'The Staircase': Who Was Kathleen Peterson? Telecom Executive, Faced Layoff Stress, Did Engineering

The Staircase, an HBO crime drama series based on true incidents, is now available on Netflix. The series has Colin Firth and Toni Collette and had premiered on HBO Max back in 2022. For the unversed, The Staircase is based on the true story of the tragic demise of Kathleen Peterson. Michael Peterson is her husband, whose role has been played by Colin Firth. Michael is a novelist and was convicted for the murder of Kathleen, whose role was played by Toni.

Kathleen Peterson lost her life in December 2001 in Durham, North Carolina. According to varied reports online, The Staircase was first made into a French limited docuseries via BBC's Storyville, and then Netflix picked up the same in 2018. When discussions related to one of the most confusing true crime cases are done, Kathleen's name comes to the forefront. The big question is who Kathleen, whose tragic demise in 2001, inspired documentaries and HBO to create a crime series drama called The Staircase.

Kathleen Peterson was a telecom executive

Kathleen was known to be a successful corporate executive, a devoted mom, a good friend, and a lady whose life became famous after her demise, as it had various theories related to the same. According to a report by the BBC, Kathleen was reportedly working as a telecommunications executive at the time of her demise. She was associated with Nortel Networks. Kathleen's obituary has also revealed that she was an active and famous citizen living in Durham. She was also a member of the Board of the Durham Arts Council and was also a part of the Carolina Ballet and also the American Dance Festival.

Kathleen Peterson was the first female student at the Duke's School of Engineering

Kathleen was born in Greensboro, located in North Carolina, on February 21, 1953. She was then raised in Lancaster, located in Pennsylvania. Kathleen then attended Duke University, and according to an Economic Times report, she was the first female student admitted to Duke's School of Engineering. According to another report by the People, it was at Duke's where Kathleen met her first husband, Fred Atwater, and the couple together was blessed with a daughter whom they named Caitlin Atwater. The couple then divorced, and Kathleen married Michael in 1997.

Kathleen Peterson's family

Kathleen, apart from being famous in Durham, was known to raise money for the North Carolina Ballet and also for the American Dance Festival. According to Kathleen's published obituary, she had two sisters, Candace Zamperini and Lori Campbell, and a brother called Steven Hunt. Kathleen's mom, Veronica Hunt, was alive during the time of her daughter's demise, who is buried at the Maplewood Cemetery located in Durham.

Kathleen Peterson's company, Nortel Networks, was cutting jobs when she passed away

Kathleen, according to a report by Newsobserver, was 48 when she passed away. She was the director at the Nortel Networks located in Research Triangle Park. The year that Kathleen passed away, Nortel had cut jobs in an aggressive manner. Back in October 2001, as per the report, almost 10,000 job cuts were made. Kathleen's company, Nortel, was a Canadian one and had a few locations in the United States. Her company had laid off almost 2,5000 employess alone in the Research Triangle Park, as per another report by the Associated Press. Kathleen's sister, Candace Zamperini, back in 2001, had shared that she was worried about losing her job. However, the possibility of the same was never confirmed by anyone at Nortel.

Kathleen Peterson and Michael Peterson were worried about her losing her job

Kathleen was earlier married to Fred back in 1977 and both had Caitlin, their daughter. However, Kathleen had found out about his affair, which was the reason for the divorce. Kathleen then shifted to Durham, where she met Michael. He was a local novelist and also an occasional columnist for The Durham Herald Sun, who had served in Vietnam. Michael was already married with four kids, and he and Kathleen had merged their families back in 1987.

Kathleen's company, Nortel, was having a mass firing, and according to a report by All Things Interesting, she and Michael together were worried about Kathleen losing her job. Their worry was about how they would maintain their lifestyle without a proper source of income. However, it is interesting to note that in 1997, Michael divorced his first wife after receiving a half-million-dollar advance in a book deal.

Kathleen Peterson and Michael Peterson did not have any kids together

Kathleen's only biological child, Caitlin Clark, was at the ill-fated home where Kathleen passed away. Kathleen's ex-husband, Fred, was a physicist, and Caitlin had joined Michael's extended family, which had Peterson's children, Clayton, Todd, Martha, and Margaret. Kathleen's daughter, Caitlin, was always in support of her stepdad first and had earlier shared how her parents had a loving relationship.

What are your views about Kathleen Peterson, whose tragic demise is the inspiration behind The Staircase?

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