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The Case of Michael Peterson
📻 Episode #298
🎙️ Hosted by Guest Hosts David Rudolf & Sonya Pfeiffer
📅 Oct 10, 2022
About This Episode
On December 9, 2001, Michael Peterson, an acclaimed novelist and one-time mayoral candidate, found his wife Kathleen dead at the bottom of their staircase in Raleigh-Durham, NC. Primarily due to the junk science of blood splatter analysis, Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Case status as carried in this site's original 2026 profiles. Independent record verification is rolling out episode by episode — statuses are being re-checked against court and registry sources and date-stamped as verified.
The Case
On December 9, 2001, Michael Peterson, an acclaimed novelist and one-time mayoral candidate, found his wife Kathleen dead at the bottom of their staircase in Raleigh-Durham, NC. Primarily due to the junk science of blood splatter analysis, Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
David and Sonya are a criminal defense duo who fight for victims of injustice, misconduct and faults of the system. Their podcast, Abuse of Power, dissects how law enforcement and the justice system have failed those they are meant to protect.
David was Michael's first lawyer on the case involving the death of his wife, and he still is to this day. David notably appeared in the documentary, The Staircase, as Michael's lawyer. Sonya covered the case as a television reporter in Raleigh-Durham, and has been following the story since the beginning. David and Sonya have supported and advocated for Michael throughout his entire wrongful conviction experience. This episode is one of Michael’s very few recent press appearances, and Wrongful Conviction is the first ever podcast to have Michael Peterson as a guest.
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/147-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-bloodstain-pattern-evidence/
To listen to the Abuse of Power podcast, visit:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Abuse-of-Power-with-David-Rudolf-and-Sonya-Pfeiffer-Podcast/B09MJLWHKS
In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:06:39“Speaker 4: in the will and I said, oh, okay. So then Speaker 4: and Liz had the same will, and when she died Speaker 4: inteen on nineteen eighty seven, I became the defective guardians Speaker 4: of Margaret and Martha. Speaker 2: You and Patty were still together at the time, Is”
00:27:21“Speaker 3: That's what he was there for. And indeed he was Speaker 3: the person who established that it was first degree because Speaker 3: his opinion was that there was some period of time Speaker 3: between the first blows and what he described as the Speaker 3: second blows, so that's where the state argued the premeditation occurred.”
00:47:36“Speaker 3: it in the transcript, it's quite another thing to watch Speaker 3: this guy on the witness stand where you're the judge Speaker 3: and he's lying to you. And to the jury, and Speaker 3: that was extremely powerful. So I think in fact, Michael's Speaker 3: instinct of having those filmmakers there is what ultimately enabled”
Listen to the Episode
🎧 Listen on Omny / the podcast's platforms
🎧 Full episode page — Lava for Good
Resources & links from the episode:
Share this case, follow the organisations working on it, and support the podcast's fight for the innocent at lavaforgood.com.
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Also on the podcast: #9 Michael Morton · #66 Jason Flom and Michael Rubin with Meek Mill · #140 Jason Flom and Michael Rubin with Meek Mill