A Perfect Husband (23 page)

“I feel like there's nothing here,” Fred admitted, pleading with his wife.

“What do you mean?” Kathleen asked. “What is the problem?”

“We're just not connecting like we used to. Don't you feel that?”

“Well, I don't know,” she said.

“I feel empty inside,” he told her. “There's this big space between us.”

When Fred suggested that they go to a marriage counselor, Kathleen wanted no part of it. She was a private person, and she had no desire to share her inner secrets with strangers.

“We don't need to go to anybody on the outside,” she insisted. “People should be able to work on their own problems.”

Kathleen was hopeful that the trouble between them would just fix itself. But it didn't. And because of the infidelity on his part, the couple decided to separate. The thought of a marriage breakup absolutely devastated Kathleen. She was raised in a very strict household, taught that marriage vows should never be broken. So when Fred filed for divorce, Kathleen stayed locked away at home for months, just crying and moping around, holding on to Caitlin for dear life. By then, Kathleen had been promoted at Nortel Networks, she was busier than ever with work. But she would come home at night feeling sad. To occupy her spare time, Kathleen started doing major remodeling projects around the house.

It wasn't until Michael Peterson came along that Kathleen ever had a smile on her face again. She found that, unlike Fred, Michael was an openly loving person who was able to draw her out of her shell. Michael wanted to be there for Kathleen. Michael wanted to be everything that Fred wasn't.

Fred hadn't wanted any wedding ceremony at all, so Michael made up for that by having a grand wedding at his Cedar Street mansion. Fred hadn't been much of a big spender—he was the type who was happy to spend Sundays taking long walks or bike rides. And Michael would make up for that too. He took Kathleen and the kids on extravagant trips to places such as Southeast Asia. He took them on all kinds of adventures.

Back then, it seemed that Michael Peterson was providing his daughter with a Norman Rockwell family. Caitlin often claimed she had the ideal life. But oddly, after Kathleen's death, most of that facade seemed to peel away.

As Fred began to consider the coincidence between the deaths of Elizabeth and Kathleen, he began to realize that Michael had some kind of demented personality. Michael was acting insane. His attitude was changing from minute to minute. Fred wasn't willing to make the leap, to think that Michael had premeditated anything. At some point, he was convinced, though, that Michael Peterson had lost his grasp on reality.

“When I looked at the e-mails from Michael, where he wrote about the estate, he talked about missing all these items. But Caitlin had a right to have all those things,” Fred confided. “Michael was just trying to badger her. He's screaming about missing a hundred thousand dollars, while at the same time, he's taking money and buying all kinds of furniture and crap for the house.”

When Fred Atwater did finally go into the Cedar Street house, it was in late 2003, long after Peterson's trial was over. What shocked Fred was all the new purchases that Michael had wasted money on. Fred counted six new couches that were sitting in one of the upstairs bedrooms. He noticed a new large-screen TV in the family room, as well as new pieces of elaborate exercise equipment.

Beyond that, Fred was aware that Michael was spending cash on expensive new suits and Italian loafers, always looking like a millionaire when he appeared at a court hearing or was seen on TV. Fred realized that the Peterson “image” was nothing but a sham, that Michael had gone on a shopping spree to try to impress people. But Michael's antics seemed to be working. The local news always asserted that Peterson was a “successful” novelist, and David Rudolf made certain that the public perception of Peterson's success was at the front of everyone's mind. To everyone in the Triangle region who read the papers or watched the news, it seemed that Peterson was a financial powerhouse.

But to Fred, that perception was crazy, given the fact that Peterson had been soliciting so many people for money. Fred knew that, to help with the costs of his legal bills, Michael had gone to his brother Bill, who had already lent him approximately $300,000.

To the members of Kathleen's family, in the months leading up to the murder trial, there were two sides to Michael Peterson that had become painfully evident.

To the media, Peterson was promoting himself as a wealthy highbrow novelist, a person who had no financial motive to kill his wife. But behind the scenes, Michael was still using every trick in the book to get his hands on Kathleen's jewelry, hoping to pawn it for additional cash.

When David Rudolf filed a motion in mid-May 2002, demanding any information police might have collected regarding the death of Elizabeth Ratliff, the entire Triangle region paid attention. Up until that point, the idea that Michael Peterson might be connected to any other death—had not been addressed in public.

Rudolf's motion, filed in the Durham County Superior Court, was demanding information, looking for facts that would exonerate Michael Peterson. The public was informed, through newspaper accounts, that the mother of Margaret and Martha Ratliff had a rare blood disease, that the reports about her death indicated “there were no signs of a struggle.” Early news accounts stated that the 1985 death of Elizabeth Ratliff had been caused by “a fall on the stairs.”

Elizabeth's sister, Margaret Blair, gave interviews revealing that she had contacted Durham investigators just a few days after Kathleen Peterson's death. Blair admitted to reporters that, while she didn't want to alienate her nieces, she felt obligated to tell police about the strange coincidence between two deaths. Blair believed Michael Peterson was the last person to see her sister alive, and she assured reporters that she was acting out of concern, not animosity. When pressed about the subject, Margaret Blair admitted that she had once tried to gain custody of the Ratliff girls and explained that she had left the matter to “the will of God.”

Newspaper reporters addressed the complex issue of Elizabeth Ratliff's death, wondering whether or not any of that age-old information could ever make its way into the trial regarding Kathleen Peterson. In most instances, prior acts were not allowed to be brought before a jury. Even if the prosecutors found evidence that could implicate Michael Peterson in Elizabeth Ratliff's death, such evidence probably wouldn't be admissible.

The inadmissibility of a prior act was a concept many people in Durham didn't agree with. If a man had killed before, and that man was standing trial for yet another murder, most folks in Durham felt that was the kind of information that should be made known to a jury. But the American legal system didn't work that way. At least, not as a general rule.

Regarding the Elizabeth Ratliff death, however, things were more complicated. Her death came into a strange category that might prove to be the exception to the rule.

There was already a famous case on the books in North Carolina that had proven to be an exception, which had set an unusual precedent, and it could provide the loophole that the Durham prosecutors might use. The past case involved Barbara Stager, a woman who had been charged with murdering her second husband in 1988. At the time, Barbara Stager was asserting that she had shot her husband accidentally while he was asleep in their bed.

In that case, North Carolina prosecutors were allowed to introduce evidence of her prior act—because it showed her modus operandi. The two crimes were identical. Prosecutors showed the jury that Barbara Stager's first husband had also died from an “accidental” gunshot wound while he was asleep in their bed. To everyone's surprise, the jury convicted Stager of first-degree murder in the slaying of her second husband . . . and the verdict stood.

But ultimately, the decision about the admissibility of any evidence on Elizabeth Ratliff was something that would be up to the trial judge. Until then, everyone was speculating, and any efforts that the Durham prosecution team might make toward discovering the truth of Mrs. Ratliff's death would remain under wraps.

DA Jim Hardin felt there was a good chance that the Ratliff evidence would be allowed in under 404 (b), a rule that covered the similarity of two crimes. It was the same rule that had been employed in the Barbara Stager case, and he was betting that if he could prove Ratliff's death to be a homicide, the judge would allow the evidence in.

With that in mind, Jim Hardin asked Detective Art Holland and Assistant DA Freda Black to start making calls to Germany, to do background work, hoping to see what they might discover. As they began to track down a long list of people, Holland was astonished to learn that the former army pathologist who had signed off on the Ratliff case, Larry Barnes, had not looked for any signs of foul play.

Speaking to Barnes via phone, Art Holland was stunned when Larry Barnes admitted that all corpses sent to him at the Army's 97th General Hospital, in Frankfurt, were
routinely assumed
to involve death by natural causes.

Larry Barnes said that when he received Elizabeth Ratliff's body, he was never informed by German police that it was a possible forensic case. Barnes explained that back in 1985, he had relied primarily on the “spot judgments” that were made by the German authorities at the scene. Barnes said he wasn't ever trained in criminal work.

During their phone conversation, Barnes referred to the 1985 autopsy report on Elizabeth Ratliff, which stated that she suffered “a bleeding to her brain.” But when further questioned by Art Holland, Barnes was forced to admit that he wasn't qualified to provide any opinion. Barnes couldn't say whether Ratliff's bleeding was the result of a stroke, a blow to the head, or a fall down the stairs.

As soon as DA Jim Hardin heard the news about the American authorities and their misjudgment, he gave Art Holland and ADA Freda Black the green light to leave for Germany right away. When they arrived in Frankfurt region, Holland and Black would locate Elizabeth's old neighborhood in Graefenhausen. Amazingly, most of her close friends and neighbors were still there. The first person they sat down to chat with was Elizabeth's former nanny, Barbara O'Hara, who had a new last name, Malagnino. The conversation started off warmly, Freda Black being a down-to-earth woman, and Barbara explained that she wound up marrying the taxi driver, Salvatore, the man who helped her on the day she discovered Liz's body. Barbara's memories of Margaret and Martha clearly showed how much she loved and cared for the girls. She had tried to keep in touch with them over the years, but her efforts were futile. The girls had no memory of her, and Michael Peterson didn't seem to want her in their lives anymore.

After much hemming and hawing, Barbara Malagnino admitted that for years she had suspicions about Mrs. Ratliff's death. The former nanny was not willing to name names, but she had always wondered why the German authorities had been in such a rush on the day Liz died. She had spoken to Amybeth Berner, Barbara admitted. The two of them had discussed an intruder theory. Amybeth had pointed out that Liz still had her boots on, which was unlike her. The two surmised that Liz might have been followed into the house, that she had to have been running away from somebody. At the time, Barbara wasn't willing to believe that Michael Peterson had anything to do with the death, but she was surprised when the American authorities ruled Elizabeth's death an accident.

Barbara seemed uneasy when she talked about Michael Peterson. She seemed somewhat afraid of him. She was unwilling to give the complete details, but she had severed her ties with Michael not long after he became guardian to Elizabeth's girls. Apparently, she didn't like Michael's parenting style. It wasn't that Michael had been abusive, but Barbara muttered something about Michael being rough on the girls. She said he had a hard time potty training Martha, had punished the girls for little things, and he had become reclusive with them, not bringing them out into the community as much.

After Elizabeth's death, Barbara thought Michael had become withdrawn, and Amybeth had agreed. The two women had talked at length about the accident, but Barbara Malagnino couldn't say, for sure, what she really thought had happened. In her heart, she believed it wasn't an accidental fall. She talked about the large amount of blood in the stairwell, and she told Freda Black that if she was needed, she would be willing to testify. It was clear that the former nanny felt uncomfortable talking about Peterson, but Barbara felt it was her duty to tell the truth. Deep down, Barbara always knew the day would come when the question of Elizabeth's death would arise.

While in the Frankfurt region, Art Holland and Freda Black were treated very well by German authorities. The German police said they would be willing to reopen the case, if, in fact, the remains of Elizabeth Ratliff were to prove that a homicide had taken place. The two North Carolina law officials were surprised at how at ease they felt in the foreign country. The German people were so helpful and friendly; most folks were willing to cooperate. Holland and Black were impressed by people's memories of Elizabeth. They found that recollections of Elizabeth Ratliff seemed fairly fresh and vivid.

Even though they were not used to the language barrier and sometimes had to rely on German translators, Holland and Black were able to quiz a number of people who knew Elizabeth Ratliff very well. They found it was not difficult for these people to communicate about Liz. While many folks had fond memories of Liz and her girls, they were saddened by her sudden death; some people had questions and concerns that had never been answered.

Holland and Black were collecting all the evidence they could.

As they spent more time in Germany, Art Holland and Freda Black learned that people never understood why Liz died so young. Liz wasn't much of a drinker; Liz wasn't one to use drugs. No one understood how Liz could have taken such a tragic fall. Beyond that, people were curious as to why Elizabeth left her girls to Michael and Patricia Peterson. Some folks recalled that Michael was the person who orchestrated Elizabeth's last will and testament; they believed Michael had even written the will up for Liz, just weeks after George died.

The relationship between Elizabeth Ratliff and Michael Peterson was quite odd. The two of them were unusually close friends.

Of greatest interest to Holland and Black was their interview with Tom and Cheryl Appel-Schumacher, who, after contacting a lawyer, had agreed to talk to the North Carolina authorities to clear up any misjudgments on their part. Tom and Cheryl recalled the wonderful party that Liz had thrown them. They talked about her depression and how, in the days before her death, Liz seemed to finally be getting over the loss of her husband. They admitted that they helped clean up the blood in the staircase on the day of Elizabeth's death, believing her death was an accident. They couldn't remember for sure, but they thought that Michael Peterson had helped them with the cleanup.

The Appel-Schumachers were horrified that Elizabeth's death might be deemed a homicide. They insisted that they had not been suspicious at the time. They said they never, in a million years, would have suspected Michael of any wrongdoing. They saw Elizabeth and Michael as nothing more than friends, and they considered Michael and Patricia to be caring and loving people.

The Appel-Schumachers saw their role in the cleanup of the blood as a necessary act. They had not wanted Liz's girls to have any memory of bloody walls. They hoped that they hadn't interfered with justice; they were just doing what was best for the girls.

As they spoke to Holland and Black, the Appel-Schumachers were clearly upset by the details of Kathleen Peterson's death. Like Barbara, they said they would be willing to come to America to testify in the case against Michael Peterson. The Appel-Schumachers promised they would cooperate in any way. But they felt sick to their stomachs to hear about Kathleen in the stairwell with all that blood . . . it was worse than déjà vu.

Before they left the Frankfurt region, Art Holland and Freda Black would have a most alarming conversation with a former neighbor of Elizabeth Ratliff's, a woman from Graefenhausen by the name of Karin Hamm. The neighbor needed to use a translator, but she eventually gave Holland and Black a written statement that said she had seen Michael Peterson “running down the street” away from the Ratliff residence, the night before Elizabeth was found dead.