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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. document.write('Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Posted: 1440 GMT (10:40 PM HKT)
<\/span>'); 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. So you know, the bottom line of all of that, is it creates this impression that this Academy Award-winning director, a documentarian was twisting his film for a completely unethical purpose to help the subject. 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. Con Girl: Where is Samantha Azzopardi now? As seen on The Staircase, both girls publicly supported Peterson during his trial and became inconsolable when he was convicted. She continued: "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. Authorities ruled Ratliff's death to be of natural causes, concluding that a cerebral hemorrhage caused her to fall and strike her head. His analysis of the crime scene suggested that most of the blood splatter on the . 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. 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 it came to light that Kathleen was not the first woman associated with Michael to be found dead at the bottom of the staircase, Elizabeths remains were exhumed for more information. 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. Seeing Margaret everyday no doubt caused her much stress and probably was the reason for many arguments that eventually led to the divorce. 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. . Jennifer McHugh is a Los Angeles-based writer. 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 prosecution used the evidence to draw parallels in court but never formally charged Michael with Elizabeth's death. 1 day ago, by Chanel Vargas A widow, Elizabeth raised two daughters and her family grew close with the Petersons. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. The Staircase airs Thursdays on HBO Max and Sky Atlantic. 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. And she said to me, 'So you're going to be content just being an old grandfather?' . When producer Denis Poncet (Frank Feys) and director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (Vincent Vermignon) come across the Peterson story, they wonder if there is a story there. Some may criticize them as to why they cant see he did it. The North Carolina medical examiner performed a second autopsy and concluded that Ratliff was beaten to death and that the German authorities missed the signs. "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.". Cosmopolitan participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. But . Despite speculation that Peterson may have killed Elizabeth Ratliff 16 years before Kathleen's death, something he has always strongly denied, the prosecution in Michael Peterson's trial didn't accuse Peterson of being responsible for Elizabeth Ratliff's death. But as Michael, again could not have this harmful information that could ruin his reputation get out, he flew into a rage again striking Kathleen as she was headed out the door, thus leaving the drops of blood on the porch which was what initially led to the owl theory (an owl latched onto Kathleens head with its sharp talons-crazy I know). Michael, a Vietnam War vet, bonded with Elizabeth's husband George, who was a captain in the military. Whether or not Michael Peterson killed Elizabeth Ratliff remains unknown. Judge Orlando Hudson Jr. will rule on whether the similarities between Ratliff's death and Kathleen Peterson's are sufficiently similar that jurors should hear the evidence. 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. After her death, German officials concluded that Ratliff died of a cerebral hemorrhage which led to her falling down the stairs. German investigators ruled Ratliff had died due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Or anyone else for that matter-NO ONE knows exactly what someone has in their home-their own or someone elses) he then went into self-preservation mode-his mind took him back to what happened with Elizabeth Ratliff and so he carried Kathleen or even helped guide her up the stairs, if she was still conscious, telling her he would help her and not to worry, however after climbing a certain amount of stairs, he then ended up heaving her down the stairs. 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?? I couldn't afford to live in Paris and my children, and grandchildren were in America," he said. Noticing the uncanny similarities with Kathleen's case, prosecutors took a closer look at Elizabeth's death in 2003. 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 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.". We never charge him another cent and the appeal was done on a court-appointed basis.". When the Petersons resided in Germany, Elizabeth worked in the same school as Michael's then-wife, Patty. host = new String(location.hostname); 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. The details of Elizabeth Ratliff's second autopsy were submitted as prosecuting evidence in Michael Peterson's trial for the murder of his wife, Kathleen. 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. She even scheduled a doctor's appointment out of concern, and had an appointment the next week. Netflixs new series The Staircase chronicles the trial of author Michael Peterson, whose wife Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her Durham, North Carolina home in November 2001. Peterson was the. "What's the fucking grounds?" } else if ( host.indexOf("asia.cnn.com") != -1 ) { Peterson's lawyers took issue with the examiner's assessment. Why?? Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Michael Stuhlbarg portrayed Peterson's lawyer David Rudolf in the series. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. Thus, all we can positively state is, whatever the case may be, both Elizabeth and Kathleens deaths were simply tragic. Colin Firth & Toni Collette on 'The Staircase' and What They Hope Audiences Take Away From It. Like Peterson, Ratliff was found at the bottom of her stairs with injuries to her head. He was released on bond in 2011 pending a retrial.