They just loved each other so much." -- Margaret Ratliff. Michael joined the phone call on Saturday to say that he believes the dramatized series is especially reckless, considering that his children are not public figures. Why Landscapers' Real Life Origins Create A Common True Crime Problem, Best True Crime Shows On Netflix Right Now, Under The Banner Of Heaven Cast & Real Life Character Comparison Guide, Catching Killers Season 2 Avoids Netflix's Usual True Crime Mistake. Explaining why Margaret Ratliff looks like Michael Peterson. Martha's going home to Durham for. Its sort of the same way I feel about war. She alludes to the HBO Max series giving viewers an explanation of those choices. Michael and Patricia adopted Margaret and her sister Martha after their parents, George and Elizabeth Ratliff, passed away. As a guest onThe Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Turner talked about working onThe Staircase. After The Staircase debuted on Netflix, Ratliff says she had job interviews where the person questioning her recognized her from the docuseries. Game of Thrones alum Sophie Turner portrays Margaret Ratliff in HBO Max's The Staircase. Toni Collette portrays the late Kathleen Peterson in The Staircase on HBO Max. Her husband, novelist Michael Peterson, became the center of the investigation and was eventually convicted of Kathleen's murder in 2003. Michael, Kathleen, and their children toast to each otherseeming a happy, loving blended family. Find the best Off Road trails in Charancieu, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes (France). Everything changed, she says, when Netflix acquired the docuseries in 2018. The Staircase on HBO Max is the latest true-crime drama series on the streaming platform you do not want to miss. He never shouldve done that and taken their money for our life stories. Had Ratliff and her family predicted the content quagmire that their mothers mysterious death would yield, they might have negotiated savvier consent and release agreements. Rosemarie Dewitt stars as Candace Hunt Zamperini, Kathleen's sister. Im 78. The evidence is going to show that prior to her death, Kathleen -- not Michael, but Kathleen -- was the primary financial support for the Peterson - Atwater - Ratliff family. As Ratliff makes clear in Subject, a documentary she coproduced that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this past weekend, she had no reason to believe that de Lestrades resulting docuseries, The Staircase, would be widely seen. Evidence from Kathleens autopsy hints at a bird of prey attacking Kathleen, causing the lacerations on her head. However, by the time Rudolf had enough evidence to support this theory, it was too late to present the idea in court. It should not be this way that filmmakers can do whatever they want with your lives [onscreen]. In this case, hes destroyed my family. So why does she look like him? Heres a breakdown of the family members, how they sided during Michael Petersons trial, and where each person is now. As of 2018, he lives in Baltimore and has two children. The circumstances in which their mother died. ), Ratliff says that she was introduced to Campos after he optioned de Lestrades docuseries, occasionally meeting him for coffee over the years. Michael loved his wife and children, and for all intents and purposes lived an average life. Here's a breakdown of the family depicted in the new HBO Max series. s family say they're feeling retraumatized by the new show. When Peterson and Patricia's marriage began falling apart in the mid-'80s, the girls were the. The Bizarre True Story Behind 'The Staircase', Bella Ramsey Sorts Out 'The Last of Us' Finale, Caitlin's lawyer filed another complaint against him. of the same name, helmed by Antonio Campos. Since then, DeJonge has appeared insuch movies asThe VisitandBetter Watch Out, as well as the television seriesThe Society. Police Detective Art . Dane DeHaan as Clayton Peterson. Althoughshe supported him in the beginning, autopsy photos of her mother's body turned her into a key witness for the prosecution. Ratliff has been more successful in avoiding it after reporting an ad that popped up in her Instagram feed. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth portrays Michael Peterson in HBO Max's The Staircase. After her death, Peterson raised Ratliff's two girls. 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. The first 3 episodes of The Staircase premiere on Thursday, May 5, and the remaining episodes drop weekly on HBO Max. 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. Unfortunately, owing to the way everything played out, as per Netflixs The Staircase, Martha began dealing with anxiety. DeWitt is best known for her roles in television series likeStandoff, in whichshe co-starred alongside her future husband, Ron Livingston, andThe United States of Tara. Margaret and Martha Ratliff have since tried their best to move on with their lives while also maintaining strong relationships with their father as well as their siblings (except Caitlin Atwater). He pleaded not guilty to the charge but was convicted at trial. Author Diane Fanning writes in her book Written in Blood that Todd supposedly told police officers he thought Kathleen's death was alcohol-related, per Newsweek. Black played an instrumental role in securing the murder conviction, playing on Peterson's bisexuality to create a strong motive that won over the jury. Like his older brother Clayton, Todd Peterson stood by his father's side during the trial and today. Hell, my grandchildren would be involved.. 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. Best known for playing Sansa Stark in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, Sophie Turner has also featured in Barely Lethal, X-Men, Survive from 2020 and The Prince.. Shes growing up and realizing maybe my parents arent perfect maybe this man isnt the man I thought he was.. Freda Black was the former Durham County prosecutor who served as the main prosecutor against Michael Peterson. Rosemarie DeWitt has appeared in many films and television series throughout her career, ranging from horror to comedy. Margaret Ratliff. Sophie Turner made her acting debut in 2011 playing Sansa Stark inGame of Thrones. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Now,The Staircase, like the original 2004 true-crime documentary series of the same name, raises questionsregarding what really happened. Before the HBO Max series, there was always this healthy pride that I was part of such an enormous, wonderful documentary. The death of his wife Kathleen, however, sent his life into turmoil. Charancieu, La Tour-du-Pin, Isre, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes, France : Together, they raised Clayton and Todd Peterson, Michael's sons from his previous marriage; Caitlin Atwater, Kathleen's daughter from her previous marriage; and Margaret and Martha Ratliff . In one of the longest trials in the history of North Carolina, Kathleen's husband, Michael Peterson, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for her murder. You dont want to talk to the real person because this might interfere with your fictional creation?. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. We know she was married to. But as The Staircase shows, Caitlin began to grow suspicious of Michael during the trial, eventually becoming a key witness for the prosecution. Everyone had theories. 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] Maggie Cohn relied on extensive source material, including firsthand accounts of the people involved in the events that took place.. After he was convicted of possessing a destructive device in 1994, Clayton served four years in a federal penitentiary, the Herald Sun reported. died in 1985 in Germany at the age of 43. Michael and his first wife Patricia had been good friends with George and Elizabeth Ratliff throughout the 1980s, and George Ratliff died in a military operation in 1983. 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. He was the first person to see Michael after Kathleen died, and he also supported his father during the trial. After that tragedy in 1985, Elizabeths friend Michael Peterson took Ratliff and her younger sister, Martha, into his home, eventually becoming their legal guardian. Tiger King Makes Netflixs True Crime Problems So Much Worse, How Catching Killers Differs From Other True Crime Shows. French actress Binoche is best known for her Oscar-winning performance in The English Patient. In 2008, Caitlin filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Michael, which the two later settled for $25 million, Newsweek reported. Just lied with fabrications., He added this his family is not full of public figures and that the depicting them so vividly is "reckless.". If I had not taken the Alford plea but gone on with another trial, it wouldve been years more. She was neighbors with Peterson and his ex-wife and they adopted the girls after her death. She was neighbors with Peterson and his ex-wife and they adopted the girls after her death. He helped to overturn the wrongful conviction of Alan Gell, return hard-earned money to Vietnamese immigrants Hai and Oanh Le Nguyen after it was seized by the federal government, and got several accused murderers acquitted. And the same way with prisonafter I spent eight years in prison and got out, the last thing I wanted to watch was a prison movie. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. The eldest of Michael and Kathleen Peterson's two adopted daughters, Margaret, now 36, got married in her late twenties and is now known as Margaret Blakemore. She is an actress and assistant director, known for Subject (2022), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). Related:Under The Banner Of Heaven Cast & Real Life Character Comparison Guide. Loss of blood.. French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, who was looking for a follow-up subject after his 2001 Academy Award-winning documentary about a wrongly accused Black teenager in Florida, Murder on a Sunday Morning, was given an all-access pass to cover Peterson's defense. She was neighbors with Peterson and his ex-wife and they adopted the girls after her death. At that time, we were afraid he was facing the death penalty, she told the outlet. The Ripper: Does Netflix's True Crime Series Glorify Serial Killers? "The Staircase" revolves around the death of Peterson's wife Kathleen Peterson, who was found dead at the bottom of a . Michael then married Kathleen. The cast of HBO MaxsThe Staircasedid the same while filming the series. 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. Caitlin Atwater is the biological daughter of Kathleen Peterson and her ex-husband, Fred Atwater. He was released on time served. 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 . Save. Following the sudden deaths of Martha and Margaret's parents, Michael became the girls' guardian . In charge of styling was Marc Goehring, with creative direction from Alan Prada. Known for his roles insuch movies asA Single Man,The King's Speech,and his recent role inOperation Mincemeat, Firth isvery familiar with dramatic roles. In the HBO Max series, Margaret is played by Sophie Turner and Martha is played by Odessa Young. Is it really ethically acceptable to take a living person, like my child, and then create this fantasy and fiction about them? Caitlin Atwater is Kathleen Petersons daughter from her first marriage to Fred Atwater. Juliette Binoche portrays Sophie Brunet in HBO Max's The Staircase, an editor of Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's documentary series who engaged in a romantic relationship with Peterson. 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. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. From the HBO limited series "The Staircase": Sophie Turner as Margaret Ratliff. Patricia doesn't appear in the HBO Max series. She replied: Im so done talking about what happened. Stuhlbarg has alsoplayedroles in various television series, including Sy Feltz inFargoand Richard Sackler inDopesick. Michael then married Kathleen. Next:How Catching Killers Differs From Other True Crime Shows. Campos did not respond to Vanity Fairs request for comment.). The strangest professional experience for Ratliff occurred four years ago, she claims, after she applied for her dream job within Netflixs own documentary department. Margaret Ratliff only agreed to appear on camera two decades ago, for Jean-Xavier de Lestrades documentary series The Staircase, under extreme circumstances. Posey has also lent her voice to animated series, performingcameos forThe Simpsons,Futurama,andSkylanders Academy. "I dont think he has any money," her lawyer Jay Trehy said, explaining instead that the suit was to "disincentive any effort to profit off this case." Michael then married Kathleen Peterson in 1997. Collette is best known for starring in the films Muriel's Wedding and Knives Out. . Related:Why Landscapers' Real Life Origins Create A Common True Crime Problem. Peterson, a Vietnam War veteran, newspaper columnist, and novelist, hit headlines when he was charged with murdering his second wife Kathleen Peterson on December 9, 2001. Share. And then they realized who I was., Ratliff says that, at the time, the company was figuring out how to market the original documentary episodes of The Staircasearguing whether my sister and I should be on the billboard. Ratliff claims that once the company discovered she was that Margaret Ratliff, an executive producer from Netflix called her to the building, sat her down in the cafeteria, and told me the situation., She got the sense that Netflix thought her being on the company payroll might be a conflict of interest. David Rudolf served as Michael Peterson's defense attorney during his trial. In 2017, David Rudolf, one of the defense attorneys working on the case, told the News & Observer that Todd now lives in Tennessee. Like Caitlin Atwater, Candace Hunt Zamperini firmly believed that Michael had caused the death of Kathleenher sister. Michael Petersonappeared to be a happy and successful man. Both Margaret and her husband. From the psychological horrorA Cure for Wellnessto the space operaValerian and the City of a Thousand Planetsto playing the villainous Green Goblin inThe Amazing Spider-Man 2,DeHaan hasactedin a wide spectrum of roles. In Episode 1, Todd described what he was feeling when he arrived at his father's home the night Kathleen died. 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? Although Margaret Ratliff was not the biological child of either Michael or Kathleen Peterson, she loved her adoptive mother and remained loyal to her adoptive father throughout the trial. Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the entire case, Michael took an Alford deal in 2017, declaring guilt without sufficient evidence in order to go free without serving additional time. Before patching Michael into the phone call, Ratliff remembers, I thought, Okay, this is going to help my dad. As if his childrens portrayals were not enough of an affront, Michael points out that the HBO Max series depicts Kathleen dying in three possible waysby his hand, by complications from an owl attack, and via an accidental fall on the stairs. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. As teenagers, they reunited with Michael in Durham, North Carolina. Martha and Margaret Ratliff, left, in an undated photo; Odessa Young and Sophie Turner as Martha and Margaret on HBO's "The Staircase," right." Netflix; HBO Max The Peterson and Ratliff families grew close while both were living in Germany. Ratliff says her sister watched a trailer for HBO Maxs show but wound up so traumatized that she swore off the series. But if you've binge-watched the Netflix documentary The Staircase, then you know that it isn't so simple. (Netflix did not respond to Vanity Fairs requests for comment.). (Brunet, an editor of The Staircase, says she explicitly requested that Campos not make her a character on his show. First of all, if we are to accept the paternity test, then they are not genetically related. Colin Firth and Toni Colette as Michael and Kathleen Peterson in HBO Max's The Staircase. Rudolf firmly believed in Michael's innocence, continuing to represent him long after his client could afford his services. They dont want to live this all over again, which is pretty much the reason why I took the Alford plea, says Michael. Hewas by his father's side from the very beginning of the case, helping him navigate both the immediate aftermath of Kathleen's death and the trial process. Game of Thrones alum Sophie Turner portrays Margaret Ratliff in HBO Max's The Staircase. When the Ratliffs both died in the 1980s, Michael adopted their daughters, Margaret and Martha, per Newsweek. Stuhlbarg is best known for his role as Professor Samuel Perlman in Call Me By Your Name, Dr. Robert Hoffstetler Dimitri Mosenkov in The Shape of Water, and Abe Rosenthal in The Post. As for Martha, it is believed that she has taken inspiration from her own experiences and is thus focusing on helping others by serving as a mental health counselor/psychotherapist in Colorado these days. Colin Firth stepped outside of his comfort zone for his latest role as Michael Peterson in HBO Max's "The Staircase," premiering Thursday night with the first three episodes . She is also a cosplayer who has attended conventions of all kinds for almost ten years. Since then, her filmography has expanded to include roles insuch movies asA Million Little Pieces, Shirley,andThe Professor. The Kathleen Peterson murder case was also explored by a number of popular American true-crime television series, includingForensic Files, Dateline NBC, andCold Case. Clayton and Todd Peterson are Michael Petersons sons from his first marriage to Patricia Sue Peterson. Thanks to the Netflix series of the same name from French documentarian Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, most have heard of Petersons story and many have theories about how Kathleen died. 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. Netflix 7/9 Todd Peterson Todd is Clayton's. Firth plays Michael Peterson, a guy easily frustrated by the act of tying his tie, which has a stain on it. He was eventually released on bail and wore an ankle monitor in 2011 after the validity of the trial was brought into question. He was released in 2017 after entering an. In 2017, he was granted a new trial, and just last year, Peterson took. For more information, please see our According to Michael Peterson, on the night of December 9, 2001, a balmy 50-something degrees, he and Kathleen were enjoying drinks by their pool after dinner. I understand if you dramatize. One of his dad's biggest supporters, Clayton has long believed that his step-mom Kathleen died in . Like most of his siblings, Clayton remained loyal to his father during the murder trial and prison sentence, just as his fatherhad been loyal to him. The two got married in 1968 and eventually had two sons, Todd and Clayton. Her biological mother, Elizabeth Ratliff, was a friend of Peterson's, who died in 1985. Aiden Shaw Makes His Return In 'And Just Like That' Season 2, 15 Movies On Netflix About Mothers & Daughters Thatll Make You Emotional, Beef Captures Our Toxic Tendency To Confuse Love With Sacrifice, What Parents Are Talking About Delivered Straight To Your Inbox, By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. I was just trying to go through the world and go through my masters program and not talk about The Staircase, says Ratliff of the impact of de Lestrades docuseries, which earned rave reviews after its relatively quiet U.S. premiere on the Sundance Channel in 2005. I was theorizing for so long, and then by this point, Im just like, Im over it.. Those woman can have children not related to him. Kathleen was only 48 years old when she died of blood loss at the bottom of the stairs in the Petersons' mansionin North Carolina. Michael was coincidently the last person to see Elizabeth alive, leading many to speculate an affair or some conflict between the two once Kathleens case came around over 15 years later. And I thought, I cant deal with that. Parker Posey is a veteran actress with a very impressive filmography. Discover the best of Charancieu so you can plan your trip right. 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. So, where is Todd Peterson today? The strikes left 34 people injured, including three children, and caused widespread damage. Surreally, the Saturday premiere of Subject nearly coincided with the finale of HBO Maxs series, which was released on Thursday. 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. In the first episode of HBO Maxs .css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}The Staircase, the Peterson family is seated around the table for dinner. French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, who was behind the original The Staircase stated in May that he also feels betrayed by the new HBO Max series of the same name, helmed by Antonio Campos. Initially, Turner's Margaret stands with the fictional Michael Peterson (Colin Firth). By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The Peterson family has been outspoken about their father's trialand there's a lot to learn about each of them. (The bomb never went off.). In Subject, Ratliff suggests that documentary participants should have an organization to inform them of their rights, provide legal advice, and help navigate complicated consent issues. Patrick Schwarzenegger and Dane DeHaan portray Michael Peterson's sons, Todd and Clayton, from his first marriage to Patricia Sue. Rudolf specializes in covering high-profile cases. When a lifetime of fandom met a journalism degree, a ScreenRant writer was born. In 2001, Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in her Durham, NC, mansion. It looks like Todd eschews the public eye, so there isn't much information available about him on the internet. The biological parents of Margaret and her sister, Martha,died when the girls were young, and they were taken in by Michael and his then-wife, Patricia Peterson, while the couple was living in Germany. Todd is played by Midnight Sun actor Patrick Schwarzenegger. Their father reportedly passed away during a secret overseas operation in 1983, whereas their mother was unexpectedly found dead at the bottom of her stairs on November 25, 1985. (Michael was found guilty of the crime in 2003. DURHAM, N.C. After 54 days, testimony is over in the Mike Peterson murder trial. His other well-known credits include Boardwalk Empire, The Looming Tower, and Dopesick. The filmmakers behind the original The Staircase documentary arent the only ones feeling betrayed by the new HBO Max series. Kathleen had one daughter named Caitlin from her first marriage to physicist Fred Atwater, per PopSugar.
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