In the early 2000s, the death of Kathleen Peterson in her Durham, North Carolina, home captivated the public and became the subject of intense scrutiny.
Her husband, fiction writer Michael Peterson, was accused of her murder after claiming she had fallen down the stairs. The case, documented in the 2004 Netflix series ‘The Staircase’ and later dramatized in an HBO miniseries, divided opinions across the country and pushed the Peterson family into the public spotlight.
Michael was convicted of the murder of Kathleen in 2003 but was later released in 2017 after entering an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter, according to an essay from his former defense attorney, David Rudolf.
An Alford plea allows a defendant to accept a guilty verdict and sentencing while still asserting innocence, based on recognizing that the prosecution’s evidence would likely result in a conviction. It essentially allows defendants to avoid trial and potentially receive a reduced sentence without formally admitting to the crime.
As of December 2025, Michael Peterson is reportedly living a quiet life and is not writing much fiction these days. His sons, Clayton and Todd, from his first marriage, along with his adopted daughters, Margaret and Martha Ratliff, have had to deal with their own challenges following the public murder trial.
Here’s a look at recent developments involving some of the Peterson family members:
Margaret Ratliff Creates Documentary
Margaret Ratliff, now in her early 40s, has channeled her life experiences, including years of being filmed herself, into her own career in filmmaking.
She gained some attention for producing the 2022 documentary Subject, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival and explored the ethical implications and long-term effects of participating in true-crime documentaries. The film also gave some insight and updates on what Michael has been up to since his release from prison.
The film also features Margaret reflecting on her life outside the murder trial, alongside other documentary “subjects” who faced adversity after their films were released.
In interviews posted after the conviction of her father, Margaret has discussed how the original Staircase series greatly disrupted her life and created some difficult baggage that she still carries.
“If I could go back and hold my hand I would have said, ‘Dad, I’m sitting this one out; I’m going to be there for you, I’m going to film school, maybe I’ll make a film about our family experience. I’ll support you in whatever you decide to do, but I don’t want this for my life’,” Margaret told The Sydney Morning Herald in June of 2023.
As of early 2025, it seems that Margaret continues to face hurdles in her film career due to the family’s notoriety but remains active in the industry.
She has also expressed frustration with dramatized adaptations of the case, such as the fictional HBO television series featuring Colin Firth, viewing them as exploiting her family’s tragedy.
Todd Peterson Publicly Accuses Father
Todd Peterson, Michael’s younger son, has been more vocal in recent years about his changing views on the case.
In a series of social media videos posted around 2021 and 2022 – coinciding with the HBO miniseries release – Todd publicly accused his father – for the first time – of not only killing Kathleen but also their family friend Elizabeth Ratliff (Margaret and Martha’s biological mother) and even his own mother, Patricia Peterson, who passed away in 2021 from natural causes.
In one video posted to YouTube under the username ‘Remember This’, Todd says, “See I never thought my dad would kill Kathleen, or my mom, because I didn’t think he would were hurt his own family members. I literally needed my own personal experience where he tried to hurt me, and ruin my life and my alcoholism.”
These posts from Todd seemed to have widely circulated on platforms like YouTube and Reddit in the past few years. Yet, while no recent videos have surfaced in 2025, some unconfirmed speculation about his own personal challenges, including past reports of erratic behavior potentially linked to drug problems, still lingers online.
Martha Ratliff’s Health Rumors
Martha Ratliff, Margaret’s sister, has largely stayed out of the public eye, relocating to Colorado in recent years. Unlike her siblings, she has not seemingly pursued media-related projects, opting for a more private life.
In early 2024, unverified rumors began circulating on online forums, suggesting that Martha had suffered a stroke; however, this has not been officially confirmed. Notably, Michael was also reportedly connected to the death of her biological mother in Germany, which, ironically, also occurred on a staircase years before Kathleen’s incident. Following the death in Germany, Michael adopted both Martha and Margaret.
As seen in the original Netflix documentary, an exhumation and follow-up autopsy did not provide any confirmation on the cause of death (such as a stroke) for Martha’s biological mother.
A somewhat bare LinkedIn profile under the name Martha Ratliff indicates that she may have been running her own private counseling practice in Colorado after the murder trials ended.
Clayton’s Low Profile, Criminal Problems
Clayton Peterson, the eldest son, has maintained a comparably low profile since the documentary series was released. However, it is notable that Clayton himself faced serious criminal accusations, some of which were never fully hashed out for the public until recently.
At 19, as a freshman at Duke University, Clayton was arrested for placing a small bomb in a campus office, according to Refinery29.com. A search of his Durham home by the ATF uncovered six more homemade explosives in the attic. He would later serve four years in federal prison.
Michael Is A Free Man, Yet Family Problems Continue
The family’s blended structure – only complicated by the murder trial – has led to a litany of online debates surrounding Michael’s guilt.
Despite the adversity his actions have brought upon his children, Michael walks free, giving the occasional public interview while still touting his innocence.
While Margaret and Martha have historically supported their adoptive father, Todd’s recent reversal on his innocence could highlight some serious ongoing tensions in the family.
Kathleen’s biological daughter, Caitlin Atwater, who believed Michael was guilty since the initial trial, settled a wrongful death lawsuit in 2007 for a reported $25 million and has lived a quiet life away from public attention in recent years. According to ABC 11, court documents released in 2017 claim that Caitlin Atwater had not “received a dime” of that settlement from Michael.
