The Mysterious Death of Kathleen Peterson (Part 1)

By the time Michael Peterson went to trial, the case had attracted national attention, particularly after details about his personal life came to light, particularly his numerous affairs with men. The case gained even more attention when it was learned that, in 1985, Michael Peterson’s friend Elizabeth Ratliff died under very similar circumstances to those of his wife.  With significant evidence against him and no compelling argument for his innocence, Michael Peterson was found guilty of his wife’s murder in 2003. But, as it turned out, that was hardly the end of the story.

When Tina Bowen and her sister, Karen, began hearing knocking in the walls of their home in Pepperell, Massachusetts, the girls believed it was their recently deceased mother trying to reach out to them from beyond the grave. In time, however, the knocking became more intrusive and aggressive, and it was soon accompanied by objects being moved around the house and frightening messages left on the walls. After months of torment, the Bowens discovered that it wasn’t a ghost haunting their home, but sixteen-year-old Daniel LaPlante, a boy Tina had briefly dated and who’d become obsessed with her. Daniel LaPlante was arrested and charged with various crimes, for which he was convicted and served a sentence in a juvenile detention center. Unfortunately, the court’s decision to try LaPlante as an adult meant that he was granted bail and after just one year in detention, he was bailed out and allowed to live with his mother pending trial. It turned out that brief period of freedom was all the time LaPlante needed to find a new object of his obsession and by the time the police learned of his violent intentions, it was already too late.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Stamford, Connecticut was terrorized by a killer who was strangling women and leaving their bodies by the side of the parkway. After four years and five confirmed victims, police arrested a local self-proclaimed preacher named Benjamin Miller, bringing the murders to an end and closing the case on what the press had dubbed the Bra Murders—or so they thought. From the moment Miller was arrested, there were some in the community who questioned whether the police had arrested the right man or if they’d simply chosen Miller as a scapegoat. Among other things, Miller had a long history of mental illness and, although he had initially confessed to the murders, he eventually recanted his confession and claimed that detectives had manipulated him into confessing. To this day, many Connecticut residents still wonder whether Benjamin Miller was really responsible for the Bra Murders, or if the real killer was allowed to walk free.

Weirdos! For August's BONUS EPISODE we are focusing on an entity that has MANY faces and wears MANY hats: The bogeyman! For as long as people have been telling stories, these supernatural beings have been lurking in the woods, or in the dark alleys, or under the bed. They might look different depending on the culture they come from, or be called by another name, but their function in society is consistent: to invoke fear!

Weirdos! Grab your PJ's, some Aqua Net, and your favorite blue eye shadow and get ready to burn the midnight oil with us! This time, Deb has found 90's tales that will ensure that you're not the first to fall asleep at the slumber party... OH! And these tales are BY you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU juuuuust in case you were wondering! Don't forget to check out the YOUTUBE version is packed with extra Nicholas footage! If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at [email protected] with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)