getting the lead detective to agree there was no evidence at all that the peterson s blowpoke was used to commit a savage crime. see any dents in there? even like a tiny little indentation? it doesn t 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 he d peppered reasonable doubt all the way through the state s 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, kathleen s sister candace thought that the brother-in-law 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 he d already found another woman dead at the bottom of a staircase? no. did i know he lied about his military awards? no. he s a writer of fiction, and that s what i found.
attributed to a beating? defense attorney rudolf notes what he didn t 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 that s just almost an impossibility if what you re 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 fireplace blowpoke, only police never found it. almost three months into the trial, one of michael s sons made a stunning discovery in the peterson s 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: in court, the defense played the moment for all it was.
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 kathleen s head which the state s medical examiner attributed to a beating? defense attorney rudolf notes what he didn t 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 that s just almost an impossibility if what you re 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 fireplace blowpoke, only police never found it
but what about those ghastly lacerations on kathleen s head which the state s medical examiner attributed to a beating? defense attorney rudolf notes what he didn t 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 that s just almost an impossibility if what you re doing is beating somebody with a metal object. 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 fireplace blowpoke, only police never found it. almost three months into the trial, one of michael s sons made a stunning discovery in the peterson s basement. he immediately runs up to margaret who was at the house and said, margaret, i think i i i think i found the
reporter: but what about those ghastly lacerations on kathleen s head which the state s medical examiner attributed to a beating? defense attorney rudolf notes what he didn t 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 that s just almost an impossibility if what you re 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 fireplace blowpoke, only police never found it. almost three months into the trial, one of michael s sons made a stunning discovery in the peterson s basement. he immediately runs up to margaret who was at the house and said, margaret, i think i i i think i found the