The Staircase

here you go: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nc-supreme-court/1195408.html


The trial court also admitted, over defense objections, evidence of the circumstances of the death of Elizabeth Ratliff, defendant's friend who died in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1985.   The factual background of this evidence will be more thoroughly discussed in conjunction with our analysis of whether the trial court erred in its admission.


The trial court, after having evidence presented to it outside the presence of the jury, made the following findings of fact in ruling upon defendant's motion in limine seeking exclusion of this evidence:


1.  The Defendant was present and represented by his counsels of record, David Rudolf and Thomas Maher.   The State of North Carolina was represented by District Attorney James Hardin, Jr. and Assistant District Attorneys Freda Black and David Saacks.


2. A voir dire hearing was held outside the presence of the jury on August 18, 2003 and August 20-22, 2003.   Live testimony was given by Cheryl Appel-Schumacher, a friend of Elizabeth Ratliff, Margaret Blair, a sister of Elizabeth Ratliff, and Dr. Deborah Radisch, a forensic pathologist with the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.   The Court also received into evidence several photographs, documents, and a written proffer regarding the testimony of Margaret Blair.


3. Elizabeth Ratliff was a close friend and neighbor of the Defendant and his former wife, Patricia Peterson, when they lived in Germany in 1985.   She had two young daughters named Margaret and Martha.   Her husband, George Ratliff, was in the U.S. Air Force and he had passed away while away on assignment in October, 1983.


4. On the morning of November 25, 1985, Elizabeth Ratliff was found dead on the floor at the bottom of her open stairway in her home in Germany.   The Defendant was summoned to the scene as were several other friends and associates.


5. The Defendant was with Ms. Ratliff the night before for dinner, and went back with her to her house to help with the children and a household chore.


6. Ms. Ratliff was found wearing her yellow plastic type boots that she would normally wear outdoors.   It had snowed in that location two days before.


7. A large amount of blood was present at the scene, including bloodstains on the wall next to the stairway from the top of the stairs to the bottom, and underneath as well.   The bloodstains at the top of the stairs contained smaller drops and appeared as if flicked on the wall by a small paintbrush.   Bloodstains were also present on the wall opposite the staircase in the foyer area and on a refrigerator in the nearby kitchen.   A pool of blood was found on the floor where Ms. Ratliff was found.


8. The Defendant dealt with the German authorities who responded that morning, and later handled the relations with the American military investigators who came to the scene.   He also informed the friends and associates that Ms. Ratliff had died from a fall down the stairs.


9. An autopsy performed in Germany at a U.S. Army hospital, with a later review by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, determined that Ms. Ratliff died naturally of spontaneous intracranial bleeding and her physical trauma injuries were secondary due to her fall down the stairs.


10. Ms. Ratliff was exhumed in April, 2003 and brought to North Carolina's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for a subsequent forensic autopsy, which determined her death to be a homicide.   During that autopsy, Dr. Radisch found seven severe lacerations to the scalp of Ms. Ratliff, with a linear skull fracture underneath one of the lacerations.   Evidence of other intracranial bleeding was present as well.


11. Pursuant to the Last Will and Testament of Elizabeth Ratliff, Defendant and his former wife became the guardians of Ms. Ratliff's children, Margaret and Martha, and received certain household goods from her estate.   The Defendant also received the benefits payments from the government to the children on their behalf.


12. Several similarities exist between the death of Elizabeth Ratliff in Germany in 1985 and the subject of this trial, which is the death of Kathleen Peterson in Durham, North Carolina in 2001.   These similarities include:


a.  The deceased being found at the bottom of a stairway.


b. No eyewitnesses to either alleged fall down the stairs.


c. A large amount of blood present.


d. Blood spatter present high and dried on the wall next to the stairway, including a bloodstain with small drops.


e. No evidence of any forced entry or exit, or of any property being stolen.


f. No murder weapon being recovered.


g. The general time of day (late night to early morning) and general period of the calendar (late November to early December).


h. Both deceased persons were females in their 40's who had a close personal relationship with the Defendant.


i. Both deceased persons were similar in physical characteristics so that they looked alike and reported of severe headaches in the weeks before their death.


j. Both deceased persons were planning to go on a trip in the near future and had dinner with the Defendant on the night before their death.


k. Both deceased persons were later determined to have died from blunt force trauma to the head, including the same number of scalp lacerations and same general location of scalp wounds.


l. Both deceased persons had what could be characterized as defensive wounds on their bodies.


m. The manner of death for both deceased persons was later determined to be homicide.


n. The Defendant was the last known person to see both of these persons alive.


o. By being summoned to the scene in Germany and living at the scene in Durham, the Defendant is then present on the scene when the authorities arrive and reports that the death is the result of an accidental fall down the stairs.


p. The Defendant is in charge of the remains, effects, and household after each death, and is potentially in charge of each estate after death.


q. The Defendant received money or other items of value after each death.



Defendant asserts that the trial court erred in admitting this evidence because there was no evidence which tended to show that defendant was responsible for the death of Elizabeth Ratliff. Rule 404(b) includes no requisite that the evidence tending to prove defendant's identity as the perpetrator of another crime be direct evidence, exclusively. Neither the rule nor its application indicates that examples of other provisions-such as admissibility of evidence of other offenses to prove motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, or plan-rest solely upon direct evidence.


Based upon these findings of fact, the trial court found the evidence regarding the Ratliff death to be relevant as to intent, knowledge, and absence of accident.

 

Freda Black, who served as assistant prosecutor in Mike Peterson's 2003 murder trial, was found dead in her home Sunday, according to Durham police.

https://www.wral.com/freda-black-pr...-found-dead-in-her-home/17734196/?version=amp

 

not enough explosions.