The neighbor of a Durham author who is serving a life sentence for murder said an owl is actually responsible for the attack.

Kathleen Peterson was found murdered in 2001.

Prosecutors said her husband, novelist Mike Peterson, used a fireplace poker to hit her. But Peterson’s neighbor, Larry Pollard, said he believes an owl that lives in the neighborhood swooped down and sunk its talons into the back of Kathleen’s head.

Experts for Peterson’s attorneys find his theory highly unlikely.