Although the original autopsy concluded Ratliff died of a brain aneurysm, the coincidence of Peterson being the last known person to see two different women alive before they both wound up dead. His only respite is his new relationship with Sophie, the documentary editor, and her letters. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. 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. That was then confirmed by another doctor and the military police. 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. Radisch's reported concluded that Elizabeth Ratliff's death had actually been as a result of a "homicidal assault", and not an accident as was previously determined. 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. 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. Appel-Schumacher will return to the stand for more questions from the defense when the hearing continues Wednesday at 3 p.m. After her death, German officials concluded that Ratliff died of a cerebral hemorrhage which led to her falling down the stairs. 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. 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. 1 week ago, by Eden Arielle Gordon However, there are no skull fractures, which is practically impossible. An autopsy on the body of Elizabeth Ann McKee Ratliff, 43, was performed by the state medical examiner's office April 16 at the request of Durham District Attorney Jim Hardin, who contends that. 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. 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). 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. When he separated from his wife, he brought his sons and the Ratliff children to the United States. Michael and his ex-wife, Patty (Trini Alvarado), had become the legal guardians of Margaret and Martha after both of their parents died. He was granted a new trial in 2011, which was scheduled to begin in May 2017. I feel here is where things took a turn. "The blood was all the way up the staircase.". "I don't know that you could possibly make a more serious and damaging claim against a documentarian than that, especially when it's completely and utterly false and demonstrably false. 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. According to the second autopsy, seven deep lacerations on Elizabeth's head - just like those found on Kathleen's - were concluded to have been sustained as a result of blunt force trauma. They were 2 and 1 years old when Ratliff died. How is The Last of Us TV series different to game? The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. Often, he'd help with the dishes or read to Ratliff's two young daughtersbefore returning home, according to the documentary series. In the footage, Michael also admits Kathleen never knew about his affairs with men or that he was bisexual. Warning: This article contains spoilers about The Staircase on HBO Max. 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. His analysis of the crime scene suggested that most of the blood splatter on the . 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 . Liz Ratliff also died under mysterious circumstances. Their lead analyst, Duane Deaver (Myke Holmes) leads the charge in recreating the scene to prove the prosecution's case. At the time, the German police ruled her death an accident, and an autopsy concluded that she died of a brain hemorrhage. 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? he continued. Tragedy struck, however, in 1983, when Elizabeth's husband George was killed in a secret military operation overseas. Netflix's 'The Staircase': How did Elizabeth Ratliff really die? if ( host.indexOf("europe.cnn.com") != -1 ) { 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. 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. 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 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. Elizabeth Ratliff's Time of Death According to David Rudolf, the biggest flaw in the prosecution's theory regarding ER's death is the timeline and moreover that no one observed rigor mortis when they arrived on the scene. 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. "What's the fucking grounds?" Michael Peterson is believed to have been the last person to see her alive. Amongst them is the 1985 death of Elizabeth Ratliff, primarily because of the way she was found and how her two orphaned daughters soon ended up being adopted by the Petersons. She edited the scenes of us in the house, you know, meeting with experts, that sort of thing," he continued. It took weeks for all the blood to be cleaned up, according to "The Staircase. Seeing Margaret everyday no doubt caused her much stress and probably was the reason for many arguments that eventually led to the divorce. 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. Michael and Patty had two sons while living over in Germany - Clayton and Todd - while Elizabeth and George had two daughters, Margaret and Martha. ", 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". He explained that he first met Peterson at this house in Durham, North Carolina, and holding a meeting in a diner with a client would just never happen. 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. 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. He hires David Rudolf (Michael Stuhlbarg) whose price tag is as big as his reputation. 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. The DAs case focuses mainly on Michael Petersons lifestyle. No, the will of the Ratliffs stated the girls would be left in the care of Michael Peterson. "It was a platonic relationship," she told documentary makers. Netflixs new series The Staircase chronicles the trial of author Michael Peterson, whose wife Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her Durham, North Carolina home in November 2001. In the documentary, Michael remembers he and his then-wife, Patricia, had dinner at the Ratliff home and he stayed behind to help Elizabeth put Martha and Margaret to. Patty described what she saw when she entered the house. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. 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. The 43-year-old died in 1985 in Germany, found at the bottom of her stairs by her children's nanny Barbara Malagnino. However, back in Germany Michael Peterson's BFF Elizabeth Ratliff also happened to die in another "freak staircase accident" in 1995. 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. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. 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. Great, Click the Allow Button Above Scott Stevenson was the editor on the in-court stuff, she had nothing to do with it. 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. Kathleen even has a brief run-in with Freda Black. Elizabeth Ratliff, 43, was a close Peterson family friend who died in Germany in 1985. 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. He was released on bond in 2011 pending a retrial. 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. However, things changed once her embalmed body was exhumed nearly two decades later, in April 2003. 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. 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. 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. Con Girl: Where is Samantha Azzopardi now? At the age of 43, Elizabeth Liz Ratliff had created a good life for herself as a teacher for military children, signifying that she often got the chance to travel across the globe for work. for those who arent familiar with the case: He wasconvicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and spent nearly a decade behind bars. The author's ex-wife Patty maintains that their relationship was platonic and that her ex-husband is innocent. When they meet, they fall in love, and she leads the charge on the Owl Theory. Elizabeth now feeling frustrated and not wanting to continue being alone with 2 small children told him she was going to go tell his wife that her daughter Margaret was Michaels daughter (as you can see the incredible similarities between she and Michael as well as his boys Todd & Clayton with Patty). 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. 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. 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. 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. Elizabeth died in 1985. She was not close to her sisters, Appel-Schumacher said on cross-examination, and thought it would be good for the girls to live with the Petersons in Europe if anything ever happened to her. 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. 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. Authorities in Germany had determined that Ratliff's death was the result of a fatal stroke that sent her toppling down the stairs. 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. In 1985, a few years after George Ratliff's death, Elizabeth was found at the bottom of the stairs by the nanny, Barbara Malagnino. 15 hours ago, by Chandler Plante All Rights Reserved. Meanwhile, in France, two filmmakers are searching for their next project. "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. 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. Some speculate that Michael shared an illicit affair with Elizabeth. In 2001, Kathleen calls Candace to apologize for their argument over Thanksgiving and Michael notices a bunch of owls above their home. She agrees to help them and tips them off that the SBI is very corrupt and should be looked into. 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. } Later, Jean-Xavier shows Sophie the latest footage of his chat with Michael, where he explains his bisexuality. , 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. 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. As both their families grew, so did the bonds between them. 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. Sophie remained the editor for several months on the out-of-court stuff. All external sites will open in a new browser. The Netflix series, originally a documentary produced by a French company, examines his original trial. So you know, I'm sorry that I have to say this, but I think Antonio Campos [The Staircase on HBO Max director] went way beyond what was ethical for him as a filmmaker to do just in order to either sell this film, or to pump its ratings, and that in my judgment is despicable. However, he maintains adamantly that Kathleens death was an accident. Viewers new to The Staircase story may have been surprised to learn Peterson dated Sophie Brunet, the editor of Lestrade's first documentary. I believe that Patty suspected Michaels infidelity with Liz, and with the girls left to Michael, this probably only reinforced her suspicions. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Elizabeth Ratliff's daughters continue to believe Mike Peterson. 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. Todd, who has always been the responsible one, starts to unravel under the pressure of the trial. It's believed that Michael was the last person to see her alive. She was found by her children's nanny, Barbara Malagnino, who sought help from Patty shortly after making the grim discovery. Michael had two biological sons, Todd and Clayton, with his first wife, Patty. He did meet with Michael Stuhlbarg who portrayed him in the series and even lent him his real glasses to wear during the film. 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. 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. And you can quote me on that. To quote, 'help him' on his appeal. The Staircase launches on Netflix on 8 June. "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. Elizabeth was just 43 years old when she died on November 27, 1985. 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. After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. Investigators exhumed her grave in Bay City, TX. 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. We never charge him another cent and the appeal was done on a court-appointed basis.". Killen ordered attack on civil rights worker, jury hears, Father convicted of murdering 9 of his children, Gov. As it came to light that Kathleen was not the first woman associated with Michael to be found dead at the bottom of the staircase, Elizabeths remains were exhumed for more information. I can't live in Paris. believed to have been the last person to see her alive, carried out a second autopsy on Elizabeth Ratliff's body. Although I do feel that the police did not act in all honesty with some of their actions, I do feel that no matter what, the jury saw through the shoddy case and found him guilty anyway. An autopsy concluded Elizabeth died from a. Regina Green, an old family friend of Peterson pointed out in "The Staircase" how much Ratliff and Petersons first wife Patricia looked alike. I'm too old. 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. The pair "had a loving, almost familial relationship," Patty described. The real-life Rudolph is seen above. In 2003, Michael Peterson was convicted of killing his wife Kathleen Peterson after she was found dead in a pool of blood at the bottom of the staircase in their home on December 9, 2001. Now fast forward to 2001-the night Michaels second wife, Kathleen dies. Michael, a Vietnam War vet, bonded with Elizabeth's husband George, who was a captain in the military. Did Michael Peterson Kill Elizabeth Ratliff? 13 hours ago, by Njera Perkins document.write('Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Posted: 10:40 AM EDT (1440 GMT)
<\/span>'); German officials declared that she died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the scene of her death. 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 . 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. 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. 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". Although the 13-part programme centres around the mysterious death of Kathleen Peterson at her home in Durham, North Carolina, she wasn't the only woman linked to Michael Peterson to have been found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Rudolf first took issue with some of the smaller details in the series. A medical examiner who examined her body at the scene concurred that the death was probably an accident. I believe that the 2 were out by the pool having a glass or 2 of wine as they often did. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. But the autopsies were enough to convince Kathleen Peterson's daughter Caitlin to change her mind about her stepfather. The jury finds Michael guilty and sentences him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In the fifth episode, Brunet and Lestrade are seen arguing with their producer over which clip to delete from the documentary. Three, she never wrote to Michael while she was working on the project, never ever, ever. 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. (We dont know if this is factual or just a dramatized coincidence.) 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. Just four days before her death, she was complaining of severe headaches. 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.