On the last episode of Mystery and Murder, analysis by Dr. Phil, we walked through

Catherine Peterson's final hours.

The wife and mother was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in the large historic North

Carolina home that she shared with her husband, novelist Michael

Peterson.

He said it was a tragic fall.

But what first responders saw told a different story.

A ton of blood, strange injuries.

The scene just didn't seem to match the explanation of what Michael

Peterson claimed happened. Now, in my experience, consulting on cases when the physical evidence

contradicts the narrative, investigators stop trying to confirm the story and start trying to disprove it.

That's a critical pivot.

They back up and say, let's assume we haven't heard an explanation.

Let's assume we don't have a narrative.

And let's let the physical evidence create a story. Let's see what the blood splatter,

let's see what DNA, let's see what the physical environment, let's see what everything says

took place, as if we had never heard anything from any eyewitness.

Now, there's two reasons they take that approach.

Number one, eyewitness testimony is universally very unreliable, especially when it's

emotionally charged.

And number two, you have to ask yourself, what is the agenda of the person telling this

story?

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