Transcripts For WCAU Dateline NBC 20170408

Liz was on the floor, and there was a puddle of blood under the staircase. Two women that appeared to die the same way. Two Women Associated with Michael Peterson. Reporter what are the odds . Yeah, what are the odds . Reporter at trial, one expert this is the scene of a beating. Reporter would make a slamdunk case for petersens guilt. The jurors were captivated by his testimony. Reporter but were his dramatic experiments, legit . Its designed to get a result. Its not scientific at all. Reporter now, in his only network interview, Michael Peterson on the twist that might finally lead to the truth. The most difficult decision i ever made in my life. Reporter a writer at the center of a story even he couldnt make up. Im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Dennis Murphy with down the back staircase. Reporter you might take him for a retired english professor from one of the universities in the raleighdurham area. Preppy. Witty. Back when a sparkling storyteller welcome at so many of the best dinner tables. But nowadays in this part of North Carolina, Michael Peterson is known not as the novelist he in fact is, but as that man, the notorious husband, the one with the wife dead at the bottom of the staircase. You were not only the prime suspect, you were the only suspect. The only one. There was massive amounts of blood. How do you explain it . Was this a fall, or was this murder . Reporter exactly what did happen on that staircase . And what is the truth about Michael Peterson . A man once sentenced to die in prison for the commission of a homicide he has always maintained was nothing but an accident. Innocent, he asserts, but the novelist in him knows full well the irresistible appeal of the storyline he says he got swept up in. Sex, money, murder, my god what more could you have . Reporter tonight, one of the most compelling mysteries weve ever covered as you havent heard it before. The people who believe in you will always believe in you. The people that dont never will. Reporter Michael Peterson in his own words. On the marriage, that fine old house. The blood spatter expert who wasnt. And the family friend found dead in another staircase far away in time and place. Lightning dont strike in the same place twice. Reporter theres even a theory about an owl. Whooo done it, huh . Oh, its just awful. Reporter were going to need some time here. Its both complicated, and a simple question so if i were to ask you, as i do right now, did you bludgeon kathleen that night on the stairway of the house and cause her death . No. No. No. Reporter lets go back to the night early december 2001, and stroll up the driveway of the gracious, rambling house in one of durhams better neighborhoods. Michael and his wife kathleen are out back by the pool, as the story goes, finishing off a bottle of wine. In the living room, the Christmas Tree is already up, the grown peterson children expected home for the holiday. Christmas was big for kathleen. Oh, good lord. Yes. And valentines day and halloween she made a celebration out of everything, everything. Reporter kathleens daughter caitlin, stepdaughter to michael, says her mom was always happiest at the holidays. She loved christmas. She loved being in the mood, playing Christmas Music from the start of december all the way through new years. Reporter it was the kids, actually, who brought kathleen and michael together. His first marriage had started to fall apart. She was separated. Michael was raising his two boys and two young girls, margaret and martha. The girls became neighborhood playmates with kathleens daughter caitlin. They played oh my god, barbies and those little my little ponies and those damn little trolls. All the time, all the time. And then kathleen came over to borrow a book one night. And thats when it began. Reporter as the kids spent more and more time together, so did michael and kathleen. It wasnt long before they approached the kids about becoming a family together. They sat me down and said, you know, caitlin, how would you like it if martha and margaret come to live with you . And i just immediately thought, a permanent sleepover reporter and thats exactly how michael presented it to his two girls. Margarets the older. Its really funny. I think he put it, were gonna have a long sleepover, and we said, yeah reporter her younger sister, martha. Of course we want to live with caitlin and kathleen, and play barbies, and, um, be a family together. Reporter so michael and his four kids and kathleen and her daughter became a blended family. He was a former u. S. Marineturnedfull time writer who liked to draw on his wartime experiences in vietnam. One of his vietnam books got a big advance, money that went towards buying that fine house. They said, were thinking about moving into this house. And they drove us over. We didnt even go inside. We just looked and we thought, oh, my goodness, you know, this is amazing. Reporter there in his office he wrote his war stories and churned out sharpelbowed columns on City Politics for the local paper. Stick in the eye stuff. Hed even been a losing candidate for mayor of durham. Kathleen, meanwhile, was a top business exec at nortel, the telecommunications company. Shed received a masters degree in engineering from duke and had even appeared on the cover of a university magazine. She was a smart, smart woman. But most of all, she was funny and sexual but had this marvelous sense of life and vitality just reporter and you were in the swirl of the local society. Right . Yeah. Reporter Charity Balls and parties and nice dinners. Yeah. And she did all of this. She reporter good, smart friends at your table . Absolutely. She would invite people over. She cooked meals. And shed do the desserts. She did it all. Reporter so michael was all too happy to say yes when after years of living together, kathleen suggested the couple make it official. So we got married. And it was a gigantic wedding. It was in the house. And there must have been 150 people there. And it was just wonderful. I always thought, you know, this is what ill register as the happiest day of my life. Reporter kathleens younger sister, candace, says kathleen was over the moon, as well. She was thrilled to be marrying michael. All three girls were bridesmaids in her wedding. I remember at the wedding the three girls singing, were goin to the chapel. The day they married, my sister glowed. Reporter and candace watched in amazement as, over the next several years, kathleen did it all. Not only did she raise these children and have a quite accomplished corporate career, oh, dinner for 50 . Shed do it. Reporter and so it was on that mild december evening 2001, with kathleen juggling it all. Shed been preparing for the holidays, while fending off the latest crisis at work. Michael says she made dinner. They sat down to watch a movie. Then, headed out back to enjoy a midnight glass of wine. We went to the pool, and we talked. Reporter what time would you guess . Youre out there 10 00, 11 00 at night . Well, this was at 11 00, 12 00, something something in there. Reporter with a morning Conference Call scheduled, michael says, kathleen turned in first. She said, i gotta go in. Ive gotta get ready. I gotta go to sleep be because the conference is first thing in the morning. So she gets up from the pool and goes, ill see you later. Reporter an hour went by. Maybe two. Michael says he may have dozed off. When he went back inside the house sometime after 2 00 a. M. , there was kathleen at the bottom of the stairs. A ghastly sight. And i saw her lying in the back staircase. Her feet out. And there was blood. There was just blood everywhere. My wifes had an accident. Shes still breathing. What kind of accident . She fell down the stairs. Reporter was she breathing . She was at the time. Reporter she was . Yeah. Is she conscious . What . Is she conscious . No, shes not conscious. I knew she was dying. I mean, id seen enough of that in vietnam. I mean, i knew she was dying. Please, get somebody here right away. Please okay, somebodys dispatching the ambulance. Send the ems right away, right away, right away. Called them again. How but apparently its only, like, two minutes later. But it seemed like forever. Reporter a long few minutes, but nothing compared to the many, many years of questions that would follow. What had happened on that back staircase now pooled in blood . The answer would be in the eye of the beholder. When we come back, what a husband called an accident an investigator would see very differently. Ive seen falls. Ive had family members fall. And to me, it did not look anywhere like a fall. 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Emts saw michael cradling his wife, weeping so hard, he had to be pulled away. That was the worst. I mean, the worst. I mean, that was worse than anything in in war, anything, anything, because you expect that. This is entirely different. I had i wasnt ready for this at all, at all. Did anything explain itself to you, michael . As youre looking at her crumpled she fell down the stairs. Somebodys at the bottom of the stairs. Your automatic response is, well, she fell down the stairs. Detective art holland was called to the cedar street mansion in the wee hours. We first spoke to him more than a decade ago. So first officers had already arrived at the Peterson House . Right. First officers arrived. Ems were arrived. Reporter the medical examiner was called in, too. He looked at the victim and said that a fall down the stairs was possible. He could see some lacerations or feel some of the lacerations on the back of mrs. Petersons head. And he stated that this could be the result of a fall. Reporter by dawn, news of kathleens fall started rippling through the family. Details were still vague when family members reached michaels girls, margaret and martha, at college. She said um somethings happened. Your mom has fallen down the stairs. You know it was an accident. You know, you should come home. Reporter by the time kathleens daughter, caitlin, got the word, it was as shocking as it was definitive. Her College Roommate delivered the news. She looks me straight in my eye and she just says, caitlin, its your mom. Shes dead. Those words still ring clearly in my head. Reporter kathleens sister, candace, couldnt believe what she was hearing. Michael called her directly. It was still vague or she we couldnt tell if she fell down the stairs or she fell off a ladder, but there was no question i kept saying, are you sure shes dead . Reporter yes, michael was sure. Candace headed to her sisters house. The whole thing was sealed off with crime scene tape. And this is a this is a mansion, huge property. So the police kept saying, you know you may not want to go in. Theres so much blood. This is really awesomely scary. Reporter the police were not exaggerating. When candace finally got inside, she says, michael brought her to the back staircase where it happened. My sisters blood is washed in pools up against the wall. I mean, her blood was everywhere. Reporter the image would be seared in her mind. It didnt look right. She couldnt go there. I still wanted to believe it was an accident. I didnt want to think something horrible happened. Reporter but all that blood, up the walls, could it all be from a fall down the stairs . And thats precisely what was gnawing at detective holland. Ive seen falls. Um ive had family members fall and to me it did not look anywhere like like a fall. Reporter something to him seemed off about kathleens body position, too. Her body was definitely not in the position that it would be in if she came to a final resting position after the fall. Reporter they processed the scene, photographing the stairwell, documenting the pool of blood and spray up the wall. Outside, drops on the walkway and a smear on the front door. In the kitchen, blood stains on a cabinet, and underneath, a drop of blood on the counter. And right beside it, an opened wine bottle and two glasses. It was, you know, very, very time consuming. You dont want to, you know, go through it real speedy. You want to make sure that you cross all your ts and dot all your is. Reporter it would take investigators a couple of days to go through the 9,000 square foot estate. While they did, michael and the kids took refuge at a neighbors house. Just spent most of the time in bed then margaret came in, martha, caitlin, everybody flew in, everybody. Reporter he says from the moment the Police Arrived at the house, they were aggressive towards him and his family. But even in his haze of shock and grief, peterson says, he thought he knew why. I had written some really negative comments. Id id been a columnist. And ive really, really been hammering the police. You you you lit out at the cops, huh . Oh many times. Reporter his accusations of the city cops ranged from their failure to get a handle on Drug Trafficking to only solving a small fraction of crimes. The chief of police had emailed me just a couple days before saying, mike, you dont know how much damage youve done to the morale in the police department, and all this. If youre seeing the cops giving you and the family some attitude, you think you understand why. Thats what i thought. Sure. Sure. I understood it. Yeah. Of course, theyre pissed at me. [ laughs ] i got i got it. Reporter but, he says, one of his sons read the polices behavior differently. He thought the police were zeroing in on his father from the getgo. He immediately called my brother, his uncle, who is an attorney in reno and said uh uncle bill, kathleens dead. They think mike did it. And my brother got on the phone. And he said, im representing Michael Peterson, do not talk to him. Reporter michaels daughters were also worried. They knew very well their father relished being the provocateur. And now the police were swarming their house. Walking the yard. Looking under bushes and trees. I remember feeling that something was going badly with the police. Reporter michael called a family meeting. He sat down with us and said, you know, girls, i dont know whats going on, but it seems bad. And i i just want you to know i didnt do anything wrong. I didnt do anything. And we said, of course, dad, we know. Reporter but police werent so sure. They seemed intent on peeling away the veneer of the petersons marriage. What was going on behind the closed doors in the mansion on cedar street . They were asking me questions about kathleen and michaels relationship. And if i knew of anything. I thought they were happily married. She was very much in love with him. Reporter but the detectives were beginning to believe the perfect marriage was anything but. Despite that gore joy journalists house gorgeous house, perhaps they werent rolling in the dow. I sensed the stress. I sensed that. And what the autopsy revealed. That one picture, that was it. de p breath phone ringing theyll call back. No one knows your ford better than ford and ford service. Right now, during the big tire event, get a 140 rebate by mail, on four select tires. Some have it, some dont. When the odds are stacked against you, you either hide or stand up. At Strayer University weve seen it in our students for 125 years. And if you ever think of quitting, our success coaches will be there to pick you up and work with you every day to put you on the right path. Its time. Strayer university. Lets get it, america. The dinosaurs extinction. Got you outnumbered. Dont listen to them. Not appropriate. Now im mashing these potatoes with my stick of butter. Why dont you sit over here. Something for everyone is awesome. Find your awesome with the Xfinity Stream app. More to stream to every screen. Reporter Michael Peterson says he was certain that his wife, kathleens death had been a terrible accident. A slip and fall down their back staircase after a night of drinking. But as days passed, he started to realize that not only did police think kathleens death was a case of murder, but also that he was the prime suspect. Well, thats just nonsense, and i wasnt worried because when youre innocent, well, nothing can happen. Reporter but it was hardly nonsense to detective holland of the Durham Police department. From the start, he was investigating not an accident but what he believed was a suspicious death. And there were good reasons, he felt, to take a close look at Michael Peterson. Reasons, he says, that had nothing to do with petersons very public criticism of the police. He may have had some issues with with the p. D. You know, i dont my perception of that is that i dont i dont pay much attention to i i dont really like politics anyway. So therefore, it didnt affect me one way or the other. Reporter the detective wanted to know more about what was going on inside the peterson home. In addition to the forensic evidence youre gathering, you got to ask this question, whats going on in this marriage . Huh . Right. Thats a big part of your investigation . Right. Reporter detectives pulled aside kathleens sister candace to ask if shed noticed any trouble in her sisters marriage. The police took me in a police van to interview me privately. Reporter in her grief, candace was hesitant to say anything bad about her now widowed brotherinlaw. Shed always liked him. He was a fun person to sit and chat with across a dinner table. He was interesting. Hes a little bit arrogant about his intelligence, but you know he was a very smart man. When i found out my sister was dead, i was his biggest defender. Reporter she told investigators that everything was fine between michael and kathleen. It was only later as she started replaying conversations in her head that she wondered if the couple had been fighting. Kathleen certainly seemed stressed. She was very, very concerned about her job stability at her company. And they were making layoffs. Reporter according to candace, job insecurity couldnt have come at a worse time. Her sister told her the financial pressures on their lives were mounting. She and michael were drowning in credit card debt. And that big house had turned into a money pit. And theyd invested heavily in her companys tech stock, only to lose a bundle when the dotcom bubble burst. Then, there were the big College Tuition bills. Weve got three kids going to college, and good colleges, expensive private colleges. Reporter kathleens daughter from her first marriage, kate caitlin, remembers it, too. There was a lot of financial problems. I sensed it. I sensed the stress of that. Reporter and when investigators looked at the couples credit reports they saw just what kathleens sister candace feared. It was living above their means. I mean, you know, if he wasnt writing a book or had any royalties coming in, he had no income. Reporter and, according to kathleens sister, michaels dabble in local politics had brought even more stress to the marriage. When he ran for mayor, hed been called out publicly if a lie a whopper of one. The war action novelist claimed to have been awarded a purple heart, only he hadnt. He got hurt, not by taking hills in vietnam, but in a car accident in japan. When it became public about his lies, it did cause kathleen these friendships. She had to decide whether to stand by michael or keep these friendships, and these friendships were lost. Reporter so if the true state of the petersons marriage was murky, investigators thought the story told in blood was becoming clear. Not only was there more of it in the stairwell than detectives would expect to see with a fall, but according to emts, much of it was dry when they arrived. So you have to wonder when the victim actually goes down those stairs. Right, how long shed been actually been there. Reporter a blood pattern expert analyzed the scene. When he completed his initial findings, police suspicions were confirmed. He told me that he felt strongly that, um, this was a homicide. Can you tell us how this has been for you and your family . Reporter just a few days before christmas, Michael Peterson was charged with the murder of his wife. They had the grand jury, and, of course, i was indicted. And so, i turned myself in. Reporter as the officers booked michael into the county jail, the blended family formed a unified block of support. My mother would just be absolutely appalled, and this is the last thing she would ever, ever want to happen to her husband. Reporter it was hardly the christmas that the Peterson Family had so looked forward to. Kathleen dead, their father in jail. It was just us kids, you know, in that house by ourselves, you know, trying to piece together a christmas. Reporter but soon another bombshell, and this one would blow the family apart. Two months after christmas, the coroner released the results of the official autopsy. Multiple lacerations to the back of her head, it looked like she was bludgeoned to death. Severe, long, linear lacerations. Not consistent with a fall . Not consistent with a fall. Reporter if kathleens sister candace had been harboring suspicions about what had really happened to her sister, the medical examiners report was the thing that pushed her over the edge. I saw the seven huge lacerations that basically scalped her, she was murdered. That one picture. That was it. Reporter after reading the autopsy report herself, kathleens daughter caitlin agreed with her aunt. She called her stepsister, margaret. I said, you need to read this. You need to understand that mom she did not die from falling down stairs, that she was beaten to death. Reporter but caitlins childhood playmates, her stepsisters margaret and martha, stood strong with their father. Dad told me that he didnt do it, and i believe him. I trust him. Reporter the stepsisters never spoke again. Caitlin removed her belongings from the house. Ive lost, obviously, far more than just my mother. I thought, you know, i i did lose martha, and margaret, and michael, my family, my home. Reporter could the family agony get any worse . Well, it could and by a wide margin because now investigators were picking through Michael Petersons past, turning the clock back some 20 years, and taking a peek at his previous life an ocean away. What they would discover was beyond eerie. How can michael have found two women dead at the bottom of a staircase . Coming up i go over to the house, and liz is dead. Dead at the bottom of the stairs . Bottom of the stairs. The story disturbingly familiar, and so were the suspicions. If you fell down the stairs, why would there be blood splurted up the side of the walls . It didnt make any sense to me. Yep kills all three through contact no biting required. Wish my owner knew about k9 advantix ii. Ow well. Could be worse. Ooh. Glorious. Protect against the bites that can spread disease. K9 advantix ii. Wise choice. Whats the best way to get v8 or a fancy juice store . S . Ready, go hi, juice universe . One large rutabaga, with eggplant. Done thats not fair. Glad i had a v8. The original way to fuel your day. You need to eat this special. I love it start your day with crunchy wholegrain flakes. And real strawberries. Special k. Eat special. Feel special. Im 51 years old. M. When i was diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia, it was huge for everybody. She just started to decline rapidly. I was rushed to the hospital. My symptoms were devastating. The doctor said, pam if youd have waited two more days, you wouldve died. If id have known that a vaccine could have helped prevent this, i would have asked my doctor or pharmacist about it. Reporter in police work, a good tip can make your day and also make your life a lot more complicated. Just such a tip came to the desk of the detective working the Kathleen Peterson case. I think it was two or three days after kathleens death is when i first had contact with um the family members of Elizabeth Ratliff. Reporter and just who was Elizabeth Ratliff . To answer that question we have to turn the clock back almost twenty years in Michael Petersons life and go across the atlantic to germany. In the early 1980s, Michael Peterson was living with his first wife near a u. S. Air force base outside frankfurt. Their good friend, Elizabeth Ratliff, a widow, lived nearby. Liz has two children. And shes teaching school, has a great many friends who are, you know, all there. Reporter on november 24th, 1985, elizabeth went to the petersons for dinner. Later, Michael Peterson says he drove her home. She got out and went upstairs. I said, night, liz, you know, see you tomorrow. Reporter the next morning, michael says he was fast asleep when elizabeths nanny came running with urgent news. Im upstairs in bed. And shes saying something that, in fact, you know, liz is dead or hurt or i dont know. Shes screaming. And so i put some clothes on. And i go over to the house. And, in fact, liz is dead. Reporter dead at the bottom of the stairs. Bottom of the stairs. Reporter another good friend in their circle, Amybeth Berner and her husband, were summoned to elizabeths townhouse, too. She asked michael what happened. He said, well, she probably had an aneurysm like her father. When i thought about someone falling down the stairs i thought, well, thats possible. Those stairs are, you know, pretty steep and, you know, theyre slippery and wooden. Reporter but amybeth says as she looked around she noticed something. Blood not just where elizabeth lay, but high up along the staircase walls, too. Too much blood, she thought, for a slip and fall. If you fell down the stairs, why would there be blood splurted up the side of the walls . It didnt make any sense to me. Reporter and she says there were household details out of order like the table that liz set out every night with the girls breakfast plates. It was bare. The snow boots she routinely left by the front door, still on her feet. Liz never wore her boots in the house. Shed always took her boots off. And that was another clue to me that something was wrong. Its obvious that she was either running from someone or trying to escape. Reporter amybeth thought a fullfledged investigation would ensue. But, as she tells it, Michael Peterson spoke to the authorities that day, relating that elizabeth had a hereditary bleeding disorder. Perhaps shed had a stroke and fallen down the stairs. The questions amybeth expected to be asked never were. I wondered, you know, why arent they talking to people . Why arent they asking questions . No one did. Reporter later that day, Michael Peterson phoned Elizabeth Ratliffs family in the u. S. With the dreadful news. Margaret blair is elizabeths sister. He said um margaret, theres been an accident. Liz fell down the stairs and died. What are you saying . I just totally went numb. I mean, my sister. Hes saying she died. Shes young. Shes got two beautiful little children. Babies, really. Reporter those baby girls . They are martha and margaret. Michael took custody of the girls after the accident in germany. And then michael, along with his first wife patty, and then later with kathleen, raised them as his own. Patty was saying that our birth mother was like a sister to her. She was her closest friend in the whole world. And it was said in our mothers will that we would go to mike and patty when they passed away. And, so, dad saw it as his responsibility and took us in. And stay we stayed with him for our whole lives. Reporter you didnt think, thats strange, the petersons . Who are these people . Well actually, you know, i can understand how that could happen. This was her world now. Liz must love these people and trusted them to the nth degree. Reporter Elizabeth Ratliffs body was flown to texas for burial. At the funeral, margaret was desperate to hear further details from Michael Peterson about her sisters passing. But to her surprise michael was very aloof and very strange. Reporter did he speak . No, he didnt really say a lot at all. He never talked about the what happened to liz. Reporter but any questions regarding foul play in Elizabeth Ratliffs death were laid to rest by the results of an autopsy performed at the u. S. Military hospital in germany. Elizabeth died, the examiner said, from a brain hemorrhage, Natural Causes. So the story lay buried for nearly two decades. But when detective art holland heard it, his head spun. I was overwhelmed with, you know, here i have two women that appeared to die the same way. Two women that are associated with Michael Peterson. Reporter detectives wanted to dig a little deeper. What would they find . Coming up for investigators, a risky move. A lot of people were very antsy about that. Will it pay off . Im just thinking that my case is getting a whole lot better. Activia with billions of its exclusive probiotic helps take care of whats inside so you can focus on being your best no matter what you do. Take the activia probiotic two week challenge with me. It works or its free. Take the activia probiotic two week challenge with me. Starting at 12. 99, at olive garden. Come for an irresistible meal here, and leave with a great meal too. So you can enjoy family time one more time. Buy one take one, only for a limited time. At olive garden. Reporter as time went by, Margaret Blair had come to accept Michael Petersons explanation of her sisters death years before, a tumble down the stairs in a german townhouse. I just believed what i was told about the cerebral hemorrhage and, you know, im presuming that a doctor had, you know, made this diagnosis. Reporter but when she learned that kathleen had also been found dead at the bottom of a staircase, margaret began wondering anew about how her sister died. She started reaching out elizabeths old friends from germany. When i talked to her friends, i found out that blood had been dripping down the walls. Well, that doesnt happen when you have a cerebral hemorrhage. Reporter authorities in North Carolina were thinking the same thing. If foul play had been involved in Elizabeth Ratliffs death, it might bolster their case. But the only way to know for sure, they concluded, was to dig up elizabeths grave. Assistant District Attorney freda black. We decided that it probably would be worthwhile to try to exhume her body to determine whether the findings in germany were accurate or not. Reporter to do that, theyd have to get the okay from elizabeths daughters, margaret and martha. The girls, who believed in their fathers innocence as fiercely as they mistrusted the authorities, struggled with the decision. The hardest thing ive ever had to do was to write off on the exhumation of our birth mother. Reporter but ultimately, they agreed. And i signed off on it because we wanted to be, like, there is no way this couldve happened. Like, please look at the evidence. I will do this to to free our dad of these accusations. Reporter on a beautiful blue sky day, the remains of Elizabeth Ratliff were exhumed from their resting place in texas. Ratliffs bodies reporter julia sims, of nbcs raleighdurham affiliate, wraltv, has been covering the story since the beginning. And the bells started tolling right as they started pulling that casket out of the the ground. Hmm. A lot of people were very antsy about that, about what they were gonna find. Reporter her body was driven to North Carolina where it would be studied by the same medical examiner whod ruled Kathleen Petersons death a homicide. There was a risk here wasnt there . If you opened that coffin and found that the authorities in germany had been correct in ruling it a death by Natural Causes. We just decided that it needed to be done. Roll the dice, basically. Exactly. Reporter the detective peered through a morgue window as the top was pried off Elizabeth Ratliffs coffin. It was so airtight it was hard to use the crank to get the casket to open. Once it was raised you could see part of Elizabeth Ratliffs face and hair. It was remarkable. Reporter they were stunned. The body was practically intact. Her fingernail polish was still on. Her dress was still perfectly in place. Reporter the m. E. Took a closer look at the injuries to elizabeths head. She was finding lacerations, deep gouges in the scalp. Seven of them. Seven lacerations. You could black it was amazing count them. It was uncanny. The lacerations were very similar to the ones that had been perpetrated upon Kathleen Peterson. And in her findings, she made a decision that ms. Ratliff had been had been murdered. Reporter investigators thought theyd hit pay dirt. In death, they thought Kathleen Peterson and Elizabeth Ratliff could have been twins. Im just thinking that, that my case is getting a whole lot better. Reporter kathleens sister candace thought that peterson had killed both women. I have a better chance of being struck by lightning than finding two people who i intimately know at the bottom of a staircase. Reporter but to martha and margaret, the whole thing seemed absurd. The fact that michael was being accused of killing kathleen, the woman they called mom, was bizarre enough. But now, their birth mom, too . What would their father have gained by killing Elizabeth Ratliff . He wouldve gotten two screaming little ragamuffin kids out of it and thats it . Like, theres nothing theres no reason for it. Reporter for the investigators in North Carolina, though, the death in germany became a strong Building Block in their circumstantial case for murder. And whats more detectives learned that Michael Peterson had a secret life. Secrets tawdry ones were about to spill out in the durham courthouse. Coming up enter brad, the male escort. What types of services did you perform . Oh, wow. Thats thats pretty broad. Flonase is an allergy nasal spray that works even beyond the nose. So you can enjoy every beautiful moment to the fullest. Flonase. 61 changes everything. Moms know their kids need love, encouragement and milk. With 8 grams of natural protein, and 8 other nutrients to provide balanced nutrition. Moms know kids grow strong when they milk life. And 8 other nutrients to provide balanced nutrition. Wherethe soy sauce . It . Its gone. 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Well, it was surreal from the first moment. I mean, you know, is there surreal beyond surreal . I dont know. Reporter reporter julia sims covered the proceedings in court. Every single day of that trial the courtroom was packed, and not packed with just media, and not packed with just lawyers, but people off the street. People took vacation to come in and watch that trial. Reporter and Michael Peterson didnt shy away from all the attention. In fact, he allowed a documentary crew to film him every step of the way. But the only audience that mattered was the 12person jury. And when the trial began, the prosecution introduced them to the man behind the professorial mask, the person they saw as the real Michael Peterson. This case is about pretense and appearances. Its about things not being as they seem. Reporter scratch beneath the glossy veneer, the Beautiful House and sparkling dinner parties, and prosecutors would tell the jury theyd find a marriage in shambles. More than the Couples Money problems, more than the loss of social standing after michael got caught out lying about his military record, there was what investigators found when they searched his home office. It was just so so different than what everybody that knew Michael Peterson believed him to be, as far as a family man, a happily married man. It was jaw dropping. Reporter while kathleen toiled away at her executive job to pay the couples mounting bills, michaels writing career was hitting a wall. He had some free time on his hands. And we believed that he, somewhere along the way, began to form relationships, lets say, with men that he particularly met on the computer. Reporter not women, but men. The prosecutions theory was this the night kathleen died, she went into Michaels Office to retrieve an email about that work Conference Call the next morning. There in his office, the prosecutors believe, she stumbled upon email exchanges between her husband and an escort. The emails were very specific about what they had planned on doing and what they wanted to do with each other. Reporter very graphic, steamy stuff . They were. Reporter the escorts user name . Soldiertop brad. His website pic was a comehither beefcake pose complete with dog tags. You have great reviews and i would like to get together peterson wrote in one email. Ive never done escort but used to pay to blank a super macho guy who played lacrosse. Im very bi, and thats all there is to it. What type of services did you perform . Oh wow, thats pretty broad. Reporter in a sensational revelation, the prosecution called brad the escort to the stand. What type of sexual activities, sir . Oh, just about anything under the sun. Reporter on the witness stand, the escort told the jury that just threemonths before kathleens death, he and Michael Peterson had arranged to meet. We were to hook up. And what were you all planning on doing . Having sex. Reporter the hookup never happened, but combine that with the other combustibles in the couples life, the prosecution said, and you have all the ingredients for a fatal confrontation. It got out of control, and Michael Peterson snapped. And he was the only one who could have done it, according to the prosecution. Reporter further evidence that michael attacked kathleen ferociously, the prosecution stated, was as clear as the spray of blood up the staircase walls. The amount of blood, the positioning of the blood, the location of the blood, it was overwhelming. In general terms, the greater the force, the smaller the drop. Reporter to take the jury vividly up the back stairs, the prosecution called the states blood pattern expert, duane deaver. He told the jury with certainty that Kathleen Peterson had been beaten to death. He testified the droplet pattern high up the walls was just what youd expect to see with a weapon rising, striking, and casting off blood with each new blow. And i believe there is a minimum of four blows that have occurred in this, uh in this scene. Reporter whats more, deaver testified, this blood stain was found on the inside of petersons shorts. Hed done tests that he says proved that the only way it could have gotten there was if peterson had been standing over his wife, beating her. And the individual wearing these pants at time of that impact was in close proximity to the source of blood when it was impacted. I remember the jurors were captivated by his testimony. Um, and it all seemed to make perfect sense. Reporter then there was all that dried blood the emts noticed around kathleens body, suggesting she may have been attacked well before peterson called 911. According to prosecutors, lab tests backed that up. Kathleens head injuries had produced something called red neurons, which they say form after oxygen is withheld from the brain for at least two hours. That gives mr. Peterson at least two hours to do things before the 911 call is placed. Reporter what was he doing during all that time . The state argued he was staging the scene. Detectives saw what they thought were wipe marks on the stairs. To them, it was an attempt at a clean up. And there were those two wine glasses on the kitchen counter suggesting an evening of maybe too much drink, followed by a tumble down the stairs. Thing was, kathleens fingerprints werent on either glass. In fact, the prosecution said, kathleens bloodalcohol content was low enough that she could have passed a roadside breathalyzer test. She wasnt drunk. She wasnt intoxicated. Um, she did have a little in her system. But not enough, arguably, to have caused her to not be able to walk up stairs. Reporter was the writer of fiction, making up yet another story, covering up murder as an accident . But, if kathleen was bludgeoned to death as prosecutors thought, problem. Investigators hadnt found the murder weapon. Prosecutors believed it was a hollow fireplace tool called a blow poke, seen here in family photographs. It had been given to kathleen by her sister, candace, as a gift. Id given it to her about ten years prior. Thats for sure. And that thanksgiving when i was at her house, the i definitely saw it by the fireplace. Reporter prosecutors thought peterson had ferreted the blow poke out of the house that night after the attack. If he had, that could explain those blood drops on the walkway. Blood dropping from the murder weapon, as it was potentially disposed of somewhere outside the dwelling. Reporter but the state thought some of its most powerful evidence was what the medical examiner found on the top of kathleens head, seven tears to the scalp. Do you recall any case where someone died falling down steps and there were multiple lacerations . No. Were you able to determine in your opinion what the manner of her death was . The manner of death in this case is homicide. Reporter injuries that were eerily similar to those suffered by the Peterson Family friend from germany all those years before, Elizabeth Ratliff. And the jury, almost in a trial within a trial, heard that story. The longago friends from germany testifying to their suspicions about Michael Petersons involvement in another stairway death, another one with so much blood. The blood was up so high, that i couldnt figure out how did the blood got up there. Reporter Michael Peterson was the last person known to have see his friend, elizabeth, alive, just like his wife, kathleen. It was the bow that wrapped up the states case. Do you really believe that lightning strikes twice in the same place . Do you . Reporter so there was the prosecutions case for conviction, blood evidence, a staged scene, and the trigger, the violent confrontation between husband and wife that resulted when a secret appetite for men was exposed. And not a bit of that made any sense, the defense was about to tell the jury. Coming up Michael Peterson speaks out about it all, including his interest in sex with men. He says others knew all about it. This is not a family secret . No, its not. And then why he thinks kathleen most likely fell after a recent injury he says she was on major meds. Do you remember her being wobbly . Oh, my god, yeah. Did you know that toysrus is the Easter Bunnys onestop shop for building the perfect basket . Yeah, i talked to the bunny. You talk about his ears . No about what toys better be in my basket everybody can buy one get one 40 off what they need to build the perfect Easter Basket toysrus. Awesome is to always keep track of your employees. R micromanage them. Make sure theyre producing. Woo employee of the month you really shouldnt leave their side. Vita coco coconut water, hydration comes naturally. Xfinill get my coat. Ek is back. Meaning you can catch up on all the moments you might have missed. You seriously cant tell the difference between a bird and a plane . Xfinity watchathon week ends april 9. The greatest collection of shows free with xfinity on demand. By the time the drugs rannd wout, i was addicted. It happened so fast. I ended up on the streets, where the drugs are cheaper and easier to get. I was a full blown heroin addict, selling my soul to get high. When i realized i needed help i didnt know where to go. But i got help and you can too. Youre not alone. Help is within reach. Call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj. Gov. The road to recovery starts now. Continuing now with dramatic new developments in the case of Kathleen Peterson. Id seen falls. It did not look like a fall. Prosecutors have charged kathleens husband michael with murder, telling the jury about his connection to another suspicious stairway death 20 years earlier in germany. Do you really believe that lightning strikes twice in the same place . Do you . Now, Michael Peterson sits down with us to refute the prosecutions case. Including that other supposedly damn death. They said, my god, there was blood everywhere. Well, no. The German Police didnt see any blood. The American Military didnt see any blood. And then a clash outside the courtroom. Pleading guilty actually, were not youre pleading guilty. Here again, Dennis Murphy. Reporter the states case lasted more than two months. And each day, Michael Petersons girls, margaret and martha, sat in court, suffering as prosecutors labeled their dad a killer. They would accuse my father of double murders, or the wife murder, or the staircase murders . And we couldnt stand up and say, wait a second. This isnt true. Reporter Michael Peterson did not testify at his trial but he did sit down with us recently to answer questions about all the evidence against him, nothing was off limits. I know i did not kill kathleen. So at a certain point, you think, well, this is just crazy. Reporter to understand the case, he says, you have to go back to the very beginning, to the Moment Police arrived at the is scene and recognized him as the same Michael Peterson who liked to publicly criticize them in the local paper. You think the cops had it in for you, thats what set this in the motion . Oh absolutely, no question about that. That framed the narrative. They were delighted that something really bad had happened and wouldve been even more delighted if i had anything to do with it. Reporter michael says the prosecution theory of what happened that night is total fiction. Starting with the trigger, that explosive fight he and kathleen supposedly had after she saw those emails in his home office. So the prosecution version of this evening you were described as that she goes to your office, logs in. And then lo and behold, theres the traffic from brad, the escort. Thats it exactly. Oh, i dont Dennis Murphy hes not only cheating on me. Hes cheating on me with a guy. Right. That was one of their theories. Reporter but just a theory. Michael points out that the prosecution never offered proof that kathleen saw anything compromising that night. So this whole story about she stumbled on this information. Oh yeah. No. Absolutely not. Of course not. Reporter michael insists the supposed fight never happened, though he doesnt deny he did try to set up that sexual encounter. In fact, he readily admits a sexual interest in both women and men. So you are bisexual . Yeah. I first knew this when i was maybe 11. I was madly in love with this girl, oh melanie grant. And it was during some masturbatory fantasy that certainly there was melanie. But then there was this the shortstop on my ball team. And its like, whoa, wait a minute. How did how did he get a part in this fantasy, huh . Where did this one come from . Id never had a male manonman, male thought in my life. Reporter throughout his marriage to kathleen, michael admits he did seek male companionship from time to time. But says it by no means affected his feelings for his wife. Did i want a boyfriend . No. Um did i want to spend the night with one . Did i wanna cuddle . Did i wanna have a candlelit diner . No. Never. Never. Never. For me, it was strictly sex. Had nothing to do with love or a relationship. Reporter moreover, michael says his interest in men wasnt exactly hushhush in the family. Perhaps kathleen had a hunch. This is not a family secret . No. No. My sons no. Its not. Its not. Was it known to kathleen, michael . I think it was one of these things that was not discussed but known. It was dont ask, dont tell . Yeah. Exactly. And of course, when i was growing up, there wasnt any dont ask, dont tell. It was dont, period. Had she known that there were assignations, that there were hookups, what did how do you think she wouldve taken it . I wish i had told her. I mean, thats one my regrets regrets. I wish i we had discussed it. We didnt. I was afraid not that she would leave me, she wouldnt that she just wasnt she was the most openminded, liberal, intelligent woman. Reporter as for the other piece of the prosecutions motive, that the petersons were on the edge of financial ruin oh, that was bull. A lot of money out on cards. Total expensive schools that were bleeding them. The wonderful house was something of a money pit. Whats your reaction to all of that stuff . Well, my reaction is exactly what the prosecution proved. Reporter in court, the financial expert who testified about their debts also noted that in the end the petersons were still worth 1. 5 million dollars. I had money. And its not a matter it was not a financial problem. Reporter but what about that dramatic trialwithinatrial the jury had seen . Michael, implicated in not one murder, but two that friend, Elizabeth Ratliffs, death long ago in germany. So there you are in the court of Public Opinion this guy with two important women in your life and theyre both dead in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. Exactly. Absolutely. Has to be guilty. Youre a writer of fiction. Your editor would probably take that kind of coincidence out of the book. Well, he would say, well, you know, come up with another one. She died in the bathtub or something. But no. But youre not immune to the irony of this, huh . No. Of course not. But at the time because in in the course of this investigation didnt even occur to me. Honest to god, it never even occurred to me. Did you kill her . Liz . No. Of course not. Reporter and those witnesses who said Elizabeth Ratliffs blood was all over the staircase walls, michael insists their memories are wrong. They said, my god, there was blood everywhere. And, well, no. There wasnt. The German Police didnt see any blood. The german doctor didnt see any blood. The American Military didnt see any blood. Why didnt they see any blood . And if you saw all this blood, why didnt you Say Something at the time to someone . Reporter he is certain Elizabeth Ratliff died of a stroke. As for how his wife, kathleen, died years later, michael cant say for sure. But he thinks his first instinct was the right one. I guess maybe im the last person to believe it. I think she fell down the stairs. I dont know. Reporter michael believes alcohol must have played a role in her fall, and even though her blood alcohol levels werent off the charts, he says, there may have been another contributing factor. A few months before her death, shed suffered an injury diving into their swimming pool. And her doctor put her on several prescription meds. Do you remember her being wobbly in the weeks that followed . Oh, my god, yeah. She had to wear a neck brace. She they put her on percocet to begin with. Then they brought valium. She was on flexeril which is, apparently, a muscle relaxant oh yeah. She was in a great deal of pain all the time. Reporter for Michael Peterson, the trial was hard enough to bear, but the family spilt made it even worse. There was kathleens daughter, caitlin, across the room in the prosecutions camp. And behind him the whole time, his girls, margaret and martha. They were sisters. They loved one another. They helped one another. And thats been the biggest, to me, the sadness that everything that kathleen wanted to make happen and did happen as far as the family was torn asunder. Reporter michaels story is one he says those closest to him have known for years. That information reporter a story his lawyers were about to present to the jury. And they had an ace up their sleeve, a moment straight out of perry mason. One that would leave mouths agape in the courtroom. 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Reporter what had happened on that back staircase . From almost the moment he was retained, defense attorney david rudolf thought Michael Peterson was innocent. No one thought michael couldve ever harmed kathleen. And indeed, there was never a shred of evidence that they had ever had so much as a loud argument. Reporter in court, he laid out a straightforward scenario for the jury. The truth is that Kathleen Peterson, after drinking some wine and some champagne and taking some valium tried to walk up a narrow, poorly lit stairway in flipflops and she fell and she bled to death. Reporter just as the prosecution had, the defense put the couples marriage front and center. Telling the jury it was more or less perfect. Everywhere they went, people noticed. Michael looking at kathleen with the kind of pride that you just dont fake. Reporter under crossexamination, even brad the escort said peterson had told him how much he loved his wife. In his emails unlike most of my clients he indicated that he had a great relationship. Most clients dont want to say anything about the relationship. He indicated he had a warm relationship with his wife and nothing would ever destroy that. Reporter michael hadnt killed kathleen, the defense argued, and he certainly didnt kill family friend, Elizabeth Ratliff. They called their own medical expert who reviewed her autopsy reports and said it wasnt a murder. Is blood in all of the ventricles of the brain consistent with a stroke from Natural Causes . Expert it is consistent. Reporter then, there was the Mount Everest of the case the forensics, explaining to the jury all that blood in the peterson stairwell. The defense would call dr. Henry lee to the stand. Reporter the defense called celebrity forensic expert dr. Henry lee, of o. J. Case fame, to show the jury in theatrical fashion just how kathleen, falling, then staggering about, coughing up blood, could have accounted for the spray. An injured person can walking, can move, can shake their head. Obviously, the blood all around was due to her being alive and moving around for some period of time. It didnt have to do with what inflicted the wounds. Reporter the blood on his shorts, that could have happened, the defense said, while Michael Peterson was cradling his wife. The fact that some of the blood was dry when First Responders arrived, well, michael never said he knew what time kathleen fell. And as for those drops of blood in the house and on the walkway outside suggesting he staged the scene, the defense said none of that could be trusted. The blood in that area had been completely altered. The scene at the house had been completely contaminated. Reporter but what about those ghastly lacerations on kathleens head which the states medical examiner attributed to a beating . Defense attorney rudolf notes what he didnt find though the cuts were deep, there were no skull or bone fractures. There was absolutely no fractures anywhere. No fractures to her fingers, to her arms to her skull. And there was absolutely no injury to the brain. And thats just almost an impossibility if what youre doing is beating somebody with a metal object. Reporter and for a final exclamation point, the defense had a perry mason moment up its sleeve. The prosecution had insisted throughout the murder weapon used to bludgeon Kathleen Peterson was the fireplay fireplace blowpoke, only police never found it. Almost three months into the trial, one of michaels sons made a stunning discovery in the petersons basement. He immediately runs up to margaret who was at the house and said, margaret, i think i i i think i found the blowpoke. Reporter the film crew following michaels team for their documentary, the staircase, was there the day it happened. And they look at it. And thats the blowpoke hidden in the corner sort of buried behind something, covered with cobwebs, dirt, bugs, everything, hadnt obviously must have been there for years. How did they miss that, ron . Thats a blow poke isnt it . Reporter in court, the defense played the moment for all it was worth. It appears to be. Reporter getting the lead detective to agree that there was no evidence at all that the petersons blowpoke was used to commit a savage crime. See any dents in there . Even like a tiny little indentation . It doesnt appear to have any dents in it. That was the blowpoke. Well, if it is, then what was the murder weapon . Reporter lawyer david rudolf thought hed peppered reasonable doubt all the way through the states circumstantial case. The peterson camp was confident. We were so positive that he was going to get off. Because in our minds, it was the clearest thing in the world. Reporter but after sitting through the trial, kathleens sister candace thought that the brotherinlaw she once admired was both a killer and a liar. Did i ever think he was capable of murdering my sister . No. Did i know hed already found another woman dead at the bottom of a staircase . No. Did i know he lied about his military awards . No. Hes a writer of fiction, and thats what i found. He makes things up as he goes to suit the situation. Reporter when the case went to the jury, three days passed without a verdict. Finally on day four they came out and one of them said, you know, we have a verdict. Your heart stops. Reporter a hush, then, the clerk began to read we the twelve members of the jury, unanimously find the defendant to be guilty of firstdegree murder. Its guilty. And i just as soon as we heard the first juror say, guilty i was just was weeping, like i was like being taken over by grief and shock. Is there anything you would like to say before the Court Imposes judgment. Id like to say reporter Michael Peterson turned to his kids he said, its okay. Its okay. I think on his part he was just trying to calm himself down but also i think he felt like his role was to protect us. I was the only continuity in their life. And just to see them and i thought, hey, its you know, its its okay. And i could. And i could do it. Reporter Michael Peterson turned back to face the judge for the reading of the sentence. The defendant is imprisoned in the North Carolina department of corrections for the remainder of his natural life without the benefit of parole. I believed that michael was innocent. I continue to believe michael is innocent. Uh, and i thought we won that trial. So when that guilty verdict came out i was pretty devastated. Reporter for kathleens sister, candace, the verdict was nothing to celebrate. It makes me cry. Cried when i heard it. I mean, i was happy we were getting justice. But theres no joy in this. Theres theres just great sadness. Reporter the peterson children resigned themselves to the harsh reality that prison was now their fathers home. They sold the dream house on cedar street, and tried to get on with their lives. They visited their dad whenever they could. I would just sob every time i left. You hold it together for dad because why would you cry in front of dad . Thats not gonna help him. But then, when you leave, you know, youre sobbing in your car. Reporter they watched his lawyer file a series of failed appeals. We would have hope for every single appeal. And every single time, it would get beaten down. Reporter his case went all the way up to the North Carolina supreme court, and was rejected. But michael says he never lost hope. I told everybody. I am not going to die in prison. Reporter the odds were certainly stacked against him. But then, life can take some very strange twists and turns. Coming up, a wild, new theory about what happened to kathleen. The owl flew down and landed on kathleens head. And the fresh evidence backing it up. You have to magnify them 400 times just to see them. Prodders, shuckersers, and sniffers, [ inhales ] all giant produce is triple checked. Farm, crate, and store. Were focusing on fresh. So you dont have to guess. My giant. Reporter there are pleasant places to idle away your golden years, but North Carolinas Nash Correctional Institution isnt one of them. But thats where Michael Peterson, father, novelist and wifekiller, according to a jury of his peers, was incarcerated. Just another number in a cell block with other felons. No parole, life without parole. And they meant it, too. They did. And they did everything they could to make that happen. Reporter after hed exhausted his appeals, it looked as though prison was where he would stay. But out in nevada, michael has a lookalike younger brother, Bill Peterson, whos also an attorney. Did the lawyer in you say, thats it. My no. Brothers done . Thats when the really hard work started. We were out of money, out of lawyers. And, so, thats when the burden fell on me and whoever would help me. Reporter Bill Peterson spent hours in the Durham County courthouse combing though the District Attorneys piled high boxes of evidence. Was there something that had been overlooked . And he wasnt the only supporter nursing alternate theories of Kathleen Petersons death. There is a neighbor on cedar street, an attorney, who had an intriguing idea for what he believes happened that night. His scenario of an accidental death has come to be known as the owl theory. Hes seen owls in the area. He thought that this was very plausible. He put together this whole theory himself. Reporter so heres how the neighbors theory goes, according to brother bill. Kathleen, who has spent the day putting up christmas decorations, goes out front that night while michael is back by the pool. Shes checking on her lawn display beneath the trees. The owl flew down and landed on kathleens head and then tore her scalp in a manner that would be consistent with the lacerations that were found on her scalp. Reporter bleeding, kathleen leaves drops on the walk and a smear on the door as she struggles into the house, getting only as far as the staircase where she joins the defenses depiction of falling, passing out, coming to, and rising again only to fall for the final time. The owl theory was not completely new. It had been floated years earlier. The cops were making a big joke out of this. They put a picture of the owl on their on their most wanted list. Reporter and back then without any forensic owl evidence, the defense didnt want to confuse the jurors. So the peterson jury never did hear about an owl theory. But five years into petersons sentence, the neighbor who was advocating for it was still looking for something to back it up, and sure enough, there it was in the original case notes file. A mention of a feather you have to magnify them 400 times just to see them. Reporter tim thompson, owner of associated microscopes , was asked by the neighbor to examine a slide of that feather. They grow under the claws of an owl. When they attack something, they leave behind these small particle feathers. Reporter thompson peered through his microscope, studying bloody strands of hair found clutched in Kathleen Petersons hand. Tangled in the hair were not one but two minute bird feathers. A surprise he says to the detectives and an assistant da watching in the room. I think they were surprised because of the lab had not found the second feather. Bill peterson was interested in the results, too. A review of the slides showed what . Traces of bird feather . Yes. Yes. Exactly right. In her hair. Another very, very compelling fact. Reporter what was most compelling about the idea that an owl attacked kathleen, the supporters thought, was how it accounted for the distinctive lacerations on her scalp. Had the three main talons of an owl, like these, caused this bleeding head wound when it swooped down . Symmetrical tears. We had an ornithologist who said thyself said these tears are consistent with an owl claw. You think of the characteristic trident like talon claws . Yes, and as we all know scalp wounds cause plenty of bleeding. That she panicked. Obviously, youd run in the house to get away from the owl. That she did and ran down the stairwell. Reporter and if an owl attacking humans sounds like so much urban legend, dont tell that to byron unger. He owned a company about 20 miles away from the peterson home. He was leaving work with his manager one night when an owl swooped down from the trees and swiped his colleague on the head. This surveillance camera caught the entire freakish event. And if that werent strange enough, it happened to byron himself just two weeks later. Ive never been hit so hard by something it felt like a baseball bat knocked me probably five feet to the ground. Knocked you. On the ground, scattered me on the ground. I was bleeding so bad i thought i lost my eye. Reporter his wife, waiting for him in the car, dialed 911. They didnt believe my wife. They thought we were crazy when they said, my husbands been attacked by a bird or an owl. Show me where on your head you think it got you. The talons got me right here into my eye a little bit, and all the way up in my hair really bad. All this was black and blue. My whole side of my face and all up in here was hit by talons. Reporter is that what happened to Kathleen Peterson . But critics see problems with the idea that an owl attacked kathleen. Problems like, why isnt there more of a trail of blood from the front door to the staircase . And wouldnt michael have heard kathleen being attacked . Kathleens sister candace doesnt believe it for an instant. Im supposed to believe an owl ripped her apart . There is no ripping on her arms of an owls talons. The thing is so ludicrous. Reporter and even Michael Peterson understands the skepticism. Whooo done it, huh . Oh, its just awful. Reporter but he says the evidence is worth considering. There are feathers. And where were they, in kathleens hand, so with strands of her hair. With strands of her hair. Does that mean an owl did it . I dont know. What do you think . Well, its a much greater possibility ripe im surprised to hear that i did it reporter im surprised to hear you saying its not as ludicrous as everybody made it. No, no, no. I because i ive seen the photographs. So, is it possible . Well, certainly its possible. I dont know. Did an owl do it . I cant tell you that. Reporter in the summer of 2009, petersons attorney neighbor helped him file a motion requesting a new trial based on the owl theory. But the trial judge dismissed it. The owl theory was dead in court but lives on still in the court of Public Opinion. There were people a lot smarter than me who absolutely convinced that this is what happened. Reporter so with the motion denied, with the owl hooted out of court, it really did seem finally to be the last chapter for the novelist. But a development was in store that would call the heart of the case into question, and no one, not even Michael Peterson, could have seen it coming. Coming up, dramatic revelations about the Scientific Evidence against peterson. Did the blood expert manipulate one of his experiments . His assistant does little jig. Reporter a happy end zone dance . Exactly. Namzaric is approved for moderate to severe alzheimers disease in patients who are taking donepezil. It may improve cognition and overall function, and may slow the worsening of symptoms for a while. Namzaric does not change the underlying disease progression. 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Oh, theyre under investigation. Oh, we cared about that. Reporter it turns out one of the experts at the center of the storm is a name youve heard before, special agent duane deaver. Remember him . My opinion is that this is scene of a beating. Reporter he was a star witness for the prosecution in the peterson trial, the blood pattern expert who put Michael Peterson in the staircase bludgeoning his wife, reporter julia sims. You talked to the jurors here in this case, julia. How important was the blood expert, deavers testimony . That blood evidence was critical. Heres a guy who has boon been doing this for years for the state. Look at what his experiment showed. Its got to be the truth. Reporter hed been key in other cases, too. The newspaper recounted the story of a man who was sent to prison for murder after deavers lab report suggested a stain on the mans car was the victims blood. And it turned out not to be blood. Wasnt blood at all. Huhuh, no. And deaver knew, and didnt disclose it . Deaver knew that that was not blood and didnt disclose it. Reporter that mans conviction was overturned. Gregory f. Taylor is innocent of the charge of firstdegree murder. Reporter and there was more evidence of questionable conduct linked to deaver. The newspaper investigation suggested that the methodology behind some of the blood pattern experiments he was involved in was flawed, designed to produce proprosecution results. Like this test conducted for a 2009 murder case. Deaver, videotaping the experiment, was attempting to match a blood stain on the shirt of the accused. Oh, even better. Holy cow. That was a good one. Thats a wrap baby. Thats a wrap . Thats a wrap. Just like the movies. Right. Reporter petersons attorney, dave rudolf, says it does not look to him like objective science. They come to the belief that someone is guilty. They dont have the the evidence that they think they need to convict the person, and so they make it up. Reporter rudolf signed back on to michaels case, this time without pay, and began to dig. He discovered that at the peterson trial, duane deaver had not been truthful about his professional experience on the stand. He said he had been involved in 500 cases, involving blood spatter. Reporter was that true . No. In fact, he had been involved in 54 cases. He said he had written 200 reports involving blood spatter analysis. Not true. He said that he had been to the scenes of falls 15 times. In fact, he had never been to a scene of a fall. Reporter whats more remember deavers conclusion at the trial that the blood stain on petersons shorts proved he had been standing over his wife beating her. The individual wearing these pants at the time of that impact was in close proximity to source of blood when it was impacted. Reporter turns out hed conducted an experiment pretrial, and it was videotaped, too. Watch. On the second attempt, peterson says it looks as though deaver and another agent got the results they wanted. His assistant does a little jig. Oh. A little happy end zone dance . Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. We got him. Got you gotcha moment. Reporter when petersons brother bill saw the experiment videos, he couldnt believe it. Its all reverseengineered stuff. Its all designed to get a result. To me, its not scientific at all. Reporter for michaels defense, the implication was clear. The jury had been duped. After all, in its closing argument, the state had even played on deavers credibility to try to secure a conviction. Then youre just going to have to believe that duane deaver is just a liar. And he has no reason in the world to come up here and lie to you. Who are you gonna trust . Duane deaver . Of course, he would never lie. Well, it turns he had he did lie. Reporter defense attorney rudolf filed a motion asking for a new trial. And the judge, this time, was ready to listen. 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Oh, no, no, no. He murdered my sister. He took the prime of her. He needs to be held accountable for what he did. Reporter at the hearing, the judge gave candace a chance to address the court. 10 years of living without my sister. 10 years her daughter hasnt had her, and ten years the rest of us have been alive and had our freedom. But not kathleen. Reporter but petersons attorney, david rudolf, was just as determined to free his client from prison. Over the course of a sevenday hearing, rudolf methodically dissected the original testimony of blood pattern expert, duane deaver. Agent deaver lied to this court and our jury not once or twice, but repeatedly. Reporter and with the peterson Supporters Holding their breath, the same judge whod presided over the murder trial now laid out his thinking point by point, rhetorical questions is a new trial required for newly discovered evidence, due process violations, and for perjured testimony . The answer to those questions is yes. Did duane deaver misrepresent himself to the jury . Yes. Did Duane Deavers testimony make a difference in this case . Yes. It will be the courts order that mr. Peterson receive a new trial. Reporter and there it was. Michael petersons conviction was tossed out. His family was overwhelmed. I was weeping with joy and shock and could not believe that there was hope. I was like, my dads getting out. Were gonna have our dad back. Reporter for the peterson children, now there was only joy. Lots of hugs. Lots of happy, happy photographs. So were all, like, jumping up into the air in a silly picture of just so so happy. Reporter twentyfour hours after the judge issued his decision sharply criticizing the blood pattern experts work on the case, 68yearold Michael Peterson was released on a 300,000 bond. I imagine you remember the day, hour and date. I do. December the 15th. Oh, my kids are there. Oh my god. My grandson had been born, a sweet little baby. And, you know, i go out and i hold, crying of course. Yeah. It was wonderful. Reporter you were meant to die in prison. You were going to be fitted for that was the plan, absolutely. Reporter and now, youre outside. And now, im out. I have wait over eight years. 2,988 days, as a matter of fact and i counted for the opportunity to have a retrial. I want to thank judge hudson for giving me that opportunity so that i can vindicate myself and prove my innocence in a fair trial this time. Reporter so Michael Peterson was out of prison, but not exactly free. The state had promised to try him for murder again and he was placed under house arrest. His every move monitored by an electronic ankle bracelet. But that hardly mattered to his girls, margaret and martha. For them, the dark cloud that lay over the family name for nearly a decade had lifted. Were part of the Peterson Family. And we are not afraid to say it. We so were stigmatized before, you know, and, like, hiding it. Reporter still, the second trial loomed. But working in michaels favor was the fact that the prosecutor would have to try a very different much weaker case. Duane deaver had been fired from his job and some of the states critical blood evidence would be inadmissible. I think their case is very, very badly compromised because of deaver. He was all over the crime scene. Reporter and there was another important victory for petersons side. What types of services did you perform . Oh wow, thats thats pretty broad. Reporter brad, the male escort, a sensational centerpiece of the prosecutions case, wouldnt be part of a second trial either, a judge said. The escort had been revealed in a search that was deemed illegal. The search warrant that resulted in the seizure of the computer was found to be invalid. Reporter furthermore, that dramt tick dramatic trial within a trial about michaels longdead friend in germany . Well, a change in North Carolina state law regarding the admissibility of evidence meant a second jury might not hear that story either. The male escort is gone, the death in germany is gone, the expert blood testimony is gone. Youre left with the autopsy pictures. Reporter yeah . The medical examiners testimony. And maybe the prosecutions theory for motive. Is that enough . Reporter the stars seemed to be aligning for Michael Peterson. Perhaps vindication was at hand. But one final twist was on the way. I said, well, thats just not going to happen. I would go back to prison before that happens. I wont do it. Coming up, michael makes a choice that rocks everyone in the case. That was, wow. Including michael himself. That was the most difficult decision i ever made in my life. When i feel my best, i am my best. Thats why im taking the activia probiotic two week challenge and adding activia yogurt with billions of its exclusive probiotic to my healthy routine. 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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa snickers® satisfies. That youre about to suggest something very wicked mr toretto . Surprise. slap theres my boy. Rated pg13 reporter Michael Petersons days in the mansion on cedar street were long gone. As he awaited trial number two, he passed his days in a durham condo writing about his experiences in prison. Meanwhile the prosecution was forging ahead, a new trial was scheduled for this spring. As it got closer, the reality hit daughters martha and margaret hard. And that was actually devastating for me, it was pretty much a nightmare to live the first trial, and to have to go through that a second time would be even worse of a nightmare. I cant go through that again. I cant go through another guilty verdict. Reporter kathleens sister, candace, knew a second murder trial would dredge up all the pain again. But there was no way that she was backing down. I have to relive how my sister died. She died one of the worst, worst ways. She was beaten and she knew the person who she loved was beating her. There is no way im not going to get justice for her. Reporter but there was one other option that could avoid a trial something that had been floated a few years earlier. The d. A. And the defense could hammer out a plea deal whereby peterson could walk away with time served. But the negotiations went nowhere. And candace, no. Under no circumstances. He must stand up and say, hes guilty. And i said, well, thats just not gonna happen. That will never happen ever ever, i would go back to prison before that happens. Reporter so it seemed the hopelessly divided families were destined to face off again on opposite sides of a North Carolina courtroom all these years later. The District Attorney was one hundred percent willing to go to trial, they felt they had a strong case. Reporter but as the trial approached, michael found himself rethinking a possible plea deal and how it would affect his family. And im all the time thinking, you got some responsibility. I got two grandsons now, four and six. Do i wanna drag this out for a couple more years . No. So you didnt you didnt wanna spin that wheel again, huh . Exactly. My son claytons the one who said it perfectly. He said, dad, youre playing a game at a crooked table. Youre never going to win. The odds are against you. Pick up your chips, and go home. Reporter and so thats what Michael Peterson agreed to do. I was a little surprised we were preparing to go to trial again then the District Attorney said he had heard from Michael Petersons attorney and they wanted to make a plea. And that was wow, hes going to say the word guilty . Ok. Well take the plea. Reporter well, it was a little complicated. Peterson was going to take whats referred to as an alford plea. An alford plea is when you dont admit guilt, but you acknowledge there is enough evidence there that a jury could convict you. In the books, it goes down as a guilty plea. Reporter this past february, 73yearold Michael Peterson arrived at the Durham County courthouse for what would be the final chapter of this saga. He was there to take an alford plea pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Kathleens daughter caitlin came to durham to see it happen. Reporter and of course kathleens sister candace was there. She ran into michaels chief defender outside the courthouse. Oh david, good to see you today. Pleading guilty. Pleading guilty. Thank you thats what ive always wanted. Actually were not pleading guilty. Youre pleading guilty. Alford schmalford. Guilt. Michael peterson, hed like to walk around and proclaim his innocence, but he cant. He can play with words but he cant play with the facts. Reporter the courtroom was eerily reminiscent of the 2003 trial, packed with tv cameras. Everybodys a little bit older, but theres so much thats the same. The emotion, the tension, the anger, all of it was still there. How does mr. Peterson plead to charge of voluntary manslaughter . He enters a plea of guilty pursuant to alford. Mr. Peterson youre pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Thats a class d felony. Do you understand, sir . Yes, sir. And do you now personally plead guilty pursuant to the alford case . Yes, sir. Thats was the moeft thats was the most difficult decision i ever made in my life was to take the alford plea. And thats gonna give kathleens family an opportunity for what they call the victim impact statement right. Michael peterson you are pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. You will be treated as guilty for murdering my sister kathleen. And you will be a convicted felon forever. It was very cathartic to say, ahh, this is what i fought for. We werent quitting until we heard the word guilty. We thought we were going to hear it from another 12 jurors but we got to hear michael say guilty. Michael peterson, not only can you wear the Scarlet Letter a for adultery but also the black letter g for guilty. Not perfect justice but justice. Reporter Michael Peterson was sentenced to time served. His daughters say that at long last they can properly grieve kathleens death together. I think a big piece thats importance to our family is to be able to say goodbye to mom. And to be able to honor her memory and let her go in peace. Reporter and they have accepted that their father is once again a convicted felon, but a free man who still maintains his innocence. So your plea allows you to take the position youve taken all these years, michael. Exactly. And yet, on the ledgers of the criminal justice system, youre guilty of manslaughter. Reporter its an ending that neither side had hoped for, a family saga with so much love and so much loss. An imperfect conclusion. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you tomorrow at 8 00, 7 00 central for the dateline saturday night mystery and then next friday at 9 00, 8 00 central. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, good night. The search for a kidnapper. The man hunt intensifies for the person who sexually assaulted a 4yearold girl. A grave crime. Family members want answers after another case of vandalism at a jewish