"They have a scene where Michael's brother is on the phone with me, telling me that he's selling all the furniture, to pay to write me checks for the appeal. The coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. 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. The similarities between the deaths of Elizabeth Ratliff and Kathleen Peterson raised eyebrows among the Durham authorities. It's believed that Michael was the last person to see . 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. Although Ratliff lost a lot of weight and mourned her husband's death deeply, Appel-Schumacher said Ratliff's mood lifted during 1985. The final episode of the series is told through three time periods 2001, the day before Kathleens death, 2011, the night before Michaels retrial, and 2017, when Michael is contemplating the Alford plea. He was sentenced to time already served and freed from prison. Where is Morgan from the Murdaugh Murders now? Right about the time the trial ended, they didn't start putting the cuts together," Rudolph explained. Just four days before her death, she was complaining of severe headaches. She was found by her children's nanny, Barbara Malagnino, who sought help from Patty shortly after making the grim discovery.. 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Elizabeth Ratliff Autopsy - 4 Autopsy Report -- Elizabeth Ratliff The pair "had a loving, almost familial relationship," Patty described. Both declined to comment directly on Rudolf's statements. The last person believed to see her alive was Michael Peterson the night before when their families had dinner together in her home. 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. No, the will of the Ratliffs stated the girls would be left in the care of Michael Peterson. 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.". In The Staircase, Patty recalls how they would all eat together and how Michael would regularly stay behind to help Elizabeth clean up and put her daughters to bed. 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. 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. 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". 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. 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. Now fast forward to 2001-the night Michaels second wife, Kathleen dies. 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. 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 . The Staircase airs Thursdays on HBO Max and Sky Atlantic. 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. A friend of Elizabeth Ratliff's also testified about a bloody death scene. What we do know is that he was found guilty of the first degree murder of his wife, Kathleen. Upon examination, forensic pathologist Deborah Radisch, who also worked on Kathleen's case, said that Elizabeth's injuries were inconsistent with an accident. 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'll get back to that.). 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. Elizabeth's death is a tragedy, but whether it was brought upon by an ill-fated accident or contemptuous murder, we'll never know. 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. The family gathers in the courtroom for the retrial hearing. 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. Scott Stevenson was the editor on the in-court stuff, she had nothing to do with it. Earlier Monday,jurors heard testimony froma blood spatter expertwho examined blood stains in the stairwell where Kathleen Peterson died. Inside, he and Kathleen have quite a makeup session after their own argument the night before at dinner. 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. != -1 ) { It's all in the documentary, it's there. Michael Peterson is believed to have been the last person to see her alive. "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. At their request, Ratliff's body was exhumed in Texas in April. Michael and his ex-wife, Patty (Trini Alvarado), had become the legal guardians of Margaret and Martha after both of their parents died. 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. Elizabeth Ratliff, a family friend of Michael Peterson and his first wife, Patricia, died in 1985, just two years after her husband, George. Seeing Margaret everyday no doubt caused her much stress and probably was the reason for many arguments that eventually led to the divorce. Lawyer David Rudolf (L) and Michael Peterson (R) address reporters after his court hearing in Durham, North Carolina, on February 24, 2017. Some may criticize them as to why they cant see he did it. How much, I can't say," Appel-Schumacher testified outside the jury's presence. She agrees to help them and tips them off that the SBI is very corrupt and should be looked into. He paid that, or his brother paid it and that was it. His analysis of the crime scene suggested that most of the blood splatter on the . 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. Her husband, George Ratliff, died shortly before her in a secret military operation overseas in 1983, according to CourtTV. The widow grew even closer with the Peterson family. Netflix's 'The Staircase': How did Elizabeth Ratliff really die? I believe that Kathleen excused herself to go get ready for a meeting the next morning. 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. 43-year-old Elizabeth Ratliff was found dead in her home in Graefenhausen, Germany. 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. And then when the appeal was over, for the next, whatever, eight years, I represent them for free, and never charge them a penny, I paid my own expenses. 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. Firth portrayed Peterson for eight episodes of the HBO Max drama based on the documentary of the same name. German police arrived at the scene and quickly deemed Elizabeth's fall an accident. Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's The Staircase alludes to the haunting center of novelist Michael Peterson's infamous murder case. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! by Monica Sisavat 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. Elizabeth Ratliff's daughter, Martha and Margaret Ratliff stood by Michael Peterson and believed him to be innocent. defense lawyer Thomas Maher asked. 11 hours ago, by Monica Sisavat The jury finds Michael guilty and sentences him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Con Girl: Where is Samantha Azzopardi now? 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. , Awesome, Youre All Set! Furious she confronts Michael with her findings. "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.". 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. There is also an alternate theory put forth by Petersons neighbor Larry (Joel McKinnon Miller) that Kathleen was viciously attacked by an owl. Some speculate that Michael shared an illicit affair with Elizabeth. } else if ( host.indexOf("edition.") 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. He hires David Rudolf (Michael Stuhlbarg) whose price tag is as big as his reputation. All Rights Reserved. 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. Jean and Sophie dont know what to think anymore. for those who arent familiar with the case: He wasconvicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and spent nearly a decade behind bars. ", Her death was eventually ruled a homicide. The next morning, the nanny, Barbara, discovered Elizabeth's body. Get the daily inside scoop right in your inbox. She edited the scenes of us in the house, you know, meeting with experts, that sort of thing," he continued. Elizabeth Ratliff's children Margaret (Ratliff) Blakemore and Martha Ratliff. The author's ex-wife, Patty, maintains that their relationship was platonic and that her ex-husband is innocent. They argued to keep the clip showing Peterson interacting with his son, Clayton Peterson (Dane DeHaan), whereas their producer wanted to include a scene that covered evidence presented at Peterson's trial that Kathleen Peterson may have been strangled. Like Peterson, Ratliff was found at the bottom of her stairs with injuries to her head. At the time, the German police ruled her death an accident, and an autopsy concluded that she died of a brain hemorrhage. In response, Michael Peterson's lawyer, David Rudolf, argued he had never seen such inflammatory wording used in an autopsy before. David Rudolf represented Michael Peterson in the real-life murder trial depicted in the HBO Max series "The Staircase." He did meet with Michael Stuhlbarg who portrayed him in the series and even lent him his real glasses to wear during the film. Thus, all we can positively state is, whatever the case may be, both Elizabeth and Kathleens deaths were simply tragic. 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. Three, she never wrote to Michael while she was working on the project, never ever, ever. 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. By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from POPSUGAR. "It was a platonic relationship," she told documentary makers. "She hadn't gotten to the point where she was seeing other men?" 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. Appel-Schumacher will return to the stand for more questions from the defense when the hearing continues Wednesday at 3 p.m. 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. However, back in Germany Michael Peterson's BFF Elizabeth Ratliff also happened to die in another "freak staircase accident" in 1995. 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). 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. 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. } else if ( host.indexOf("asia.cnn.com") != -1 ) { Additionally, at the beginning of each episode, there is a disclaimer stating the show is "a dramatization based on certain facts. However, things changed once her embalmed body was exhumed nearly two decades later, in April 2003. Jennifer McHugh is a Los Angeles-based writer. When he separated from his wife, he brought his sons and the Ratliff children to the United States. 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. Elizabeth Ratliff and. 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. At the time of the exhumation, Michael Peterson's lawyer, David Rudolf, requested that a "neutral" pathologist from Texas carry out the second autopsy. The neighbour, Karin Hamn, testified that she saw MP hurrying away from ER's house at 12.50 am on November 25th. Kathleen even has a brief run-in with Freda Black. They wanted to reassess her injuries, to make sure her death really was the tragic accident it had been accepted as for 17 years. 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. 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. 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 defense will cross-examine Deaver Tuesday. Elizabeth died in 1985. However, there are no skull fractures, which is practically impossible. Two Ukrainian women look back at one year of war, Why you shouldn't go into TikTok's "monk mode". 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. 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. As both their families grew, so did the bonds between them. Michael Stuhlbarg portrayed Peterson's lawyer David Rudolf in the series. It took weeks for all the blood to be cleaned up, according to "The Staircase.