-feathers but perhaps others better and cyphering the handwriting.

https://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/news/local/2008/08/19/3400859/1219199590-20080819151549211.pdf