Michael Peterson is believed to have been the last person to see her alive. On October 10, 2003, after one of the longest trials in North Carolina history, a Durham County jury found Peterson guilty of the murder of Kathleen,[11] and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. T he death of Elizabeth Ratliff was brought into the Peterson case. 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.". At A+E Networks EMEA, we share stories that matter. NC Supreme Court Opinions and Cases | FindLaw 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. Elizabeth Ratliff, shown in the Netflix docu-series "The Staircase.". Michael, a Vietnam War vet, bonded with Elizabeth's husband George, who was a captain in the military. The exhumation of Elizabeth Ratliff. 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. Peterson wrote three novels based "around his experiences during the Vietnamese conflict":[3] The Immortal Dragon, A Time of War, and A Bitter Peace. If you've reached episode three of Netflix's latest true crime addition, .css-tjvzc4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;border-bottom:thin solid #6F6F6F;}.css-tjvzc4:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}The Staircase, you'll have discovered one of many plot twists in the documentary series. 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. Peterson was housed at the Nash Correctional Institution near Rocky Mount until he was released on December 16, 2011. [18], According to Pollard, had a jury been presented with this evidence it would have "materially affected their deliberation and therefore would have materially affected their ultimate verdict". However, things changed once her embalmed body was exhumed nearly two decades later, in April 2003. After graduating, Peterson took a civilian job with the United States Department of Defense, where he was assigned to research arguments supporting increased military involvement in Vietnam. Michael and Patty had two sons while living over in Germany - Clayton and Todd - while Elizabeth and George had two daughters, Margaret and Martha. They had two children, Clayton and Todd. WildBlue Press", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Peterson_trial&oldid=1152187173, 20th-century American non-fiction writers, United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni, Overturned convictions in the United States, People convicted of murder by North Carolina, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by North Carolina, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Motion for new trial denied by Durham County Superior Court on March 10, 2009, "The Staircase Murders" - 2007 TV Movie written by Aphrodite Jones, This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 18:49. [34] However, a news report on February 7, 2017, indicated that a resolution had been negotiated by Rudolf (once again representing Peterson) and the Durham County District Attorney. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. First, her death was ruled natural After her death, German officials concluded that Ratliff died of a cerebral hemorrhage which led to her falling down the stairs. The Staircase launches on Netflix on 8 June. Noticing the uncanny similarities with Kathleen's case, prosecutors took a closer look at Elizabeth's death in 2003. They fought and it turned physical. It was one of America's most gripping murder trials of the last two decades. He was sentenced to time already served and freed. "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. Although the original autopsy concluded Ratliff died of a brain aneurysm, the coincidence of Peterson being the last known person to see two different women alive before they both wound up dead. [6], The prosecution said that Kathleen's murder was most likely committed with a custom-made fireplace poker called a blow poke. She also remembered the copious amounts of blood near the staircase at the scene of Elizabeth's death. Hearst UK is the trading name of the National Magazine Company Ltd, 30 Panton Street, Leicester Square, London, SW1Y 4AJ. They argued as he would not agree to this. When the Petersons resided in Germany, Elizabeth had worked in the same school as Michael's then wife Patty. Another witness testified to spending much of the day cleaning blood stains off the wall. Autopsy Report Reveals Ratliff Was Homicide Victim - WRAL.com Either of these scenarios give him time, time in which the blood to dry to the point it did when the EMTs got there and noticed it was not wet as it should be, had it just happened. He was released on bond in 2011 pending a retrial. He killed George Ratcliff by poisoning with arsenic, had an affair with Elizabeth, she was about to out him to his wife and he cleverly killed her, making it look like she fell down stairs. It was directed by French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and released by Maha Productions in October 2004. 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. Her death had been investigated by both the German police and U.S. military police. I believe that Kathleen excused herself to go get ready for a meeting the next morning. Peterson's lawyers took issue with the examiner's assessment. Thus, all we can positively state is, whatever the case may be, both Elizabeth and Kathleens deaths were simply tragic. 'The Staircase' on HBO Max: That Ending Explained and All Your - CNET But two years after George's death, as if the Ratliff family hadn't suffered enough trauma, Elizabeth too was found dead - at the bottom of the staircase at her home in Germany. Reddit - Dive into anything Margaret and Martha would be raised by Michael and his second wife, Kathleen Atwater, whom he met in 1986. Michael, a Vietnam War vet, bonded with Elizabeth's husband, George, who was a captain in the military. Michael Peterson was connected to the 1985 death of Elizabeth Ratliff, an elementary school teacher who taught military children on Rhein-Main Air Force base in West Germany. Our stories are global and local, linear and digital, and always compelling. He was granted a new trial in 2011, which was scheduled to begin in May 2017. How Accurate Is 'The Staircase' on HBO Max? - Newsweek Upon examination, forensic pathologist Deborah Radisch, who also worked on Kathleen's case, said that Elizabeth's injuries were inconsistent with an accident. 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. On April 16, 2003, the state medical examiner's office carried out a second autopsy on Elizabeth Ratliff's body. Together, Elizabeth and George Ratliff had two daughters, Margaret and Martha Ratliff, who Michael Peterson would adopt following their deaths. The defense 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. In the documentary, Michael remembers he and his then-wife, Patricia, had dinner at the Ratliff home and he stayed behind to help Elizabeth put Martha and Margaret to. A medical examiner who examined her body at the scene concurred that the death was probably an accident. . 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. Freda Black's closing argument October 3, 2003 "I looked around and there was a lot of blood on the floor. Seeing Margaret everyday no doubt caused her much stress and probably was the reason for many arguments that eventually led to the divorce. Our culture embraces individuals, in all their daring, passionate, ambitious glory. Elizabeth Ratliff's death had a huge impact on her youngest daughter, Martha ( Odessa Young ). He graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree in political science. 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. The. We anticipate change, identify future opportunities and are excited by the potential that tomorrow brings. In June 2006, he voluntarily filed for bankruptcy. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. And in such an evolving industry, tomorrow is always today. The autopsy report concluded that the 48-year-old woman sustained a matrix of severe injuries, including a fracture of the superior cornu of the left thyroid cartilage and seven lacerations to the top and back of her head, consistent with blows from a blunt object, and had died from blood loss ninety minutes to two hours after sustaining the injuries. If Mike believed Liz's death was a fall, and if he remembered seeing lots of blood, there must be a reason that he now lies to say there was little blood. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title.
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