Who is Michael Peterson?

American novelist and convicted killer Michael Iver Peterson was born in Nashville, Tennessee USA, on 23 October 1943, meaning that Scorpio’s his zodiac sign. He’s probably known best for having been convicted of killing his second wife Kathleen Peterson; Michael was sentenced to spend his life behind bars without the possibility of parole on 10 October 2003, but was released on house arrest after $300,000 bail was paid in 2011.

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Education and early life

Michael was raised alongside his sister Ann Christensen and their brothers John and Bill in Nashville, by their mother Eleanor (nee Bartolino) and father Eugene Iver Peterson; not a lot else is known about Michael’s family, because he respects their privacy.

He was mostly focused on his education while attending a local high school, while some of the activities he was into the most included creative writing, playing soccer and dancing. Michael matriculated in 1962, and then enrolled at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina; he was the editor of the university’s newspaper “The Chronicle” during his four years there, and was the president of the fraternity Sigma Nu. Michael graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in political science in 1965, and then began taking classes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Law School.

Michael’s career

In 1965, Michael began working for the US Department of Defense, researching arguments in support of the US military involvement in Vietnam. The year 1968 saw Michael join the US Marine Corps, and he served in Vietnam for three years prior to being honorably discharged as a captain, after he was hit by a car and left with a disability.

In 1999, Michael claimed that he had been presented with two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with Valor and a Silver Star for his service in the Marine Corps, but the newspaper “News & Observer” later revealed that no records showed that Michael had won any Purple Hearts.

He and his first wife lived in Germany after he was discharged, then Michael moved back to Durham in 1987.

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He’s published three novels, all of which related to his time in Vietnam. His first novel “The Immortal Dragon” was published in 1983, followed by “A Time of War” in 1990, and his third “A Bitter Peace” in 2020.

Michael also co-wrote the biographical book “Operation Broken Reed”, together with Arthur L. Boyd, and “Charlie Two Shoes and the Marines of Love Company” with David Perlmutt. He also spent some time working as a columnist for the newspaper “The Herald-Sun”.

Love life and marriages

Michael married his first wife Patricia Sue in 1965, following his graduation; she taught at an elementary school on Rhein-Main Air Base in West Germany, where Michael was stationed. They had two children together, Todd and Clayton.

While living in Germany, Michael and Patricia befriended the Ratliff family, which comprised George and Elizabeth, and their children Martha and Margaret. After George and Elizabeth died in 1985, Michael became their children’s guardian, but he and Patricia divorced two years later, with their children staying with Patricia, while Michael, Martha and Margaret moved together to Durham. Todd and Clayton also eventually came to live with Michael.

He met successful business executive Kathleen Atwater in 1989 – they moved in together in the same year, married in 1997, and he became stepfather to Kathleen’s daughter Caitlin. The marriage ended when Kathleen died on 9 December 2001.

Kathleen’s death and Michael’s trial

Michael called the police on 9 December 2001, claiming that Kathleen was lying down on the floor unconscious, and that she had probably fallen down the stairs.

Toxicology reports showed that Kathleen had drunk some alcohol and taken the prescription drug Valium, while the autopsy showed that she had died two hours after the injuries that she had suffered. Kathleen’s sister Candace Zamperini, as well as her daughter Caitlin both believed that Michael had nothing to do with Kathleen’s death, but they changed their mind after learning that Michael’s bisexual.

Michael was accused of murder, as the autopsy showed that no fall could’ve resulted in Kathleen’s injuries; the prosecution claimed that Kathleen found out about Michael’s gay life, which he had tried to hide, and that he wanted to take her $1.5 million life insurance. It was then revealed that Michael’s friend from Germany Elizabeth Ratliff had also died from similar injuries as Kathleen, and was also found at the foot of her staircase; a second autopsy of Elizabeth’s buried body was ordered, and her cause of death was then officially changed to ‘homicide’. Michael wasn’t charged with Elizabeth’s murder.

He was found guilty of killing his wife on 10 October 2003, and sentenced to spend life behind bars. Michael’s lawyers filed a motion for a new trial on 12 November 2008, but it was denied. It was in the second half of 2009 that a new theory about Kathleen’s death surfaced; it was claimed that an owl had attacked her outside, causing some of her injuries, and that she then fell down and hit her head after running from the owl inside the house. The investigators found two microscopic owl feathers when re-examining Kathleen’s hair.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper began investigating the SBI analyst Duane Deaver in the first half of 2010, and Duane was suspended in August of the same year; he was the lead witness against Michael at his trial, and it was revealed that Duane had presented false evidence in 34 cases. Due to these new findings, Michael was released on a $300,000 bail on 16 December 2011, and placed under house arrest.

He entered the Alford plea on 24 February 2017, and was sentenced to seven years in jail, but because he had already served more than that, he was thus released.

The documentary series about the entire case, “The Staircase” was released in October 2004, while its sequel “The Staircase 2: The Last Chance” premiered in November 2012.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Michael’s been staying away from the media’s attention since he was freed in 2017, with the exception of when he published his novel “A Bitter Peace” in 2020.

He can rarely be seen spending time outdoors, as he enjoys the peace of his home; it’s been revealed that Michael no longer has a staircase at his house.

He was physically highly active during his 20s, 30s and 40s, as he worked out at the gym and played a number of sports.

Michael’s a huge fan of American actor and moviemaker Clint Eastwood, while some of his favorite movies include “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, “High Plains Drifter” and “Play Misty for Me”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Michael’s age is 79. He has brown eyes and grey hair, is 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighs around 150lbs (68kgs).

Michael’s net worth’s been estimated at over $100,000, as of April 2023.

Who is Lina Medina?

Peruvian Lina Marcela Medina de Jurado was born in Ticrapo, Castrovirreyna Province, Peru, on 23 September 1933, making Libra her zodiac sign. She’s probably only known for being the youngest mother in human history, as she was less than six years old on 14 May 1939, when she gave birth to her son. Lina was a few months away from turning five when she was impregnated, and it’s believed that it was the rare condition ‘precocious puberty’ that led to this.

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Family and pregnancy

Lina and her eight siblings were raised in Ticrapo, by their mother Victoria Losea who was a housewife, and father Tiburelo Medina who was a silversmith.

She was five years and several months old when her father drove her to a hospital in Pisco; the doctors initially believed that Lina had a tumor, due to her abdominal size, but it was then revealed that she was seven months pregnant. Many countries were interested in covering the story; the newspaper “San Antonio Light” reported that a midwife association in Peru wanted Lina to be admitted to a national maternity hospital, while an American movie studio had offered $5,000 for filming rights.

Lina gave birth to her son Gerardo via caesarean section, and the doctors then learned that her sexual organs were fully mature; Gerardo weighed 6lbs (2.7kgs), and was named after Lina’s doctor,

The boy’s father

The identity of Gerardo’s father remains undisclosed. It was widely believed in Peru that Lina had been raped, and her father was even arrested on suspicion that he had done it, but was released as no evidence had been provided to support this. Lina hasn’t revealed the name of her son’s father to this day, and it’s believed that she might not actually know it.

Although the boy lived with Lina and believed that she was his sister, he was eventually raised by Lina’s doctor Gerardo Lozada; he had no health issues while growing up, but was 40 when he died from bone marrow disease in 1979.

Lina Medina gave birth when she was 5 years 7 month old.

She started seeing her period when she was just 8 months & grew breasts from age 4. She is still alive today, No one knows the baby's father till date. pic.twitter.com/oJvnwIBwZY

— Etoniru (@waynetipsy) January 23, 2020

Lina’s career

Lina matriculated from local high school in 1952, and although she hasn’t spoken about her further education, it’s believed that she studied at a medical school, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1956.

Lina was then employed at Dr. Gerardo Lozada’s clinic as a secretary, and was thus also able to spend more time with her son.

YouTube videos

Numerous videos about Lina have been uploaded onto YouTube by various users, with most of these covering her strange pregnancy, while others aim to provide additional details about her later life. We’re going to mention three of the most popular YouTube vides about Lina, which’ve contributed to her internet popularity.

Her #1 video “World’s Youngest Mother, Age 5 Lina Medina” has been watched more than 20 million times since 19 April 2014, when it was uploaded by Worlds Biggest; it aims to cover Lina’s pregnancy, as well as her son’s later life.

Lina’s second most popular video – “Top 5 Youngest Mother In The World” – was uploaded by 100M on 6 November 2020, and has been watched over 6.4 million times; it covers Lina’s pregnancy, as well as the pregnancies of four other girls who were less than 10 years old when they gave birth.

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Her #3 video, “Así luce hoy la madre más joven de la historia. Tenía 5 años” was uploaded by Badabun on 7 January 2018, and has since been watched close to six million times; it’s a Spanish-language video about Lina, her pregnancy and her son’s (supposed) father.

Love life and relationships

Lina’s love life remains a mystery to this day, and she’s even been able to keep the identity of her son’s father hidden.

She married non-celebrity Peruvian Raul Jurado sometime in the ‘70s, and gave birth to their son in 1972 – Lina had a normal pregnancy, and didn’t have problems giving birth. She hasn’t spoken about how and when she and Raul met, though most of her fans believe that he was her high school sweetheart; it’s also believed that Raul passed away sometime in the first half of the 2010s, but as Lina’s staying away from the media’s attention, this hasn’t been confirmed.

There are also many people on the internet who claim that they know Lina, and that she and Raul divorced in the second half of the ‘80s; these same people claim that she met another man when she was 55, and that the two eventually married, but none of this has been addressed by her.

Lina seems to be married to Raul Jurado as of April 2023, and they have a son together, while she also has a son to whom she gave birth when she was five.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Lina’s never been interested in making money out of her story, and has turned down numerous offers from newspapers and magazines, including “Reuters” in 2002.

It’s still today believed by many doctors and experts that Lina’s pregnancy was a hoax, but a number of doctors have still been able to prove that it was true, thanks to X rays and biopsies; the only photo that can be found on the internet about the entire case features Lina when she was seven and a half months pregnant, and was standing naked.

She grew up being physically active and took part in various activities while attending a local high school, while she was also an avid dancer.

Lina was passionate about travelling during her 20s and 30s, but then preferred the peace of her home over flying to other countries.

Height, eyes and wealth

Lina’s 89 years old. She has brown eyes and medium long grey hair, is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighs around 130lbs (60kgs).

Lina’s net worth’s been estimated at over $100,000, as of April 2023.

Leonard Francois is the father of Naomi Osaka, the professional tennis player, who best Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open Final. He’s dedicated many years of his life working as a tennis coach for his daughters, Mari and Naomi.

Early life and family

Leonard Max Francois was born in the US, though he is of Haitian descent. His parents spoke only Creole, as they didn’t even know English. Leonard spent his youth in New York, eventually as a student of New York University. It was then when he met the love of his life and the future mother of his daughters, Tamaki Osaka. During one of his vacations from his studying, Leonard went to one of the Japanese islands, among them Hokkaido, where he met Tamaki, and soon understood that he wanted to proceed with a relationship with her.

Tamaki’s Japanese family accused her of dating a black man and bringing disgrace to the whole family, however, Leonard was not afraid of proving he was a good match for his Japanese girlfriend, so after graduating from University, he moved to Osaka, Japan, to live there with Tamaki and to be near her family to show them he was good enough.

Career

Leonard decided to go in for tennis coaching in 1999, when he saw the Williams sisters performing at the French Open tournament. Both his daughters were toddlers those days, but Leonard’s decision was made. He was amazed by their victory in the doubles, and swore to do everything he could to make his daughters the team of the Williams’ kind. Leonard was also encouraged by the fact that the coach of the Williams’ sisters, their father Richard Williams, played no tennis at all in his entire life, although Leonard played tennis quite a lot.

Leonard’s younger daughter, Naomi Osaka, later admitted that the style of their upbringing at the courts was very similar to the one Serena and Venus Williams got from their father. Just as Serena once mentioned that nobody beaten her like Venus did, Naomi also shared that her older sister Mari was her toughest opponent. Leonard later found another coach for both of his daughters, for them to improve their playing level. Leonardo never forgot where he came from, so in 2000 he and his wife built an elementary school in Haiti, which Naomi later visited in 2019. He does a lot of charitable work, helping various funds to develop sports classes for children from low-income families.

Elder daughter, Mari Osaka

Leonard’s elder daughter, Mari Osaka, was born on 3 April 1996, in Osaka Japan. From an early age she was trained in tennis by her father.

She also likes drawing and often shares her pictures and sketches on her Instagram account. She also posts videos of her daily training routine, showing various interesting devices and gadgets which help her to practice and develop the speed, reaction and other skills important for a professional tennis player. Mari’s coach is now Maxime Kouyaté; he took her to the finals of The McLeod for Health Florence Open in 2018. Mari started participating in professional tennis tournaments in 2014, entering Bank of the West Classic, when she partnered Marina Shamayko in the doubles, however, they lost to Ajla Tomljanović and Varvara Lepchenko. Mari then could be seen participating at the 2019 Miami Open, when she played singles by receiving a wildcard into the main draw.

Mari likes travelling; her favorite destinations are Tokyo, Japan, and Paris, France. She likes dogs.

She suffers a lot from many people comparing her to her younger sister who is more successful than Mari; however, she learns how to deal with it, not being depressed and developing her own career and achievements.

Younger daughter, Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka was born on 16 October 1997, in Chūō-ku, Osaka Japan. The questions that she is more than tired of answering is ‘Why is her surname the same as the town she was born in?’: ‘We’re recycling a joke from 2014! Everyone who was born in Osaka, their last name is Osaka’, she joked in her interview to Washington Post in 2018. When Naomi was three years old, her family moved to Long Island, then to Florida, when she was around nine years old. Naomi started playing tennis along with her elder sister, Mari. She worked hard and dreamt of playing against the Williams sisters.

Naomi Osaka

At the age of 15 Naomi started working at the ISP Academy, being coached by Patrick Tauma, then in 2014 with the Harold Solomon Tennis Academy, and then moved to the ProWorld Tennis Academy, improving her skills and getting more opportunities to achieve success.

Naomi won her first WTA Tour match when she was only 16 years old, and became a sensation in the world of sports after beating Serena Williams at the US Open in 2018, while being ranked seventh in the world at that moment. The New Yorker called her ‘the next best player in the world’. In 2019 Naomi won the Australian Open, beating Petra Kvitová, the Czech professional tennis player, in three sets. The same tournament in 2020 was not as successful as Naomi expected it to be, as she lost to Coco Gauff, the American professional tennis player, in the third round.

Controversy around Naomi’s win at the US Open

‘We will never know whether young Osaka really won the 2018 US Open or had it handed to her by a man who was going to make Serena Williams feel his power’, wrote the columnist from the Washington Post, Sally Jenkins. Indeed, the situation which took place during the match between Naomi Osaka and her biggest idol and inspiration, Serena Williams, was outstanding. The Portuguese umpire Carlos Ramos, who served as the chair umpire at the match, gave Serena three code violations. She accused him of stealing the point from her, insisting she was not getting coaching during the match. She also accused him of sexism and racism, but in the end she had to pay the penalty fees for her violations.

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Naomi won the game, and the audience was arguing if it was her skill which helped her, or the situation about Serena, which made the latter lose both her temper and the game. At the end of the game Serena congratulated Naomi and looked friendly, smiling at Osaka. However, her true feeling about the game were in fact the opposite, yet not directed at Naomi.

Personal life, wife Tamaki Osaka

Leonard has never separated from his wife, Tamaki Osaka who is a school teacher, since the day they married in 1989. According to the laws of Japan, his daughters took their mother’s surname; the law is also known as Koseki, ie the Japanese Family Registration Law. It says the foreign spouse must join the koseki of his Japanese spouse, and all of their children are to be registered under the surname of the Japanese spouse.

Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts

Leonard is an avid fan of many kinds of sports, so he spends a lot of time playing tennis and beach volleyball, swimming, etc. He also likes watching basketball matches. Leonard spends a lot of time with his parents, who still live in New York.

Appearance, clothing style

Leonard has black hair and dark brown eyes. His height, weight and vital statistics are not available at the moment, but judging by his photos with his daughter Naomi, who is 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall, he is a bit shorter than her.

Net worth and salary

As of 2020, Leonard’s net worth is still not reported officially. However, his daughter Naomi Osaka has a net worth estimated at over $29 million.