We saw Bill Peterson featured a lot in the early episodes of The Staircase. He was clearly very supportive of his brother. It seemed he was always in the courtroom with Michael. Flash forward to the newer episodes of The Staircase (after Michael had been in prison for 8 years) Bill isn't seen again. We see Jack, but not Bill.
100% where did he go he is an attorney and then vanished. 2. level 1. · 4 yr. ago. He was there. He was with the daughters when they visited him in prison at one point. And I saw him in clips in and around the court room/house during all the later Appeal stuff. He …
Michael Iver Peterson (born October 23, 1943) is an American novelist who was convicted in 2003 of murdering his second wife, Kathleen Peterson, on December 9, 2001. After eight years, Peterson was granted a new trial after the judge ruled a critical prosecution witness gave misleading testimony. In 2017, Peterson submitted an Alford plea to the reduced charge of …
 · Clayton Peterson is the eldest child of Michael Peterson. His mother is Michael's first wife, Patricia “Patty” Sue, per The Cinemaholic. He spent most of his early life in West Germany and lived with Patricia after his parents' divorce, per Newsweek. He and his brother, Todd, later moved to Durham, North Carolina, to be with their father.
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.
Bill PetersonJack PetersonMichael Peterson/Brothers
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).
According to his lawyer, Peterson now lives in an apartment back in Durham, and spends a lot of time with the grandchildren.
ColoradoSince the trial, Margaret has moved to California, while Martha now lives in Colorado, per Newsweek. In the HBO Max series, Margaret is played by Sophie Turner and Martha is played by Odessa Young.
$6.4 Million Settlement for Wrongful Conviction – Armstrong v. City of Greensboro. David Rudolf secured a $6.4 million settlement for LaMonte Armstrong for his wrongful conviction for a murder he did not commit.
While Ratliff's daughters stood by their adopted father throughout his trial and imprisonment, Kathleen's daughter, Caitlin Atwater sided with the prosecution. As well as being awarded her mother's life insurance payout, Atwater won a $25 million wrongful death suit against Michael Peterson.
Kathleen Petersonm. 1997–2001Patricia Sue Petersonm. 1965–1987Michael Peterson/Spouse
David Rudolf — Rudolf, the lead attorney on the Peterson case, is still a practicing attorney with the Rudolf Widenhouse firm in Charlotte. On his website, Rudolf also writes an episode-by-episode “insider's view” of “The Staircase” series.
While Bill Peterson is an attorney, he was not an official member of his brother's defense team during the murder trial. He did, however, sit in on many planning and strategy sessions with the defense team, as shown in “The Staircase” documentary.
In real-life, Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison. However, a judge vacated the verdict in 2011 after it was revealed one of the prosecution's witnesses had allegedly lied under oat. Peterson was later released from jail in 2017 for time served.
During a break in a 2016 hearing, Peterson's son Clay told reporters, according to The News & Observer, "I certainly would like an outcome where justice would be served." He affirmed that he and his siblings still maintain that Peterson was innocent in the death of their stepmother.
While Ratliff's daughters stood by their adopted father throughout his trial and imprisonment, Kathleen's daughter, Caitlin Atwater sided with the prosecution. As well as being awarded her mother's life insurance payout, Atwater won a $25 million wrongful death suit against Michael Peterson.
MurderKathleen Peterson / Cause of deathAs Peterson was the only person at the residence at the time of Kathleen's death, he was the prime suspect and was soon charged with her murder. He pled not guilty. The medical examiner, Deborah Radisch, concluded that Kathleen had died from lacerations of the scalp caused by a homicidal assault.
Patricia Peterson Patricia, Michael's first wife, lived with Michael for several years in Germany, The News & Observer reported. The two both worked for the Department of Defense—Patricia taught elementary school children there for over three decades.
Apparently Bill Peterson was still involved with the decision making. But that he had his own case at the time (he's also a lawyer). And by the time they decided on the Alford plea he felt it wasn't really necessary to be there in person.
Especially in the court hearing when Michael was allowed to leave prison under house arrest awaiting a retrial. The rest of his family was there, but Bill wasn't. It's possible that Bill was living in a different state and was caught up in work, but surely he would be there to support his family.
However, he maintained his innocence. Michael Peterson served his sentence in Nash Correctional Institution near Rocky Mountain until 2011, after which he was released on bail and was placed under house arrest.
He also explained that after Kathleen’s death, the only reason he engaged legal help immediately is because his son insisted upon it, calling in Michael’s lawyer brother, Bill Peterson. In 2002, his step-daughter, Caitlin, filed a wrongful death claim against him. He tried to file for bankruptcy, but Caitlin contested it.
Michael Peterson is an American novelist who came into the limelight after the suspicion of his wife’s death fell on him. A Vietnam war veteran, he wrote three novels- The Immortal Dragon, A Time of War, and A Bitter Peace- that depicted his experience in the war.
He had also co-written two other books and has worked as a newspaper columnist for Durham Herald-Sun. Kathleen Peterson, who was his second wife, was a business executive. On December 9, 2001, Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of the stairs at her home. At that time, only Michael had been there, who claimed he was outside ...
However, he maintained his innocence. Michael Peterson served his sentence in Nash Correctional Institution near Rocky Mountain until 2011, after which he was released on bail and was placed under house arrest.
He was sentenced to prison, but he had already served more time than that, so he was allowed to walk free. Peterson currently lives in Durham, North Carolina, and, time and again, has talked to reporters about him being innocent of the crime.
In 2002, his step-daughter, Caitlin, filed a wrongful death claim against him. He tried to file for bankruptcy, but Caitlin contested it. Eventually, it was settled for $25 million. It hasn’t been paid yet; so, even if Peterson did take those deals, he would not have anything left for himself.
According to a 2018 write-up by Bustle, the lives of Michael Peterson's children changed literally overnight following the death of his second wife, Kathleen Peterson.
As a 2018 Heavy explainer noted, Caitlin Atwater was the only one out of her siblings to share her belief that Michael Peterson was guilty.
Per Bustle, it seems that Michael Peterson's sons and daughters have continued to stand by their father and remain in each other's lives. Citing a report from the News & Observer, Bustle noted that many of them scattered to states outside of North Carolina, where Peterson lives.
Were it not for SBI analyst Duane Deaver’s corruption, Michael Peterson would probably still be in jail. Duane Deaver, a blood splatter expert, had testified that the evidence pointed towards murder.
His guilty plea notwithstanding, Michael still asserts that he did not kill Kathleen Peterson. One of the most puzzling revelations of his trial was that in 1985, Michael was the last person to see Elizabeth Ratliff before she was discovered dead at the bottom of a staircase.
In 2017, Michael Peterson submitted an Alford plea, which allowed him to still publicly maintain his innocence while pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. According to WRAL, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson found Peterson guilty of voluntary manslaughter and released him on time served. Altogether, Peterson spent eight years in ...
However, Peterson and his court-appointed lawyer, Thomas Maher, filed an appeal in 2006. While requests for a new trial were repeatedly denied over the next few years, Peterson and his on-again, off-again lawyer, David Rudolf, were finally able to arrange a retrial in 2011, following the termination of one of the North Carolina State Bureau ...
In the early morning hours of December 9, 2001, police arrived at 1810 Cedar St. in Durham, North Carolina, and found the bloodied body of Kathleen Peterson at the foot of the back staircase, per the News and Observer.
While requests for a new trial were repeatedly denied over the next few years, Peterson and his on-again, off-again lawyer, David Rudolf, were finally able to arrange a retrial in 2011, following the termination of one of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation's analysts.
The blood spatter analyst, Duane Deaver, who had been one of the principal witnesses in Peterson's case, was fired after news came out that he had lied about his qualifications and misrepresented evidence in Peterson's trial, according to Metro.
Michael Peterson was released from prison in 2017. In 2017, Michael Peterson submitted an Alford plea, which allowed him to still publicly maintain his innocence while pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Altogether, Peterson spent eight years in jail.
Whether you believe the time he spent locked up was justified or not, Michael Peterson is not the only one in the family to have spent time in jail. If you’ve seen all of the episodes, you probably remember Michael’s oldest son Clayton for visiting his dad in prison with his wife and their young baby. He’s also involved in the lengthy discussions with Michael, Martha and Margaret about the possibility of a retrial and the pros and cons of facing another jury or taking a plea deal.
They didn’t tell you something about Clayton Peterson. Whether you believe the time he spent locked up was justified or not, Michael Peterson is not the only one in the family to have spent time in jail. If you’ve seen all of the episodes, you probably remember Michael’s oldest son Clayton for visiting his dad in prison with his wife ...
Clayton Peterson was sentenced to four years in the federal penitentiary. During that time it was Michael Peterson doing the prison visits. In fact, as the Greensboro News and Record notes in their 1997 profile of the writer called “Successful Author Lives the Quiet Life in Durham,” despite the success of his books, ...
What the documentary series didn’t mention is that in 1994 Clayton Peterson, who was 19 at the time, was arrested for attempting to firebomb the Duke University Administration Building.