Coincidence or murder? Nothing is clear about this story. Stairs in the main role

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The situation is in Durham, North Carolina. The writer Michael Peterson and his wife sat by the pool at night drinking wine. Kathleen came home early. When Michael decided to join her, he saw his sweetheart lying in a pool of blood at the foot of the attic stairs. He called for help, but it was too late. The paramedics who arrived at the place stated that he was dead. The police and the prosecutor were shocked by what they saw. There was blood everywhere, not only on the floor but on the walls as well. This made most of it not an accident, but a murder. Michael Peterson became the prime suspect and his Kathleen house became the crime scene.

This process changed everything

Before we go back to the whole story, let us remind you that the trials in the United States often look like a “show” and have little to do with what, for example, we see in the courts in our country. Although there is of course a judge in the courtroom, the jury plays a much greater role, which ultimately reads out the verdict. Prosecutors and defense lawyers try to influence the jurors during trials, trying to convince them of the innocence or guilt of the accused. They often make judgments based on their own beliefs or experiences. Is it right? Considering how many people in the United States have been wrongly convicted, this could be a bit of some reflection.

But let’s get back to the Michael Peterson case. For his family, the trial seems like a mere formality, after all, he was a loving husband and father. According to them, he couldn’t kill. He had an impeccable opinion and was respected in society. On the other hand, the prosecutor, although she had no evidence, was convinced of his guilt. Their only way to convict Peterson was to convince the jury that he was just an unscrupulous bad man.

Not as immaculate as it appeared

Michael Peterson’s secrets came to light during the trial. Pictures of naked men were found in his house. Later it also turned out that the writer had dated male prostitutes and had sex with them. Apparently, his wife knew that he was bisexual and she did not mind. The jurors, however, disagreed.

In addition, the prosecutor’s office buried in his past and found something very interesting. A few years earlier, his friend’s wife had died as a result of a fall down the stairs. Well, a rather strange coincidence? This was initially considered an accident, but the autopsy performed for the present trial called these findings into question. The advantage of Michael Peterson is that he adopted orphaned children who, by the way, stood behind him throughout the entire process. It is not known, however, whether he did not do it, e.g. because of remorse.

The verdict changed his life

An autopsy taken during the investigation revealed that Kathleen had been beaten prior to her death. There was also an opinion that such injuries, or even blood, which was literally everywhere, could not be the result of falling down the stairs. Of course, the process was also attended by specialists who had a completely different opinion. But the time of the verdict has come.

The trial lasted 10 years, during which time various evidence and traces were examined. The life of Michael Peterson was analyzed. When it was time for the verdict, the jury debated for 10 days. After that, they reached unanimity and declared Michael Peterson guilty on premeditation and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The accused’s family could not believe it. How is it possible that the jurors passed such a sentence, since no skull fracture was found in the woman? What happened in all of the nearly 300 battery cases the defense analyzed. What, then, decided on the verdict? Emotions? Autopsy results showing beating? We’ll never really know that.

Confident of his innocence, Michael Peterson tried to appeal the sentence, but to no avail. His only hope was a breakthrough in the case in the form of, for example, new facts or evidence that would allow the trial to be resumed.

The defense even put forward such a thesis that the whole situation was to blame … the owl that was supposed to attack the woman. This theory was created after the bird’s feather was found on her clothes. Attempts were made to prove that an owl attacked a woman while she was outside. Frightened, she ran home, stumbled and fell down the stairs. Investigators, however, did not believe the story. The case seemed to be lost in the end.

However, luck smiled at Michael Peterson

In 2011, one of the most important experts in the case was dismissed from work in the investigative office. The reason was the confirmation of untruth in one of the earlier trials. And that was a chance for Michael Peterson. It was proved then that the expert’s dishonesty led to the wrongful conviction of another man, who, by the way, was finally released from prison after spending 17 years behind bars.

Michael Peterson’s advocates delved into the subject, thus proving that in the course of the documentation analysis some of the tests performed were not included in the final report. As they believed then, on purpose.

The lawyers asked for the trial to be resumed due to the new circumstances. They proved that prosecutors based their accusation mainly on this flawed expertise. This is evidenced by the fact that 40 percent of them devoted this analysis. final speech. The court agreed with the defense lawyers, which led to the reopening of the trial. That didn’t mean Michael Peterson was innocent, however. In the new trial, the only thing that was changed is the classification of the act from premeditated murder to murder under the influence of emotions. Thanks to this, Michael Peterson, after serving eight years and paying 300,000. dollars he could leave the prison. Thus, he was under house arrest.

Michael Peterson is finally free, but didn’t he actually kill?

Over the next several years, Michael Peterson tried to prove his innocence, but that didn’t happen. Ultimately, the writer started working with the prosecutor’s office. He took advantage of an institution unique in our country, called in the USA Alford plea. This is a statement by the defendant who pleads not guilty but states that the evidence gathered by the prosecutors may be sufficient for a conviction. The maximum sentence for taking advantage of this benefit is 86 months. As Michael Peterson spent much more time in prison, he was immediately released from house arrest. Michael Peterson and his family’s nightmare is finally over. However, the question remains, did the man actually kill his wife Kathleen or was it an unfortunate accident? We will not find out.

If you are interested in this story, you can watch the documentary series “Stairs”, which is available on. There are also voices from overseas that this story will be the basis for a series on HBO Max.