1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,360 Speaker 1: Hello, It's Richard mclin smith here with a quick announcement 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: for any fans of The Lovecraft Investigations and Alistair Crowley. 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,400 Speaker 1: I'm very excited to be teaming up with Julian Simpson, 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: genius creator of the Lovecraft Investigations, and of course Kennedy 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 1: Fisher and Matthew Heyward to create a dedicated series on Crowley. 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: You can hear the fantastic trailer for the show at 7 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 1: the end of this episode, with details of the Kickstarter 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: page being used to raise funding. That's all for now, 9 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: on with the show. It was two forty am on 10 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: December ninth, two thousand and one when a call came 11 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: in to the nine one one Emergency Services Center in Durham, 12 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: North Carolina. 13 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 2: Are you Margaret? 14 00:00:57,440 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 3: Why can't access still bring him? 15 00:00:59,400 --> 00:00:59,959 Speaker 4: What kind of. 16 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: The conscious work? 17 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 3: Is she conscious? How many stairs to bow? 18 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 4: Then? 19 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 3: How many for bears? 20 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 2: There? 21 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: How many stairs com down? 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 5: Stir com dowln? 23 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 3: So? Somebody her mother? Word? 24 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 6: Prough? 25 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 5: Somebody's this back in the ambulance? 26 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 3: Lalla asked you question? 27 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 6: Is a horse job? 28 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 7: Okay? 29 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 5: Ques up the start? 30 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 3: Somebody else? Is this back in the ambulance? Okay? 31 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,119 Speaker 4: Is she away? Now? Hello? 32 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: The man on the line was fifty eight year old 33 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: Michael Peterson. It was roughly six minutes later when officers 34 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: and paramedics arrived at the Peterson's grand, fourteen room home 35 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: in the affluent Forest Hills neighborhood. They were met by 36 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: a blood soaked and hysterical Michael. He quickly led them 37 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: through to a narrow stairwell at the back of the property. There, 38 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: at the bottom of the stairs lay the still body 39 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: of his wife, forty eight year old Kathleen Peterson. She 40 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: was positioned awkwardly against the lower steps, with her head 41 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: resting against the wall of the stairwell. Her pajamas were 42 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: soaked with blood. The walls and several of the steps 43 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: had also been splattered with blood, while under her head 44 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: was a wet roll of blood soaked paper towels. As 45 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: the police worked to calm Michael down and keep him 46 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: away from the scene, the paramedics dashed in to assess 47 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: the victim. Even in those initial moments, the officers couldn't 48 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: help but notice some peculiarities about the scene. First off 49 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: was the sheer amount of blood and the unusual spatterings, 50 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: both seemingly inconsistent with a simple fall. Then there was 51 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: the oddness of a pair of trainers and white socks, 52 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,919 Speaker 1: assumed to be Mica, alongside a pair of flip flops, 53 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:08,839 Speaker 1: presumably Kathleen's, just next to the body. It wasn't long 54 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: before the paramedics realized that Kathleen was dead. With a 55 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: wail of emotion, Michael pushed past the officers and threw 56 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 1: himself down beside Kathleen's body, caressing her as he cried. 57 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: Only when Michael's son Tod arrived soon after, was he 58 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: finally prized away from the scene. By now, neighbors up 59 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: and down the street had begun to appear in their doorways, 60 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: woken by the persistent howl of emergency vehicles as one 61 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: after another arrived at the Peterson property. They watched on, 62 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: bleary eyed with a growing sense of dread. As a 63 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: team of investigators in white protective coveralls disappeared into the 64 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: Peterson's home. It was clear that something very bad had 65 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: just happened there, but quite what exactly would turn out 66 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: to be one of the most confounding and potentially bizarre 67 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: mysteries of recent times. You're listening to Unexplained, and I'm 68 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: Richard McLean smith. Kathleen Hunt Peterson was an engineering graduate 69 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: who worked for a telecommunications manufacturing company in town. Following 70 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 1: her death, neighbours described her to the press as a sweet, 71 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,119 Speaker 1: good natured friend and a loving mother who'd lived life 72 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: to the full. She was active in the local Historic 73 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: Preservation Society and served on the board of the Durham 74 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: Arts Council, helping to raise money for local arts. By 75 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: all accounts, as he told it to police, Michael Peterson 76 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: had very much picked a winner when the two first 77 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,480 Speaker 1: got together, and the pair, who'd been married for four years, 78 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 1: were very much in love. When police began their questioning, 79 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,600 Speaker 1: Michael said that prior to her apparent four he and 80 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: his wife had been sitting outside by the swimming pool 81 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: at the rear of the house, drinking wine. After some time, 82 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 1: Kathleen left, saying that she was going upstairs to bed. 83 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,799 Speaker 1: When he finally got up and went inside, Peterson said 84 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,599 Speaker 1: that was when he found his wife lying at the 85 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: bottom of the stairs leading up to their bedroom. A 86 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: veteran of the American Vietnam War, Michael Peterson was an author. 87 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,159 Speaker 1: He'd written four books based on his combat experiences and 88 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: had been a freelance columnist for a while for Durham's 89 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: herald Son newspaper. He'd also run as a candidate to 90 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 1: be Durham's mayor. Despite his insistence that his and Kathleen's 91 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: relationship was solid, it wasn't long before the police began 92 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: to question his version of events. For a start, there 93 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: was the large amount of blood at the scene, too 94 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: much it seemed to police investigators to be an accidental fall. 95 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: And then there were the wounds to Kathleen Peterson's head. 96 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: Unlike blunt force trauma as you might expect from a fall, 97 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: these wounds were narrow and much more likely to have 98 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: been caused by a sharp implement weel did with force. 99 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,480 Speaker 1: It didn't help that Peterson's past behavior had not always 100 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: been exemplary. He had lost his bid to become mayor 101 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: when it transpired that the permanent injury to his right leg, 102 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: which he claimed had been sustained in combat, had in 103 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: fact been sustained in a car accident in Japan some 104 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: years later. There were whispers too that he had secretly 105 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,480 Speaker 1: been consorting with sex workers and might be bisexual, a 106 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: fact he had concealed from his wife very quickly. Michael 107 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: Peterson became the prime suspect in what was looking increasingly 108 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: like an open and shut case of murder. The police 109 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:09,039 Speaker 1: and public prosecutor began to build their case against him. 110 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: During multiple visits to the Peterson home, they found items 111 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: including a used condom, bloody hair from a diet coke can, 112 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: a knife, a wine bottle, and a wineglass. They sampled hair, 113 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: traces of blood, and what they described as Christmas tree 114 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: needles from the staircase. In the end, the state medical 115 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: examiner who performed the autopsy determined the cause of death 116 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: to be from multiple injuries to the back of Kathleen 117 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 1: Peterson's head, inconsistent with the fall down the stairs. On 118 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: December twenty, two thousand one, just eleven days after Kathleen's death, 119 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: a grand jury indicted Michael Peterson on a charge of 120 00:07:55,400 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 1: the first degree murder of his wife. Michael Peterson turned 121 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: himself in at the Durham County Jail, surrounded by his 122 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 1: two sons from a previous marriage, his brother, and a 123 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: media throng. He wept openly, insisting that he was innocent, 124 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: missed Kathleen terribly and looked forward to exonerating himself in court. 125 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: His defense team had its work cut out. Led by 126 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,719 Speaker 1: a prominent lawyer named David Rudolph, they filed a counterbrief 127 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: claiming that missus Peterson had either fallen down the stairs 128 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: or more likely been attacked by an intruder to the 129 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 1: family's home. They accused the police of botching the investigation 130 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: by failing to seize important evidence during their initial search 131 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: of the Peterson property, having returned to confiscate additional items. 132 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,200 Speaker 1: They also described how the couple's home had been broken 133 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 1: into several times, including just six months before Kathleen's death. 134 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:12,559 Speaker 1: After eighteen months of investigations, on July first, two thousand three, 135 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: under leaden Gray Skies, a phalanx of TV trucks, journalists, 136 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: and camera crew jostled for the best positions in front 137 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: of the Durham County Court House for the opening day 138 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: of the trial. Inside, the court house was filled to capacity. 139 00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: After Judge Orlando Hudson had seated the jury, the lawyers 140 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:40,680 Speaker 1: made their opening statements. Prosecuting District Attorney Jim Hardin stood 141 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 1: in front of a jury of eight women and four 142 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,840 Speaker 1: men and told them that the alleged fairy tale marriage 143 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,959 Speaker 1: that they were no doubt here described by the defense 144 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: team was very likely a lie. He then held up 145 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 1: a blow poke, a four foot long metal poker with 146 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: a mouthpiece at one end used to blow air onto 147 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: a fire and a short hook on the other. This 148 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 1: Hardin claimed was an example of the implement very likely 149 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 1: used to murder Kathleen Peterson. He claimed that the actual 150 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 1: murder weapon from the deceased's house had conveniently disappeared immediately 151 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: after her death. Defense attorney David Rudolph responded, insisting that 152 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 1: Kathleen had died from a tragic but accidental form. The 153 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: arguments and counter arguments went on for almost two months. 154 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:39,640 Speaker 1: At one point, defense lawyer Rudolph stunned everyone in the 155 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: courtroom by playing a loud recording of the defendant's desperate 156 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 1: nine one one calls. Peterson wept as he was forced 157 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,440 Speaker 1: to relive those moments, potentially humanizing him to the jury, 158 00:10:54,280 --> 00:11:01,679 Speaker 1: just as Rudolph intended. The defense yints team then presented 159 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 1: a stop action animation they'd commissioned, showing Kathleen falling backwards 160 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: down the stairs, cracking her head not once but twice 161 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 1: on the way down, then slipping and cutting her scalp 162 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:25,319 Speaker 1: one more time on the corner of the staircase. As 163 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: David Rudolph's case for the defense went on, he again 164 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: accused the Durham police of bungling the death scene investigation, 165 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 1: contaminating the crime scene with too many officers. He also 166 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: alleged that the police were out to get Michael Peterson 167 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 1: because he'd been publicly critical of them for years, including 168 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,200 Speaker 1: in columns he'd written in the local paper in the 169 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: late nineteen nineties. Rudolph also showed the jury a video 170 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:58,360 Speaker 1: of officers from the State Bureau of Investigation or SBI, 171 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: attempting to reach create the blood spatters in the stairwell. 172 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: They used a poker to bludgeon a mannikin's head containing 173 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: a large blood filled sponge on a mock up stairway. 174 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:15,200 Speaker 1: The attempt clearly failed to reproduce the spatter found at 175 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,439 Speaker 1: the scene. A forensic expert for the defense was then 176 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: called to testify that the blood spatters at the death 177 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:27,040 Speaker 1: scene were in fact consistent with a fall, not a beating. 178 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 1: David Rudolph concluded his case while stood in front of 179 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:36,200 Speaker 1: a photograph showing a relaxed and laughing Kathleen sat on 180 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:41,559 Speaker 1: Michael's lap, gesturing to the loving image. Rudolph wrapped up 181 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: by insisting this was a couple who deeply loved each 182 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:49,200 Speaker 1: other and that the idea of Michael murdering Kathleen was 183 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 1: simply out of the question. In response, the prosecution called 184 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 1: paramedic Jay Rose, one of the first to arrive in 185 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 1: response to the nine one one call. A veteran of 186 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 1: over thirty callouts to accidental falls typically, he said, if 187 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:11,120 Speaker 1: someone had fallen downstairs from a similar height to Kathleen, 188 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,200 Speaker 1: he wouldn't expect to find more than a broken bone 189 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 1: or two and at worst a broken neck. Never had 190 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: he come across an accident seen in that regard with 191 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 1: such a huge volume of blood. An eSPI Eye agent 192 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: then told the jury that investigations of Peterson's phone records 193 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,839 Speaker 1: and emails on his computer contained evidence that he'd been 194 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: in touch with a male escort service. A former escort 195 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:43,640 Speaker 1: named Brent Walgamot testified that Michael Peterson had arranged to 196 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,319 Speaker 1: pay him for sex just three months before Kathleen's death, 197 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: although the two never actually met. The prosecution clearly wanted 198 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: to show that, far from being in a happy marriage, 199 00:13:56,559 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: Peterson was in fact a frustrated bisexual suffering from the 200 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:06,560 Speaker 1: pressure of keeping his sexuality hidden. When his alleged infidelities 201 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:10,440 Speaker 1: had been discovered by his wife, they suggested a violent 202 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: pulside argument had ensued, resulting in Kathleen's murder. After fourteen 203 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: hours of deliberation, on October tenth, two thousand three, the 204 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:26,200 Speaker 1: jury found Michael Peterson guilty of first degree murder, and 205 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 1: he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Kathleen's 206 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: family felt that justice had been served. It was subsequently 207 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: revealed that back in November nineteen eighty five, when Michael 208 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: and his first wife were living in Germany, Elizabeth Ratliffe, 209 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: godmother to one of his sons who lived near by, 210 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: had also been found dead at the foot of a staircase. 211 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 1: According to Peterson, he was asleep when it happened, and 212 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: the death was due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Judge Hudson 213 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:07,240 Speaker 1: correctly ruled the information as inadmissible. Though it spared Peterson 214 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 1: the awkward problem of having to explain how two women 215 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: he'd been close to had ended up dead at the 216 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: bottom of a staircase, its eventual revelation only served to 217 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: further cement his apparent guilt. As Michael Peterson began his 218 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: sentence in North Carolina's Nash Correctional Institution. He continued to 219 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: protest his innocence, but despite an appeal, the state Supreme 220 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: Court upheld his conviction. Three months later, Durham based lawyer 221 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: and businessman Larry Pollard was just starting his day at 222 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,560 Speaker 1: the office when his phone rang. When he picked up, 223 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 1: he was startled to hear the voice of his former 224 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: neighbor from Forest Hills, Michael Peterson, calling him from jail. 225 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: As Peterson explained he was in the prison wreck room 226 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: the previous day when his attention was suddenly caught by 227 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 1: a local TV report involving two men in the nearby 228 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: town of Apex. Both had been attacked by a territorial 229 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,800 Speaker 1: barred owl. Peterson wanted Larry to follow up on the 230 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: story for him, in the hope that it might prove 231 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: to be a possible explanation for what had happened to 232 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:32,359 Speaker 1: his wife and exonerate him. A little skeptical but intrigued, 233 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: Larry agreed to help and promptly track down Chris Cox, 234 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: one of the victims of the owl attack. When Larry 235 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 1: and Chris Cox discussed the details of Kathleen Peterson's murdericates 236 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: the two men felt strongly that many things didn't add up. 237 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 1: The supposed murder weapon, the blowpoke that was said to 238 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 1: have disappeared from the Peterson's home, was later claimed to 239 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: have been found in the garage with no traces of 240 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 1: blood or damage to it. That only Kathleen's scalp was 241 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: injured without any damage to the skull appeared to undermine 242 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:12,920 Speaker 1: the theory that she'd been struck forcibly by an assailant. Additionally, 243 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,399 Speaker 1: there was no physical evidence of a struggle, such as 244 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 1: skin found beneath her fingernails, although of course, had she 245 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:23,679 Speaker 1: been attacked from behind, she might not have had a 246 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:28,360 Speaker 1: chance to struggle before falling down the stairs. All this, 247 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: coupled with Chris Cox's recent experience with a bardow, was 248 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:37,160 Speaker 1: enough to convince Larry to dig further. A few days later, 249 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 1: one of Pollard's team was down in the local police 250 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: archives sifting through endless boxes of evidence relating to the trial. 251 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: Flicking through the pages of one document, he suddenly saw 252 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: something that stopped him in his tracks. It was an 253 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: SBI laboratory report containing an entry which hadn't been given 254 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: a second glance during Peter Sisson's trial. Now primed with 255 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: the new owl theory, one worked jumped off the page. 256 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:13,399 Speaker 1: Feather or three microscopic feathers to be precise, discovered and 257 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:17,880 Speaker 1: twined in some strands of Kathleen Peterson's hair. The hair 258 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: that had been pulled out by the roots close to 259 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: the wounds on the back of her head were found 260 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: clutched in the dead woman's left hand. Though he was 261 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: met with disbelief or ridicule whenever he mentioned his burgeoning 262 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,119 Speaker 1: our theory to people, the more Larry Pollard researched, the 263 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,400 Speaker 1: more convinced of the theory he became. Records of owl 264 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,920 Speaker 1: attacks in the US between eighteen seventy seven and nineteen 265 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,880 Speaker 1: fifty showed there were seventy nine reports of owl's attacking 266 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:02,080 Speaker 1: people at a rate of around two year. One on 267 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 1: an elderly farmer in Pennsylvania in nineteen eleven, was fatal. 268 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 1: Two others resulted in prolonged hospital stays, and at least 269 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:16,359 Speaker 1: three left the victims unconscious. Around half the attacks resulted 270 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:20,919 Speaker 1: in serious lacerations to either the arms or head. Seven 271 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: victims lost one or both eyes. Many of the other 272 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 1: attacks left scratches to the head or face, with numerous 273 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: reports of hair being torn out, ribbed scalps, and severe 274 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:37,399 Speaker 1: blood loss. One report of a barred owl attack was 275 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,520 Speaker 1: accompanied with photos showing an eye injury and puncture wounds 276 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 1: made by the claws of the attacking owl that looked 277 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: strikingly similar to those on Kathleen Peterson's scalp. For Larry Pollard, 278 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:55,439 Speaker 1: the timing of Kathleen's death was suggestive two It's in 279 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:59,560 Speaker 1: December when bard ours in North Carolina begin to establish 280 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:04,439 Speaker 1: breeding territories, which they are known to defend aggressively. There 281 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:08,880 Speaker 1: were many instances of them dive bombing humans, almost always 282 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: targeting the head, and so Larry Pollard began to construct 283 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:18,160 Speaker 1: a different timeline of events. On the night Kathleen Peterson 284 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:23,400 Speaker 1: died in two thousand and one, North Carolina was experiencing 285 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:28,199 Speaker 1: a drought. The established timeline showed that Kathleen Peterson had 286 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: been drinking wine with her husband by the back yard pool, 287 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: where there was also a fountain. Could it be Larry 288 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:38,159 Speaker 1: wondered that with it being such a dry year, small 289 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:41,959 Speaker 1: mammals would have been drawn to the Peterson's fountain, in 290 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:47,240 Speaker 1: turn drawing in barred owls that preyed on them. Toxicology 291 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:52,400 Speaker 1: reports found anti anxiety and muscle relaxant medication in Kathleen 292 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: Peterson's blood. Pollard theorized that at some point, woozy from 293 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:01,320 Speaker 1: the combination of boos and drugs, Kathleen had headed to 294 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 1: the house and then out into the front yard out 295 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:09,439 Speaker 1: of earshot from her husband. That, according to Pollard, was 296 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:13,439 Speaker 1: when the owl could have attacked. Even though bard owl's 297 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: only typically weigh between one and a half and two pounds, 298 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:20,199 Speaker 1: when one strikes at a speed of thirty five to 299 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: forty miles an hour, the impact can feel surprisingly intense 300 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: for such a light animal. Pollard proposed that the bird 301 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,080 Speaker 1: struck Kathleen in the back of her head without warning. 302 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,920 Speaker 1: It then dug its claws deep into her scalp, causing 303 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:41,400 Speaker 1: the seven lacerations revealed by the autopsy, lacerations he believed 304 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: now were far more consistent with the pattern and size 305 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: of owl talons than the end of a fireplace tool. 306 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,919 Speaker 1: While not cracking the skull, the owl's razor sharp talons 307 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 1: would have caused huge amounts of bleeding. With the owl 308 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:02,159 Speaker 1: now entangled in Catherine's head, Pollard suggested it would be 309 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 1: reasonable to assume that Kathleen panicked, tearing clumps of hair 310 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 1: from her own scalp as she fought desperately to free 311 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 1: herself from the owl. Kathleen was also found to have 312 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: cedar needles stuck to one of her hands with a 313 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 1: tiny fragment of wood, as well as more cedar needles 314 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:25,360 Speaker 1: under her fingernails. Could these have in fact come from 315 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,920 Speaker 1: an owl being transferred to Kathleen's hands when she supposedly 316 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:41,160 Speaker 1: fought it off. Finally, as Pollard's theory went on, having 317 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,920 Speaker 1: eventually freed herself from the owl's grip, he suggested that 318 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: Kathleen then staggered into the house as blood from her 319 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: wounds dripped over the front steps and smeared on the 320 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:56,160 Speaker 1: inside of the door, in an attempt to climb the stairs, 321 00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:00,199 Speaker 1: presumably on route to the master bedroom. In shock and 322 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:04,360 Speaker 1: pain from the attack, Bleeding heavily and feeling woozy from 323 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,639 Speaker 1: the wine and pills, she lost her balance as she 324 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:11,200 Speaker 1: reached the top step and fell backwards to her death. 325 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: In August two thousand eight, Larry Pollard held a news 326 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: conference on the steps of the Durham County Courthouse with 327 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:24,439 Speaker 1: a pair of stuffed owls as props. In front of 328 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,440 Speaker 1: a small crowd of local media, he delivered his hypothesis 329 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,919 Speaker 1: about the potential owl attack. However, in the end, his 330 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: theory never had the chance to be tested in court. 331 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: In twenty eleven, emotion for a new trial was granted 332 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 1: based on evidence that State Bureau of Investigations agent Dwayne 333 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,800 Speaker 1: Diva misled the judge and jury while giving his testimony 334 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 1: at the original trial. It turned out that Diva had 335 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,480 Speaker 1: failed to report the results of lab tests that would 336 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:02,959 Speaker 1: have been perceived as favorable to Michael Peterson, and so 337 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: in December twenty eleven, Peterson was essentially released from prison 338 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: on a technicality, after serving only eight years of what 339 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:17,359 Speaker 1: should have been a lifetime sentence without parole. In February 340 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,800 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, he was allowed to take an Alford plea, 341 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: a bizarre legal arrangement which enabled him to avoid any 342 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: further jail time. The plea constituted an acknowledgment from Michael 343 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him of voluntary 344 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:39,920 Speaker 1: manslaughter without actually having to admit guilt. Peterson was then 345 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:46,360 Speaker 1: sentenced again to time served and set free as unbelievable 346 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,879 Speaker 1: as it may be, bard owts have continued to regularly 347 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:53,679 Speaker 1: attack people in parts of the US. In the early 348 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: spring of twenty twenty two, conservation biologist Margaret Fowl was 349 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: cross country skiing near her home in Vermont when she 350 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: felt something hit the back of her head, followed by 351 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,640 Speaker 1: a sharp pain. Putting her hands up, she felt two 352 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: legs with sharp talons gripping onto her head and hat. 353 00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: With prior experience of working in a wraptor rehab center, 354 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 1: Fowl knew straight away that this was a barred owl. 355 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,600 Speaker 1: It took several minutes before she managed to free herself 356 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,879 Speaker 1: and the owl flew off, only to turn around and 357 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: continue swooping at her, striking her on the head several 358 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:37,360 Speaker 1: more times. Having made its point, the owl eventually stopped 359 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: its attack and flew off with her hat. In twenty 360 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: twenty four, a man in Mobile, Alabama, was struck twice 361 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: by an owl in the same week while out on 362 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:59,200 Speaker 1: a morning run. The first time it occurred, Trace Galloway 363 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:01,879 Speaker 1: thought he would being mugged when he was hit on 364 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,399 Speaker 1: the back of his head. Then he saw the owl 365 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: flying away with one of his Apple AirPods in its talons. 366 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:13,360 Speaker 1: Five days later, he was assaulted again, this time by 367 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:18,040 Speaker 1: two owls seemingly working together. After one owl hit him 368 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,479 Speaker 1: on the side of his head, he turned just in 369 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 1: time to see another flying right at him from the 370 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:28,679 Speaker 1: opposite direction. As he dodged the second owl, the first 371 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:32,360 Speaker 1: attacked again, delivering a blow that knocked the man off 372 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:35,960 Speaker 1: his feet. Thankfully, a friend happened to be driving by 373 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:40,199 Speaker 1: at that precise moment. Galloway jumped into his truck and 374 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,440 Speaker 1: escaped with just a few wounds on his hands from 375 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:48,199 Speaker 1: the fall. Even still, it would have taken an extraordinary 376 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 1: series of events for Kathleen Peterson to have fallen victim 377 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 1: to a similar attack, all without the knowledge of her husband, 378 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:01,639 Speaker 1: who would have been with her only moments before. For 379 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:06,159 Speaker 1: his part, Michael Peterson continues to protest his innocence and 380 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:10,640 Speaker 1: ignorance as to what really happened to his wife. He's 381 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 1: also spoken out against what he claims is a crooked 382 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:19,439 Speaker 1: justice system in which duplicitous law enforcement officers and crime 383 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 1: scene analysts deliberately stacked the odds against him. Kathleen Peterson's 384 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:30,760 Speaker 1: family and many others, however, insist that only Michael knows 385 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 1: the real truth about what happened to Kathleen, and whether 386 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:37,400 Speaker 1: he takes that to his grave or not is up 387 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:46,760 Speaker 1: to him. This episode was written by Diane Hope and 388 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: produced by me Richard McLean Smith. Diane is an audio 389 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: producer and sound recordeded in her own right. You can 390 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,200 Speaker 1: find out more about her work at Dianehope dot com 391 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 1: and on Instagram at in the sound Field. Unexplained is 392 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:07,679 Speaker 1: an AV Club Productions podcast created by Richard McClain Smith. 393 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,680 Speaker 1: All other elements of the podcast, including the music, are 394 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:16,359 Speaker 1: also produced by me Richard McClain smith. Unexplained. The book 395 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:20,320 Speaker 1: and audiobook is now available to buy worldwide. You can 396 00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 1: purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. 397 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,720 Speaker 1: Please subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get 398 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,520 Speaker 1: your podcasts, and feel free to get in touch with 399 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 1: any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on 400 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 1: the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of your own 401 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: you'd like to share. You can find out more at 402 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 1: Unexplained podcast dot com and reach us online through Twitter 403 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward 404 00:28:49,400 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 1: slash Unexplained Podcast. Now for something completely different, enjoy. 405 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 2: About LOUDI we ran our particular. You're out life life 406 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 2: little gory. You'll be able to revolve about our without 407 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 2: giving in. 408 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 3: Album forever, what you're listening to there is the voice 409 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 3: of Alistair Crowley, the infamous occultist and writer, conducting a 410 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:41,320 Speaker 3: gnostic mass Loud, loud or deliberty. It was recorded on 411 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 3: a wax cylinder in the early years of the twentieth century. 412 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,200 Speaker 3: Crowley's name has come up a lot in our show 413 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:50,840 Speaker 3: ever since we started investigating the case of Charles dexter 414 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:51,640 Speaker 3: Ward back in. 415 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:54,640 Speaker 6: When was it twenty eighteen? 416 00:29:54,960 --> 00:30:01,600 Speaker 3: Wow, okay, twenty eighteen. A lot's happened, It really has. 417 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 4: I am you seek cool? 418 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:15,240 Speaker 3: Aya stay behind me. 419 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 4: Seriously, this is my coming the dog. 420 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,880 Speaker 6: As they get to this point, there was a blinding flash. 421 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:27,680 Speaker 4: With no sound. 422 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 3: Harry comes from the top. He's count Then the craft 423 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,800 Speaker 3: just rises up through the trees and flies away. 424 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:38,040 Speaker 6: Did you hear that? 425 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 4: Hello? 426 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:40,560 Speaker 6: Your kids are creepy? 427 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 4: You know that path? 428 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:51,120 Speaker 5: Huh, Meg, I can make you have some shames around 429 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:54,400 Speaker 5: the fire, Turn around, retrace your steps. 430 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:59,400 Speaker 6: Don't believe what you're seeing. You heard the story wisdom coat, Oh, 431 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 6: that's where this goes to Canada. 432 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:01,880 Speaker 7: It's where aways go. 433 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:07,360 Speaker 4: This is le comte de There is the purest concentration 434 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:08,920 Speaker 4: of pollocks that has ever entered my. 435 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 3: Anyway. Yes, so Alistair Crowley. He first came up while 436 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,160 Speaker 3: we were investigating the case of Charles dexter Ward and 437 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 3: he's been referenced multiple times in every season of the 438 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,240 Speaker 3: show since then, but we've never really done a deep 439 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 3: dive into him. 440 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 7: So what we have planned here is a kind of 441 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,479 Speaker 7: interim season, an experiment, a five part series looking at 442 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 7: the life and work of Aleister Crowley, from his formative 443 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 7: years through his time in Paris and New York. The 444 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,880 Speaker 7: formation of his various occult groups, the rituals he conducted 445 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 7: at Bileskin House in Scotland and in Sicily, his heroin addiction, 446 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:48,959 Speaker 7: his wartime activities, his famous friends. 447 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:50,240 Speaker 3: There's a lot of it. 448 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,560 Speaker 6: There is a lot of it, and it's a lot 449 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:52,960 Speaker 6: of work. 450 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 3: And that's why we need your help. If you've been 451 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 3: following the show, you know that money is always a 452 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 3: little to light around here, and following the events at 453 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 3: the end of the Haunt of the Dark, we're on 454 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:07,640 Speaker 3: the run. I don't know, i'd say on the run exactly. 455 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 6: Fujuitis from justice. 456 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:14,000 Speaker 3: Well, we're staying under the radar, that's true. We don't 457 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 3: have a studio anymore, and some of our more recent investigations, 458 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 3: particularly in Amsterdam, have drawn quite a lot of unpleasant attention. 459 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:26,600 Speaker 3: So we need money and that is why we're talking 460 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 3: to you now. 461 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:29,040 Speaker 4: Isn't this supposed to be a video? 462 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:30,560 Speaker 3: Hello, Elenor. 463 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:32,840 Speaker 4: I thought these kickstart things were always videos. 464 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:33,680 Speaker 6: We don't do video. 465 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:35,720 Speaker 4: You don't want people to see what you really look like. 466 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 3: Well, it helps with the work if people don't recognize us, 467 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:40,480 Speaker 3: if they see us coming. 468 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 4: I think they see you coming. Have you listened to 469 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 4: your show? 470 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:44,719 Speaker 7: We're not doing video because we're a podcast and that's 471 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:45,720 Speaker 7: what we're trying to fund here. 472 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:51,040 Speaker 3: So we'd hoped you might provide some context eleanor, context 473 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:52,400 Speaker 3: for White's. 474 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,440 Speaker 6: Dark, context for Crowley, for why it's relevant to ours? 475 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,760 Speaker 4: Obvious, isn't it. He's the glue that sticks it all together. 476 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 4: They know that. Every time Wizard you've come across since 477 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,800 Speaker 4: twenty eighteen, it was a big debt to Alistair Crowley. 478 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:09,240 Speaker 4: He's Davy Bowie for Lunatics. Why are you doing that Handjester? 479 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,400 Speaker 4: What does that mean? It's keep going, Oh okay, fine 480 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,640 Speaker 4: in a nutshell. Then. Crowley was born in Leamington, SPA 481 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 4: in eighteen seventy five, and he died in Hastings in 482 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,800 Speaker 4: nineteen forty seven. That's seventy two years, in which time 483 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:27,480 Speaker 4: he wrote books and poetry, painted pictures, and started a 484 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,240 Speaker 4: publishing company. He developed an entire system of ceremonial magic. 485 00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,560 Speaker 4: You could actually argue he started a whole religion. He 486 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:38,320 Speaker 4: traveled the world, climbed mountains, met a ton of celebrities, 487 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:41,280 Speaker 4: lived through two World Wars. Probably worked for British intelligence, 488 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:45,240 Speaker 4: may or may not have worked against British intelligence. He 489 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:48,800 Speaker 4: supposedly chatted to the god Horus in Egypt. He met 490 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:51,520 Speaker 4: an alien in New York, got kicked out of India 491 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 4: for shooting two men who tried to mug him, got 492 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:55,880 Speaker 4: kicked out of Sicily for running a sex cult. He 493 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:58,680 Speaker 4: was addicted to heroin, hollowed out his nose on cocaine, 494 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:02,000 Speaker 4: and shagged pretty much everything he met with a pulse. 495 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,640 Speaker 4: The British tabloids called him the wickedest man alive. 496 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:06,680 Speaker 3: Were they right? 497 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:06,960 Speaker 5: No? 498 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:11,200 Speaker 4: Maybe? As always, it's a bit more complicated than that. 499 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:13,839 Speaker 4: You wouldn't want to have been married to him, that's 500 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:16,080 Speaker 4: for sure, and you probably wouldn't have enjoyed being his 501 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:16,959 Speaker 4: accountant either. 502 00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:18,680 Speaker 6: But there's a lot of ground to cover right. 503 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,879 Speaker 4: Oh, it's hard to imagine anyone else packing that much 504 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:22,879 Speaker 4: into seventy two years. 505 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,360 Speaker 3: But we're going to pack it into five episodes. No, 506 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:26,960 Speaker 3: you're not, well, that's the plan. 507 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:29,399 Speaker 6: We got to get the money first that we do. 508 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:31,160 Speaker 3: This is an ambitious project. 509 00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:33,760 Speaker 6: It's a lot of research, a lot of legwork. 510 00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 3: And a lot of expert opinion from Eleanor and from others. 511 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:39,200 Speaker 6: We think this is going to be an amazing. 512 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:40,960 Speaker 3: Project, but we need your help. 513 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 7: Please pledge whatever you can so that we can get 514 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,520 Speaker 7: this made. On the Kickstarter site you'll find all kinds 515 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:47,840 Speaker 7: of tears and rewards. 516 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,040 Speaker 3: Yes, we're offering everything from exclusive access to the finished 517 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:53,719 Speaker 3: shows to the chance to come and hang out while 518 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:54,680 Speaker 3: we record. 519 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:56,879 Speaker 4: Is that supposed to be a treat? It might work 520 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:58,719 Speaker 4: better as a threat for anyone who doesn't cough up. 521 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,680 Speaker 6: We've got merch and books and a whole bunch of 522 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:02,240 Speaker 6: other stuff. 523 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 3: Hopefully something there will look like a good fit. We've 524 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:07,920 Speaker 3: never gone down the crowd funding route before, but if 525 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:11,000 Speaker 3: this works out, it could open up possibilities for loads 526 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:12,320 Speaker 3: of new shows in the future. 527 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:15,279 Speaker 7: It really could. We have a ton of ideas and 528 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:16,960 Speaker 7: not least the next full season of the show. 529 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's just sitting there ready to go. 530 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:21,799 Speaker 7: So just click the link, pledge whatever you can and 531 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:26,200 Speaker 7: we can get to work. And now thanks for listening. 532 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 4: And well done for making it to the end us. 533 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:32,080 Speaker 6: No, then, is there anything we've forgotten? 534 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:36,280 Speaker 3: Just this. I'm Matthew Heywood. 535 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:39,919 Speaker 6: And I'm Kennedy Fisher and this is. 536 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 2: Crowley bar in your bunny land, little fellow, you the 537 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:57,319 Speaker 2: idler dah, I shall find new ice, shall I have you? 538 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:02,080 Speaker 2: I am coming back and gain up Tilcom's bomb tomplete 539 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,160 Speaker 2: your intu the honey Man's bl