In addition to losing the civil suit his step-daughter, Caitlin Atwater, brought against him, Peterson also lost out on Kathleen's $1.4 million life insurance policy, per WRAL, and the home that they shared was put on the market in 2020, per The Sun. And so, instead of watching some fictionalized account, we see the real thing happening. ", He told the News & Observer: "They were companions. "I'm too old. Michael Peterson married Patricia Sue in 1968 and they later welcomed two boys: Todd and Clayton. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The filmmakers had explored the American justice system in a case with a public defender, and wanted to explore a case with a wealthy defendant. He said: "We made plans to live in Paris. Michael Peterson is the subject of one of Netflixs most riveting and polarizing true crime documentaries,The Staircase. All the evidence added up to a guilty verdict and on October 10, 2003, Michael was sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole. However, it might be his hopes of writing a new book that will give him a place in society once again. The political thriller Jeux dInfluence had two seasons released between 2018 and 2022 in the European streaming service Arte. Since his release, Michael has avoided staying in houses with staircases, which is perhaps a good idea. Her secluded life and career, Who are Gradey Dicks parents? One of the prosecutors in Michael's case, Freda Black, will be played by Parker Posey. Now aged 74, Michael Peterson is still living in North Carolina - but no longer in the 3.4-acre property in which is wife died. Margaret and Michael are both featured in the movie as interviewees. But perhaps most disconcerting is the fact that the crime scene, complete with blood-splattered walls and floors, was left intact for years while Peterson and his children continued to live in the home! Lestrades documentary played an important part in the Peterson affair and served as the main inspiration for Campos show. The couple also hosts a podcast together, Abuse of Power, which focuses on stories of people victimized by the justice system. Michael was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1943 before moving to work for the U.S. Department of Defense after college. Featuring a library, game room, a whopping five fireplaces, fourteen-foot ceilings, hardwood flooring throughout, and a large master wing, theres no arguing that the couple and their children lived in style. Elizabeth Ratliffs death had a huge impact on her youngest daughter, Martha (Odessa Young). The newlyweds were captured gloriously posing for photos on the homes staircase. It's the story of novelist Michael Peterson and the trial that followed his arrest for the murder of his second wife, Kathleen Peterson. Kathleen had daughter Caitlin from her first marriage as well. Where is Michael Peterson living now? In 2017, Peterson submitted an Alford plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter and was released on time served. As shown in the HBO Max miniseries, de Lestrade went into fiction after working on The Staircase. Im innocent. Michael J. Peterson Contributing Writer at Quora-active since 2013 , Former Indiana All State Choir Zone 3-B chairman 1989-2000, National Council of Japanese Language Teachers Association-board . Firth threw everything into the part, and it turned out it changed his attitude and approach towards acting. The reason, according to him, was money. They took care of each other.. The front of the house at 1810 Cedar St. in Durham, now on its third post-Peterson owner, is visible from the street, but the entire 3.4-acre property is. Behind the Staircase and Beyond the Staircase were self-published in 2019. In July 2020, the infamous five-story Cedar street mansion where Kathleen died was put up for sale. Speaking to the French publication L'Express, de Lestrade shared: "This is one of the incredible things that happened during those 15 years. And, from what it seems, things have turned out for the best for the real Clayton. But, in February 2017, just months before the scheduled retrial, Peterson submitted an. Since the release of the docuseries three final episodes, he has directed two fictional series in France. The docu-series follows Petersons trial for the murder of his wife Kathleen. I can't live in Paris. Dirt is a part of Penske Media Corporation. According to the News and Observer, Peterson has not owned the home since he sold it to Jason Balius for $640,000 in 2004. Simpson, Peterson wrote a book about the crime titled Behind the Staircase and his website claims its a best-seller! Sue remained supportive of Peterson through his trial, incarceration, and release. The real Patty (Trini Alvarado) not only stood by her ex-husbands side throughout the trials, but she also took him in after his release. She was 78 years old. Luckily for them, Firth has received rave reviews. Her husband, Michael Peterson, was convicted of murder on October 10, 2003, but the circumstances surrounding her death have been called into question, including Peterson's guilt or innocence since his trial. "He is innocent of any involvement in Kathleen's death," she insisted to The News & Recordin 2014. Ever since Patty died, Todd changed his mind about his dads involvement in Kathleens death, and now believes to have murdered not only his stepmom but also Elizabeth Ratliff. Elisa Guimares is a feature writer at Collider. He missed out on Kathleens life insurance policy, and his step-daughter, Caitlin, obtained a $25 million settlement from Michael via a wrongful death claim against him. That being said, it's unclear how Peterson is now making a living or if he has some kind of income. Created by Antonio Campos, the eight-episode long miniseries stars Colin Firth and Toni Collette as novelist Michael Peterson and his second wife, Nortel executive, Kathleen Peterson. Peterson sold the house he owned with his wife Kathleen back in 2004.Today, the 78-year-old is completely free and out of prison. In a big twist that fans of the original documentary, The Staircase, wouldn't have seen coming, Peterson dated Sophie Brunet, an editor of Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's documentary series. Kathleen Peterson, ne Hunt, and Michael Peterson became acquainted when Kathleen Peterson moved to Durham and became one of Michael's neighbors. According to theNews and Observer, Peterson has not owned the home since he sold it to Jason Balius for $640,000 in 2004. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Newsweek has everything you need to know about his relationship history: No, Michael Peterson does not have a new wife today. Michael Peterson had been forced to sell his assets, including the family home, to pay legal fees, leaving him broke. The most confounding aspect of The Staircase is tough to pinpoint. Nonetheless, he admits that his case has all the makings of a good true crime drama: Now we have the real thing: sex, money, and murder: The Michael Peterson case. His cell was a far cry from the sprawling mansion he formerly called home, which was put on the market just 20 days later for $1.175 million. In a recent interview with the Wrongful Conviction podcast, he talked about the role of the documentary in his trial and criticized the HBO miniseries, calling it an abomination and stating that Campos trashed his familys life. During a CrimeCon speech, Peterson's attorney, David Rudolf, shot down reports his client made bank from the Netflix series. Returning to the Scene of the Crime. Where Is Cary Stayner from Hulu's Captive Audience Now? At least three people are not fans of HBO's "The Staircase": Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Michael Peterson, and attorney David Rudolf. ", one of the longest of its kind in North Carolina history, is not synonymous with his conviction being overturned, losing the civil suit his step-daughter, Caitlin Atwater, brought against him, Michael Peterson's first wife, Patricia "Patty" Peterson, forced to sell his assets, including the family home. On the flip-side, Petersons former sister-in-law, Candace Zamperini, said during the hearing in 2017 that shell always see him responsible for her sisters death. Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. HBO Maxs true crime drama The Staircase is no exception to this rule. "Michael Peterson, you are pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter," Zamperini said, according to local news sources. After her death, however, and during Petersons time behind bars, he was forced to file for bankruptcy. After serving in the Vietnam War, he began to write novels and newspaper columns about his experiences following his honorable discharge in 1971. He was less than pleased with the HBO Max miniseries and claimed to feel betrayed by documentarist Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. What happened to Olivia Walton on The Waltons? He explained: These are created characters but we all know what the source is. His moms cancer battle. Brunet still works as a film and TV editor in France. After spending eight years in prison, Michael Peterson was given an unexpected reprieve one granted by way of state corruption. When investigators looked into her death though, they suspected foul play due to the shocking amount of blood on the scene, and that the only witness was her husband. "He released his archive to Campos, who then created a fictional account of events, most of which trashed me (which I really don't care about) and my children which I really do care about," Peterson told Variety. Now Judge Clifton Newman will hand down the sentencing in the double murder trial Friday, March 3, at 9:30 a.m. Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison in his conviction on the murder count . He was sentenced to time already served, and it was decided he would never face another day in court, or prison, for his wife's death. And what about all the other characters that were so important to the story? While living together, Michael and Patricia became close with their neighbors-turned-friends George and Elizabeth Ratliff. The most vocal of Kathleens sisters, Candace (Rosemarie DeWitt) was the one to present the prosecution with the alleged murder weapon, a fireplace poker, or blow poke, that she had given the Petersons for Christmas. In 2010, he was found culpable of withholding crucial evidence from defense attorneys in other cases. In an interview with Variety, he fired off numerous criticisms, including HBO's depiction of him eating a pastrami sandwich during his first meeting with Peterson. Despite the couple eventually marrying, Rudolf insists their relationship had no bearing on her coverage nor granted her any special privileges. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Despite not being an official member of the defense team, Bill Peterson (Tim Guinee) played a huge role in getting his brother Michael out of jail. According to him, Michael waited three hours to call 911 while Patty was having a heart attack. Soon after Georges death in an overseas operation, in 1983, Elizabeth lost her life in circumstances so similar to Katherines death that her body was exhumed during Michaels trial in search of evidence of foul play. He was sentenced to time served and is today a free man. He enjoys a secluded life with the occasional media appearance to again discuss that fateful staircase. Who Was Mallory Beach in 'Murdaugh Murders'? Alongside Pfeiffer, Rudolf is the owner of the Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He lives in Durham in a house without a staircase by Chege Karomo - on May 06, 2022 in People Netflix Michael Peterson is the subject of one of Netflix's most riveting and polarizing true crime documentaries, The Staircase . In 1983, George died from a military accident, and in 1985, Elizabeth was found dead at the foot of her staircase with head injuries. While there have been several retellings of the chilling case, like Netflix's take on it in 2018, HBO Max's rendition strives to reveal untold sides and different angles of the harrowing story, with Colin Firth as the lead. Peterson sold the five-story home he lived in with Kathleen. 2023 Dirt.com, LLC. Since Deavers testimony was what eventually led the jury to agree upon Michaels guilt, the writer was released in 2011 under a $300,000 bail and placed under house arrest. Michael's late wife Kathleen will be played byToni Collette. After a years-long legal battle post-prison, which included almost three years under house arrest, Peterson finally attained freedom by entering an Alford plea for manslaughter and was officially given time served in exchange. He donated all of the proceeds to charity. He also stated that he had worked on 500 bloodstain cases. And the fact that another woman very close to Peterson was also found dead at the bottom of a staircase 16 years before Kathleen. But she never let her own feelings affect the course of editing.". Rudolf, sick of negative depictions of criminal defense lawyers, got on board. So the ill-fated lovebirds went their own ways. The riches he had before his incarceration no longer exist. Whenever a movie or TV series based on real-life events comes out, viewers are plagued by two unavoidable questions: how much of what we saw is true and what happened to those characters after the cameras were turned off? In 2002, Caitlin filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Michael. The production, deemed largely forgettable by critics, made extensive use of both the interior and exterior of the property. The true extent of Michael Peterson's physical relationships with men remains unknown. So, where is Michael Peterson now? Lestrade told Vanity Fair that he felt "betrayed" by show creator Anthony Campos' adaptation of his Peabody Award-winning docu-series and claimed the facts were altered for dramatic effect. It sold the following year to medium Biond Fury (I shudder to think about the seances that took place there during his tenure! It was a huge financial blow to Michael. With The Staircase, de Lestrade embarked on a project that took him 15 years to finish, with the final episodes of the documentary coming out only in 2018. Her name was Elizabeth Ratliff, and she was a family friend of Peterson and his first wife Patricia, who was also living in Germany at the time. Duane Deaver, a blood splatter expert, had testified that the evidence pointed towards murder. The woman who The Staircase viewers may be mistaking for Peterson's new wife could well be Sophie Brunet (played by Juliette Binoche), an . Even after his prison release, Peterson has maintained his innocence and lives in Durham, North Carolina. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! (The house was on the market for $1.9 million, according to ABC 11 News.). The topic is also at the center of Rudolfs 2022 book, American Injustice: Inside Stories from the Underbelly of the Criminal Justice System. Kathleen was the first woman to attend Duke University's School of Engineering and throughout her marriage to Michael Peterson, she worked for Nortel, a telecommunications company. Now 79 years old, he lives alone in a ground-floor . Michael and Patty became even closer post-trial. Juliette Binoche will star as Sophie Brunet, the editor of The Staircase documentary. It also chronicles the work of French documentarist Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, who, from 2003 to 2018, worked on a docuseries about the case also titled The Staircase. However, since the release of the HBO miniseries, his Instagram profile has been deleted. This means that the person accused of murder can admit that there's enough evidence to convict them, but not admit guilty for committing the crime. While the multi-part true-crime docuseries "The Staircase" might not be the gold standard of the genre like it once was at the time of its 2004 debut, it's become the go-to source for the strange case of Michael Peterson, a North Carolina novelist who may or may not have murdered his second wife, Nortel executive Kathleen Peterson. As The News & Observer noted, the former columnist's Alford plea was distinctly tied to the charge of manslaughter, which means that Peterson asserted his opinion of his innocence while simultaneously accepting charges (via Metro). Then theres the haunting violin score. The conclusion painted Michael as a murderer with a propensity for pushing his victims down staircases and no doubt contributed to his conviction. According to their son Clayton Peterson, Michael and Patricia lived together between 2019 and 2021 as "companions. I guess the steps were just destined to be onscreen. I don't speak French," Peterson admitted to The News & Observer. Much like his client, Rudolf took issue with Campos version of events, especially with scenes that implied Michael kept information from him and that his professional relationship with Pfeiffer was unethical. Considering Deaver's testimony had largely swayed the jury at Peterson's trial in 2003, Peterson was granted a retrial hearing, and was released from prison in 2011. Peterson was charged with her murder, convicted at trial, and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Game of ThronesactressSophie Turnerwill appear as one of Michael's adopted daughters, Margaret Ratliff. "You will be treated as guilty for murdering my sister Kathleen, and you will be a convicted felon forever.". Pattys death, however, is surrounded by its fair share of mystery and controversy. Is Riley Keough Singing in Daisy Jones & The Six? He stated Kathleen Peterson was aware of his interest in men and his first wife, Patricia Sue, was also there to support Michael Peterson's bisexuality claims. Now 79 years old, he lives alone in a ground-floor . At the time, authorities concluded that Elizabeth fell down the stairs after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. Peterson was released while awaiting a new trial but ultimately decided not to take any chances (even with that oh-so-veritable owl theory in his arsenal) and in 2017 entered an Alford plea, whereby asserting his innocence but admitting the evidence would likely lead to a guilty verdict. "They were companions," he told The News & Record. His defense. The company had also begun massive layoffs at the same time and Kathleens job security seemed tenuous at best. Sophie and Michael were together from 2004 to 2017. The Staircaseis set to return to our screens as a HBO Max series. As it turned out, thats what happened. The pair are believed to have formed a relationship whilst Peterson was in prison and following his release in 2011. In Michael Peterson's case, however . The 9,400-square-foot mansion at 1810 Cedar St. in Durham, North Carolina was listed for $1.9 million on Tuesday, according to local outlet WRAL. They did, however, use her death as an example of an incident that could help him "fake" Kathleen's accident. Her son, Todd, has accused Michael of waiting over three hours to call 911 after realizing that Patty was feeling sick. Peterson was placed on house arrest in 2011 before his retrial, then officially freed in 2017 after submitting an Alford Plea (he admitted the evidence against him could prove he was guilty, while proclaiming his innocence). The writer produced a memoir in 2009 called Behind the Staircase, and a sequel Beyond the Staircase. He had been living with his first wife, Patricia, (although divorced) for the past two years until her death from a heart attack, his son Clayton told North Carolina's News & Observer in 2021. In a livestream that has since been uploaded to YouTube, he accuses Michael of murdering not only Kathleen, but also his mother, Patricia, and family friend Elizabeth. It'll never go away now, it's just a part of our culture., Todd (Patrick Schwarzenegger) stood by his father's side throughout every twist and turn of the case. Peterson's adopted daughters, Margaret and Martha, live in California . Much like his character in The Staircase, he cultivated a strong social media presence. Rudolf said he agreed to participate in the documentary because the filmmakers had won an Academy Award in 2001 for Murder on a Sunday Morning, about a 15-year-old boy wrongfully accused of murder. She did not sign the deed over to Michael until their divorce was finally finalized in 1996. Patricia Peterson died in July 2021 of a heart attack when she was 78 years old. Another constant during the lengthy legal ordeal was Michael Peterson's first wife, Patricia "Patty" Peterson. (Crime obviously doesnt pay!) "We could have put a little blimp over my head saying, 'Jewish lawyer from New York,'" he said.
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