Save. Each episode is accompanied by a disclaimer that states it is a dramatization based on certain facts. With respect to the facts that formed the basis for the series, Antonio Campos and [co-showrunner], relied on extensive source material, including firsthand accounts of the people involved in the events that took place.. She was neighbors with Peterson and his ex-wife and they adopted the girls after her death. Explaining why Margaret Ratliff looks like Michael Peterson First of all, if we are to accept the paternity test, then they are not genetically related. They just loved each other so much." -- Margaret Ratliff. They make me really anxious., Had she known what she does now, Ratliff says that she never would have agreed to appear in de Lestrades project. Olivia DeJonge began a career in the world of film and television starting withher 2014 feature film debut,The Sisterhood of Night. To this day, Michael says that she died from a tragic fall down the stairs. The final episodes of the docuseries caught up with most of the kids, but mentions of Todd were minimal. The next morning, Elizabeth was found dead at the bottom of her staircase by a nanny, in an eerily similar way to how Kathleen Peterson would be found sixteen years later. 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. It came from a letter sent by Margaret Ratliff, the daughter of Elizabeth Ratliff. Martha's going home to Durham for. Althoughshe supported him in the beginning, autopsy photos of her mother's body turned her into a key witness for the prosecution. The Staircase subject Michael Peterson is furious over the HBO series adaptation, saying it goes beyond artistic license in its depictions. of the same name, helmed by Antonio Campos. The Staircase on HBO Max is the latest true-crime drama series on the streaming platform you do not want to miss. I used to suffer a lot from really bad nightmares; I used to have really bad panic attacks in public spaces because of being in the trial, she said. Parker Posey stars as Durham County assistant district attorney, the lead prosecutor at Peterson's trial. However, by the time Rudolf had enough evidence to support this theory, it was too late to present the idea in court. She could not bring herself to do it. Heres a breakdown of the family members, how they sided during Michael Petersons trial, and where each person is now. It is unfair. She was an executive at Nortel Networks, a telecommunications company, WRAL.com reported. Clayton and his brother Todd grew up with Patricia after their parents divorced, according to Newsweek. Thats especially because while Elizabeths death was initially ruled to be from an intracerebral hemorrhage, a second autopsy (from her exhumed body) in 2003 updated her manner of death to homicide. The evidence surrounding the case is still heavily debated, with one current theory supporting the possibility that Kathleen fell down the stairs after being attacked by a barred owl outside their home. Ad Choices, Peterson and Margaret Ratliff feel that their family tragedy was perverted for profit with HBO Maxs dramatized adaptation of, TVs Streaming Bubble Has Burst, a Writers Strike Looms, and Everybody Is Freaking Out. Both Margaret and Martha appeared frequently in interviews and documentaries in support of their father. Share on Twitter. But in the final episode, which was filmed the most recently, Michael remarked on the phone to his daughter Margaret that Todd "doesn't want this," seeming to refer to the attention that came with the court case. I feel really sorry, but Michael is focusing on the wrong target., Michael finds it particularly rich that Colin Firth did not reach out to him, allegedly out of concern that it would influence his portrayal. When a lifetime of fandom met a journalism degree, a ScreenRant writer was born. While Todd and his siblings were of the opinion that Michael did not harm Kathleen, according to AP News they still encouraged him to settle the case instead of having a retrial. Prosecutors believe Mike Peterson not only killed his wife, but also Ratliff. Lauren Kranc is the assistant content strategy editor at Esquire, where she runs the brands social media accounts and covers pop culture and television, with entirely too narrow an expertise on true crime shows, .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}Bella Ramsey Sorts Out 'The Last of Us' Finale, 'The Diplomat' Season 2: Everything We Know, Woody Harrelson Opens Up About His 'SNL' Monologue, Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux Open Up, The Spookiest Urban Legend in Every State, 'Succession' Showed It's Not Fun Ruling the World, Eight Shows to Watch After 'The Diplomat', The True Story Behind HBO's 'Love & Death'. She is an actress and assistant director, known for Subject (2022), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). Share. George Ratliff sadly died two years after his wife, and Michael Peterson went on to adopt the couple's two daughters Margaret and Martha Ratliff. What bothers Ratliff most about HBO Maxs adaptation of The Staircase, she says, is that her family members were not involved in formal conversations about the project, even though they are the shows main characters. Kathleen was only 48 years old when she died of blood loss at the bottom of the stairs in the Petersons' mansionin North Carolina. Watch new episodes ofThe Staircaseon HBO Max weekly. Netflix 7/9 Todd Peterson Todd is Clayton's. HBO Max's miniseries The Staircase details the death of Kathleen Peterson and the trial of her husband, Michael. Colin Firth as Michael Peterson, Sophie Turner as Margaret Ratliff, Odessa Young as Martha Ratliff, Patrick Schwarznegger as Todd Peterson, Dane DeHaan as Clayton Peterson and Olivia DeJonge as Caitlin Atwater. He was released on time served. ), Ratliff says that she was introduced to Campos after he optioned de Lestrades docuseries, occasionally meeting him for coffee over the years. Caitlin Atwater is the biological daughter of Kathleen Peterson and her ex-husband, Fred Atwater. The two both worked for the Department of DefensePatricia taught elementary school children there for over three decades. It still has the swimming pool. Toni Collette portrays the late Kathleen Peterson in The Staircase on HBO Max. Before it digs into the past, episode one kicks off in February 2017. Patrick Schwarzenegger and Dane DeHaan portray Michael Peterson's sons, Todd and Clayton, from his first marriage to Patricia Sue. Patricia, Michael's first wife, lived with Michael for several years in Germany, The News & Observer reported. It was only after reading that Harrison Ford had been cast as her father that she realized her family would play a larger role than Campos allegedly implied. After a lengthy court battle, he earned a new trial. Trump's latest attack addresses DeSantis' overseas trips to the U.K., Israel, Florida's Covid-19 record, and polling support for the 2024 Presidential race. For me, its like [my] heart beats faster, I cant breathe, and I worry that Im going to pass out. Hence, it was only after matters settled for good that she and her sister were able to grieve the woman they genuinely considered their mother, Kathleen. Clayton and Todd Peterson were Michael's children with his first wife, Patty, and, like their sisters, they believed their father was innocent of his second wife Kathleen's murder. Todd appeared most often in the earliest episodes. Rosemarie DeWitt as Candace, Kathleen Peterson's sister in HBO Max's The Staircase. HBO Max told Vanity Fair, The Staircase is a fictionalized series based on true events. The Staircase on HBO Max dramatizes Peterson's ordeal, the explosive drama within the family, and the introduction of Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, played by Vincent Vermignon, who filmed the documentary. Firth plays Michael Peterson, a guy easily frustrated by the act of tying his tie, which has a stain on it. [] It should not be this way that filmmakers can do whatever they want with your lives [onscreen]. In this case, hes destroyed my family. Could Margaret Ratliff Be Michael Peterson's Biological Daughter? Here is a cast and character guide. Like his brother and adoptive sisters, he believes that his father is innocent. Shawshank RedemptionI couldnt do it., Thinking about his possible recourse, he says, I guess you could sue, but whos got the money that Johnny Depp has to defend himself? Therefore the children of the women he picks can look like him. Ratliff says that before de Lestrade signed over The Staircases rights to HBO Max, she could see the artistic value of his docuseries. Is it really ethically acceptable to take a living person, like my child, and then create this fantasy and fiction about them? He claims that he shut off a trailer for the HBO Max version of The Staircase after seeing characters named for his children screaming at one another. [] It should not be this way that filmmakers can do whatever they want with your lives [onscreen]. In this case, hes destroyed my family. Todd Peterson (played by Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Clayton Peterson (Dane DeHaan) are Michael Peterson's sons from his first marriage.Both maintain their father's innocence throughout the documentary and still do to this day. Todd is Michael and Patricia's younger son. Now,The Staircase, like the original 2004 true-crime documentary series of the same name, raises questionsregarding what really happened. Rudolf firmly believed in Michael's innocence, continuing to represent him long after his client could afford his services. Michael then married Kathleen. Dewitt most recently starred as Linda McCullough in Little Fires Everywhere. Everything changed, she says, when Netflix acquired the docuseries in 2018. In The Staircase, Clayton is played by Dane DeHaan from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Michael Petersonappeared to be a happy and successful man. As of 2018, he lives in Baltimore and has two children. Published: Thursday, 5th May 2022 at 3:00 pm. In Episode 1, Todd described what he was feeling when he arrived at his father's home the night Kathleen died. "I think it's really important to see the behind the scenes on why these people are where they are and. Todd was reportedly one of the first on the scene after Michael discovered Kathleen's body, arriving not long after the ambulances did. But when you attack the credibility of my work, thats really not acceptable to me, says Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind the celebrated docuseries. As is portrayed in the HBO Max miniseries, the story was firstchronicled in a French documentary,also called The Staircase,whichwas later followed up whentwo new episodes were added to the original eight in 2013. According to Michaels lawyer David S. Rudolpfswebsite, the documentary focused on the flaws of the criminal justice system in general and junk science., Rudolf also explains Kathleens cause of death: exsanguination. With 20 years of hindsight, she says, I wouldve said, No. Whilst he was also the legal guardian of Martha and Margaret Ratliff, whose late mother Elizabeth Ratliff was a friend of the novelist who passed away in 1985. At the time of the incident, Toddran a websitecalled Futazi, which provided advice on various topics to teenagers. . Hell, my grandchildren would be involved.. This show is about [the Michael Peterson case], but its not another telling of the same thing, Turner explained. In other words, the girls were just 4 and 2 when Michael and his then-wife Patricia Patty Peterson became their guardians, in accordance with Elizabeths will they were neighbors as well as close friends. Rudolf specializes in covering high-profile cases. Im 78. Michael Peterson, whose life story serves as the inspiration for HBO's The Staircase, is upset at the series' portrayal of events, saying it goes beyond artistic license. Ratliff has been more successful in avoiding it after reporting an ad that popped up in her Instagram feed. Margaret and Martha, Peterson's adopted daughters, were the children of a close family friend, Elizabeth Ratliff, who had also died after falling down a staircase. In fact, in Diane Fanning's book Written in Blood: A True Story of Murder and a Deadly 16-Year Old Secret That Tore a Family Apart, Todd Peterson reportedly said, "They . "The Staircase" revolves around the death of Petersons wife Kathleen Peterson, who was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their Durham, North Carolina home in 2001. He seems to be the proud President and Founder of an asset management company in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the moment. Related:Best True Crime Shows On Netflix Right Now. We know she was married to. Margaret Ratliff and her young sister Martha Ratliff were adopted by Michael Peterson after their parents, Elizabeth and George Ratliff, died. She was neighbors with Peterson and his ex-wife and they adopted the girls after her death. Posey has numerous acting credits to her name, including Lost in Space, Search Party, The Good Wife, Boston Legal, and Parks and Recreation. Guinee is best known for his role as the United States Air Force Major Allen in Iron Man and Iron Man 2. The case was eerily similar to what happened to Kathleen nearly two decades later. The front of the house at 1810 Cedar St. in Durham, now on its third post-Peterson owner, is visible from the street, but the entire 3.4-acre property is gated. In 2008, Caitlin filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Michael, which the two later settled for $25 million, Newsweek reported. (During a surreal sibling holiday spent in Denmark, the only thing showing on the TV at the hotel was The Staircase in English. In The Staircase, she'll be playing Michael's adoptive daughter, Margaret Ratliff.. Margaret is one of two daughters to Elizabeth and George Ratliff, who were friends with Michael and his .
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