michael peterson novels

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Michael Peterson (Five)

Michael Peterson in True Crime with Aphrodite Jones (2010)

The compelling story of Michael Peterson, a crime novelist accused of killing wife Kathleen after she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home.

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The Staircase (2004–2018)

The son of a career military officeholder, Michael Peterson moved with family several times during his childhood. To pass the fourth dimension while traveling, he became an avid reader. He became a fervent fan of Ernest Hemingway and wanted to be a historic novelist in the same vein. He graduated from Duke Academy in 1965 and got a annotator job a regime retrieve tank. His research led him to strongly favor the Vietnam State of war and shortly later wards, he enlisted in the Marines. He saw combat in Vietnam and won a purple middle. Upon returning to the United States, he became a government consultant and married his first married woman, a schoolhouse teacher. They had 2 children. He lived overseas for much of their marriage. While they lived in Federal republic of germany, he became close with a friend of his wife's, a widowed neighbour named Elizabeth Ratliff. But in 1985, Ratliff died of a fall down the stairs in what was ruled an accident. Peterson ultimately became the guardian of Ratliff's two children. in 1983, During this fourth dimension, he wrote a novel, "The Immortal Dragon", which became a best-seller. His second novel, "A Time of War: A Biting Peace", also scored success. Peterson won considerable wealth from those successes.During the late 1980's, the mixed family unit moved to N Carolina. In addition to his work as an author, Peterson became a columnist for a local paper, writing an opinion column. All the same, his side by side novels were less successful and his marriage failed. In 1997, he fell in love with a longtime neighbor, Kathleen Hunt Atwater, who was also divorced and a successful executive at Nortel. Their matrimony at first seemed idyllic. Both were active in customs affairs, and in 1999 Michael Peterson ran for Mayor of Durham. His campaign started off well, merely his brownie was undermined when it was revealed that his purple heart medal was the result of an car accident in Japan, not in combat as he had claimed. He lost badly. Their financial situation deteriorated in 2000 every bit Peterson's writing career declined. Michael Peterson began to devious and spend time on developed web sites. Things got worse when Kathleen was slated to be laid off from her well-paying task. Then, on December ix, 2001, she was found dead at the lesser of the staircase in their home past Michael. He claimed that she had fallen accidentally and he discovered her too belatedly to save her. Simply police were suspicious of the keen corporeality of blood at the scene. Subsequently, they discovered Michael Peterson had a very large life insurance policy, enough to solve his fiscal debts. They besides learned that Kathleen had stumbled upon her husband's reckoner files with their proof of his adultery. And a tip from a relative pointed out that Kathleen Peterson'southward expiry greatly resembled the death of Elizabeth Ratliff 16 years earlier. Armed with this testify, prosecutors charged him with murder. The ensuing trial created headlines throughout the region. Later on a few days of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of guilty and he was sentenced to a term of life in prison. He maintains his innocence to this solar day.