"We made plans to live in Paris. Prosecutors say the similarities are too many to be coincidental. 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. Do any of us? 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. if ( host.indexOf("europe.cnn.com") != -1 ) { I'm too old. 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. 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. 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. As Peterson was being investigated for the staircase death of his wife in the early 2000s, Ratliffs body was exhumed in Texas in 2003. On April 16, 2003, the state medical examiner's office carried out a second autopsy on Elizabeth Ratliff's body. With The Staircase's true-crime drama available to watch on HBO Max now and the original The Staircase documentary streaming on Netflix, it is ultimately up to viewers to form their own opinion on what they believe happened on the evening Kathleen Peterson died. 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. Peterson lived next door to Ratliff when she died. Michael is convinced that the DA is on a witch hunt since Michael had written critical columns on the DA in the past. != -1 ) { 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. But . 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. Under no circumstances would they have had a sexual relationship.". She often ate dinner with the Petersons, and Michael would help her clean up and tuck in her children at bedtime. Elizabeth died in 1985. 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. In response, Michael Peterson's lawyer, David Rudolf, argued he had never seen such inflammatory wording used in an autopsy before. Elizabeth Ratliff, a family friend of Michael Peterson and his first wife, Patricia, died in 1985, just two years after her husband, George. Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! But if he lied about something that big what else did he lie about? Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's The Staircase alludes to the haunting center of novelist Michael Peterson's infamous murder case. Jean and Sophie dont know what to think anymore. 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. 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. After knocking Kathleen out (with what exactly, there are so many possibilities-afterall if all your kids were no longer living at home, would they be able to identify what things were or werent missing? Todd, who used to be the responsible son, now seems to be falling apart as Clay, who used to be the irresponsible one, has fallen into the role of caretaker. After Kathleen's death, her two sisters, Candace (Rosemarie DeWitt) and Lori (Maria Dizzia) firmly believe Michael at first, but quickly switch sides, along with Caitlin, and stand with the prosecution. Peterson agreed to an Alford plea, which enables him to maintain his innocence in the death of his wife Kathleen Peterson in 2001. When he separated from his wife, he brought his sons and the Ratliff children to the United States. Judge Orlando Hudson Jr. will rule on whether the similarities between Ratliff's death and Kathleen Peterson's are sufficiently similar that jurors should hear the evidence. 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. Some speculate that Michael shared an illicit affair with Elizabeth. The prosecution used the evidence to draw parallels in court but never formally charged Michael with Elizabeth's death. So. They were 2 and 1 years old when Ratliff died. 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. Inside, he and Kathleen have quite a makeup session after their own argument the night before at dinner. She'd reportedly died from an intracerebral hemorrhage, secondary to a blood clot disorder. The North Carolina medical examiner performed an autopsy and concluded that she died from blunt force injuries and that it was the result of a homicide. A quick recap for those who arent familiar with the case: He wasconvicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and spent nearly a decade behind bars. 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. 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. Elizabeth's updated autopsy report indicated that she died from homicidal assault. 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. 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. I spoke with a German investigator. The deceased's injuries were "inconsistent with a fall down a set of stairs", state pathologist wrote in her report. Margaret and Martha lived with Michael Peterson but were never adopted by him. In April 2003, a second autopsy was carried out by a Durham medical examiner, who concluded Ratliff's cause of death was "homicide." 1 day ago, by Njera Perkins 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. 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. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. ), 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. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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. "Her injuries are indicative of multiple blunt force impacts". ", Her death was eventually ruled a homicide. At least, until tragedy struck. As we see in The Staircase, it's very clear that Michael Peterson is distressed at the thought of his family friend's body being dug up and re-examined. 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. The author's ex-wife, Patty, maintains that their relationship was platonic and that her ex-husband is innocent. Con Girl: Where is Samantha Azzopardi now? The coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. The series takes great inspiration from de Lestrade's documentary and even includes the director (played by Vincent Vermingon) and his documentary team. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. David Rudolf represented Michael Peterson in the real-life murder trial depicted in the HBO Max series "The Staircase." She was found dead at the bottom of a staircase, Ratliff was found tilted sideways at the bottom of a wooden staircase inside her home, according to "The Staircase.". 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. document.write('Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Posted: 10:40 AM EDT (1440 GMT) <\/span>'); "Can people just go dig up graves?". Since her husband's death, Peterson would come over to visit her every evening after dinner, according to "The Staircase." } else if ( host.indexOf("edition.") "What's the fucking grounds?" . 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. Did Michael Peterson Kill Elizabeth Ratliff? 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. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! I feel here is where things took a turn. Michael struggles with life outside of prison and sees his children are struggling as well. Its construction of the case emphasized prejudicial aspects, like the judge allowing evidence of Ratliff's death, which a state medical examiner also deemed a homicide, and the prosecution exposing Peterson's sex life so as to use jurors' potentially anti-gay attitudes against him. All external sites will open in a new browser. 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 Staircase through flashbacks to the Petersons' lives before the murder, the night of the murder, the times leading up to the trial, the trial, and beyond. 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. Sign up for our Celebrity & Entertainment newsletter. When they meet, they fall in love, and she leads the charge on the Owl Theory. The neighbour, Karin Hamn, testified that she saw MP hurrying away from ER's house at 12.50 am on November 25th. Furious she confronts Michael with her findings. The 43-year-old died in 1985 in Germany, found at the bottom of her stairs by her children's nanny Barbara Malagnino. Peterson subsequently ended up raising Ratliff's young. Patricia Peterson and Elizabeth Ratliff had worked together at an elementary school on a U.S. Air Base and lived close by with their families in the town of Graefenhausen. Appel-Schumacher said the blood was mostly on a wall adjacent to the staircase and it stretched from the top landing to the bottom. 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 prosecution shockingly reveals to the jury that, at age 43, Ratliff turned up dead at the bottom of her stairs in 1985, some 16 years earlier. He hires David Rudolf (Michael Stuhlbarg) whose price tag is as big as his reputation. The family gathers in the courtroom for the retrial hearing. by Lindsay Kimble "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. But I didn't say to her, 'You know, yeah, that works fine for me.'". 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. Regina Green, an old family friend of Peterson pointed out in "The Staircase" how much Ratliff and Petersons first wife Patricia looked alike. 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. 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. But the autopsies were enough to convince Kathleen Peterson's daughter Caitlin to change her mind about her stepfather. "Number two, she left the project in October of 2003. , Awesome, Youre All Set! In her opinion, the seven lacerations on her head indicated blunt force trauma. 13 hours ago, by Chanel Vargas 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. She refuses to binge-watch anything. 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 two were buried side by side after Ratlitt died.