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. "For another year, she was gone. The deceased's injuries were "inconsistent with a fall down a set of stairs", state pathologist wrote in her report. As seen on The Staircase, both girls publicly supported Peterson during his trial and became inconsolable when he was convicted. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. for those who arent familiar with the case: He wasconvicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and spent nearly a decade behind bars. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! However, Rudolf and the real Lestrade have both taken issue with how Peterson's romance with Brunet has been portrayed, believing some scenes implied her relationship with Peterson impacted her neutrality whilst editing the documentary. Regina Green, an old family friend of Peterson pointed out in "The Staircase" how much Ratliff and Petersons first wife Patricia looked alike. While looking for something in the study or den, Kathleen either stumbled upon the emails exposing Michaels bisexual desires either on the computer or possibly a hard copy of something. After seeing much of The Staircase on Netflix and seeing Michaels narcissistic and cocky personality I believe he tried to make her believe she was crazy to think that or try to make up a story, as that was what he did for a living so it would be easy for him to come up with excuses easily. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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. He said: "I went to Germany, I investigated that whole thing. Michael is having a rough time in prison. ", 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. An autopsy concluded Elizabeth died from a. 15 hours ago, by Chandler Plante In her opinion, the seven lacerations on her head indicated blunt force trauma. Michael Peterson and his first wife, Patricia Peterson, were among the many people who filled the foyer that Monday morning 18 years ago, the witness testified. 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. by Monica Sisavat 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. Ratliff taught second grade at a U.S. Department of Defense School. Rudolf calls witnesses including the lead investigator from The Innocence Project and manages to convince the judge that Deaver lied about his qualifications on the stand. Elizabeth's death is a tragedy, but whether it was brought upon by an ill-fated accident or contemptuous murder, we'll never know. It also includes imagined dialogue for dramatic purposes but stays grounded in court documents, meticulous research by the team behind the show, and of course, content from Lestrade's 13-part documentary. 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 So. 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. And no questions were raised when her close friend Michael Peterson adopted her daughters, Margaret and Martha. The similarities between the deaths of Elizabeth Ratliff and Kathleen Peterson raised eyebrows among the Durham authorities. Margaret and Martha would be raised by Michael and his second wife, Kathleen Atwater, whom he met in 1986. There was a substantial amount of blood around the staircase, Witness Cheryl Appel-Schumacher testified during Petersons 2003 trial that the blood reached all the way up the staircase. defense lawyer Thomas Maher asked. We never charge him another cent and the appeal was done on a court-appointed basis.". If you've reached episode three of Netflix's latest true crime addition, The Staircase, you'll have discovered one of many plot twists in the documentary series. She refuses to binge-watch anything. Their lead analyst, Duane Deaver (Myke Holmes) leads the charge in recreating the scene to prove the prosecution's case. The Netflix series, originally a documentary produced by a French company, examines his original trial. "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," Radisch concluded. With two young children (Martha, the youngest, was just months old when her father passed away), Elizabeth relied on Michael and Patty's support more than ever. As per reports, Elizabeth often had dinner with the Petersons, and Michael would stay back to clean up or tuck her little girls to bed, which is precisely what they unwittingly did on her last evening alive. The Staircase is the latest true-crime drama to land on HBO Max and viewers are still trying to process the jaw-dropping story of Michael Peterson who, in 2003, was found guilty of killing his wife Kathleen Peterson at their home on December 9, 2001. Cat is Cosmopolitan UK's features editor covering women's issues, health and current affairs. He hires David Rudolf (Michael Stuhlbarg) whose price tag is as big as his reputation. 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 has been quite a ride, so before we discuss how it ended, lets look at how we got here. 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. 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. So why would you? Liz Ratliff also died under mysterious circumstances. Get the daily inside scoop right in your inbox. 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. After her death, German officials concluded that Ratliff died of a cerebral hemorrhage which led to her falling down the stairs. All Rights Reserved. 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. I completely feel for his family, especially the kids. Colin Firth as Michael Peterson in "The Staircase." The DA contracts the SBI (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation) to recreate the scene and figure out exactly how the murder took place. "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.". 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. David Rudolf represented Michael Peterson in the real-life murder trial depicted in the HBO Max series "The Staircase." "First of all, Sophie didn't edit any of the courtroom scenes. Authorities in Germany had determined that Ratliff's death was the result of a fatal stroke that sent her toppling down the stairs. On November 25, 1985, Elizbeth Ratliff was found dead at the bottom of her staircase, in an eerily similar way to the way Michael Peterson's wife, Kathleen Peterson was found on December 1, 2001. However, he maintains adamantly that Kathleens death was an accident. "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. However, things changed once her embalmed body was exhumed nearly two decades later, in April 2003. With The Staircase retelling the tale of Michael Peterson and his alleged hand in wife Kathleen Petersons bizarre December 2001 demise, several related matters are coming back into the spotlight. In that case, it's thought that Ratliff succumbed to her blood clotting disorder via an intra-cerebral hemorrhage and then fell down the stairs after she was already deceased. At the time, the German police ruled her death an accident, and an autopsy concluded that she died of a brain hemorrhage. 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. 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. The next morning, the nanny, Barbara, discovered Elizabeth's body. believed to have been the last person to see her alive, carried out a second autopsy on Elizabeth Ratliff's body. Noticing the uncanny similarities with Kathleen's case, prosecutors took a closer look at Elizabeth's death in 2003. Meanwhile, Michael's defense attorneys hire their own blood spatter experts, who testify that the blood patterns are just not consistent with a brutal strike to the head. Just four days before her death, she was complaining of severe headaches. And you can quote me on that. 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. Tragedy struck, however, in 1983, when Elizabeth's husband George was killed in a secret military operation overseas. Elizabeth's death is a tragedy, but whether it was brought upon by an ill-fated accident or contemptuous murder, we'll never know. Ratliff, a close Peterson friend,wasthought to have died from a fall down a set of stairs until Peterson's wife Kathleen died in a similar manner in December 2001. He later adopted Ratliff's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. On November 25, 1985, she was found dead at the bottom of her staircase surrounded by pools of blood. So you know, the bottom line of all of that, is it creates this impression that this Academy Award-winning director, a documentarian was twisting his film for a completely unethical purpose to help the subject. 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? From Rudolf's perspective, in HBO Max's The Staircase, it is implied Rudolf found out about Ratliff only a few weeks before the trial. Viewers new to The Staircase story may have been surprised to learn Peterson dated Sophie Brunet, the editor of Lestrade's first documentary. Clayton has been in some trouble in the past, but has since been trying to turn his life around. In 1985, a few years after George Ratliff's death, Elizabeth was found at the bottom of the stairs by the nanny, Barbara Malagnino. Death: July 29, 2018, Durham, North Carolina, USA (end-stage liver disease from alcoholism) Bio: Assistant District Attorney / Prosecutor Cullen Moss Born: July 8, 1975 Birthplace: Buffalo, New York, USA Jim Hardin Born: February 1957 Birthplace: Durham, North Carolina, USA Bio: District Attorney / Lead Prosecutor Rosemarie DeWitt Since his guilty conviction, much has happened in Michael Peterson's case, from a retrial in 2011 to being officially released from prison in 2017 after entering an Alford Plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter. But, in February, just months before the scheduled retrial, Peterson submitted an Alford plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter. How much, I can't say," Appel-Schumacher testified outside the jury's presence. They believe their adopted father is innocent of killing both of their moms, according to the documentary. Firth portrayed Peterson for eight episodes of the HBO Max drama based on the documentary of the same name. When the Petersons resided in Germany, Elizabeth had worked in the same school as Michael's then wife Patty. "I could not give her what she really needed and deserved, and that would be a full-time partner living with her in Paris. Their blended family included Michaels two sons from his first marriage, Clayton Peterson (Dane DeHaan) and Todd Peterson (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Kathleens daughter from her first marriage, Caitlin Atwater (Olivia DeJonge), and Michael's two adopted daughters, Margaret Ratliff (Sophie Turner) and Martha Ratliff (Odessa Young). Right about the time the trial ended, they didn't start putting the cuts together," Rudolph explained. The widow grew even closer with the Peterson family. Michael Stuhlbarg portrayed Peterson's lawyer David Rudolf in the series. When the prosecution learned of Elizabeth's death and identified the coincidence that she, too, had died as a result of falling down the stairs, they called for her body to be exhumed from the grave in Texas where she was buried. Two Ukrainian women look back at one year of war, Why you shouldn't go into TikTok's "monk mode". 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. That's number one. At their request, Ratliff's body was exhumed in Texas in April. On the prosecution side, Durham County District Attorney Jim Hardin (Cullen Moss) and Assistant District Attorney, Freda Black (Parker Posey) take on the case. deceased's injuries were "inconsistent with a fall down a set of stairs", "Margaret and Martha Ratliff wrapped their arms around each other and mourned". Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! "There was no pool of blood.". I talked to the witnesses, I got the German police report and the DA's file. Elizabeth Ratliff, a 43-year-old widow who taught second grade at a U.S. Department of Defense School, was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs on November 25, 1985. . Elizabeth Ratliff became good friends with Michael Peterson after meeting his first wife, Patty, when the women worked together at a school in Germany. //-->. For exhumation, she has to receive permission from Caitlin, who vehemently denies her request. Some may criticize them as to why they cant see he did it. RELATED: Colin Firth & Toni Collette on 'The Staircase' and What They Hope Audiences Take Away From It. Why?? Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's The Staircase alludes to the haunting centre of novelist Michael Peterson's infamous murder case. 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. He was granted a new trial in 2011, which was scheduled to begin in May 2017. His appeal is rejected, but the documentary is a huge hit and renews interest in his case. It is only natural that a mother want custody of her children, but why not the girls as their mother was supposedly her best or very close friend?? However, back in Germany Michael Peterson's BFF Elizabeth Ratliff also happened to die in another "freak staircase accident" in 1995. After Vietnam, retired Marine Captain Michael joined Patty in Germany and the couple quickly became good friends with Elizabeth Ratliff and her husband George, also a Captain in the military. The neighbour, Karin Hamn, testified that she saw MP hurrying away from ER's house at 12.50 am on November 25th. 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