DEATH BY TALONS: Did An Owl 'Murder' Kathleen Peterson goes beyond the theories and speculations and uncovers the shocking conspiracy surrounding the infamous "Staircase" investigation. In this photo gallery, find the color versions of black and white images contained in the paperback and hardcover copies of the book. CONTENT WARNING The following gallery contains graphic crime scene images and is intended for a … [Read more...]
Author Tiddy Smith Explores ‘Owl Theory’ and North Carolina’s Infamous ‘Staircase Murder’ in DEATH BY TALONS: Did An Owl ‘Murder’ Kathleen Peterson?
It was not enough to suggest that Kathleen began to bleed outside. It was not enough to point to prior owl attacks on humans. Larry needed a smoking gun. And he would find it. -from DEATH BY TALONS by Tiddy Smith On December 9, 2001, Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her Durham, NC home. Kathleen's scalp was laced with deep incisions and her blood strewn from outside to inside the house. The sinister truth of that … [Read more...]
Author Tiddy Smith Discusses Police Misconduct in Durham
The city of Durham in North Carolina had a serious problem with police misconduct at the beginning of the 21st century. The most famous example was the so-called "Duke Lacrosse" case, which gained worldwide attention. In this case, a young Black woman accused three Duke University students, lacrosse players, of having committed a brutal, racially-motivated gang rape upon her. The woman's story about what had happened on the night in question … [Read more...]
A Fatal Owl Attack Has At Least One Historical Precedent, Says Author Tiddy Smith
Kathlee Peterson, Durham, North Carolina, media attention, news, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, The Staircase, Netflix, Michael Peterson, Larry Pollard, owl attack, owl theory, Robert Schmidt, killed by an owl, forensics, investigation, animal attack A Fatal Owl Attack Has At Least One Historical Precedent, Says Author Tiddy Smith Kathlee Peterson, Durham, North Carolina, media attention, news, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, The Staircase, Netflix, … [Read more...]
Author Tiddy Smith On ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Boys from Brazil’
In 1996, a sheep called Dolly was born. She was the first mammal in history to be cloned from an adult. For this reason, Dolly had three mothers: the one who provided the egg, the one who carried her to term, and the one who provided the DNA. It was a remarkable leap from science fiction to science fact. There's a tendency to think of Dolly as a duplicate, a carbon copy, of the sheep whose DNA was injected into the egg; as though Dolly … [Read more...]
Scholar and DEATH BY TALONS Author Tiddy Smith Answers “Who Is Larry Pollard?”
Thomas Lawrence Pollard, better known as Larry Pollard, was born in Durham, North Carolina in 1948. He was the son of Julia Davis Pollard and Forrest Pollard sr. Studying law at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, he would go on to work in some of the most prestigious legal counsel positions in the State. From birth, he was raised at a large stately home in Forest Hills. The address was 1902 Cedar Street, in the very same house where … [Read more...]
Author Tiddy Smith Tells Why He Wrote About The Kathleen Peterson Case
I have always been intrigued by claims of the strange and unusual: Things like ghosts, extraterrestrials, sea monsters and sinister conspiracies. ghosts, extraterrestrials, conspiracy, Ira Levin, Rosemary's Baby, The Boys from Brazil For this reason, perhaps, my favourite fiction writer was always Ira Levin. I remember reading Rosemary's Baby for the first time, and having to put it down for a week to allow my frayed nerves to settle. A … [Read more...]
Tiddy Smith, Author of DEATH BY TALONS, Gives Background Information on The Owl Theory
The Owl Theory and the Michael Peterson Case It was a couple of weeks before Christmas in 2001 when Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of her Durham, North Carolina property. She had bled terribly from deep slices in her scalp. Her husband, Michael Peterson, claimed that she must have fallen down the stairs. But authorities soon zeroed in on Michael. He was charged with her murder and found guilty after a lengthy trial in 2003. It … [Read more...]
Blog Posts by Author Tiddy Smith
Meet Author Tiddy Smith
I am a New Zealand philosopher of religion who has always been fascinated with the strange and unusual. I hail from the town of Dunedin, a Scottish settlement in the lower portion of the South Island, where I earned my PhD from the University of Otago. I presently live in Jakarta with my wife, Ingrid, and I love to explore this enormous and diverse archipelago. In my professional life, I publish mostly on two topics: 1. Animism as a … [Read more...]
