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May 6, 2022 · Investigators swiftly homed in on Michael as a prime suspect as he was alone in the premises with Kathleen when she passed away. The jury found the evidence sufficient to convict Michael of first-degree murder and sent him to prison for life .
Jun 9, 2022 · But after medical examiner Dr. Deborah Radisch ruled Kathleen's death a homicide, investigators declared that the narrow stairway in Kathleen and her husband Michael Peterson 's Durham, N.C....
- 2 min
- Cydney Contreras
- Michael Peterson
- Todd Peterson
- Clayton Peterson
- Margaret Ratliff
- Martha Ratliff
- Caitlin Atwater
- Sophie Brunet
- David Rudolf
- Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
- Bill Peterson
Sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Kathleen Peterson, Michael was granted a new trial in 2011 when it was brought to light that a key prosecution witness had given misleading information under oath. Blood-spatter analyst Duane Deaver (Myke Holmes) was found to have exaggerated his credentials in the field of forensic investigation. Since...
Todd (Patrick Schwarzenegger) stood by his father's side throughout every twist and turn of the case. Much like his character in The Staircase, he cultivated a strong social media presence. However, since the release ofthe HBO miniseries, his Instagram profile has been deleted. Before going AWOL, however, he changed his mind about his dad’s involve...
As shown in the miniseries, Clayton Peterson (Dane DeHaan) served four years in prison for an attempted bombing at Duke University years before Kathleen Peterson’s death. His character in the show is a troubled young man who decides to turn his life around. And, from what it seems, things have turned out for the best for the real Clayton. He curren...
Played by Sophie Turner, Margaret is the eldest daughter of Air Force captain George Ratliff and his wife, Elizabeth, who lived next door to Michael and Patty Peterson in Germany. Soon after George’s death in an overseas operation, in 1983, Elizabeth lost her life in circumstances so similar to Katherine’s death that her body was exhumed during Mic...
Elizabeth Ratliff’s death had a huge impact on her youngest daughter, Martha (Odessa Young). After Kathleen passed, the young woman developed a severe form of anxiety, aggravated by Michael’s long and public battle against the justice system. In Lestrade’s docuseries, she speaks at length about her mental health issues. Currently living in Colorado...
Portrayed by Olivia DeJonge, Caitlin was Kathleen’s only biological child and the sole child from the Peterson household to believe that Michael was responsible for her mother’s death. Still estranged from her step-siblings, she currently lives with her husband and twin children in Virginia. In 2002,Caitlin filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit agai...
Sophie and Michael were together from 2004 to 2017. 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. She didn’t like the idea of being a character in Campos’ miniseries and felt betrayed by the showrunner. Still, she agreed to meet with Juliet...
Still married to journalist Sonya Pfeiffer (Teri Wyble), defense attorney David Rudolf (Michael Stuhlbarg) relocated to Toronto in 2021, where he works for litigation and corporate law firm Brauti Thorning LLP. He is, however, still connected with his own firm, Rudolf Widenhouse. Alongside Pfeiffer, Rudolf is the owner of the Elder Gallery of Conte...
Played by Vincent Vermignon, de Lestrade was already an Academy Award winner when he got involved with Michael Peterson’s case. 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. With The Staircase, de...
Despite not being an official member of the defense team, Bill Peterson (Tim Guinee) played a huge role in getting his brother Michael out of jail. A lawyer himself, Bill was the one who suggested Rudolf as a defense attorney and took care of most of the Petersons’ legal matters. After Michael’s release, Bill moved back to Reno, Nevada, where he li...
It tells the story of crime novelist Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife Kathleen after he discovered her body at the bottom of a staircase in a pool of blood. Spanning 13 ...
Jun 9, 2022 · The Owl Theory argues Kathleen died from blood loss after being attacked by an owl, not murdered by Michael.
Apr 18, 2018 · Kathleen Peterson, an esteemed member of the community in Durham, North Carolina, was found dead at the bottom of her mansion’s staircase in December 2001 — her body bloodied, her head battered...
Jun 2, 2022 · At the time, Ratliff's death was ruled an accident. Evidence pointed toward a cerebral hemorrhage, which caused her to fall down the stairs. After Kathleen's death, however, Elizabeth's body was exhumed, and North Carolina authorities changed her cause of death to murder.
