WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:03.600 Lucky Land Casino asking people what's the weirdest place you've 2 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:04.320 gotten lucky? 3 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:05.040 Lucky? 4 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:07.080 In line at the Delhi I guess. 5 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:10.119 Ah, in my dentist's office more than once. Actually do 6 00:00:10.359 --> 00:00:11.119 I have to say? 7 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:11.880 Yes? You do? 8 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:14.519 In the car before my kids pta meeting? 9 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:15.560 Really? Yes? 10 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:16.399 Excuse me? 11 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:18.160 What's the weirdest place you've gotten lucky? 12 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:19.399 I never win? 13 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:20.920 And tell well, there you have it. 14 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.760 You could get lucky anywhere playing at lucky landslots dot 15 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:25.440 com play for free right now? 16 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:26.559 Are you feeling lucky? 17 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:27.559 Nobrig just necesaryfoid? 18 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:29.199 We're gonna be my long eighteen plus terms conditions of 19 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:30.640 pluck seems every details it. 20 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:32.759 Is Ryan here and I have a question for you. 21 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:34.960 What do you do when you win? 22 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:35.439 Like? 23 00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:38.679 Are you at fist pumper, A wooo, a handclapper, a 24 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:40.520 high fiver? I kind of like the high five. But 25 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:42.240 if you want to hone in on those winning moves, 26 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:45.479 check out Chumbuck Casino at chumbacasino dot com choose some 27 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:48.240 hundreds of social casino style games for your chance to 28 00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:52.039 redeem serious cash prizes. There are new game releases weekly, 29 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:55.000 plus free daily bonuses, so don't wait start having the 30 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.759 most fun ever at chumbuck Casino dot com. 31 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:00.000 No just necessary VOI where everyb I lost e terms 32 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:05.079 conditions eighty plus. Judy was boring Hello, Then Judy discovered 33 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:06.480 chumbucasino dot com. 34 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:08.000 It's my little escape. 35 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:09.840 Now Judy is the life of the party. 36 00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:12.280 Oh baby mama is bringing home the bacon. 37 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:16.319 Who take it easy, Judy, jump the chumba life that's 38 00:01:16.359 --> 00:01:19.359 for everybody. So go to chumpacasino dot com and play 39 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:22.400 over one hundred casino style games. Join today and playing 40 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:25.239 for free for your chance to redeem some serious prices. 41 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:29.719 Jump chumpacasino dot com. Nobridg's necessary only We're prohibited to 42 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:31.079 go my long eighteen plus turns and condition to plu 43 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:31.959 see what's every details? 44 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:34.319 It is Ryan here and I have a question for you. 45 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:36.640 What do you do when you win? 46 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:37.079 Like? 47 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:40.359 Are you a fist pumper, a wooo, a handclapper, a 48 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.200 high fiver? I kind of like the high five. But 49 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:43.920 if you want to hone in on those winning moves, 50 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:47.319 check out Chumbuck Casino at chumbacasino dot com. Choose from 51 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:49.920 hundreds of social casino style games for your chance to 52 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.719 redeem serious cash prizes. There are new game releases weekly 53 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:56.680 plus free daily bonuses, So don't wait. Start having the 54 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:00.280 most fun ever at Chumbuck Casino dot Com of their 55 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:02.560 idea by lost the term conditions eating class. 56 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:15.439 You are now listening to True Murder, The most shocking 57 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:18.560 killers in true crime history and the authors that have 58 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:25.879 written about them Gasey, Bundy, Dahmer, The Nightstalker DTK. Every 59 00:02:25.960 --> 00:02:29.599 week another fascinating author talking about the most shocking and 60 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:33.919 infamous killers in true crime history. True Murder with your 61 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:50.000 host journalist and author Dan Zufanski, Good Evening. Michael Peterson 62 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:54.240 was driven to succeed. An army brat turned marine, he 63 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:59.240 saw combat in Vietnam and returned a decorated soldier. An 64 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:02.960 avid reader, his dreams of being an acclaimed novelists came true. 65 00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:06.439 His desire to find love was fulfilled when he married 66 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.800 brilliant executive Kathleen at Water, the first female student accepted 67 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:15.199 at Duke University School of Engineering. The Peterson seemed like 68 00:03:15.879 --> 00:03:21.719 the ideal academic couple, well respected, prosperous, and happy. All 69 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:24.280 that came crashing down in December of two thousand and 70 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.960 one when Kathleen apparently fell to her death in their 71 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.080 secluded home in an exclusive ay of Durham, North Carolina, 72 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:36.599 but blood spattered evidence in a missing fireplace poker suggested calculated, 73 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:42.240 cold blooded murder. Her trusted husband stood accused. Then the 74 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:47.000 most damaging evidence of all surfaced. Sixteen years earlier. Peterson 75 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:49.879 was the last person to see his neighbor alive before 76 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:52.039 she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase 77 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:55.639 in her home in Germany. A dramatic trial followed in 78 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:59.080 the explosive final chapter of a life that no novelists 79 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:02.400 could ever have conced. The book they're featuring this evening 80 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:05.439 is Written in Blood, a true story of murder and 81 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:08.560 a sixteen year old secret that tore a family apart, 82 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:13.000 with my special guest, journalist and author, Diane Fanning. Welcome 83 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:15.159 back to the program, and thank you very much for 84 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:17.319 agreeing to this interview, Diane Fanny. 85 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:21.439 Good evening, Dan, it's pleasure. 86 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:21.959 To talk with you again. 87 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:25.000 It is always a pleasure and it's going to be 88 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:27.839 always a treat for the audience, especially with this book 89 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:33.120 Written in Blood. I won't ask you how you became involved, 90 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:38.439 because it's too much to talk about in too short 91 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:42.639 a period of time, in such an involved story. In case, 92 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:47.639 it's incredible. Let's go right to as You Do dramatically 93 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:50.040 in the book to the nine to one to one 94 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:54.360 call December ninth, two thousand and one in Durham, North Carolina. 95 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:59.920 And it's a call Mary Allen takes from Michael Peterson 96 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:04.240 from eight ten eighteen ten part in me Cedar Street. 97 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:09.120 What's the as You Do? In the book? What does 98 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:13.199 he convey in a short period of time on the phone? 99 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:14.800 Tell us about that call? 100 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:21.439 He tells us that his wife has fallen down the stairs, 101 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:23.879 and he. 102 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:27.600 Says that he doesn't know if she's breathing or not. 103 00:05:28.680 --> 00:05:33.480 And the most remarkable thing of all is that not 104 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:39.480 once did he mention to the nine one one dispatcher 105 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.120 that there was a lot of blood in the hallway. 106 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:46.639 He never said it once, and yet that was the 107 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:48.560 first thing everyone else. 108 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:50.000 Noticed when they came into the home. 109 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:58.120 Right now, when you talk about the phone call that 110 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:01.240 he makes, and we won't, of course talk about it 111 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:06.120 verbatim everything he says in that phone call. But they 112 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:08.759 are trying to get information from him while they're on 113 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:11.920 the line. But yet at the same time, they've already 114 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:15.600 dispatched that ambulance and because of the particulars then the 115 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:19.879 police are also alerted to get to this location eighteen 116 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:23.360 ten Cedar Street. Now the first person that the first 117 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:26.759 people that arrive at ems Jay Rose and Ron Paige, 118 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:29.959 and we say their name later in the trial, of course, 119 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:34.360 and tell us a little bit about Durham, North Carolina 120 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:36.959 and this house that Jay Rose and Ron Page the 121 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:39.480 ems are arriving at. Tell us a little bit about 122 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.680 that and what they find and who they find at 123 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:43.399 that residence. 124 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:46.920 At that time, the house, it was huge. 125 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:50.800 It was about ten thousand square feet. It was an 126 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:55.480 old mansion in a very nice part of town. The 127 00:06:55.680 --> 00:07:01.560 mansion had once been in a movie. Even the stairway. 128 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:05.199 There was a scene in the original movie The Handmaid's 129 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:09.279 Tale that was filmed on that stairway when the home 130 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:14.360 was owned by the same guy that went up to 131 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:19.439 New England and got involved in that kerfuffle with trying 132 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:22.360 to get into his home own home and being stopped 133 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:27.240 by the police that ended in the beer summit with Obama. Right. 134 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:32.480 So, the house was amazing, you know, it has a 135 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:38.480 lot of history and it was very beautiful, but it did. 136 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:45.600 Need some extensive additional work on it. There were bats 137 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:50.920 in the belfry as it were, and they had a 138 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:54.519 number of just the structural things that needed to be corrected. 139 00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:57.560 The house wasn't about to fall down by any means, 140 00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:59.839 and you couldn't tell by looking at it that it happened. 141 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:03.120 Did have some problems like many old homes. 142 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:10.079 To now, when the EMS arrived, Jay Rose and Ron Page, 143 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:17.560 what is Michael Peterson doing? And you introduced Todd Peterson, 144 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:22.839 which is Michael's son. What do these EMS people arrive 145 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:27.279 to find? And again you mentioned that everyone responds or 146 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:32.480 did respond to the amount of blood, and they remarked accordingly, 147 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:35.720 So tell us a little bit about their arrival, and 148 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:40.840 what do they notice anything unusual? Tell us about what 149 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:41.559 they encountered. 150 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:46.440 They noticed that Michael Peterson wasn't wearing these shoes, and 151 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:51.759 they noticed that the blood had started to dry already, 152 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:57.840 and Peterson was telling them that there would only have 153 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:00.559 been forty five minutes since he came in from the 154 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:03.120 house and founder like this and the blood wouldn't be dry. 155 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:07.080 There was also a spot on the wall that looked 156 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:10.480 like someone had been smearing it, as if they were 157 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.679 trying to clean it up. And Todd Peterson was there 158 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:17.320 and he was doing most. 159 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:18.279 Of the talking. 160 00:09:19.480 --> 00:09:25.000 Now, he supposedly just arrived there did, but there was 161 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:29.759 evidence that came out later that indicated that that wasn't 162 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:32.120 the first time he'd been back into that house since 163 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:34.399 Kathleen died on the stairs. 164 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:43.120 Well, now, when police arrived, and to anybody that asks, 165 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:48.639 what's the story, he says about where he was when Kathleen, 166 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:52.120 his wife, falls to her death. Where is he? 167 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:56.759 This is a December night, late in the evening, and 168 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:01.159 he claimed they were both sitting out by the pool. 169 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:06.559 Now that's not impossible. Durham is a little balmy. But 170 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:14.399 after some time Kathleen went in and Michael Peterson said 171 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:16.519 he continued to sit out there in a pair of 172 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:23.480 shorts for another forty five minutes, which is pretty hard 173 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:26.039 to believe in that weather. 174 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:29.039 It was a little bit cool, he said. 175 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:33.879 When he came in, he found her like she was 176 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:37.759 when they found her. But the thing of it is 177 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:41.600 is there was one thing that was noticed almost ran away. 178 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:45.480 There was a bloody footprint on the back of her pants. 179 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:53.639 Yeah, you saw you write about all the ID texts 180 00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:57.159 and the CID Criminal Investigation Division that show up and 181 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:01.039 they see and remark the same thing that the blood 182 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:05.159 is congealed already in all of the locations. But each 183 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:09.879 one of them also respond and remark to each other 184 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:13.960 and later that this doesn't look like it's consistent with 185 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:19.960 accidental faull. Not that they're the people that can assess 186 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:23.399 that properly, but that was their first responses, wasn't it? 187 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:27.679 That was the first reaction because there was an awful 188 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:33.799 lot of blood in that stairway when someone falls, Yes, 189 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:38.279 there's going to be blood, not that copious and not 190 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:44.840 that widespread. It was really shocking to all of them 191 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:48.840 at the quantity of blood that was there, and also 192 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:51.559 the fact that it was starting. 193 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:51.919 To dry out. 194 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:58.879 You also have that right away Todd is making a 195 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:04.279 statement to pull even without being officially interviewed, regarding alcohol, 196 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:09.879 and also that Michael Peterson and it was corroborated story 197 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:13.799 of Todd and a date that they had been at 198 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:16.639 the house earlier. What's the story that Michael Peterson talks 199 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:22.639 about involving the evening that they spent earlier and alcohol 200 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:26.759 and what Todd had said to anybody that would even listen. 201 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:31.200 Well, Michael had said that they had watched a movie 202 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:36.240 and had gotten a call saying that he's the option 203 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:39.480 the movie option had been renewed on his book, and 204 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:43.679 they were kind of celebrating and having a little bit 205 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:53.039 of champagne and toasting the night and Peterson, Todd Peterson 206 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:56.360 came in and he said to the police that he 207 00:12:57.159 --> 00:13:01.200 did everything would call her a drunk and said that she, 208 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:03.919 you know, she must have stumbled and fell because she'd 209 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:07.399 been drinking, and and really did make it sound like 210 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:15.559 that alcoholic misbehavior was a hallmark of existence, which since 211 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:23.960 she was a very very successful six figure businesswoman, that didn't. 212 00:13:23.639 --> 00:13:24.679 Seem very likely. 213 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:26.240 Now you have introduced them. 214 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:33.360 She used valuum. Yeah, he also said she used valium right. 215 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:38.759 Now. The valume actually though, happens to be correct. She 216 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:41.039 did even say to some of her friends that she 217 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:43.279 had been using Valume as of late. 218 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:49.960 Yeah. Things were really stressful at her job, and her 219 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:54.399 boss had just been fired, so there was a lot 220 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:57.559 of consternation in the office place and and and a 221 00:13:57.639 --> 00:14:00.480 lot of that was left for her to try to abduce. 222 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:03.639 So she had to stay called for everyone else, and. 223 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:06.480 She was stressing a bit. 224 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:10.480 And there was also the economics of their life had 225 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:14.720 been getting a little tighter. They were still pretty much 226 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:21.519 supporting Michael's two grown sons, in addition to having three 227 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:26.279 girls in the household who would soon be ready to 228 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:27.159 go off to college. 229 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:34.000 Right, let's talk about a little bit about the situation 230 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:38.840 that investigators find out soon enough, because this is just 231 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:42.159 one little part of the story and this incredible story 232 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:45.840 that it is. Tell us a little bit more about Kathleen, 233 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:52.840 because we introduced her as this incredible intellectual basically and 234 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:58.360 certainly it looked like a dynamic academic couple which introduced 235 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:01.799 in the beginning. Tell us a little bit more about 236 00:15:01.879 --> 00:15:05.320 her work at Nortel and the kind of financial success 237 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:08.919 that she was having for a few years. 238 00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:14.679 Yeah, at Nortel, she had been traveling all over the world, 239 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:20.559 even to Russia to help them set up communication systems. 240 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:25.919 And she was a very busy woman. 241 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.320 In fact, the next morning she was preparing to go 242 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:32.360 to Toronto for a business meeting. So she was a 243 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:37.519 real dynamo. She had a lot of responsibility and it 244 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:41.279 took her all around the world. She but that was 245 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:45.799 only one side of her. She was much more than 246 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:50.399 that as a person. Her favorite activity, believe it or not, 247 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:55.399 was powerwashing the house. She loved to powerwash the house 248 00:15:55.559 --> 00:16:01.879 and she did all sorts of other things around the home, 249 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:06.679 and she was a marvelous justice. She would have these 250 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:11.600 incredible parties and she'd prepare all the food herself. So 251 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:16.399 she was both a domestic goddess and a business whiz 252 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:17.480 at the some time. 253 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:25.000 At the same time, you also write that very difficult task. 254 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:29.960 But coming into this marriage, there was already the adopted 255 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:36.080 children Martha and Margaret, and also his son's Todd and 256 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:43.000 another son. What was there her relationship like to all 257 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:44.960 people that could look at it, but in reality, what 258 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:46.360 was a relationship with those children. 259 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:53.399 Well, she had her own daughter, Caitlin, and she also 260 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:58.919 became the stepmother to the two other girls who were 261 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:06.960 not not adopted legally by Michael Peterson. And he said 262 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:12.440 the reason he didn't adopt them was because their father 263 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:16.000 had died in service. 264 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:17.119 To his country in the military. 265 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:21.200 Their mother had died while she was a teacher for 266 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:23.920 one of the schools for the children in the military, 267 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:28.559 so they were both veteral employees. They both That meant 268 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:34.799 that they both the children got a lot of benefits 269 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:37.799 because of that, and he wanted to keep the money 270 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.400 rolling in so he never would adopt them. 271 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:41.799 Uh So. 272 00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:48.319 Kathleen became like another mother to them. They you know, 273 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:53.480 they lost their first mother by death when they were 274 00:17:53.640 --> 00:18:01.440 very little, and then they lost Chael's first wife who 275 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:09.160 was their stepmother when the divorce happened, and they came 276 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:15.480 with Michael, and now they had Kathleen, and they adored her, 277 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:19.400 and she was she had a right relationship with them. 278 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:26.440 And the two boys, on the other hand, didn't particularly 279 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:27.599 care for Kathleen. 280 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:31.640 And it might be kind of understandable. 281 00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:34.640 I mean, their mother was set by the wayside and 282 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:38.599 this other woman was now with father, so some of 283 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:46.200 that anti Kathleen sentiment could be understandable because of the situation. 284 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:55.160 Right now, with this, right away, the police within a 285 00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:58.799 short period of time, are looking for a search warrant. 286 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:05.319 Michael Peterson seems to be very very surprised, but right away, 287 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:08.480 even before his he is arrested, he contacts a lawyer. 288 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:15.799 His friend, Carrie Sutton, tell us about what transpires. Shortly after, 289 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:18.759 despite the story that he has given that she has 290 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:19.680 felt to her death. 291 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:29.519 Well, they do try to obstruct the investigation. 292 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:36.680 And Michael's brother comes from Nevada and it sort of 293 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:42.880 becomes an adjunct to the legal team and from then 294 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:50.279 he says they need to hire a serious criminal lawyer. 295 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:55.119 And that's when David Rudolph takes charge of the case 296 00:19:56.200 --> 00:20:03.960 and right after his arrest, and he is he's just 297 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:08.920 making a big deal over being a grieving widower, and 298 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:14.799 he's also trying to get all of the family onto 299 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:20.039 the same page to basically cover for him. And he 300 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:29.559 even tries to do that with Kathleen's sisters, and he 301 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:34.160 doesn't give them very much information, and so at first 302 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:39.079 they're not suspicious, but then when they actually saw the 303 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:46.119 scene of the crime, they knew that something had definitely 304 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:50.920 gone wrong here. And when the autopsy came out, they 305 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:55.920 had absolutely no doubt that Michael Peterson was responsible for 306 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:57.000 Kathleen's death. 307 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:05.440 Right, you talk about Michael Peterson as well, and it 308 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:08.359 comes out and as we talk about in the introduction, 309 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:13.200 that it comes out at some point Martha A pardon me, Margaret, 310 00:21:13.319 --> 00:21:19.519 and Martha, we are talking about the children of this Elizabeth, 311 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.240 and so tell us about Elizabeth and Germany and go backwards, 312 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.559 as you do in the book, to tell us about 313 00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:30.720 Michael Peterson and his life after the army and in 314 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:36.039 the military and his ability to become the novelist, which 315 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:38.920 was his dream. So take us back to Germany and 316 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:42.799 how he became the guardian of Martha and Margaret. 317 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:46.839 Michael Peterson. 318 00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:54.799 Was married to a woman who had a job working 319 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:59.359 in Germany as a teacher, and in that way she 320 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:02.000 met Elizabeth Ratliffe. 321 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:04.559 Who was also a teacher. They taught in the same. 322 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:08.519 School and they lived lived just a few doors away 323 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:13.759 from each other. Elizabeth was married and her husband was 324 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:18.240 in the military, and he was on a mission in 325 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:22.640 animal and he was just found getting in his bed 326 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:29.119 one night, and so suddenly Elizabeth is there with two 327 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:33.359 young girls, just about two and five years old, and 328 00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:39.920 having to deal with her husband's death and everything else 329 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:45.440 involved with being a single parent, and she was a 330 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:49.720 bit overwhelmed at first, as anyone would be. Michael Peterson 331 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:53.559 stepped in and offered to help her with the financial stuff, 332 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:59.720 and since you know, his wife was her friend, she 333 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:02.839 was comfortable with that, and she and the girls often 334 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:08.279 had Peterson's house. One night, after having dinner at their house, 335 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:15.480 Michael brought them home and he helped He helped her 336 00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:19.240 put the two children in bed, And it is highly 337 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:24.359 suspected by Elizabeth's sisters that there was something had gone 338 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:29.119 wrong in the financial picture of Elizabeth's Ratliffe. There were 339 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:34.119 things missing that shouldn't have been and they suspect that 340 00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:38.799 Michael Peterson had in some way been ripping her off 341 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:41.680 while he was supposedly helping. 342 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:47.119 Her with his with the finances, and that is what 343 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:48.559 caused the confrontation. 344 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:56.359 And at the end of that confrontation, Elizabeth was dead 345 00:23:56.799 --> 00:24:00.519 at the foot of the stairs in a pool blood, 346 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:06.119 with blood spatter all up and down the stairway, and 347 00:24:06.279 --> 00:24:09.559 Michael Peterson was seen running from the home. 348 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:15.000 Now, as you're read in the book, person named Barbara 349 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:19.079 O'Hara which plays very prominently in the story, and she 350 00:24:19.319 --> 00:24:22.920 ends up being this very very caring nanny to help 351 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:27.880 out with Elizabeth and children and Michael Peterson. At one 352 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:31.519 time she had lived with the family. Michael Peterson advised 353 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:33.599 the Liz to pay for her to have her own 354 00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:37.079 apartment in her own life. She is the person that 355 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:40.279 discovered Liz that day. 356 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:47.839 Yeah, yes, and she was horrified. And of course it 357 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:54.279 naturally draws of the big question why did Michael want 358 00:24:54.359 --> 00:25:00.799 that woman out of the home. Why did he intervened 359 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:04.079 in that way because everything seemed to be working fine, 360 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:08.680 the only thing that remained was without her in the home. 361 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:15.279 Elizabeth would be alone, and during the day no one 362 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:19.240 would be in the house, and then the evening, you know, 363 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:23.960 on school days, and in the evening, Barbara would be gone. 364 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:30.079 And it was it was just kind of suspicious that 365 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:35.359 he wanted her out of the home, as if he 366 00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:38.400 thought what he was doing would be picked up by 367 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:44.559 someone else. He was messing with their finances, and also 368 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:49.480 it left her even more alone and reliant on him. 369 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:53.759 Now, in this first case, back in nineteen eighty five, 370 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:57.920 he's in Germany, knows you right, He knows a little 371 00:25:57.960 --> 00:25:59.960 bit of German, but not much, but he knows an 372 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:03.519 And because this is associated with the military, they send 373 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:06.519 somebody in and I guess, as you're right, because they 374 00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:10.400 have assumptions and based on the person going in is 375 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:14.200 less experienced than maybe somebody might if they were assuming 376 00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:18.480 that it was foul play. Tell us how on earth 377 00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:23.880 he gets around this? It looks like murder. How does 378 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:26.319 he get past this? With the German authorities? 379 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:31.160 Michael sort of with the German authorities who were sort 380 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:37.160 of backing down in to the military of the United 381 00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:40.480 States because these were Americans and so they were not 382 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:44.839 asserting themselves in any kind of investigation, and Michael Peterson 383 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:50.200 pretty much took charge of the scene, and he was 384 00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:54.920 telling them about a medical condition that she had, which I, 385 00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:57.680 you know, I do not think had anything to do 386 00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:02.440 with their death. Maybe it increased the amount of blood flow, but. 387 00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:03.480 That would have been about it. 388 00:27:07.559 --> 00:27:11.759 And he just basically was telling the story and there 389 00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:17.000 was no one else to speak for Elizabeth, and he 390 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:21.960 basically conned everyone. And then the pathologist that did the autopsy, 391 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:26.799 he was not a forensic pathologist. He had never done 392 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:31.519 a forensic pathology. His main work was for people that 393 00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:35.799 died of illness, of sudden illness, or people who were 394 00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:41.640 killed in automobile crashes or other vehicular accidents, and so 395 00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:47.039 he was inexperienced and untrained in any kind of forensic 396 00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:52.480 approach to an autopsy. And he was just in above 397 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:58.759 his head and he basically took the word of Michael 398 00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:00.839 Peterson and the military who believed him. 399 00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:06.680 Yes, you write that, they end up writing something that 400 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:14.400 is basically disputed later obviously, but something to the tune 401 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:22.440