TWIT TWOODUNNIT?
The Staircase’s ‘owl theory’: could an owl be guilty of the 17-year-old murder of a woman and not her ‘bisexual’ husband?
IT’s like a scene from a horror movie. The body of Kathleen Hunt Atwater Peterson lies in a pool of blood at the bottom of an old wooden staircase at her mansion in Durham, North Carolina.
Blood splatters the walls and the police called to the scene immediately begin to suspect foul play. But was it a murder, an accident, or an attack by a crazed OWL?
13
American Murder Mystery: The Staircase is a riveting new Netflix mini-series which tells the true story of how celebrity writer Michael Peterson, now 73, was originally convicted for his wife's murder.
He was sentenced to life without parole in 2003, and served eight years before being granted a new trial in 2011 - a development which is charted in the documentary about his case.
In February 2017, he was released by a judge on appeal after a plea bargain to the reduced charge of manslaughter... but fans of the show now think he may not have had anything to do with the case at all.
Instead, the "owl theory" - which isn't covered in the doc - claims a violent bird of prey could have attacked Kathleen, explaining the unusual patterns of her wounds and supporting Michael's claims of innocence.
The Staircase on Netflix asks if Michael Peterson murdered his wife Kathleen
13
Blood on the stairs
Kathleen's case starts with a frantic 911 phone call by Michael, begging for help and claiming his 48-year-old philanthropist wife has fallen down the stairs – a set of “15, 20” steps.
“My wife’s had an accident. She fell down the stairs. She’s still breathing. Please come,” he pleads as the police operator tries to calm him down.
The autopsy report found her blood alcohol level to be 0.07 percent – very near the drink driving limit - but it also found severe injuries consistent with a beating.
It was December 2001 and Michael and Kathleen were alone in the house - so the author and newspaper columnist was the obvious suspect.
13
Her injuries included a fracture of the thyroid neck cartilage, head trauma and lacerations to the scalp consistent with a blow from a blunt object.
She died from blood loss 90 minutes to two hours after sustaining the injuries.
In court, the district attorney claimed that Michael was bisexual and led a “secret life” and that Kathleen was killed in anger after they rowed when she found out about his affair with a man.
But he maintained his innocence and the defence team said that the couple were happy together and comfortable with Michael’s bisexuality.
13
The owl theory
So what if the pair shared a harmonious home, like Michael insisted, and he really was innocent?
In 2008, neighbour Larry Pollard put forward an alternate theory, claiming that Kathleen had been attacked by a barred owl - common in the Durham area of North Carolina where the Petersons lived.
The birds can grow to have a wingspan of 49 inches, and hunt by swooping on prey and gouging with their razor sharp talons.
They eat whatever they can find, typically voles, rats, rabbits and weasels, but have been known to carry off fully-grown ducks, chickens and even cats.
13
Pollard suggested that a big owl could have flown into the house and got spooked as Kathleen walked into the bedroom, attacking her and causing her to fall down the stairs.
Alternatively, he said an owl could have dive-bombed her outside - well out of her husband's earshot - and prompted her to try and run upstairs, before collapsing down them.
It sounds a bit far-fetched, but in 2009, the evidence was reexamined - and appeared to back the theory up.
Investigators found a microscopic feather and a sliver of tree wood caught in the clump of her own hair that Kathleen was holding when she crashed down the stairs.
13
What's more, a series of owl experts have submitted written evidence to court claiming that this behaviour is entirely plausible for a large owl.
Barred owls have been known to carry out unprovoked attacks on people, and the talon-shaped wounds on Kathleen's scalp could conceivably have been inflicted by a bird as she was trying to pull it from her head.
The birds can become aggressive when startled or disturbed, and it's not uncommon for owls to dive-bomb pedestrians out in the open - seemingly for no reason.
Some believe that the owls swoop down on people to be playful, but they can also attack people when their nests or their young are disturbed.
13
13
However, you won't hear about this theory on The Staircase - because evidence of it was never heard in court - but Netflix has since released a video examining the theory.
Michael's defence attorney, David Rudolf, only heard about it when it was too late to use it as a defence, but he has since claimed that the owl theory could explain what really happened to Kathleen Peterson.
He told : "When you step back and really start getting familiar with the fact that there have been literally scores if not hundreds of documented instances of owls attacking the heads of people… and you look at the wounds and you compare them with the talons of an owl, it starts having some real credibility."
13
New evidence
The doc may not look at the owl theory, but it does consider a series of other explanations which were raised in court.
There's an interview with Brent Wolgamott, the former male escort who testified that he had a brief email relationship with Michael and while they never met, their exchange was supposed to lead to a sexual encounter.
There’s also an interview with Kathleen’s sister Candace Zamperini who after arriving at the house, said in a TV clip that a police officer told her it was a crime scene.
“He was like, ‘Well, there’s a lot of blood.’ He must have said eight to 10 times, ‘There’s a lot of blood,’ like, ‘You need to prepare yourself.”
In court, she said: "All the evils of my sister's death leaped into my eyes. The horrors of my sister's beating. Kathleen did not die slowly, but a three-hour death."
13
History repeating itself?
The TV series also looks into another key piece of the prosecution case.
The death of Elizabeth Ratliff, a family friend and mother of Michael’s two adopted daughters Martha and Margaret, whose body had been found at the bottom of a staircase in Germany in 1985.
Michael was the last person to see her alive.
During Michael’s trial Elizabeth’s body was exhumed and a second autopsy conducted.
Results of this postmortem, together with new witness statements, led the prosecution to state at the trial that Michael knew how to "fake" Kathleen's accident.
During the case, both Martha and Margaret as well as Clayton and Todd Peterson, his two biological sons with his first wife Patricia, support their father and believe his innocence.
13
The new Making A Murderer
The Netflix series follows all the twists and turns in the case which has fascinated America for years and includes exclusive interviews with people involved with the case.
Like Netflix’s Making a Murderer, the multi award-winning real crime series, The Staircase is set to become one of was the most talked about real life crime stories in TV history.
13
Making a Murderer followed the story of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, a teenager with learning difficulties, who were arrested and convicted for the murder and sexual assault of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach.
Meanwhile American Murder Mystery: The Staircase tells how Michael stated that on that fateful night he’d come in from being outside by the pool to find Kathleen, his second wife dead and claimed that she’d been drinking and taken Valium.
In a statement, TV exec Henry Schleiff said: "There are so many pieces to this puzzle — from Michael's salacious secrets to investigator misconduct to the odd owl theory.
13
Most read in TV
"We are eager to bring our viewers the first complete look at this fascinating crime and subsequent trial."
Michael has maintained his innocence throughout. When he walked free, his attorney David Rudolf said: "The bottom line here is that Mr Peterson is not guilty. He was never guilty."
The Staircase is available on Netflix.
Topics