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The Staircase Murders is a 2007 Lifetime television film directed by Tom McLoughlin and starring Treat Williams, Samaire Armstrong, and Kevin Pollak. [1] It tells the story of Michael Peterson, [2] who was convicted in 2003 of killing his wife by beating her over the head.
- The Staircase (American miniseries)
Michael Peterson, a crime novelist, is accused of killing...
- Michael Peterson trial
Peterson's case is the subject of the French documentary...
- The Staircase (American miniseries)
Michael Peterson, a crime novelist, is accused of killing his wife Kathleen after she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home. As the investigation continues, the family is thrown into a tumultuous legal battle.
With Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Patrick Schwarzenegger. Tells the story of Michael Peterson, a crime novelist accused of killing his wife Kathleen after she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home, and the 16-year judicial battle that followed.
- (34K)
- 2022-05-05
- Biography, Crime, Drama
- 65
Apr 15, 2007 · The Staircase Murders: Directed by Tom McLoughlin. With Treat Williams, Kevin Pollak, Samaire Armstrong, Brandon Ray Olive. After calling 911 to report his wife's accident, successful novelist and aspiring politician, Michael Peterson, becomes the prime suspect in her alleged murder.
- (435)
- Crime, Drama, Mystery
- Tom McLoughlin
- 2007-04-15
- Personal and Professional Life
- Murder Trial
- Media
- Michael Peterson's Literary Output
Michael Iver Peterson was born near Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Eugene Iver Peterson and Eleanor Peterson (née Bartolino). He graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree in political science. While there, Peterson was president of Sigma Nu fraternity and was editor of The Chronicle, the daily student newspaper, from 1964 to 1965. H...
Kathleen's death
On December 9, 2001, Peterson called emergency services on 911, to report that he had just found Kathleen Peterson unconscious in their Forest Hills neighborhood home in Durham, North Carolina, and suspected she had fallen down "fifteen to twenty, I don't know" stairs. He later claimed that he had been outside by the pool and had come in at 2:40 am to find Kathleen at the foot of the stairs. Peterson said she must have fallen down the stairs after consuming alcohol and Valium. Toxicology resu...
Suspicion surrounding Elizabeth Ratliff's death
Elizabeth Ratliff, a friend of the Petersons, who died in Germany in 1985, had also been found dead at the foot of her staircase with injuries to the head. Her death had been investigated by both the German police and U.S. military police. An autopsy at the time of her death concluded Ratliff died from an intra-cerebral hemorrhage secondary to the blood coagulation disorder Von Willebrand's disease, based on blood in her cerebrospinal fluid and reports that she had been suffering severe, pers...
Verdict
On October 10, 2003, after one of the longest trials in North Carolina history, a Durham County jury found Peterson guilty of the murder of Kathleen, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Denial of parole requires premeditation. Despite the jury accepting the murder as a "spur-of-the-moment" crime, they also found it was premeditated. As one juror explained it, premeditated meant not only planning hours or days ahead, but could also mean planning in the sec...
Films about the case
The court case generated widespread interest, in part because of a televised documentary series variously named Soupçons (Suspicions), Death on the Staircase, and The Staircase, which detailed Peterson's legal and personal troubles. Eight 45-minute episodes of the documentary were assembled from more than 600 hours of footage. It was directed by French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestradeand released by Maha Productions in October 2004. The documentary offers an intimate depiction of defense pre...
Television productions about the case
1. The Staircase, a French miniseries, also broadcast on Netflix and as part of the BBC Storyville series, under the title "Death on the Staircase", including a sequel, "The Staircase II: The Last Chance" 2. "A Novel Idea" – Forensic Files 3. "Debut" – Cold Case 4. "Bite Me" – CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 5. "Written in Blood" – The New Detectives 6. "Blood on the Staircase" – American Justice 7. "Murder, He Wrote" – Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice 8. "Staircase Killer" – Tru...
Radio productions about the case
1. Criminal: "Animal Instincts" 2. The Generation Why Podcast: "The Staircase" 3. BBC Radio 5 Live: "Beyond Reasonable Doubt?" 4. My Favorite Murder"The 100th Episode" 5. Real Crime Profile- # "140-151" 6. And That's Why We DrinkEpisode 324 "Foot Pimples and Chicken Pox Parties" 7. What The French Toast Podcast: "E28. What The Staircase? Part 1 & E29. What The Staircase? Part 2"
Publications
1. The Immortal Dragon (New American Library, 1983) – historical fiction LCCN 2009-665719 2. A Time of War (Pocket Books, 1990) – Vietnam War fiction LCCN 89-49197 3. A Bitter Peace (Pocket Books, 1995) – Vietnam War fiction LCCN 94-37559 4. Charlie Two Shoes and the Marines of Love Company, Peterson and David Perlmutt (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998) – biography LCCN 98-30090 5. Operation Broken Reed, with Lt. Col. Arthur L. Boyd (Da Capo Press, 2007) – Korean War autobiography 6...
May 12, 2022 · So what do we know about the murder case? Here’s a full breakdown of the true story that inspired HBO Max's drama series The Staircase, which is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the...
People also ask
Who wrote 'the staircase'?
Who is Michael Peterson in 'the Staircase Murders'?
Is the staircase based on a true story?
Who plays Michael Peterson in 'the staircase' on HBO Max?
May 16, 2022 · On October 10, 2003, Michael Peterson was sentenced to life without parole for Kathleen's murder, via The New York Times. Soon after entering prison, Michael was injured in a fight, something HBO...
