Firth portrayed Peterson for eight episodes of the HBO Max drama based on the documentary of the same name. She even scheduled a doctor's appointment out of concern, and had an appointment the next week. Elizabeth Ratliff's daughters continue to believe Mike Peterson. But . Amongst them is the 1985 death of Elizabeth Ratliff, primarily because of the way she was found and how her two orphaned daughters soon ended up being adopted by the Petersons. Scott Stevenson was the editor on the in-court stuff, she had nothing to do with it. With The Staircase's true-crime drama available to watch on HBO Max now and the original The Staircase documentary streaming on Netflix, it is ultimately up to viewers to form their own opinion on what they believe happened on the evening Kathleen Peterson died. He explained that he first met Peterson at this house in Durham, North Carolina, and holding a meeting in a diner with a client would just never happen. Meanwhile, Michael's defense attorneys hire their own blood spatter experts, who testify that the blood patterns are just not consistent with a brutal strike to the head. Often, he'd help with the dishes or read to Ratliff's two young daughtersbefore returning home, according to the documentary series. by Lindsay Kimble She was very happy while planning a party she threw for Appel-Schumacher and her new husband two nights before she died, the witness recalled. The widow grew even closer with the Peterson family. "Once the trial started, they hired [film editor] Scott Stevenson to edit the trial footage. It is unknown if their disagreement happened in real life. Above, the real David Rudolf (R) and Michael Peterson (L) appear in court. Jennifer McHugh is a Los Angeles-based writer. }else { However, Rudolf did state he offered to come on board as a "technical consultant" for the series to consult on the courtroom and lawyer scenes but was not contacted by the team behind The Staircase. Story goes there was a lot of blood at the scene of Liz's death, according to the three women who testified at the trial It is true that Peterson and Brunet did date, with Peterson confirming to The News and Observer they went their separate ways in 2017. The autopsy report found that Elizabeth Ratliff had died in 1985 from “blunt force trauma to the head” by a “homicidal attack,” rather than of a brain hemorrhage while . two adorable daughters into their lives Margaret and Martha Ratliff. Todd, who used to be the responsible son, now seems to be falling apart as Clay, who used to be the irresponsible one, has fallen into the role of caretaker. if ( host.indexOf("europe.cnn.com") != -1 ) { Sign up for our Celebrity & Entertainment newsletter. She also remembered the copious amounts of blood near the staircase at the scene of Elizabeth's death. He later adopted Ratliff's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. Michael struggles with life outside of prison and sees his children are struggling as well. 1 week ago, by Eden Arielle Gordon They fought and it turned physical. host = new String(location.hostname); Despite a large amount of blood, witness Cheryl Appel-Schumacher testified Monday, Ratliff's death didn't pique the interest of German and U.S. investigators, and they left the house without the body and without taking any photographs. In 2011, a retrial hearing is granted after Duane Deaver, the analyst that had given the damning evidence against Michael at the first trial, finds himself under investigation. "There was no pool of blood.". Elizabeth Ratliff's Time of Death According to David Rudolf, the biggest flaw in the prosecution's theory regarding ER's death is the timeline and moreover that no one observed rigor mortis when they arrived on the scene. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. The DAs case focuses mainly on Michael Petersons lifestyle. Why??