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

  • #281
Goody said:
Wasn't there another Peterson on trial about the same time with the same name? Maybe he is the one with two dead wives. Shoot, if I remember.

I do remember the friend in Germany. He adopted her daughters after she died. But for some reason I keep remembering another woman somewhere in the states who died mysteriously. Maybe it was the guy on trial for killing his neighbor. Did he have a dead wife in the past? He was a Peterson, too, wasn't he? He was acquitted for killing the elderly neighbor even after admitting he did it. I think my brain is on overload.

LOl, the only other Peterson I know that was on trial was Scott. Oh I know who you mean, that freak in Texas who killed his neighbour, dismembered him, pleaded self-defense and got away with it. Yes, it was his first wife who has never been found Kathleen something, Hurst or Durst. Yeah that's it, his name was Robert Durst. They believe he murdered her in 1982 but she has never been found. There's another woman in California he is suspected of killing too.
 
  • #282
cami said:
LOl, the only other Peterson I know that was on trial was Scott. Oh I know who you mean, that freak in Texas who killed his neighbour, dismembered him, pleaded self-defense and got away with it. Yes, it was his first wife who has never been found Kathleen something, Hurst or Durst. Yeah that's it, his name was Robert Durst. They believe he murdered her in 1982 but she has never been found. There's another woman in California he is suspected of killing too.
O, you are right. It was Durst not Peterson. But now I remember the other Peterson. There were two Michael Peterson's on trial about the same time. One was the book author but I can't remember who the other was. It isn't fair that our brains turn into kalaedscopes after 50 years. All that information putt-putting around in a maze of unmarked paths can make one dangerous. hahahahahah.
 
  • #283
The Michael Peterson case will be on ABC's "Primetime" tonight. It is a two hour special, starting at 9:00 PM. I just saw some previews on GMA and it looks very well done. I'm curious whether we'll see the infamous Dr. Lee and his ketsup spitting? This was a fascinating case, with many twists and turns, and I followed it closely.
 
  • #284
do you know if this is original programming? i have seen the same TV news show twice on this murder and i would LOVE to see a new show about this.
 
  • #285
izzyB said:
do you know if this is original programming? i have seen the same TV news show twice on this murder and i would LOVE to see a new show about this.

Our TV guide says it's new. They put an "N" after a program listing to show if it's new or a repeat. And this one has an "N".
 
  • #286
well i enjoyed this program (as much as one can enjoy a program about a murder) b/c there was so much behind-the-scenes footage provided by the defense. i was offended about the way peterson and his brother "joked" about him going to jail. of course i felt the sorriest for the children who were blind to the kind of person this man is. i guess this was aired b/c his appeal will be decided soon. in the short interview with him behind bars it looked to me like he was dying his hair, leaving a grey fringe of sorts.
 
  • #287
Yeah, I watched that too. I really felt like he "knew" he would be convicted when he was "joking" around with his brother about going to prison.

I also felt like almost all of the behind the scenes footage on him was staged, he's a pretty good actor.

I never heard any interview of the jurors. Would like to know their take on the case. It had to be because there was so much blood.
 
  • #288
Izzy - can you help me out here? After an hour & 45 min. into the program, my *&%$& satellite went out. Not exactly the best way for me to get to sleep last night. Can you tell me about those last 15 minutes? Did it give any updates concerning the children left behind? I wonder if any of them ever reconciled with Kaitlin? I greatly admired her for her position.

I was surprised to see the extent of so much staging that went into the defense, even telling Michael he needed to trim his eyebrows. Seeing David Rudolph explode at his poor camera guy the night before opening was also surprising. I'm just glad the jury was able to see through all the smoke and mirrors.
 
  • #289
I watched the entire 12-hour "The Staircase" when it appeared on cable television. Everytime he whipped his glasses off during the trial and threw them on the table, I wanted to laugh out loud! LOL
 
  • #290
Do the children still stand behind Michael Peterson?
 
  • #291
Jeana (DP) said:
I watched the entire 12-hour "The Staircase" when it appeared on cable television. Everytime he whipped his glasses off during the trial and threw them on the table, I wanted to laugh out loud! LOL


WOW! i would have loved to have seen that entire thing. what cable channel was it on?

when i had seen a one-hour news program (like 48 Hours) on network TV about this case we sure did get a whole lot more about the amount of blood being inconsistent with a fall, and more consistent with a beating.
 
  • #292
izzyB said:
WOW! i would have loved to have seen that entire thing. what cable channel was it on?

when i had seen a one-hour news program (like 48 Hours) on network TV about this case we sure did get a whole lot more about the amount of blood being inconsistent with a fall, and more consistent with a beating.


I'm not sure, but you can get a pretty good deal on the DVD:

Genres: Documentary
Plot Synopsis: Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, presents a gripping courtroom thriller, offering a rare and revealing inside look at a high-profile murder trial. In 2001, author Michael Peterson was arraigned for the murder of his wife Kathleen, whose body was discovered lying in a poll of blood on the stairway of their home. Granted unusual access to Peterson's lawyers, home and immediate family, de Lestrade's cameras capture the defense team as it considers its strategic options. "The staircase" is an engrossing look at contemporary American justice that features more twists than a legal bestseller.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A1INIK/002-0222271-3946466?v=glance&n=130
 
  • #293
Sniffy38 said:
Izzy - can you help me out here? After an hour & 45 min. into the program, my *&%$& satellite went out. Not exactly the best way for me to get to sleep last night. Can you tell me about those last 15 minutes? Did it give any updates concerning the children left behind? I wonder if any of them ever reconciled with Kaitlin? I greatly admired her for her position.

I was surprised to see the extent of so much staging that went into the defense, even telling Michael he needed to trim his eyebrows. Seeing David Rudolph explode at his poor camera guy the night before opening was also surprising. I'm just glad the jury was able to see through all the smoke and mirrors.

sorry i have just gotten back here----have been over on mary winkler's thread all afternoon!!

i cannot remember the exact last 15 minutes but:

they found that fireplace blow poker or whatever it was called, apparently in the garage leaned up against a wall. it had cob-webs all over it but no blood. they tried to have a "perry mason moment" in court, but to no avail in the end.

the night before the verdict peterson and his brother were having wine and joking something about this being the last bottle before he went to jail or something....and guess what, after 5 days that is just where he went.

after the verdict was read he turned to his kids and said about 3 times "it's OK" and then was taken outside the courtroom. when they loaded him in the car to leave the courthouse he appeared shorter than i thought he was.

there was a brief interview with him in jail. it looked like the had dyed his hair jet black except for a grey fringe. (i was thinking if he is bi-sexual he may be doing OK in prison....sorry, my bad, but i could not help but think that).

at the end of the program they said a decision about the appeal should be coming down soon,

and oh yes, they had a face shot of his attorney saying after this case he questioned justice and his choice of a career b/c if there was ever a "reasonable doubt case" this was it or something to that effect.

they did not address what kind of relationship he still has or does not have with any of his children, nor whether there has been any reconcilation between her daughter and the rest of them.

this is all i can remember, but feel free to ask any other question and i will do my best....and again sorry it took me so long to get back over here.
 
  • #294
Thank you so much, Izzy, for bringing me up-to-date. I watched the entire trial while it was happening, but it's interesting to know some of the off-camera stuff. I forgot to mention how my stomach was turning while watching Dr. Sum-Ting-Wong inside the staircase, trying to make the blood spatters something they were not. When he testified on the stand that there was too much blood for a beating, I nearly lost it. To think, I used to respect that man. It's a wonder that stint didn't end his career.

I was glad when I heard that Kaitlin had won her wrongful death case against Michael P. Wonder how the other kids felt about that? I don't know how those two girls could have sat through this whole trial and not been able to fit the pieces together. Did they really believe that their birth mother's identical death was simply an accident?

Yes, michael must be Mr. Popularity where he now is! :woohoo: :woohoo:
 
  • #295
Sorry if this is posted elsewhere...But Ijust heard a quick blurb on tv (I'm local to Durham) that the conviction of Michael Peterson was upheld on appeal. More details to follow.....
 
  • #296
Sep 19, 2006 : 12:38 pm ET

http://www.heraldsun.com/firstnews/37-771110.html

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The State Court of Appeals refused Tuesday to overturn the murder conviction of novelist Michael Peterson, who was found guilty of bludgeoning his wife to death in their home in 2001.

A three-judge panel, with one judge dissenting, rejected Peterson's arguments that he did not get a fair trial because of repeated judicial mistakes.

His wife, Nortel Networks executive Kathleen Peterson, was found dead Dec. 9, 2001, at the bottom of a staircase in the couple's Durham home. Her husband, now serving a life sentence, insists that she died in an accidental fall.

His lawyer, Thomas Maher, said he would appeal Tuesday's ruling to the state Supreme Court.

In an April hearing, Maher argued that Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson erred during the trial by allowing in evidence that had no clear connection to the case and letting prosecutors make prejudicial statements in closing arguments.

In particular, Maher cited testimony regarding Peterson's bisexuality, his wife's finances, and the prosecution implication that he was to blame for the 1985 death of a friend, Elizabeth Ratliff, who also was found dead at the foot of a staircase.

The appeals ruling said the evidence was fairly admitted. The judges did find defects in a search warrant but said it had no ill effect on the defense.

Judge Jim Wynn dissented, saying three of the issues presented to the appeals court should be ruled upon only by the state Supreme Court.

Peterson's books include the 1990 Vietnam novel "A Time of War" and its 1995 sequel, "A Bitter Peace." He also was a newspaper columnist and once ran for mayor of Durham.
 
  • #297
I heard this on a newscast on CourtTV today. I was surprised that it got this far so soon. It usually takes many years before an appeal is heard. Poor Mikey - he got shot down again! :woohoo:
 
  • #298
thanks for the info b -
another one that killed 2 woman, and is apealling cause he is innocent...:loser:
 
  • #299
Maybe they are speeding things through due to his age, he is in his sixties, or maybe because it is not a death penalty case. I think the West Coast peterson's appeals will drag on forever because of the death penalty.

Michael Peterson is a real creep, I used to come across him walking his dog in his neighborhood where my child attended school. He just gave off bad vibes. Another case of thinking he is smarter and better than everyone else (especially in his case, the stupid Durham police department). He and his snotty attorney came into court acting like the whole thing was just an inconvenience. Thank goodness the jury was smart. By the way, when the jury was questioned after the verdict, they said the autopsy photos were all they needed to convict him.. No way that much trauma came from a fall. I have a fed prosecutor neighbor and he saw the photos. He said that the media sensationalized what was a very simple case. The autopsy findings just totally ruled out a fall in his opinion. JMO
 
  • #300
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1258735/

The movie, based on the 2004 Aphrodite Jones book, "A Perfect Husband," is set to air April 15 on Lifetime Television and stars Treat Williams as Michael Peterson; Kevin Pollak as his attorney, David Rudolf, and Nina Jones as Kathleen Peterson.

(more at link)

I watched "The Staircase" documentary (biased!) and enjoyed it. I didn't read Aphrodite's book about this case though.

I do like Treat Williams! :blushing:
 

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