‘The Staircase’: What the Heck Is a Blow Poke, the Supposed Murder Weapon?

The item at the center of the prosecution’s theory about how Michael Peterson killed his wife Kathleen is an uncommon fireplace tool

the staircase what is a blow poke
The Staircase

(Note: This post contains some slight spoilers about Michael Peterson’s 2003 murder trial.)

Netflix’s update of the true crime documentary “The Staircase” asks the question, what is a “blow poke” and could it possibly have been the weapon that killed Kathleen Peterson?

Though nobody knows what really happened to Kathleen in her Durham, North Carolina, home in 2001, there are some very different theories to explain how she died – one of which is that her husband, Michael Peterson, killed her.

The early portion of “The Staircase” focuses on Michael Peterson’s murder trial and the defense’s theory of what happened to Kathleen.

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