8.8 Behind the Staircase (Michael Peterson - Ep.8)

In this eighth installment of their deep dive into the Michael Peterson trial, the roles finally flip. Christie has spent seven episodes examining the case strictly through the eyes of a juror — weighing only what the jury saw and heard. Now it's Maryn's turn to pull back the curtain on everything that happened outside the courtroom, before, during, and after the trial.

Maryn walks Christie through a string of strange and surprising details that never came up at trial — revelations from books written by both a journalist and Peterson himself, an unlikely prison romance, and a family secret or two that complicate the narrative in unexpected ways. The conversation then turns to the forensic backbone of the prosecution's case — the blood spatter analysis — and the stunning post-trial revelations about the state's key expert that would eventually call the entire conviction into question.

It's an episode full of "wait, what?" moments, and Christie — who has held firm on her own verdict from the trial episodes — finds herself forced to keep an open mind as the ground keeps shifting beneath the case she thought she understood.

Content Warning: This episode discusses murder, violent death, and detailed forensic evidence including blood and blunt force trauma. We also discuss suicide (a passenger going overboard on a cruise ship), prison violence, a separate murder victim found in a trash bin, and explosive devices. The conversation includes mention of death row and execution. If any of these topics are difficult for you, please take care while listening.

Production Credit: Produced and edited by Big Mic Creations. Learn more at bigmiccreations.com.