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. Additionally, he was unimpressed with some of the early court scenes. Instead, they used her death as an example of an incident that could have helped him "fake" Kathleen's accident. In the end, Lestrade and Brunet won and the scene with Clayton Peterson was included in the documentary instead. Colin Firth as Michael Peterson in "The Staircase." 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. A friend of Elizabeth Ratliff's also testified about a bloody death scene. They believe their adopted father is innocent of killing both of their moms, according to the documentary. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The Netflix series, originally a documentary produced by a French company, examines his original trial. In shock of what just transpired, Michael returned home where he would await news of Liz being found dead. In 1985, a few years after George Ratliff's death, Elizabeth was found at the bottom of the stairs by the nanny, Barbara Malagnino. A medical examiner who examined her body at the scene concurred that the death was probably an accident. Brunet also stressed in the same article that her relationship with Peterson began later than depicted in the series and that her editorial decisions were not affected. "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. 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. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Patricia has always vehemently backed him up. Michael and his ex-wife, Patty (Trini Alvarado), had become the legal guardians of Margaret and Martha after both of their parents died. But, in February, just months before the scheduled retrial, Peterson submitted an Alford plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter. The filmmakers, with Michael's permission, are granted 24/7 access to document the entire process from prepping for the trial, the trial itself, and after the jury verdict is announced. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in October 2003. The Staircase airs Thursdays on HBO Max and Sky Atlantic. The family gathers in the courtroom for the retrial hearing. Warning: This article contains spoilers about The Staircase on HBO Max. document.write('Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Posted: 1440 GMT
<\/span>'); 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. Those who were there in the aftermath of Elizabeth's death were called as witnesses, and the the state pathologist took to the stand to confirm Elizabeth Ratliff had sustained similar injuries to the ones Kathleen Peterson suffered. After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. 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. Both Peterson and his wife raised his two daughters, Margaret and Martha,as if they were their own. "Can people just go dig up graves?". He was an out bisexual man who had continuous affairs with men outside his marriage. Like Kathleen, she'd been found at the bottom of a staircase. 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. More importantly, both Margaret and Martha Ratliff, whose custody was awarded to the Petersons as per their biological mothers final will, also support their father through and through. 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. Michael is having a rough time in prison. Kathleen even has a brief run-in with Freda Black. Sophie is skeptical hearing about this theory at first, but soon leans in and pushes for a re-examination of the body. Despite a large amount of blood, witness Cheryl Appel-Schumacher testified Monday, Ratliff's death didn't pique the interest of German and U.S. investigators, and they left the house without the body and without taking any photographs. Elizabeth Ratliff, 43, was a close Peterson family friend who died in Germany in 1985. But, in February, just months before the scheduled retrial, Peterson submitted an Alford plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter. It's believed that Michael was the last. We charge Michael a fee for the trial. You know, I mean, all you have to do is watch the documentary to know that that's not true. 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. They wanted to reassess her injuries, to make sure her death really was the tragic accident it had been accepted as for 17 years. This meant 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. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from POPSUGAR. Sophie remained the editor for several months on the out-of-court stuff. The similarities between the deaths of Elizabeth Ratliff and Kathleen Peterson raised eyebrows among the Durham authorities. She also remembered the copious amounts of blood near the staircase at the scene of Elizabeth's death. She often ate dinner with the Petersons, and Michael would help her clean up and tuck her children to sleep. Michael is convinced that the DA is on a witch hunt since Michael had written critical columns on the DA in the past. Now at this time a few things couldve happened-whatever he struck her with at the front door, he now needed to get rid of, so as she lay dying at the bottom of the stairs, he changed out of any bloodied clothes and got rid of them with the item he struck her with. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. 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 was sentenced to time already served and freed from prison. Peterson was the. 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. 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. Additionally, at the beginning of each episode, there is a disclaimer stating the show is "a dramatization based on certain facts. (We dont know if this is factual or just a dramatized coincidence.) That is f***ing defamation because Sophie was off the project," Rudolf said. 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. The widow grew even closer with the Peterson family. "She hadn't gotten to the point where she was seeing other men?" "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.". Margaret and Martha would be raised by Michael and his second wife, Kathleen Atwater, whom he met in 1986. , 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. Elizabeth's updated autopsy report indicated that she died from homicidal assault. Nearly two decades before Michael's wife, Kathleen, was found lifeless at the bottom of a staircase, there was a woman named Elizabeth Ratliff, whose death would become crucial to the prosecution's story. Thus, all we can positively state is, whatever the case may be, both Elizabeth and Kathleens deaths were simply tragic. The night before Elizabeth's death, Michael Peterson and his wife had dinner with Elizabeth and her two young daughters. What's eerily coincidental is the nature of her death: Elizabeth was found at the bottom of a staircase in her home with severe injuries to her head. "There was blood splatter all over those walls. Bush: Prosecutor taking up Schiavo inquiry. 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. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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 series takes great inspiration from de Lestrade's documentary and even includes the director (played by Vincent Vermingon) and his documentary team. The coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. I can't live in Paris. However as Kathleen was not having any of it, I believe she decided to storm out and go to a relatives house or even a hotel, just to get out as some people do in the onset of a huge argument-just need to get out even to go for a drive. 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.". However, he maintains adamantly that Kathleens death was an accident. George and Elizabeth's daughters, Margaret and Martha - now orphaned - were taken in by Michael and Patty, and the expanded family continued as normal until the parents split the following year. And she said to me, 'So you're going to be content just being an old grandfather?' Now, if you wish to learn more about this nearly four-decade-old matter, including the undeniable suspicions surrounding the same, dont worry; weve got all the essential details for you. Upon examination, forensic pathologist Deborah Radisch, who also worked on Kathleen's case, said that Elizabeth's injuries were inconsistent with an accident. 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. 15 hours ago, by Chandler Plante 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. Michael Peterson took charge of all the details, and friends of Elizabeth Ratliff were grateful that he did, she said. His only respite is his new relationship with Sophie, the documentary editor, and her letters. A retrial is granted, and Michael is released from prison and sentenced to house arrest with an ankle bracelet. 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. }else { ), I believe Michael and Elizabeth were upstairs in her home, possibly having a romantic interlude, when the conversation turned more serious as Elizabeth asked Michael to leave his wife (Patty) at the time. Meanwhile, in France, two filmmakers are searching for their next project. 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. Elizabeth's death is a tragedy, but whether it was brought upon by an ill-fated accident or contemptuous murder, we'll never know. Just four days before her death, she was complaining of severe headaches. 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. I talked to the witnesses, I got the German police report and the DA's file. The coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. believed to have been the last person to see her alive, carried out a second autopsy on Elizabeth Ratliff's body. 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. Viewers new to The Staircase story may have been surprised to learn Peterson dated Sophie Brunet, the editor of Lestrade's first documentary. She edited the scenes of us in the house, you know, meeting with experts, that sort of thing," he continued. In the fifth episode, Brunet and Lestrade are seen arguing with their producer over which clip to delete from the documentary. 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. 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. 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. Editor Sophie Brunet (Juliette Binoche) finds herself so entranced with Peterson she begins reaching out to him via letters to prison. It took weeks for all the blood to be cleaned up, according to "The Staircase. Right about the time the trial ended, they didn't start putting the cuts together," Rudolph explained. For exhumation, she has to receive permission from Caitlin, who vehemently denies her request. Therefore, when the Captain suddenly lost his life during a secret overseas operation in 1983, his widows connection with them only furthered she even began relying on Michael for some help in daily chores. 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. Killen ordered attack on civil rights worker, jury hears, Father convicted of murdering 9 of his children, Gov. 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. He also has the option of pleading not guilty and again facing a new trial in front of a jury. Rudolf first took issue with some of the smaller details in the series. } else if ( host.indexOf("asia.cnn.com") != -1 ) { 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 is true that Peterson and Brunet did date, with Peterson confirming to The News and Observer they went their separate ways in 2017. //-->. Investigators exhumed her grave in Bay City, Texas. It's believed that Michael was the last person to see . 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. Con Girl: Where is Samantha Azzopardi now? "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. And as far as the girls, Margaret and Martha, Michael was the only parent they had been around the longest, they knew of their birth mothers death but couldnt associate with it as they were so young when it happened. And no questions were raised when her close friend Michael Peterson adopted her daughters, Margaret and Martha. So. Despite Michael Peterson's lawyer, David Rudolf, requesting that a "neutral" pathologist from Texas carried out the autopsy, the District Attorney had Dr. Deborah L. Radisch, the state pathologist, do it instead. We never charge him another cent and the appeal was done on a court-appointed basis.". Michael and Patty had two sons while living over in Germany - Clayton and Todd - while Elizabeth and George had two daughters, Margaret and Martha. Furious she confronts Michael with her findings. The prosecution used the evidence to draw parallels in court but never formally charged Michael with Elizabeth's death. He was granted a new trial in 2011, which was scheduled to begin in May 2017. Elizabeth was just 43 years old when she died on November 27, 1985. Clayton has been in some trouble in the past, but has since been trying to turn his life around. 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. Rudolf pointed out how in one scene, Peterson's brother is seen selling the Peterson family belongings in order to pay for his appeal, an "offensive" detail Rudolph wants to correct. On November 25, 1985, she was found dead at the bottom of her staircase surrounded by pools of blood. The Innocence Project gets involved and approaches Freda Black, now working at a dry cleaner, for information. Bill Peterson (Tim Guinee), Michaels brother, is his biggest ally and works with the lawyers and the family to try and keep everything in order while it feels like chaos. First, her death was ruled natural After her death, German officials concluded that Ratliff died of a cerebral hemorrhage which led to her falling down the stairs. Investigators exhumed her grave in Bay City, TX. 1 day ago. Elizabeth Ratliff, shown in the Netflix docu-series "The Staircase.". Noticing the uncanny similarities with Kathleen's case, prosecutors took a closer look at Elizabeth's death in 2003. 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. All Rights Reserved. We didn't get paid anything for the appeal. Appel-Schumacher said the blood was mostly on a wall adjacent to the staircase and it stretched from the top landing to the bottom. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. 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 jury finds Michael guilty and sentences him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 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. But if he lied about something that big what else did he lie about? But the autopsies were enough to convince Kathleen Peterson's daughter Caitlin to change her mind about her stepfather. In April 2003, a second autopsy was carried out by a Durham medical examiner, who concluded Ratliff's cause of death was "homicide." One year on, how to donate to help Ukraine. he continued. Ok so here is my theory for the Michael Peterson case-while I do not think he is a serial killer who always plans to kill women by the same method of throwing them down the stairs, I do think he has the personality of flying into a rage which ended with the deaths of 2 women and here is how I think it happened: 1985-Germany-Michael was carrying on an affair with family friend, Elizabeth Ratliff (he claims they never did but then he did look elsewhere who knows how many times during his marriages for other partners to satisfy his sexual desires, and as we cannot ask Elizabeth, I would say his ability to lie and tell stories, definitely does not add anything to his credibility. Sam Smith is going to be in And Just Like That s2! I do however wished that Michaels lawyer wouldve let him testify because the jurors would've seen his true colors, but as seen in The Staircase on Netflix, even his lawyers knew his personality as they stated it would not be in his best interest to take the stand because his personality would be off-putting to the jury (Im not quoting, but basically they knew the jury would hate him). Cosmopolitan participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. (We'll get back to that.). He was granted a new trial in 2011, which was scheduled to begin in May 2017. "It was a great blow to both of us, for which I feel not guilt, but sorrow," he continued. Lestrade appears throughout the series, filming Michael in the most mundane and dramatic of moments, capturing his family and his entire trial, appeal, and release. Regardless, Rudolf believes the damage has been done, describing it as "defamation" towards Brunet and de Lestrade. The Staircase addresses both of those theories, and just like the documentary of the same name by Oscar-winning filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade on which the show is based, whether you believe Michael Peterson is a killer is your own decision to make. 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. George Ratliff died in a military operation in 1983, and two years later, Elizabeth Ratliff, 43, was found dead by her children's nanny, Barbara Malagnino, at the bottom of her staircase on November 25, 1985. Michael had also been caught in a lie in the press when he claimed he won a Purple Heart in Vietnam when he had not. 1 week ago, Here's the OTHER Death at the Centre of Netflix's The Staircase, A Tragic Twist in Part 2 of the "The Last of Us" Video Game Could Tease What's to Come on the Show, 12 Bone-Chilling Serial Killer Documentaries on Netflix Now, Selena Gomez Says She Avoided Her "Wizards of Waverly Place" Costars After Series Due to Shame, Eugene Levy Says a "Schitt's Creek" Movie Is Very Possible: "We're Open to Anything", "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. His analysis of the crime scene suggested that most of the blood splatter on the . Prosecutors say the similarities are too many to be coincidental. He paid that, or his brother paid it and that was it. Thats where she first came across Captain George Ratliff, a navigator, only to tie the knot with him in 1981 before welcoming two adorable daughters into their lives Margaret and Martha Ratliff. The prosecution also discovers that back when Michael and Patty lived in Germany, Michael found ANOTHER woman at the bottom of a staircase Elizabeth Ratliff, the biological mother of Margaret and Martha. Scott Stevenson was the editor on the in-court stuff, she had nothing to do with it. 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. On April 16, 2003, the state medical examiner's office carried out a second autopsy on Elizabeth Ratliff's body. The neighbour, Karin Hamn, testified that she saw MP hurrying away from ER's house at 12.50 am on November 25th. Liz Ratliff also died under mysterious circumstances. Upon examination, forensic pathologist Deborah Radisch, who also worked on Kathleen's case, said that Elizabeth's injuries were inconsistent with an accident. They argued as he would not agree to this. "There are many things in the first five episodes, which I've seen that are inaccurate, misleading, and outright false," Rudolph told Newsweek. At least, until tragedy struck. The two families were close friends while living in Germany, and Michael was the last person who'd seen Elizabeth alive following dinner at the Ratliff home one night, Michael offered to stay behind and help Elizabeth put her girls to bed. I believe that Patty suspected Michaels infidelity with Liz, and with the girls left to Michael, this probably only reinforced her suspicions. 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. Please select the topics you're interested in: Would you like to turn on POPSUGAR desktop notifications to get breaking news ASAP? Her husband, George Ratliff, died shortly before her in a secret military operation overseas in 1983, according to CourtTV. So much so, that Elizabeth Ratliff's body was exhumed and a second post mortem carried out by the Durham Medical Examiner. by Monica Sisavat It's believed that Michael was the last person to see her alive. 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. Noticing the uncanny similarities with Kathleen's case, prosecutors took a closer look at Elizabeth's death in 2003. Patty described what she saw when she entered the house. She'd reportedly died from an intracerebral hemorrhage, secondary to a blood clot disorder. Cosmopolitan, Part of the Hearst UK Fashion & Beauty Network. 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. != -1 ) { His appeal is rejected, but the documentary is a huge hit and renews interest in his case. Exposing Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's tendentious film, the Peterson murder documentary: Death on the Stairacse. However, it was carried out by Durham-based state pathologist Dr. Deborah L. Radisch. After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret.