Thirty-five
In February 2002, not long after Caitlin and Fred Atwater went to Durham to meet with Jim Hardin and Art Holland, Caitlin called her sisters to try to reason with them. Margaret and Martha were both back at college, and Caitlin was able to get hold of Margaret on the campus of Tulane.
Shocked by the details in the autopsy reports, Caitlin didn't want to flat-out tell Margaret that their mom had been beaten. It was a subject she preferred not to speak about on the phone. Caitlin just wanted her sisters to see the truth. Caitlin hadn't taken sides; she was still giving Michael the benefit of the doubt. But she felt that once Margaret and Martha read about the seven lacerations to Kathleen's head, without even looking at the photos of the wounds, they would realize that their mom had been killed by someone, perhaps an intruder.
“Margaret, this is about Mom,” Caitlin pleaded. “You need to read the autopsy report. You need to understand that she didn't fall down the stairs.”
“Dad says not to read it,” Margaret said. “He says it would be too upsetting and that the things they've written in the reports are not true.”
“You need to read it for yourself. You need to know what happened to Mom. She was beaten,” Caitlin told her.
“I don't want to read it,” Margaret insisted. “Dad already told me what's in there, and he says the reports are wrong.”
“She was our mother. This is about Mom,” Caitlin argued. “This is not about Dad.”
But Margaret had made up her mind, and she told Caitlin not to bother calling Martha, who felt the same way. Neither of them had an interest in seeing bloody photos and autopsy reports filled with nasty accusations and things that would traumatize them all over again. Their dad had assured Margaret that he would be exonerated in court.
Michael Peterson had convinced the girls of his innocence by leaning on the opinions of experts. Among the experts in his corner that he bragged about was, of course, Dr. Henry Lee, who had already made a trip to the house, who had brought in a crew from
20/20
. Michael had given the Ratliff girls inside information, he had promised them that the top forensic expert didn't believe there had been a crime.
Michael had bragged about the appearance of Dr. Henry Lee to everyone on his side of the family. Kathleen's immediate family had no idea, but they would watch in horror when ABC aired the
20/20
story in April 2002. Kathleen's sister-in-law, Cynthia Woodward, happened to catch the program; it was a profile piece on Dr. Henry Lee. As the news team followed Henry Lee to the back staircase, Woodward recognized the entrance to the Peterson mansion. She recognized the furnishings, and was mortified to see Kathleen's dried blood everywhere, in close-up shots.
Dr. Lee took a pair of tweezers to show reporters that he was retrieving tissues and hair samples from the bloody wall. There was dried and smeared blood on the walls behind him, and beneath his feet, there was blood all along the steps. Though the Michael Peterson case was never mentioned during the
20/20
segment, Cynthia Woodward went numb, devastated to see the great amount of blood. When they learned about the broadcast of the Peterson stairwell, some of Kathleen's family members wrote editorials expressing their shock. They were beside themselves, and couldn't believe that the news team could be so insensitive.
Of course Michael Peterson was pleased that the
20/20
segment had aired. The segment was powerful. The image of Henry Lee finding “hidden tissue” made it seem like the expert was trumping the North Carolina authorities. The piece had punch. Attorney David Rudolf was shown in one of the shots, standing outside the Peterson house. He was in the background, having a friendly chat with Dr. Henry Lee.
It was further proof of his innocence, Michael would insist to his family.
And, according to Michael, it wasn't only Dr. Lee, the top national forensic expert, who believed in him. Peterson insisted that David Rudolf had a very strong case lined up. He insinuated that Rudolf would show proof that the Durham police had a vendetta against him.
Michael wanted his daughters to sit tight and wait for the trial. He swore that the day would come when numerous experts, who were in complete disagreement with the state's autopsy findings, would testify in court.
As for Margaret and Martha, they just wanted to go about their business, to work hard at getting good grades in college. They weren't willing to watch the news anymore, they were sick of all the drama, and they didn't even try to see the
20/20
piece when it aired.
Margaret and Martha felt sorry that Caitlin made the mistake of listening to the Durham police. They felt their sister was being misled, that Caitlin was believing in false charges. Like Clayton and Todd, the Ratliff girls had always been worried that Caitlin might fall prey to all the rumors circulating about their dad. They had hoped it wouldn't affect them, that Caitlin wouldn't begin taking sides, but after Caitlin's persistent conversation with Margaret, nothing would ever be the same.
“When I hung up the phone with Margaret, I was very upset. I didn't want to talk about it anymore,” Caitlin confided. “At that point, I decided that she was my mother and not theirs. I couldn't believe that my mom could have these daughters for a total lifetime and they were not willing to find out what happened to her. But that was the pattern with them. They were so brainwashed by Michael, they were not willing to listen to anything.”
Thirty-six
When she had returned to begin her next semester, Caitlin Atwater, the nineteen-year-old Ivy League student, was no longer the typical college coed at Cornell. She was happy to be back on campus, and was moving forward with her classes, but apart from a few distractions from her friends, there were certain weird things happening that were making life more difficult.
In early 2002, with the trial still a long way off, as Michael Peterson's defense team prepared for battle, Caitlin found herself confronted with a number of strange requests. She had received a number of e-mails regarding estate matters, and she had questions and concerns about what they meant.
There was one e-mail in particular, in which Bill Peterson, on behalf of his brother, was making an odd suggestion. Attorney Bill Peterson wanted Caitlin to understand that the $1.45 million life insurance policy for Kathleen Peterson would not be paid out until Michael's innocence was determined. Bill wanted to be clear that if, for some reason, Michael was found guilty as charged, the entire proceeds of the life insurance policy would pass to her. Caitlin would be the only heir, according to Bill Peterson's interpretation of her mother's insurance policy.
If, however, Michael was found to be not guilty, then all the insurance money would go to him. Through the e-mail, written by the estate attorney on Bill's behalf, Bill Peterson was suggesting that, since Michael was looking to raise money for his defense, Caitlin and the estate could agree that the insurance money could be paid out to the estate. Then the estate, with Caitlin's blessing, could “loan” half of the insurance money to Michael, and Michael would give her a mortgage on the Cedar Street home.
If Michael was found innocent, the estate would pay him the other half of the proceeds. If he was found guilty, the estate would then foreclose on the mortgage, paying the money back to Caitlin. Bill Peterson and the estate would make sure that Caitlin Atwater was protected. Caitlin would not be giving up her rights, the e-mail seemed to suggest.
When Caitlin forwarded the e-mail to Fred, he was flabbergasted.
It was a lose-lose proposal.
He told his daughter that under no circumstances should she agree to such a proposal. He reminded her that, even if Michael had the right to the insurance money, which was not a given, Michael Peterson had already mortgaged most of the value of the Cedar Street house to post his bond.
Though Caitlin wanted to believe in Michael's innocence, though she had spent thirteen years becoming a part of his “family,” Caitlin was growing leery of the man she called stepdad. Michael had written to her, early on, after Kathleen's death, asking Caitlin to listen to her mother's voice. He wanted Kathleen's voice to be the “only voice” Caitlin would listen to. Michael wanted Caitlin to sort through all the chaos, to sort through the “cacophony of voices,” and try to hear her mother speaking the truth to her.
There wasn't a moment that went by when Caitlin didn't think about her mom. There wasn't a moment that she didn't hope for an answer, that she didn't pray that an intruder had something to do with her mom's death. Caitlin couldn't bear the idea that her loving stepdad would have been responsible for killing anyone, and she grieved privately, trying to think of what her mother might say about the accusations and police reports. Caitlin was afraid she might never know what actually happened to her mother. She had no idea who might be held responsible, and no clue as to why anyone would want to kill her. The whole thing was a mess.
With all of her mother's encouraging words through the years, Caitlin would find strength in knowing that Kathleen always expected her to do great things. Caitlin remembered that her mom wanted her to be a successful woman in the workforce. There was no doubt that Kathleen felt that Caitlin was well above average in intelligence. All of Caitlin's grades and high scores through the years proved that, and Kathleen had always made it known that she didn't want any of Caitlin's smarts to go to waste.
Caitlin had aspirations to become a lawyer, and after her mom died, she had no choice but to become legally savvy. In her own way, as legal documents and requests came to her, Caitlin began to piece together the puzzle behind her mother's death. Reading the reports and finding out her rights, Caitlin sometimes believed she was earning her law degree ahead of time. As the evidence came inâabout specific bloodstains, about a possible murder weapon, about the Peterson family financesâCaitlin grew more concerned that the man she had shared a home with was someone she had never really known at all.
The reality started to plague her. More and more each day, Caitlin was coming face-to-face with the idea that Michael Peterson was a cold-blooded monster.
Thirty-seven
While officials in Durham County were waiting for a final inventory of Kathleen Peterson's estate, a preliminary accounting of her assets showed that she had a net worth of just above $250,000. Surprisingly, even though she was helping to make the mortgage payments, Kathleen Peterson did not own any part of the Cedar Street mansion. Mrs. Peterson's worth included a personal bank account with about $1,600, vehicles valued at $17,895, stocks and bonds worth $5,600, a half-interest in some rental properties, valued at $176,000, and an Individual Retirement Account worth $52,000. The value of her Nortel Networks retirement plan and her life insurance policy were listed as unknown.
Prosecutors thought it peculiar that Kathleen Peterson died with so little net worth. Her salary at Nortel Networks was in the six-figure range, and she was living so large, it seemed like she had millions. People surmised that there was more money somewhere, that Kathleen Peterson's net worth would prove to be greater. For one thing, Kathleen's joint checking accounts with Michael were valued at about $20,000, but that was money that reverted back to him at the time of his wife's death.
In mid-April 2002, Citibank filed a claim against the estate of Kathleen Peterson for more than $13,000. The credit card charges in her name had come from places such as California and Louisiana, states where Martha and Margaret attended college respectively, and there were also charges from New York, which were purchases made by Caitlin. The overall bill had been run up over a long period of time, and it included transactions made in Fort Lauderdale, where the Petersons had vacationed in November 2001, in addition to Christmas purchases made in Durham, just weeks before Kathleen died.
The Citibank claim against the Peterson estate made the front page of the local news sections, and folks in the Triangle region were shocked to learn that the Petersons had let so many charges pile up, not only with Citibank, but with Bank of America, Bank One, and other banks as well.
By that time, the prosecutors in Durham had already begun studying the Peterson financial situation, looking for a possible motive. Through the efforts of a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation agent, the DA office would discover that, at the time of Kathleen's death, the Petersons were over $140,000 in debt, carrying credit lines spread across twenty active accounts.
Even though the Petersons owned some small pieces of property, apart from the Cedar Street house, records showed that no one in the Peterson family had much equity in those parcels. Prosecutors learned that while Michael Peterson was purporting to be a wealthy, successful novelistâbuying late-model cars and filling his home with expensive antiquesâMr. Peterson, in fact, hadn't earned any substantial income in years. Aside from a modest military pension, Peterson had no money coming in that they could traceânot from royalties or from film options.
To prosecutors, it looked as though the Petersons were surviving solely on Kathleen Peterson's $145,000-a-year incomeâand were affording the additional luxuries that made up their high-end lifestyle by living on credit. When prosecutors had the Petersons' cash flow boiled down to gross numbers, there was evidence that for three years prior to Kathleen's death, the Petersons were spending $100,000 a year more than they were taking in.
When word of the impending Citibank lawsuit was printed in the
Herald-Sun
newspaper, providing all the details about Kathleen's estate finances being in disarray, Michael Peterson hit the roof. He felt publicly humiliated, and was furious that the newspaper reported specifics about their bills being unpaid from places such as Toys “R” Us and US Airways. The last thing Peterson needed was a public perception that he and his wife were in financial straits. He shot off an e-mail to Caitlin, insisting that she clear up the problem. As the administrator, Michael wrote, it was
her
responsibility to settle the credit card debt and any other outstanding bills.
Michael wasn't just angry, he was irate. He wrote that Kathleen would have been “out of her mind” if she had been alive to read about such shame being brought to the family. He wrote that he'd been very “polite” and had tried to keep silent about things, but now, he told Caitlin, “this estate matter better get unfucked immediately.” And if Caitlin didn't take care of the problem, Michael threatened, he would go to the police to report the $100,000 worth of jewels and furs that were missing from his wife's belongings. In the e-mail, Peterson suggested that the $100,000 worth of missing merchandise could easily pay for all the estate debts.
The only problem was, when the “missing” estate items were accounted for, all that was taken from the Cedar Street house were a few Louis Vuitton and Gucci handbags, Kathleen's pearls, and some small pieces of matching jewelry. Caitlin had these items appraised, and, apart from the sentimental value, she had been informed that the jewelry was not worth much.
The pearls, which Michael had bought at an estate sale and were supposedly owned by Lana Turner, weren't authenticated. They were the pearls that her aunts had given to Caitlin after her mom's wake. It was at that time that Caitlin also received her mom's designer handbags. The items hardly added up to tens of thousands of dollars. And aside from that, Michael was wrong in thinking these possessions were his. It was Caitlin who had a right to keep the goods, by law. Caitlin Atwater was the administrator of the estate, and she had already placed her mother's pearls and jewelry into a safe-deposit box, waiting for the estate to be settled.
Caitlin Atwater hadn't done anything illegal. Caitlin hadn't caused trouble for the estate, nor had she stolen anything. Her aunts were the ones who suggested that Caitlin take a few of her mom's handbags, but Caitlin had left the Cedar Street house with very few mementos from her mom. Mostly, Caitlin packed her own personal belongings, her sentimental stuffed animals, her favorite summer and winter clothes. Caitlin had never tried to set foot in the house after the Christmas season was over. The place gave her the creeps. She never wanted to go back there.
But in his e-mail to Caitlin, Michael ranted and raved, trying to make her feel guilty, holding her responsible for the problems she and Kathleen's other family members were causing him in the media. Michael said that his silence was over. He seemed ready to strike back at Kathleen's family, and not only was he planning on “going public” about the “missing” goods, he was also threatening to report Caitlin's aunt Candace to the Internal Revenue Service.
It seems Candace Zamperini, in her rage over Henry Lee's appearance on
20/20
, wrote an editorial in which she called Dr. Lee “hired help.” In retaliation, Michael was ready to file a report about Candace's South American housekeeper, Jean, whom he thought the IRS people would be interested to learn about. The thing was, Candace was paying her housekeeper on the books. She was filing tax returns and doing everything on the up-and-up.
But Michael Peterson didn't know that.
He just assumed his threat was valid.
In his lengthy e-mail, Michael berated Caitlin for refusing to watch
20/20
, telling her that she, more than anyone, should have been interested in what Dr. Lee had to say concerning her mother's death. Michael wondered if anyone honestly thought Dr. Lee would compromise his reputation for a few bucks involving a case in Durham, North Carolina. He told Caitlin that she should listen to Dr. Henry Lee, rather than “the idiots” who investigated the case.
Michael blamed the cops for destroying the family that Kathleen had spent so many years putting together. As Michael had predicted from the beginning, and as Todd had predicted, it was no surprise that Caitlin had turned on him. Michael felt Caitlin was being hypocritical. In his view, Caitlin's public comments and her behavior were mind-boggling. Michael wanted to be spared the “horseshit” about
20/20
. He claimed that Caitlin's mother would have been much more upset about her autopsy photos being released to the press than about her house being shown on
20/20
. Michael was certain that Kathleen wouldn't have cared one bit about Dr. Lee being on their staircase.
Michael wrote that he knew Caitlin was in agony. He was sorry that things had turned out to be so dreadful. He still wanted Caitlin to contact her sistersâhe insisted that Kathleen would want that. And he claimed that, no matter what, he still loved Caitlin.
But for all the love he supposedly had for Caitlin and Kathleen, Michael was acting in ways that were completely contradictory. From the moment Kathleen died, it was one thing after another. For starters, Michael was refusing to pay for Kathleen's cemetery plot. The place Caitlin and Candace had chosen to bury Kathleen happened to be in the old part of the Maplewood Cemetery, and therefore required a family purchase of four plots. For some reason, Michael felt the estate should pick up the tab. Michael apparently didn't like the idea of dealing with headstones and grave plots, and he wrote a separate letter to Kathleen's estate. In this epistle, he explained that he was “philosophically opposed” to any kind of burial and he preferred cremation.
Caitlin was mortified when she received a copy of Michael's letter, reading in his own words that he was refusing to pay the funeral bills. He was leaving it on the estate to sort out the matter of all the funeral expenses: Kathleen's monument, burial plot, as well as the unpaid $800 flower bill, which Michael said had been placed under his name, without his permission. Michael had written to implore the estate to pay the bills, particularly the bills for Kathleen's coffin and flowers.
If the estate couldn't come up with the money, Michael Peterson claimed he was ready to contact the police, and possibly his insurance company. Michael didn't care about the Citibank claim, but he certainly did care that Kathleen's funeral matter be settled, even if he had to
loan
the estate some money himself.
Caitlin was horrified by the details in Michael's correspondence, both to her and to the estate. It was one of many times that Michael was using the memory of her mother to haunt her, to make her feel like a disrespectful and dishonest person. Caitlin wasn't really familiar with paying estate bills. She hadn't let things slip on purpose; she just had too much on her plate. Dealing with attorneys and all the legal mumbo jumbo, especially when it involved both civil and criminal aspects, was too much for her.
She was still a kid. And she was grieving and in shock.
Caitlin felt terrible that her mom's grave site had become cause for argument, that there seemed to be no peace for her mom's soul. With the constant news items, the brewing legal battle, and Michael's weird behavior and threats, her life was becoming a living hell.
The worst of it was, even though Caitlin had seen the circumstantial evidence, a part of her wanted to believe in Michael's innocence. There was a part of Caitlin that had a soft spot for Michael, and she found herself remembering all the good years, all the vacations, all the holidays, the fun times.
But Caitlin would continue to discover that Michael was not the quality man he made himself out to be. There were more and more bizarre things coming to light about Michael. For instance, Michael Peterson had collected $347,000 from Nortel, just weeks after Kathleen's death, but when it finally came down to paying the funeral bills, it was Caitlin's dad, Fred Atwater, who laid down the cash to pay for Kathleen's gravestone monument.