Durham Police Investigate Death
of Former Mayoral Candidate's Wife
December 11, 2001 - WRAL.com
KATHLEEN PETERSON, (born Kathleen Hunt) wife of Michael
Peterson, was found dead early Sunday morning (December 9, 2001) at
the base of a staircase in their Forest Hills home. Police said Peterson
told 911 operators his wife had been injured in a fall.
When rescue workers arrived at the home, Peterson's wife was lying dead on
the floor.
A search of the property continued through Monday evening and details about
what happened remain sketchy. Police will not say what kind of injuries Kathleen
suffered. Her body was sent to the state medical examiner's office in Chapel
Hill for an autopsy.
Durham police said that they would have a better idea of what happened if
they could talk with Mike Peterson.
"We have not been able to interview Mr. Peterson. He has chosen not to
answer any of our questions," said Lt. Ed Sarvis.
Police call the case suspicious and said that they will not rule it a homicide
until they receive preliminary autopsy results.
Charlotte
Observer
Fairy-tale descriptions abound. Michael and Kathleen
Peterson's 14-room mansion in fashionable Forest Hills "sprawled." Neighbors
called the two-parent, five-kid household "close-knit." Kathleen, "the Martha
Stewart of Durham," was Michael's "soul mate," "they finished each other's
sentences," on and on.
Peterson, a best-selling war novelist and former Durham * knuckle-rapping
columnist, is either innocent, as he insists. Or he's guilty, and this is
the weirdest love relationship on the books.
There are many reasons to believe Peterson is innocent. There seem to be
no motive, no weapon, no witness.
"We saw the relationship between Michael and
Kathleen as idyllic. We saw how they interacted; even when they disagreed,
they laughed about it. We never saw the ugliness that one often sees in couples.
Kathleen was full of energy and was very bright and was the perfect foil
for Michael. They were a couple who would finish each other's sentences.
In many ways Kathleen completed Michael and it is hard to imagine Michael
going on without Kathleen. It is impossible to believe that Michael Peterson
would commit the crime with which he is charged."
-- Bob Cappalletti
"I have no doubt that Michael and Kathleen had what I consider an ideal
relationship. Just a few weeks before Kathleen's death we had lunch and both
agreed that our husbands were perfect for each of us."
-- Mary P. Clayton
9-1-1
"The first sign that things were not as they
appeared at the Peterson house was with the 9-1-1 call that he makes on December
the 9th, 2001 at 2:40 in the morning. With that phone call he gambles a lot.
With that phone call he gambles that the police are as dumb as he thinks
they are. With that phone call he gambles that the police would see Kathleen's
death as he wanted it to appear and as he wanted them to believe it to be."
-- Jim Hardin's opening
"When I called 9-1-1, I
thought she'd fallen down the stairs. As far as I know, that's what
happened."
-- Mike
Peterson
====================
December 9, 2001 -- 2:40 AM
Mary Allen -- operator
====================
911: Durham 9-1-1. Where is your emergency?
PETERSON: 1810 Cedar Street. Please!
911: What's wrong?
PETERSON: My wife had an accident. She's still breathing!
911: What kind of accident?
PETERSON: She fell down the stairs. She's still breathing! Please come!
911: Is she conscious?
PETERSON: What?
911: Is she conscious?
PETERSON: No, she's not conscious. Please!
911: How many stairs did she fall down?
PETERSON: What? Huh???
911: How many stairs did --
PETERSON: …Stairs!…
911: How many stairs?
PETERSON: … oh… ah… ah…
911: Calm down, sir. Calm down.
PETERSON: Oh 15, 20. I don't know. Please! Get somebody here, right away.
Please!
911: Okay somebody's dispatching the ambulance while I'm asking you questions.
PETERSON: It's off of a… It's in Forest Hills! Okay? Please! Please!
911: Okay sir? Somebody else is dispatching the ambulance. Is she awake now?
PETERSON: … ah… ah…
911: Hello? …Hello?
PETERSON: … ah… ah… mmmm… aaaah… oh… aaaah...
(dial
tone)
=================
2:46 AM
Tonya Pierce -- operator
=================
911: Durham 9-1-1. Where is your emergency?
PETERSON: Where are they?! This is 1810 Cedar -- wh --. She's not breathing!
Please! Please would you hurry up!
911: Sir?
PETERSON: Can you hear me?
911: Sir? Sir, calm down. They're on their way. Can you tell me for sure
she's not breathing? Sir...?
(dial
tone)
Hello…? Hello…?
http://newsobserver.com/collections/peterson/peterson_911_low.mov
What's
Missing?
At no time, in either of his 9-1-1 calls,
did Michael Peterson mention blood, or say his
wife was
bleeding.
Charlotte Observer,
Wed, Jul. 02, 2003
Jay Cohen
Michael Peterson, a novelist and former newspaper columnist, is accused of
first-degree murder in the death of his wife Kathleen, a telecommunications
executive.
He could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole
if convicted.
In the defense's opening statement Tuesday, Rudolf said police used tunnel
vision with Peterson because he had written several negative columns about
the police. . .
"The chance of a criminal getting
caught,
is only slightly better than getting hit by lightning."
-- Michael Peterson, July,1999
"The DA and cops can't do anything about those
crimes.
They can't catch any real criminals in City Hall,
so they go after underage voters and bingo players."
-- Michael Peterson
"Hizzoner.com"
"Jim Hardin and his office indicted Michael Peterson
in 11 days. If anyone is in a rush here it's the DA's office. Michael Peterson
has this hanging over his head and we'd like to do everything we can to make
it a speedy trial and resolve all this."
-- David Rudolf
"The truth is Kathleen Peterson, after drinking some wine and some champagne
and taking some valium, tried to walk up a narrow, poorly lit stairway in
flip-flops. She fell and bled to death."
-- David Rudolf
State records show that a death from a fall in a stairwell is extremely
rare and usually comes from a broken neck or intercranial bleeding. In more
than 25 years, there is no report in North Carolina of a fall down stairs
causing scalp lacerations that led to a fatal loss of blood.
CAITLIN VERONICA ATWATER
born April 27, 1982 in Maryland
"I'm what's left of her so people are dependent on me."
-- Caitlin Atwater
"My mother wasn't the person I knew she was. You don't end up dead at the
bottom of the staircase if your life was really what everyone thought it
was."
-- Caitlin Atwater
"The law suit speaks for itself."
-- Caitlin Atwater
"She has been poisoned ... by a one-sided presentation
of selective facts by police and prosecutors. If she was interested in the
truth, she would have waited until all the facts come out at trial before
making her mind up about what happened to our mother. Her failure to do so,
and her transparent attempt to prejudice our father's trial, is
inexcusable."
-- Todd Peterson
"I’m just filled with
this emptiness really. I couldn't have gotten through it without the kids."
-- Michael Peterson
Hizzoner's Offspring
TODD BANCROFT PETERSON
born March 14, 1976 in Germany
"If you want my opinion, they were probably shit-faced and she
fell."
-- Todd Peterson, December 9, 2001
"I don't know a single person more likely to die in
this manner. I don't know a single person more likely to die, falling down
a set of stairs, drunk -- than Kathleen. I hate to say it. I hate to tarnish
her memory like that, but there's not a single one of her children that would
not tell you the same thing."
-- Todd Peterson, editor of futazi.com
PARAMEDIC PAIGE: Like I
said, I heard him say you know, "Dad, step aside, move, the paramedics are
here" -- something like that I guess.
MAHER: And, uh, but what he said in your report, I think was step
aside -- "mom" is dead.
PAIGE: Yeah, something like that's what I remember.
MAHER: He referred to her as "mom" -- didn't he?
PAIGE: I think so, yes -- and I wrote that in my report, that's probably
what I heard that night.
RUBIN: And at that point you all hadn't attempted any CPR, had you?
MAHER: No, we hadn't. At the time he said it -- I hadn't -- I hadn't
even made patient contact when he made that statement.
|
CLAYTON SUMNER PETERSON
born December 13, 1974 in Germany
Clayton Bombs Out at School
In April of 1994, Clayton Peterson broke into Duke University's main
administration building and planted a 2-inch pipe bomb in a bottle of
gasoline, along with a threatening note.
The bomb was set to explode in the registrar's office but never went off.
Nonetheless, Clayton stole University photo I.D. equipment and blank student
ID cards.
Needless to say, the writing on Clayton's note was vintage Peterson. It was
filled with complaints about University policies -- particularly Duke's rules
about drinking.
Although Michael Peterson tried to pass the incident off as a childish prank,
his son was facing a maximum of 30 years in prison and $750,000 in
fines.
News & Observer
January 28,
2002
At age 19, his Clayton Peterson was in the newspapers and on
television when he was arrested for planting a small bomb in a Duke University
office. He said it was a hoax, but he was sent to prison for four years.
After his release, Clayton enrolled at N.C. State University, where he became
an honors student and was valedictorian of his class last year. Now, at age
27, Clayton is a post-graduate student there in computer engineering.
Yet Clayton has continued to struggle with alcohol.
Last year he sought counseling after he shoved his longtime girlfriend
and she pressed an assault charge, for which he will not be prosecuted. He
is receiving counseling.
August 5, 1994
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Glaser said Clayton Peterson,
was "dangerous" and "out of control," and that he blew up a telephone booth
in Germany and had 6 pipebombs in his house.
Clayton was convicted in 1993 for drunken driving and resisting arrest when,
after being handcuffed, he tried to escape. Later that same year, Clayton
was arrested for speeding and driving while impaired.
Federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agent Jaime Colley testified
that 2 of the 6 bombs were rigged to arrows for use with a crossbow.
Clayton Peterson also attempted to send stolen chemicals but the package
was discovered because it was leaking acid and injured postal
workers.
George and Elizabeth Ratliff's
daughters
"My dad was awesome, he really was. He's been the only constant in their
life."
-- Todd Peterson
MARGARET ELISABETH RATLIFF
born December 10, 1981 in Germany
MARTHA KATALIN RATLIFF
born January 3, 1983 in Germany
"We just looked at Dad and said 'we know you didn't
do it.' He said, 'of course I didn't do it,' and I have never had a doubt.
They just loved each other so much."
-- Margaret Ratliff
Jordon
High School newspaper
September, 1999
The political cartoon in the August 31 issue of the Herald-Sun made fun of
mayoral candidate Mike Peterson and likened him to a clown. But neither Margaret
nor Martha Ratliff was laughing. "It ruined my morning," said Margaret Ratliff,
a senior. "It's hitting me now that my dad is sort of in the spotlight."
Peterson, Margaret and Martha's father, is just one of three candidates in
next Tuesday's mayoral primary election who has children who attend Jordan.
"I know Dad is innocent. He didn't kill either one of my mothers. It's just
ridiculous. "
-- Margaret Ratliff
from Margaret and Martha Ratliff's letter to Jim Hardin
"We are horrified by your choice of action and utter disregard for
the deceased. We want to convey our feelings of distress in this matter.
We merely ask for your respect .... However, seeing that you have no compassion
for the memory of our mother, we reluctantly agree to consent in regards
to your request to exhume our mother's body. The pain and anguish that you
are causing our father and us is beyond comprehension, because even you know
it is a futile cause .... Even so, you may proceed in the desecration of
our mother's grave."
"How will you be able to sleep at night knowing that you are the cause of
our family's grief and pain ...?"
"We only hope that you treat our mother's remains with more respect than
you have for her memory."
|
"I know my father. I know he is
innocent in both cases. Obviously, I wasn't in Durham at the time, but I've
lived with my father all my life. There's no motive. There's no weapon. They
don't have anything."
-- Margaret Ratliff
In June of 2003, Margaret Ratliff sent a letter
to Jim Hardin demanding the D.A.'s office pay an overdue BlockBuster Video
bill for a rented copy of
"America's Sweethearts."
Lead investigator, Art Holland was trying to find out if Ratliff, who was
raised by Peterson, was his biological daughter, so he sent the letter to
LABCORP to check Margaret Ratliff's DNA. Holland's written notes reveal:
"Michael Peterson was excluded as being the biological father of Margaret
Ratliff."
It remains unclear whether the BlockBuster bill was ever paid, who paid it
or exactly how large the bill was. The movie was
rented on December 9, 2001.
A nationwide study conducted at John Hopkins University's School of
Nursing found that the most common relationship factors that independently
increase the risk of a woman being murdered include -- a home with a stepchild
of the abuser, an abuser's highly controlling behavior, and a woman separating
from the abuser.
"Kathleen was my life. I've whispered her name in my heart a thousand
times. She is there. And I can't stop crying. ...I would never
have done anything to hurt her."
-- Michael Peterson
ASCENSION
Colleen Corah Hitchcock
And if I go,
while you're still here...
Know that I live on,
vibrating to a different measure
--behind a thin veil you cannot see through.
You will not see me,
so you must have faith.
I wait for the time when we can soar together again,
--both aware of each other.
Until then, live your life to its fullest.
And when you need me,
Just whisper my name in your heart,
...I will be there.
Ascension poem used
with
the author's gracious permission:
@1987 Colleen Corah Hitchcock,
P. O. Box 390082, Edina, MN 55439
missnovel@aol.com
www.colleenhitchcock.com
|
At times, prosecutor Jim Hardin speaks so softly,
he can barely be heard. He's not a small or timid man, so his consistently
delicate, hushed tone is a fascinating contrast. It's as though he's following
the advice of the Colleen Corah Hitchcock poem, ASCENSION:
"Just whisper my name in your heart,
...I will be there."
Peterson's March 18, 2002 televised,
"Trenchcoat and Pipe" interview --
http://www.wral.com/News/1310061/detail.html
1993
In 1993, mayor wannabe Mike Peterson was charged with DWI. His mayoral hopes
were dashed when he was forced to admit that he had lied about earning
two Purple Hearts. He admitted his war injuries were not from the Viet
nam war but from a vehicle accident that happened in Japan.
"I'm innocent of these charges and we will prove it in court."
-- Mike Peterson
Durham Police Officer A.D. McCallop testified that he guarded Michael
Peterson and son Todd in the den for 15 to 20 minutes between 4:15 and 5
a.m. on Dec. 9. Todd apparently refused to cooperate with police and would
not follow orders.
McCallop said Peterson went to his computer, mumbled something about his
wife's email and began "surfing the Internet, checking e-mail or
something."
"The court does agree with the state, Mr. Saacks, that evidence of Mrs.
Ratliff's death is admissible."
Peterson shook his head, exchanged looks with attorney Rudolf and exhaled
loudly.
 
Elizabeth McKee Ratliff / Kathleen
Hunt Atwater Peterson
Reared with two sisters on a farm
in Rhode Island, Elizabeth McKee was a serious, artistic child. She
sang and played an acoustic guitar, and spoke French and German during her
17 years teaching the children of military families.
In Graefenhausen, Germany, she and Mike Peterson's first wife, Patricia,
became close friends and taught elementary school at Rhein-Main Air Force
Base. The Petersons had moved there in the early 1970s, after Mike Peterson
left the Marine Corps and began writing novels about his experiences in
Vietnam.
Capt. George Ratliff, an Air Force navigator, married McKee in 1981.
Their daughter Margaret was born that same year, and two years later, their
second daughter, Martha, was born.
George Ratliff died under mysterious and unknown circumstances in 1983. |
Mrs. Kathleen Hunt Atwater
Peterson, was born February 21, 1953, in Greensboro, North Carolina,
and died of a tragic accident in her beloved home in Durham, North Carolina,
Sunday, December 9, 2001.
Kathleen was always an accomplished student, engineer, volunteer and leader.
She spent her school years in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where she was voted
"Girl of The Year" and "Lancaster Lass" in the early 60s. During her high
school years, at Lancaster McCaskey High School, she was President of the
Debating Club, Editor of the "Gen- eration" school magazine, and was selected
as the first high school student allowed to take advanced Latin classes at
Franklin and Marshall College.
Kathleen graduated from McCaskey as the number one student in her class of
473 students. She was selected to be published in the Who's Who Book of American
High School Students.
Kathleen's scholastic achievements excelled at Duke University where she
was selected as the first female student accepted into the school of engineering
in 1971. She received a BS in Civil engineering and a Masters in Mechanical
engineering from Duke.
Her career was exceptionally successful. She achieved executive level positions
at Baltimore Air-Coil-Pritchard, Merck and finally Nortel. Kathleen received
countless awards for her leadership skills and successes from Nortel Networks.
In her work she traveled extensively to Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Europe, Hong Kong, and Canada.
Kathleen was a prominent and active citizen in Durham.
She served on the Board of the Durham Arts Council, opened her home frequently
to help the American Dance Festival and the Carolina Ballet. She gave willingly
of her time and creative talents in cooking, decorating, and entertaining
to her community and neighbors.
Kathleen's greatest accomplishment and pride was in the wonderful family
that she raised. She is survived by her best friend and husband, Michael
Iver Peterson; sons, Todd and Clayton Peterson; and daughters, Caitlin Atwater,
Martha and Margaret Ratliff. She is also survived by her mother, Veronica
Hunt, of Florida; sisters, Candace Zamperini and Lori Campell, of Virginia;
and her brother, Steven Hunt, of Tennessee.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 a.m. Thursday, December 13, 2001, at
Duke University Chapel. The Rev. Joseph Harvard will officiate. A private
interment at Maplewood Cemetery will follow the service - immediate family
only. A viewing will take place Wednesday, December 12, 2001. |
"We are horrified to see again how much my sister suffered."
-- Candace Zamperini
AUTOPSY: KATHLEEN
PETERSON |
48-years old
5' 2"
120 pounds
Found dead at the bottom of a staircase on December
9, 2001.
|
 |
The number, severity, locations and
orientation of these injuries are inconsistent with a fall down the stairs;
instead they are indicative of multiple impacts received as a result of beating.
HEAD
Blunt force trauma of the head
Multiple (at least 7) deep, complex lacerations and avulsions to the posterior
scalp
Multiple contusions consistent with lacerations
Multiple small abrasions and contusions on the face
Early acute ischemic neuronal necrosis
No abnormalities of the brain
NECK
One fracture with associated hemorrhage of the left superior cornu of the
thyroid cartilage in the neck
No other neck fractures.
BODY
No long bone or rib fractures
HANDS
Contusions of back, posterior arms, wrists and hands
Hair in left hand -- hair in right hand
|
AUTOPSY: ELIZABETH
RATLIFF |
43-years old
5' 6"
115 pounds
Found dead at the bottom of a staircase on
November 25, 1985.
|
 |
HEAD
Blunt force trauma of the head
Seven distinct lacerations:
Laceration, top of head
Laceration, left forehead
Laceration, left side of head
Four lacerations on the back of head
Subgaleal hemorrhage
Linear fracture left base of skull
Contusion, left eye lid
Shallow short laceration lateral left eyebrow
Contusions, right inner upper and lower lips
BODY
Contusions, posterior left hand and posterior left forearm
Linear abrasion skin of posterior chest (back) |
Elizabeth Ratliff Autopsy
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/features/042803_FS_ratliffautopsy1.html
"Michael Peterson wouldn't need a lawyer if it was truly an accident. But
he certainly needed a lawyer if it was a homicide."
-- Freda Black
Do I need a lawyer?
Durham police Sgt. Terry Wilkins' report
says that Michael Peterson was wearing a blue shirt and light-colored shorts
and was covered in blood when Wilkins saw him. Wilkins noted, "Mr. Peterson
appeared to be confused and was walking in small circles, and back and
forth." According to the report, when witnesses were being separated,
Peterson said, "What is this? Do I need a lawyer?"
February 22, 2002
Defense Letter
Dear Ms. Zamperini:
There are two separate questions that need to be addressed in this case.
The first is "what happened?" Was there an accident, or was there a homicide?
The answer to that question I cannot address until my experts have a chance
to look at the reports of the state's experts. Even if we assume that the
conclusion that Kathleen was beaten is correct, however, that only gets us
to the second question: "who did this?" That question I can address. Michael
is innocent of these charges. If Kathleen was beaten, it was certainly not
by Michael. He loved and continues to love Kathleen.
|
"What we are contending is that she fell backward on a step at the lower
portion of the stairwell and split her scalp open. She tried to get up, slipped
on the bloody floor, hit her head again and died of blood loss."
-- David Rudolf
"I know my client is innocent. My client has discussed this with me at length."
-- David Rudolf
"Our position is that he had absolutely nothing to do with it. It was an
accident and it happened while he was not in the house. They were soulmates."
-- David Rudolf
A Time of War
From Peterson's
biography...
"The United States had begun sending ground troops to Vietnam the
previous year. Peterson's firm sent him to Vietnam to conduct a study to
determine whether two more mechanized divisions would win the war. He soon
developed a deep cynicism about the war and its conduct. It was apparent
he was expected to make convincing arguments to send the divisions in - whether
the evidence truly supported the action or not."
"He also witnessed illegal currency dealings and realized the daily reports
of young men his age being killed in action countered the stories being fed
to the media for favorable play back home."
"Peterson then enlisted in the Marines."
"He received an honorable discharge with a permanent medical disability and
retired with the rank of captain in 1971."
|
Peterson has said he won a Silver Star, a Bronze Star With Valor and two
Purple Hearts. He has all the medals, but said he does not have the documentation
for them.
The News & Observer reported that Michael Peterson admitted to
his two Purple Heart lies. The fiction writer had claimed that on one occasion
he was hit by shrapnel when another soldier stepped on a land mine, and on
another he was shot. The N & O also said records did not contain any
mention of two Purple Heart medals Peterson has said he received.
Peterson admitted his war injury was not the result of a shrapnel wound in
Vietnam, but was the result of a vehicle
accident in Japan, where he was stationed after the war as a military
policeman.
Autopsy Report
Decedent: Kathleen Hunt Atwater Peterson
There is dried blood on the bottoms of the feet bilaterally with dried blood
noted over the face. The nail beds are intact with crusted blood noted beneath
them.
In this case, rare red neurons, consistent
with acute ischemic neuronal necrosis, are present in cerebrum and
cerebellum. These findings are consistent with the decedent having a significant
episode of widespread brain ischemia
at least a few hours
prior to death.
Neuropathologist, Dr. Thomas Bouldin told jurors one particular item
stood out when he examined Kathleen Peterson.
"This brain had experienced a period of decreased blood flow approximately
a few hours before death."
"Help Me"
In 1999, Peterson told a reporter that he and another man he referred to
as "Sergeant Beverly" were driving around when a truck at a railroad
crossing hit their jeep head on.
"So we were pinned in there and I was in the truck
listening to Sergeant Beverly die, which took about 30 minutes, and he kept
saying, 'Help me lieutenant, help me lieutenant,' but I couldn't help
him."
-- Michael Peterson
How do we go from accident
to Murder One?
If It Walks Like a Mallard...
Chante Mallard, a 25-year-old from Fort Worth, TX, hit
homeless man, Gregory Biggs with her Chevrolet while driving home from a
party. She did not stop and get help. Chante Mallard drove home with Biggs
hanging out of her front car window. Instead of then getting help, she left
her car in the garage and waited for her victim to die. It was later reported
that "Mallard apologized profusely to Biggs as he laid across the hood of
her car with broken legs and severe internal injuries."
An examination of Kathleen
Peterson's corpse suggested that she did not die swiftly, saying that some
of her brain cells had been starved of oxygen for as long as "a few hours
prior to death."
Assuming that Kathleen Peterson actually did have a horrible, accidental
double backward flip off her back stairs, the question remains: Why did Michael
Peterson wait to notify authorities?
Just as in the CHANTE MALLARD "windshield death" case, an accident is one
thing, but waiting to get help while another human being bleeds to death
-- is murder one.
FORT
WORTH, Texas
June 28, 2003 -- (CNN)
Jurors Friday evening sentenced Chante Mallard to 50 years for the murder
of a homeless man she hit with her car and then left to die embedded in the
windshield.Mallard was sentenced to 10 years for tampering with evidence.
Her sentences will be served concurrently. She was not fined for either
conviction.
"She could have saved him," said Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney
Christy Jack. "Doesn't that speak volumes about her character? Doesn't that
speak volumes about the atrocity of this crime?"
How do we go from soul mate
and lover
to cold-blooded killer?
 |
 |
 |
Neulander |
Greineder |
Peterson |
Durham defense Spin-Masters (and the people who love
them), have taken to claiming that, Michael Peterson's 9-1-1 call
may be dramatic, but no matter how a person behaves during a 9-1-1 call it
will seem "phony" to suspicious listeners, and that there is no correct way
to act in a life and death situation.
The argument has been heard repeatedly and goes something like this: "If
the defendant is calm and collected, the prosecution will say he's too cold
and must be lying. If the defendant is emotional, detractors will say he's
faking it. You can't have it both ways!"
While it's true that each human being is unique -- in an emergency, we become
amazingly the same. Faced with trouble, our gut instinct takes over and the
choice is Fight or Flight. It's a hard-coded, chemical reaction.
A reasonable person can appreciate the different personalities and circumstances
surrounding different situations and still perceive whether or not a 9-1-1
caller is exhibiting truthful behavior. Is he fighting or running away? If
it's something in-between -- he's lying.
Michael Peterson is not Rabbi Fred Neulander or Dr. Dirk
Greineder. The men are, of course, very different in very many ways,
but there are similarities: All three in the mid-fifties with seemingly ideal
marriages in up-scale neighborhoods -- and all three found themselves dialing
9-1-1 to report that they had suddenly come upon their spouse, lying unconscious
in a pool of blood.
The tone and content of the 9-1-1 calls of Messrs. Peterson, Neulander and
Greineder are also strikingly similar, and a brief review of the transcripts
reveals the theme that runs through each call -- confusion.
When called upon, the Silver Starred Vietnam veteran and mayoral candidate,
the gracious community leader and Rabbi, and the world renown physician --
all became quivering, shivering Jell-o molds -- barely able to think straight.
Well, you can't have it both ways.
Instead of acting to save their wives, they choose to act confused and
hysterical, and are unwilling or unable to be of any real assistance. The
image is not of the globe-trotting author of "A Time of War", the senior
Rabbi or the professional medic -- the image is of Hattie McDaniel
in the film, Gone With the Wind, yapping, "I don't know nothin' bout
birthin' no babies!"
As the men are acting out their script, they're thrown off, confused and
even angered by the operator's questions. They well know their big scene
is being recorded and they are annoyed by interruptions. They plead and beg
for help, but refuse to listen. You can't have it both ways -- it's fight
or flight -- and though they demand answers, when directly asked questions,
all three men switch impulses and begin to evade, elude and avoid.
=================
November 1, 1994 --
Rabbi Neulander sounds anguished and distraught...
=================
911: 9-1-1. State the emergency.
NEULANDER: I, I ah -- I just came home and my wife is on the floor
and there's blood all over. I, I, I don't know what to do.
911: OK. Is there any weapon around her, sir?
NEULANDER: I can't. I don't know.
911: Does she appear to be breathing?
NEULANDER: No, no, there's blood all over.
911: OK, we'll send somebody down.
NEULANDER: No, wait a minute. I've got another problem. My son is
an EMT. I can't, I just....
911: We'll send somebody down. Calm down sir.
NEULANDER: Wait a minute. Now, he's gonna hear. He's gonna hear
this call, call. He's an assigned E.M.T.!
911: I have to send somebody down, sir.
NEULANDER: Ah, ah, oh, God.
911: Calm down. Hold on a second. OK. Sir? Where, where have you
been?
NEULANDER: Ah, ah…
911: Do you see any weapons around her, sir?
NEULANDER: No, I don't see anything. I don't see a thing.
=================
October 31, 1999 --
Doctor Greineder sounds anguished and distraught...
=================
911: Wellesley Police. This call's recorded.
GREINEDER: Help. I'm at the pond. I need some, someone attacked
my wife, trying to get [inaudible].
911: Sir, where are you?
GREINEDER: I'm at, at the pond, at Morses Pond. Walking ...
911: At Morses Pond?
GREINEDER: Walking the dog, someone attacked, I left her cause she
hurt her back.
911: OK. You just need to relax cause I can't understand what you're
saying.
GREINEDER: Please, please, send a car.
911: OK, You're at Morses Pond.
GREINEDER: Pond, yeah.
911: Whereabouts at Morses Pond? Whereabouts at Morses Pond?
GREINEDER: I'm, I'm outside my, my car's outside by the gate.
911: OK. Hold on one second, OK?
GREINEDER: Please send someone.
911: Wellesley Control to fourteen zero five.
GREINEDER: Oh my God.
911: What, what happened?
GREINEDER: I, I, I, we were walking the dog. She hurt her back.
911: Is she injured?
GREINEDER: I think she's dead I'm not sure. I'm a doctor. I went
back, I ...
911: Can you start over to Morses Pond ...
GREINEDER: She looks terrible. The dog heard something. She went
back.
=================
December 9, 2001 --
Michael Peterson sounds anguished and distraught...
=================
911: Durham 9-1-1. Where is your emergency?
PETERSON: 1810 Cedar Street. Please!
911: What's wrong?
PETERSON: My wife had an accident. She's still breathing!
911: What kind of accident?
PETERSON: She fell down the stairs. She's still breathing! Please
come!
911: Is she conscious?
PETERSON: What?
911: Is she conscious?
PETERSON: No, she's not conscious. Please!
911: How many stairs did she fall down?
PETERSON: What? Huh???
911: How many stairs did --
PETERSON: …Stairs!…
911: How many stairs?
PETERSON: … oh… ah… ah…
911: Calm down, sir. Calm down.
PETERSON: Ah… ah… Oh 15, 20. I don't know. Please! Get somebody
here, right away. Please!
Link
to February 17, 1970,
a cold, rainy early morning at
544 Castle Drive, off base at Fort Bragg
-- the home of Jeffrey MacDonald.
Link to Oregon in December of 2000,
and the good-looking, clean-cut young man
experts in criminal psychology said "fits a profile
of one of the most imperceptible types of killers:
those who derive power from petty crime and
then, as the law and desperation close in,
graduate to murder" and for whom,
"shedding a family can be seen as a way to start over"
-- Christian Longo.
 Link to the bottom of a blood spattered staircase
in a plush mansion on Escobita Avenue in Palo Alto,
2000, and an unlikely story of the death of the wife of
Kenneth Fitzhugh who told jurors, "...What I saw was
an accident. Even today, I don't have total acceptance.
It doesn't feel right. Homicides are not within my
realm of reality. Accidents are."
News
& Observer
February, 2002
"I absolutely had nothing to do with Kathleen's death. I did absolutely
nothing to harm my wife."
He pointed to a souvenir that they had acquired on a trip to Bangkok. He
glanced toward a sofa on which he said that he, his wife and the family dogs
once gathered to watch a favorite television program, "Law and Order."
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