The Staircase (Netflix)

[SharkmanthaC 105,159]

I am watching The Staircase now and on the 11th episode.  I remember this trial when in was in high school (I live in NC), and really thinking that Michael Peterson was guilty.  Probably because that's the way it was shown on TV and I knew he was found guilty.  After watching this, I'm a bit shocked at a lot of things in this, but I have no answer as to if I think he is innocent or guilty. There is so much that makes me think one way or another.  I also think the owl theory is very interesting as well.

I'd like to know others thoughts on it.

[LaLa 18,569]

I watched this number of years ago, before it was on Netflix. At the time I came away pretty convinced he was innocent. I also read about the owl theory and totally bought into it lol.

I re-watched it last year and totalllly changed my mind. I am now certain he is guilty. I was watching with  my sister and we were both like "why the hell did we ever think he was innocent?!?" 

It sucks that so much of the investigation was botched, with the blood spatter guy and the hyper-focus on the blow poke that I think is meaningless anyway. Even though I think he's guilty, I do think it's right that his trail was overturned. It was SUCH a mess, justice failed in this case.

[ode 1,264]

if you like true crime docuseries, you should check out HBO's "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst" if you haven't already.

i watched "the staircase" and then "the jinx" right after. no comparison, tbh. "the jinx" is CRAZY.

[Othon 32,267]

I'm always incredibly uncomfortable when people claim that they "know for a fact" that someone is guilty in any case like this. They have no idea. They're either made uncomfortable by the person or they just don't like them. That sort of thinking enables our current carceral crisis. Fascistic, even.

I came away from it thinking he was absolutely innocent and I've never understood how so many people, to this day, believe that he did it. 

[SharkmanthaC 105,159]

52 minutes ago, ode said:

if you like true crime docuseries, you should check out HBO's "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst" if you haven't already.

i watched "the staircase" and then "the jinx" right after. no comparison, tbh. "the jinx" is CRAZY.

I will check it out.  (Apparently I need to get HBO because I'm missing so many things.) I have become interested in true crime recently.

[SharkmanthaC 105,159]

1 hour ago, LaLa said:

I watched this number of years ago, before it was on Netflix. At the time I came away pretty convinced he was innocent. I also read about the owl theory and totally bought into it lol.

I re-watched it last year and totalllly changed my mind. I am now certain he is guilty. I was watching with  my sister and we were both like "why the hell did we ever think he was innocent?!?" 

It sucks that so much of the investigation was botched, with the blood spatter guy and the hyper-focus on the blow poke that I think is meaningless anyway. Even though I think he's guilty, I do think it's right that his trail was overturned. It was SUCH a mess, justice failed in this case.

 

47 minutes ago, OG Gaga Stan said:

I'm always incredibly uncomfortable when people claim that they "know for a fact" that someone is guilty in any case like this. They have no idea. They're either made uncomfortable by the person or they just don't like them. That sort of thinking enables our current carceral crisis. Fascistic, even.

I came away from it thinking he was absolutely innocent and I've never understood how so many people, to this day, believe that he did it. 

It's crazy because then you bring up the 1985 case...well that kind of seems suspicious, but it also seems suspicious that they didn't have the body autopsied in Texas. I am still kind of wondering about all of it.  It seems strange that the blow poke was  found so late, but I agree with you @LaLa that the justice system failed in this case.  I remember Gregory Taylor that they bring up and interview in the series and when his case was overturned. There was so much media surrounding Michael Peterson's case in North Carolina at the time, I think people formed opinions before he was even brought to trial or even after.  He was almost never going to get a fair trial here.

[LaLa 18,569]

17 minutes ago, SamanthaC said:

 

It's crazy because then you bring up the 1985 case...well that kind of seems suspicious, but it also seems suspicious that they didn't have the body autopsied in Texas. I am still kind of wondering about all of it.  It seems strange that the blow poke was  found so late, but I agree with you @LaLa that the justice system failed in this case.  I remember Gregory Taylor that they bring up and interview in the series and when his case was overturned. There was so much media surrounding Michael Peterson's case in North Carolina at the time, I think people formed opinions before he was even brought to trial or even after.  He was almost never going to get a fair trial here.

Yeah, I don't know what to think about the 1985 case! It seems like such a crazy coincidence, but I really just don't know. 

As for why I think he did it @OG Gaga Stan, the main thing is that he claimed in the 911 call that Kathleen was still breathing, and then when paramedics arrived he said that she had just died in his arms, but the blood at the scene was dry. Also  there was something found in her brain at the autopsy that indicated it took her longer to die than Michael's timeline allowed for (sorry, I don't remember all the specifics of this). Plus that 911 call just sounded so so fake. I know people react to stress differently etc, but I'm sorry, I just think it sounded staged. But like I said, I agree that he didn't get a fair trial and shouldn't be in jail.  I don't think we'll ever know what truly happened.

As an aside, I was actually a  juror on a murder trial a  few years ago and the implications of that on my life are something I still think about and struggle with every day. The justice system is so complicated! And I think so often about what the purpose of jail really is, and I have no answers. 

But yeah @SamanthaC check out the Jinx! It's awesome!

[SharkmanthaC 105,159]

5 minutes ago, LaLa said:

As for why I think he did it @OG Gaga Stan, the main thing is that he claimed in the 911 call that Kathleen was still breathing, and then when paramedics arrived he said that she had just died in his arms, but the blood at the scene was dry. Also  there was something found in her brain at the autopsy that indicated it took her longer to die than Michael's timeline allowed for (sorry, I don't remember all the specifics of this). Plus that 911 call just sounded so so fake. I know people react to stress differently etc, but I'm sorry, I just think it sounded staged. But like I said, I agree that he didn't get a fair trial and shouldn't be in jail.  I don't think we'll ever know what truly happened.

I read somewhere that they presumed she had been dead for 2 hours because of the dried blood.  I don't know how to make sense of that. The second blood spatter person the defense brought in seemed to make sense as well.  I really don't think that his bisexuality had anything to do with it.  I agree with how they stated this could have made the jurors think he could be guilty just because they may not be able to fathom that his wife new about it.  Or that they didn't agree with that lifestyle. I just found his book about the trial and such on amazon.  I may order it and read it. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1796306924/ref=crt_ewc_title_huc_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER