And Michael jokes that "well, it's in the genes". (2013-2017) WRAL Murder Trials Self - Audience Member / Self. Related:The Ripper: Does Netflix's True Crime Series Glorify Serial Killers? The real Todd Peterson, Martha Ratliff, Margaret (Ratliff) Blakemore, Clayton Peterson. -Inside the Staircase. Here is a cast and character guide. Heres a breakdown of the family members, how they sided during Michael Petersons trial, and where each person is now. Thats not a definitive test considering the source isnt 100% for sure to have been Margarets DNA. Lizs brother had the same last name as married Liz? They always sat right behind their dad in the courtroom where he was. The outlet also reports Clay as saying it has been surreal to still be dealing with the question of whether his father is guilty or innocent. What if they were swingers? In another post, the poster says that there was discussion of Martha Blair adopting Martha but not Margaret who would stay with MP. In researching how accurate is The Staircase on HBO Max, we confirmed that this was the argument put forward by the defense. Bustle quotes her as saying about the trials she experienced, The only thing that I have to say about the trial and all the subsequent fallout is that, if there was any closure to possibly come from all of this, it came after sitting through the entire trial and listening day after day to all the evidence on both sides, she said. Rudolf specializes in covering high-profile cases. Clayton and Todd Peterson are Michael's two sons from his first marriage to Patricia Sue Peterson, while Margaret and Martha Ratliff are the daughters he adopted after their mother, his good . Black played an instrumental role in securing the murder conviction, playing on Peterson's bisexuality to create a strong motive that won over the jury. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. His bond restrictions were eased in July 2014.As we explored The Staircase fact vs. fiction, we discovered that he remained on bail until February 2017 when he entered an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter. He helped to overturn the wrongful conviction of Alan Gell, return hard-earned money to Vietnamese immigrants Hai and Oanh Le Nguyen after it was seized by the federal government, and got several accused murderers acquitted. Rewatching the documentary Im really noticing that he seems obsessed with Margaret. (2007-2016) Although Margaret Ratliff was not the biological child of either Michael or Kathleen Peterson, she loved her adoptive mother and remained loyal to her adoptive father throughout the trial. The Staircase Netflix Documentary and HBO Max series about the death of Kathleen Peterson and which follows the trial of Michael Peterson. He is not the father, as Maury would say. It is perhaps these puzzling details that could've potentially led Caitlin and Candace to remain convinced of Michael Peterson's guilt despite the eventual judgment. Not much is known about their lives outside of the glimpses provided in The Staircase. Im at a talk by David Rudolph and he states that they had them DNA tested and he is NOT her father!!! Press J to jump to the feed. One major presence is Todd Peterson, one of Michael's children from his first marriage, who is played by Patrick Schwarzenegger in the HBO show. especially when she is sitting behind him at a diagonal in court and you can really see their faces almost side by side. David Rudolf served as Michael Peterson's defense attorney during his trial. Margaret Ratliff, Clayton Peterson, Todd Peterson, and Martha Ratliff in Dateline NBC (1992) People Margaret Ratliff, Clayton Peterson, Todd Peterson, Martha Ratliff. He claims to have bid goodnight to his wife as she . Following his wife Kathleen Peterson's death, he pled not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder. It was Elizabeth Ratliffs death, which occurred not long after George Ratliffs death, that became a turning point in Michaels case. Michael then married Kathleen. Peterson adopted Margaret and Martha Ratliff after their mother Elizabeth "Liz" Ratliff died in 1985 in Germany at the age of 43. Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the entire case, Michael took an Alford deal in 2017, declaring guilt without sufficient evidence in order to go free without serving additional time. Patricia was Elizabeth's coworker at the elementary school and the Petersons were also Elizabeth's neighbors. Margaret and Martha Ratliff Michael and his first wife Patricia had been good friends with George and Elizabeth Ratliff throughout the 1980s, and George Ratliff died in a military operation. At the end of a trial that lasted more than three months and was one of the longest in North Carolina history, a jury convicted Michael Peterson of first-degree murder on October 10, 2003. of Elizabeth Ratliff? Kathleen's sister, Candace Zamperini, changed her mind about his innocence after learning of his bisexuality.More recently, Michael Peterson's son, Todd Peterson, released a video in December 2021 in which he states that he changed his mind about his father's innocence. Martha Ratliff Born: January 3, 1983 Birthplace: Germany Bio: Michael Peterson's Adopted Daughter Trini Alvarado Born: January 10, 1967 Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA Patricia Peterson Born: March 12, 1943 Birthplace: Paris, Arkansas, USA Death: July 8, 2021, Durham, North Carolina, USA (heart attack) Bio: Michael Peterson's First Wife Apologies I just finished watching and maybe I missed something. Per The News & Observer, Clay Peterson has two children and lives in Maryland. She also worked as an uncredited production assistant on Star Trek: Into Darkness and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Bringing out her birthday cake was tone deaf & weird AF, yes? Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Following her husband's death, Elizabeth became reliant on the Petersons. Martha tells her it was a brain aneurysm, and that Patricia Peterson had been a mother to her, but mostly it was Kathleen. I've never known anyone who didn't turn off their pool fountain at night! Therefore, the plea to the reduced charge is the better option. My body and my whole nervous system will think that something like the trial is happening. Seems like something to be explored. Today, Caitlin Atwater lives in northern Virginia with her family. Celebrity Net Worth reports that the sisters' loving father, Michael Peterson's net worth is $500k from his writing career. Todd Peterson lives in Tennessee. At some point, the sons stop living with Patty. The point remains that it still is not definitive. Both Margaret and Martha appeared frequently in interviews and documentaries in support of their father. He is at the pool, it's late evening. A fervent supporter of his father while he was on trial, Newsweek reported that Peterson's second son is currently living somewhere in Tennessee. Little did anyone know at that time that on December 9, 2001, it would all fall apart. Kathleen had a $1.4 million life insurance policy that Michael stood to benefit from. According to Michael's son, Todd Peterson, his father was indeed broke at the time of Kathleen's death. Her narrow eyes and thin long nose are IDENTICAL to Michael Peterson. She fell down the stairs." -Esquire, Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Michael loved his wife and children, and for all intents and purposes lived an average life. Michael was coincidently the last person to see Elizabeth alive, leading many to speculate an affair or some conflict between the two once Kathleens case came around over 15 years later. Lead investigator, Art Holland was trying to find out if Ratliff, who was raised by Peterson, was his biological daughter, so he sent the letter to LABCORP to check Margaret Ratliff's DNA. After Kathleen Petersons strange, untimely death on the staircase in the couple's home, Michael and Kathleens children would each take a stance on whether or not they believed that Michael was involved in Kathleens death, and play a role in his trial. At the time of the incident, Toddran a websitecalled Futazi, which provided advice on various topics to teenagers. are you kidding? Although DNA testing seems to show shes not his biological daughter, he might be especially caring toward her BECAUSE she reminds him of himself and hes a bit of a narcissist. -Esquire. Soon after that, Michael and Patricia split up. Margaret more closely resembles Todd and Clayton than she does Martha. Netflix 5. Colin Firth is a well-established actor in the world of film and television. His sons, Clayton and Todd, also appear in the show. Prosecutors believe Mike Peterson not only killed his wife, but also Ratliff. He was later criticized for not answering all of the dispatcher's questions, which some say further points to his guilt in Kathleen Peterson's murder. The most baffling aspect, though, is that a similar 1985 demise of Elizabeth Ratliff is what led to Michael gaining custody of his daughters, Margaret and Martha Ratliff so lets find out more about them, shall we? With time served, Peterson was a free man . While Caitlin first supported her stepfather in the immediate days after her mothers death, she later turned suspicious of Peterson, and ended up becoming a key witness in the prosecution against him. In November of 1985, Michaels family had dinner with Elizabeth and her daughters, Margaret and Martha. The prosecution asserted that the murder weapon was a missing blow poke, a fireplace tool similar to a metal fire iron except that a blow poke is hollow so that you can blow through it to send oxygen to precise points of the fire. The bruises on her wrists and hands could have occurred as she was trying to shield herself from the blow poke or a similar murder weapon. Shealso lent her voice to the HBO Max Original animated seriesThe Prince. In 2003, however, information related to Elizabeth Ratliff that was brought up in court persuaded her to think otherwise about her stepfathers role in her mothers death. Emily is an avid fan of Marvel, anime, and horror (especially Stephen King), and is always willing to discuss Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Michael and his first wife Patricia had been good friends with George and Elizabeth Ratliff throughout the 1980s, and George Ratliff died in a military operation in 1983. Theseries was updated again when thedocumentary was released onNetflix, with another three episodes tacked on in 2018. According to News & Observer, he has come to terms with his fathers multiple hearings over the past few years. It is possible that the claw-like hook at the end of a blow poke could have torn into Kathleen Peterson's scalp without causing fractures to her skull, which are normally associated with a bludgeoning. Michael claimed that his wife had been aware of his extramarital affairs with men, an assertion Kathleen's sister disputed. This was the prosecution's theory, but the defense argued that a bludgeoning of that type would have produced skull fractures and brain injuries.The defense attempted to discredit the prosecution's blow poke theory by producing a blow poke during the trial. They had befriended Elizabeth and her husband, Captain George Ratliff, before he lost his life in a covert overseas military operation in 1983. The death of his wife Kathleen, however, sent his life into turmoil. Thats confusing. As a young man, he divided his time between North Carolina and Germany. If so, he most likely grabbed her by the hair on the front of her head with his right hand and then used his left hand to help repeatedly slam the back of her head into the wooden step at the bottom of the service stairs. In June of 2003, Margaret Ratliff sent a letter to Jim Hardin demanding the D.A. Barred Owl attacks are not uncommon and there had been other attacks in the area. Caitlin Atwater is Kathleen Petersons daughter from her first marriage to Fred Atwater. 2 of 35. He tried to stress that he was never engaged in extramarital relationships, only sex. An initial autopsy ruled her death an "accident." First of all, if we are to accept the paternity test, then they are not genetically related. Michael tucked Margaret and Martha in at night after the Peterson-Ratliff dinners at the Ratliff house. An image of a chain link. According to public record, Michael and Kathleen purchased their mansion in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Durham for $600,000 in 1992. Michael and Kathleen Peterson seemed to live a normal life in Durham, North Carolina, but when she wasfound dead at the bottom of their staircase on the evening of December 9, 2001, the tragedy turned their family upside down. The Staircase Netflix Documentary and HBO Max series about the death of Kathleen Peterson and which follows the trial of Michael Peterson. Though Michael Peterson's adopted daughters, Martha and Margaret Ratliff, . Anyone have any theories as to whether or not she's actually a Peterson/potential motivation for the death (murder?) The true story confirms that he dated Sophie Brunet, who is portrayed by Juliette Binoche in HBO's The Staircaseseries. Emily Clute is a features writer based out of New York. Have a look at Martha, she looks just like her dad. Yes, The Staircase on HBO Max is based on a true story. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Though neither young woman testified during the trial, they were both integral to the case, because the circumstances of their adoption were brought up by the prosecution to point towards Michael's possible guilt. In a 2021 video, Todd said that Kathleen once told Michael that she believed that people have three major romantic relationships during their lives as they age, and she indicated that she was currently in her second, implying that she and Michael would not remain together much longer. It could be as simple as that. 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