The Staircase Killer
All Crime Con coverage comes with Trigger Warnings.
Aphrodite Jones opened CrimeCon Nashville with a dissection of the case known in pop culture as The Staircase, the name of a Netflix documentary series about it. More formally, this case is State of North Carolina v. Michael Iver Peterson. Joining Aphrodite Jones was Amy Beth Berner, who was a witness to the murder in Germany.
Peterson was a crime novelist suspected to killing two women in different countries. It made his case perfect fodder for the CrimeCon audience. Although, there was likely a first murdered woman, the North Carolina trial was specifically about the suspicious death of Kathleen Peterson.
This case is not only famous for getting a Netflix series, but also because of an usual alternate theory presented by Michael Peterson’s defense: The Owl Theory. This theorized that Kathleen had been attacked viciously by a barred owl, ran inside the home, and that’s when she fell and hit her head.
Finally, this case, which had been dragging on through appeals, also had the unique qualification of utilizing an Alford plea. This is when a defendant won’t admit to actually being culpable, but will accept a plea as guilty in order to close the case. In Peterson’s instance, he had already served a lot of time in prison so by accepting the Alford plea, he didn’t have to serve another day.
If you want to read the 2006 court ruling of North Carolina, it’s available online:
https://law.justia.com/cases/north-carolina/court-of-appeals/2006/050973-1.html
The court document states:
“The trial court also allowed the State to present evidence related to the death of Elizabeth Ratliff, a friend of defendant and his first wife who died under circumstances with factual similarities to the death of Kathleen.”
What I found unusual about the court looking at a past case is that it can be so arbitrary about what is allowed to be presented. Listening to enough podcasts that include lawyers and law enforcement, it was my understanding that getting past behavior allowed is something often argued about. On TV, we see it as victim-shaming, then an objection, then an edict by the judge, “The jury will disregard the comments blah-blah-blah,” knowing people can’t unhear what was brought up.
As an experienced lawyer, writer, host, and public speaker, Jones knows the structure of telling a good story to keep audiences interested. Aphrodite Jones had covered this case on her own show in an episode, Staircase Killer on True Crime with Aphrodite Jones. There are plenty of podcasts and a number of books all about this case.
Take a look at the long list on Wikipedia of entertainment media produced about Michael Peterson. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Peterson_trial
Most of the speakers at CrimeCon had a book, TV show, podcast, or all three to promote. Aphrodite Jones is no different. She wrote A Perfect Husband (Kensington Books, 2013). It was adapted for Lifetime as The Staircase Murders starring Treat Williams.