A true crime program airing tonight on Investigation Discovery will tell the story of the 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson from the perspective of Kathleen's daughter, Caitlin Atwater.

Kathleen Peterson's husband Michael Peterson (left) was convicted in 2003 of murdering her in their Durham home.

Peterson is currently seeking a new trial. A hearing on that is scheduled for next month.

"The Devil You Know," airing at 10 p.m., features interviews with Atwater, as well as Art Holland of the Durham Police Department, and Fred Atwater, Kathleen's first husband.

The episode airing tonight is called "Stairway to Hell." (The murder trial was the subject of a 2004 documentary by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade called "The Staircase.")

"The Devil You Know" describes itself as a series that "delves into the secret lives of men and women who masquerade as law-abiding citizens but, behind the charade, are hiding deadly intentions from their loved ones." The shows offers first-hand accounts from friends and family members to tell the stories.

Investigation Discovery airs on 251 and 1251 on Time Warner Cable. On DirecTV you'll find it on 285 and 1285; AT&T U-Verse has it on 260 and 1260; Dish Network has it on 192.

Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson has barred attorney Larry Pollard from filing further motions on behalf of convicted murderer Michael Peterson because Peterson says Pollard does not represent him.

Pollard filed a motion this month seeking to introduce new expert testimony that an owl killed the Durham writer’s wife, Kathleen Peterson, in 2001.

A new motion filed by David Rudolf, one of Peterson’s original attorneys, asks Hudson to rule on whether the owl theory justifies a new trial. Rudolf did not pursue the theory during the original trial.

Rudolf’s motion also asks the judge to dismiss, but just for now, Pollard’s claims regarding potentially unreliable evidence offered by State Bureau of Investigation agent Duane Deaver. Rudolf plans to represent Peterson on a pro bono basis in proceedings challenging SBI testimony that helped convict the Durham novelist of murder.

A lawyer for Michael Peterson filed three affidavits this week to further support the theory that an owl killed the novelist's wife.

T. Lawrence Pollard, one of Peterson's attorneys, says the written statements from three experts should persuade Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson to order the state Medical Examiner's Office to turn over all documentation related to Kathleen Peterson's autopsy, including photos, videos, notes and audio recordings. The affidavits also ask to unseal the autopsy photographs.

If granted, the information would be used to prove that Kathleen Peterson was killed by an owl, not from blunt force trauma, Pollard said. Michael Peterson was convicted of killing his wife in 2003 and is currently serving a sentence of life in prison.

Pollard is a former neighbor of Peterson who has pushed the owl theory for several years. Prosecutors and police dismiss his theory, which defense lawyers did not mention during Peterson's trial. 

The request follows a News & Observer series that questioned the investigative tactics of State Bureau of Investigation agents. Testimony of SBI Agent Duane Deaver helped convict Peterson of killing his wife, who was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in a pool of blood in 2001. Peterson's children, who recently wrote a letter to the N&O, want their father to have a new trial.

Pollard has asked Hudson to hold off his ruling until all of Peterson's lawyers have met and finalized paperwork. A ruling may be made next week, the lawyer said.

Read more here.

In  response to The N&O's series on the SBI, the children of Michael Peterson have written a letter imploring the state to give Peterson, who was convicted in 2003 of killing his wife, Kathleen, a new trial.

We, Michael Peterson’s children, would like to thank The N&O for its series on agent Duane Deaver and the N.C. SBI.

At our father’s trial, there were no eyewitnesses, no murder weapon and no credible motive. He was convicted solely on forensic evidence presented by Deaver and his colleagues at the SBI – evidence that was based on junk science and that included experiments designed to support the state’s case, not to determine the truth.

The videos of the unscientific “experiments” Deaver and his colleagues performed clearly show an attempt to re-create a desired outcome rather than to examine all possibilities. His experiments made a mockery of good science and objective testing protocols.

It is impossible to overestimate how crucial Deaver’s testimony was at the trial. Despite the objections of the defense, which vigorously questioned his qualifications, knowledge and expertise, he testified over eight days.

In her closing argument to the jury, assistant district attorney Freda Black reinforced Deaver’s importance in the state’s case by saying: “Now let’s look at Agent Deaver. Agent Deaver, Dr. Radisch, Dr. Butts, they’re state employees. And they work for your state. They work for your state, North Carolina. They work for us. They gave you truthful and accurate information. … They are tried and true. Tried and true. Because they work for us.

“Deaver will be back again. There will be other cases, other murder cases. They’ll be in the witness stand again. They wouldn’t come in and give inaccurate information. They’re not going to do that.”

Deaver did testify in other murder trials, and your series has exposed his testimony for what it is: worthless. The same can be said for his qualifications and his lack of scientific rigor.

Our father has been imprisoned for nearly seven years on the basis of testimony that not only lacked scientific validity, but also was given added import by Black’s endorsement of Deaver’s honesty and abilities.

We are heartened by Attorney General Roy Cooper’s commissioning of an independent investigation into the actions of the SBI, which will allow North Carolina to restore justice by undoing the damage perpetrated by its employees and agents at the SBI.

And in the interest of justice, we ask the state of North Carolina to overturn Peterson’s conviction and grant him a new trial, as it is clear his trial was irreparably damaged by Deaver’s involvement.

Clayton and Rebecca Peterson
Baltimore, Md.

This letter also was signed by Todd Peterson, Margaret Ratliff and Martha Ratliff.
 

One of Durham's famous true crimes gets another airing tonight at 10 on "True Crime with Aphrodite Jones" (Investigation Discovery; channel 114).

It's the Staircase Murders aka the Michael Peterson case, in which the Durham socialite/author/failed mayoral candidate was convicted of killing his wife by bashing her head with a fireplace poker.

Or, if you ask Mr. Peterson, she fell down the stairs. Just like his friend in Germany.