Mike Peterson's Lawyers Claim D.A. Slow In Distributing Evidence

New motions claim the district attorney's office has not handed over evidence fast enough.

Peterson, a novelist and former Durham mayoral candidate, is charged with the murder of his wife, Kathleen. She was found at the bottom of a staircase in the family's home last December.

District Attorney Jim Hardin said he was surprised at the motions, saying he had agreed to hand over some evidence next week.

"I'll have for him what I have been provided by the SBI. They have conducted their analysis," he said. "I have not received all of those reports yet. Some of them have just finished their analysis, but the clothing and all of the other items that have been submitted, they are pretty much ready for review."

In the motions, Peterson's attorneys claim that they have their own team that has been waiting for months to do their own analysis. For example, Peterson has hired several experts to help reconstruct what happened the night of Kathleen's death.