MovieChat Forums > Soupçons Discussion > The two Ratliff Daughters - Spoilers

The two Ratliff Daughters - Spoilers


I have only just watched the staircase, and am up to the point where the prosecution has just rested. However I can't escape one nagging feeling.

Has anyone else noticed the similarity between Margaret (oldest daughter) and Mike Petersen? They have the same eyes and nose. She looks remarkably like the two older Petersen sons.

I would hazard a guess that he may be her father and an argument or discovery of the affair led to Elizabeth Ratliff's demise.

The second daughter's timeline also intrigued me. When they went to the cemetery Mr Ratliff died on Oct 21 1983 and Elizabeth Ratliff died Nov 25 1985. This is a 25 month difference. It's also stated that Martha was one and Margaret two when their mother passed.

My question is with the two years between their deaths and if Martha is one, Mr Ratliff couldn't be the father. Even if Martha was 18 months, Mr Ratliff would of left months before he died to prepare for the invasion of Grenada (where he was KIA) and would of been a stretch to be the father.

Has any one else discovered or noticed this? Or is just me??

You'll have to speak up....I'm wearing a towel. :)
Homer Simpson

reply

This was certainly a fact that crossed my mind. I felt that an affair certainly would give him motive yet, no evidence exists to suggests this. I also find it a bit odd that the key witness from Germany's statement originally omitted most of the key details it contained in court. I find it hard to believe that these memories were suppressed for 17 years which you never felt they were important or suspicious enough to report to authorities but, miraculously when you arrive in North Carolina and start spending time with the prosecution these things start to come back to you. I thought this was compelling evidence but quite literally irrelevant and inflammatory. While i understand that the ME determined it was homicide originally it was ruled an accident. Exactly why should I believe this ME over the original autopsy report. I just found the whole thing to be corrupt and disingenuous from the state. I felt that they had their minds made up when they walked in the house and would stop at nothing to convict this guy. While i think if they would have done their jobs right and explored all possibilities they would have had a much more convincing case. Instead they attempted to manipulate evidence and add things that made it look like exactly what it was, a railroading. Michael was gonna be convicted with or without the evidence

reply