Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline 20200111

Shattering end. Itri did not look like a fal. Michael peterson under suspicion. Then aer bombshell revelation about another woman from his past. Liz was on the floor, and there was a puddle of blood under the staircase. Two people that appeared to die the same way, two Women Associated with Michael Peterson. At trial, one expert would make a slam dunk case for petersons guilt. The jurors were captivated by his testimony. But were his dramatic experiments legit . Ri its not scientific at all. Michael peterson on the twist that might finally lead to the twist. T the most difficult decisioi ever made in my life. Aer writer at the center of storey even he couldnt make up. Im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Dennis Murphy with down the back staircase. You might take him for a retireda english professor fro one of the universities in the raleighdurham area. Preppy, witty. But now adays in this part of North Carolina, Michael Peterson is known not as the novelist he in fact is, but as that man, the notorious husband. The one with the wife dead at the t bottom of the staircase. You were not only the prime suspect, you were the only suspect. The only one. There was massive amounts of blood. Was this a fall or murder . Reporter exactly. What did happen on that staircase . And what is the truth about Michael Peterson . N ha a man once sentenced to die in prison for the commission of a homicide, hes always maintained was nothing but an accident. Innocent, he a asserts. But the novelist in him knows full wellow the irresistible sty line here got swept up in. Ep sex, money, murder, what me could you have . One of the most compelling mysteries weve ever covered as you havent heard it before. People believe in you will always believe in you. People that dont, never will. Michael peterson in his own words, on his marriage, the blood spatter expert who wasnt, and the family friend found deld at the bottom of a staircase. Theres even a theory about an owl. Whhoo odone it, huh . Its awful. Were going to need some time here. Its complicated and a simple question. If i asked you, did you bludgeon kathleen that night and cause her death . No, no, no. T lets go back to the night. Early december 2001, and scroll up the driveway of the rambling house in one of durhams better neighborhoods. Michael and kathleen are out back by the pool as the story goes, finishing off a bottle of wine. In the living room, the Christmas Tree isg already up. Theup grown peterson children expected home for the holiday. Christmas was big for kathleen . Oh, lord, yes. And valentines day, halloween. Shey, made a celebration out of everything, everything. Reporter ytkathleens daughter, caitlin, stepdaughter to michael, says her mom was always happiest h at the holida. She loved christmas. She loved playing Christmas Muse frick the start of december through newar years. It was the kids who brought kathleen and michael together. His first marriage had started to fall maapart. She was separated. Michael was raising his two boys and two young girls, margaret and martha. The girls became neighborhood playmates with kathleens daughter, caitlin. Played, oh, my god, barbies, and those my little ponies all the time, all the time. And then kathleen came over to borrow a book one night. Thats when it began. Reporter as the kids spent more and more time together, so did michael and kathleen. It wasnt long before they approached the kids about becoming a family together. They sat me down and said, you know, caitlin how would you like it ifd martha and margare came to live with you. I justli thought a permanent sleepover. Thats exactly how michael presented it to his two girls. Margaret is the older. I think he put it, were going to have a long sleepover. And we said, yeah reporter her younger sister, martha. Of coursete we want to live with caitlin and kathleen and play barbies and be a family together. Reporter so michael and his four kids and kathd leleen and daughter became a friended family. He was aht former marine turned writer. He liked to draw on his wartime experiences in vietnam. One ofin his vietnam books got big b advance, money that went towards buying that house. Heho said were thinking abo moving to thisnk house. We just looked and we thought, oh, my goodness. This is amazing. Reporter there in his office, hete wrote his war stors and turned out sharp columns on city politics. Stick inty the eye stuff. He e had even been a losing candidate for mayor of durham. Kathleen was a top Business Executive at nortel. She had received a masters degree in engineering from duke anded afr appears on the cover a university magazine. She was aty smart, smart wom. But most of all, she was funny. And sexual. But had this marvelous sense of life and vitality. You were in the swirl of the local society. Yeah. Er charity pal balls and partie. Absolutely. She would invite people over. Shepl cooked meals. She would do the desserts. She did it all. So michael was all too happy to say yes, but after years of living together, kathleen suggested the t couple make it official. Soakit we got married. And it was a gigantic wedding. It was in theti house, and ther must have beennd 150 people the. It was just wonderful. I always thought, you know, this is what y ill register as the happiest day of my life. Kathleens younger sister, candice, says kathleen was over the aymoon, as well. She was thrilled to be marrying t michael. All three girls were bridesmaids. Ill remember thems. Singing were going to the chapel. The day theye married, my sist glowed. And candice watched as kathleen did it all over the next several years. Notne only did she raise the children and have quite an accomplished corporate career, oh,ra dinner for 50 . She would do it. Ee reporter and so it was, on that mildas december evening, 2001, with kathleen juggling it all. She hadng been preparing for th holidays while fending off the latest f crisis at work. Michael says she made dinner. They sat down to watch a movie, then headed out back to enjoy a midnight glass of wine. We wentmi to the pool, and w talked. What time would you guess, 10 00, 11 00 . 11 00, 12 00, somewhere in there. Reporter in a morning Conference Call, kathleen turned inhl first. She gets up from the pool, and goes in and seize ill see you later. Reporter an hour went by, maybe two. Michaele says he may have doze off. When he went back inside the house sometimek after 2 00 a. M there was kathleen at the bottom of the stairs. A ghastly sight. And i saw her lying on the staircase, and there was blood, there was blood everywhere. Was she breathing . She was at the time. She was . Yeah. Shes conscious . No, shes not conscious. I knew she was dying. I had seen enough of that in vietnam. I knew she was dying. Please, get somebody here right away. Send ems right away. Called them again. But apparently its two minutes later but it seemed like forever. A long few minutes. But nothing compared to the many, many years of questions that would follow. What had happened on that back staircase now pooled in blood . The answer would be in the eye of the beholder. Coming up what a husband called an accident, an investigator would see very differently. Ive seen falls. Ive had family members fall, and to me, it did not look anywhere like a fall. And then the police emailed me a couple days before saying mike, you dont know how much damage youve done to the morale of the police department. So the cops giving you and the family attitude, you understand why. When dateline continues. Understand why when dateline continues honey . Yeah . I respect that. But that cough looks pretty bad. Try this robitussin honey. The real honey you love. Plus the powerful cough relief you need. Mind if i root through your trash . Robitussin honey. Because its never just a cough. Oh, hi, samantha. You look more like a heather. Do you ever get that . Its nice to finally meet you in person. Youre pete nocchio . Oh, the pic . That was actually a professional headshot. Im sure thats it, yeah. I, uh, i think ive lost a few pounds recently too. Im actually doing a juice cleanse. Wait you dont. glass breaking gasp ah oh. with geico, the savings keep on going. Just like this sequel. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Does scrubbing grease feel like a workout . Scrub less with dawn ultra. Its superior greasecleaning formula gets to work faster. Making easy work of tough messes. Dawn takes care of tough grease, wherever it shows up. Scrub less, save more. With dawn. Reporter Michael Peterson told us he had come been the unimaginable. His wife at the bottom of their back staircase covered in blood. Emt saw michael cradling his wife, weeping so hard, he had to be pulled away. That was the worst. I mean, that was worse than anything in war, anything. Anything. Because you expect that. This is entirely different. I wasnt ready for this at all, at all. Reporter did anything explain itself to you . She fell down the stairs. Somebody is at the bottom of the stairs, your automatic response is she fell down the stairs. Detective art holland was called to the mansion in the wee hours. We first spoke to him more than a decade ago. First officers arrived, ems arrived. Reporter the medical examiner was called in, too. He looked at the victim and said a fall down the stairs was possible. He couldlacerations on the back of her head and said it could the result of a fall. Reporter by dawn, news of the fall started rippling through the family. Details were vague when details reached the girls at college. She said something has happened. Your mom has fallen down the stairs, it was an accident. You should come home. Reporter by the time kathleens daughter caitlin got the word, it was as shocking as it was definitive. Her College Roommate delivered the news. She looked at me and says caitlin, its your mom. Shes dead. Those words still ring clearly in my head. Kathleens sister, candace, couldnt believe what she was hearing. Michael called her directly. It was still vague or she we couldnt tell if she fell down the stairs or she fell off a ladder, but there was no question i kept saying, are you sure shes dead . Reporter yes, michael was sure. Candace headed to her sisters house. The whole thing was sealed off with crime scene tape. And this is a this is a mansion, huge property. So the police kept saying, you know you may not want to go in. Theres so much blood. This is really awesomely scary. Reporter the police were not exaggerating. When candace finally got inside, she says, michael brought her to the back staircase where it happened. My sisters blood is washed in pools up against the wall. I mean, her blood was everywhere. Reporter the image would be seared in her mind. It didnt look right. She couldnt go there. I still wanted to believe it was an accident. I didnt want to think something horrible happened. Reporter but all that blood, up the walls, could it all be from a fall down the stairs . And thats precisely what was gnawing at detective holland. Ive seen falls. Um ive had family members fall and to me it did not look anywhere like like a fall. Reporter something to him seemed off about kathleens body position, too. Her body was definitely not in the position that it would be in if she came to a final resting position after the fall. Reporter they processed the scene, photographing the stairwell, documenting the pool of blood and spray up the wall. Outside, drops on the walkway and a smear on the front door. In the kitchen, blood stains on a cabinet, and underneath, a drop of blood on the counter. And right beside it, an opened wine bottle and two glasses. It was, you know, very, very time consuming. You dont want to, you know, go through it real speedy. You want to make sure that you cross all your ts and dot all your is. Reporter it would take investigators a couple of days to go through the 9,000 square foot estate. While they did, michael and the kids took refuge at a neighbors house. Just spent most of the time in bed then margaret came in, martha, caitlin, everybody flew in, everybody. Reporter he says from the moment the Police Arrived at the house, they were aggressive towards him and his family. But even in his haze of shock and grief, peterson says, he thought he knew why. I had written some really negative comments. Id id been a columnist. And ive really, really been hammering the police. You you you lit out at the cops, huh . Oh many times. Reporter his accusations of the city cops ranged from their failure to get a handle on Drug Trafficking to only solving a small fraction of crimes. The chief of police had emailed me just a couple days before saying, mike, you dont know how much damage youve done to the morale in the police department, and all this. If youre seeing the cops giving you and the family some attitude, you think you understand why. Thats what i thought. Sure. Sure. I understood it. Yeah. Of course, theyre pissed at me. [ laughs ] i got i got it. Reporter but, he says, one of his sons read the polices behavior differently. He thought the police were zeroing in on his father from the getgo. He immediately called my brother, his uncle, who is an attorney in reno and said uh uncle bill, kathleens dead. They think mike did it. And my brother got on the phone. And he said, im representing Michael Peterson, do not talk to him. Reporter michaels daughters were also worried. They knew very well their father relished being the provocateur. And now the police were swarming their house. Walking the yard. Looking under bushes and trees. I remember feeling that something was going badly with the police. Reporter michael called a family meeting. He sat down with us and said, you know, girls, i dont know whats going on, but it seems bad. And i i just want you to know i didnt do anything wrong. I didnt do anything. And we said, of course, dad, we know. Reporter but police werent so sure. They seemed intent on peeling away the veneer of the petersons marriage. What was going on behind the closed doors in the mansion on cedar street . They were asking me questions about kathleen and michaels relationship. And if i knew of anything. I thought they were happily married. She was very much in love with him. Reporter but the detectives were beginning to believe the perfect marriage was anything but. Coming up, despite that gorgeous house, maybe they werent exactly rolling in dough. If he wasnt writing a book or had any royalties coming in, he had no income. There was a lot of financial problems. I sensed the stress of that. And then what the autopsy revealed. Seven huge lacerations that basically scalped her. It was murder. That one picture, that was it. When dateline continues. Th. When dateline continues is changing him. [ gasps ] up and at em . Into his father. [ eerie music plays ] is it scary . [ gasps ] its in eco mode. So dont touch it. Mmhmm. I cant stop this from swinging. Must be a draft in here. But he did save a bunch of money bundling our home and auto with progressive. Progressive cant protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. Hello . Sorry, honey. [ telephone beeps ] butt dial. Hello . Sorry, honey. How do we make a scented oil plugin that doesnt smell fake . Start with the essence of nature air wick scented oils are infused. With essential oils that are 100 natural. To fill every corner with the fragrance of nature. Air wick. Michael peterson says he was certain that his wife, kathleens death, had been a terrible accident. A slip and fall down their back staircase after a night of drinking. But as days passed, he started to realize that not only did police think kathleens death was a case of murder, but also that he was the prime suspect. Well, thats just nonsense, and i wasnt worried because when youre innocent, well, nothing can happen. Reporter but it was hardly nonsense to detective holland of the Durham Police department. From the start, he was investigating not an accident but what he believed was a suspicious death. And there were good reasons, he felt, to take a close look at Michael Peterson. Reasons, he says, that had nothing to do with petersons very public criticism of the police. He may have had some issues with with the p. D. You know, i dont my perception of that is that i dont i dont pay much attention to i i dont really like politics anyway. So therefore, it didnt affect me one way or the other. Reporter the detective wanted to know more about what was going on inside the peterson home. In addition to the forensic evidence youre gathering, you got to ask this question, whats going on in this marriage . Huh . Right. Thats a big part of your investigation . Right. Reporter detectives pulled aside kathleens sister candace to ask if shed noticed any trouble in her sisters marriage. The police took me in a police van to interview me privately. Reporter in her grief, candace was hesitant to say anything bad about her now widowed brotherinlaw. Shed always liked him. He was a fun person to sit and chat with across a dinner table. He was interesting. Hes a little bit arrogant about his intelligence, but you know he was a very smart man. When i found out my sister was dead, i was his biggest defender. Reporter she told investigators that everything was fine between michael and kathleen. It was only later as she started replaying conversations in her head that she wondered if the couple had been fighting. Kathleen certainly seemed stressed. She was very, very concerned about her job stability at her company. And they were making layoffs. Reporter according to candace, job insecurity couldnt have come at a worse time. Her sister told her the financial pressures on their lives were mounting. She and michael were drowning in credit card debt. And that big house had turned into a money pit. And theyd invested heavily in her companys tech stock, only to lose a bundle when the dotcom bubble burst. Then, there were the big College Tuition bills. Weve got three kids going to college, and good colleges, expensive private colleges. Reporter kathleens daughter from her first marriage, caitlin, remembers it, too. There was a lot of financial problems. I sensed it. I sensed the stress of that. Reporter and when investigators looked at the couples credit reports they saw just what kathleens sister candace feared. It was living above their means. I mean, you know, if he wasnt writing a book or had any royalties coming in, he had no income. Reporter and, according to kathleens sister, michaels dabble in local politics had brought even more stress to the marriage. When he ran for mayor, hed been called out publicly in a lie, a whopper of one. The war action novelist claimed to have been awarded a purple heart, only he hadnt. He got hurt, not by taking hills in vietnam, but in a car accident in japan. When it became public about his lies, it did cost kathleen these friendships. She had to decide whether to stand by michael or keep these friendships, and these friendships were lost. Reporter so if the true state of the petersons marriage was murky, investigators thought the story told in blood was becoming clear. Not only was there more of it in the stairwell than detectives would expect to see with a fall, but according to emts, much of it was dry when they arrived. So you have to wonder when the victim actually goes down those stairs. Right, how long shed been actually been there. Reporter a blood pattern expert analyzed the scene. When he completed his initial findings, police suspicions were confirmed. He told me that he felt strongly that, um, this was a homicide. Can you tell us how this has been for you and your family . Reporter just a few days before christmas, Michael Peterson was charged with the murder of his wife. They had the grand jury, and, of course, i was indicted. And so, i turned myself in. Reporter as the officers booked michael into the county jail, the blended family formed a unified block of support. My mother would just be absolutely appalled, and this is the last thing she would ever, ever want to happen to her husband. Reporter it was hardly the christmas that the Peterson Family had so looked forward to. Kathleen dead, their father in jail. It was just us kids, you know, in that house by ourselves, you know, trying to piece together a christmas. Reporter but soon another bombshell, and this one would blow the family apart. Two months after christmas, the coroner released the results of the official autopsy. Multiple lacerations to the back of her head, it looked like she was bludgeoned to death. Severe, long, linear lacerations. Not consistent with a fall . Not consistent with a fall. Reporter if kathleens sister candace had been harboring suspicions about what had really happened to her sister, the medical examiners report was the thing that pushed her over the edge. I saw the seven huge lacerations that basically scalped her, she was murdered. That one picture. That was it. Reporter after reading the autopsy report herself, kathleens daughter caitlin agreed with her aunt. She called her stepsister, margaret. I said, you need to read this. You need to understand that mom she did not die from falling down stairs, that she was beaten to death. Reporter but caitlins childhood playmates, her stepsisters margaret and martha, stood strong with their father. Dad told me that he didnt do it, and i believe him. I trust him. Reporter the stepsisters never spoke again. Caitlin removed her belongings from the house. Ive lost, obviously, far more than just my mother. I thought, you know, i i did lose martha, and margaret, and michael, my family, my home. Reporter could the family agony get any worse . Well, it could and by a wide margin because now investigators were picking through Michael Petersons past, turning the clock back some 20 years, and taking a peek at his previous life an ocean away. What they would discover was beyond eerie. How can michael have found two women dead at the bottom of a staircase . Coming up shes saying something, like liz is dead or hurt. I dont know. Shes screaming. And so i put some clothes on and i go over to the house. And in fact, liz is dead. Dead at the bottom of the stairs . Bottom of the stairs. The story disturbingly familiar, and so were the suspicions. If you fell down the stairs, why would there be blood splurted up the side of the walls . It didnt make any sense to me. When dateline continues. Ats mores whats happening. Nancy pelosi could transmit the articles of impeachment to the senate next week. In a letter to colleagues, she suggested the house move forward, despite Senate Leader Mitch Mcconnells efforts to stone wall a fair trial. The Iranian Military said they unintentionally shot down that jet liner that killed 176 people, citing human error. Now back to dateline. Reporter in police work, a good tip can make your day and also make your life a lot more complicated. Just such a tip came to the desk of the detective working the Kathleen Peterson case. I think it was two or three days after kathleens death is when i first had contact with um the family members of Elizabeth Ratliff. Reporter and just who was Elizabeth Ratliff . To answer that question we have to turn the clock back almost twenty years in Michael Petersons life and go across the atlantic to germany. In the early 1980s, Michael Peterson was living with his first wife near a u. S. Air force base outside frankfurt. Their good friend, Elizabeth Ratliff, a widow, lived nearby. Liz has two children. And shes teaching school, has a great many friends who are, you know, all there. Reporter on november 24th, 1985, elizabeth went to the petersons for dinner. Later, Michael Peterson says he drove her home. She got out and went upstairs. I said, night, liz, you know, see you tomorrow. Reporter the next morning, michael says he was fast asleep when elizabeths nanny came running with urgent news. Im upstairs in bed. And shes saying something that, in fact, you know, liz is dead or hurt or i dont know. Shes screaming. And so i put some clothes on. And i go over to the house. And, in fact, liz is dead. Reporter dead at the bottom of the stairs. Bottom of the stairs. Reporter another good friend in their circle, Amybeth Berner and her husband, were summoned to elizabeths townhouse, too. She asked michael what happened. He said, well, she probably had an aneurysm like her father. When i started to think about someone falling down the stairs, i thought well, thats possible. Those stairs are, you know, pretty steep and, you know, theyre slippery and wooden. Reporter but amybeth says as she looked around she noticed something. Blood not just where elizabeth lay, but high up along the staircase walls, too. Too much blood, she thought, for a slip and fall. If you fell down the stairs, why would there be blood splurted up the side of the walls . It didnt make any sense to me. Reporter and she says there were household details out of order like the table that liz set out every night with the girls breakfast plates. It was bare. The snow boots she routinely left by the front door, still on her feet. Liz never wore her boots in the house. Shed always took her boots off. And that was another clue to me that something was wrong. Its obvious that she was either running from someone or trying to escape. Reporter amybeth thought a fullfledged investigation would ensue. But, as she tells it, Michael Peterson spoke to the authorities that day, relating that elizabeth had a hereditary bleeding disorder. Perhaps shed had a stroke and fallen down the stairs. The questions amybeth expected to be asked never were. I wondered, you know, why arent they talking to people . Why arent they asking questions . No one did. Reporter later that day, Michael Peterson phoned Elizabeth Ratliffs family in the u. S. With the dreadful news. Margaret blair is elizabeths sister. He said um margaret, theres been an accident. Liz fell down the stairs and died. What are you saying . I just totally went numb. I mean, my sister. Hes saying she died. Shes young. Shes got two beautiful little children. Babies, really. Reporter those baby girls . They are martha and margaret. Michael took custody of the girls after the accident in germany. And then michael, along with his first wife patty, and then later with kathleen, raised them as his own. Patty was saying that our birth mother was like a sister to her. She was her closest friend in the whole world. And it was said in our mothers will that we would go to mike and patty when they passed away. And, so, dad saw it as his responsibility and took us in. And stay we stayed with him for our whole lives. Reporter you didnt think, thats strange, the petersons . Who are these people . Well actually, you know, i can understand how that could happen. This was her world now. Liz must love these people and trusted them to the nth degree. Reporter Elizabeth Ratliffs body was flown to texas for burial. At the funeral, margaret was desperate to hear further details from Michael Peterson about her sisters passing. But to her surprise michael was very aloof and very strange. Reporter did he speak . No, he didnt really say a lot at all. He never talked about the what happened to liz. Reporter but any questions regarding foul play in Elizabeth Ratliffs death were laid to rest by the results of an autopsy performed at the u. S. Military hospital in germany. Elizabeth died, the examiner said, from a brain hemorrhage, Natural Causes. So the story lay buried for nearly two decades. But when detective art holland heard it, his head spun. I was overwhelmed with, you know, here i have two women that appeared to die the same way. Two women that are associated with Michael Peterson. Reporter detectives wanted to dig a little deeper. What would they find . Coming up for investigators, a risky move. A lot of people were very antsy about that. Will it pay off . Her fingernail polish was still on. Her dress was still perfectly in place. Im just thinking that my case is getting a whole lot better. When dateline continues. When dateline continues i am totally blind. And non24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442142424. I dont use some waxy cover up. I use herpecin l, it penetrates deep to treat. It soothes moisturizes and creates a spf 30 barrier to protect against flare ups caused by the sun. Herpecin l. It does more for a cold sore. Here, it all starts withello hi . How can i help . A data plan for everyone. Everyone . Everyone. Lets send to everyone wifi up there . Uhh. Sure, why not . Howd he get out . a camera might figure it out. That was easy glad i could help. At xfinity, were here to make life simple. Easy. Awesome. So come ask, shop, discover at your local xfinity store today. Reporter as time went by, Margaret Blair had come to accept Michael Petersons explanation of her sisters death years before, a tumble down the stairs in a german townhouse. I just believed what i was told about the cerebral hemorrhage and, you know, im presuming that a doctor had, you know, made this diagnosis. Reporter but when she learned that kathleen had also been found dead at the bottom of a staircase, margaret began wondering anew about how her sister died. She started reaching out elizabeths old friends from germany. When i talked to her friends, i found out that blood had been dripping down the walls. Well, that doesnt happen when you have a cerebral hemorrhage. Reporter authorities in North Carolina were thinking the same thing. If foul play had been involved in Elizabeth Ratliffs death, it might bolster their case. But the only way to know for sure, they concluded, was to dig up elizabeths grave. Assistant District Attorney freda black. We decided that it probably would be worthwhile to try to exhume her body to determine whether the findings in germany were accurate or not. Reporter to do that, theyd have to get the okay from elizabeths daughters, margaret and martha. The girls, who believed in their fathers innocence as fiercely as they mistrusted the authorities, struggled with the decision. The hardest thing ive ever had to do was to write off on the exhumation of our birth mother. Reporter but ultimately, they agreed. And i signed off on it because we wanted to be, like, there is no way this couldve happened. Like, please look at the evidence. I will do this to to free our dad of these accusations. Reporter on a beautiful blue sky day, the remains of Elizabeth Ratliff were exhumed from their resting place in texas. Ratliffs body reporter julia sims, of nbcs raleighdurham affiliate, wraltv, has been covering the story since the beginning. And the bells started tolling right as they started pulling that casket out of the the ground. Hmm. A lot of people were very antsy about that, about what they were gonna find. Reporter her body was driven to North Carolina where it would be studied by the same medical examiner whod ruled Kathleen Petersons death a homicide. There was a risk here wasnt there . If you opened that coffin and found that the authorities in germany had been correct in ruling it a death by Natural Causes. We just decided that it needed to be done. Roll the dice, basically. Exactly. Reporter the detective peered through a morgue window as the top was pried off Elizabeth Ratliffs coffin. It was so airtight it was hard to use the crank to get the casket to open. Once it was raised you could see part of Elizabeth Ratliffs face and hair. It was remarkable. Reporter they were stunned. The body was practically intact. Her fingernail polish was still on. Her dress was still perfectly in place. Reporter the m. E. Took a closer look at the injuries to elizabeths head. She was finding lacerations, deep gouges in the scalp. Seven of them. Seven lacerations. You could it was amazing. Count them. It was uncanny. The lacerations were very similar to the ones that had been perpetrated upon Kathleen Peterson. And in her findings, she made a decision that ms. Ratliff had been had been murdered. Reporter investigators thought theyd hit pay dirt. In death, they thought Kathleen Peterson and Elizabeth Ratliff could have been twins. Im just thinking that, that my case is getting a whole lot better. Reporter kathleens 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 wouldve gotten two screaming little ragamuffin kids out of it and thats it . Like, theres nothing theres 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 whats 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. Thats thats pretty broad. And then the individual wearing these pants at the time of that impact was in close proximity to the sort of blood. I remember the jurors were captivated by his testimony. And it all seemed to make perfect sense. When dateline continues. With our almond trees in our blue diamond orchard in california. My parents job is to look after them. And its my job to test the product. The best almonds make the best almondmilk. Blue diamond almond breeze. Thenot actors, people, whove got their eczema under control. With less eczema, you can show more skin. So roll up those sleeves. And help heal your skin from within with dupixent. Dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderatetosevere eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. Dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. Many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin. And, had significantly less itch. Thats a difference you can feel. Dont use if youre allergic to dupixent. Serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. Tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. If you take asthma medicines, dont change or stop them without talking to your doctor. So help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. Whether you were borne for more danceoffs. More travels. Or more touchdowns. Get the immune support that gives you more. Airborne gummies have 50 more vitaminc than emergenc. Plus our crafted blend of vitamins, minerals and herbs. Airborne. Stop dancing around the pain that keeps you up again, and again. Advil pm silences pain, and you sleep the whole night. Advil pm reporter in the summer of 2003, Michael Peterson would stand trial for the bludgeoning death of his wife, kathleen. Hed pleaded not guilty to firstdegree murder. I am innocent of these charges, and we will prove it in court. Reporter with gaveltogavel coverage on live tv, the state versus Michael Peterson was a national spectacle. Was it surreal, michael, to be in a courtroom charged with murder . Well, it was surreal from the first moment. I mean, you know, is there surreal beyond surreal . I dont know. Reporter reporter julia sims covered the proceedings in court. Every single day of that trial the courtroom was packed, and not packed with just media, and not packed with just lawyers, but people off the street. People took vacation to come in and watch that trial. Reporter and Michael Peterson didnt shy away from all the attention. In fact, he allowed a documentary crew to film him every step of the way. But the only audience that mattered was the 12person jury. And when the trial began, the prosecution introduced them to the man behind the professorial mask, the person they saw as the real Michael Peterson. This case is about pretense and appearances. Its about things not being as they seem. Reporter scratch beneath the glossy veneer, the Beautiful House and sparkling dinner parties, and prosecutors would tell the jury theyd find a marriage in shambles. More than the Couples Money problems, more than the loss of social standing after michael got caught out lying about his military record, there was what investigators found when they searched his home office. It was just so so different than what everybody that knew Michael Peterson believed him to be, as far as a family man, a happily married man. It was jaw dropping. Reporter while kathleen toiled away at her executive job to pay the couples mounting bills, michaels writing career was hitting a wall. He had some free time on his hands. And we believed that he, somewhere along the way, began to form relationships, lets say, with men that he particularly met on the computer. Reporter not women, but men. The prosecutions theory was this the night kathleen died, she went into Michaels Office to retrieve an email about that work Conference Call the next morning. There in his office, the prosecutors believe, she stumbled upon email exchanges between her husband and an escort. The emails were very specific about what they had planned on doing and what they wanted to do with each other. Reporter very graphic, steamy stuff . They were. Reporter the escorts user name . Soldiertop brad. You have great reviews and i would like to get together peterson wrote in one email. Ive never done escort but used to pay to blank a super macho guy who played lacrosse. Im very bi, and thats all there is to it. What type of services did you perform . Oh wow, thats pretty broad. Reporter in a sensational revelation, the prosecution called brad the escort to the stand. What type of sexual activities, sir . Oh, just about anything under the sun. Reporter on the witness stand, the escort told the jury that just threemonths before kathleens death, he and Michael Peterson had arranged to meet. We were to hook up. And what were you all planning on doing . Having sex. Reporter the hookup never happened, but combine that with the other combustibles in the couples life, the prosecution said, and you have all the ingredients for a fatal confrontation. It got out of control, and Michael Peterson snapped. And he was the only one who could have done it, according to the prosecution. Reporter further evidence that michael attacked kathleen ferociously, the prosecution stated, was as clear as the spray of blood up the staircase walls. The amount of blood, the positioning of the blood, the location of the blood, it was overwhelming. In general terms, the greater the force, the smaller the drop. Reporter to take the jury vividly up the back stairs, the prosecution called the states blood pattern expert, duane deaver. He told the jury with certainty that Kathleen Peterson had been beaten to death. He testified the droplet pattern high up the walls was just what youd expect to see with a weapon rising, striking, and casting off blood with each new blow. And i believe there is a minimum of four blows that have occurred in this, uh in this scene. Reporter whats more, deaver testified, this blood stain was found on the inside of petersons shorts. Hed done tests that he says proved that the only way it could have gotten there was if peterson had been standing over his wife, beating her. And the individual wearing these pants at time of that impact was in close proximity to the source of blood when it was impacted. I remember the jurors were captivated by his testimony. Um, and it all seemed to make perfect sense. Reporter then there was all that dried blood the emts noticed around kathleens body, suggesting she may have been attacked well before peterson called 911. According to prosecutors, lab tests backed that up. Kathleens head injuries had produced something called red neurons, which they say form after oxygen is withheld from the brain for at least two hours. That gives mr. Peterson at least two hours to do things before the 911 call is placed. Reporter what was he doing during all that time . The state argued he was staging the scene. Detectives saw what they thought were wipe marks on the stairs. To them, it was an attempt at a clean up. And there were those two wine glasses on the kitchen counter suggesting an evening of maybe too much drink, followed by a tumble down the stairs. Thing was, kathleens fingerprints werent on either glass. In fact, the prosecution said, kathleens bloodalcohol content was low enough that she could have passed a roadside breathalyzer test. She wasnt drunk. She wasnt intoxicated. Um, she did have a little in her system. But not enough, arguably, to have caused her to not be able to walk up stairs. Reporter was the writer of fiction, making up yet another story, covering up murder as an accident . Coming up Michael Peterson speaking out about it all, including his interest in sex with men. He says others knew all about it. This is not a family secret. And then why he thinks kathleen most likely fell. After a recent injury he says she was on major meds. Do you remember her being won sfli oh, my god, yeah. When dateline continues. Y. When dateline continues ol, is about to become your problem. Ahh no, come on. I saw you eating poop earlier. Hey my focus is on the road, and thats saving me cash with drivewise. Whos the dummy now . Whoof whoof so get allstate where good drivers save 40 for avoiding mayhem, like me. Sorry hes a baby your happy place. Find your breaking point. Then break it. Every emergenc gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best, with emergenc. Imagine. Megared omega3 power for your whole body. Now with an antioxidant blend for great sleep, refreshed skin and less stress. One softgel. 7 benefits. Total body refresh. Power your day with megared. Ive seen falls, it did not look like a fall. Reporter prosecutors have charged kathleens husband michael with murder, telling the jury about his connection to another suspicious stairway death 20 years earlier in germany. Do you really believe that lightning strikes twice in the same place . Michael peterson sat down with us to refute the prosecutions case, including that other supposedly damming death. They said, my god, there was blood everywhere. Well, no, the German Police didnt see any blood, the American Military didnt see any blood. And then a clash outside the courtroom. Pleading guilty. Actually, were not. Here again, Dennis Murphy. Prosecutors were laying out their case of Michael Peterson for the murder of his wife kathleen. If kathleen were bludgeoned to death, problem, investigators havent found the murder weapon. Prosecutors believed it was a hollow fireplace tool seen here in family photographs. It had been given to kathleen by her sister candace as a gift. I had given it to her about ten years prior, thats for sure, and that thanksgiving when i was at her house, i definitely saw it by the fireplace. Prosecutors thought peterson had it out of the house that night after the attack. If he had, that could explain the blood droppings on the walkway. Blood from the murder weapon outside the dwelling. The state thought the most powerful evidence is what the medical examiner found on the top of kathleens head, seven tears to the scalp. Do you recall any case where someone died falling down the steps and there were multiple lacerations . No. Were you able to determine in your opinion what the manner of her death was . The manner of death in this case is homicide. Injuries that were eerily similar to those suffered by the Peterson Family friend from germany all those years before, and the jury almost in a trial within a trial heard that story, the long ago friends from germany, testifying to their suspicions about Michael Petersons involvement in another stairway death, another one with so much blood. The blood was up so high that i couldnt figure out how did the blood get up there. Michael peterson was the last person known to have seen his friend elizabeth alive, just like his wife kathleen. It was the bow that wrapped up the states case. Do you really believe that lightning strikes twice in the same place. So there was the prosecutions case for conviction, blood evidence, a staged scene, and the trigger, the violent confrontation between husband and wife that resulted when a secret appetite for men was exposed. The states case lasted more than two months and each day, Michael Petersons girls, margaret and martha sat in court suffering as prosecutors labeled their dad a killer. They would accuse my father of double murders or the wife murder, or the staircase murders, and we couldnt stand up and say wait a second, this isnt true. Michael peterson did not testify at his trial but he did sit down with us to answer questions about all the evidence against him. Nothing was off limits. I know i did not kill kathleen so at a certain point, you think, well, this is just crazy. To understand the case, he says, you have to go back to the very beginning, to the Moment Police arrived at the scene. And recognized him as the same Michael Peterson who liked to publicly criticize them in the local paper. You think the cops had it in for you, thats what set this in motion. Absolutely. No question about it. That framed the narrative. There were delighted that something really bad had happened, and would have been even more delighted if i had anything to do with it. Michael says the prosecution theory of what happened that night is total fiction. Starting with the trigger, that explosive fight he and kathleen supposedly had after she saw those emails in his home office. The prosecution version of this evening, she goes to your office, logs in, and lo and be hold, tlheres the traffic from bradley escort, hes not only cheating on me, hes cheating on me with a guy. Right. That was one of their theories. But just a theory. This whole story she stumbled on this information. Absolutely not. Of course not. Michael insists, the supposed fight never happened though he doesnt deny he did try to set up that sexual encounter, in fact, he readily admits a sexual interest in both women and men. So you are bisexual. Yeah. I first knew this when i was maybe 11. I was madly in love with this girl, oh, melanie grant, and it was during some mafantasy that there was melanie, and there was the shortstop on my ball team, whoa, wait a minute. How did the get a part of this fantasy. Oh wait a minute, i had never had a man on man in my life. Throughout his marriage, michael admits he did seek male companionship from time to time, but it by no means affected his feeling for his wife. Did i want a boyfriend . No. Did i want to spend the night with one . Did i want to cuddle . Did i want to have a candle lit dinner, no, never, never, never, for me, it was strictly sex. It had nothing to do with love or a relationship. Moreover, michael says his interest in men wasnt exactly hush hush in the family. Perhaps kathleen had a hunch. This is not a family secret . No, its not. Was it known to kathleen, michael. I think it was one of these things that was not discussed but known. Dont ask, dont tell. Yeah. Exactly. And of course when i was growing up, there wasnt any dont ask, dont tell, it was dont. Period. Had she known that there were as hookups, how do you think she would have taken it . I wish i had told her. I wish we had discussed it. I was afraid, not that she would leave me, she wonlt. She was the most open minded, liberal, intelligent woman. As for the other piece of the prosecutions motive that the petersons were on the edge of financial ruin. A lot of money out on the cards, expensive schools that were bleeding, the wonderful house was something of a money pit. Whats your reaction to all of that stuff . My reaction is exactly what the prosecution proved. In court, the financial expert who testified about their debts also noted that in the end, the petersons were still 1 1 2 million dollars. I had money and its not a matter, it was not a financial problem. But what about that dramatic trial within a trial the jury had seen. Michael implicated in not one murder but two, that friend elizabeth rafliffs death in germany. Two important women in your life, and theyre both dead in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. Exactly. Has to be guilty. Youre a writer of fiction, your editor would probably take that kind of coincidence out of the book. He would say come up with another one. She died in the bathtub or something. But youre not immune to the ir irony of this . No, of course not. During the course of the investigation. It didnt occur to me, honest to god, it didnt occur to me. Did you kill her . Liz, of course not. As for the witnesses who said the blood was all over the staircase walls, michael insists, their memories are wrong. They said, my god, there was blood everywhere. Well, no there wasnt. The German Police didnt see any blood. The german doctor didnt see any blood, the American Military didnt see any blood. Why didnt they see any blood, and if you saw this blood, why didnt you Say Something at the time to someone . He is certain liz ratlif died of a streak, as for how his wife kathleen died years later, michael cant say for sure, but he thinks his first instinct was the right one. I guess im maybe the last person to believe it, i think she fell down the stairs, i dont know. Michael believes alcohol must have played a role in her fall, and even though her blood alcohol levels werent off the charts, he says there may have been another contributing factor. A few months before her death, she had suffered an injury diving into her swimming pool, and her doctor put her on several prescription meds. Do you remember her being wobbly. She had to wear a neck brace, they put her on percocet to begin with. They brought her valium, flexeril, a muscle relax isnt. She was in a great deal of pain. For Michael Peterson, the trial was hard enough to bear but the family split made it worse. There was kathleens daughter kaitlyn across the room in the prosecutions camp, and imphibe him the whole time, his girls, margaret and martha. They loved one another, they helped one another, and thats been the biggest, to me the sad news that everything that kathleen wanted to make happen, and did happen as far as the family was torn asunder. Michaels story is one he says those closest to him have noun for yeaknown for years, a his lawyer was about to present to the jury, and a moment up their sleeve, a moment out of perry mason, that would leave mouths agape. Thats a blow poke, isnt it. Coming up, he runs up to margaret whos in the house, i think i found the blow poke. The alleged murder weapon found, what will it reveal, and then. They said, we have a verdict, your heart stops. When dateline continues. When dateline continues. Removes stains,. Whitens inbetween teeth. And protects from future stains. Crest. Healthy, beautiful smiles for life. Shes had a tiny cough. See you at 5 seriously . Protection. Lysol kills over 100 illness causing germs and viruses. Even those that may cause cough. Lysol, what it takes to protect. Reporter what had happened on that back staircase . From almost the moment he was retained, defense attorney david rudolf thought Michael Peterson was innocent. No one thought michael couldve ever harmed kathleen. And indeed, there was never a shred of evidence that they had ever had so much as a loud argument. Reporter in court, he laid out a straightforward scenario for the jury. The truth is that Kathleen Peterson, after drinking some wine and some champagne and taking some valium tried to walk up a narrow, poorly lit stairway in flipflops and she fell and she bled to death. Reporter just as the prosecution had, the defense put the couples marriage front and center. Telling the jury it was more or less perfect. Everywhere they went, people noticed. Michael looking at kathleen with the kind of pride that you just dont fake. Reporter under crossexamination, even brad the escort said peterson had told him how much he loved his wife. In his emails unlike most of my clients he indicated that he had a great relationship. Most clients dont want to say anything about the relationship. He indicated he had a warm relationship with his wife and nothing would ever destroy that. Reporter michael hadnt killed kathleen, the defense argued, and he certainly didnt kill family friend, Elizabeth Ratliff. They called their own medical expert who reviewed her autopsy reports and said it wasnt a murder. Is blood in all of the ventricles of the brain consistent with a stroke from Natural Causes . Expert it is consistent. Reporter then, there was the Mount Everest of the case the forensics, explaining to the jury all that blood in the peterson stairwell. The defense would call dr. Henry lee to the stand. Reporter the defense called celebrity forensic expert dr. Henry lee, of o. J. Case fame, to show the jury in theatrical fashion just how kathleen, falling, then staggering about, coughing up blood, could have accounted for the spray. An injured person can walking, can move, can shake their head. Obviously, the blood all around was due to her being alive and moving around for some period of time. It didnt have to do with what inflicted the wounds. Reporter the blood on his shorts, that could have happened, the defense said, while Michael Peterson was cradling his wife. The fact that some of the blood was dry when First Responders arrived, well, michael never said he knew what time kathleen fell. And as for those drops of blood in the house and on the walkway outside suggesting he staged the scene, the defense said none of that could be trusted. The blood in that area had been completely altered. The scene at the house had been completely contaminated. Reporter but what about those ghastly lacerations on kathleens head which the states medical examiner attributed to a beating . Defense attorney rudolf notes what he didnt find though the cuts were deep, there were no skull or bone fractures. There was absolutely no fractures anywhere. No fractures to her fingers, to her arms to her skull. And there was absolutely no injury to the brain. And thats just almost an impossibility if what youre doing is beating somebody with a metal object. Reporter and for a final exclamation point, the defense had a perry mason moment up its sleeve. The prosecution had insisted throughout the murder weapon used to bludgeon Kathleen Peterson was the fireplace blowpoke, only police never found it. Almost three months into the trial, one of michaels sons made a stunning discovery in the petersons basement. He immediately runs up to margaret who was at the house and said, margaret, i think i i i think i found the blowpoke. In court, the defense played the moment for all it was worth, that the peters blow poke was used to commit a salvage crime. See any dents in it, like a tiny indentation. That was the blowpoke, well, if it is, then what was the murder weapon . Reporter lawyer david rudolf had peppered doubt throughout the case. The peterson camp was positive. We were so positive he was going to get off because in our minds, it was the clearest thing in the world. Reporter but after sitting through the trial, kathleens sister candace thought the brotherinlaw she once admired both a killer and a liar. Did i ever think he was capable of murdering my sister, no, did i know he had found another woman found at the bottom of staircase no, hes a writer of fiction, and thats what i found, he makes things up as he goes to suit the situation. Reporter when the case went to the jury, three days passed without a verdict. Finally on day four. They came out and one of them said, you know, we have a verdict. Your heart stops. Reporter a hush, then the clerk began to read. We the 12 members of the jury unanimously find the defendant to be guilty of firstdegree murder. Its guilty. I just. As soon as we heard the first juror say guilty, i just was weeping like i was being taken over by grief and shock. Is there anything you want to say before the Court Imposes justice . Michael peterson turned to his kids. He said, its okay, its okay. On his part, he was just trying to calm himself down but also i think like he felt his role was to protect us. I was the only continuity in their life, and to see them, you know, its okay. And i could. And i could do it. Reporter Michael Peterson turned back to face the judge for the reading of the sentence. The defendant is in prison in North Carolina department of corrections for the remainder of his natural life without the benefit of parole. I believed that michael was innocent. I continue to believe michael is innocent. And i thought we won that trial. So when that guilty verdict came out, i was pretty devastated. Reporter for kathleens sister candace, the verdict was nothing to celebrate. It makes me cry. I mean, i was happy we were getting justice but theres no joy in this. Theres just great sadness. Reporter the peterson children resigned themselves to the harsh reality that prison was now their fathers home. They sold the dream house on cedar street and tried to get on with their lives. They visited their dad whenever they could. I would just sob every time i left. You hold it together for dad because why would you cry in front of dad. Thats not going to help him but then when you leave, you know, youre sobbing in your car. Reporter they watched his lawyer file a series of appeals. We would have hope for every single appeal, and every single time, it would get beaten down. Reporter his case went all the way up to the North Carolina supreme court, and was rejected. But michael says he never lost hope. I told everyone, i am not going to die in prison. Reporter the odds were certainly stacked against him but then life can take some very strange twists and turns. Coming up, a wild new theory about what happened to kathleen. The owl flew down and landed on kathleens head. And the fresh evidence backing it up. You have to magnify them 400 times just to see. When dateline continues. When dateline continues the unbeatable strength of advil. What pain . hey there im lonnie from lonnies lumber. If you need lumber wood, lonnies is better than good. We got oak, cherry, walnut, and more. And we also have the best selection of plywood clattering in the state. Hey highpitched laughter man dang woodchucks wood clattering stop chuckin that wood with geico, the savings keep on going. Just like this sequel. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Thats a reason to switch to Jackson Hewitt,. Conveniently located in walmart. Now enjoy a bonus gift card up to 100. When you file taxes with Jackson Hewitt and get part of your refund on a walmart gift card. Get your bonus at Jackson Hewitt at walmart. Thenot actors, people, whove got their eczema under control. With less eczema, you can show more skin. So roll up those sleeves. And help heal your skin from within with dupixent. Dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderatetosevere eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. Dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. Many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin. And, had significantly less itch. Thats a difference you can feel. Dont use if youre allergic to dupixent. Serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. Tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. If you take asthma medicines, dont change or stop them without talking to your doctor. So help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. They use stamps. Com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again. Heres whats happening, the impeachment trial of President Trump could be happening as early as next week. In a letter, lan si pelosi asked the judiciary to take steps. And two days after prince harry and Meghan Markle announced plans to step back as senior members of the royal family, meghan has left the uk for canada. Buckingham palace held an emergency meeting to address the couples decision. Now back to dateline. There are pleasant places to idle away your golden years, but North Carolina Nash Correctional Institution isnt one of them, but thats where Michael Peterson, father, novelist and wife killer, according to a jury of his peers was incarcerated. Just another number in a cell block with other felons. Life without parole, and they meant it, too, and they did everything they could to make that happen. Reporter after he had exhausted his appeals, it looked as though prison was where he would stay, but out in nevada, michael has a look alike younger brother Bill Peterson whos also an attorney. Reporter did the lawyer in you say thats it, thats when im done. The real hard work started, we were out of money, out of lawyers. Thats when the burden fell on me and whoever would help me. Reporter Bill Peterson spent hours in the Durham County courthouse combing through the District Attorneys piled high boxes of evidence. Was there something that had been overlooked and he wasnt the only supporter nursing alternate theories of Kathleen Petersons death. Theres a neighbor, an attorney who has an intriguing idea of what happened. His scenario of an accidental death has come to be known as the owl theory. We have seen owls in the area. He thought this was very plausible. He put together this whole theory himself heres how the neighbors theory goes. Kathleen who has spent the day putting up christmas decorations, goes out front while michael is back by the pool. Shes checking on her lawn display beneath the trees. The owl flew down and landed on kathleens head. And tore her scalp with a manner consistent with the lacerations on her head. Reporter getting only as as far as the staircase where she joins the defenses depiction of falling, passing out, coming to, and rising again, only to fall for the final time. The owl theory was not completely new. It had been floated years earlier. The cops were making a big joke of this. They put a picture of the owl in their most wanted list. Reporter back then without any forensic owl evidence, the defense didnt want to confuse the jurors, so the peterson jury never did hear about an owl theory. But five years into petersons sentence, the neighborhood advocating for it was still looking for something to back it up. Sure enough, there it was in the original case notes file, a mention of a feather. You have to magnify them 400 times just to see them. Reporter tim thompson, owner of associated microscopes was asked by the neighbor to examine a slide of that feather. They grow under the claws of an owl, when they attack something, they leave behind these small particle feathers. Reporter thompson peered through his microscope studying bloody hands of hair, tangled in the hair were not one but two minute bird feathers, a surprise he says to the detectives and an assistant da watching in the room. I think they were surprised because the lab had not found the second feather. Reporter Bill Peterson was interested in the results too. A review of the slide showed what, traces of bird feather. Yes, exactly right. In her hair. Another very very compelling fact. Reporter what was most compelling about the idea that an owl attacked kathleen supporters thought was how it accounted for the distinctive lacerations on her scalp. Had the three main talons of an owl caused a bleeding head wound when it swooped down. We had an or natologist who said they were consistent. As we know, scalp wounds cause plenty of bleeding, that she panicked, obviously you would run in the house to get away from the owl, that she did, and ran down the stairwell. Reporter if an owl attacking humans sound like so much urban legend, dont tell that to b byron unger. He was leaving work with his manager when an owl swooped down from the trees and swiped his colleague on the head. This surveillance camera caught the entire freakish event and if that werent strange enough, it happened to byron himself two weeks later. I have never been hit so hard byingsome, felt like a baseball bat, knocked ne to the ground, scattered me on the ground. I was bleeding so bad, i thought i lost my eye. His wife waiting for him in the car dialed 911. They didnt believe me wife, they thought we were crazy when they said my husband has been attacked by a bird, an owl. Reporter show me where you think it got you. The talons got me here into mie, and all the way into my hair. All of this was black and blue. The whole side of my face was hit by talons. Reporter is that what happened to Kathleen Peterson, critics see problems like why isnt there more of a trail of blood from the front door to the staircase, and wouldnt michael have heard kathleen being attacked. Kathleens sister doesnt believe it for an instance. Im supposed to believe an owl ripped her apart. The thing is so ludicrous. Reporter and even Michael Peterson understands the skepticism. Who done it. Oh, its just awful. Reporter but he says the evidence is worth considering. There are feathers and where were they, in kathleens hand. With strands of her hair. With strands of her hair. Did does that mean an owl did it. Reporter im surprised to hear you say its not as ludicrous. I have seen the photographs, is it possible, certainly its possible. I dont know. Did an owl do it. I cant tell you that. Reporter in the summer of 2009, petersons attorney neighbor helped him file a motion, requesting a new trial based on the owl theory but the trial judge dismissed it. The owl theory was dead in court but lives on in the court of public opinion. There are people less smart than me that are absolutely convinced this is what happened. Reporter with the motion denied, with the owl hooted out of court, it really did seem finally to be the last chapter for the novelist, but a development was in store that would call the heart of the case into question, and no one, not even Michael Peterson could have seen it coming. Coming up, dramatic revelations about the Scientific Evidence against peterson. Did the blood expert manipulate one of his experiments. His assistant does a little jig. Reporter a happy end zone dance . Exactly. Reporter when dateline continues. Dateline continues. All day strong. Reporter by 2010, his daughter martha had given up hope that her father would ever be released from Nash Correctional Institution. Dad was probably going to be in prison until he died. This was a reality that was never going to change. Reporter but in michaels cell block, an interesting story was circulating, a series of articles have been published in raleighs news and observers alleging misconduct at the state bureau of investigations crime lab, the sbi. In prison, you dont really care much about International Affairs or political, they dont have any affect, that the sbi who were behind many guys being in there, oh, theyre under investigation. Oh, we cared about that. Reporter it turns out one of the experts at the center of the storm is a name youve heard before, special agent dwayne dever, remember him. My opinion is this is the scene of a beating. Reporter he was a star witness for the prosecution in the peterson trial. The blood pattern expert who put Michael Peterson in the staircase bludgeoning his wife. Reporter julia sims. You talked to the jurors in this case, julia, how important was the blood expert, devers testimony. That blood evidence was critical. Heres a guy who has been doing this for years for the state, look what his experiment showed, its got to be the truth. Reporter the newspaper recounted the story of a man who was sent to prison for murder after devers lab report suggested a stain on the mans car was the victims blood. And it turned out not to be blood. Reporter it wasnt blood at all. No. Reporter and dever knew and didnt disclose it. Dever knew that that was not blood and didnt disclose it. Reporter that mans conviction was overturned. Innocent of the charge of firstdegree murder. Reporter and there was more evidence of questionable conduct linked to dever, the newspaper investigation suggested that the methodology behind some of the blood pattern experiments he was involved in were flawed, designed to produce pro prosecution results, like this test conducted for a 2009 murder case. Dever video taping the experiment was attempting match a bloodstain on the shirt of the accused. Thats a wrap. Reporter petersons Attorney Says it does not look to him like objective science. They come to the belief that someone is guilty. They dont have the evidence that they think they need to convict the person. And so they make it up. Reporter rudolf signed back on to michaels case, this time without pay, and began to dig. He discovered that at the peterson trial, dwayne dever had not been truthful about his professional experience on the stand. He said he had been involved in 500 cases involving blood spatter. Reporter was that true . No, in fact he had been involved in 54 cases. He said he had written 200 reports, regarding blood spatter analysis, not true. He said he had been to the scenes of falls, 15 times, in fact, he had never been to the scene of a fall. Reporter whats more, remember devers conclusion that the bloodstain on petersons shorts prove he had been standing over her beating her. The individual wearing the pants at the time of the impact was in close proximity to the source of blood when it was impacted. Reporter turns out he conducted an experiment pretrial and it was video taped too. On the second attempt, peterson says it looks as though dever and another agent got what they wanted. His assistant, he does a little jig. Reporter like a happy end zone dance . Exactly. Reporter we got it. Got you moment. Reporter when petersons brother bill saw the experiment details, he couldnt believe it. Its all designed to get a result. To me, its not scientific at all. Reporter for michaels defense, the implication was clear, the jury had been duped. After all in its karclosing argument, the state had played on devers credibility to secure a conviction. You have to believe that dwayne dever is a liar, and he has no reason to come here and lie to you. Who you going to trust, dwayne dever, of course he would never lie, turns out he did lie. Reporter defense attorney rudolph filed a motion asking for a new trial, and the judge this time was ready to listen. Coming up, yet another jolt for michaels children. I was weeping with shock. And a critical decision that could change everything. I said, well, thats just not going to happen. I wont do it. When dateline continues. Hes i wanted more from my copd medicine thats why ive got the power of 1, 2, 3 medicines with trelegy. The only fdaapproved oncedaily 3in1 copd treatment. Trelegy the power of 1,2,3 trelegy 1,2,3 trelegy woman with trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3, im breathing better. Trelegy works three ways to open airways, keep them open and reduce inflammation, for 24 hours of better breathing. Trelegy wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Trelegy is not for asthma. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. Think your copd medicine is doing enough . Maybe you should think again. Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3. Trelegy, 1,2,3 woman save at trelegy. Com. Wheyou want relief. Fast. Only thermacare ultra pain relieving cream has 4 active ingredients to fight pain 4 different ways. Get powerful relief today, with thermacare. This is charlie not coughing because he took delsym 12hour. And this is charlie still not coughing while trying his hardest not to wake zeus. Delsym 12hour. Nothing lasts longer for powerful cough relief. Reporter a decade after he was arrested for killing his Michael Peterson was back in a North Carolina courtroom arguing for a retrial on the grounds that the states crucial blood pattern expert had given false testimony against him. But as far as kathleens sister, candace, was concerned, prison was where peterson deserved to rot. My sisters dead for eternity. Oh, no, no, no. He murdered my sister. He took the prime of her. He needs to be held accountable for what he did. B but. Reporter but petersons attorney was just as concerned with freeing him from prison r. Rudolph dissected the original testimony of blood pattern expert dwayne dever. Did dwayne dever misrepresent himself to the jury . Yes. Did Dwayne Devers testimony make a difference in this case . Yes. Reporter after listening to the arguments about due process violations and per jered testimony, the judge ruled Michael Peterson was entitled to a new trial, and there it was, Michael Petersons conviction was tossed out. His family was overwhelmed. I was weeping with joy and shock and could not believe that there was hope. I was like, my dads getting out. Were going to have our dad back. For the peterson children, now there was only joy. Lots of hugs, lots of happy, happy photographs and so were all like jumping up into the air in a silly picture of just so so happy. Reporter 24 hours after the judge issued his decision sharply criticizing the blood pattern experts work on the case, 68yearold Michael Peterson was released on a 300,000 bond. I imagine you remember the day, hour and date. I do, december the 15th. All my kids were there. Oh, my god, my grandson had been born, a sweet little baby, and i go out and hold, and im crying of course. It was wonderful. Reporter you were meant to die in prison. That was the plan. Absolutely. Reporter and now youre outside. And now im out. I have waited over eight years, 2,988 days, as a matter of fact, and i counted, for an opportunity to have a retrial. I want to thank judge hudson for giving me that opportunity so that i can vindicate myself and prove my innocence in a fair trial this time. Reporter so Michael Peterson was out of prison but not exactly free. The state had promised to try him for murder again. And he was placed under house arrest. His every move monitored by an electronic ankle bracelet. But that hardly mattered to his girls margaret and martha. For them, the dark cloud that lay over the family name for nearly a decade had lifted. Were part of the Peterson Family, and we are not afraid to say it. We were so stigmatized before, you know, and like hiding it. Reporter still, the second trial loomed but working in michaels favor was the fact that the prosecutor would have to try a very different, much weaker case. Dwayne dever had been fired from his job, and some of the states critical blood evidence would be inadmissible. I think their case is very very badly compromised because of dever. He was all over the crime scene. Reporter and there was another important victory for petersons side. What types of services did you perform . Oh, wow, thats pretty broad. Reporter brad the male escort, a sensational center piece of the prosecutions case wouldnt be part of a second trial either. The escort had been revealed in a search that was deemed illegal. The search warrant that resulted in the seizure of the computer was found to be invalid. Reporter further more, that dramatic trial within a trial about michaels long dead friend in germany, well, a change in North Carolina state law regarding the admissibility of evidence meant a second jury might not hear that story either. The male escort is gone, the death in germany is gone, the expert blood testimony is gone, youre left with the autopsy pictures. Reporter yeah. The medical examiners testimony, and maybe the prosecutions theory for motive. Is that enough . Reporter the stars seemed to be aligning for Michael Peterson. Perhaps vindication was at hand, but one final twist was on the way. I said, well, thats just not going to happen. I would go back to prison before that happens. I wont do it. Coming up, michael makes a choice that rocks everyone in the case. That was wow. Including michael himself. That was the most difficult decision i ever made in my life. When dateline continues. Ats when you move homes, you move more than just yourself. Thats why xfinity has made taking your internet and tv with you a breeze. Really . Yup. You can transfer your Service Online in about a minute. You can do that . Yeah. And with twohour Service Appointment windows, its all on your schedule. Awesome. So while moving may still come with its share of headaches. No kidding. Were doing all we can to make moving simple, easy, awesome. Go to xfinity. Com moving to get started. Reporter Michael Petersons days in the mansion on cedar street were long gone. As he awaited trial number two, he passed his days in a durham condo writing about his experiences in prison. Meanwhile the prosecution was forging ahead, a new trial was scheduled for the spring of 2017. As it got closer, the reality hit daughters martha and margaret hard. And that was actually devastating for me, it was pretty much a nightmare to live the first trial, and to have to go through that a second time would be even worse of a nightmare. I cant go through that again. I cant go through another guilty verdict. Reporter kathleens sister, candace, knew a second murder trial would dredge up all the pain again. But there was no way that she was backing down. I have to relive how my sister died. She died one of the worst, worst ways. She was beaten and she knew the person who she loved was beating her. There is no way im not going to get justice for her. Reporter but there was one other option that could avoid a trial something that had been floated a few years earlier. The d. A. And the defense could hammer out a plea deal whereby peterson could walk away with time served. But the negotiations went nowhere. And candace, no. Under no circumstances. He must stand up and say, hes guilty. And i said, well, thats just not gonna happen. That will never happen ever ever, i would go back to prison before that happens. Reporter so it seemed the hopelessly divided families were destined to face off again on opposite sides of a North Carolina courtroom all these years later. The District Attorney was one hundred percent willing to go to trial, they felt they had a strong case. Reporter but as the trial approached, michael found himself rethinking a possible plea deal and how it would affect his family. And im all the time thinking, you got some responsibility. I got two grandsons now, four and six. You didnt wanna spin that wheel again, huh . Exactly. My son claytons the one who said it perfectly. He said, dad, youre playing a game at a crooked table. Youre never going to win. The odds are against you. Pick up your chips, and go home. Reporter and so thats what Michael Peterson agreed to do. I was a little surprised we were preparing to go to trial again then the District Attorney said he had heard from Michael Petersons attorney and they wanted to make a plea. And that was wow, hes going to say the word guilty . Ok. Well take the plea. Reporter well, it was a little complicated. Peterson was going to take whats referred to as an alford plea. An alford plea is when you dont admit guilt, but you acknowledge there is enough evidence there that a jury could convict you. In the books, it goes down as a guilty plea. In february of 2017, 73yearold Michael Peterson ri arrived at the Durham County courthouse for what would be the final saga of this. Kathleens daughter kaitlyn came to durham to see it happen, and of course kathleens sister candace was there. She ran into michaels chief defender outside the courthouse. Oh, david, good to see you today. Pleading guilty, pleading guilty. Thank you, thats what i always wanted. Actually, were not pleading guilty. Youre pleading guilty. Michael peterson would like to walk around and proclaim his innocence, but he cant. He can play with these words, but he cant play with the facts. The courtroom was eerily reminiscent of the 2003 trial, packed with tv cameras. Everybodys a little bit older, but theres so much thats the same. The emotion, the tension, the anger, all of it was still there. How does mr. Peterson plead to the charge of voluntary manslaughter. He enters a plea of guilty pursuant to alford. Mr. Peterson youre pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, thats a class d felony, do you understand, sir . Yes, sir. And do you now personally plead guilty pursuant to the alford case . Yes, sir. That was the most difficult decision i ever made in my life was to take the alford plea. Reporter and thats going to give kathleens family an opportunity for what they call the victim impact statement. You are pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, you will be treated as guilty for murdering my sister kathleen, and you will be a convicted felon forever. It was very cathartic to say this is what i fought for. We werent quilting until we heard the word guilty. We thought we were going to hear it from another 12 jurors but we got to hear Michael Peterson. Not only can you wear the scarlet for adultery but also the black letter g for guilty. Not perfect justice, but justice. Michael peterson was sentenced to time served. His daughters say that at long last, they can properly grieve kathleens death together. I think a big piece thats important to our family is to be able to say goodbye to mom and to be able to honor her memory and let her go in peace. Reporter and they have accepted that their father is once again a convicted felon, but a free man who still maintains his innocence. So your plea allows you to take the position you have taken all these years, michael. Exactly. Reporter and yet on the ledgers of the criminal justice system, youre guilty of manslaughter. Reporter its an ending that neither side had hoped for, the family saga of so much love, and so much loss, an imperfect conclusion. Im craig melvin. And im natalie morales. And this is dateline. I just cant imagine. To be held in captivity. Dad, just send the money. Thats all they want. They have an american kid. A 14yearold kid in the middle of the jungle. Theyre thinking they hit the jackpot. They were vacationers turned prisoners. A mother and son kidnapped by terrorists. We need 10 million u. S. Dollars for the release of your family. 10 million from me . Are you losing your mind