Drew Peterson Trial: Day 16 – Judge warns of possible acquittal

As the prosecution in the Drew Peterson trial wrapped up the week’s testimony, Judge Edward Burmila warned James Glasgow and his team that they haven’t proven their case. He suggested that they have yet to prove that Peterson was in the bathroom the night of Kathleen Savio’s death or how he might have murdered her.

The prosecution explained to the Judge that they were going to introduce testimony that showed Peterson’s training in strangleholds would have been the method of choice for the former police officer. Burmila dismissed the idea immediately saying, ”You can’t be serious, you don’t even have any evidence linking him to the scene. Now you want to say this is what he did there?”

The prosecution do not expect to call any additional witnesses and will wrap up their case on Monday.

Peterson’s defense team expect a swift and decisive conclusion to their case which will start on Monday. By the end of the next week the Judge could hand off the case to the jury, if he doesn’t render a not-guilty verdict himself before it gets to that point. Often the defense will request the Judge to render a not-guilty verdict after the prosecution has rested, and while these types of motions are rarely granted, the Savio case is different from many cases, there is a real chance that such a request could be granted.

Even if the jury does get the case, the standard of proving Peterson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt could give the jury no choice but to acquit.

Drew Peterson Trial: Day 11 – Pathologist testifies that murder is the only plausible cause of death

Joel Brodsky, Drew Peterson defense attorney

Dr. Larry Blum testified Thursday in court that the only plausible cause of death of Kathleen Savio was murder. Blum argued that he did not believe a single fall could cause the gash and patterns of bruises on her body. He also pointed out that there were no edges around the bathtub that matched the wounds on her body, or that her position in the bath tub was not consistent with that of someone who had fallen.

Under cross examination however, Blum conceded that other experts in his field disagreed with his opinion and believed that her death was actually an accident. He also conceded that no DNA samples were collected from her fingernails, which may have been present had there been a struggle with another person.

Savio’s 2004 death was originally considered an accident, but an investigation into her death three years later, after the disappearance of Drew Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, reclassified it as a homicide.

 

Drew Peterson Trial: Day 5 – Where is all the physical evidence?

Image courtesy of Justice Cafe.

James Glasgow and his prosecution team spent most of the day trying to explain why there is no evidence linking Kathleen Savio’s death to a crime rather than an accident – the reason, they said, was that the initial investigation was very badly botched. After all there was no blood splattered on the wall, no broken dishes or furniture to show signs of a struggle – investigators quickly jumped to the conclusion that her death was accidental.

Investigators were so confident of their classification of her demise that when Deputy Coroner Michael VanOver asked them if he should preserve potential evidence, they said that it was not necessary.

It wasn’t until 3 years later when her body was exhumed that her death was reclassified as a homicide. So what about her second autopsy changed their minds?

So while the prosecution tried to paint the investigation as flawed – the defense insisted there is no evidence because there is no crime – it’s that simple.

After 5 days of trial – no one seems convinced that the prosecution are proving their case – and with a few missteps by the prosecution it will be interesting to see what/if anything the prosecution has to convince a jury of 12 people that Drew Peterson definitively caused the death of Kathleen Savio.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I’m Mr. Peterson” – Drew Peterson trial finally begins

Jury selection for the trial started today.

Drew Peterson’s trial began today with jury selection and he kicked off the process by introducing himself to potential jurors. In a steady voice and with his now famous moustache shaved, he simply stated, ”Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I’m Mr. Peterson.”

Peterson spoke to about 40 of the 200 possible jurors for the trial.

Drew Peterson is the sole suspect in the murder of his third wife Kathleen Savio and also the prime suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife Stacy Peterson. However in a move to reinforce his belief that she is still alive, he has added her to the list of potential witnesses for the defense.

Finding unbiased jurors could prove to be the most difficult  task of all – it has been 5 years since Stacy Peterson has gone missing and in that time Drew Peterson’s strange and confrontational behaviour has kept him in the spotlight. In January of 2012 Lifetime aired a made-for-TV movie “Untouchable” about Drew Peterson which starred Rob Lowe – the movie achieved record ratings for the network.

Since Savio’s death was originally declared an accident, there is little evidence that the prosecution has that will prove their case, instead they are heavily relying on hearsay statements that were made by Savio to her divorce attorney shortly before her death, the comments essentially implicate Drew Peterson should anything happen to her. For the past few years lawyers have been wrangling over what statements, if any, would be admissible into the trial.

Stacy Peterson added to Drew Peterson trial defense witness list

Stacy Peterson has been missing since 2007 and is presumed dead.

In a completed unexpected, but potentially brilliant move by Drew Peterson’s defense team, they added Stacy Peterson to their list of witnesses that could potentially appear during his trial which starts on July 23rd.

Stacy Peterson has been missing since 2007, and many assume that the former Bolingbrook police officer is responsible for her disappearance.

Peterson is on trial for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose mysterious drowning death was originally ruled an accident, but after Stacy’s disappearance the case was re-opened and her death ruled a homicide.