Peterson's second son, Todd (who was adamant that his step-mother's death was alcohol-related), currently lives in Tennessee. Man Made Pros and Cons List About Leaving Her, Missouri Man Killed Expectant Wife Who Googled 'What to Do if Your Husband Is Upset You Are Pregnant', Andrea Yates, Who Drowned Her 5 Kids in a Tub in 2001, Annually Declines Release from Mental Hospital, Robert Durst, Convicted Murderer and Real Estate Scion, Dies at 78, Scott Peterson Resentenced to Life in Prison After Being Spared Death, as Laci's Family Confronts Him, Robert Durst's Murder Conviction Will Be Vacated on Legal Technicality, L.A. RELATED: 'The Staircase' Ending Explained: What Is the Truth? Before that, she ran twice for District Attorney, in 2006 and 2008, but never got the job. "Michael Peterson, you are pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter," Zamperini said, according to local news sources. And the fact that another woman very close to Peterson was also found dead at the bottom of a staircase 16 years before Kathleen. "You will be treated as guilty for murdering my sister Kathleen, and you will be a convicted felon forever.". And what's his life like today? I couldn't afford to live in Paris and my children, and grandchildren were in America. Considering Deaver's testimony had largely swayed the jury at Peterson's trial in 2003, Peterson was granted a retrial hearing, and was released from prison in 2011. Therefore, Michael lives a modest life in Durham, North Carolina. MICHAEL Peterson was convicted of killing his second wife, Kathleen, in 2003. He got back to writing and released two books telling his side of the story: 2019s Behind the Staircase and 2020s Beyond the Staircase. His life had been dissected and picked apart by the media for almost two decades, and it was high time he got some much-needed privacy. Whenever a movie or TV series based on real-life events comes out, viewers are plagued by two unavoidable questions: how much of what we saw is true and what happened to those characters after the cameras were turned off? He was not a friendly columnist. Who is Viktor Bouts wife? The pair divorced, paving the way for Michaels marriage to Kathleen Atwater. According to theNews and Observer, Peterson has not owned the home since he sold it to Jason Balius for $640,000 in 2004. The conclusion painted Michael as a murderer with a propensity for pushing his victims down staircases and no doubt contributed to his conviction. By taking the plea, he admitted that the prosecution had enough evidence to secure a manslaughter conviction. "But we parted ways because he had to go do an 'Indiana Jones.'" In addition to losing the civil suit his step-daughter, Caitlin Atwater, brought against him, Peterson also lost out on Kathleen's $1.4 million life insurance policy, per WRAL, and the home that they shared was put on the market in 2020, per The Sun. His plans, he said, are to spend the time he lost behind bars with family and write a new book. Behind the Staircase and Beyond the Staircase were self-published in 2019. However, Brunet claims to have waited until she was finished with the eight original episodes of The Staircase before sending her first letter to Peterson. 21. Located in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Durham, the house boasts a patio with an outdoor fireplace, a library, a game room, five bedrooms, and five-and-a-half bathrooms, not to mention the pool. It wasnt about the crime it was about the process.. While living together, Michael and Patricia became close with their neighbors-turned-friends George and Elizabeth Ratliff. Michael and Patty became even closer post-trial. He was granted a new trial in 2011, after a judge determined that a key prosecution witness lied on the stand during the original trial. The real Patty (Trini Alvarado) not only stood by her ex-husbands side throughout the trials, but she also took him in after his release. In 2001, Kathleen died on the staircase of the Peterson home in Durham, North Carolina. It explores the life of crime novelist Michael Peterson (played by Colin Firth), his sprawling North Carolina family, and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen Peterson (Toni Collette). Stalk It: Michael Petersons former house, featured in The Staircase, is located at 1810 Cedar Street in Durham, North Carolina. With no takers, the price was cut to $975,000 in December and it finally sold the following July at a drastically reduced $640,000. HBO Max's new drama The Staircase reenacts the entire story, documentary included, in a star-studded limited series out now. They also became the legal guardians of two young girls, Margaret Ratcliff and Martha Ratcliff, following their mother's death in 1985. The new series starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette retells Michael Peterson's now-infamous 2001 murder charge. Rudolf gave a behind-the-scenes look at the trial, and why he agreed to participate in the docu-series, made by a French documentary crew that first aired in the United States in 2005, and was updated and re-released on Netflix last year. The miniseries will draw on the2018 Netflix documentarythat followed the same case. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. "That we dont cheat or invent evidence, that we actually care about truth and representing people as well as they can be represented. She said: "My mother and Mike had an absolutely loving relationship and there is no way that either of them would ever wish any sort of harm on the other one.". Instead, he submitted an Alford Plea for manslaughter. According to News and Observer, Peterson sold the house in 2004. In 2002, Caitlin filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Michael. As The News & Observer noted, the former columnist's Alford plea was distinctly tied to the charge of manslaughter, which means that Peterson asserted his opinion of his innocence while simultaneously accepting charges (via Metro). He tried to fight it, but his firing was upheld in court in 2014. The staircase where Kathleen Peterson was found dead on Dec. 8, 2001 is seen above Credit: Netflix. To recap the case, Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of her staircase in 2001. In July 2020, the infamous five-story Cedar street mansion where Kathleen died was put up for sale. Now Judge Clifton Newman will hand down the sentencing in the double murder trial Friday, March 3, at 9:30 a.m. Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison in his conviction on the murder count . Before the new trial commenced, Peter submitted an Alford plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter and was set free as hed already served time for murder. Alex Murdaugh trial live stream, updates: Sentencing set for double murder charge. Throughout Michael Peterson's murder trial, his ex-wife was not only his emotional support but also his financial, and until her death, she believed him to be innocent. Michael Peterson murder trial in July 2003. Peterson retreated to Durham, North Carolina, after his release. A new HBO series, The Staircase, follows Peterson's murder trial after his wife, Kathleen, was found in a pool of blood at the bottom of a staircase in the couple's home in 2001. 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He was released in 2011 on bond ahead of a retrial but in February 2017, Peterson submitted an Alford plea to the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter, meaning he admitted the evidence against him would likely lead to a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt but the did not have to admit he committed the crime. Despite claiming his wife had fallen down the stairs, Michael Peterson was charged with her murder and convicted to life imprisonment in 2003 after one of the longest trials in North Carolinas history. It sold the following year to medium Biond Fury (I shudder to think about the seances that took place there during his tenure! Now 79 years old, he lives alone in a ground-floor apartment in Durham, North Carolina, and has since sold the house he shared with Kathleen. Despite her words and the fact that Peterson will be considered a convicted felon for the rest of his life, he apparently plans on trying to live out the rest of his years at home in North Carolina. Michael opted out of the trial before it was due to begin in 2017. And, from what it seems, things have turned out for the best for the real Clayton. Heres what went on in their lives after the events portrayed in The Staircase. Michael's late wife Kathleen will be played byToni Collette. The most confounding aspect of The Staircase is tough to pinpoint. However, Caitlin's opinion changed after she saw her mother's autopsy photographs that depicted horrific injuries. He was caustic and sarcastic and mean sometimes, Rudolf said. who was found dead at the bottom of their staircase in their Durham, North Carolina home on December 9, 2001 as well as the aftermath. He lives in Durham in a house without a staircase by Chege Karomo - on May 06, 2022 in People Netflix Michael Peterson is the subject of one of Netflix's most riveting and polarizing true crime documentaries, The Staircase . Colin Firth plays Michael Peterson in the latest retelling of Kathleen Petersons murder and Michaels attempts to prove his innocence. Police also uncovered transactional emails the supposedly devoted husband had exchanged with a male prostitute in the months before the killing, as well as a plethora of pornographic images on his computer. Usually when you're convicted of murder, you're sentenced to something like life, or close to it, in prison and that's essentially that. Michael had two sons - Todd and Clayton - from his first marriage. But since it's been some time since the 2001 alleged crime and initial trial in 2003, where is Michael Peterson now? However, it was nearly a very different ending. Michael Peterson listens as his defense attorney David Rudolf makes opening statements in Peterson's request for a new trial on December 6, 2011, in Durham, North Carolina Advertisement The original Staircase docuseries is largely told from Peterson's perspective, and there is an undeniable appeal to witnessing him in action. While there have been several retellings of the chilling case, like Netflix's take on it in 2018, HBO Max's rendition strives to reveal untold sides and different angles of the harrowing story, with Colin Firth as the lead. 'The Staircase': Where Are Michael Peterson and His Family Now? The docu-series follows Petersons trial for the murder of his wife Kathleen,who was found dead at the bottom of their staircase in their Durham, North Carolina home on December 9, 2001 as well as the aftermath. The listing photos show the changes that have been made since Petersons departure. In an odd twist, before the Petersons called the place home, it was featured in the 1990 dystopian drama The Handmaids Tale, based upon Margaret Atwoods 1985 novel of the same name. From the comments Ive gotten from a lot of people, it [The Staircase] achieved that purpose; it opens eyes to what criminal defense lawyers do.. In 2002, his film Murder on a Sunday Morning, about the wrongful accusation of a Black teenager for the murder of a tourist in Jacksonville, Florida, took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Although Peterson is out of prison and was granted a manslaughter charge as opposed to the original murder charge that he served nearly eight years in prison for, he maintains his innocence in all matters related to the case. You Can Stream Every 'Rocky' Movie Right Now, 'WoF' Fans Say This Is the 'Biggest Choke' on Show, Daisy Jones & the Six Is a Rock Epic in 10 Parts, See Mariska Hargitays Emotional Tribute on IG, Poker Face Is Rian Johnson's Exciting New Show, A Timeline of Events in 'Murdaugh Murders', 'White Lotus' Star Reveals 'Iconic' Scene Was Cut, How Sam Claflin Built His '70s Rock Star Body. Curiously, though he was living with Kathleen at the time, his first wife, Patty, from whom he was separated, co-signed for the loan. During filming, Peterson began dating one of the documentary editors, Sophie Brunet. Then I went and realized, no, I can't. Sophie and Michael were together from 2004 to 2017. But, theres one thing that pretty much everyone can agree on: The man needs to avoid a home with staircases. One of the prosecutors in Michael's case, Freda Black, will be played by Parker Posey. ", one of the longest of its kind in North Carolina history, is not synonymous with his conviction being overturned, losing the civil suit his step-daughter, Caitlin Atwater, brought against him, Michael Peterson's first wife, Patricia "Patty" Peterson, forced to sell his assets, including the family home. Another constant during the lengthy legal ordeal was Michael Peterson's first wife, Patricia "Patty" Peterson. Played by Vincent Vermignon, de Lestrade was already an Academy Award winner when he got involved with Michael Petersons case. Her parents influence on her career, Where is Mary Roach from American Idol now? The Staircase is set to premiere on May 5, 2022. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! His character in the show is a troubled young man who decides to turn his life around. As shown in the HBO Max miniseries, de Lestrade went into fiction after working on The Staircase. A lawyer himself, Bill was the one that suggested Rudolf as a defense attorney and took care of most of the Petersons legal matters. At the time of Kathleens death, Deaver (portrayed by Myke Holmes in the show) worked as a blood spatter analyst for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). To be fair, according to A Perfect Husband, Aphrodite Jones 2004 book about the case, Petersons defense attorney David Rudolf had the staircase boarded up on December 14, 2001, just days after the killing, in order to preserve evidence. The jury found the evidence sufficient to convict Michael of first-degree murder and sent him to prison for life. He was less than pleased with the HBO Max miniseries and claimed to feel betrayed by documentarist Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. HBO Maxs true crime drama The Staircase is no exception to this rule. The home where Michael Peterson allegedly killed his wife, Kathleen, nearly two decades ago as documented in the docuseries "The Staircase" is now on the market for a pricey sum. ", He told the News & Observer: "They were companions. To recap the case, Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of her . Above (L-R): Tim Guinee, Sophie Turner, Colin Firth, Olivia DeJonge, Patrick Schwarzenegger appear as the Peterson family in "The Staircase" on HBO Max. Then theres the haunting violin score. He is portrayed in the Antonio Campos-created series "The Staircase" by actor Joel McKinnon Miller (best known as Scully from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"). In 2003, the North Carolina medical examiner reexamined Ratliffs remains after they were exhumed in Texas. So, where is Michael Peterson now? In 2017, Peterson submitted an Alford plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter and was released on time served. One of the most puzzling revelations of his trial was that in 1985, Michael was the last person to see Elizabeth Ratliff before she was discovered dead at the bottom of a staircase. Michael Peterson is the subject of one of Netflixs most riveting and polarizing true crime documentaries,The Staircase. Able to use the clips eight years later, and that was a really important thing for the judge to see.. Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. Kathleen, the familys breadwinner, had deferred much of her income to purchase Nortel Networks stock and though its value once totaled almost $2.5 million, the 2001 crash whittled it down to about $50,000 by the time of her death. In the film, made long before the popular Hulu series, the Colonial masks as the supposed Republic of Gilead residence belonging to Commander Fred (Robert Duvall) and his wife, Serena Joy (Faye Dunaway), where handmaid Kate (Natasha Richardson) is placed. In 2019, he self-published two books Behind the StaircaseandBeyond the Staircase that detail his side of the story. Dirt is a part of Penske Media Corporation. He was sentenced to seven years and a month in prison, but got out right away having already served eight years after his first trial. Margaret and Michael are both featured in the movie as interviewees. Now 79 years old, he lives alone in a ground-floor . Since his release from prison on bond in 2011 and his official release in 2017, Peterson has returned to his passion for. Along with the aforementioned amenities, the 19-room home also boasts a 3.4-acre lot with a slate patio, an outdoor fireplace, and a large pool (though the latter was, for whatever reason, drained in the MLS pictures). Peterson was placed on house arrest in 2011 before his retrial, then officially freed in 2017 after submitting an Alford Plea (he admitted the evidence against him could prove he was guilty, while proclaiming his innocence). Michael Peterson married Patricia Sue in 1968 and they later welcomed two boys: Todd and Clayton. Their mom had been Elizabeth Ratcliff, the family friend who'd died falling down the stairs in Germany decades before Kathleen Peterson, per Cosmopolitan. He said: "We made plans to live in Paris. He said that when he previously prepared for a role, he liked to delve right in and get "to the heart" of the character. As seen in The Staircase, Michael Peterson admitted to his family and The Staircase documentary filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (streaming on Netflix) that he was bisexual when evidence of male pornography was found on his computer. Since his release from prison on bond in 2011 and his official release in 2017, Peterson has returned to his passion for writing, publishing two books about his trial, his life behind bars, and the taste of freedom. The reason, according to him, was money. The story behind The Staircase. Blood-spatter analyst Duane Deaver (Myke Holmes) was found to have exaggerated his credentials in the field of forensic investigation. Defense Attorney David Rudolf knows that the public is divided on whether. Were it not for SBI analyst Duane Deavers corruption, Michael Peterson would probably still be in jail. Michael J. Peterson Contributing Writer at Quora-active since 2013 , Former Indiana All State Choir Zone 3-B chairman 1989-2000, National Council of Japanese Language Teachers Association-board . "He visits his grandchildren; he's writing. Following an investigation and an ensuing murder trial, the latter of which became one of the longest of its kind in North Carolina history, Michael Peterson was eventually found guilty. Following his release from prison, Michael Peterson, 78, has written two books detailing a behind-the-scenes account of his trial, imprisonment, and life after jail. In the final episode of the miniseries, we see Michael Peterson starting to get his life back on track as a free man. Michael Peterson's first marriage was to Patricia "Patty" Sue (now Peterson), an elementary school teacher. But what happened to him after he took that Alford plea in 2017? Much like his client, Rudolf took issue with Campos version of events, especially with scenes that implied Michael kept information from him and that his professional relationship with Pfeiffer was unethical. He enjoys a secluded life with the occasional media appearance to again discuss that fateful staircase. The woman who The Staircase viewers may be mistaking for Peterson's new wife could well be Sophie Brunet (played by Juliette Binoche), an executive producer of the Jean-Xavier de Lestrade documentary, also titled The Staircase. In 2010, he was found culpable of withholding crucial evidence from defense attorneys in other cases. She also campaigned for the Durham County District Court, to no avail. Kathleen and Michael had been married since the 1990s and had quite the blended family. It soon came to light that not only had Deaver exaggerated the number of cases in which he had worked, he also had no proper forensics training and was guilty of lab misconduct. Selling the house at its [original $1.175 million] asking price would still not cover all of Petersons debts.. Michael Peterson's conviction and life sentence in 2003 was only some of the story. He's in a ground-floor apartment with no stairs that was a really important accommodation," Rudolf shared. June 8, 2018. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Elizabeth Ratliffs death had a huge impact on her youngest daughter, Martha (Odessa Young). 2020s Latitia is a true crime drama about the 2011 abduction of 18-year-old Latitia Perrais. That wasnt what the documentary was going to be about. They settled in 2007 for $25 million, but it is possible that Michael never paid the full amount considering how much strain the trial put on his finances. "We originally had been to Harrison Ford," the HBO show's creator Antonio Campos told Entertainment Weekly. Reprieve for Michael came in the form of prosecutorial impropriety, which forced the judge to grant him a new trial in 2011. Currently, Rudolf is in "occasional" contact with Peterson since his 2017 release. "I've always believed he did not do this, and I always will.". He published his first memoir, Behind the Staircase, in 2019 and went on to write a follow-up, which was released that same year, titled Beyond the Staircase. Michael and Patty, along with their young boys, reportedly resided in Germany for quite a while around the 1980s, where they befriended their closeby neighbors, George and Elizabeth Ratliff. Instead, Peterson is now living the life of "a 75-year-old grandfather" and surviving "[on a] fairly modest pension," Rudolph told "True Crime Interviews" host Steve Wraith. On the flip-side, Petersons former sister-in-law, Candace Zamperini, said during the hearing in 2017 that shell always see him responsible for her sisters death. Still, in the same year, the North Carolina Human Resources Commission ruled that he should have merely been demoted from his position and that the SBI owed him 34 months of wages. ", It turns out Firth landed the role out of pure Hollywood happenstance. All Rights Reserved. After Michael and Pattys divorce, they went to live with Michael and Kathleen, whom they called mom, in the United States. Michael Peterson had two sons, Clayton AND Todd, and Kathleen Peterson had a daughter, Caitlin, from her previous marriage to Fred Atwater. Michael and Kathleen led an extravagant lifestyle and were, by all accounts, happy. They did, however, use her death as an example of an incident that could help him "fake" Kathleen's accident. In a recent interview with the Wrongful Conviction podcast, he talked about the role of the documentary in his trial and criticized the HBO miniseries, calling it an abomination and stating that Campos trashed his familys life. Her stepfather's lies, including about his sexuality, also played a role, as depicted in the HBO Max miniseries, The Staircase. He currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland, where he works as an engineer. Defense attorney David Rudolf talked toOxygenabout Michaels current living situation: He is living in Durham Im not sure why hes living in Durham, but he is. I couldn't afford to live in Paris, and my children and grandchildren were in America." The Staircase follows Michaels more than decade-long legal battle toward freedom and paints a portrait of the Peterson family both before and after Kathleens death. In a big twist that fans of the original documentary, The Staircase, wouldn't have seen coming, Peterson dated Sophie Brunet, an editor of Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's documentary series. Colin Firthwill play the main subject Michael Peterson; the role was originally slated to be played by Harrison Ford. At the time of her mother's death, Caitlin Atwater supported her stepfather and after his arrest told the press of his innocence. Instead of the trial actually happening, a judge reduced the novelists charges to manslaughter thanks to entering an Alford plea, which essentially states that while he doesn't admit to the crime, he does admit that the state as sufficient evidence to charge him. True-crime enthusiasts have taken a renewed interest in Michael Peterson and the death of his wife, Kathleen, with the premiere of the mini-series "The Staircase". In an interview with Vanity Fair, she said that Lestrades The Staircase cost her many job opportunities in the documentary world, including at Netflix. Peterson's sons have always stood by their father, who has maintained his . Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with Kathleens death, and spent nearly a decade behind bars. Though the kitchen island was moved (it was formerly attached to the kitchen counter, cutting across the room at a diagonal), the space still looks much as it did when Michael lived there. Despite actors playing the people involved, the limited series is very much a true story in which Peterson is still alive (and living freely) today. There, Patty Peterson worked for the U.S. Department of Defense for 35 years as an elementary school teacher. Michael donates the proceeds from his book to charity as he wouldnt be allowed to keep them for himself. I don't speak French," Peterson admitted to The News & Observer. Despite the fact Michael was the one to call 911 the night Kathleen allegedly fell down the stairs, Michael soon . Still estranged from her step-siblings, she currently lives with her husband and twin children in Virginia. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. But that proved a tad more challenging in this case. Above (L-R): The real Todd Peterson, Martha Ratliff, Margaret (Ratliff) Blakemore, and Clayton Peterson. Now 79 years old, he lives alone in a ground-floor . He and Patty maintained a close friendship so close that CNN reports she "loaned" Michael $168,000 towards his legal fees in April 2003. After breaking up with Sophie (Juliette Binoche) and refusing to move to Paris, Michael went to live with his ex-wife Patty (Trini Alvarado). Newsweek has everything you need to know about his relationship history: No, Michael Peterson does not have a new wife today. The couple discussed moving to France and settling in the capital once the trial was finally over. Peterson's defense attorney David Rudolf told Oxygen in 2019 that Peterson is currently living in Durham in a ground floor apartmentso no staircase. That being said, it's unclear how Peterson is now making a living or if he has some kind of income. The couple shared two sons, Clayton Peterson and Todd Peterson. ), who in turn put it on the market this past July for $1.9 million. In fact, when his step-daughter Caitlin Atwater Clark attempted to sue him for $25 million in a wrongful death lawsuit, he specifically told his lawyer that he had no money at all. The last person to see her alive was Michael Peterson.