Nobody anticipated that Kathleen Peterson’s death, which her husband initially claimed was an accident, would turn out to be much more when it was discovered there in the early hours of December 9, 2001. However, as described in “The Staircase,” the authorities suspected foul play right away due to the presence of blood at the scene and also assumed Michael Peterson was the perpetrator. Now that we are aware of the unwavering support he received from his immediate family, let’s learn more specifically about his devoted ex-wife Patricia Sue Peterson.
Who Was Patricia Sue Peterson?
Patricia “Patty” Sue Balkman Peterson, who was born on March 12, 1943, into a military family in Paris, Arkansas, seems to have always lived a life of order, discipline, honesty, love, and compassion. After earning her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Texas and her Master’s in Education from UNC-Chapel Hill, she decided to work for the US Department of Defense as a teacher. She actually held this position for an amazing 35 years, the majority of which were spent in Germany. During this time, she also tried her best to balance her responsibilities as a loving mother and the wife of a Marine veteran.
Midway through the 1960s, Patty and Michael Peterson got married. She then gave birth to their two sons, Clayton and Todd, before happily embracing daughters Margaret and Martha into their family. The girls’ inclusion was unexpected given that their original mother, a neighbour and Patty’s close friend Elizabeth Ratliff, had passed away, but the Petersons were unfazed. The couple raised the then-toddlers as their own with honour, and their love for them is said to have persisted even after their divorce two years after the occurrence.
How Did Patricia Sue Peterson Die?
Although Patty and Michael officially split in 1987, their friendship remained very strong and only got better after the passing of his second wife Kathleen. That’s because Patty not only stood by him in private, but she also defended him in court when the hauntingly similar death of Elizabeth Ratliff was used to charge him with murder. Michael was the last person to see both women alive before they were discovered dead at the foot of the stairs, but Patty insisted there was no way he could have killed them.
Patty even attempted to dispel rumours that he had an extramarital relationship with Elizabeth by characterising their relationship as familial. Regarding Patricia “Patty” Sue Peterson, she sadly passed away at the Duke University Hospital on July 8, 2021, after suffering a severe heart attack the previous evening. The compassionate and caring mother was actually in terrific condition, according to her eldest son Clayton. That is, until she suddenly started feeling terribly ill late on July 7.
Michael called Patty’s kids, who then dialled 911, as Patty had been residing with her ex-husband in a southwest Durham apartment for around two years. After Patty passed away, Clayton explained his parents’ relationship as “companions.” “They looked out for one another.”
