Spoiler Alert! Spoilers for “The Staircase” ahead.
Chapter 3: A Striking Coincidence
Lightning Never Strikes Twice… Or Does it?
In 1985, Liz Ratliff, a friend of Michael and his first wife, Patti, died in Germany from a cerebral hemorrhage. Her nanny found her in the morning, lying at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor. Her two children, Margaret and Martha, were asleep upstairs.
This became the linchpin for the prosecution’s theory that Michael had murdered Liz Ratliff as well as Kathleen Peterson. Although the German police, a German doctor, the United States Army military police, and an autopsy had all concluded that Liz had died of natural causes, the fact that Michael had dropped her off at her house the night before, coupled with the fact her body was found by the nanny at the foot of a set of stairs, was enough for the prosecution to seek to exhume Liz’s body for another autopsy.
Logically, the prosecution’s theory made no sense. There was no evidence that Liz had been murdered. Even if she had, there was no evidence that Michael was responsible. He was asleep at his house, with Patti, when Liz’s body was found by the nanny. There was no motive, and there was no evidence that Liz had been anything other than Patti’s best friend (although the prosecution conducted DNA testing during the trial to try to prove that Michael was Margaret and/or Martha’s biological father. The tests proved he wasn’t).
Nor was there any financial benefit to Michael from Liz’s death. To the contrary, Liz had asked Patti and Michael to be her children’s guardians if anything ever happened to her, since her husband had died shortly before in a plane crash. They had taken Margaret and Martha into their home and raised them with their own two children, Clayton and Todd. Even after Michael and Patti divorced, and Michael remarried, the girls became part of his blended family with Kathleen.
So, the theory boiled down to a classic case of circular reasoning. According to the prosecution,
the fact that Michael had allegedly murdered Kathleen on a staircase was evidence that he had also murdered Liz on a staircase. And the fact that he had murdered Liz on a staircase was evidence that he had also murdered Kathleen on a staircase. Pursuant to this theory, Michael had discovered a method to murder women on stairways, spared his wife Patti during their divorce proceedings, but struck again 17 years later, out of the blue, to do away with Kathleen. Stripped to its essentials the theory was almost absurd.
But it had a powerful emotional appeal. Lightning doesn’t strike twice (except, of course, when it does). This was not just a macabre coincidence. It was proof that Michael was not just a murderer, but a serial killer.
We would argue that without independent proof that Michael had murdered Liz, the evidence that Liz had been found dead at the bottom of a staircase was completely irrelevant. And the unfair prejudice was obvious. But we didn’t know how the judge would rule.
So we went to Germany to conduct our own investigation. The result – the only evidence that Michael had anything to do with the death of Liz Ratliff in Germany was that he had allegedly murdered Kathleen 17 years later in a stairway in Durham, North Carolina. There was no other evidence that Liz had been murdered, let alone that Michael had killed her.
But the exhumation went forward anyway. It was clear that this would be a war, and that the prosecution would use any means necessary to win.
I think you are a brillant attorney and you did an excellent job. I could see the pain on your face when you realized in the I believe in Michael Peterson’s home (on his birthday)that talking about Kathleen in the “practical sense of defending your case” was causing pain to Michael. You can see how kind you must be and how much this changed you all by your expression.
I am curious as to why you didn’t pursue the owl theory? If she had fallen outside prior to going inside ie: the pine needles in her hair.. blood outside on door, her footprints in the blood..would’t this also go to help show that a fall was more likely to have occurred once outside and then again inside? She likely slipped in this urnine/blood mix. I mean she had a neck fracture not a skull fracture. She did not seem like a lady that would have owl feathers (not even microscopic ones) on her person. Nor twigs or pine needles in her hair. Some of the hair was removed by the root. Her injuries seemed to me(from what I saw) to be more fall related. The blood splatter, did seem like coughing and aspiration related to bleeding from the head and inhaling it. Also, how genius it was to file the motions before trying to ask for a plea. Wow, just wow. You are an excellent Attorney.
I enjoyed The Staircase very much. I have almost no doubt at all that Michael Peterson is guilty. A striking coincidence that two women in your life fall down the stairs and die? Lots, really lots of blood in both cases? Adopt the two girls? Kathleen had signs of strangulation, crushed thyroid cartilage. An owl? Mr. Peterson enjoys the camera, he is the depiction of a narcissistic psychopath. He made that documental so he could show his side, his twisted side of the story. It is really amazing how he could foul so many people. The children, all of them so weird, excepting Caitlin who after reading the autopsy report could see the other side of her stepfather. A loving couple, Michael and Kathleen? He sleeping with call boys, that was the perfect couple? Oh, come on!
I don’t think we should bring our personal opinions in to it , a case is all about evidence not how strange the family is in one guy’s opinion no this is a court case not a popularity contest we must look at the evidence and consider all possible outcomes I mean maybe someone else killed her on the staircase and left , But to suggest murder without anyone having a clue what kind of weapon can cause such strange injuries without damaging the skull is very unsettling I mean the prosecution is a joke their blood expert was a fraud and a liar so they have done more to help MP than convict him but as for Germany that was a bad idea to bring that case in as they bungled autopsy too and the evidence was later thrown out on appeal no if MP was a murder we cannot judge him on his personality if we judge people on personality we would all be in trouble fact is killing a woman and being a homosexual odd ball writer are not the same thing no what we needed was Colombo on the case
Brilliant defense attorney, and all credit to your team. But I still can’t believe there would be so much blood in both cases from accidentally failing down the stairs.
Has anyone noticed how margaret looks like mike, get a dna test on her cause that would if been motive to kill there mom if she wanted to tell his wife the truth!!!!! And motive to kill kathleen, he was pissed brad cancelled kathleen found out maybe threatened to divorce..who knows what but lead to another horrable death.
I just read that the prosecution tested the girls’ DNA, hoping that Michael was the bio father to strengthen their case, but the tests proved that they are not related..
Melinda, what you’ve read about DNA test comes only from super slick defender David – his job is not to believe or disbelieve but to prove his case whatever the methods or truth. I can’t find evidence of a DNA test elsewhere. Soledad is correct and I find it disturbing that this is not obvious to all. Mike Peterson is indeed a narcissistic psychopath who killed both Kathleen and Elizabeth, likely for the reasons stated. Moreover Mike and the children supporting him all lie that Kathleen and they knew he was bisexual- he states late in the series that nobody knew ( apart, of course, from the men he slept with). He lies and gets his kids to collaborate in this. And in that segment there’s a sense of that. That they are all enjoying a shared secret ( the lie). It leads to a closeness the kids clearly need to feel more than ever whilst helping his portrayal of himself as a flawed but nice guy and Mike knows this. ( Psychopath). At other points it’s like watching a cult leader with adoring brainwashed followers Margaret and Martha. And ex wife Patty has the same demeanour- as though they are in awe of this author/ fake marine hero. Which view he will have worked hard to encourage and exaggerate and would do anything to maintain. With both dead women his cover persona was under threat. The constant laughing and joking around all that blood and death is also repulsive in the circumstances and designed to portray a strong bonded family. Children of MP please listen to testimony from other killers kids- never suspected, loving father etc. He uses classic psychopath devices such as talking about racial segregation to get liberal viewers on side as they are the ones most likely to support his acquittal. The way he expresses it is wierd. Everything on this side is white, everything on that side is black. Constantly trying to portray a nice, middle class, anti racist, fair guy. It feels very very fake. He was also caught in the past stealing £1000 cash and other things from good friends. He lied about his military achievements. Most damning of all: try surveying a thousand people and ask how many have lost two close people in the same bizarre accident where they were the one to either find the body or be a few houses away. Check out Patty’s strange account of the first death and changing her answers whilst casually stating a 1 and a 2 year old were left alone for 30 minutes. I don’t know if MP was having an affair with Elizabeth or her Captain husband or both. His narcissistic manipulations may easily have had Patty involved in whatever and putting up with whatever, no reason ever given for their break up. A novelist, a fantasist who almost believes his own lies, a narcissist and psychopath who said himself he wants to be remembered. People may read his disturbing drivel now that he is famous after a truly dreadful, one sided, misogynistic and self serving for MP documentary.
After reading some of the comments, I am beginning to doubt the validity of a jury trial. These jurors and these comments are emotional instead of logical. What people fail to realize is that if there is ANY reasonable doubt the jury must acquit…Of course it is possible for there to be a great deal of blood if someone falls down the stairs…And that’s all you need…There have been scores of cases throughout history where there is some kind of strange coincidence. Strange coincidences happen to us often in our lives but we don’t pay attention because there is no possible murder attached to them…The prosecution did not prove with 100% certainty that he killed her so he should have been acquitted. But this is not the world we live in anymore. We live in a world world where drama has replaced common sense.