Michael Peterson From ‘The Staircase’ Sold His House For $640,000 In 2004
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HBO has just dropped its latest true crime limited series The Staircase, which delves into the wild and terrifying story of a novelist convicted of murdering his second wife.
The series, which drops today on HBO Max, tells the story of the mysterious 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson. When Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in her mansion, all eyes turned to her husband, Michael Peterson.
While Peterson maintained his innocence, he was convicted of the murder. But after serving prison time, he was released in 2011. So…what’s he doing now? Here’s everything WH knows about what Michael Peterson has been up to since the fateful staircase incident.
Michael Peterson is an author.
Michael Peterson is a novelist and military veteran who wrote three books about his experience with the Vietnam War: The Immortal Dragon, A Time of War, and A Bitter Peace. He also co-wrote two books, Charlie Two Shoes and the Marines of Love Company, and Operation Broken Reed. Peterson also worked as a newspaper columnist for a local newspaper, per NBC.
Peterson was born in Tennessee and went to Duke University. After working for the U.S. Department of Defense, he eventually enlisted in the marines and headed off to Vietnam. Following a car accident that left him with permanent disabilities, Peterson, by that time a captain, was honorably discharged.
In the intervening years, Peterson also ran for mayor of Durham—which is a whole other story.
He married his second wife, Kathleen Atwater, in 1997.
What happened to his wife, Kathleen?
Peterson called 911 in the early hours of the morning on Dec. 9, 2001, stating that he had found his wife, Kathleen, alive but unconscious at the bottom of the staircase in his family’s home, per ABC News.
Peterson said that his wife had slipped on the stairs after drinking wine and taking Valium. But police said the amount of blood on the stairs made them suspect foul play. Autopsy reports found that Kathleen had multiple lacerations to her skull, which the then-district attorney Jim Hardin said were likely due to “multiple inflictions of blunt force trauma." Peterson was arrested and charged with murder.
But wait, it gets weirder. In 2009, a new theory from a local attorney suggested that perhaps Kathleen had actually been attacked by a barred owl outside, stumbled inside, and hit her head on the stairs. Microscopic owl feathers had been found in her hair.
What was Michael Peterson convicted of?
During the trial, which took place in 2003, prosecutors said that Kathleen was beaten with a fire poker, which ultimately led to her death. They also alleged that Peterson was having an affair with a man and that this sparked an argument between the couple that would eventually lead to her death.
The trial divided the two families, with some of Kathleen’s relatives believing Peterson was guilty, while his children maintained his innocence, ABC News reports.
How long was he in prison?
Peterson was released from prison on Dec. 16, 2011 on $300,000 bond after Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson ruled that a state investigation analyst misled jurors about the strength of bloodstain evidence in his 2003 trial, per ABC News affiliate WTVD.
"I have waited over eight years, 2,988 days as a matter of fact, and I counted for an opportunity to have a retrial,” he told reporters after his release, per ABC News. “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. I want to thank all the people who've supported me from all over the world. It's impossible for me to express my gratitude. What I want to do now though is to spend some time with, you know, my family and with my children. And certainly at a later time, I'd be happy to talk with everybody and share more. Thank you very, very much."
Was he cleared of murder charges?
Not exactly. Peterson faced more charges related to Kathleen’s death and, in 2017, entered an Alford plea—a plea that acknowledged there was sufficient evidence to convict him of the murder, but where he was still able to maintain his innocence, according to The News & Observer. He was sentenced to 86 months in prison. But, because he had already served several years in prison, he didn’t serve any additional jail time.
Where is Michael Peterson living now?
It’s unclear where, exactly, Peterson is currently living, but signs point to Durham.
Peterson sold the five-story home he lived in with Kathleen for $640,000 in 2004, according to the News and Observer. It was put up for sale again in 2020, per The Sun.
And according to Oxygen, his lawyer, David Rudolf, told a crowd at CrimeCon in 2019 that Peterson was still living in the area, and ended with a strange caveat: "He’s in a ground floor apartment with no stairs—that was a really important accommodation."
He's written a book about his experience with the legal system.
And he's certainly been putting pen to paper. Peterson published a book in 2019 called Behind the Staircase that detailed his experience.
He also appears to have started an author IG account, where he has shared a handful of photos, with the first post talking about his fight to clear his name, captioned: "This is my first post and I’m still trying to figure out how to use Instagram. At my age, we aren’t known for being tech savvy..."
Another from February of 2021 showed what could be his new home in Durham with a Christmas tree.
What is his net worth now?
Peterson is worth roughly $500,000, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
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