HBO’s ‘Staircase’: Who are Margaret and Martha Ratliff and what happened in Germany?
HBO Max’s May 5 release of the Antonio Campos scripted drama “The Staircase” has renewed interest in the 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson and the 2003 murder trial of her husband, Michael, in Durham.
The series, based in part on Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s 13-part Netflix documentary series of the same name, stars Colin Firth as Michael Peterson and Toni Collette as Kathleen Peterson.
The HBO version in particular focuses a lot of attention on the Peterson’s blended family: Michael’s two sons, Clayton and Todd Peterson, with his first wife, Patty; Kathleen’s daughter, Caitlin Atwater, with her first husband, Fred Atwater; and Margaret and Martha Ratliff.
Here’s more info on Margaret and Martha Ratliff.
▪ Margaret and Martha Ratliff are the daughters of George and Elizabeth Ratliff, close friends of Michael and Patricia (Patty) Peterson while both families lived in Germany in the 1980s.
▪ George Ratliff was a captain in the US Air Force and died of a heart attack while on a mission in Panama in 1983.
▪ Elizabeth “Liz” Ratliff, a school teacher, died in her home in Germany in 1985, after spending an evening out with Michael and Patty. Her body was found at the bottom of the staircase in her home.
▪ Michael and Patricia became guardians of Margaret and Martha, who were ages 2 and 1 at the time, but they did not legally adopt them. They raised the girls alongside their sons, Clayton and Todd Peterson.
▪ When Michael moved to Durham from Germany, the girls went with him. And when he lived with and later married Kathleen, Kathleen became a mother figure to the girls.
Elizabeth Ratliff’s death in Germany
Ratliff’s death had been ruled an accident in Germany, with the cause of death being cerebral hemorrhage.
Because Michael Peterson was the last person to see Elizabeth Ratliff on the night she died, and because she was found by the nanny the next morning at the bottom of a staircase, Durham prosecutors started an investigation into her death.
With permission from Margaret and Martha, Elizabeth’s body was exhumed in Texas and brought to Durham, where the same medical examiner who performed Kathleen Peterson’s autopsy, performed an autopsy on Ratliff and determined that she died as a result of a “homicidal assault” and not an accident.
Margaret and Martha in ‘The Staircase’
Margaret and Martha are portrayed in the HBO series by Sophie Turner and Odessa Young, respectively.
At times during the scripted series, they are portrayed as being occasionally conflicted, but ultimately standing by Michael and supporting his claims of innocence.
Where are they now? After college, Margaret worked in the TV and movie industry in Los Angeles, and Martha became a psychotherapist in Utah.
More on HBO’s ‘The Staircase’
For full coverage of HBO Max’s “The Staircase” and other background on the death of Kathleen Peterson and the murder trial of Michael Peterson, visit: newsobserver.com/topics/staircase
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 8:10 AM with the headline "HBO’s ‘Staircase’: Who are Margaret and Martha Ratliff and what happened in Germany?."
