The Staircase: Who Is Caitlin Atwater?


In the HBO Max series, Olivia DeJonge plays Caitlin Atwater, Kathleen's biological daughter with Fred Atwater.

Atwater was a student at Cornell University when Kathleen died. Atwater was among the first to suspect Michael was behind Kathleen's death.

Initially, Caitlin told the press that her mother and Mike had an excellent relationship and that none of them would ever want to harm the other.

However, even before the trial began, Atwater's opinions matched with the prosecution.

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Kathleen Peterson Children

Michael and Kathleen Peterson's mixed family consists of five children whose lives are shown in HBO Max's The Staircase. The series revisits Kathleen's death and her husband, Michael's, perplexing murder trial.

Clayton and Todd Peterson were from Michael's first marriage, Margaret and Martha Ratliff were being cared for by Michael as a guardian, and Caitlin was from Kathleen's first marriage.

Jean-Xavier de Lestrade initially presented the narrative in Netflix's real crime documentary The Staircase, which he began filming in 2004 and won a Peabody Award. The HBO Max adaptation has the same title but is a fictional recounting of the events starring Toni Collette as Kathleen and Colin Firth as Michael.

This time, the plot revolves around the emotional tragedy of the Peterson family, especially the toll Michael's trial inflicted on his children. Meet their mixed family and the actors that play them in the HBO series.

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Caitlin Atwater Mother's Death And Trial

In December 2001, Michael Peterson discovered Kathleen Peterson's blood-splattered body at the top of the stairs in their Durham, North Carolina, home. According to the Netflix series, Michael initially phoned for assistance while she was still alive, but Kathleen was no longer breathing when he called again.

Kathleen's scalp had seven deep lacerations, according to medical examiners. They determined that Kathleen died as a consequence of blunt force trauma.

On October 10, 2003, Michael was convicted of first-degree murder after a three-month trial. T. Lawrence Pollard, Michael's attorney neighbor, filed a motion in 2009 addressing the owl theory, claiming that an owl harmed Kathleen before she fell down the steps.

Kathleen's wounds were compatible with owl talons, according to A&E. A tiny feather was also mentioned in one of the crime lab results. Michael, on the other hand, did not receive a second trial.

Michael's conviction was overturned in December 2011 by the judge who presided over his case due to "materially misleading" and "deliberately false" testimony. Michael was released from jail on December 16, 2011.

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