You’ve Got to Watch This Netflix Documentary Where an Owl Murders Someone

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If you’re reading this, you probably think it’s INSANE.

I mean, it’s INSANE to think an owl – a bird, is capable of murder, right?

How could these beautiful creatures possibly be capable of cold blooded murder?

But, just wait until you hear this…

The Netflix Documentary The Staircase is about a bizarre murder of a woman named Kathleen who is the wife of writer, Michael Peterson. The series discusses several theories as to what happened to her resulting in her death.

Some believe it was Michael who did it himself, while others believe she fell down the staircase, slipped on her own blood, hit her head again and bled to death.

But, now there is a third theory that says that an owl swooped in, attacked Kathleen and killed her.

Um, what?

READ: People are claiming this is the scariest Netflix show.

Now, I’ll be the first to say that this documentary was confusing and hard to follow.

At first, my husband and I totally thought Michael was guilty of murder but as you get further into the series, you realize just how much the police covered up and forged evidence. That changed everything.

In the Netflix series, the end result was that Michael Peterson ended up offering an Alford plea and pleading guilty to manslaughter.

The only reason he did this was because he had already wasted 15 years of his life (8 of those in prison) trying to prove his innocence. He felt as if the court systems were broken and that he didn’t stand a chance for a retrial (which I don’t disagree with).

Back to the owl theory – again, it sounds insane because not once was this EVER brought up in the Netflix series (which was made over 15 years).

The owl theory never made it to court because there was never a retrial. And makers of the series claim that had there been a retrial, the owl theory would have made it into court and ultimately, into the series.

READ: What Bird Box was actually about.

The theory first came to light in late 2009, after attorney Larry Pollard, a friend and neighbor of Peterson’s, took a fresh look at the evidence.

Kathleen’s autopsy revealed seven lacerations, including very deep ones in the back of her scalp, and pine needles stuck to one of her hands, which both held clumps of her own hair.

As Pollard discovered, the strands in the victim’s left hand contained three small feathers. Also, as Pollard and several ornithological experts noted, the pattern and shape of the cuts on Kathleen Peterson’s head suggest a weapon quite unlike a fireplace tool. If the culprit was an intruder, the finger points to the Barred Owl, a common species in and around Durham.

“When you look at her injuries, they do appear consistent with being made by an owl’s talons,” Peterson’s defense attorney Mary Jude Darrow tells Audubon. “But I would hate to risk my client’s life or future on that argument.”


Basically, some believe an owl followed Kathleen into their home, attacked her, digging its talons deep into her scalp. She moved inside to escape the bird, leaving a bit of blood outside. Since she had been drinking, she was woozy and as she headed upstairs, presumably to tend to her wounds, she slipped, fell backward, blacked out, and bled to death.

It should come to no surprise that the prosecution along with the cops handling this case find this theory laughable.

Again, it is INSANE to think after all this time it could be an owl.

So, the question becomes, is it possible? After all this time could they FINALLY have found a reasonable explanation for the death of Kathleen Peterson?

While experts believe this could be the answer to this mystery, the issue is that we may truly never know.

From the Netflix series, you’ll come to understand that from a lack of protecting and storing evidence properly, the evidence is now unable to be tested again to see if the owl theory fits.

For now, Michael Peterson is still a free man after offering an Alford Plea and if an owl is truly responsible for Kathleen’s death, it still remains at large.

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