Parker Christian Posey is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Freda Black in the miniseries The Staircase.
The Staircase is a streaming television miniseries created by Antonio Campos that is based on Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s 2004 true-crime docuseries.
Colin Firth plays Michael Peterson, a writer convicted of murdering his wife, Kathleen Peterson, who was discovered dead at the foot of their home’s staircase.
Who Is Parker Posey From The Staircase?
Parker Posey is an actress best known for portraying Freda Black in the miniseries The Staircase.
Based on the series, Black was loved as a good Southern woman and skillful attorney, despised by the LGBTQ community, mocked for her prosecutorial performance in The Staircase, and she was forever linked to the Michael Peterson case.
Freda received her B. A. from Wake Forest University in 1982, followed by her law degree from the Campbell University of Law in 1985.
Black’s legal career began as a public defender in Robeson County, North Carolina, and then as an Assistant District Attorney in the criminal division in Durham County, North Carolina. At the end of her tenure, Black went into private practice as a criminal defense attorney.
If I said it once I’ll say it again, Parker Posey as Freda Black is genius casting.#TheStaircase pic.twitter.com/7KM5ksfNvf
— َ (@5vlilakaJulio) May 6, 2022
Freda worked as an assistant prosecutor in Durham County from 1991 through 2005. District Attorney Mike Nifong fired or resigned Freda in May 2005, and the following year he campaigned against him in a Democratic primary.
Freda Black Story
In 2006 and 2008, Freda Black launched two failed bids for Durham County District Attorney. Black also unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Durham County District Court bench in 2010.
During the Michael Peterson trial, she staked her claim on the integrity of the Assistant Medical Examiner, who said Kathleen was murdered. In March 2016, Freda weighed in on the famed Larry Pollard owl idea, which may or may not be viable.
In 2018, defense attorney David Rudolph discovered from the last episodes of The Staircase that Black knew the Chief Medical Examiner directed Assistant ME Deborah Radisch to state it was a homicide vs. blunt force trauma.
In January 2015, Black was dealing with personal concerns. She worked at a dry cleaning company when she was arrested on several DUI counts.
Black had two college-aged kids and told Tom Gasparoli that she was going through a lot; she was concerned about elder care difficulties, her father’s health, having two college-aged daughters, and working at a low-wage job.
Freda Black Cause Of Death
The autopsy revealed that Freda Black died while sleeping on her right side on her living room couch. According to the autopsy report, Freda texted her eldest daughter with information for an attorney and that she had a will.
After not hearing back from Freda, the family sought a welfare check. It was then that authorities discovered Freda’s body in her house.
‘The Staircase’ prosecutor Freda Black dies at 57 https://t.co/pRwcW8lJfU pic.twitter.com/JRzfUPYRS9
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 31, 2018
The house’s floor was strewn with food, wine bottles, and rubbish. In the autopsy report, there was no indication of forced entry, larceny, or apparent wounds at the site.
Freda delivered final arguments in the 2003 trial that resulted in the conviction of author Peterson for the murder of his wife.
A judge eventually ordered a new trial, and Peterson filed a special plea in 2017, admitting that prosecutors had collected sufficient evidence to convict him of manslaughter. According to the autopsy report, Freda died of natural causes.
