The Mysterious Death of Kathleen Peterson (Part 1)
Morbid
This episode of Morbid explores the mysterious death of Kathleen Peterson in December 2001, initially ruled an accidental fall but later suspected to be a
Key takeaways
- Kathleen Peterson's death was initially ruled an accidental fall, but forensic evidence suggested assault rather than accident.
Main topics
- Kathleen Peterson's mysterious death
- Michael Peterson as a suspect in his wife's murder
Notable quotes
It was inevitable they would end up together. Yeah. So Michael Peterson moved to Durham, North Carolina in 1986 after his marriage fell apart.
Conclusion
The episode sets the stage for a deep dive into the complexities of the
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:00) Hey weirdos, I'm Ash. And I'm Elena. And this is Morbid. This Speaker 2 (0:19) is Morbid. It got gloomy again. So it's Morbid in the gloom. In the gloom. In the gloom noon. Speaker 1 (0:26) In the gloom noon. There you go. You like that? Because it's in the afternoon in case you didn't catch that. See, usually I like to explain my jokes, but you kind of like stepped in there for me. I did. I tried to help you out there. We've been having a silly goofy day today. We have. I cried laughing. at several times. I thought you were going to say you cried. I cried. I actually Speaker 2 (0:46) didn't Speaker 1 (0:46) see Speaker 2 (0:46) that happen. Speaker 1 (0:47) We've been having a silly day. I'm like, I actually bawled my eyes out. I Speaker 2 (0:50) cried. Speaker 1 (0:51) None of you noticed. What were you crying laughing at earlier? Like really bad? We were talking about the Sam and Colby episode we did at the S.K. Pierce Mansion. Speaker 2 (1:01) No, Speaker 1 (1:02) it's so embarrassing. I called my cell phone. She's not calling me Speaker 2 (1:05) out. Speaker 1 (1:05) Yeah, Speaker 2 (1:05) I Speaker 1 (1:05) did not call her out. It was Ash calling her cell phone. When she pointed it out, I just started laughing. It Speaker 2 (1:09) was really Speaker 1 (1:09) funny. Because she recreated this. She did like a certain stance and said, I smell smoke. I said like, that's suspicious. And she did this like, ooh. It was like a leading comment. And she recreated it while she mentioned it. And it made me laugh so hard when she recreated it. I love it. Ugh. I was being a YouTube girly where I loved it. We're out here in these streets. It made me Speaker 2 (1:34) want Speaker 1 (1:35) to Speaker 2 (1:35) do something haunted again so badly. I want to do something Speaker 1 (1:37) haunted so bad. And our brothers Speaker 2 (1:39) texted us the other day, our brother Colton Coven, Sabrina and Speaker 1 (1:43) Corinne. Speaker 2 (1:43) Yeah. Speaker 1 (1:43) And they were like, do you want to go do a seance with Speaker 2 (1:46) us? And I was like, hell yeah. Speaker 1 (1:47) That day is clear. And then I was like, I'm on vacation that day. I'm not. Speaker 2 (1:51) And I'm like, do I want to just cancel my whole vacation just to do a seance? Yes. I'm not gonna because it's not refundable. Speaker 1 (1:58) But damn. Speaker 2 (1:59) But damn. I never go on vacation, really. No. And I'm only going to, I'm not. But like whenever I do go to vacation, I go to Disney. Yeah. I'm not even going to Disney. Yeah. But I am going to, I'm going to FL. Speaker 1 (2:11) FL. Going to America's Firearm. Yeah. Speaker 2 (2:17) Yeah. Speaker 1 (2:17) Because it's shaped like a gun. Speaker 2 (2:18) No, it is. And I love that. I was like, yeah, I am going there. It sounded Speaker 1 (2:23) bad when you put it that way. I Speaker 2 (2:24) mean, yeah. And then I was going to say where I was going, but I was like, I'm not going to tell you guys where I'm going because this is a crime podcast. Yeah. We tell you guys not to do that. Exactly. You don't want to triangulate that. How Speaker 1 (2:34) do Speaker 2 (2:34) we move Speaker 1 (2:35) away from this? What's going on? Thanks for buying the Butcher Legacy so much. It's so good. You guys are pretty awesome. And it was cool to hang with all of you. Speaker 1 (2:48) It's been awesome. I'm really glad that Speaker 2 (2:50) you guys are tagging me in reviews and stuff. Thank you. I was telling Elena the other day, for those who have read it, there's a scene where like, I'm trying to think how to put that. There's a scene in the end that I just want to see on film so badly. Yeah. Like Speaker 1 (3:05) at the end of The Butcher Legacy. I'm not going to describe it because I feel like it'll kind of give the pot away. Speaker 2 (3:09) But there's a scene and it involves like running. Speaker 1 (3:12) Yeah. Speaker 2 (3:12) And that's all I'll say. And I want to see it so bad. Speaker 1 (3:15) Yes. I want to see it so bad. But you know what? Maybe we will. And Speaker 2 (3:18) it involves a discovery of something. Yeah. Speaker 1 (3:21) Yeah. I'm really excited that you guys have dug it. It's so good. But yeah, I think that's really, I don't think there's a lot of like business. No. I don't think Speaker 2 (3:30) so. Speaker 1 (3:30) I think we can just get into it. This is a two-pata. This is a two-pata. This is my two-pata. Speaker 2 (3:35) I'm shocked that we haven't covered this. And there's really no reason that we haven't. It's just like, it's a big undertaking for sure. I Speaker 1 (3:42) think we've, like, because I've heard of this case, I know some of the details. And I think it's just so complex. It is. That we kind of were letting it, because I think it was like when the staircase came out on Netflix, I Speaker 2 (3:55) think it was. Speaker 1 (3:56) Yeah. It was like huge. Yeah. There were all these theories and stuff. But it's been like years. That's why I just wanted, I think we just wanted to let it like settle a little Speaker 2 (4:05) bit. Yeah, we don't always love to do something like breaking news Speaker 1 (4:07) or anything. Speaker 2 (4:07) When it's in the middle of like the theorizing stage, like the really serious theorizing stages. Speaker 1 (4:12) I Speaker 2 (4:13) actually think that's how Karen and Georgia started My Favorite Murder. I think they met at a party and they were talking about the staircase. Oh, that Speaker 1 (4:19) makes sense. Right? Oh, that's funny. I feel like Speaker 2 (4:21) that was like their origin story. At least let Speaker 1 (4:23) us know. Yeah. But we're going to cover it. We're going to do it in two parts. Speaker 2 (4:27) Part one is like a little bit longer just because there's kind of a lot to get to. And then, you know, I love to end on a little bit of a cliffhanger. We love it. And then part two will obviously kind of go into like the trial and wrap things up. Speaker 1 (4:38) Yeah. Speaker 2 (4:39) Before we get there, I think we should start in the 80s. The mid 80s. Your time. The mid 80s. That's when I came on the scene. Well, Kathleen and Michael Peterson were already on the scene in the mid 1980s. Neither Kathleen Atwater. Or Michael Peterson was really looking for a relationship, which I kind of feel like is always when you find a relationship. I was going to Speaker 1 (4:59) say that's usually when you come up with one. Speaker 2 (5:01) Yeah. But neither expected to find one with their neighbor. Michael had been married before and his first marriage actually had just recently fallen apart. And Kathleen had separated from her husband right around that time. So she was still mourning the loss of that relationship. Yeah. And then there was children to think of. Michael had two sons and two daughters. And Kathleen had a daughter from her first marriage. All of the kids were still pretty young, so adding a new romantic partner into the mix didn't necessarily seem like the best idea at first. It can be tough, I imagine. But they were irresistibly drawn to one another, it seemed. Speaker 1 (5:35) And it Speaker 2 (5:35) seemed pretty much to everybody that it was inevitable they would end up together. Yeah. So Michael Peterson moved to Durham, North Carolina in 1986 after Speaker 1 (5:45) his marriage to his first wife fell apart. Speaker 2 (5:47) At the time, he and his first wife... Patricia, they'd been living in Germany, raising their four children, two biological sons and two adopted daughters of their friends Elizabeth and George Ratliff. Remember those names because they'll come back later. Oh, I'll remember. Yeah, put it in your back pocket. You better believe. When it was clear that their marriage was over, Michael decided to return to the U.S. and he actually brought the girls with him. But his sons, Clayton and Todd, stayed in Germany with their mother. Okay. Now, at that time, Michael had published one novel and his writing career was really beginning to take off. So soon he would accept a position as a columnist for The Herald Sun, which was just a daily paper in Durham. When Michael moved in down the street, Kathleen Atwater had built what was, by all accounts, an incredible life for herself. Her daughter, Caitlin, said it was really easy just to kind of fall into amazement of this person who could just keep you entertained and laughing. As the first woman admitted to Duke University engineering program, Kathleen had worked for some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world at that point. Badass. Yeah. Eventually, her professional expertise landed her an executive position with Nortel, which was a Canadian telecoms company. Speaker 1 (7:01) And she Speaker 2 (7:02) was making a really impressive salary at that time. Now, unfortunately, while work was going really well for her, Kathleen's home life was starting to crumble. Because her husband at the time was doing a little infidelity. Speaker 1 (7:15) Just a little infidelity. A dip into the infidelity bond. Speaker 2 (7:18) That's not great. You're never doing a little infidelity, just to be clear. That was just me, like, wording it weird. That was just me riffing. They had built what she thought was a happy life, raising their daughter, Caitlin. But the affair proved to be a betrayal that she couldn't forgive. Yeah. So by 1986, they had Speaker 1 (7:32) separated. Oh, that's sad. Yeah. Speaker 2 (7:34) Now, even though neither Michael nor Kathleen had any plans for a new romance so soon after being separated or divorced, it really didn't take long for their worlds to collide, thanks to their children. Oh. Michael's girls, Margaret and Martha, were about the same age as Caitlin Atwater, and living so close to each other meant that they became friends very quickly. With their kids being such good friends, Kathleen and Michael started getting to know each other. And it seems that there was just an instant connection between the two of them. Speaker 1 (8:02) In Speaker 2 (8:02) 2002, Michael told a reporter she was immensely funny, intelligent, warm, and just so quick. Speaker 1 (8:08) She sounds awesome. She seemed so cool. Speaker 2 (8:11) Yeah, she really Speaker 1 (8:11) does. Pictures Speaker 2 (8:12) and even just like little home videos and stuff that they have. Speaker 1 (8:15) Yeah. She Speaker 2 (8:15) has like, she has that like quintessential like 90s, 2000s mom that like. Iconic. She's Speaker 1 (8:23) like. your like your friend group she's that friend Speaker 2 (8:25) she's that mom you know what i mean Speaker 1 (8:27) she's the mom you feel really comfortable with yeah she just Speaker 2 (8:29) seemed sweet Speaker 1 (8:30) and like you could tell her stuff Speaker 2 (8:32) that maybe you wouldn't feel comfortable telling your mom and she'd like help you Speaker 1 (8:35) through Speaker 2 (8:35) it and Speaker 1 (8:35) she'd like have your favorite snack when you went over there 100 and Speaker 2 (8:38) she also Speaker 1 (8:39) had really Speaker 2 (8:39) good style that home that they eventually lived in was gorgeous but before we got there within a year michael and kathleen had fallen in love and neither could see any reason why they shouldn't merge their lives at that point To their surprise, the girls were actually completely enthusiastic about the move. Caitlin said later, they sat me out. They all sat me down and said, how would you like it if Martha and Margaret come live with you? And I immediately thought a permanent sleepover. I mean, yeah. Yeah. Like, hell yeah. I Speaker 1 (9:06) wouldn't think that as long as you like everybody. It's like, hell yeah, let's go. Yeah. They're already friends. Speaker 2 (9:10) Why not? And it was cool that they kind of sat them down and were like, do you guys feel about this? How would Speaker 1 (9:16) this affect you? Or like, are you happy? It Speaker 2 (9:18) is. And after seeing how unhappy her mother had been when her parents' marriage had ended and how happy Michael made her mother, at that point, Caitlin couldn't see any downside to one of the families. And if Kathleen had any reservations about the move, she never let it show. So everybody saw a really awesome change, both in Kathleen and Michael, after they got together. Speaker 1 (9:40) This sounds so lovely. It Speaker 2 (9:41) starts off like so like American dream, American family. Yeah. Just. You know, like, like, Speaker 1 (9:50) like blending the families and like everyone's happy. Yeah. Speaker 2 (9:54) Yeah. Speaker 1 (9:55) And Speaker 2 (9:55) it never really works out like that. Speaker 1 (9:56) I hate that it's Speaker 2 (9:56) going to end Speaker 1 (9:57) that way. Or Speaker 2 (9:57) no. So I guess after his marriage to Patricia had unraveled a few years earlier, a lot of people said that Michael had just lost a spark that he used to have. Speaker 1 (10:07) But Speaker 2 (10:07) according to his brother, Bill, his relationship with Kathleen seemed to reinvigorate him. He said, Bill said, I think she was spontaneous. She was a lot of fun. She had a tremendous sense of humor. Speaker 1 (10:17) So not only did Speaker 2 (10:18) like their immediate families get along with each other, but their extended ones did too, it seems. In 1987, after his divorce from Patricia was final, Michael and the girls moved in with Kathleen altogether. In time, Michael and Kathleen then started to discuss them actually getting married. But there was a caveat. Kathleen's husband, Fred Atwater, had no interest in divorcing his wife. Oh. So Michael and Kathleen at that point just decided. basically to live together as husband and wife in every sense but a legal one, hoping that eventually Fred would wear down somehow. Jeez. Which is like a really shitty thing to do if that's really what happened. Yeah. Now, in the meantime, the Atwater-Peterson household was thriving. Kathleen was continuing to climb the corporate ladder, and she eventually became the director of communications at Nortel and earned like a really incredible salary. At that same time, Michael's writing career also really took off. In 1990, he published A Time of War, which was a fictional novel inspired by his own service in the Vietnam War. The book was an instant success and went on to become a New York Times bestseller. Hell yeah. I also know one of those. Three times. But between Kathleen's executive job and Michael's writing success, they were making enough money to kind of move up together. Yeah. At least in terms of real estate. So in 1992, they purchased a 14-room home in one of... the nicest, wealthiest areas in Durham. Got it. And again, like the pictures that you see of that house are gorgeous. Yeah. And it was so well decorated. I'd live for a well decorated home. We love it. Now Speaker 1 (11:54) in 1996, Speaker 2 (11:55) Michael published a sequel to his first book, obviously, titled A Bitter Peace, which was just about as successful as his previous novel. And then the next year, he got a freelance writing job with The Herald Sun. Now, while the subjects of his opinion column were varied, a lot of the times he did publish opinion pieces that were highly critical of the Durham police and city government. Oh, okay. So that obviously didn't earn him a lot of friends in the local administration. Yeah. The same year that he took that freelance writing job, Kathleen's divorce from Fred was actually finalized. Finally. Finally. I guess he just came around at some point. But now it was possible for Kathleen and Michael to get married, and they were so excited. So while the wedding was an undeniable high point in their decade-long relationship, it sadly proved to be one of the last celebratory events in their lives. Speaker 1 (12:45) In Speaker 2 (12:46) 1998, Michael decided to mount a campaign for mayor and... No, thank you. ...exposed himself to a level of scrutiny that I don't think he was necessarily prepared for. Yeah. I think... No matter what, when you're running for political office, you're prepared for some scrutiny, but this was like next level. Speaker 1 (13:03) Yeah. And I wonder how prepared for that can you be? That's the thing. I'm sure Speaker 2 (13:08) you can Speaker 1 (13:08) think that you're prepared, but then when you're really faced with it, I feel like, oh. Speaker 2 (13:12) Yeah, because they will dig into your personal life. Especially for politicians. Yeah. Now, Michael's military service had always been an important point of personal pride and also a considerable part of his identity as far as he felt. He joined the military in 1968 at the peak of the Vietnam War, and he was awarded a silver star and a bronze star for his service. Oh, wow. Now, during his mayoral campaign, though, he claimed that he had also received two Purple Hearts during an incident where he suffered a really serious leg wound when he was, quote, shot and hit with landmine shrapnel. Now, he claimed it was that injury that earned him the honorable discharge and prevented him from serving anymore. But during his campaign, reporters from the news and the Observer dug into those military records and discovered that he had not been injured during a firefight or by any kind of shrapnel. So he had seemed to lie about that. Speaker 1 (14:10) And why? Yeah, a Speaker 2 (14:13) journalist for the Observer. Like, why? Speaker 1 (14:15) Yeah. A Speaker 2