Stairway to Hell On December 9, 2001, in a wealthy suburb of Durham, North Carolina, police were called to investigate the death of Kathleen Peterson, 48, who lay in a pool of blood at the bottom of a staircase. Husband Michael Peterson, 58, said that she'd accidentally fallen down the stairs. But forensic experts concluded that she'd been beaten to death. Mr. Perfect Kathleen Peterson had been a high-earning corporate executive and dedicated wife and mother. Michael was an equally outstanding achiever: decorated Vietnam veteran, bestselling novelist, newspaper columnist, and onetime mayoral candidate. Theirs had looked like the ideal marriage. So why was Michael Peterson now the prime suspect in the death of his wife? Deadly Secret Prosecutors pointed to a $1.

4 million life insurance policy and material recovered from Michael's computer, which revealed evidence of a secret sex life. Strangely, another death lay buried in his past, that of Elizabeth Ratliff, who in 1985 had also been found dead at the bottom of a staircase. However, it was the trial for Kathleen's murder that would split a family and hold a nation riveted. Now, bestselling investigative writer Aphrodite Jones brings her unparalleled insider access to the jolting, tragic tale of "perfect husband" Michael Peterson-a killer who was too good to be true.