State v. Peterson

Michael Peterson (defendant) was charged with murdering his wife, Kathleen. Peterson called 911 at 2:40 a.m. saying Kathleen had fallen down the stairs. Paramedics found Kathleen dead at the bottom of the staircase. Peterson was standing over her with blood splattered on his shirt. The paramedics reported unusual amounts of blood for a fall. Peterson said he went outside briefly and found Kathleen when he returned. The investigation revealed Peterson’s computer contained homosexual pornography and emails with a male escort arranging for paid sexual services. Printouts of the emails and photographs of the escort were found in Peterson’s study along with a tax appraisal of their home and a flex-benefit statement from Kathleen’s employer. Records revealed recent financial difficulties. Kathleen earned about $150,000 annually and had started cashing in stock options but was slated for layoffs and stood to lose a $1.5 million life insurance policy that designated Peterson as beneficiary on an unsigned form. Peterson stood to gain about $347,000 from Kathleen’s other work-related benefits, plus half an estate worth about $1.6 million. A neighbor of Peterson’s, Elizabeth Ratliff, died 17 years earlier under similar circumstances. Peterson was the last person to see her alive before she was found dead at the bottom of a stairwell, the scene splattered with unusual amounts of blood. Her death had been ruled accidental, but her body was exhumed after Kathleen’s death, and the examiner found blunt trauma wounds identical to Kathleen’s consistent with homicide. Before trial, the defense moved to exclude the evidence of finances, bisexuality, and Ratliff’s death, but the trial court admitted the challenged evidence. In opening statements, the defense portrayed the Petersons as a happy couple. Experts testified an accidental fall could have caused Kathleen’s injuries, despite the examiner determining her death was a homicide. Peterson was convicted and appealed on multiple grounds, including the evidentiary rulings.