You know, I mean, all you have to do is watch the documentary to know that that's not true. Often, he'd help with the dishes or read to Ratliff's two young daughtersbefore returning home, according to the documentary series. Appel-Schumacher recalled that Ratliff had a severe headache four days before she died, severe enough that she made an appointment to see a doctor the following week. Newsweek has everything you need to know. The story follows author Michael Peterson (portrayed by Colin Firth) who finds his wife, Kathleen (Toni Collette) dead at the bottom of the staircase in their Durham, NC home in 2001. He later adopted Ratliff's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. ", Speaking separately to Vanity Fair about the scenes in the fifth episode of HBO Max's The Staircase, Lestrade said: "We gave [Campos] all the access he wanted, and I really trusted the man. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Now as both Elizabeth and her husband were both deceased, the girls Margaret and Martha would surely be left in the care of one of their relatives? 1987-United States-Michael and Patty have now since divorced (funny how so soon after this all happened) And in the divorce, the Petersons boys went with Patty while the Ratliff girls remained with Michael. But yet, they [in The Staircase on HBO Max] somehow create the impression that Michael was hiding this from me until four weeks before the trial. I believe that Patty suspected Michaels infidelity with Liz, and with the girls left to Michael, this probably only reinforced her suspicions. The medical examiner found Kathleen Peterson and Elizabeth Ratcliffe suffered similar blows to the head, including seven lacerations which were sustained by blunt force trauma. Peterson has to hire a high-powered defense team for his trial. He has since insisted she was completely okay when he walked out the door, yet the following morning, the girls nanny found her dead at the bottom of the stairs Elizabeth passed away on November 25, 1985. But two years after George's death, as if the Ratliff family hadn't suffered enough trauma, Elizabeth too was found dead - at the bottom of the staircase at her home in Germany. Whether the evidence about Elizabeth Ratliff's death had a particularly swaying influence on the jury or not is impossible to know - but Michael Peterson was convicted of murdering Kathleen Peterson in October 2003. "I've read 260 autopsies from blunt trauma to the head, and never once did I see any of your people say the inflicted trauma is clearly from a homicidal assault," Rudolf is heard saying in the documentary. Following Kathleen's death, which didn't look much like the accident Michael Peterson made it out to be, police almost immediately zoned in on him as the prime suspect. On November 25, 1985, she was found dead at the bottom of her staircase surrounded by pools of blood. Their lead analyst, Duane Deaver (Myke Holmes) leads the charge in recreating the scene to prove the prosecution's case. Peterson was the. The Staircase is streaming on HBO Max now. Elizabeth Ratliff's daughters continue to believe Mike Peterson. for those who arent familiar with the case: He wasconvicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and spent nearly a decade behind bars. It's all in the documentary, it's there. "So to create the impression that somehow I'm this greedy lawyer, who's forcing my client to sell his furniture in order to write me checks to do his appealI mean that is sort of offensive to me. All external sites will open in a new browser. Elizabeth Ratliff and her husband, George Ratliff, were close friends of Michael Peterson and his first wife Patricia Peterson when they lived in Germany in the 1980s. . Stuhlbarg is seen above with Tim Guinee and Colin Firth in a scene from "The Staircase" in which the men prepare for Peterson's trial. Wouldnt it make more sense to leave them with a relative.unless Elizabeth wanted Michael to know and raise his daughter along were her sister together. Please select the topics you're interested in: Would you like to turn on POPSUGAR desktop notifications to get breaking news ASAP? He and Patty later adopted two young daughters, Martha and Margaret Ratliff, after their mother, Elizabeth Ratliff (a Peterson family friend), died in Germany in 1985. Like Peterson, Ratliff was found at the bottom of her stairs with injuries to her head. It has been quite a ride, so before we discuss how it ended, lets look at how we got here. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. I don't speak French. Appel-Schumacher said the blood was mostly on a wall adjacent to the staircase and it stretched from the top landing to the bottom. She also remembered the copious amounts of blood near the staircase at the scene of Elizabeth's death. The neighbour, Karin Hamn, testified that she saw MP hurrying away from ER's house at 12.50 am on November 25th. Peterson had been at her house the night before her death. At the time of the exhumation, Michael Peterson's lawyer, David Rudolf, requested that a "neutral" pathologist from Texas carry out the second autopsy. I believe they had been around Michael long enough to possibly take on his ability of telling stories, the more they told themselves he did not do it or that he could not have done it, the more they believed it. Three episodes in, drops a major bombshell: Peterson was the last person to see another woman who was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in Germany in 1985. At the time, the German police ruled her death an accident and an autopsy concluded that she died of a brain hemorrhage. When producer Denis Poncet (Frank Feys) and director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (Vincent Vermignon) come across the Peterson story, they wonder if there is a story there. Elizabeth died in 1985. The widow grew even closer with the Peterson family. Period. The SBI, the organization that recreated the crime scene, is placed under investigation for unethical practices, which opens up another opportunity for an appeal in Michael's case. The defence countered these claims, arguing that half of Elizabeth's brain was missing during the new autopsy and pushing against the idea that Michael was the last person to see her alive. by Lindsay Kimble A few people have suspected an affair between Michael and Elizabeth turning sour as his motive for murder, but the novelists former wife Patricia has always vehemently backed him up. two adorable daughters into their lives Margaret and Martha Ratliff. host = host.toLowerCase(); They believe their adopted father is innocent of killing both of their moms, according to the documentary. At least, until tragedy struck. He described the scene as "complete fiction" adding that "for anybody who knows anything about the criminal justice system, it totally undermines the credibility of the entire film.". he spits. He paid that, or his brother paid it and that was it. The real-life Rudolph is seen above. The details of Elizabeth Ratliff's second autopsy were submitted as prosecuting evidence in Michael Peterson's trial for the murder of his wife, Kathleen. But I didn't say to her, 'You know, yeah, that works fine for me.'". The nanny who found Elizabeth Ratliff's body in 1985 also took to the stand at Michael Peterson's murder trial and testified to witnesses about a large amount of blood at the scene. RELATED: Colin Firth & Toni Collette on 'The Staircase' and What They Hope Audiences Take Away From It. At the time, her death was investigated by the U.S. military police in Germany and an autopsy concluded she had died from an intracerebral hemorrhage. Michael wasn't accused of murdering Elizabeth outright, but the fact that her daughters who he, again, adopted after her death were the recipients of a hefty life insurance policy was enough to cast doubt in the jurors of his case. The prosecutors have also hypothesized that Elizabeths perplexing 1985 passing inspired Michael to fake Kathleens accident in 2001, yet there has never been any direct evidence to back it up. "I was sitting here directly observing when the German medical examiner took the spinal tap and held the contents up so that he could view [it]," said Patty. Together, they go to the Durham Herald Christmas Ball. In 2001, Kathleen calls Candace to apologize for their argument over Thanksgiving and Michael notices a bunch of owls above their home. , Awesome, Youre All Set! She often ate dinner with the Petersons, and Michael would help her clean up and tuck in her children at bedtime. Repeating testimonythe judgeheardThursday and Friday without the jury being present, witness Peter "Duane" Deaver said he concluded that Kathleen Peterson was beaten with a blunt object and was struck a minimum of four times. Investigators exhumed her grave in Bay City, TX. Shortly after Michael and Patty married, Michael went to fight in Vietnam while Patty headed to the Rhein-Main Air Base near Frankfurt, where she worked as a second-grade teacher. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. She filed a . So why would you? After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. Clayton has been in some trouble in the past, but has since been trying to turn his life around. The DA contracts the SBI (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation) to recreate the scene and figure out exactly how the murder took place. Todd, who has always been the responsible one, starts to unravel under the pressure of the trial. The North Carolina medical examiner performed an autopsy and concluded that she died from blunt force injuries and that it was the result of a homicide. His children, who all decided not to attend the hearing, see the news break on television but decide to keep their distance to try and maintain normalcy in their own lives. Regardless, Rudolf believes the damage has been done, describing it as "defamation" towards Brunet and de Lestrade. Speaking to Newsweek, Rudolf raised several concerns he had about the show's accuracy, including its representation of Lestrade and documentary editor Sophie Brunet, and some small details in the earlier episodes. She was very happy while planning a party she threw for Appel-Schumacher and her new husband two nights before she died, the witness recalled. The critically acclaimed documentary of the same name came out in 2004 a few years after the trial and is now available to stream on Netflix, while this fictionalized version tells the tale of The. Elizabeth had been complaining of severe headaches in the weeks before her death, and it was believed she suffered the haemorrhage while on the staircase, causing her to fall. The widow grew even closer with the Peterson family. Kathleen even has a brief run-in with Freda Black. Patricia has always vehemently backed him up. Rudolf first took issue with some of the smaller details in the series. In response, Michael Peterson's lawyer, David Rudolf, argued he had never seen such inflammatory wording used in an autopsy before. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Ratliff taught second grade at a U.S. Department of Defense School. How is The Last of Us TV series different to game? The series takes great inspiration from de Lestrade's documentary and even includes the director (played by Vincent Vermingon) and his documentary team. Elizabeth's updated autopsy report indicated that she died from homicidal assault. The pair "had a loving, almost familial relationship," Patty described. The two were buried side by side after Ratlitt died. Why? , Let's Break Down The Staircase's Deeply Frustrating 13 Episodes, The "Bel-Air" Cast Weren't Surprised by the Show's Success: "A Huge 'I Told You So' Moment", "Outer Banks" Had No Business Making Rafe Look This Fine With a Buzz Cut, Jazz Catches Hilary in a Lie in This Exclusive "Bel-Air" Season 2 Sneak Peek, Selena Gomez Says She Avoided Her "Wizards of Waverly Place" Costars After Series Due to Shame, "The Last of Us" Stars Storm Reid and Bella Ramsey Hit Back at Homophobes: "Don't Like It, Don't Watch", Jessica Chastain Tripped Over Her Dress at the SAG Awards, but It Didn't Take Away From Her Big Win, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Con Girl: Where is Samantha Azzopardi now? 1 day ago, by Chanel Vargas It wasn't until after Kathleen's death in December 2001 that the circumstances surrounding Elizabeth Ratliff's fall and subsequent death were re-evaluated. In HBO Max's The Staircase, Brunet (played by Juliette Binoche) appears throughout the series, at first working to edit the documentary film released in 2004 and later as Peterson's romantic partner. On the prosecution side, Durham County District Attorney Jim Hardin (Cullen Moss) and Assistant District Attorney, Freda Black (Parker Posey) take on the case. 1 week ago, by Kelsie Gibson Judge Orlando Hudson Jr. will rule on whether the similarities between Ratliff's death and Kathleen Peterson's are sufficiently similar that jurors should hear the evidence. Michael Stuhlbarg portrayed Peterson's lawyer David Rudolf in the series. Elizabeth's Ratliff's sudden death in November 1985 became of great significance in the case against Michael Peterson during his trial for the murder of his second wife, Kathleen Peterson. He continued: "In other words, by that point, Michael didn't have any assets and the court appointed us to represent him on appeal and paid U.S. court-appointed rates. So much so, that the court in Durham ordered the exhumation of Ratliff's body from her grave in Texas. Just four days before her death, she was complaining of severe headaches. Liz Ratliff also died under mysterious circumstances. As HBOs hit limited series The Staircase comes to a close, it is time to take a look back and assess what we just witnessed. Fear of this realization getting out, Michael possibly grabbed and shook Liz, his anger finally caused him to push her hard and she fell down the stairs to her demise. //-->. Why would you do that just to sort of create a negative impression about Michael Peterson?". The 43-year-old died in 1985 in Germany, found at the bottom of her stairs by her children's nanny Barbara Malagnino. As Todd tries to explain social media followers to Clay and Martha finally comes out to Margaret, the family tries desperately to maintain a sense of normalcy. When the Petersons resided in Germany, Elizabeth had worked in the same school as Michael's then wife Patty. He was an out bisexual man who had continuous affairs with men outside his marriage. What happened to Elizabeth Ratliff? When re-examined, Elizabeth's relationship with Michael's family and the details of her passing thicken the plot of this engrossing true-crime case. Shortly before Elizabeth passed away, George died of a heart attack during the US invasion of Grenada. "It was a platonic relationship," she told documentary makers. 'The Staircase' Ending Explained: What Is the Truth? I do feel that Michael was in a bit of shock as to what happened, it probably all happened very fast as it did back in 1985 with Liz. She even scheduled a doctor's appointment out of concern, and had an appointment the next week. Both the German officials as well as the United States military police conducted investigations into Elizabeths case, and their autopsy ruled her manner of death an accident. Shed reportedly died from an intracerebral hemorrhage, secondary to a blood clot disorder. Around that same time, Elizabeth and George grew close to the Petersons, their neighbors, bonding over Michael being a Vietnam War veteran and his then-wife Patricia being her coworker. Ratliff's two young daughters ended up living with Michael Peterson, and he raised them in North Carolina with his two sons from his first marriage. The coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. Like Kathleen, she'd been found at the bottom of a staircase. "There are many things in the first five episodes, which I've seen that are inaccurate, misleading, and outright false," Rudolph told Newsweek. The News & Observer, Durham's local news outlet, reported how "Margaret and Martha Ratliff wrapped their arms around each other and mourned" upon hearing their father's guilty verdict. "We made plans to live in Paris. The Scene of Her Death The 43-year-old died in 1985 in Germany and was found at the bottom of her stairs by her children's nanny, Barbara Malagnino. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in October 2003. Did Michael Peterson Kill Elizabeth Ratliff? if ( host.indexOf("europe.cnn.com") != -1 ) { DURHAM, N.C. An autopsy report released Monday says Elizabeth Ratliff, a friend of novelist Mike Peterson who died 18 years ago, was the victim of a homicide and not a stroke as originally . "It is further my opinion that these injuries were incurred while Mrs. Ratliff was alive and are of sufficient severity to have caused her death.". "I could not give her what she really needed and deserved, and that would be a full-time partner living with her in Paris. But as Michael, again could not have this harmful information that could ruin his reputation get out, he flew into a rage again striking Kathleen as she was headed out the door, thus leaving the drops of blood on the porch which was what initially led to the owl theory (an owl latched onto Kathleens head with its sharp talons-crazy I know). What we do know is that he was found guilty of the first degree murder of his wife, Kathleen. document.write('Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Posted: 10:40 PM HKT (1440 GMT)
<\/span>'); Patty described what she saw when she entered the house. However, it was carried out by Durham-based state pathologist Dr. Deborah L. Radisch. A medical examiner who examined her body at the scene concurred that the death was probably an accident. The DAs case focuses mainly on Michael Petersons lifestyle. The best face wash for every single skin type. Michael and Patty had two sons while living over in Germany - Clayton and Todd - while Elizabeth and George had two daughters, Margaret and Martha. Sign up for our Celebrity & Entertainment newsletter. Above, the real David Rudolf (R) and Michael Peterson (L) appear in court. It's believed that Michael was the last person to see her alive. In 2017, Michael is contemplating taking the Alford plea, in which he would have to plead guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter for a reduced sentence, but he could not be retried. he continued. Elizabeth Ratliff Autopsy - 4 Autopsy Report -- Elizabeth Ratliff Elizabeth was just 43 years old when she died on November 27, 1985. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. To quote, 'help him' on his appeal. "It is further my opinion that these injuries were incurred while Mrs. Ratliff was alive and are of sufficient severity to have caused her death.". } else if ( host.indexOf("asia.cnn.com") != -1 ) { The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. Under no circumstances would they have had a sexual relationship.". DA Hardin and ADA Black really hammer home that they found it difficult to believe that Kathleen knew anything about this, alleging that upon discovery of photos and messages on his computer, it led to a confrontation that ended in Michael brutally beating Kathleen to death at the bottom of the staircase. The defense maintains that the deaths are only similar on the surface, and Peterson plans to prove that to the judge--and the jury, if he rules against them--if necessary. They call him "Dad" and have supported him without wavering since the second woman they called "Mom"--Kathleen Peterson--was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs. She refuses to binge-watch anything. Elizabeth Ratliff and. Im also sure as he is a master storyteller, that he convinced himself the story he told was the truth and his mind believed it, thus giving his consciousness the ability to feel he was innocent and then able to act the part of the victim as well. "There was no pool of blood.". Elizabeth Ratliff Wasn't Murdered It's been incredibly infuriating that people keep insisting that Michael Peterson killed Elizabeth. The prosecution calls Kathleen's sister Candace to the stand, and she tears Michael a new one again. A one-stop-shop for all things video games. } else if ( host.indexOf("edition.") Rudolf is highly skeptical of the documentary crew following their every move but eventually has to relent. DURHAM, North Carolina (Court TV) -- Author Michael Peterson is charged with killing his wife in their home here 18 months ago, but it was the death of a neighbor in Germany 18 years ago that took center stage at Peterson's first-degree murder trial Monday. Story goes there was a lot of blood at the scene of Liz's death, according to the three women who testified at the trial ", However, for Michael Peterson's lawyer, David Rudolf, HBO Max's The Staircase fell short at moments surrounding its accuracy, describing moments as "inaccurate," "misleading" and "outright false". On November 25, 1985, Elizbeth Ratliff was found dead at the bottom of her staircase in an eerily similar way to the way Kathleen Peterson was found on December 9, 2001. Despite the evidence submitted during the trial, Elizabeth Ratliff's daughters, Margaret and Martha - who had been brought up by Michael and Kathleen - stood by their adoptive father and continued to protest his innocence. However, things changed once her embalmed body was exhumed nearly two decades later, in April 2003. She continued: "Rather, they are indicative of multiple blunt force impacts, either from blows to the head caused by a blunt object or by the head being forcibly struck against a hard surface. In 2017, he entered an Alford plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter, meaning he admitted the evidence against him would likely lead to a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt but he did not have to admit he committed the crime. Netflix's 'The Staircase': How did Elizabeth Ratliff really die? Just like with Petersons wife Kathleen, she suffered lacerations to the head which were attributed to her fall. "My opinion is that this is the scene of a beating, that this scene is not unlike many scenes I've been to," Deaver concluded. != -1 ) { Prosecutors say the similarities are too many to be coincidental. Warning: This article contains spoilers about The Staircase on HBO Max. We charge Michael a fee for the trial. To begin with, he said that the scene where he was introduced to Michael Peterson (played by Colin Firth) in a diner while eating pastrami did not happen in real life. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Michael, a Vietnam War vet, bonded with Elizabeth's husband, George, who was a captain in the military. Michael moved back to the United States, taking his adopted daughters with him, and met Kathleen Peterson in 1986. The jury finds Michael guilty and sentences him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. German officials declared that she died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the scene of her death. Her life was thus incredibly different from her Rhode Island farm upbringing, especially as shed eventually found herself working at an elementary school at the Rhein-Main Air Force Base in West Germany. I do not think that the girls could mentally handle it if they allowed their minds to go to the place of believing he did it. Who was Elizabeth Ratliff, and how did her 1985 death become part of Michael Peterson's trial? Elizabeth's death is a tragedy, but whether it was brought upon by an ill-fated accident or contemptuous murder, we'll never know. One year on, how to donate to help Ukraine. Although she died in 1985, the death of Elizabeth Ratliff played a key role in Michael Peterson's trial after he was accused of murdering his wife Kathleen Peterson on December 9, 2001. A second autopsy, conducted by Durham, North Carolina officials this time, revealed sufficient evidence to suspect the manner of death being clear homicide. With that said, no charges against Michael have ever been brought in connection to this matter, and he maintains his innocence. After knocking Kathleen out (with what exactly, there are so many possibilities-afterall if all your kids were no longer living at home, would they be able to identify what things were or werent missing? They were 2 and 1 years old when Ratliff died. Todd, who used to be the responsible son, now seems to be falling apart as Clay, who used to be the irresponsible one, has fallen into the role of caretaker. The defense countered these claims, arguing that half of Elizabeth's brain was missing during the new autopsy and pushing against the idea that Michael was the last person to see her alive. "Even from this distance I could see that it did not look clear, and that's when he made the statement, right there by her body in my presence, that she had died of a cerebral haemorrhage.". Candace makes an impassioned plea for a dismissal, but the judge overrules her. "The worst of it, at least so far, is in Episode Five, when they paint a picture of Jean-Xavier, the director, and Sophie, conspiring to cut out a certain scene in order to make the documentary more favorable to Michael. His appeal is rejected, but the documentary is a huge hit and renews interest in his case. "Because I know all aspects of his personality. Elizabeth's death was initially ruled an accident, but when her body was exhumed during the trial for a second autopsy in April 2003, the coroner found sufficient evidence to categorize it as a homicide. During Michael's trial, Cheryl Appel-Schumacher, one of the late schoolteacher's friends, recalled that Elizabeth had severe headaches a few days before she was found dead. 10 votes, 25 comments. During Michael's trial, Cheryl Appel-Schumacher, one of the late schoolteacher's friends, recalled that Elizabeth had severe headaches a few days before she was found dead. The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life Last Week Tonight with John Oliver There were also multiple questions put forward about what happened on the evening Kathleen Peterson died, due to the "Owl Theory" that suggested she may have been attacked by the bird and died from her wounds or, what Michael Peterson claimed, that she fell to her death. Sophie remained the editor for several months on the out-of-court stuff. He said they wanted the same medical examiner who claimed that Peterson's wife wasn't accidental to perform the autopsy rather than a neutral pathologist in Texas as he suggested. And she said to me, 'So you're going to be content just being an old grandfather?' Focuses mainly on Michael Petersons lifestyle join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek free. An out bisexual man who had continuous affairs with men outside his marriage of. 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