Tag Archive for: Michael Peterson

Michael Peterson: The Staircase

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So I just found out from a friend (thank you, NM) that The Staircase got updated segments on Netflix. I had no idea! They are stirring the pot to make people question the justice system. Again. We just went through that with Steven Avery a few years ago.

I am all for questioning facts, wondering what really happened as we do make mistakes in society. Our justice system is not perfect, and any reasonable person would admit that. I am not against this, but the two cases I have seen chosen so far (this and the Avery case) are not ones I would have picked. I also don’t like when shows don’t represent the facts, but put spins on things. I wouldn’t call the Avery’s Making a Murderer a documentary. It was way too misleading. I wonder on the Peterson Netflix series, was it unbiased? Or are they spinning it again? Don’t get me wrong, there were times when questions brought up were legitimate, probably in both cases, but it doesn’t make spins in other areas reasonable.

I haven’t seen the Netflix updates, but spoiler alert, I have written about the Michael Peterson case many times in the past. You can search my blog if you want to know what I think.

I’m curious what you think! Did watching The Staircase make you question if the justice system got it right?

Michael Peterson Walks Free

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If you’ve followed my blog over the years, you know I wrote about Michael Peterson.  In 2001, Michael’s wife, Kathleen, was found at the bottom of the stairs in pool of blood, dead. He maintained she fell, but investigators saw it differently.

In 2003, Michael Peterson was convicted of beating his wife and killing her. He was sentenced to life without parole.

In 2011, Peterson was granted a new trial on the basis a lab analyst lied on the stand.

To make a long story short, Michael Peterson recently got a plea deal where he gave an Alford plea. He doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges the prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him.

The judge sentenced him for time served and he walked out of prison after only eight years. He is now a free man.

I have not believed Michael Peterson and have said so from the first time I heard about this case.

Did you know another woman who Peterson was also close to years before he knew Kathleen died by falling down the stairs, too?  Her name was Elizabeth Radcliff.  Lightening didn’t strike twice in Michael’s life by coincidence, if you ask me.

Michael Peterson: Innocent or not?

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For those of you who saw Dateline this past week, you likely saw the story of Michael and Kathleen Peterson. Michael is an author who claims his wife fell down the stairs and subsequently died from her fall.  He was tried and convicted of her murder, but his case has been overturned on some technicalities.

Oddly enough, Michael had a friend, Elizabeth Ratliff, many years ago in Germany who also fell down the stairs. The last person to see her alive?  Michael Peterson.

He is a gregarious and outgoing individual.  He is likely fun to be around. He knows how to socialize and smooze with the best of them, without question, so when you watch Michael Peterson talk, its really surprising he’d be the type to commit murder.

The newest element to the story is that there were microscopic feathers found in Michael Peterson’s wife’s hair upon exhumation that are consistent with an owl attack.  Michael Peterson’s defense attorney now wants us to believe she was attacked by an owl in the back of the head to help explain the many wounds to the back of her head–which by the way are consistent with the same wounds that Elizabeth Ratliff suffered as well.

I do not believe Michael Peterson at all nor do I believe an owl attacked his wife that night. I believe he is involved in the death of two women:  Kathleen Peterson and Elizabeth Ratliff.

Michael Peterson Gets New Trial

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Michael Peterson was convicted in his wife Kathleen’s death in 2003. She was found at the bottom of a staircase.  Peterson, who was home at the time, said it was an accidental fall, but the coroner concluded that Kathleen was murdered.

Peterson had been married before and divorced, but his children stood steadfast by him during the trial. Dateline NBC covered the story in 2006 as Peterson prepared for trial and you could see his children fervently believed in him. You got to see him up close and personal.

I, however, did not believe Peterson’s story.

Ironically, Peterson is also connected to another death. A close friend of his, Elizabeth Ratliff,
was also found at the bottom of a staircase deceased as well.   What are the odds? At first her death was investigated as an accident, but after Kathleen’s death, her case was looked at again, and  now it too is believed to be a homicide as well.  Guess who the last person was with Elizabeth?  Michael Peterson.  A neighbor in 2003 recalled seeing him leave the night Elizabeth died (read more).

According to Yahoo News, Peterson is getting a new trial in the Kathleen Peterson case because a witness mislead the jury about the strength of the bloodstain evidence. You can read more here. This will be interesting to watch develop.

Michael Peterson is currently out of jail on bond. Can you believe it?  I wouldn’t go near a staircase if you see him!

The Staircase

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People have been asking me for my opinion about the Sundance documentary, The Staircase, for several months now. It wasn’t until recently that I realized while I hadn’t seen the documentary, I did know about the case! Dateline covered the story back in 2006 and I saw Michael Peterson speak extensively at that time (the show was titled: Death at the bottom of the stairs), and with that, I can tell you that I did not trust Michael Peterson when I watched him tell his story.

Unfortunately, since it has been so long, I am unable to recollect the details about why I feel the way I do, but after seeing this clip below I do remember thinking Peterson was a brilliant man–a brilliant man who got too confident in his abilities to manipulate the truth.

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Peterson’s cockiness comes blaring through on this video. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think Peterson was a commenter on some event rather than on his own murder trial. His emotions and behavior are flat out-of-line with a man who is being wrongly accused.

Peterson says he understands the prosecutor wants to win.

What?

Would you understand that the prosecutor wants to win at all costs–disregarding the truth–if that meant you would spend your life behind bars?

No innocent man would ever understand others who disregard the truth at their expense. It’s plain old nonsense, and just an attempt to by Peterson to get people to “think” he is a reasonable guy. It’s pure manipulation by a man who loves to impress others by his intellect. It’s just this time, he wasn’t as smart as he thought he was.