Freda Black - a former assistant district attorney in Durham, North Carolina who featured in Netflix's The Staircase when she prosecuted against Michael Peterson in his 2003 murder trial - has died. She was 57.
Durham county newspaper, the News & Observer, reports the mother of two daughters was found dead at her home over the weekend. Police were alerted on Sunday afternoon (29 July) when a family member contacted them to say they couldn’t reach her. When authorities arrived at her home, Freda was deceased.
A cause of death has not yet been determined, but police have confirmed there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.
Freda was famously part of the district attorney team which prosecuted Michael Peterson for the murder of his wife, Kathleen Peterson, when she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home. Netflix's The Staircase is a 13-part documentary which follows the case from the beginning of its trial, in 2003, right up until its closure in 2017.
Freda had a difficult time in the years that followed the Michael Peterson case. She ran two campaigns for Durham County district attorney - one in 2006 and another in 2008 - but lost out on them both. Two years later, in 2010, she ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Durham County District Court bench, the News & Observer reports.
In 2013, she was charged by police for driving while impaired, and lost her licence when she pleaded guilty to the crime. In 2015 she pleaded guilty to a second charge of the same description, and in 2016 she was charged for driving without a licence. During this time, it appeared Freda was no longer working in law as she was listed as an employee at the Durham Cleaners.
Following the news of her death, Superior Court Judge Jim Hardin - who was the district attorney in Durham during Michael Peterson's case and oversaw his prosecution - paid tribute to Freda Black.
"Freda was an incredible person in so many ways," he said. He described her as "absolutely fearless" and said she showed "incredible empathy and understanding" when dealing with victims.
Our thoughts are with her family.
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Cat is Cosmopolitan UK's features editor covering women's issues, health and current affairs. news, features and health. The route to her heart is a simple combination of pasta and cheese (somewhat ironic considering the whole health writing thing), and she finds it difficult to commit to TV series so currently has about 14 different ones on the go.
