The Staircase will be your new fav true crime show, The legal age you can get married has just changed, Charles & Camilla break major royal tradition, Courteney Cox speaks on Harry magic mushroom claim, Harry 'adding at least one more chapter' to memoir, Dylan responds to being misgendered on Instagram. 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. 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. 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.". However, things changed once her embalmed body was exhumed nearly two decades later, in April 2003. Her name was Elizabeth Ratliff (shown above in the blue shirt) and she died at the age of 43. 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. (We'll get back to that.). 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. Margaret and Martha lived with Michael Peterson but were never adopted by him. Do any of us? 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. She edited the scenes of us in the house, you know, meeting with experts, that sort of thing," he continued. 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. Michael's adopted daughters also believe that he did not kill their biological mother. The deceased's injuries were "inconsistent with a fall down a set of stairs", state pathologist wrote in her report. 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. 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. We charge Michael a fee for the trial. 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. Please select the topics you're interested in: Would you like to turn on POPSUGAR desktop notifications to get breaking news ASAP? 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. Exposing Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's tendentious film, the Peterson murder documentary: Death on the Stairacse. What happened to Elizabeth Ratliff? 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. He was sentenced to time already served and freed from prison. He was granted a new trial in 2011, which was scheduled to begin in May 2017. The last person believed to see her alive was Michael Peterson the night before when their families had dinner together in her home. "I've read 260 autopsies from blunt trauma to the head, and never once did I see any of your people say the inflicted trauma is clearly from a homicidal assault," Rudolf is heard saying in the documentary. At the hearing for the Alford plea, the courtroom is noticeably less full. Their blended family included Michaels two sons from his first marriage, Clayton Peterson (Dane DeHaan) and Todd Peterson (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Kathleens daughter from her first marriage, Caitlin Atwater (Olivia DeJonge), and Michael's two adopted daughters, Margaret Ratliff (Sophie Turner) and Martha Ratliff (Odessa Young). != -1 ) { But I didn't say to her, 'You know, yeah, that works fine for me.'". That is f***ing defamation because Sophie was off the project," Rudolf said. In the first three episodes of The Staircase on HBO Max, there have been subtle mentions of a woman named Elizabeth Ratliff, and in Episode 4, audiences learn a little bit more about her. Michael Peterson and his wife Kathleen were first married in 1997. Right about the time the trial ended, they didn't start putting the cuts together," Rudolph explained. 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. Sign up for our Celebrity & Entertainment newsletter. 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. 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. Michael, a Vietnam War vet, bonded with Elizabeth's husband George, who was a captain in the military. He also said thatthe person wearing apair of bloody shorts and bloody sneakers--both belonging to Michael Peterson--had to be present in the stairwell or just outside when Kathleen Peterson's head or a pool of her blood were hit with great force. 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. Elizabeth Ratliff and. 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. 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. 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. When he separated from his wife, he brought his sons and the Ratliff children to the United States. The widow grew even closer with the Peterson family. Viewers new to The Staircase story may have been surprised to learn Peterson dated Sophie Brunet, the editor of Lestrade's first documentary. 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. When the Petersons resided in Germany, Elizabeth had worked in the same school as Michael's then wife Patty. Ratliff's two young daughters ended up living with Michael Peterson, and he raised them in North Carolina with his two sons from his first marriage. 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. He paid that, or his brother paid it and that was it. I believe that Patty suspected Michaels infidelity with Liz, and with the girls left to Michael, this probably only reinforced her suspicions. Elizabeth Ratliff and her husband, George Ratliff, were close friends of Peterson and his first wife, Patricia Peterson, when they lived in Germany in the 1980s. 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. 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. 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. document.write('Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Posted: 1440 GMT (10:40 PM HKT) <\/span>'); I don't speak French. Seeing Margaret everyday no doubt caused her much stress and probably was the reason for many arguments that eventually led to the divorce. But if he lied about something that big what else did he lie about? The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life Last Week Tonight with John Oliver German officials declared that she died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the scene of her death. 17 hours ago, by Monica Sisavat 1 week ago, by Joely Chilcott So much so, that the court in Durham ordered the exhumation of Ratliff's body from her grave in Texas. As per reports, Elizabeth often had dinner with the Petersons, and Michael would stay back to clean up or tuck her little girls to bed, which is precisely what they unwittingly did on her last evening alive. "We made plans to live in Paris. Noticing the uncanny similarities with Kathleen's case, prosecutors took a closer look at Elizabeth's death in 2003. Michael Stuhlbarg portrayed Peterson's lawyer David Rudolf in the series. On April 16, 2003, the state medical examiner's office carried out a second autopsy on Elizabeth Ratliff's body. Peterson subsequently ended up raising Ratliff's young. 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. Michael is convinced that the DA is on a witch hunt since Michael had written critical columns on the DA in the past. Warning: This article contains spoilers about The Staircase on HBO Max. Elizabeth's death is a tragedy, but whether it was brought upon by an ill-fated accident or contemptuous murder, we'll never know. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Michael wasn't accused of murdering Elizabeth outright, but the fact that her daughters who he, again, adopted after her death were the recipients of a hefty life insurance policy was enough to cast doubt in the jurors of his case. 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. Todd, who has always been the responsible one, starts to unravel under the pressure of the trial. No, the will of the Ratliffs stated the girls would be left in the care of Michael Peterson. 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. It's believed that Michael was the last. "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 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. U.S. Army doctor Dr. Larry A. Barnes carried out an autopsy on Elizabeth and confirmed that a cerebral haemorrhage was her cause of 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 . Tragedy struck, however, in 1983, when Elizabeth's husband George was killed in a secret military operation overseas. Peterson has to hire a high-powered defense team for his trial. 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. As Peterson was being investigated for the staircase death of his wife in the early 2000s, Ratliffs body was exhumed in Texas in 2003. 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. Sam Smith is going to be in And Just Like That s2! The coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. Here's the OTHER Death at the Center of Netflix's The Staircase. But the autopsies were enough to convince Kathleen Peterson's daughter Caitlin to change her mind about her stepfather. Why? 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. In the fifth episode, Brunet and Lestrade are seen arguing with their producer over which clip to delete from the documentary. Elizabeth was just 43 years old when she died on November 27, 1985. On November 25, 1985, she was found dead at the bottom of her staircase surrounded by pools of blood. 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. Her husband, George Ratliff, died shortly before her in a secret military operation overseas in 1983, according to CourtTV. Above, the real David Rudolf (R) and Michael Peterson (L) appear in court. 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. 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