Durham NC — Mike Peterson walked out of a Durham County courtroom Friday a convicted felon but a free man after pleading guilty to killing his wife more than 15 years ago.
The 73-year-old novelist and one-time Durham mayoral candidate wrote what is likely the final chapter in one of the most notorious and longest-running criminal cases in the Triangle by continuing to maintain his innocence in the Dec. 9, 2001, death of Kathleen Peterson, who was found in a pool of blood at the bottom of a staircase in the couple's Durham mansion.
Mike Peterson entered an Alford plea to a charge of voluntary manslaughter. Under an Alford plea, a defendant can maintain his or her innocence while acknowledging prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction.
‘The bottom line here is that Mr Peterson is not guilty. He never was guilty,’ defense attorney David Rudolf said.
Courts treat such pleas as guilty pleas, however, and Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson sentenced Peterson to 64 to 86 months in prison and gave him credit for the 89 months he has already spent behind bars. WRAL online article 24 February 2017 ‘Mike Peterson walks free as 15-year murder case ends with plea deal’
This best selling author married this elegant executive. But in the wee hours of a winter night, Catherine Peterson dead … Michael Peterson under suspicion, then a bombshell revelation about another woman from his past. Dateline: Michael Peterson: Down the Back Staircase I, Sky Crime 2020
What did happen on that staircase, and what is the truth about Michael Peterson? ibid.
All that blood up the walls – could it all be from a fall down the stairs? ibid.
The top was pried off Elizabeth Ratcliffe’s coffin … The body was practically intact … The ME took a closer look at the injuries to Elizabeth’s head: she was finding lacerations, deep gauges in the scalp – seven … Peterson had killed both women. ibid.
Michael Peterson didn’t shy away from all that attention. ibid.
So there was the prosecution’s case for conviction: blood evidence, a staged scene and the trigger of a violent confrontation between husband in wife that resulted when a secret appetite for men was exposed. Dateline: Michael Peterson: Down the Back Staircase II
I believe that Michael is innocent … I was pretty devastated. ibid. Michael’s attorney
Michael Peterson was sentenced to time served [plea deal]. ibid.
PETERSON, SCOTT: True Crime with Aphrodite Jones TV - Crime Stories: Scott Peterson TV - The Murder of Laci Peterson TV - The Staircase 2004-2018 - Faking It TV -
A young pregnant wife vanishes without a trace ... Her husband Scott Peterson is not talking and he’s behaving strangely. True Crime with Aphrodite Jones s1e1: Scott Peterson, ID 2010
He has heard from his son-in-law that his step-daughter [Laci Peterson] who is eight months pregnant is missing. This is not the kind of thing that anyone would expect on Christmas Eve. ibid.
Scott had recently taken out $250,000 life insurance policy on Laci. ibid.
Scott still refuses to make any public statements. ibid.
There is more than one woman in Scott’s life. ibid.
As the weeks go by police become more suspicious about Scott Peterson. ibid.
2003 ... A male foetus is discovered washed on up the shore ... The next day a horribly decomposed body of a woman washes ashore. ibid.
Prosecutors charge Scott Peterson with two counts of first degree murder. ibid.
Scott Peterson: today we know he perpetrated one of the most notorious crimes in recent years: the murder of his pregnant wife Laci and his unborn child. I covered the Scott Peterson case from beginning to end: see Catherine Crier’s A Deadly Game. Crime Stories: Scott Peterson
April 13th 2003: the intact body of a baby boy washes up on the shore of San Francisco Bay ... A woman washes up. ibid.
He just wasn’t acting the way a husband would if his pregnant wife turned up missing. ibid.
The police are already starting to build a murder case against her husband, Scott Peterson. ibid.
In 2004 Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife Laci and their unborn child. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection. The Murder of Laci Peterson, CI 2017
There was another woman in his life. ibid. news
The cops just never followed up on the burglary across the street. ibid. Scott
111,263. It turned into a media storm. ibid. journalist
I don’t know what it was about Scott Peterson’s demeanour; he just was too smooth; he was just a player. The Murder of Laci Peterson II, Nancy Grace tv host/legal analyst
Lying through his teeth about this affair. ibid.
14th April 2003 San Francisco Bay: ‘They found a body, they found a torso.’ The Murder of Laci Peterson III
Scott told me he was not married; we did have a romantic relationship. ibid. Amber, mistress
She was amazing. ibid. Scott of wife
A pretty decomposed body had washed ashore. ibid. rozzer
Police worried he would run to Mexico. ibid. news
‘Despite the fact that Scott Peterson’s plea was televised, there will be no cameras in the courtroom during the trial’ … June 1 2004: First day of trial; prosecution opening statements. The Murder of Laci Peterson s1e4, news
Juror removed from Scott Peterson murder trial; mistrial denied. ibid. newspaper headline
Laci Peterson’s body turns up precisely where Scott Peterson said he was fishing. The Murder of Laci Peterson s1e5, CNN
Another witness saw dog: Teacher recalls retriever in La Loma area Dec 24; not sure if Laci there, too’. ibid. newspaper article
There was no evidence.’ ibid. commentator
I was staggered by it. ibid. Scott Peterson
Guilty Crowds cheer verdict. ibid. newspaper front page