The author's ex-wife Patty maintains that their relationship was platonic and that her ex-husband is innocent. At A+E Networks EMEA youll find a team of innovative, creative and collaborative people who embrace change and want to continually try new things. 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?? Netflix's 'The Staircase': How did Elizabeth Ratliff really die? 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. Several similarities exist between the death of Elizabeth Ratliff in Germany in 1985 and the subject of this trial, which is the death of Kathleen Peterson in Durham, North Carolina in 2001. It was directed by French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and released by Maha Productions in October 2004. They fought and it turned physical. 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. 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. On November 9, the Court announced that it affirmed the decision of the appeals. Michael and Patty had two sons while living over in Germany - Clayton and Todd - while Elizabeth and George had two daughters, Margaret and Martha. Together, Elizabeth and George Ratliff had two daughters, Margaret and Martha Ratliff, who Michael Peterson would adopt following their deaths. "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. She was found by her children's nanny, Barbara Malagnino, who sought help from Patty shortly after making the grim discovery. So much so, that the court in Durham ordered the exhumation of Ratliff's body from her grave in Texas. Newsweek has everything you need to know. 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. Seeing Margaret everyday no doubt caused her much stress and probably was the reason for many arguments that eventually led to the divorce. Thus, all we can positively state is, whatever the case may be, both Elizabeth and Kathleens deaths were simply tragic. All Rights Reserved. Just four days before her death, she was complaining of severe headaches. [3] He attended classes at the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The judges did find defects in a search warrant, but said they had no ill effect on the defense. Because Peterson had already served more time than the sentence (98.5 months), he did not face additional prison time. The trial drew increasing media attention as details of Peterson's private life emerged. The neighbour, Karin Hamn, testified that she saw MP hurrying away from ER's house at 12.50 am on November 25th. In her opinion, the seven lacerations on her head indicated blunt force trauma. All Rights Reserved. The last person believed to see her alive was Michael Peterson the night before when their families had dinner together in her home. He pleaded not guilty. .css-4xjy6g{display:block;font-family:RundDisplay,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:0.01em;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-4xjy6g:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-4xjy6g{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;margin-top:1.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-4xjy6g{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:1.25rem;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-4xjy6g{font-size:1.625rem;line-height:1.2;}}Fans say same thing about new Will and Kate photo. He co-wrote the biographical Charlie Two Shoes and the Marines of Love Company with journalist David Perlmutt, and co-wrote Operation Broken Reed with Arthur L. Boyd. Doubt as to the admissibility of the Ratliff evidence in court was one of the grounds for the subsequent appeal against his conviction, lodged by Peterson's lawyers in 2005. SCOTUS Now Just Another Congressional Committee, Secret Chinese Police Stations in Europe Are 'Tip of the Iceberg', Trump's Attorney Just Blew Carroll Rape Case, King Charles Says Royals Require 'Acting Ability', Ukraine Will Regain 'Significant Territory' From Russia, Florida GOP Paves the Way to Help Ron DeSantis Challenge Trump. [19], Despite interest in this theory among some outside advocates, no motion for a new trial was filed on this point in 2009. He later adopted Ratliff's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. Spittle testified that he could not recall mentoring Deaver who, since completing a two-day training course in the 1980s, had testified in only four cases, the Peterson case being the third. T he death of Elizabeth Ratliff was brought into the Peterson case. [16][17] A re-examination of the hair in September 2008 had found two more microscopic owl feathers. "Prosecutors spent thousands of dollars transporting her boy 12,000 miles from Bay City, Texas to Chapel Hill," Defense AttorneyDavid Rudolf said on "The Staircase." 2023 Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. New statewide softball rankings ahead of conference tournament week, Riverside-Durham alum Jordon Riley drafted by the New York Giants, Fatal crash on Lake Woodard Drive Sunday evening, NFL Draft: Panthers draft Wolfpack's offense guard Chandler Zavala, GOP lawmakers want to pay for students' private education. On February 24, 2017, Peterson entered an Alford plea (a guilty plea entered because sufficient evidence exists to convict him of the offense, but the defendant asserts innocence) to the voluntary manslaughter of Kathleen. Peterson lived next door to Ratliff when she died. Elizabeth Ratliff, a family. An autopsy at the time of her death concluded Ratliff died from an intra-cerebral hemorrhage 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. Michael, a Vietnam War vet, bonded with Elizabeth's husband, George, who was a captain in the military. Despite the evidence submitted during the trial, Elizabeth Ratliff's daughters, Margaret and Martha - who had been brought up by Michael and Kathleen - stood by their adoptive father and continued to protest his innocence. Todd dialed 911 within minutes of arriving on the scene. His release on bond followed a judicial order for a new trial after Judge Hudson found that Deaver had given "materially misleading" and "deliberately false" testimony about bloodstain evidence, and had exaggerated his training, experience, and expertise. 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? At the time, the German police ruled her death an accident and an autopsy concluded that she died of a brain hemorrhage. The 43-year-old died in 1985 in Germany, found at the bottom of her stairs by her children's nanny Barbara Malagnino. On November 12, 2008, attorneys J. Burkhardt Beale and Jason Anthony of Richmond, Virginia, who were now representing Peterson, filed a motion for a new trial in Durham County court on three grounds: that the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence about the blow poke, that the prosecution used an expert witness whose qualifications were disputed, and that one juror based his judgment on racial factors. By being summoned to the scene in Germany and living at the scene in Durham, the Defendant is then present on the scene . Here's the OTHER Death at the Center of Netflix's The Staircase. After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. Michael Iver Peterson was born near Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Eugene Iver Peterson and Eleanor Peterson (ne Bartolino). 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. ", Her death was eventually ruled a homicide. Michael and Patricia adopted Margaret and her sister Martha after their parents, George and Elizabeth Ratliff, passed away. 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. After eight years, Peterson was granted a new trial after the judge ruled a critical prosecution witness gave misleading testimony. She often ate dinner with the Petersons, and Michael would help her clean up and tuck in her children at bedtime. Some speculate that Michael shared an illicit affair with Elizabeth. Here's what we know about the real-life events. 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. In 1971, he received an honorable discharge with the rank of captain after a car accident left him with a permanent disability. It was one of America's most gripping murder trials of the last two decades. It also examines the role and behavior of the press as it covered aspects of the case. [33] On November 14, 2016, Peterson's request for the second trial to be dismissed was refused, and a new trial was scheduled to begin on May 8, 2017. He had all the medals, but said he did not have the documentation for them. We believe that once she learned this information that an argument ensued and a homicide occurred. "There was nothing out of place, except that she was no longer living," she recalled almost two decades later. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. 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. They were 2 and 1 years old when Ratliff died. We anticipate change, identify future opportunities and are excited by the potential that tomorrow brings. Elizabeth's death is a tragedy, but whether it was brought upon by an ill-fated accident or contemptuous murder, we'll never know. Investigators exhumed her grave in Bay City, TX. Peterson was reportedly the last person to see her alive. With our diverse line-up of original, high-quality programming, our distribution partners across EMEA recognise the benefits of offering A+E Networks EMEA's distinctive, high quality brands on their platforms and services. Following the guilty verdict, de Lestrade interviewed the jurors to find out why they reached their verdict. However, Radisch's opinion was challenged by other experts in three separate affidavits filed in 2010. When authorities found Elizabeth dead at the bottom of a staircase. 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 died in 1985. Elizabeth Ratliff, 43, was a close Peterson family friend who died in Germany in 1985.
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