He later adopted Ratliff's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. The night before Elizabeth's death, Michael Peterson and his wife had dinner with Elizabeth and her two young daughters. There was a substantial amount of blood around the staircase, Witness Cheryl Appel-Schumacher testified during Petersons 2003 trial that the blood reached all the way up the staircase. 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. 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. I can't live in Paris. The 43-year-old died in 1985 in Germany, found at the bottom of her stairs by her children's nanny Barbara Malagnino. The coroner determined that she fell down the stairs after the brain bleed caused her immediate demise. He was sentenced to time already served and freed from prison. The prosecution shockingly reveals to the jury that, at age 43, Ratliff turned up dead at the bottom of her stairs in 1985, some 16 years earlier. Jean and Sophie dont know what to think anymore. When he separated from his wife, he brought his sons and the Ratliff children to the United States. Clayton has been in some trouble in the past, but has since been trying to turn his life around. At the time, the German police ruled her death an accident, and an autopsy concluded that she died of a brain hemorrhage. A one-stop-shop for all things video games. Those who were there in the aftermath of Elizabeth's death were called as witnesses, and the the state pathologist took to the stand to confirm Elizabeth Ratliff had sustained similar injuries to the ones Kathleen Peterson suffered. Period. Elizabeth Ratliff, a family friend of Michael Peterson and his first wife, Patricia, died in 1985, just two years after her husband, George. Brunet also stressed in the same article that her relationship with Peterson began later than depicted in the series and that her editorial decisions were not affected. She also remembered the copious amounts of blood near the staircase at the scene of Elizabeth's death. "What's the fucking grounds?" 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. She filed a . 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. It's believed that Michael was the last. Newsweek reached out to HBO and director Antonio Campos's representatives. As HBOs hit limited series The Staircase comes to a close, it is time to take a look back and assess what we just witnessed. 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. The widow grew even closer with the Peterson family. for those who arent familiar with the case: He wasconvicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and spent nearly a decade behind bars. 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 . 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. 1 week ago, by Eden Arielle Gordon What's eerily coincidental is the nature of her death: Elizabeth was found at the bottom of a staircase in her home with severe injuries to her head. When watching The Staircase, it might be hard to keep track of the complicated Peterson family tree. Kathleen even has a brief run-in with Freda Black. Thus, all we can positively state is, whatever the case may be, both Elizabeth and Kathleens deaths were simply tragic. The couples lived close; just down the road from each other in the town of Graefenhausen. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. The similarities between the deaths of Elizabeth Ratliff and Kathleen Peterson raised eyebrows among the Durham authorities. ", Speaking separately to Vanity Fair about the scenes in the fifth episode of HBO Max's The Staircase, Lestrade said: "We gave [Campos] all the access he wanted, and I really trusted the man. When the Petersons resided in Germany, Elizabeth had worked in the same school as Michael's then wife Patty. 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.