Here is a case I have read a lot about in the newspaper because it occurred close to where I live. It is a good example of not denying that you committed the crime.

On December 9, 2001, Durham, NC novelist Michael Peterson returned home to find his wife, Kathleen, lying dead at the base of a staircase. Peterson called 911 and told the operator his wife had been injured in a fall. As the police conducted their investigation, they began to doubt Peterson's story. The medical examiner said Kathleen had died from a blow to the back of her head. Several weeks later, Peterson was indicted for killing his wife.

Peterson wasn't talking about the death of his wife. However, on March 18, 2002, Peterson gave an interview with television station WRAL. When he was asked if he was worried about the approaching trial, he replied:

"No. Absolutely not. I'm not worried about what's going to happen because I know what happened and what did not happen, and I know it'll all work out."

Deceptive people will try to convince you they are telling the truth. Often times they will do this by repeating their claim. Three times Peterson tells us he is not worried.

His statement "I know what happened and what did not happen" is supposed to be a denial. He wants us to assume that he knows it was an accident and that he knows he did not kill his wife. However, this is not a denial. He did not state "I didn't do it" or "I didn't kill her." This is typical language of a guilty person. Remember, people do not like to lie so they make statements which only sound like a denial.

Peterson's statement is truthful. He does know what happened and what did not happen and everything will work out. However, he does not tell us what he knows. In some ways, this is an incriminating statement. If he came home and found his wife at the bottom of the stairs, he would not be able to make this claim. He would not have been there to witness what transpired. He can speculate she fell down the stairs, but he tells us "I know what happened."

Later in the interview he states:

"I don't know if it was murder. I don't know. When I called 911, I thought she had fallen down the stairs and as far as I know, that's what happened."

Again, we have him repeating something. More importantly we have him changing his story. Earlier he stated, "I know what happened." Now he tells us he does not know if it was murder. I thought he knew happened and what did not happen.

The word "thought" tells us he does not know for sure what happened. Even if he pushed her down the stairs, this is still a truthful statement. If you push someone hard enough, they will fall down.

His statement "as far as I know that's what happened" is not as strong as his previous statement "I know what happened and what did not happen." He is not as committed to his story by saying "as far as I know."

Throughout this interview, I never heard Peterson state, "I didn't kill her" or "I didn't do it." Remember, when people say, "I am innocent" they are denying the conclusion that they are guilty. However, when people say, "I didn't do it" they are denying the action. Peterson never denies the act of killing his wife. Peterson is currently on trial for murdering his wife Kathleen Peterson.

Interview with Michael Peterson's ex-wife

I received an email with a link to an interview that was conducted with Michael Peterson's first wife Patricia Peterson. She spoke to Eyewitness News reporter Sonya Pfeiffer on April 12, 2002.

Question: There are people that believe Michael killed Kathleen- including the DA, the Grand Jury that indicted him. Do you think they're completely off base?

Answer: My assumption and my hope is they are going to find the truth and that he is innocent. Again, I believe in the institutions of our country."

Patricia Paterson did not answer the question with a "yes" or "no." She uses words such as "assumption" and "hope." This is not the same as saying "I know he is innocent" or "I know he did not kill her."

Question: Have you ever known Michael to lie?

Answer: No, not directly. I have no knowledge of that.

She answers the question with a "no." However, she then qualifies her answer by saying "not directly." This means there is the possibility that Michael Peterson lied indirectly. It could also mean that Patricia Paterson indirectly knew him to lie.

Question: So you're saying he's never lied to you.

Answer: No, not directly."

If she wanted to state that he has never lied to her, she should have responded with a "yes" or "that is correct."

She again repeats "No, not directly" which he means he may have lied indirectly.

Question: Did he ever hit you?

Answer: I would say no.

She now changes her language. The two previous questions she answered with a "no." Now she states "I would say no." This is not as strong as "no." There is a possibility that he did hit her.

Question: Did he ever threaten you?

Answer: Michael Peterson did not exhibit towards me any negative characteristics in the manner you describe.

The shortest answer is the best answer. We would expect her to answer this question with a "no" as she has done with previous questions. We do not know what she means by "negative characteristics." She has not directly told us that he never threatened her.

Question: Was he ever violent in any way?

Answer: No.

Here she answers the question. If she says he was not violent, we can believe he was not violent.

Question: Has he ever suggested to you he could be violent?

Answer: In my knowledge of him as an individual, in 40 years he has never exhibited any violence that would terminate the life of an individual or harm another individual.

She qualifies her answer with "violence that would terminate the life of an individual or harm another individual." This could mean he expressed other types of violence. However, in the previous question she denied that he was ever violent in any way.

Question: If Michael Peterson confessed to this crime, would you be able to support him?

Answer: It would be totally contrary to my experience with him as a human being for 40 years. I've known him in his youth, his middle age, as a soldier serving his country, as a loving father as a man who has loved me and other individuals.

She does not answer the question "would you be able to support him?"

She states that she knew him in several ways "as a soldier...as a loving father" etc. She does not mention that she knew him as a spouse.

Question: If you had the opportunity to say one thing to those who believe Michael killed Kathleen, what would you want to say to them?

Answer: Based on his character as a human being, as an individual, as a father, a husband, and a community member, he is not guilty.

It is interesting to look at the order in which she talks about his character:

1. as a human being
2. as an individual
3. as a father
4. as a husband
5. as a community leader

His character as a husband is low on the list.

UPDATE

Michael Peterson was found guilty of killing his wife Kathleen Peterson. On October 10, 2003, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

UPDATE

In 2010, it was discovered that State Bureau of Investigation analyst Duane Deaver had falsely represented evidence in 34 cases. Deaver was a witness against Peterson. Peterson was granted a new trial and in 2017 he entered an Alfred Plea. An Alford Plea is a guilty plea but the defendant maintains he is innocent. By making this plea, the defendant admits there is evidence to prove he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. For sentencing purposes, an Alford Plea is a guilty plea. The judged sentenced Peterson to 86 months in prison. Because he had already served more than that amount of time, he was released.

On April 22, 2019, Peterson appeared on the Dr. Phil show. Dr. Phil asked him, "What happened that night?" I have to give kudos to Dr. Phil because Peterson gave a lengthy answer and Dr. Phil never interrupted him. Too often, interviewers will hear something that piques their interest and they will interrupt the subject to clarify something. You should never interrupt the subject. You want to obtain a pure statement. Once the subject is done giving his statement, you can then go back and ask follow-up questions.

Peterson began his answer by stating he and Kathleen were watching TV around 10:00 p.m. Around 11:00 p.m., his son Todd and his girlfriend came over. After his son and girlfriend left, Kathleen then received a phone call from work and was informed she had a teleconference in the morning. All of this can easily be verified. After Kathleen hung up the phone, Peterson continued with his story.

"So, we got the rest of the wine, we went out to the pool and we talked. And again, one of those things. What do you talk about when your wife's going to die in a couple of minutes? Well, I didn't know she was going to die. So, I'm sure we just talked about Christmas was coming up. What we were going to get the kids. Things like that. And then she said to me, ah, well I got to go to bed. I'm gonna go upstairs for the teleconference in the morning. And, ah, I said okay goodnight dear. And that was the last I saw her, really, alive, vibrant, was walking from the pool towards the house. And I stayed out there for maybe an hour. I might have dosed. I honestly don't know. It was a beautiful night. The pool was sparkling. It was just really magically. I was happy with my life. So, then I got up. And I went into the house the back way. And then I was going to go around, it was a very big house, go around and lock the rest of the house up. And then I turned the corner and there on the back staircase I saw her. She's just lying at the bottom of the stairs. And it was, what? What? And so, I went to her and the first thing I noticed was, you know, there was blood. But I wasn't aware of that much blood until later. But she was crumpled up on the floor. And I picked her up and I held her and then I called 911.

When people are giving a statement, they should be telling us what happened or what they did. When people use the word "so," this often means the person is explaining his actions. This indicates sensitivity within the statement. Four times, Peterson used the word "so."

His statement, "What do you talk about when your wife's going to die in a couple of minutes?" is a very odd statement. If he was recalling what happened and he didn't know she was going to die that night, he should not be uttering these words. Even though he said, "I didn't know she was going to die," the fact he mentioned her death prior to her dying points to the idea he knew what was going to happen that night.

"I'm sure we just talked about Christmas was coming up." The words "I'm sure" means he is not certain what they talked about. We see Peterson also used the unique word "just." There are several ways you can use the word "just." Most of the time when people use this word, they are minimizing things. Peterson wants us to believe all they talked about was Christmas. Therefore, he used the word "just" which is not needed. This is an indication they talked about other things he hasn't mentioned."

"That was the last I saw her, really, alive, vibrant, was walking from the pool towards the house." The word "really" is not needed and is a word that indicates Peterson is not being truthful. "That was the last time I saw her alive" is a much better statement. People sometimes use the word "really" to convince us they are being truthful. In reading the transcript, one might think Peterson was saying that was the last time he saw Kathleen "really alive." The next time he saw her she was at the bottom of the stairs and was barely alive. However, if you listen to his answer, he does pause after each word as I have indicated with the commas. This indicates the word "really" is attached to "That was the last time I saw her" versus the word "alive."

"I stayed out there for maybe an hour. I might have dosed. I honestly don't know." The word "maybe" tells us he is not certain if it was an hour that he spent outside. The word "honestly" is another word that indicates he might not be telling the truth. Some people will use this word in an effort to convince us they are being truthful.

"It was just really magically. I was happy with my life." Again, the words "just" and "really" appear in his statement. Why does he tell us he was happy with his life? Everything a person says has a meaning. He probably said this because he wants us to believe there is no reason for him to kill his wife.

"So, then I got up. And I went into the house the back way. And then I was going to go around, it was a very big house, go around and lock the rest of the house up. And then I turned the corner and there on the back staircase I saw her." The word "then" can mean "immediately" which is how people want to use it. However, this word can also mean "afterward" in which we do not know how much time transpired.

"She's just lying at the bottom of the stairs." The unique word "just" indicates she might not have been just lying at the bottom of the stairs.

"So, I went to her and the first thing I noticed was, you know, there was blood." Some people have a habit of using the phrase "you know." It shows up often in their statement. Other people use the phrase "you know" because they want you to take for granted what they are saying is true. The problem is we don't know unless the person tells us. This is the only time I heard Peterson use the phrase "you know."

"I picked her up and I held her and then I called 911." His use of the word "then" means we do not know how much time went by before he called 911.

Conclusion

In his 2002 interview, Peterson said, "I know what happened and what did not happen." However, he contradicted himself when in the same interview he said, "I don't know if it was murder."

In his 2019 interview, in describing what happened the night Kathleen died he said, "That was the last I saw her, really, alive, vibrant." His use of the word "really" is a strong indication that was not the last time he saw her alive and vibrant.

His statement, "I'm sure we just talked about Christmas was coming up" indicates they talked about things other than Christmas. Peterson had a hidden sex life with men. The prosecution believes Kathleen found about this and became angry. Perhaps this is what they were talking about.

His use of the word "then," "And then I called 911" means we do not know how much time went by before he called 911. According to the first responders, some of Kathleen's blood had coagulated and was dry. At his trial, a doctor testified that Kathleen was dead for hours.

We also have his unusual statements, "What do you talk about when your wife's going to die in a couple of minutes?" and "I was happy with my life."

Lastly, we must remember that by his own admission, an Alfred Plea, Peterson has agreed the state could prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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