1987-United States-Michael and Patty have now since divorced (funny how so soon after this all happened) And in the divorce, the Petersons boys went with Patty while the Ratliff girls remained with Michael. Elizabeth Ratliff, 43, was a close Peterson family friend who died in Germany in 1985. The family gathers in the courtroom for the retrial hearing. Upon examination, forensic pathologist Deborah Radisch, who also worked on Kathleen's case, said that Elizabeth's injuries were inconsistent with an accident. Although Ratliff lost a lot of weight and mourned her husband's death deeply, Appel-Schumacher said Ratliff's mood lifted during 1985. 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. The nanny who found Elizabeth Ratliff's body in 1985 also took to the stand at Michael Peterson's murder trial and testified to witnesses about a large amount of blood at the scene. The North Carolina medical examiner performed an autopsy and concluded that she died from blunt force injuries and that it was the result of a homicide. 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. "There was blood splatter all over those walls. Their blended family included Michaels two sons from his first marriage, Clayton Peterson (Dane DeHaan) and Todd Peterson (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Kathleens daughter from her first marriage, Caitlin Atwater (Olivia DeJonge), and Michael's two adopted daughters, Margaret Ratliff (Sophie Turner) and Martha Ratliff (Odessa Young). Michael is convinced that the DA is on a witch hunt since Michael had written critical columns on the DA in the past. After her passing, Michael adopted Elizabeth's two daughters, Martha and Margaret. At the hearing for the Alford plea, the courtroom is noticeably less full. Peterson had been at her house the night before her death. Con Girl: Where is Samantha Azzopardi now? In 2017, Michael is contemplating taking the Alford plea, in which he would have to plead guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter for a reduced sentence, but he could not be retried. Both the German officials as well as the United States military police conducted investigations into Elizabeths case, and their autopsy ruled her manner of death an accident. Shed reportedly died from an intracerebral hemorrhage, secondary to a blood clot disorder. To quote, 'help him' on his appeal. Scott Stevenson was the editor on the in-court stuff, she had nothing to do with it. The defense will cross-examine Deaver Tuesday. "We made plans to live in Paris. Above, the real David Rudolf (R) and Michael Peterson (L) appear in court. "I was sitting here directly observing when the German medical examiner took the spinal tap and held the contents up so that he could view [it]," said Patty. Margaret and Martha lived with Michael Peterson but were never adopted by him. I spoke with a German investigator. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in October 2003. His analysis of the crime scene suggested that most of the blood splatter on the . I feel here is where things took a turn. In shock of what just transpired, Michael returned home where he would await news of Liz being found dead. 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. by Lindsay Kimble Both Peterson and his wife raised his two daughters, Margaret and Martha,as if they were their own. Noticing the uncanny similarities with Kathleen's case, prosecutors took a closer look at Elizabeth's death in 2003. Elizabeth Ratliff, shown in the Netflix docu-series "The Staircase.". "Prosecutors spent thousands of dollars transporting her boy 12,000 miles from Bay City, Texas to Chapel Hill," Defense AttorneyDavid Rudolf said on "The Staircase." . Authorities in Germany had determined that Ratliff's death was the result of a fatal stroke that sent her toppling down the stairs. Michael wasn't accused of murdering Elizabeth outright, but the fact that her daughters who he, again, adopted after her death were the recipients of a hefty life insurance policy was enough to cast doubt in the jurors of his case. The prosecution also discovers that back when Michael and Patty lived in Germany, Michael found ANOTHER woman at the bottom of a staircase Elizabeth Ratliff, the biological mother of Margaret and Martha. "There was no pool of blood.". "She wasn't actively dating, if that's the question," Appel-Schumacher said. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content.