Businesswoman Kathleen Peterson was found dead in a pool of blood at the bottom of a staircase in her upscale Durham home on Dec. 9, 2001. Her husband, Durham novelist and one-time mayoral candidate Mike Peterson, was convicted of first-degree murder in October 2003. After years of appeals, a judge ordered he receive a new trial because a key witness in the trial, a State Bureau of Investigation blood analyst, misled jurors about his expertise and the accuracy of his tests. On Feb. 24, 2017, while still proclaiming his innocence, he ended the long-running case with an Alford plea to a charge of voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to up to seven years in prison, but having already spent more than eight years behind bars, he was able to walk out of court a free man.

Mike Peterson Appeals Coverage

WRAL interview: Mike Peterson discusses case

Updated: July 13, 2018 1:39 p.m. EDT

• Mike Peterson walks free as 15-year murder case ends with plea deal Updated: August 30, 2018 1:09 p.m. EDT
• Sources: Mike Peterson to take manslaughter plea in wife's death Updated: August 30, 2018 1:09 p.m. EDT
• Motions seek to keep sensational evidence out of Mike Peterson's retrial Updated: December 2, 2016 2:30 p.m. EST
• Mike Peterson's original attorney returning for retrial Updated: December 1, 2016 3:12 p.m. EST
• Judge blocks Mike Peterson's bid to end murder case Updated: November 14, 2016 6:48 p.m. EST
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