Drew Peterson's Trial *SECOND WEEK*

[Shelby1]

I believe Dr. Mitchell is deceased. He was 44 when he died IIRC.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...bit-20100314_1_autopsies-pathologist-forensic



More at link.

Ohhhhh! Thank you so much! I didn't think to google him. That's FAR too young

 

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In Session Most of the attorneys appear to be inside the courtroom, as is defendant Drew Peterson. James Glasgow and Steve Greenberg are chatting amiably in the hallway.

 

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In Session All of the attorneys are now in the courtroom. We should be starting momentarily.
8 seconds ago

 

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In Session Judge Burmila has just taken the bench. “I received some motions last night… when are we going to address those?” It is decided that the Court will take at least one witness today, and then perhaps the motions will be argued. Judge: “Let’s get the first witness on before we worry about the second.” He sends for the jury.

 

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In Session

A few seconds ago

The jurors are now seated, and the Prosecution calls its first witness of the day: Michael VanOver (questioned by prosecutor Kathy Patton). He is a deputy coroner for Will County, and goes over the training and experience that qualifies him for that position. He was working in that position on March 1, 2004, and was dispatched to the Savio home, arriving at approximately 11:14 am.



In Session “There was a deceased individual that was the ex-wife of a Bolingbrook police sergeant… I went upstairs into the residence and was shown where the decedent was.” “What part of the second floor?” “In a bathroom, off of a bedroom…I seen [sic] a Caucasian female, lying in a bathtub.”

 

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In Session The witness identifies a Polaroid photograph he took that morning. “It is a photograph of the decedent lying in the bathtub.” After the defense has an opportunity to look at the photo, they ask for a sidebar.



Here we go with the sidebars....:waiting:

 

[Shelby1]

SIDEBAR! *pouring Bloody Marys*

 

[luvlife]

I know this is not streaming online but for us on the west coast is there anywhere to get tru tv online? I tried the link posted a while back for superusvoxx but I get a 404 error now. TIA

 

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In Session
The sidebar is now over. Over the defense objection, the photograph is projected for the jurors. The witness says he took the photograph “immediately upon coming into the bathroom area.” “Is it part of your record?” “Yes.” “Do you reca
ll the name of the individual in the tub at that time?” “It was Kathleen Savio… I touched the body and found it to be cool to the touch… I found lividity to be present… there was purge coming from the nose and mouth, and there were some abrasions… the blood has stopped circulating in the body, and so it takes the path of least resistance, and would come out the nose or the mouth. It [the body] had some rigor mortis … it was slight… I had been led to be believe that there was no signs of life prior to my arrival… the tub didn’t have any water in it, and there was bottles of shampoo and whatnot, bath products, around the tub itself… the tub was clean, except for a trail of purge. The drain was closed.” “Did you move the body in any way?” “No, not at that time.”


In Session The witness is now shown another photograph. “It appears to be a laceration on the back of the head.” “Did you observe that laceration?” “No, I did not” (and he wasn’t present when the photograph was taken). Before the prosecution can ask its next question, the defense asks for another sidebar.


:waiting:

 

[Shelby1]

Boy, the line of folks trying to get into see the trial is certainly longer than last week! IS just showed a video of it.

 

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In Session The sidebar has now ended. “When the body was in the tub, did you observe her hair at all?” “I did… it appeared to be dry and matted.” “What kind of hair did she have?” “It was thicker hair; the length I don’t recall.” “You didn’t examine her head that night, to see if there were any injuries to it?” “I did not.”

 

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In Session “Did you observe any injuries to her body?” “I specifically recall there being an abrasion on her left buttocks.” The witness is shown another photograph. “What does that appear to be?” “An abrasion on her left buttocks.” The witness did not take this photograph but says it accurately reflects what he saw at the scene. The photo is then published for the jury. “When you observed that, how would you describe what you saw?” “As an abrasion that was not a weeping abrasion; it wasn’t in a scabbing form. It appeared to be drying out.” At this point, the witness asks for a glass of water, with which he is provided.

 

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In Session “Recall observing a wine glass [around the tub], or a glass of any kind?” “No, I do not… I was told by the Bolingbrook officer that the Illinois State Police were going to be investigating this, so I stood down until they arrived.” “What is your function at a death investigation?” “To gather demographic information about the decedent, to gather any medication, to speak to family members.” “Did you do any of that before the state police arrived?” “No, I did not.” The state police arrived “in excess of an hour,” and this witness met with Trooper Robert Deel. “We went and looked at the decedent, and Trooper Deel took some photos. We looked for medication bottles, and we went down to the kitchen area, where we did find some medication bottles. Then we went back up to the bathroom area, and prepared the body for transport… we removed the body from the bathtub, turned the body over in the tub so the extremities could be reached, so the body could be picked up and put in a body bag… Trooper Deel put paper bags over the hands…I picked up the lower end of the body… it goes into a body bag, on the floor next to the tub.”



In Session “Did anyone else help you put the body in that bag?” “Trooper Deel… Trooper Deel put paper bags on the decedent’s hands, and taped them… the body was on the bag, but the bag had not been zipped up… I wore rubber gloves (as did Deel).” “Were you looking for any injuries to the body?” “Yes… I was looking for obvious signs of trauma, gunshot wounds, stabbing wounds.” “Were you primarily looking for major trauma?” “Yes, I was… looking for signs of stabbings, gunshot wounds, blunt force.” “You didn’t see any stabbings or gunshots wounds, did you?” “I did not.”

In Session “Was there a homicide or suspicious death protocol in place at the time you examined the body?” Objection. The parties go to a sidebar.

 

[fifteen89]

To whoever that guy is on InSession......God Bless America. And I still want the SOB in jail.

 

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Anybody keeping track of the sidebars? 3 in less than an hour so far.

 

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In Session The sidebar ends, and the defense objection is overruled. “Did you follow the protocol that evening?” “We did not… after the hands had been bagged, I asked if they thought there was something wrong here. And they stated no, they were doing it for preventative purposes.” VanOver explains how protocol would have required for the body to be placed on a white sheet, and then eventually placed in a sealed body bag.” “What was the next thing you did?” “We transported the body down to the first level of the residence, placed it upon the cot we use to transport…” Objection/Sustained. “Who was with me?” “Trooper Deel, and a couple of other officers who were present to help us move the body.” “Where did the body go?” “It went onto a cot, and then went out to the coroner vehicle, and was placed in the coroner vehicle.” He left at approximately 3:00 am and drove to the county morgue. “I brought the body in and did a processing for that, which entails weighing the body, logging it into the book, and making a toe tag.” After that, the body was “placed into a cooler. And I dictated my report, for a secretary to type.” “What time was it when you were dictating the report?” “Probably close to 4:00 am.” “What else did you do?” “I went home... at approximately 8:00 am, I would have called and advised the deputy coroner who was coming on shift, to tell him what he case was and what time the autopsy would be.”



In Session “When you carried the body of Kathleen Savio down the stairs, did you bang against the side of the wall?” Objection/Sustained. “Did you cause any damage to the body of Kathleen Savio?’ “No, I did not.” “Did you observe a towel on the tub?” “Yes, I did.” “And that is in the photo?” “Yes, it is.” That ends the direct examination of this witness. Judge Burmila asks that the jurors be taken out of the courtroom.

 

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In Session The jurors are now absent. The witness also leaves the courtroom. Judge Burmila: “The record should reflect that the defense claims a photo was never tendered to them; the State disputes that. There may also be some black and white photos that the defense may not have seen, and they want to see them before they begin their cross-examination.” Prosecutor Connor thinks the original photos may be in his office, and is making efforts to retrieve them (which should take 15 or 20 minutes). Judge: “We’ll take a very brief recess.”



In Session The judge is off the bench, and the court is in recess, pending the arrival of the photographs in question. Once the defense has a right to look at the photos, then the trial will resume.

 

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Craig Wall‏@craigrwall
Jury in #DrewPeterson case shown photo of Kathleen Savio in bathtub. Lying on left side, hair covering face, blood running from head 2 drain


6m ABC 7 Chicago ‏@abc7chicago

Deputy coroner admits not following suspicious death homicide protocol that was in place the night Savio’s body was found #DrewPeterson

 

[Jackson44]

n/t where are you getting the testimony that you are typing? I have looked all over for it and can't find it. I really appreciate all your updates and hard work!

 

[~n/t~]

n/t where are you getting the testimony that you are typing? I have looked all over for it and can't find it. I really appreciate all your updates and hard work!

InSession FB page.

https://www.facebook.com/InSession#!/InSession


BTW..I'm not typing it. Just posting what they tweet.