  The kinetic energy is estimated for the ground-state of liquid $^3$He at
equilibrium density. The obtained value for this quantity, $10.16\pm0.05$
K/atom at density $0.0163~\mbox{\AA}$, is in agreement with most of the
experimental data found in the literature. This result resolves a long-standing
controversy between experimental and theoretical values of this quantity. The
variational path integral method, an "exact" quantum Monte Carlo method
extended for fermionic systems, is applied in the calculations. The results
obtained are subjected only to the restrictions imposed by a chosen nodal
structure without any further approximation, even for quantities that do not
commute with the Hamiltonian. The required fixed-node approximation entails an
implementation that allows a more effective estimation of the quantities of
interest. Total and potential energies together with the radial distribution
function are also computed.
