RALEIGH, N.C. — A lawyer for Mike Peterson's stepdaughter will ask a judge to forego a jury trial and declare the novelist financially liable for his wife's death.
Lawyer Jay Trehy will make the request on behalf of Caitlin Atwater, who contends in a civil lawsuit that Peterson "maliciously" assaulted his wife, Kathleen, and caused her death.
Durham Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, who presided over Peterson's murder trial, is scheduled to hear the request in January.
Peterson is currently serving a life sentence at the Nash Correctional Institution.
![[NewsGator]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/presentation/v1/images/icons/NewsGatorWidgetIcon.png){kind=icon}
![[e-mail]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/presentation/v1/images/icon_email-story.gif){kind=icon}
News Alerts to your Email & Cell Phone
![[+]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/presentation/v1/images/more_icon.gif){kind=icon}
STORIES
VIDEOS
SLIDESHOWS
BLOG POSTS
Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.
You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.