‘Staircase’ on Netflix: What happened to the people & Peterson’s Durham house
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Netflix release of HBO’s The Staircase renewed public interest in Peterson.
- Michael Peterson entered an Alford plea in 2017 and remained free after time served.
- Durham house at 1810 Cedar St. changed owners, added new pool house and remodels.
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Prime Time for True Crime
We love to play detective, which might explain why Durham’s most notorious murder trial — did author Michael Peterson kill his wife Kathleen? — is the setting for another true-crime TV miniseries, this time on HBO Max. What really happened to the people and places involved? How much of what we’ll see on “The Staircase” will mirror reality? And why does society obsess over crime stories?
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The Peterson murder case gets another series. Why are we so obsessed with true crime?
A ‘Staircase’ timeline from Kathleen Peterson’s death to her husband’s trial and plea
‘The Staircase’ updates: Whatever happened to key people and Peterson’s Durham house?
HBO Max’s ‘Staircase’ series: What to expect vs. the Netflix version, and how to watch
Photo gallery: Comparing HBO’s ‘The Staircase’ cast to those they portray
The 2022 HBO Max limited series “The Staircase,” a dramatization of the 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson and the murder trial of her husband Michael, joined its documentary series partner of the same name on Netflix this month, sparking new interest in what is considered to be Durham’s most notorious crime story.
The series stars Colin Firth as Michael Peterson, Toni Collette as Kathleen Peterson, Parker Posey as Freda Black and Patrick Schwarzenegger as Todd Peterson. It was previously only available to stream on HBO Max, but now all eight episodes are ready to binge on Netflix.
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With renewed interest in the story, we’re updating some of our previous content to answer questions about the case and those involved.
Where is Michael Peterson now?
After Peterson was convicted in 2003, he spent eight years in a North Carolina prison before his conviction was overturned because of improprieties at the State Bureau of Investigation. Peterson entered an Alford plea in February 2017 while awaiting a new trial, allowing him to plead guilty to manslaughter while maintaining his innocence. With time served, Peterson was a free man.
He lived in Durham for a number of years, writing two self-published memoirs about his relationship with Kathleen and his time in prison (available on Amazon). Peterson has said that the writers of the HBO “Staircase” series used his memoirs as source material.
He told The News & Observer in 2022 that he had no plans to watch the series. In fact, he was outspoken about his disapproval of the series.
Peterson posted on Facebook that he left Durham in April 2024 and moved to Reno, Nevada — a move he called “exhilarating and uplifting.” He also said he has written three new books.
Where is ‘Staircase’ lawyer David Rudolf now?
Rudolf, the lead attorney on the Peterson case, is still a practicing attorney with his own firm, Pfeiffer-Rudolf, in Charlotte.
Rudolf embraced the attention from the Netflix series, writing an episode-by-episode “insider’s view” of the series, and authoring a book: “American Justice: Inside Stories from the Underbelly of the Criminal Justice System.” He also embarked on a worldwide speaking tour to talk about the case and has taught at UNC School of Law.
Rudolf watched episodes of “The Staircase” with a Charlotte Observer reporter in 2022 and gave his thoughts (not very accurate, he says).
Rudolf married former ABC11 reporter Sonya Pfeiffer, who covered the Peterson trial. Pfeiffer is now a practicing attorney and owns SE CLT art gallery in Charlotte.
What happened to Freda Black from ‘The Staircase’?
As an assistant district attorney on the case, Black is perhaps best remembered for her closing arguments in which she memorably described the pornography found in Peterson’s home as “pure-T filth.” After the trial, Black ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Durham district attorney (2006 and 2008).
In 2010, she ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Durham district court bench. She also faced driving while impaired charges in Durham and Orange County (her 2012 arrest warrant showed she was working at a Durham dry cleaners).
In July 2018, Black was found dead in her home after a relative reported that they could not reach her. An autopsy report released in March 2019 said that Black, 57, died of liver disease.
Where is Todd Peterson now?
Michael Peterson’s youngest son with his first wife, Patricia, is seen a lot in the early episodes of the Netflix version of “The Staircase” and is a major character in HBO’s retelling.
At the time of the 2017 Alford plea, attorney David Rudolf said Todd was living in Tennessee, but relocated back to the Durham / Chapel Hill area. As late as 2021, Todd was still in that area, but his current whereabouts are not public knowledge.
Where is Clayton Peterson now?
Clayton, Michael Peterson’s oldest son with his first wife, Patty, is seen a lot in later episodes of “The Staircase” documentary series and is also a significant character in the HBO series. In one episode of the documentary series, he visits his father in prison with his wife and baby, and later Michael Peterson is shown playing with both of Todd’s young children during visits.
In the new HBO series, several references are made to trouble in Clayton’s past.
What happened to Patricia ‘Patty’ Peterson?
Patty Peterson, Michael Peterson’s first wife and the mother of Todd and Clayton, lived her final years in Durham and remained close to Michael. She stood by him throughout the trial and always said she believed in his innocence.
She died July 8, 2021, at Duke University Hospital after suffering a heart attack the night before. She was 78.
Where are Margaret and Martha Ratliff now?
The daughters of George and Elizabeth “Liz” Ratliff were raised by Michael Peterson and his first wife, Patty, after their mother died in Germany in 1985 (George died in 1983). Michael and Patty were the legal guardians of the girls, but they were never formally adopted. Still, they were raised as their daughters.
Following the Alford plea, Martha worked as a professional psychotherapist in Utah and Colorado, and Margaret worked in the film industry in California as a producer. Her most recent credit on IMDB was for a 2022 documentary called “Subjects,” about the impact of well-known documentaries on the lives of their subjects.
Where is Caitlin Atwater now?
Kathleen Peterson’s daughter from her first marriage with Fred Atwater has said that she believes Michael Peterson murdered her mother.
Caitlin won a $25 million wrongful death suit against Michael Peterson in 2008. She married Christopher Clark in 2012. The couple has twins, according to Rudolf in 2017, and were living in the Washington, D.C. area at that time.
Where is Peterson’s Durham house?
The front of the house at 1810 Cedar St. in Durham, now on its third post-Peterson owner, is visible from the street (particularly the back of the property, on Kent Street), but the 3.4-acre property is gated.
According to Google satellite images, the swimming pool where Michael Peterson said he was sitting alone the night Kathleen died has been replaced.
Jason Balius, the owner right after Peterson, put barbed wire on top of the back gate, along with “No Trespassing” signs. The house was then purchased by clairvoyant and medium Biond Fury, who paid $1.3 million for it in 2008.
In 2020, the 9,372-square-foot house was again listed for sale at $1.9 million, which is in line with the tax value of the home, listed by the Durham County Tax Administration at $1,937,733. The home sold in August 2020 for $1.6 million and the new owner is still listed as AZAD III LLC. The company official for AZAD III LLC listed with the NC Secretary of State Office is Ramsey Shehadeh.
Permits filed with the county in 2023 reflect significant remodeling, including the addition of a new pool house and pool and a new exterior.
More on HBO’s ‘The Staircase’
For full coverage of HBO Max’s “The Staircase,” now on Netflix, and other background on the death of Kathleen Peterson and the murder trial of Michael Peterson, visit: newsobserver.com/topics/staircase
This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM.
