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. An autopsy at the time of her death concluded Ratliff died from an intra-cerebral haemorrhage secondary to the blood coagulation disorder Von Willebrand's disease, based on blood in her cerebrospinal fluid and reports that she had been suffering severe, persistent headaches in the weeks leading up to her death. "Rather, they are indicative of multiple blunt force impacts, either from blows to the head caused by a blunt object or by the head being forcibly struck against a hard surface," Radisch concluded. "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. A one-stop-shop for all things video games. 1 day ago. 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 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. 13 hours ago, by Chanel Vargas She often ate dinner with the Petersons, and Michael would help her clean up and tuck her children to sleep. "For another year, she was gone. 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. The coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. She'd reportedly died from an intracerebral hemorrhage, secondary to a blood clot disorder. , Awesome, Youre All Set! At the time, the German police ruled her death an accident and an autopsy concluded that she died of a brain hemorrhage. What are the side effects of antidepressants? I spoke with a German investigator. 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. Michael is convinced that the DA is on a witch hunt since Michael had written critical columns on the DA in the past. 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. 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 injuries are indicative of multiple blunt force impacts". It's believed that Michael was the last person to see her alive. So much so, that the court in Durham ordered the exhumation of Ratliff's body from her grave in Texas. Tragedy struck, however, in 1983, when Elizabeth's husband George was killed in a secret military operation overseas. The best face wash for every single skin type. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. The family gathers in the courtroom for the retrial hearing. Elizabeth's updated autopsy report indicated that she died from homicidal assault. 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. The jury finds Michael guilty and sentences him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 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. I don't speak French. "It was a great blow to both of us, for which I feel not guilt, but sorrow," he continued. 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. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. At their request, Ratliff's body was exhumed in Texas in April. In her report, Dr. Deborah L. Radisch concluded that Elizabeth Ratliff's injuries were "inconsistent with a fall down a set of stairs.". I believe that the 2 were out by the pool having a glass or 2 of wine as they often did. Aside, from being untrue, it's completely offensive.". So that's why today I'm very uncomfortable because I feel that I've been betrayed in a way.". Michael struggles with life outside of prison and sees his children are struggling as well. In the end, Michael Peterson was convicted of murdering Kathleen Peterson. The Innocence Project gets involved and approaches Freda Black, now working at a dry cleaner, for information. You know, I mean, all you have to do is watch the documentary to know that that's not true. 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. 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. 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 medical examiner found Kathleen Peterson and Elizabeth Ratcliffe suffered similar blows to the head, including seven lacerations which were sustained by blunt force trauma. Sophie is skeptical hearing about this theory at first, but soon leans in and pushes for a re-examination of the body. To begin with, he said that the scene where he was introduced to Michael Peterson (played by Colin Firth) in a diner while eating pastrami did not happen in real life. In her opinion, the seven lacerations on her head indicated blunt force trauma. "It is further my opinion that these injuries were incurred while Mrs. Ratliff was alive and are of sufficient severity to have caused her death.". German police arrived at the scene and quickly deemed Elizabeth's fall an accident. Why?? For exhumation, she has to receive permission from Caitlin, who vehemently denies her request. 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. 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. Lestrade appears throughout the series, filming Michael in the most mundane and dramatic of moments, capturing his family and his entire trial, appeal, and release. But . Elizabeth Ratliff and. She edited the scenes of us in the house, you know, meeting with experts, that sort of thing," he continued. Cosmopolitan, Part of the Hearst UK Fashion & Beauty Network. He was sentenced to time already served and freed from prison. During her testimony, Appel-Schumacher told Hudson that Ratliff was happily married to George Ratliff, who died in a secret military operation overseas in 1983, and was devastated when he died. All Rights Reserved. In her opinion, the seven lacerations on her head indicated blunt force trauma. Michael Peterson took charge of all the details, and friends of Elizabeth Ratliff were grateful that he did, she said. 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 . "There was no pool of blood.". Prosecutors say the similarities are too many to be coincidental. But they need to put themselves in their shoes, think if you already came from a broken home, wouldnt you try to believe in every last possibility that your parent could not do something so horrific, even if similar circumstances also involved that parent many years before? 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. It's all in the documentary, it's there. How much, I can't say," Appel-Schumacher testified outside the jury's presence. Then I went and realized, no, I can't. She also remembered the copious amounts of blood near the staircase at the scene of Elizabeth's death. 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. The pair "had a loving, almost familial relationship," Patty described. 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. 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. He was granted a new trial in 2011, which was scheduled to begin in May 2017. At least, until tragedy struck. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! OR after heaving her down the stairs to make sure she indeed was dead, struck her again a few times with the same item as at the front door-he may not even have had to hit her fast, he could do it more slowly which would not end up leaving castoff on the ceiling, which was an issue at the trial-if he had struck her surely there would be castoff on the ceiling, but they were figuring on it being done in a fast frenzy-he then changed clothing and got rid of the clothing and the item he struck her with. 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. The 43-year-old died in 1985 in Germany, found at the bottom of her stairs by her children's nanny Barbara Malagnino. On the prosecution side, Durham County District Attorney Jim Hardin (Cullen Moss) and Assistant District Attorney, Freda Black (Parker Posey) take on the case. In the fifth episode, Brunet and Lestrade are seen arguing with their producer over which clip to delete from the documentary. The News & Observer, Durham's local news outlet, reported how "Margaret and Martha Ratliff wrapped their arms around each other and mourned" upon hearing their father's guilty verdict. The similarities between the deaths of Elizabeth Ratliff and Kathleen Peterson raised eyebrows among the Durham authorities. And no questions were raised when her close friend Michael Peterson adopted her daughters, Margaret and Martha. "There was blood splatter all over those walls. He said they wanted the same medical examiner who claimed that Peterson's wife wasn't accidental to perform the autopsy rather than a neutral pathologist in Texas as he suggested. 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? Jennifer McHugh is a Los Angeles-based writer. As seen on The Staircase, both girls publicly supported Peterson during his trial and became inconsolable when he was convicted. 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. That is f***ing defamation because Sophie was off the project," Rudolf said. Noticing the uncanny similarities with Kathleen's case, prosecutors took a closer look at Elizabeth's death in 2003. Michael's adopted daughters also believe that he did not kill their biological mother. for those who arent familiar with the case: He wasconvicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and spent nearly a decade behind bars. Todd, who has always been the responsible one, starts to unravel under the pressure of the trial. he continued. 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. "What's the fucking grounds?" Bush: Prosecutor taking up Schiavo inquiry. His appeal is rejected, but the documentary is a huge hit and renews interest in his case. 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? 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