Posted on 10/10/2003 11:44:56 AM PDT by ~Vor~
DURHAM, N.C. - Novelist Michael Peterson was convicted Friday of murdering his wife, whose body was found in a pool of blood at the bottom of a staircase in their home.
Peterson, 59, remained motionless as the verdict was read and each juror asked if he or she agreed with it. With the verdict, he was automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Peterson, whose books include the 1990 Vietnam novel "A Time of War" and its 1995 sequel, "A Bitter Peace," was convicted of beating his second wife, Kathleen Peterson, in December 2001. Prosecutors said he may have been anxious about the couple's mounting credit card debt and wanted to collect a $1.4 million life insurance policy.
His lawyers said the 48-year-old woman must have fallen down a staircase in their home at the end of an evening spent celebrating the sale of movie rights to one of his books.
Peterson's attorney, David Rudolf, told Judge Orlando Hudson that they would appeal.
"He's innocent. He's always maintained his innocence," Rudolf said outside court.
But prosecutor Jim Hardin called the decision a victory for Kathleen Peterson's family.
"Kathleen Peterson died an horrific death. ... We are exceptionally pleased that at least this chapter in this book is closed for this family," he said. "We're relieved for them."
After the verdict was read, Peterson turned to his family with a pained smile, saying "I love you. ... It'll be all right." He was then handcuffed and led out of the courtroom.
Juror Lilar Pennington said no one on the panel needed much persuasion to find Peterson guilty. Others reached at home by phone declined to comment about their decision.
During the trial, prosecutors called to the stand a male escort who testified about his e-mail correspondence with Peterson, trying to undermine the argument that the Petersons' five-year marriage was happy.
Prosecutors also suggested Peterson was responsible for the 1985 death of Elizabeth Ratliff, a widowed friend of Peterson and his first wife when they lived in Germany.
Ratliff was also found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Her death was long blamed on a fall, but her remains were exhumed earlier this year and an autopsy concluded that she, like Kathleen Peterson, was beaten to death.
Ratliff's daughters, Margaret and Martha Ratliff, were adopted by Peterson after their mother's death. They were among his staunchest defenders and held each other and sobbed Friday when the verdict was announced.
Members of Kathleen Peterson's family were not present.
It should be clear to all conservatives by now that the left intends to demonize us. They don't just disagree with us, they hate us. And worse, they want to get other people to hate us.
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In any case, there were too many head wounds and too much blood for it to have been an accidental fall from three steps as the defense claims.
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