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[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson hearing resumes with stepbrother's testimony
January 21, 2010
<snipped>
The conversation happened the morning of Oct. 27, 2007, the day before Stacy Peterson, Peterson's fourth wife, disappeared. Peterson had picked Morphey up at Morphey's home and the two were traveling in Peterson's Yukon Denali SUV.

Peterson has not been charged in connection with the disappearance. Will County authorities have charged him with murder in the death of his third wife Kathleen Savio in 2004.

Morphey testified in court this morning he said no to Peterson's question, to which Peterson replied, "Can you live with knowing about it?"

"I always assumed that you killed Kathleen," Morphey testified he said.

"No," Peterson answered, according to his stepbrother, "I would never hurt Kathleen. She was a great mother."

Morphey has said he helped Peterson move a blue barrel out of Peterson's home the day that Stacy disappeared. He has said he fears the barrel contained Stacy's body.

Testimony is expected to continue into the afternoon.

Video: Drew Peterson Hearsay Evidence 0:22
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=5fc708fc-2df5-4d23-8eb0-56a1eb4a2453&src=front

Video: Testimony Continues In Peterson Case 2:28
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=75df89d7-4731-4856-9cf5-ba65a904a470&src=front

Video: Peterson Hearing Resumes With Stepbrother's Testimony 3:03
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=a603da7c-ae8b-4974-a493-7e2aece5f37f&src=front

Video: Joel Brodsky Phoner Talks About Drew Peterson 3:01
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=b930af06-f858-4c5d-9d01-e7855d98701a&src=front

Video: Drew Peterson's Evidence Hearing Begins 2:14
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=006f54c2-0347-4c9c-a161-9844760d08a0&src=front

Video: Peterson Hearsay Evidence Discussed In Court 2:11
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=7f6c2420-3a1c-4b8a-a04b-04bdf7e16630&src=front

Video: Witnesses Take Stand In Peterson Case, Terry Sullivan Breaks Down 5:32
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=8a1c54ab-1b54-4009-9292-77340e043a88&src=front

Video: Terry Sullivan Talks Latest In Peterson Hearsay Case 2:07
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=d980c704-8e6f-4cfe-9e36-052af30a4a00&src=front

Video: Peterson Hearsay Evidence To Be Discussed In Court 2:29
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=06a3a9f8-7235-4878-b6bc-d0b5ad6078e2&src=front

Video: Headlines Tuesday Morning 1/19/10 0:50
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=9c7029bb-6e1b-4f2c-93b1-86dbd5a2efeb&src=front

Video: Peterson Hearsay Evidence To Be Discussed In Court 0:21
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=b454d7f2-7d93-4abb-97ed-e27bbaaf3d17&src=front

Article:
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-drew-peterson-hearing-resumes-today-jan21,0,1301951.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson's stepbrother: Drew asked if I'd kill for him
January 21, 2010
<snipped>
A day before Stacy Peterson vanished, Drew Peterson confided that his fourth wife was seeking a divorce &#8212; then asked a startling question, Thomas Morphey testified Thursday.

&#8220;How much do you love me?&#8221; Peterson asked, according to Morphey, his stepbrother. &#8220;Enough to kill for me?&#8221;

Morphey testified that after his Oct. 27 talk with Peterson, he didn&#8217;t want to go to Peterson&#8217;s home on Oct. 28 because he was afraid of what he might find there.

&#8220;I didn&#8217;t want any part of anything he might have done,&#8221; said Morphey, who acknowledged he spent much of that day drinking beer because he was frightened by what Peterson had said to him the day before.

But Peterson still persuaded him to come over to help him with a chore &#8212; moving a barrel out of the master bedroom and loading it in his Yukon Denali, Morphey testified.

Morphey, now 42, acknowledged he was so upset by his actions that he took an overdose of prescription drugs the next day in a suicide attempt. He said he was contacted by police investigators after being released from the hospital and provided them information about Peterson&#8217;s alleged actions.

Peterson&#8217;s attorneys battered Morphey while cross-examining him, noting that at one point Morphey described the barrel he helped move as standing only knee-high.

They raised other inconsistencies in his testimony as well, including conflicting statements he made afterward to police investigators.

&#8220;Mr. Morphey has serious credibility issues,&#8221; defense attorney Joel Brodsky said outside the courtroom. &#8220;He told so many people so many different stories.&#8221;

Wearing a blue striped shirt and khaki pants, Peterson looked intently at Morphey during most of the nearly four hours his stepbrother spent testifying against him. Morphey seldom glanced at Peterson, who remains jailed while he awaits trial.

Article:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/2004125,drew-peterson-tom-morphey-trial-012110.article

 

[mitzi]

Drew Peterson's stepbrother recounts night he helped Peterson remove blue storage container
Thomas Morphey says he is convinced Stacy Peterson's remains were in container

By Erika Slife and Steve Schmadeke, Tribune reporters

January 21, 2010

*snip

He said Peterson told him he would give him $200 to rent a storage unit under Morphey's name and store a container there.

"I said, 'What about the smell?'" Morphey said. "He said (the container) would be airtight."

Peterson allegedly said Morphey would check on the unit "from time to time to make sure there was no odor." Peterson would return in six months after the "smoke cleared" to take care of it. If something happened to Peterson during that time, Morphey testified, Peterson allegedly told him to "drop it in the canal."

Morphey said that he later called Peterson to tell him he couldn't take part in the plan, but that Peterson still picked him up the next day for help in removing the container.
*snip

*snip

Peterson's adult son Eric also testified Thursday, seeing his father for the first time since moving out of Peterson's Bolingbrook home in 2003, in part out of anger that his father was dating Stacy, a much younger woman.

Eric Drew Peterson testified that while spending the weekend at his father's home in 1993, Peterson dragged Savio — who was screaming and pleading for someone to call police — through the front door by her hair and arm.

Asked whether he still loved his father and whether he thought he had been a good dad, Eric Peterson paused for a long time before twice answering, "no."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...eterson-hearing-20100121,0,4671344,full.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson's Stepbrother: Always Assumed He Killed Savio
Updated: Thursday, 21 Jan 2010, 9:20 PM CST
Published : Thursday, 21 Jan 2010, 7:15 AM CST
<snipped>
Morphey told the judge about a meeting with Peterson on Oct. 27, 2007, where he says Peterson asked him if he loved him enough to kill for him. Morphey answered &#8220;that&#8217;s not something I want to get involved with.&#8221; He said Peterson then asked him &#8220;can you live with knowing about it?&#8221; Morphey said, &#8220;I always assumed you killed Kathleen,&#8221; to which he said Peterson responded &#8220;I would never hurt Kathleen, she was a great mother.&#8221;

During that meeting, which Morphey said happened in Peterson&#8217;s SUV while parked in an industrial park in Bolingbrook, he said Peterson complained that Stacy was cheating on him, that she wanted a divorce and wanted him out of the house in four days.

Morphey quoted Peterson as saying: "She was going to take everything from him, the kids, all the money he had earned, half his pension, which meant he would have to keep working for the rest of his life.&#8221;

Also during the hearing, prosecutors played a secretly recorded phone call made Nov. 29, 2007, in which Peterson is heard telling Morphey that if police try to talk to him, he should tell them he wants to talk to his lawyer.

The defense attacked Morphey's credibility, pointing to numerous inconsistencies in his story, including the size of the blue barrel. They also raised questions about his mental state, and drug use. Morphey testified he is bi-polar.

Morphey has been granted immunity and was whisked away from the courthouse in a dark van to protect him from the media.

*Video Included In Article!

Article:
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/drew-peterson-hearsay-hearings-resume

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Drew Peterson Kin Testifies Against Him In Court
Witnesses Claim Peterson Threatened To Kill Third Wife Kathleen Savio
Jan 21, 2010 6:07 pm US/Central
<snipped>
The conversation Morphey was testifying about, however, happened three years after Savio's death, the day before Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared.

Morphey testified on that day, he was sitting in a car with Drew Peterson in an industrial park in Bolingbrook. On the stand, he claimed he and Peterson had the following conversation:

Peterson: "How much do you love me?"
Morphey: "I said I do."
Peterson: "Enough to kill for me?"
Morphey: "I couldn't live with that."
Peterson: "Could you live with knowing about it?"
Morphey: "I always assumed you killed Kathleen."
Peterson: "No, I would never kill Kathleen, she was a great mother."

Morphey has told investigators he fears he unwittingly helped Peterson load a closed blue barrel containing Stacy Peterson's body into the back of Peterson's Yukon Denali.

On the stand, Morphey said the barrel was 3½ feet tall and came up to his mid-thigh. The defense pounced on earlier statements Morphey made to police in which he said the container came up to his knee.

"You're seeing why the state's case is going to fall apart," Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky told reporters outside the hearing.

Morphy was on the stand for four hours. The other key witness Thursday was Drew Peterson's oldest son, Eric. He testified about a fight he saw back in 1993 where he says he saw his father dragged Kathleen Savio into the home by her hair.

Video: Drew Peterson's Kin Testifies Against Him 1/21/10 6:17PM
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=66745@wbbm.dayport.com

Article:
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/drew.peterson.hearing.2.1439637.html

 

[mitzi]

WOW!!


Stepbrother: Drew asked if I'd kill for him

January 22, 2010

By JOE HOSEY jhosey@scn1.com and DAN ROZEK drozek@suntimes.com

*snip

Morphey also said Peterson confided that Stacy was cheating on him with two possible lovers, one of whom he wanted to frame for Stacy's murder.

Peterson asked him to drive Stacy's car to Shorewood, where one of Stacy's men lived, and leave the car there with the keys in the ashtray in an attempt to lead the cops there, Morphey said.

*snip

Morphey said Peterson told him Stacy was demanding a divorce. She wanted Peterson out of the house in four days, was seeking custody of their two children along with the two born to Savio, who she adopted, and had her eyes on quite a bit of her old man's assets.

"She wanted half his pension, which meant he had to work for the rest of his life," Morphey said.

Peterson was also worried that if Stacy had custody of his kids, her brother, convicted sexual predator Yelton Cales, could get at them, Morphey said.

*snip

Eric Peterson and his younger brother, Stephen Peterson, were visiting their father and Savio for the weekend when Drew hauled his wife through the front door by her hair.

"She was being dragged and fighting to stop being dragged," Eric Peterson said, adding that Savio was shouting obscenities at her husband, begging the children to call the police and "screaming for help."

Eric Peterson said his father ordered his sons upstairs and pulled Savio down to the basement. He said the commotion downstairs sounded like a train ran through the house.

One of Savio's sisters and the police later showed up. The next morning, Eric Peterson said, there was no sign of Savio, but the house was strewn with broken glass and overturned furniture.

Eric Peterson said it was apparent that Savio was drunk the night Drew Peterson dragged her around.

Eric Peterson said he has not spoken to his father since January 2003.

"I don't love him or hate him," Eric Peterson said of his father. "It's separate of emotion. It's indifference."

*snip

The last witness called Thursday was retired state police Sgt. Patrick Collins, who headed up the Savio death investigation.

In his 22 years as a detective, Collins said he had never handled a homicide. And the Savio case would not be his first, as he and two other investigators decided about a half hour after showing up at Savio's house that her death was likely accidental.

Collins said Peterson told the state police that he and Savio had an amiable relationship at the time of her death and did not stand to profit from her dying.

*snip

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/...eterson-hearsay-day2-stepbro-JO012110.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Bombshell Testimony in Drew Peterson Case
Stepbrother Describes Helping Him Get Rid of What Stepbrother Says May Have Been Body of Peterson's 4th Wife, Stacy Peterson
JOLIET, Ill., Jan. 22, 2010
<snipped>
The investigation of former Illinois police officer Drew Peterson has always been about both the disappearance of his fourth wife and the death of his third wife.

That was particularly evident when Peterson's stepbrother took the stand at a hearing Thursday regarding the death of the third wife, Kathleen Savio. He spoke for three hours about the day wife No. 4, Stacy Peterson, vanished -- and told of helping Peterson handle a barrel he thinks may have contained Stacey Peterson's body.

CBS News legal analyst Lisa Bloom says, "It has to be to show pattern because, in this hearing, which is really a trial before the trial, the state has to show that Drew Peterson killed Kathleen Savio. And I believe at the trial, they'll be allowed to introduce evidence as to both (wives), to show it was a pattern, that he killed them, according to the state, to prevent them from divorcing him and taking a lot of his money."

Whether the hearsay evidence is admitted could prove pivotal, Bloom adds, explaining to "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Friday, "That's what it's all about. She allegedly told about 15 people, 'He's threatened me, he held a knife to my throat, he's going to kill me, he's going to get away with it, he's going to make it look like an accident.' (That's) critical evidence for the state. They want to get that evidence in, and that's the basis of this hearing. At the end of this hearing, in about a month, the judge will decide whether those statements can come in or not."

Without them, Bloom observes, prosecutors would have "a significantly weakened case, because I think those statements are the strongest part of the state's case. Without it, there's no forensic evidence linking Drew Peterson to the killing of Kathleen Savio and he's got an alibi: He says he was home with a lot of family members the entire weekend that she was killed."
*Much more info at link!

Video: Third Wife Murdered, Fourth Missing January 22, 2010 4:56 AM
Former police Sergeant Drew Peterson is back in court in the murder trial of his third wife while his fourth wife remains missing. Dean Reynolds reports.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRSbC1uKjGw[/ame]

Video: Drew Peterson Murder Trial Details January 22, 2010 5:05 AM
Legal analyst Lisa Bloom discussed the murder case of former police Sergeant Drew Peterson's third wife. The prosecution is using the disappearance of his fourth wife as damaging evidence
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm9fRyiiXK0[/ame]

Article:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/22/earlyshow/main6128553.shtml?tag=contentBody;cbsCarousel

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Cop admits mistakes in Savio case
1:33 p.m. CST, January 22, 2010
<snipped>
Retired Illinois State Police Sgt. Patrick Collins said a crime scene technician considered the death an accident, and that assessment colored his view of what happened because he had never investigated a murder before.

Collins also admitted he broke with normal protocol and allowed Peterson to sit in on an interview with Stacy Peterson, who gave Peterson his principal alibi for his whereabouts in the days before Savio was discovered. :furious:

Police interviewed Stacy Peterson for one hour on March 3, 2004. She said she and her husband had spent the weekend with the children, backing up Peterson's statements made to police a day earlier. She said they had spent Saturday hanging around the house and had gone to the Shedd Aquarium Sunday. The only time Peterson left was Sunday morning to get doughnuts. Savio was found the next day, a Monday. :cry:

Peterson, a Bolingbrook police officer at the time, asked for "professional courtesy" and sat about a foot away from Stacy while she was interviewed, Collins said.

Other shortcomings he admitted to: *Not examining or saving a glass of orange juice in the kitchen or a cup in the microwave; not specifically asking about the position of Savio's body in the bathtub; not asking if the people who had discovered her had touched the body. :furious:

Article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-peterson-trial,0,7122740.story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Former Cop Admits Mistakes in Savio Death Investigation
The lead investigator in the death of Drew Peterson's third wife testifies at hearsay hearing
Updated 2:06 PM CST, Fri, Jan 22, 2010
<snipped>
"You can second-guess anything," said Retired Illinois State Police Sgt. Patrick Collins. "Looking back now, everything could have been important. But at that particular moment, I was looking for things that were more obvious."

Collins' remarks came in a hearing meant to determine what, if any, "hearsay" evidence prosecutors can use during Peterson's murder trial. Friday was the third day Judge Stephen White heard testimony.

Article:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/peterson-hearsay-hearing-82407342.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Ex-cop speaks at Drew Peterson 'hearsay' hearing
The lead investigator in the death of Drew Peterson's third wife said he never collected any forensics evidence from the home where her body was found in a dry bathtub, telling a pretrial hearing Friday he never considered the possibility she was murdered.
Originally published Friday, January 22, 2010 at 1:10 PM
<snipped>
The lead investigator in the death of Drew Peterson's third wife said he never collected any forensics evidence from the home where her body was found in a dry bathtub, telling a pretrial hearing Friday he never considered the possibility she was murdered.

Retired Illinois State Police Sgt. Patrick Collins, testifying at a hearing to determine what, if any, "hearsay" evidence prosecutors can use during Peterson's murder trial, also said he granted Peterson favors during the investigation because he was a fellow police officer.

Collins said he even allowed Peterson to sit in on questioning of Stacy Peterson as investigators inquired about Drew Peterson's whereabouts the day Savio died - something Collins acknowledged was unusual. He said Drew Peterson even spoke up to answer one question to his then-wife about what he and Stacy had eaten for breakfast that day.

Among the potential evidence crime technicians failed to collect from Savio's home was a glass of orange juice left on a counter and the clothes she had been wearing that day, Collins testified. He also never interviewed members of Savio's family.

He added it never occurred to him that the scene in the bathroom might have been staged. After Stacy Peterson's disappearance, authorities said they did believe Savio's death was a homicide staged to look like an accident.

Both prosecutors and the defense hit Collins with tough questions, with prosecutors trying to show he could have gathered evidence pointing to Peterson's involvement in Savio's death. For their part, the defense appeared to want to demonstrate that the investigation was so shoddy that it would be impossible to discover the identity of any killer now.

Article:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010865264_apusdrewpeterson.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Cop admits missteps in Peterson's third wife's death
Published: 1/22/2010 8:13 PM
<snipped>
In the early days of the disappearance of Drew Peterson's fourth wife, neighbor Sharon Bychowski said he appeared on her Bolingbrook doorstep acting "kind of crazy," insisting she follow him back home.

A barefoot Bychowski complied.

"I said, 'Oh my God, Drew! Is there something wrong with Stacy?'" she testified Friday in a unique pretrial hearing to determine if certain hearsay statements are reliable enough for a jury to hear at trial. "He said, very dramatically, 'Well, she left me.'"

Bychowski told Will County Circuit Judge Stephen White she was immediately suspicious since she said Stacy, with whom she was close friends, would never leave her kids.

"She would leave him, but not without her kids," said Bychowski, who tearfully described Stacy as "the world's best mother."

So far, 13 witnesses testified in the hearsay hearing.

Bychowski said Drew Peterson told her he last spoke with Stacy that Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007, when she returned his call to say she had left him for another man and took $25,000, some new clothes, as well as the titles to their house and a car.

"If she was going to leave, I would have known," Bychowski said.

The Will County hearing resumes Monday, with the defense's cross examination of Bychowski. Judge White said he won't rule until the hearing's conclusion, likely another two weeks.

Images of the missing and deceased in the Drew Peterson case
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=352113

Images of the Drew Peterson Case
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=352115

Article:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=353261

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Sergeant Admits Mistakes in Savio Investigation
Updated: Friday, 22 Jan 2010, 6:43 PM CST
Published : Friday, 22 Jan 2010, 7:43 AM CST
<snipped>
The testimony from retired State Police Sergeant Patrick Collins was part of a pretrial hearing to determine what evidence will be admitted at Peterson&#8217;s murder trial.

Collins testified that he had never conducted a murder investigation before he was assigned to handle the death of Kathleen Savio in 2004. He said he relied heavily on the observations of an evidence technician, who told him her death appeared accidental.

&#8220;Hindsight is 20/20, that&#8217;s all I&#8217;m going to say,&#8221; Collins said as he left court.

&#8220;I think the investigation was done, and ultimately the conclusions that were reached were accurate,&#8221; said Andrew Abood, one of Peterson&#8217;s defense lawyers. When asked why then would prosecutors want to discredit the investigation, Abood said &#8220;Because they have to.&#8221;

Bychowski will return to the witness stand when the hearing resumes Monday morning.

*2-Videos Included In Article!

Article:
http://www.wftv.com/video/22317704/index.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtLwdDmBolk[/ame]

Video: Drew Peterson Kin Testifies Against Him WBBM Chicago 1 day ago 2:00
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=66745@wbbm.dayport.com

Video: Discussing the Drew Peterson case
http://www.videosurf.com/video/discussing-the-drew-peterson-case-110876080?vlt=daylife

Video: Can Drew Peterson Be Charged For Killing 3rd Wife?
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=60677@kpix.dayport.com

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Cop admits mistakes in Savio death case
January 22, 2010
<snipped>
Collins took the stand today during a hearing to determine what hearsay evidence, if any, should be allowed in Peterson's murder trial.

Collins said a crime scene technician considered the death an accident, and that assessment colored his view of what happened because he had never investigated a murder before.

Collins also admitted he broke with normal protocol and allowed Peterson to sit in on an interview with Stacy Peterson, who gave Peterson his principal alibi for his whereabouts in the days before Savio was discovered.

Police interviewed Stacy Peterson for one hour on March 3, 2004. She said she and her husband had spent the weekend with the children, backing up Peterson's statements made to police a day earlier. She said they had spent Saturday hanging around the house and had gone to the Shedd Aquarium Sunday. The only time Peterson left was Sunday morning to get doughnuts. Savio was found the next day, a Monday.


Video: Lead Investigator In Peterson Case Testifies 2:04
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=1c48715f-ea54-4e49-93e5-a002b18cda28&src=front

Video: Drew Peterson Hearsay 1:31
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=c63c45c7-a1df-4c86-938c-e37905f697ed&src=front

Video: Drew Peterson's Stepbrother Testifies 2:03
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=53c0a20a-9f35-4f9f-ab0a-ab82a7a1cd23&src=front

Video: Testimony Continues In Peterson Evidence Trial Continues 2:28
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=75df89d7-4731-4856-9cf5-ba65a904a470&src=front

Article:
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-cop-admits-mistake-savio-death-jan22,0,5360553.story

 

[mitzi]

Savio murder probe superficial

January 22, 2010

By JOE HOSEY jhosey@scn1.com


*snip*

Collins testified that he had never worked a homicide case before he was called in to probe Savio's death. He described himself as "naive" and said he relied heavily on the guidance of state police crime scene technician Robert Deel, who advised him that it appeared Savio slipped in the tub and hit her head.

Collins also said Peterson asked him to show "some professional courtesy," and allow him to be present for the interview of Stacy, who had an 8-month-old son and was pregnant again.

"He said she was really shaken, very upset, that she had just had a baby, she was very young, and he asked to be present for the interview," Collins said.

During the interview, which was conducted in the basement of Peterson's house, Stacy, who was 20 at the time, "was emotional," Collins said, and "broke down and started crying."

*snip*

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/...4_JO22_Savio-murder-probe-superficial.article

 

[mitzi]

Peterson attorney 'not just another pretty face'

Stacy St. Clair

January 20, 2010


Don't hate Reem Odeh because she's beautiful.

*snip*

Odeh, one of Drew Peterson's attorneys, was the subject of a defense team news release this week titled "Not Just Another Pretty Face." The release describes Odeh as a model-turned-attorney, as well as a key player in the case of the Bolingbrook cop accused of killing his third wife and suspected in the disappearance of his fourth.

"Reem wants the public to know that beyond her stunning good looks is a hard-nosed attorney who is detail-oriented and brings keen analytical skills to Team Peterson," the statement says.

*snip*

A single mother of three, Odeh is expected to conduct the direct examination of one of Peterson's teenage children at trial.

*snip*

There is also a pic of Odeh, but I don't know how to bring it over.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-talk-peterson-trial-odeh-0121-20100120,0,5642856.story

 

[mitzi]

Experts: Police botched 1st Peterson investigation

By MICHAEL TARM and DON BABWIN
The Associated Press
Saturday, January 23, 2010; 1:57 PM

*snip*

Illinois State Police Sgt. Patrick Collins collected no forensics evidence from the scene - not fingerprints, unfinished drinks or clothes. Most disturbingly, say experts, Collins let Peterson sit in on what may have been a vital interview.

*snip*

Among the litany of mistakes: Collins said he never asked anyone whether Savio's body had been touched or moved, he never tried to account for her body being bent forward, and he never interviewed her relatives. And when he left the house, he didn't seal it, meaning someone could walk in and take, move or even clean something.

*snip*

Ironically, Peterson may have been the one person in the house who knew that. Peterson's career as a police officer included time as an evidence technician, according to prosecutors. But Collins, who didn't interview any of Peterson's fellow officers, did not know that.

*snip*

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/23/AR2010012301379.html

 

[mitzi]

Drew Peterson: hearsay hearing

Greta Van Susteren, Mark Fuhrman among names raised at hearing to determine whether jurors in Drew Peterson's murder trial may hear hearsay evidence

By Steve Schmadeke and Erika Slife, Tribune reporters

January 24, 2010


Drew Peterson's oldest son testified under oath that he did not love his father, and a neighbor told of a secret meeting in an Oak Brook hotel with disgraced-LA-cop-turned-media-personality Mark Fuhrman.

*snip*

Bychowski repeated her version of events the weekend Stacy Peterson disappeared, but with a few new wrinkles. Though said she instantly doubted Drew Peterson's story that his wife had left him for another man, Bychowski testified she allowed Fox News' Greta Van Susteren to record an interview with Peterson's then-friend Rick Mims in her home shortly after Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

After allowing Van Susteren to change in her bedroom, Bychowski said, she told the TV personality that Stacy Peterson was a wonderful mother who would never have left her children and that Mims' description of the woman as unstable was a lie.

Afterward, one of Van Susteren's producers called Bychowski and told her Fuhrman was willing to advise her about keeping Stacy Peterson's name in the press. Bychowski said she and her husband met with him for about an hour at a Marriott hotel in Oak Brook shortly afterward.

*snip*

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...peterson-hearing-bd--20100122,0,1174787.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson Lawyer Disses Hearsay Evidence
It's Considered Vital; Ex-Cop: I Went Easy On Peterson, Never Mulled Murder as Possibility in Death of Peterson's 3rd Wife
Jan. 23, 2010
<snipped>
The hearsay evidence -- statements Savio supposedly made to others about fearing Peterson would kill her -- is considered key to the prosecution's case.

But Peterson's lawyer, Joel Brodsky, insisted to "Early Show Saturday Edition" co-anchor Chris Wragge that hearsay evidence "absolutely" shouldn't be allowed. "Somebody doesn't wake up yesterday morning and say, 'Gee, whiz. Let's exclude hearsay,' Brodsky remarked. "It's something that's developed over hundreds of years of jurisprudence, and the reason is because we've learned over those hundreds of years that hearsay is inherently unreliable. And to let it in (as evidence) is just plain wrong. Not only wrong, but unconstitutional."

Although the hearing is intended to focus on that "hearsay" evidence, Collins was the latest witness to focus on direct evidence that had nothing to do with "hearsay." Prosecutors haven't explained why they have called such witnesses.

Both prosecutors and the defense hit Collins with tough questions, with prosecutors trying to show he could have gathered evidence pointing to Peterson's involvement in Savio's death. For their part, the defense appeared to want to demonstrate that the investigation was so shoddy that it would be impossible to discover the identity of any killer now.

Article:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010...6133224.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Testimony right out of "Fatal Vows" book
January 22, 2010
<snipped>
Sharon Bychowski's testimony likely sounded very familiar to readers of "Fatal Vows: The Tragic Wives of Sergeant Drew Peterson." Herald-News reporter Joe Hosey conducted many interviews while researching the book. Bychowski was one of his subjects. Her answers on the stand were so similar to her interview with Hosey that some passages in the 2008 release are nearly word-for-word replicas of Friday's testimony.

"Fatal Vows: The Tragic Wives of Sergeant Drew Peterson." authored by Herald-News reporter Joe Hosey.

Article:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/...eterson-testimony-Fatal-Vows-JO012210.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson's neighbor to take stand in trial
January 25, 2010
<snipped>
A neighbor of Drew Peterson is set to take the stand once again today, in Peterson's pre- trial hearing.

Sharon Bychowski testified on Friday that she doesn't believe Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy would ever leave her children and run off with another man.

Stacy Peterson disappeared in 2007. Drew Peterson is the only suspect her disappearance.

Video: Neighbor Of Peterson Takes The Stand In Hearsay Trial 1:48
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=72237cf7-0f75-42f3-aa76-b9325d8ebf79&src=front

Article:
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgn-tv-peterson-trial-resumes-today-jan10,0,4084353.story