HBO’s ‘Staircase’: Clayton Peterson’s complicated past
With renewed interest in the 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson and the trial of her husband, Michael, we’re revisiting points of interest from the HBO dramatic miniseries “The Staircase.”
Clayton Peterson, the oldest son of Michael and Patty Peterson, is portrayed in the Antonio Campos-created series “The Staircase” by actor Dane DeHaan (a UNC School of the Arts graduate known as the Green Goblin in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and Billy “The Kid” Bonney in “The Kid”).
Unlike Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s Netflix documentary “The Staircase,” the new series is a dramatization. It premieres on HBO Max on Thursday, May 5.
Who is Clayton Peterson?
Clayton Peterson played a surprising role in the 2003 trial of Michael Peterson.
In that trial, the prosecution argued that Michael used a blow poke (a hollow, pointy fireplace tool) to beat Kathleen, causing the lacerations that led to her bleeding to death. But the fireplace tool, a Christmas gift from Kathleen’s sister, Candace Zamperini, was nowhere to be found in the Peterson home when Kathleen died.
Near the end of the trial, Michael Peterson’s attorney David Rudolf produced the alleged blow poke in court. The Netflix documentary “The Staircase,” on which the HBO series is partially based, shows that Clayton Peterson found the blow poke in the family home garage.
Clayton Peterson maintains his father’s innocence and always has. He lives in Maryland with his wife and children.
What did Clayton Peterson do?
Several times during the HBO Max series, vague references are made to Clayton going through some tough times or to the time he was “away on spring break.”
The characters in “The Staircase” are referring to a time when Clayton was a 19-year-old freshman at Duke University and was arrested and charged for putting a small bomb in a Duke office.
The homemade pipe bomb did not explode.
When the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched the Peterson home in Durham, they found another six assembled explosives hidden in the attic, according to Refinery29.
Clayton Peterson served four years in a federal penitentiary.
Here’s an excerpt from a Herald Sun story published after The Staircase documentary series began streaming on Netflix:
“Clayton had gone through turbulent teenage years in Germany, where easy access to alcohol and a fascination with explosives would later get him into trouble, according to an N&O article.
“Clayton was convicted in federal court of possessing a destructive device after admitting in April 1994 that he broke into the Allen Building, which houses the Duke president and several other high administrator offices. He admitted to placing a pipe bomb submerged in gasoline in a closet on the second floor and to stealing photo identification equipment to make a fake ID.
“Clayton said in a 1997 interview from prison with an N&O reporter that he planted the bomb to divert attention from his pursuit of a fake ID, which he had discussed with friends. Clayton Peterson also said he took steps to prevent the bomb from detonating.
“After his release, Clayton enrolled at N.C. State University, where he became an honors student and was valedictorian of his class.”
More on HBO’s ‘The Staircase’
For full coverage of HBO Max’s “The Staircase” and other background on the death of Kathleen Peterson and the murder trial of Michael Peterson, visit: newsobserver.com/topics/staircase
