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 real-life Rudolph is seen above. What we do know is that he was found guilty of the first degree murder of his wife, Kathleen. Peterson agreed to an Alford plea, which enables him to maintain his innocence in the death of his wife Kathleen Peterson in 2001. Appel-Schumacher said the blood was mostly on a wall adjacent to the staircase and it stretched from the top landing to the bottom. 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. Get the daily inside scoop right in your inbox. "For another year, she was gone. An autopsy concluded Elizabeth died from a. In April 2003, a second autopsy was carried out by a Durham medical examiner, who concluded Ratliff's cause of death was "homicide". Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. 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. 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. After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. She edited the scenes of us in the house, you know, meeting with experts, that sort of thing," 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. Elizabeth Ratliff's daughters continue to believe Mike Peterson. Noticing the uncanny similarities with Kathleen's case, prosecutors took a closer look at Elizabeth's death in 2003. I feel here is where things took a turn. Michael and Patty had two sons while living over in Germany - Clayton and Todd - while Elizabeth and George had two daughters, Margaret and Martha. The autopsy report found that Elizabeth Ratliff had died in 1985 from “blunt force trauma to the head” by a “homicidal attack,” rather than of a brain hemorrhage while . Shortly before Elizabeth passed away, George died of a heart attack during the US invasion of Grenada. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Under no circumstances would they have had a sexual relationship.". 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. In 2001, Kathleen calls Candace to apologize for their argument over Thanksgiving and Michael notices a bunch of owls above their home. When the Petersons resided in Germany, Elizabeth had worked in the same school as Michael's then wife Patty. Inevitably, the series includes elements of fiction, particularly the flashback scenes to Kathleen (Toni Collette) and Michael Peterson's marriage and the days leading up to her death. "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. Some may criticize them as to why they cant see he did it. "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. Jennifer McHugh is a Los Angeles-based writer. Elizabeth Ratliff, 43, was a close Peterson family friend who died in Germany in 1985. 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. "The blood was all the way up the staircase.". He later adopted Ratliff's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. Two Ukrainian women look back at one year of war, Why you shouldn't go into TikTok's "monk mode". "Can people just go dig up graves?". Michael's adopted daughters also believe that he did not kill their biological mother. It's believed that Michael was the last person to see her alive. 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. "Once the trial started, they hired [film editor] Scott Stevenson to edit the trial footage. 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. Michael ultimately takes the Alford plea, which involves the defendant acknowledging there is enough evidence to find him guilty of charges while also maintaining innocence, and is sentenced to time already served. RELATED: Colin Firth & Toni Collette on 'The Staircase' and What They Hope Audiences Take Away From It. Then I went and realized, no, I can't. Michael's adopted daughters also believe that he did not kill their biological mother. Their lead analyst, Duane Deaver (Myke Holmes) leads the charge in recreating the scene to prove the prosecution's case. Michael had two biological sons, Todd and Clayton, with his first wife, Patty. Despite speculation that Peterson may have killed Elizabeth Ratliff 16 years before Kathleen's death, something he has always strongly denied, the prosecution in Michael Peterson's trial didn't accuse Peterson of being responsible for Elizabeth Ratliff's death. The best face wash for every single skin type. 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. Ratliff, a. 17 hours ago, by Monica Sisavat 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. 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. The defense would go on to use Elizabeth Ratliff's death as part of their case against Michael Peterson, which also led to tensions within his own family, particularly between his adopted daughters, Martha and Margaret Ratliff. Often, he'd help with the dishes or read to Ratliff's two young daughtersbefore returning home, according to the documentary series. ", 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. 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? 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. "It was a platonic relationship," she told documentary makers. The neighbour, Karin Hamn, testified that she saw MP hurrying away from ER's house at 12.50 am on November 25th. 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. It was a unanimous decision by all 12 jury members. (We'll get back to that.). However, Rudolf did state he offered to come on board as a "technical consultant" for the series to consult on the courtroom and lawyer scenes but was not contacted by the team behind The Staircase. On November 25, 1985, she was found dead at the bottom of her staircase surrounded by pools of blood. 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. She was the first woman in Michael Peterson's life found dead at the bottom of a staircase, and featured in the aptly titled Netflix series "The Staircase.". The next morning, the nanny, Barbara, discovered Elizabeth's body. Like Peterson, Ratliff was found at the bottom of her stairs with injuries to her head. I believe that Patty suspected Michaels infidelity with Liz, and with the girls left to Michael, this probably only reinforced her suspicions. But they need to put themselves in their shoes, think if you already came from a broken home, wouldnt you try to believe in every last possibility that your parent could not do something so horrific, even if similar circumstances also involved that parent many years before? German officials declared that she died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the scene of her death. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. 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. So that's why today I'm very uncomfortable because I feel that I've been betrayed in a way.". Michael placed two 911 calls, and emergency services attended the scene soon after. 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. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. The prosecution used the evidence to draw parallels in court but never formally charged Michael with Elizabeth's death. I don't speak French. 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. Sophie remained the editor for several months on the out-of-court stuff. Michael is convinced that the DA is on a witch hunt since Michael had written critical columns on the DA in the past. He was released on bond in 2011 pending a retrial. Warning: This article contains spoilers about The Staircase on HBO Max. 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