The Staircase is based on a true story – the story of Kathleen Peterson, a North Carolina business woman, who was found dead at the base of the staircase in her home, in December 2001.
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The true-crime documentary launched by HBO Max, is an eight hourlong mini-series performed by Colin Firth and Toni Collette.
The movie follows the trial of Michael Peterson who was charged for the murder of his wife, Kathleen.
The case has been described as one of the most notorious criminal cases in research history.
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Michael claimed that Kathleen had fallen over the staircase after she consumed alcohol but a post-mortem examination, showed that Kathleen actually suffered multiple lacerations of the head coming from a flat object.
The flat object was a step of the stair against which her head hit several times, not because she fell down the stairs but probably because Michael slammed her head against the stairs.
Further investigations revealed that Michael and Kathleen had been having an unhappy relationship, with Kathleen threatening to divorce him in several occasions.
In October 2003, the jury sentenced Michael to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But in 2017, he was granted a new trial and eventually freed.
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