they made us a family. not only did she raise these children and have quite an accomplished corporate career, dinner 50, she would do it. but, in the wee hours of a winter night. i found them at the base of the stairs. kathleen peterson, dead. was this a fall, or was this murder? a mystery we covered for more than a decade comes to a shattering and. it did not look like a fall. michael peterson, under suspicion, then, a bombshell revelation about another woman from his past. this was on the floor, and there was a puddle of blood under the staircase. appear today the same, way to minnesota shaded with one of the? odds yes, what are the odds? a trial, one expert this is the scene. would make a slam dunk case for peterson s guilt. the tourist or captivated by his testimony. but were his dramatic experience legit? it is designed to get a result, does not scientifical. michael peterson on the quest that might finally lead to the truth.
gouges in the scalp, seven of them. seven lacerations? it was uncanny. the lacerations were very similar to the ones that had been perpetrated upon kathleen peterson, and her findings, she made the decision that she had been murdered. investigators thought they in-depth, they thought kathleen peterson and elizabeth could have been twins. i m just thinking my case is looking a whole lot better. kathleen s sister thought that peterson had killed both women. i have a better chance of being struck by lightning then finding to people who are intimately know at the bottom of the staircase. but your mother and margaret, the whole thing seemed absurd. the fact that michael was being accused of killing kathleen, the woman they call mom was bizarre enough, but now, they re both mom as well? what would their father have gained by killing elizabeth?
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 would ve gotten two screaming little ragamuffin kids out of it and that s it? like, there s nothing there s 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 what s 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. that s that s pretty broad.
i m just thinking that, that my case is getting a whole lot better. reporter: kathleen s 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 would ve gotten two screaming little ragamuffin kids out of it and that s it? like, there s nothing there s 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 what s more detectives learned that michael peterson had a secret life. secrets tawdry ones were about to spill out in the durham courthouse.
better reporter: kathleen s 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 would ve gotten two screaming little ragamuffin kids out of it and that s it? like, there s nothing there s 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 what s more detectives learned that michael peterson had a secret life secrets tawdry ones were about to spill out in the durham courthouse