The Staircase - what's your guys verdict?

[FT96]

Hey Everyone!

I've been watching the new series - just wondering what your guys opinion is -- husband guilty or not guilty?

My verdict is we can't decide if someone is guilty or not guilty from social media, including documentaries.

Guilty. I first saw this a few years ago, my DH was watching it and I sat down half way through the episode. I had no idea what it was about and I thought it was a drama series as I thought he was acting. When DH told me it was a real interview I realised I thought he was acting because he actually was lying.

He did it 100%.

The first responders said the congealed nature of the blood meant Kathleen had been dead 1-2 hours already and not 5-10 minutes. The 911 call is always a dead (no pun intended) giveaway. Who in their right mind would come across that scene and phone and say their wife had fallen down the stairs. How f'ing ridiculous.

The Netflix 'documentary' was missing much evidence including blood that had been cleaned up in the kitchen .....

That's quite grim reading, isn't it? Blunt force trauma.

I think that a large number of the deaths that occur in the home that result in one person dying in suspicious circumstances are usually caused by the other person in that couple. So it seems likely that he was involved in some way. I watched the documentary and whilst I felt like it seemed to be pushing the innocence explanation I came away thinking that he was to blame for her death. A very curious case.

Ok, so they were drinking. She left to go to bed. He followed her. They had an argument. Then what?

Most of her injuries were on her face, hands and elbows except for the lacerations on the top and back of her head. So, maybe he punched her. She held up her hands to defend herself, but he didn’t have any injuries on his hand and she was hit hard enough to break a tooth. Or he hit her with an object, but her bruises weren’t consistent with being hit with an object. So, maybe she fell on her face and he hit her on the back of the head with something strong enough to break the skin but not strong enough to fracture her skull. But she didn’t have any bruises on her knees. There was some blood on his shorts but none on his T-shirt, so where was the T-shirt he was wearing?

Its not impossible and I think if he did do it then something like this must have happened. But, I just still think it doesn’t really add up. There would have been so much blood flying everywhere. He must have taken a shower, washed and dried his hair, changed his T-shirt, hid the bloody T-shirt but put on his bloody shorts while she was lying there dying and anyone could have walked into the house.

Its very very risky. I really don’t think we will ever know for sure what happened that night.

I watched the Netflix documentary and concluded on balance that he was a very unsympathetic and odd character - but probably innocent

I'm usually not one to comment as there's two sides to every story (and there is) but I can't not on this one. People over think it. This is my opinion on things: A married woman finds her husband has been using gay prostitutes. She is found dead battered and bruised at home. The only person at home with her at the time is her husband. He's the one that calls the ambulance and is found with blood on him having not tried to resusitate her even though this was mid evening ie they'd been hanging out together the while time. A close friend of his died allegedly falling down the stairs 15 years before. They lived so close and were visiting her house so frequently his wife was the one her maid called over when finding the body... at the bottom of the stairs. Her two children were adopted by him! Going back to his dead wife: He hired a top lawyer who successfully confused everyone by making out getting injuries like that could not be caused falling down the stairs. Correct! He placed the body there thinking this is how he successfully got away with murdering his friend. The only way you could get injuries like that would be from being hit over the head with something. Her lawyer sucessfully also confused everyone by saying it couldn't be with a fire stoker (that was missing). It could have been caused with absolutely anything!!! Noone questions how a woman is found dead battered and bruised after discovering an 'affair' when the husbands at home alone with them unless it's twisted and confused by an expensive lawyer. I'll also add the wives sisters and daughter (who's from a previous marriage) believe he mudered her. He even wrote about the joy of killing in his books! But he loved her you say! What whilst sleeping with men? Did you also know she was rich whilst he was an unsuccessful author! All that shocks me is intelligent peoples disbelief that he could have killed his wife yet it's so common to hear of men having affairs and domestic violence! What else other than that obvious answer could it be?! I say all this with sympathy for the victims as I hate people getting away with this stuff! They could have had happy long lives if it wasn't for meeting him! 😡

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

There's a pod cast her sister did too which is really worth listening too. Unfortunately I can't remember what it's called 🙄

There was a similar case where a woman fell down the stairs and had scalp lacerations and there was a lot of blood. The doctors said she looked like she'd been attacked by a machete.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/daughter-releases-shock-picture-demands-6140897

I think, yeah, he's definitely a strange character and it's possible he did it, but I just don't think the evidence is strong enough to say for sure.

Guilty AF.

Ps) I will add sorry if my post sounds a bit patronising!😬I too questioned if it was him after watching Netflix and I kept analysing it all over and over too but on reflection years later looking at the bare facts I can't understand how I questioned if it was him! I'm angry with him and his lawyers for pushing all this rubbish on everyone!🤪They confused things so much and it annoys me massively to see an arrogant prick get away with it!

Thanks for the suggestion of the body language YouTube video, watched it today, that was excellent.

The man is disingenuous. It’s blatantly obvious that his story of what happened isn’t true…now it’s not 100% clear what did happen, he and his lawyer twisted things around so
much. I don’t know if he planned to kill her or if she found out about his extra marital liaisons and things came to a head but I genuinely believe he was responsible for her death.

I just can't imagine what he hit her with that caused such deep cuts in her scalp down to the bone but didn't fracture her skull at all. I think that's very unusual. If he was in such a rage that he hit her 7 times, but no skull fracture. This is a real sticking point for me.

I also don't understand why his T-shirt was clean but his shorts were bloody.

It's a real mystery, I think!

@AWOL66 Well said!

The expensive lawyers are supposed to muddy the case and we're all used to watching convoluted detective dramas but in real life the simplest explanation usually is it.

I mean who actually believes his wife was ok with him seeing male prostitutes? Again there's probably some woman out there who would be fine with it but really? And she didn't come across this side of his life, he came out and told her about it? Again, most men doing this will be doing it behind their wives' backs.

He was sleeping with a maker of the documentary so possibly not your naivety but how he was portrayed...

Guilty as sin.

Quite. If the new series is more biased than the documentary, who's producer was in a relationship with him, that'd be quite a feat!

Whose not who's, edit function please! Anyway, my verdict: totally guilty.

The Chris Warburton podcast is fantastic, and I’m absolutely convinced that the husband did it.

Casting Colin Firth is just genius.

Guilty.

The documentary editor was sleeping with him so it tries to be biased, not quite accomplishing the needed effect though.

And she didn't come across this side of his life, he came out and told her about it? Again, most men doing this will be doing it behind their wives' backs.

He even kind of admitted it at one point in the documentary. In court he's all "of course Kathleen knew" but then he's like "haha I wonder what she would have thought if.."

Guilty of something for sure. What exactly went on that night we'll probably never know.

I also recommend reading Written in Blood by Diane Fanning. The book was written well before all the current interest in the case. I think she might have been a journalist who followed the case from the start.

I recall the prose was a little OTT in places but if you can look past that the book is really interesting because it deep dives into his history and his life in Germany. There's a lot of background in it that speaks to his character that didn't really get covered in the documentary. It's suggestive of him being a long time con artist with some murky financials.

Kindle edition is only 1.99.