First, it was a global scandal in the 2000s, then it was the basis for a hit Netflix documentary, and now, it’s a glorified HBO miniseries. The Staircase, aptly named for its disturbing premise, chronicles the life, sentence and imprisonment of Michael Peterson, a Nashville native who was convicted of murdering his second wife, Kathleen Peterson, in 2003. Several media outlets jumped at the chance to document the unfolding of a catastrophe during Peterson’s trial, but it wasn’t until 2019 that Michael himself published a memoir recounting his ordeal: Behind the Staircase.
Netflix jumped on the bandwagon and gained the rights to the French documentary miniseries, The Staircase, which gained notoriety due to the impressive outreach of the high-profile streaming giant. It began filming shortly after Peterson’s arrest in 2001 and initially released in 2004, but Netflix didn’t acquire the license for the finished product until 2018. The Staircase was directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, who won an Oscar for Best Documentary for his ninth feature, Murder on a Sunday Morning. On May 5, 2022, a modernized dramatization of the Peterson case and conviction, also titled The Staircase, premiered on HBO Max. It stars Colin Firth (Bridget Jones’s Diary) as Michael Peterson and Toni Collette (Hereditary) as Kathleen Peterson. Even though it might seem redundant to answer, because it’s fairly obvious, that doesn’t mean some explanation isn’t necessary. So, is The Staircase based on a true story?
If you haven’t already gathered by the tone and execution of this article — yes, it was based on a true story. It all started on December 9, 2001, in Durham, North Carolina. Michael Peterson, who allegedly found his wife Kathleen unresponsive at the bottom of the stairs, dials 911 and informs the operator that Kathleen fell. She was knocked unconscious and injured. When paramedics arrive at the scene, Kathleen is declared dead. However, the nature of her injuries sparks some disconcertment among local authorities, who come to believe that Michael might be involved in Kathleen’s death. Michael is convicted of murder and sentenced to trial, where the jury indicts him for Kathleen’s murder and he is arrested.
However, the plot thickens when Kathleen’s autopsy report reveals a matrix of severe blunt force injuries, namely to the skull, including multiple lacerations to the back of the head. After Michael was found to be in possession of gay pornography on his computer, legal teams began to paint a picture of what occurred the night Kathleen died. Authorities, prosecutors and most of the world started believing that Michael was having an affair with another man, and when Kathleen found out, an argument ensued that led to her eventual death — accidental or intentional. Although Peterson’s defense testified that the blood splatter patterns along the staircase walls were consistent with a fall, police concluded that her injuries were inconsistent. These conclusions were drawn after forensic scientists studied every inch of Peterson’s home, judging the trajectory of Kathleen’s fall from multiple angles, but no explanation could account for her injuries.
Even though Peterson was charged with murder, he pleaded not guilty. By this point, the trial had garnered substantial media attention and half the world was watching, waiting with bated breath for a final conviction to be settled. In regards to Peterson’s bisexuality, the defense argued that Kathleen accepted Michael’s sexuality and the marriage was happy.
As if that weren’t enough, it soon became apparent that Elizabeth Ratcliff, a friend of the Petersons, had died in Germany in 1985 from — you guessed it — a fall down the stairs. In fact, her death was near identical to Kathleen’s. When Elizabeth fell down the stairs, it was a haemorrhage in her brain that ruptured and led to her death upon collapsing. Interestingly, Michael Peterson had visited that night, stayed for dinner, then helped Ratliff put the children to bed before going home. Her body was found by the nanny, Barbara, the next morning, and Peterson was the last known person to see her alive. Even though Peterson wasn’t accused of Ratliff’s death, authorities believed that his supposed involvement insinuated that Michael knew how to “fake” Kathleen’s “accident.”
It wasn’t until October 10, 2003, after one of the longest trials in North Carolina history, that Peterson was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Peterson appealed, but was denied on several occasions. Then, the “owl theory” was raised, which claimed that Kathleen was attacked by a barred owl outside and had stumbled inside towards the stairs, where she fell, hit her head, and died. However, that theory was soon debunked upon cross-examination regarding Kathleen’s head injuries.
On February 24, 2017, Michael Peterson entered an Alford plea — whereby a defendant asserts innocence but admits that sufficient evidence could lead a jury to finding them guilty beyond reasonable doubt — to the involuntary manslaughter of Kathleen. The judge ultimately sentenced Peterson to 86 months (roughly 7 years) in prison with credit earned for time previously served during previous incarcerations. Before that, Peterson had already spent a total of 98.5 months (roughly 8 years) in prison.
Obviously, HBO’s rendition of The Staircase — although faithful to the facts of the case — is heavily exaggerated for the sake of sensationalism. Think Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Alongside Firth and Collette, The Staircase also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sophie Turner.
HBO takes a deeper dive into Michael and Kathleen’s lives, further shedding light on their much-scrutinized marriage. The Staircase consists of eight episodes, and for anyone whose interest is piqued by the cinematic spectacle of foul play, here’s the full synopsis:
“After she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home, Michael Peterson, a crime novelist, is accused of bludgeoning his wife Kathleen to death. As the investigation continues, the family is thrown into a tumultuous legal battle. Meanwhile, a French documentary team takes an interest in the story.”
The Staircase is available to stream on HBO Max.