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 wasn't ready for this at all, at all. >> did anything explain itself to you, michael? as you're looking at her crumpled -- >> she fell down the stairs. somebody's 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. peterson's head. and he stated that this could be the result of a fall. >> reporter: by dawn, news of kathleen's fall started rippling