Michael Peterson now: Inside convicted killer’s life as he claims wife Kathleen pushed to death down stairs by an OWL

THE intriguing circumstances surrounding novelist Michael Peterson's involvement in his wife Kathleen Peterson's death are back in the spotlight thanks to a new HBO Max limited series about the case.

Michael was convicted in connection with Kathleen's death, but true crime enthusiasts have questioned his guilt for years, positing bizarre theories including one that blames her death on an owl attack.

Nearly two decades ago, Michael was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first degree murder of his second wife Kathleen, a business executive.

On a December night in 2001, Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her North Carolina home.

Autopsy results indicated she had experienced a number of traumatic injuries in the leadup to her death, which occurred after she bled out for 2 hours.

One of the most compelling revelations in the trial involved details about a female friend of Peterson’s who was killed years earlier after falling down the stairs.

That death was ruled accidental, but was used to explain why and how Peterson might have sought a manner of death that could be made to seem accidental.

Michael was the one who discovered his wife’s body at the bottom of the staircase hours after the fall.

In the original case, prosecutors accused Michael of beating his wife to death with a fire poker.

The defense, however, claimed Kathleen had simply fallen down the stairs.