Written in Blood Read Online Free

Police Department the authority to seize any
forensic evidence, possible weapons, documents and a measurement of the premise. It also granted permission for taking video footage and still photographs. In short, they were entitled to take possession of “[ …] any and all evidence that may relate to the Death Investigation.”
    Holland pulled on protective gloves and booties and entered the house. Dan George donned a head-to-toe Tyvek suit and followed him in. When Holland served the warrant, Mike was speechless and the washed-out expression on his face seemed frozen in place. As Holland read the warrant aloud, Todd snatched the copy from his father’s flaccid fingers and read along. Then he turned a face of stunned silence to the investigator. As clearly as if spoken, two questions scratched across his face: “What are you doing? Why are you doing this?”
    Holland and George did a walk-through to get a feel for the scene and then the evidence gathering began. George, armed with a video camera, taped a 360-degree view from the entrance. Then, he proceeded through the foyer, through the dining room and into the kitchen. Finally, he shot the body at the foot of the stairs. ID Tech Angie Powell followed him every step of the way, shooting the same scenes he did with a still camera.
    Dr. Kenneth Snell of the medical examiner’s office responded to the scene, suited up and went inside. A quick assessment of the body in situ revealed a four-inch laceration to the back of Kathleen’s head. Snell said the injury was possible with a fall, but an autopsy was needed to be certain.
    Snell and George lifted Kathleen’s body from the stairs and placed her in a body bag. The pooled blood
dropped from the seat of her pants as they moved her. The blood elsewhere on her clothing was damp.
    Snell continued to manipulate the body and discovered three more major injuries to the head, as well as other minor lacerations, bruises and abrasions. After ten minutes, he ended his examination knowing he could not make any definitive determinations at the scene.
    He told Lieutenant Holland, “If it is not a fall in the stairs, it was a rod-like instrument. You should be looking for something like that.”
    George removed the bloody Rolex watch from Kathleen’s wrist and bagged it as evidence. The body bag was zipped shut.
    George retrieved Mike Peterson’s clothing from the windowsill in the den. He placed the shorts and shirt in one paper bag and his watch in another. He did not use plastic bags because their moisture-retaining properties would cause the blood to degrade. The shorts and shirt were still damp, but no blood transferred to his gloves. From the area by the stairwell, he picked up the shoes and placed them in one bag, the socks in yet another. He labeled each bag with the location where he found each item, sealed it with evidence tape and added his initials.
    He then requested Todd Peterson’s clothing. Accompanied by an officer, Todd went upstairs to change. He returned and handed his jeans, a knit shirt, a dress shirt, shoes and socks to George. Those items, too, were encased in paper bags, marked, sealed and placed in the designated area near the door.
    The mortuary services arrived at 8:30 A.M. to remove Kathleen Peterson’s body and deliver her to the medical
examiner’s office in Chapel Hill. Now that she had completed photographing the scene, Angie Powell was free to travel with the body to ensure the chain of custody for any evidence taken at the autopsy.
    When Todd Peterson stepped out of the house, a police lieutenant asked, “Has anyone asked you for a statement?”
    â€œNo,” Todd replied.
    â€œWould you be willing to make a statement?”
    â€œNo,” he said again.
    Michael Peterson followed his son out the door, but did not say a word to anyone.
    Mike was the guardian of two daughters of deceased friends, George and Liz Ratliff. He called Tulane