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 coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. A friend of Elizabeth Ratliff's also testified about a bloody death scene. Sign up for our Celebrity & Entertainment newsletter. She also remembered the copious amounts of blood near the staircase at the scene of Elizabeth's death. 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. 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. Authorities ruled Ratliff's death to be of natural causes, concluding that a cerebral hemorrhage caused her to fall and strike her head. 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.". That is f***ing defamation because Sophie was off the project," Rudolf said. for those who arent familiar with the case: He wasconvicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and spent nearly a decade behind bars. Elizabeth Ratliff Autopsy - 4 Autopsy Report -- Elizabeth Ratliff Shortly before Elizabeth passed away, George died of a heart attack during the U.S. invasion of Grenada. Thus, all we can positively state is, whatever the case may be, both Elizabeth and Kathleens deaths were simply tragic. The two were buried side by side after Ratlitt died. he spits. 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. After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. 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. 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. However, back in Germany Michael Peterson's BFF Elizabeth Ratliff also happened to die in another "freak staircase accident" in 1995. 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 . Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. 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. "I could not give her what she really needed and deserved, and that would be a full-time partner living with her in Paris. (We dont know if this is factual or just a dramatized coincidence.) 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. 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. "There was nothing out of place, except that she was no longer living," she recalled almost two decades later. It has been quite a ride, so before we discuss how it ended, lets look at how we got here. 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It is only natural that a mother want custody of her children, but why not the girls as their mother was supposedly her best or very close friend?? Seeing Margaret everyday no doubt caused her much stress and probably was the reason for many arguments that eventually led to the divorce. The similarities between the deaths of Elizabeth Ratliff and Kathleen Peterson raised eyebrows among the Durham authorities. So. We never charge him another cent and the appeal was done on a court-appointed basis.". There is also an alternate theory put forth by Petersons neighbor Larry (Joel McKinnon Miller) that Kathleen was viciously attacked by an owl. 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. 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. Appel-Schumacher said the blood was mostly on a wall adjacent to the staircase and it stretched from the top landing to the bottom. Viewers new to The Staircase story may have been surprised to learn Peterson dated Sophie Brunet, the editor of Lestrade's first documentary. 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. 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. 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. Peterson has to hire a high-powered defense team for his trial. 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. Instead, they used her death as an example of an incident that could have helped him "fake" Kathleen's accident. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. Exposing Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's tendentious film, the Peterson murder documentary: Death on the Stairacse. 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 Michael's daughter (as you can see the incredible similarities between she and Michael as well as his boys Todd & Clayton with Patty) https://flic.kr/p/JR7p1K 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. Im also sure as he is a master storyteller, that he convinced himself the story he told was the truth and his mind believed it, thus giving his consciousness the ability to feel he was innocent and then able to act the part of the victim as well. At their request, Ratliff's body was exhumed in Texas in April. 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. She was found by her children's nanny, Barbara Malagnino, who sought help from Patty shortly after making the grim discovery.. 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. 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. 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 defense maintains that the deaths are only similar on the surface, and Peterson plans to prove that to the judge--and the jury, if he rules against them--if necessary. At least, until tragedy struck. Who was Elizabeth Ratliff, and how did her 1985 death become part of Michael Peterson's trial? His only respite is his new relationship with Sophie, the documentary editor, and her letters. 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. 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. Michael Stuhlbarg portrayed Peterson's lawyer David Rudolf in the series. 15 hours ago, by Chandler Plante The coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. 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. 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. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. . 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. The real-life Rudolph is seen above. Jennifer McHugh is a Los Angeles-based writer. 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. 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. "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. The widow grew even closer with the Peterson family. Cat is Cosmopolitan UK's features editor covering women's issues, health and current affairs. So much so, that the court in Durham ordered the exhumation of Ratliff's body from her grave in Texas. What we do know is that he was found guilty of the first degree murder of his wife, Kathleen. Additionally, at the beginning of each episode, there is a disclaimer stating the show is "a dramatization based on certain facts. Why?? 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. "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. We charge Michael a fee for the trial. The best face wash for every single skin type. A retrial is granted, and Michael is released from prison and sentenced to house arrest with an ankle bracelet. It took weeks for all the blood to be cleaned up, according to "The Staircase. Three episodes in, drops a major bombshell: Peterson was the last person to see another woman who was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in Germany in 1985. A medical examiner who examined her body at the scene concurred that the death was probably an accident. In April 2003, a second autopsy was carried out by a Durham medical examiner, who concluded Ratliff's cause of death was "homicide." She was found by her children's nanny, Barbara Malagnino, who sought help from Patty shortly after making the grim discovery. 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. Furious she confronts Michael with her findings. by Lindsay Kimble Three, she never wrote to Michael while she was working on the project, never ever, ever. The neighbour, Karin Hamn, testified that she saw MP hurrying away from ER's house at 12.50 am on November 25th. Rudolf calls witnesses including the lead investigator from The Innocence Project and manages to convince the judge that Deaver lied about his qualifications on the stand. 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. I couldn't afford to live in Paris and my children, and grandchildren were in America," he said. Regina Green, an old family friend of Peterson pointed out in "The Staircase" how much Ratliff and Petersons first wife Patricia looked alike. On November 25, 1985, Elizbeth Ratliff was found dead at the bottom of her staircase, in an eerily similar way to the way Michael Peterson's wife, Kathleen Peterson was found on December 1, 2001. Both declined to comment directly on Rudolf's statements. For example, when prosecutor Jim Hardin is presenting his case to the grand jury ahead of the trial, Rudolf is seen standing in the same grand jury room, something that he said would never happen in a U.S. courtroom. 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.". 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. Regardless, Rudolf believes the damage has been done, describing it as "defamation" towards Brunet and de Lestrade. 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. Often, he'd help with the dishes or read to Ratliff's two young daughtersbefore returning home, according to the documentary series. 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. 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. 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. Where is Morgan from the Murdaugh Murders now? He was sentenced to time already served and freed from prison. 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