Mike Peterson's attorney, David Rudolf, spent the better part of 15 years defending his client against the devastating allegations and eventually securing his release. Although the task was arduous, and Peterson was often unable to pay for his services, Rudolf simply refused to give up.
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But no matter where you stand on whether you wanted to know more about the mom tragically lost the fall of 2001, there’s no denying that after Michael Peterson the person who gets the most airtime is David Rudolf, Peterson’s defence attorney in the 2003 trial.
However, Rudolf was working with Michael as recently as 2017, and since The Staircase premiered on Netflix in 2018 he has been posting commentary on his website to go along with every episode. It seems like he's still an active lawyer, or at least still dedicated to the Peterson case.
And the criminal defense attorney has revealed 75-year-old Peterson - who was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to time served in 2017 after taking an Alford plea - has plans to release an e-book about his story.
When talking to the Los Angeles Times in 2005, Rudolf explained why the verdict of the Peterson case made it so difficult for him to continue doing what he did. It diminished his faith in the justice system, because he believed in Michael's innocence despite his initial conviction for first degree murder.
As reported by The Cinemaholic, David Rudolf and his wife Sonya Pfeiffer, who obtained her law degree after the documentary was released, currently practice law together at the Rudolf Widenhouse firm.
David RudolfDavid Rudolf, the Charlotte attorney who represented Michael Peterson in the murder trial immortalized in the docuseries “The Staircase,” has suddenly found himself back in two familiar places: on the defense, and in the spotlight.
On February 1, 2007, Caitlin and Peterson settled the wrongful death claim for $25 million, pending acceptance by the courts involved; finalization of the settlement by the court was announced on February 1, 2008.
Jean-Xavier finds the notion ridiculous. "The prosecution tried to show in court that Michael Peterson was broken and that he killed his wife for the life insurance." Lestrade writes. "But that was stupid. I have to remind you that Michael Peterson paid a total of $975, 000 for his defense."
Baltimore, MarylandClayton Peterson now lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife Rebecca "Becky" Peterson. The couple has two sons together, Lucian and Dorian. Reportedly in his late forties now, Peterson works as an Electrical, Digital, and Printed Circuit Board (PCB) engineer, per The Cinemaholic.
Peterson's sons have always stood by their father, who has maintained his innocence for the past twenty years. According to The News & Observer, Clayton now lives in Maryland with his wife and children, and Todd lives in Tennessee. Michael, Kathleen, and their five children.
DurhamHe continues to live in Durham, and in the years since the release of the Netflix series, he has written two self-published memoirs about his relationship with Kathleen and his time in prison (available on Amazon). Peterson has said that the writers of the HBO “Staircase” series used his memoirs as source material.
In addition to his work as an author, Peterson became a columnist for a local newspaper, writing an opinion column. However, his next 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.
But no matter where you stand on whether you wanted to know more about the mom tragically lost the fall of 2001, there’s no denying that after Michael Peterson the person who gets the most airtime is David Rudolf, Peterson’s defence attorney in the 2003 trial. A quick refresher if you binge-watched the series and all the names have now blended ...
Sonya Pfeiffer went to law school shortly after the Peterson trial concluded and they’re now both practicing law at Rudolf Widenhouse firm in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Following the conclusion of Mike Peterson's case, and his participation in "The Staircase," David Rudolf has used his newfound fame to raise awareness about the American justice system. During an interview with Super Lawyers, he said, "When people get to see a case up close and personal, it affects their feelings about the justice system. My hope is that people see it working, but they also see the flaws and the human feelings in it. And they understand we need to continue working on it."
On December 9, 2001, Mike Peterson contacted authorities to report he found his wife at the bottom of a staircase in the couple's home. Although Mike insisted his wife fell down the stairs, authorities were convinced Kathleen Peterson was beaten to death. Oxygen reports Mike Peterson was convicted of first degree murder ...
However, the verdict was ultimately overturned, and he was released from prison in February 2017 after entering an Alford plea. Mike Peterson's attorney, David Rudolf, spent the better part of 15 years defending his client ...
Attorney David Rudolf, who appeared in " The Staircase ," was a successful defense attorney prior to his involvement in the documentary series.
Although the task was arduous, and Peterson was often unable to pay for his services, Rudolf simply refused to give up. In an interview with Super Lawyers, David Rudolf said he never doubted his client's innocence.
Rudolf said it was a 'leap of faith' to let the camera crew roll on every moment of Peterson's journey, but never had any doubts they would jeopardise the case.
The Staircase follows the case of Michael Peterson (left), who was convicted of murdering his wife Kathleen (right), after she was found dead at the bottom of the staircase at the couple's home in Durham, North Carolina.
The moment in the true-crime series shows Rudolf becoming frustrated by a video operator, before a guard escorts them out of the building due to a fire alarm.
The Alford plea allowed him to maintain his innocence while agreeing the prosecution has enough evidence to convict him
He was convicted of manslaughter at a retrial in 2017 after taking an Alford plea. The Alford plea allowed him to maintain his innocence while agreeing the prosecution has enough evidence to convict him. A documentary was made - and shown on Netflix - about his case and trial. By Candice Jackson For Daily Mail Australia.
Fordham professor, 69, who was fired over accusations he masturbated during a Zoom lecture and the student who filmed the act both sue university over claims of civil rights violations
And the criminal defense attorney has revealed 75-year-old Peterson - who was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to time served in 2017 after taking an Alford plea - has plans to release an e-book about his story.
Michael was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murdering his wife, Kathleen. Credit: Netflix
He was the lawyer at the centre of one of the most controversial and long-running murder cases in recent memory, which has gone on to become the subject of a hit Netflix docu-series, The Staircase.
Shortly after the trial, David's marriage ended, though he said the case was not to blame.
Advertisement. Rudolf is one of the many supporting characters in Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s true-crime series “The Staircase,” which originally aired 10 episodes in 2004 and is now streaming in full on Netflix with three new episodes. To this day, Rudolf isn’t entirely on board ...
On Dec. 9, 2001, 48-year-old Kathleen Peterson was found battered and bloodied at the bottom of a staircase in her Durham, North Carolina, mansion. Although her self-professed devoted husband, veteran and author Michael Peterson, seemed distraught on his frantic 911 call to police, he was arrested on first-degree murder charges days after his wife died of head injuries ― injuries some experts argued could not have been caused by a fall down the stairs.
Peterson was sentenced to life in prison at the age of 63, much to the shock of his legal team. But that’s not where the story ends. WhatsUp/Netflix. Kathleen and Michael Peterson. Eight years later, following multiple appeals, a bankrupt Peterson was released from prison on $300,000 bail.
Peterson was sentenced to 86 months in jail, which he’d already served.
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A judge found that State Bureau of Investigation blood analyst Duane Deaver ― a key prosecution witness at Peterson’s trial ― provided misleading information about bloodstain evidence, opening the door to the possibility of Peterson’s indefinite freedom. A new trial was set for May 8, 2017.
To this day, Rudolf isn’t entirely on board with Peterson’ s decision to invite a camera crew behind the scenes of one of the more controversial murder mysteries in recent history. But he is willing to tell his side of it.