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EP8/8 The Staircase
Posted in: Crime, Murder, Mystery
EP8/8 The Staircase
March 27th, 2010
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Rating: 9.6/10 (27 votes cast)

The Verdict:

On December 9, 2001 at 2:41 a.m. the rescue squad of the city of Durham, North Carolina got an urgent call from a man who had a hard time explaining that his wife had fallen down a flight of stairs.

He said she was bleeding profusely but still breathing. When the medical team arrived five minutes later, it was too late. The victim was dead. Her husband had traces of blood on his hands and face.

For the inspector in charge of the inquiry, the facts spoke for themselves: there was too much blood and too many wounds on the victim. It was not an accident, but a murder.

A week later Michael Peterson was arrested.

This is a murder mystery like no other by the Academy Award-winning director of Murder on a Sunday Morning. After winning the Oscar, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade set out to make a documentary investigating another alleged murder, a story that quickly developed more twists and turns than a script for CSI.

With unprecedented access to all the central characters, the result is the first-ever docu-thriller series Death on the Staircase: Crime Scene or Accident?

EP8/8 The Staircase, 9.6 out of 10 based on 27 ratings
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  • Lingo

    He was guilty. I’m sure he’ll enjoy his time in prison though, become someone’s bitch or something.

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    • lalaland

      That truly was a very mature and insightful opinion. Thank you.

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      Rating: +4 (from 8 votes)
  • gvregrs

    Clearly not guilty.

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    Rating: +2 (from 8 votes)
  • wnd

    Wow.

    This documentary confirms what most of us outside of the States already had a sneaking suspicion of: that the US Justice system is, well, farcical anywhere south of Philadelphia.

    Is Justice Hudson still “presiding”, I wonder. Perhaps the real question is, is he still receiving kick-backs from crooked politicians? Not to mention, is Dr. Radisch still “examining” bodies? How in the hell is a “report” like hers ever admitted to a court of law as evidence?

    Also, the doc does an excellent job of displaying the dangerous idiocy of Nancy Grace and the miscarriage of justice when American media is given the opportunity to convict citizens not in the interests of justice, but in the interests of profit.

    I would like to have known more about the possible motives of the power-base in the city of Durham to ensure a conviction of Peterson. Something stinks there. Again, just another glimpse (not that we want many) of what its like to be tried for murder south of Phillie.

    God bless Amer…really? Could even an all-knowing deity bless the travesty of civilisation that is America?

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  • whatajoke

    this is american democracy.

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  • csbxmjb

    WOW.. based on what I just saw, I could not have found this man “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”.

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    • stnhn

      there was the REALITY of the incident portrayed by the court
      the reality of the court portrayed by the doco
      but as you say and i do agree
      based on what I just saw, I could not have found this man “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”.

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  • penfold

    Great series; funny that in the cofines of reality a far richer story was crafted than fiction would have made possible.

    I feel for the family, especially the children. I hope they were able to move on with their lives.

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  • Patricia

    I watched the esntire program. Having said that I have the following comments

    1…The amoungt of blood is what bothered me the most, but I am not the blood expert.

    2…The scientific evidence would have had more weight in the decision if it had been explained in a more easy to understand common folks language. the blood evidence and the bio mechanic evidence got me all confused and put me to sleep nad I do think is extremely importantthat this is clearly understood.

    3….Wouldn,t have been important to show that he has no blood on him when he was found ? unless he assited in CPR.

    4….It did not bother me it all and I did not think about any set u-p c the blow poke shown as evidence when it did, to me it really poked holes on the prosecution case.

    5…..I found the most credible witnessed the prostitute male. I think it really helped the defense especially when he said that is not unusual for wives to know about bisexuality, as then there was no motive for the crime.

    6…..Children should have testified as character witnesses in my view.

    7…..in a portion of the program there was some relative apparently testifying that he was violent, then the writer said that he onle met her twice. I did not see the defense cross examining this witness. In my view it would destroy her credibility if she only met him twsice.

    Finally…my gut feeling tells me that he is not quilty but the amount of blood bothers me so i do not really know. However, I do not think that he should have been found quilty beyond a reasonable doubt, in fact I ended up c a lot of doubts about his quilt. May be there was gay bashing.

    Also I do not beieve in my hiumble opinion that the closing statements helped because instead of presenting him as not quilty by reason of not being quilty, he was presented as not quilty because it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt as if Attney did not believe completly in his inocence. Anyway that was my perception.

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  • Patricia

    Please notify me of new developments

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  • justcheckin

    ratty little psycho,the kids will see the truth after they have been awaay from this wicked man.he should be studied.

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  • justcheckin

    2staircases,two women,2deaths,one nutcase=no doubt,not in one lifetime.

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  • Neil

    Ok.

    First of all, brilliant work from the Frenchman(again).

    However, did anyone think it was a bit biased?

    For legal reasons we Don’t see It from the prosecution side. Only the defence.

    However(again), I think there is more than a reasonable doubt. The justice system is flawed worldwide.

    U.N? Human rights? Well, first off they should be about protecting the indivual against the state. Peterson had the money (he complained about this himself to be fair)to give himself excellent protection from this. The poor are screwed.

    This is WRONG WRONG WRONG!

    I have had a few beers but SURELY seeking the truth should come into it.

    You’ve got the state vs a lawyer who both want to win at all costs. Ego takes over and the truth goes out of the window.

    I have a suggestion.

    How about a VOLUNTARY legal middleman. I would call it the ‘PROBABILTY ATTORNEY/LAWYER’.

    From voluntary attorneys (via voluntary donations) jurors could hear expert testimony on a case. Pure science. They would place their testimony after the prosecution’s case.

    Voluntary, BUT IF A DEFENDANT/SPOUSE/BROTHER/SISTER/MOTHER/ FATHER/ SON/DAUGHTER GIVES A DONATION AFTER THE ALLEGED CRIME IS COMMITTED, then he/she cannot access this service.

    It’s not foolproof, but can you think of better?

    Should’ve been NOT GUILTY BTW!

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  • decdetdes

    That was a devastating verdict. I don’t know who disturbed me the most — the D.A. and other prosecutors; the (ha!) medical examiner or Kathleen’s oldest sister? Each one of them was equally arrogant, obnoxious and sorely mistaken! Seemingly, Mr. Peterson was judged primarily upon his lifestyle. I am still reeling from the entire process I just witnessed.

    More plausible is the possibility Mrs. Peterson was, indeed, attacked by an owl when returning to the house. The various injuries she suffered match up with what can transpire during such an attack. Plus, there is forensic evidence to suggest such an attack. (talon tears, feathers and the possibility of an actual portion of a talon left behind)

    For information on this possibility, one can Google the following phrase, “Attorney wants owl theory reconsidered in Peterson murder case” or one can read a synopsis in Michael Peterson’s Wikipedia article. The former has an excellent interview with the attorney and a PDF file of Kathleen’s autopsy report.

    @Neil, it’s my understanding there may be an unintentional bias because there was little, if any, cooperation from the prosecution. There is a wonderful follow-up mini-documentary about “The Staircase” called, “The Making of The Staircase.” It can be found in its entirety on YouTube.

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  • decdetdes

    That was a devastating verdict. I don’t know who disturbed me the most — the D.A. and other prosecutors; the (ha!) medical examiner or Kathleen’s oldest sister? Each one of them was equally arrogant, obnoxious and sorely mistaken! Seemingly, Mr. Peterson was judged primarily upon his lifestyle. I am still reeling from the entire process I just witnessed.

    More plausible is the possibility Mrs. Peterson was, indeed, attacked by an owl when returning to the house. The various injuries she suffered match up with what can transpire during such an attack. Plus, there is forensic evidence to suggest such an attack. (talon tears, feathers and the possibility of an actual portion of a talon left behind)

    For information on this possibility, one can Google the following phrase, “Attorney wants owl theory reconsidered in Peterson murder case” or one can read a synopsis in Michael Peterson’s Wikipedia article. The former has an excellent interview with the attorney and a PDF file of Kathleen’s autopsy report.

    @Neil, it’s my understanding there may be an unintentional bias because there was little, if any, cooperation from the prosecution. There is a wonderful follow-up mini-documentary about “The Staircase” called, “The Making of The Staircase.” It can be found in its entirety on YouTube.

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  • Jon Au

     Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. His 911 phone call sounded worse than an amateur actor. His daughters are naive. His defence team was just as ridiculous, so damned confident that they would win it was annoying. On top of all this the documentary is all one sided, clearly biased in favor of Mike Peterson’s image. 

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  • Jazmineflower2004

     They had it right. This guy killed his ‘friend’ to get her girls from her. Then when that worked to his advantage he repeated the process with his ‘soulmate’ because she found out he was ‘dating’ men. But this time justice was served. He deserved what he got. As to the blowpoke…he knew where it was the whole time! I’ve read the book that was written on this. Its not an easy thing to show an unbiased opinion when all the evidence there showed he took her life. Maybe it wasn’t intentional but he still did it. And he showed absolutely no emotion during the whole thing. Even laughing and joking when it wasn’t appropriate. 

    VA:F [1.9.11_1134]
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  • Jazmineflower2004

     They had it right. This guy killed his ‘friend’ to get her girls from her. Then when that worked to his advantage he repeated the process with his ‘soulmate’ because she found out he was ‘dating’ men. But this time justice was served. He deserved what he got. As to the blowpoke…he knew where it was the whole time! I’ve read the book that was written on this. Its not an easy thing to show an unbiased opinion when all the evidence there showed he took her life. Maybe it wasn’t intentional but he still did it. And he showed absolutely no emotion during the whole thing. Even laughing and joking when it wasn’t appropriate. 

    VA:F [1.9.11_1134]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  • Jazmineflower2004

     They had it right. This guy killed his ‘friend’ to get her girls from her. Then when that worked to his advantage he repeated the process with his ‘soulmate’ because she found out he was ‘dating’ men. But this time justice was served. He deserved what he got. As to the blowpoke…he knew where it was the whole time! I’ve read the book that was written on this. Its not an easy thing to show an unbiased opinion when all the evidence there showed he took her life. Maybe it wasn’t intentional but he still did it. And he showed absolutely no emotion during the whole thing. Even laughing and joking when it wasn’t appropriate. 

    VA:F [1.9.11_1134]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  • Jazmineflower2004

     They had it right. This guy killed his ‘friend’ to get her girls from her. Then when that worked to his advantage he repeated the process with his ‘soulmate’ because she found out he was ‘dating’ men. But this time justice was served. He deserved what he got. As to the blowpoke…he knew where it was the whole time! I’ve read the book that was written on this. Its not an easy thing to show an unbiased opinion when all the evidence there showed he took her life. Maybe it wasn’t intentional but he still did it. And he showed absolutely no emotion during the whole thing. Even laughing and joking when it wasn’t appropriate. 

    VA:F [1.9.11_1134]
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  • Jazmineflower2004

     Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the blood. Wayyyy too much blood to be an accidental fall. They even said she would have had to have bounced like a pogo stick to get the injuries she had. And of course the poker wouldn’t have damaged her brain it wasn’t heavy enough. He hit her, knocked her out then pushed her down 20 something stairs. And agreed I really hope those poor kids finally got some sense and realized their dad was a psychopath. Incapable of feeling anything beside self love. 

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  • Jazmineflower2004

     Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the blood. Wayyyy too much blood to be an accidental fall. They even said she would have had to have bounced like a pogo stick to get the injuries she had. And of course the poker wouldn’t have damaged her brain it wasn’t heavy enough. He hit her, knocked her out then pushed her down 20 something stairs. And agreed I really hope those poor kids finally got some sense and realized their dad was a psychopath. Incapable of feeling anything beside self love. 

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  • Jazmineflower2004

     Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the blood. Wayyyy too much blood to be an accidental fall. They even said she would have had to have bounced like a pogo stick to get the injuries she had. And of course the poker wouldn’t have damaged her brain it wasn’t heavy enough. He hit her, knocked her out then pushed her down 20 something stairs. And agreed I really hope those poor kids finally got some sense and realized their dad was a psychopath. Incapable of feeling anything beside self love. 

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    • Anonymous

      Your limited understanding of crime scenes and forensics is comparable with the shocking lack of ability displayed by the prosecution in this programme.  All who knew this man, describe a loving husband and father, his bi-sexuality is not relevant, and was shown not to be a motive, he had no motive to kill his wife.  The police however clearly had a motive to want to see him prosecuted, he having written a column in the local paper in which he attacks the DA and the police for failing in there ability to keep law and order, they the police had motive, and if you are nieve enough to not think many police forces are not corrupt, then I feel really sorry for you.

      The blood was not excessive for such an apparent fall resulting in such injuries, what is important is the total lack of blood spatter, of which there was none, no weapon was used.  She did not fall down 20 stairs, she apparently lost her balance and fell backwards on the 3rd or 4th stair, as no blood was found going up the stairs.

      My argument here, is this man was not given a fair trial, and that has implications for people everywhere, because one day it might just be you facing such an accusation, so do not be so quick to judge, when clearly you have little understanding of basic investigation.  I suggest you watch this many more times until you do have understanding, then you can comment on this without doing as the prosecution clearly did, make things up.

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      • Zennurse

        I agree completely with you, the whole german aspect of the case should have been inadmissable and only one of the witnesses from that time was credible.  I hate to think the jurors convicted him out of homophobia but I suspect it was a factor.  

        As for the blood, remember that she had a 0.7 alcohol level and had taken a Valium which is a muscle relaxant and a tranquilizer.  I can completely see how she could lose her balance and bounce off walls in that small landing area.  And I’m a nurse and let me tell you, head wound bleed like crazy.  At the beginning of the series, Mike walked back by the pool to show where they were sitting and he said it was about 11pm.  EMS 911 wasn’t called until after 2:30 so if she slipped on her way up the stairs, she could have been there for 3 hours plus, more than enough time for the blood at the scene. 

        I felt like Dr. Radisch wrote it in expecting that her opinion would not be questioned but the one Rudolf raised abut Rigor Mortis was right on to put her in her place,  I feel like she thought she could just phone it in because she was already on the prosecution’s side and the fix was in.

         
        Finally my heart is with Clayton, Todd, Martha and Margaret as well as Bob and Jack.  I thought Rudolf and his team did a great job and I will try to keep up with the appeal.

        Good luck, Mike
        .

        Is there more from this producer, I really liked his style?

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        • craigzz

          Yes i agree with your comments, there is so much wrong with this case that wherever you look, you find even more wrong with it.

          It’s Directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, who did Murder on a Sunday Morning, which is another shocking case of police corruption, if you hav’nt seen it I would recommend.

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  • Jazmineflower2004

     Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the blood. Wayyyy too much blood to be an accidental fall. They even said she would have had to have bounced like a pogo stick to get the injuries she had. And of course the poker wouldn’t have damaged her brain it wasn’t heavy enough. He hit her, knocked her out then pushed her down 20 something stairs. And agreed I really hope those poor kids finally got some sense and realized their dad was a psychopath. Incapable of feeling anything beside self love. 

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  • Kylie888

    I would have said not guilty.  That being said it was filmed entirley from the defence side of things.  To get the guilty verdict how much did we not get to see in the trail?  I thought the biomechanical engineers recreation would support the case and be vital and sway the jury to a not guilty verdict..

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  • Kylie888

    I would have said not guilty.  That being said it was filmed entirley from the defence side of things.  To get the guilty verdict how much did we not get to see in the trail?  I thought the biomechanical engineers recreation would support the case and be vital and sway the jury to a not guilty verdict..

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  • Craig

    The prosecution in this trial had nothing, the forensic experts for the prosecution put together a woefully inadequate case which was easily taken apart by the experts for the defence.  In effect the blowpoke was inadmissable, it should have been recovered during the police investigation, and one wonders how or why they could fail to have found it at that time.  Finding it a year later, makes it worthless as evidence.

    Blood spatter evidence is huge in this case, clearly there was no evidence consistent with the use of a weapon.  The lack of blood on Mike Peterson can be viewed in two ways, one would expect him to have had blood on his cloths, if his wife had died in his arms as he claims, however, this programme does not give enough information to understand this.

    The seven lacerations to Kathleens head, look disturbing, they appear to be consistent with the complex wooden moulding on the doorframe.  My only doubt would be whether a fall backwards from the third step, could have caused lacerations deep enough to cause her death.  The prosecution and defence, should have tried to replicate her head injury lacerations, with ballistic gell or similar, and at falling velocity.  Clearly they were caused by the wooden door moulding, but was her apparent fall, able to cause these lacerations ? or was her head forced into the door moulding, causing the lacerations ?

    It is very unusual for the victim not to have  suffered even a skull fracture or any brain damage, as the lacerations do look severe at least from what we see in the photo.  This is suggestive of much less force causing her injuries.

    The photo’s taken by the police of blood and then blood which had been wiped, is quite serious, this is contamination AND manipulation of the crime scene, if it was a crime scene, and many cases have been thrown out as a result of just this and this alone.

    The prosecutions forensic experts, made statements in court which they simply had no found basis to make.  They did in FACT lie, to try to convince a jury of there outlandish theories.

    In conclusion, regardless of whether this man is guilty or innocent, he did not receive a fair trial.  There were elements in this documentary, when it was more than clear to the audience, of the prosecution going to extroadinary lengths to effectively try to ’frame’ the man on trial.  As a result of this, I felt the defence always had a very difficult uphill struggle, to which I feel they did about as good a job as the situation allowed.

    The reporting on this trial by the media, was both shocking and atrocious.  It often appeared to me as if the media were obtaining there information from the prosecutor, which would clearly be an attempt to predudice the outcome of the trial.  I felt on this basis alone, the defendant deserved a new trial.

    It is highly unethical for the prosecution to have exhumed the mother of the daughters, and had her taken to the same forensic pathologist some 1200 miles away for a second post mortum.  I can only assume the Judge who presided over this case not to have been impartial.  One MUST ask why this was done ?  As it appears to have been done to arrive at the same conclusion as the first woman, ie : Homicide.  It is also HIGHLY suspicious how the police officer who took the exhumed body to this forensic pahologist, not having seen the body himself, appears to make very definite statements as to the outcome of this examination.  He appears to be in no doubt whatsoever, that this will be ruled a homicide also, yet he gives no explanation as to why he is so confident of the outcome.

    I could go on, this entire case is just about one of the worst I have seen for convicting someone as guilty, presumed innocent.  This person 100% should be given a new trial by the Supreme Court, for all of the above reasons and many many more. 

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  • ladyvi

    i noticed  that one of his adopted daughters- the oldest- does seem to have the same profile as michael when they were sitting side by side during breaktime in the court compared to the other girl. just wondering if it was a motive to kill the neighbor in germany when he found out that she is his daughter and doesnt want to expose one of his secrets- that he did something to the wife of his best friend and neighbor? maybe some more secrets are yet to be uncovered

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  • ladyvi

    i noticed  that one of his adopted daughters- the oldest- does seem to have the same profile as michael when they were sitting side by side during breaktime in the court compared to the other girl. just wondering if it was a motive to kill the neighbor in germany when he found out that she is his daughter and doesnt want to expose one of his secrets- that he did something to the wife of his best friend and neighbor? maybe some more secrets are yet to be uncovered

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  • ladyvi

    i noticed  that one of his adopted daughters- the oldest- does seem to have the same profile as michael when they were sitting side by side during breaktime in the court compared to the other girl. just wondering if it was a motive to kill the neighbor in germany when he found out that she is his daughter and doesnt want to expose one of his secrets- that he did something to the wife of his best friend and neighbor? maybe some more secrets are yet to be uncovered

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    • Grant

      very interesting observation about the profile,i 2 noticed the same in the last episode or more 2 the point how they were different,the sisters ,different parents i thought.

      The one thing that made him guilty in my eyes,that never came up,was the call itself to 911,Peterson was straight away saying”she’s still breathing,she’s still breathing” as if to make a point of it,before the operator even asked,that sunk him in my eyes,because it made me think he wanted the operator to think that she was still alive,when in fact she was probably well dead ,he had set the whole thing up i think,maybe not even killed her there,then threw her down the stairs ,or threw her into the stairwell and ‘eve’ or skirting and that killed her.

      He should not of been found guilty on the evidence,but it was written all over his face throughout the doco and justice was served,and yes it was obvious he was having an affair with the first one ,killed her and tried the same ‘set-up’ second time.Why else would you be okay with “whatever they decide”-the dude was guilty !

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    • Grant

      very interesting observation about the profile,i 2 noticed the same in the last episode or more 2 the point how they were different,the sisters ,different parents i thought.

      The one thing that made him guilty in my eyes,that never came up,was the call itself to 911,Peterson was straight away saying”she’s still breathing,she’s still breathing” as if to make a point of it,before the operator even asked,that sunk him in my eyes,because it made me think he wanted the operator to think that she was still alive,when in fact she was probably well dead ,he had set the whole thing up i think,maybe not even killed her there,then threw her down the stairs ,or threw her into the stairwell and ‘eve’ or skirting and that killed her.

      He should not of been found guilty on the evidence,but it was written all over his face throughout the doco and justice was served,and yes it was obvious he was having an affair with the first one ,killed her and tried the same ‘set-up’ second time.Why else would you be okay with “whatever they decide”-the dude was guilty !

      VA:F [1.9.11_1134]
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    • Grant

      very interesting observation about the profile,i 2 noticed the same in the last episode or more 2 the point how they were different,the sisters ,different parents i thought.

      The one thing that made him guilty in my eyes,that never came up,was the call itself to 911,Peterson was straight away saying”she’s still breathing,she’s still breathing” as if to make a point of it,before the operator even asked,that sunk him in my eyes,because it made me think he wanted the operator to think that she was still alive,when in fact she was probably well dead ,he had set the whole thing up i think,maybe not even killed her there,then threw her down the stairs ,or threw her into the stairwell and ‘eve’ or skirting and that killed her.

      He should not of been found guilty on the evidence,but it was written all over his face throughout the doco and justice was served,and yes it was obvious he was having an affair with the first one ,killed her and tried the same ‘set-up’ second time.Why else would you be okay with “whatever they decide”-the dude was guilty !

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  • Trentt

    I had to do some research to affirm that these were the actual people involved who were filmed throughout.  It seems so irregular that a film crew followed everyone around virtually from Kathleen’s funeral through the verdict in the case (even certain persons not friendly to the accused) – that everyone would have consented to this.  Anyway, it was a biased documentary.  Based on what I’ve seen here, I wouldn’t have found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but I suspect there’s a lot of footage and facts unfavorable to Michael Petersen that was left out.  I found Petersen himself to be shifty and insincere, his lawyer slick and unlikable, the DA and his assistant like a used car salesman and his harpy sidekick … the defense attorney’s assistant was sympathetic and seemed real, as did the children, his ex-wife, and a few others.  But if the film’s purpose was to paint Petersen in a sympathetic light, I don’t think it entirely succeeded.

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  • Trentt

    I had to do some research to affirm that these were the actual people involved who were filmed throughout.  It seems so irregular that a film crew followed everyone around virtually from Kathleen’s funeral through the verdict in the case (even certain persons not friendly to the accused) – that everyone would have consented to this.  Anyway, it was a biased documentary.  Based on what I’ve seen here, I wouldn’t have found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but I suspect there’s a lot of footage and facts unfavorable to Michael Petersen that was left out.  I found Petersen himself to be shifty and insincere, his lawyer slick and unlikable, the DA and his assistant like a used car salesman and his harpy sidekick … the defense attorney’s assistant was sympathetic and seemed real, as did the children, his ex-wife, and a few others.  But if the film’s purpose was to paint Petersen in a sympathetic light, I don’t think it entirely succeeded.

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  • Gary

    I think he was guilty but not because of DA or the evidence the DA blew it on all accounts. He put himself in jail that jury saw right through him the 911 call was pathetic. His failed attempts at crying during the trial etc. You don’t need to be trained to read people and this jury had enough time to see through the facade that Michael Peterson was trying too hard to put up. I think he should have been found not guilty based on the evidence alone. I am torn.

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  • S C

    Doesn’t make sense how they came to a guilty verdict….the reason they give for it, is ridiculous. 

    Also, I wonder why no one mentioned about the amount of blood, maybe could be related to the fact that she had a .07 blood alcohol content, therefore she bled out more?

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  • Foccer

    it was a owl

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  • Kay

    I can’t help but feel that the blowpoke was planted by the kids, as a final act of desperation to have their father exonerated. I personally think he did it, and if the evidence doesn’t prove it, his actions certainly do.  It’s up to God from here.

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  • Alexis S.

    So glad hes been granted a new trial and released on bond. Personaly I hated the guy, his lawyer, everyone but the kids ad the defense experts (who I found sound and likeable) but the judge has been since removed from the bench for questionable decisions, the DAs blood spatter expert has been fired AND LIED about his credibility, hes the guy who falsified evidence in the Duke U Case, was only ever involved in 4 trials and his “mentor” said he doesnt remember the guy let alone mentoring him. Read the wikipedia people, much as I disliked this guy, I could see all the way from Sweden HE DIDNT DO IT. It was the owl.

    Nature seems to have been the only victor in this case, nobody suspected that crafty owl officially or gave the theory credibility for almost a damn decade.

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  • Angel dust

    Totally amazing documentary not going to spoil the ending for others, really fancied the defense lawyer Mr Rudolph phhwwoooar – hope i never get called for jury service 

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  • Angeldust

    Also would just like to say that the prosecution was corrupt check out the defense lawyer in first part of documentary , finding it hard to contain his smirks – COrrupt 

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  • Joanne

    One more thing – I am still undecided on his guilt or not but am leaning more towards not guilty – is there was no real emotion or fond memories of Cathleen – no grieving etc  and when the verdict was given he did not even react!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Amazing film!!!

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  • Onkelnikken

    SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

    Apparently the States bloodexpert Duane Deavers has been fired for incompetence.
    A judge has released MP from jail on a 300 000 $ bail and awarded him a new trial.
    He was released just before christmas 2011. Peterson had a new attorney for a number of years but  Rudolph has been said to take the new case pro bono.
    We will see, facinating stuff. I think Not proven is a good verdict they should implement everywhere.

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