Martha Ratliff, Margaret Ratliff’s younger sister, is Michael Peterson’s second adopted daughter. Michael and his wife Patricia were in Germany when they met Margaret’s parents. Patricia was very close to Martha’s mother, Elizabeth McKee Ratliff, as they both taught elementary school at Rhein-Main Air Force Base. Elizabeth grew up with her two older sisters in Rhode Island.
Elizabeth was described as a serious and artistic child. She is said to have sung and played the acoustic guitar, and spoke French and German. She also taught children of military families for 17 years.
According to her obituary, Elizabeth was born on November 3, 1942. Sadly, she passed away on November 25, 1985, she was found dead, initially ruled out as being from natural causes, spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage. The night before she was found dead, Elizabeth had dinner with the Petersons.
And the last person Elizabeth saw was Michael because he came to pick her up.
After Elizabeth’s death, Michael and Patricia became the legal guardians of her two daughters: Margaret and Martha. According to the obituary, in Elizabeth’s will, she named Michael Peterson and his wife as the legal guardians of her daughters and directed that her $44,000 estate be used for the children’s support and education.
Meanwhile, Margaret and Matha Ratcliff’s biological father was Captain George Ernest Ratcliff. George was born on October 15, 1949, in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. He was the son of Martha Jett Dowdell and George Ernest Ratliff Sr. He died on October 21, 1983, at the age of 34 in a non-hostile incident at a classified location, according to his obituary.
George was an air force navigator who married Elizabeth in 1981. Sadly, George passed away under mysterious and unclear circumstances in 1983. According to reports by Charlotte ObserverGeorge died of a heart attack during the 1983 US invasion of Grenada.
Below you will get to know about Mathra’s current information, age, job and details related to her husband.
Meet Martha Ratliff, daughter of Michael Peterson
After Michael and Patricia divorced, the children moved in with Michael. However, after Kathleen’s death, Elizabeth’s story came out. Her body was exhumed from a grave in Texas during Mike Peterson’s murder investigation, which concluded that her 1985 death in Germany was the result of a “homicidal attack” rather than an accident as authorities had previously determined. The autopsy was performed at the request of Durham County District Attorney Jim Hardin.
The results found that Elizabeth’s death was “not consistent with a fall down stairs” because of the severity and number of lacerations – seven – found on her head. Later in court, prosecutor Freda Black pointed out the similarities between the two deaths.
But, despite all this, Martha and her sister maintained in court that her father, Michael, was innocent. “We just looked at him and said, ‘We know you didn’t do it.’ He said, ‘Of course you didn’t do it,’ and I never doubted it. They just loved each other so much,” Margaret said.
Furthermore, Martha and Margret also wrote a letter to Jim Hardin. In the letter, they wrote, “We are appalled by your choice of action and your complete disregard for the deceased. We wish to express our sorrowful feelings in this matter. We only ask that you respect… However, seeing that you have no compassion for our mother’s memory, we reluctantly agree to your request to exhume our mother’s body. The pain and suffering you have caused our father and us is incomprehensible because even you know it is a futile act…. Despite this, you are able to continue to desecrate our mother’s grave.”
Michael later spoke to WTVD’s Katina Rankin about Elizabeth’s death in 2004. He shared, “To hear them describe the death of Liz, a woman I had known for a long time. I had raised her children. This was the mother of these children, and then they would bring in the autopsy photos, the photos of her in the casket. It was horrible.”
“I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t,” he added. [impact the jury]. Every day in the papers. It was a big deal. The prosecution was transferred to Germany. The coffin was exhumed. The coffin was transported to Chapel Hill. The body was examined. And so on. That was the main focus for weeks before the trial and after the trial began. The macabre fascination. What the body looked like after 18 years in the grave…anyone who says it doesn’t work is crazy. It’s a big lie to say it doesn’t work for them.”
“I mean it had nothing to do with anything, nothing to do with what was real, nothing to do with anything… seeing that, and seeing what it did to Margaret and Martha — it was painful. It was horrible. I think it was more painful than anything else,” Michael said of Martha and her sister.
Where is Martha Ratliff now?
On May 29, 2004, Martha’s brother Clayton Peterson was married, and she and her sister Margaret were listed as Attendees at the wedding. She currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Is Martha Ratliff married?
Martha Ratliff’s marital status is still unclear. She is very private unlike her sister Margaret. So whether she is married or not remains a mystery.
Martha Ratliff’s Age
Since Martha was born on January 3, 1983, Marth Ratliff is currently 39 years old.
Martha Ratliff’s work
Some documents reveal that Martha Ratliff is working in the mental health field as a psychotherapist. As of 2022, she is said to be working as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Utah.
Martha is also the founder of Martha Ratliff, LCSW, where she worked as a licensed clinical social worker in Loveland, Colorado while she lived there.
Related FAQs
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Is Martha Ratliff on Instagram?
No, it appears Martha Ratliff is not on Instagram.
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Who plays Martha Ratliff in HBO Max’s The Staircase?
On HBO Max Stairthe role of Martha Ratcliff is played by Odessa Young.