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[Angel Who Cares]

Retired sgt. returns to stand in Peterson hearing
Updated at 08:41 AM today
<snipped>
Patrick Collins investigation concluded that Savio's 2004 death was an accident. A follow-up investigation determined she was murdered.

Collins testified for several hours Friday about his investigation. He's expected to be cross examined Monday.

Friday was the third day of the hearing and both sides went after Collins.

The prosecution tried to show how Collins and his investigators could have gathered evidence linking Peterson to Savio's death.

In the meantime, the defense was trying to convince the judge that the investigation was so botched that Savio's killer may never be identified.

Collins left the courthouse with little to say after spending the day detailing why the 2004 death of Peterson's third wife was ruled accidental and not a homicide.

"He's a police officer, 26 years on the force. He knows what blood spatter is, he knows what DNA is, he knows what trace evidence is," said Andrew Abood, Peterson's attorney.

Video: Retired sgt. returns to stand in Peterson hearing 3:07
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7234664

Video: Stepbrother: Drew Indicated He'd Kill Wife Stacy 3:22
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7232532

Article:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7237493

 

[Angel Who Cares]

PEOPLE INSIDE STORY: Prosecutors Preview Murder Case Against Drew Peterson
Monday January 25, 2010 09:30 AM EST
<snipped>
His kids &#8211; including two apiece with each of his wives in the twin mysteries &#8211; issued a statement of support when Peterson, now 56, was arrested in May &#8216;09 and pleaded not guilty to killing Kathleen Savio, 40, whose bathtub drowning was staged to look like an accident, according to Illinois prosecutors. He had replaced the still-missing Stacy Peterson with a 24-year-old fiancée, although the woman later described the engagement as a stunt. Even his defense team has raised eyebrows, enlisting model-turned-lawyer Reem Odeh and issuing a news release headlined "Not Just Another Pretty Face," which states: "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 families of Savio and Stacy Peterson have not laughed. But back in court last week for a hearing that will help decide his future (testimony resumes Monday), the smiles were gone from Peterson's face as well.

Article:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20339141,00.html

 

[mitzi]

Neighbor: Stacy Peterson sensed death
She said husband was going to kill her, woman says in pretrial testimony

updated 2:50 p.m. CT, Mon., Jan. 25, 2010

*snip*

Sharon Bychowski told the court that she came upon Stacy Peterson, then 23, crying outside her suburban Chicago home one day. She explained how she had packed 10 boxes of Drew Peterson's clothes and asked her husband, 30 years her senior, to leave. But he'd refused.

*snip*

As Stacy Peterson described how she feared for her life, Bychowski advised her to put what she was saying in writing.

Her response, Bychowski said, was to say — "'It doesn't matter. I'm already dead. He's going to kill me.'"

*snip*

"She didn't love him anymore," Bychowski said. She added that, for Stacy Peterson, "having sex with him made her skin crawl."

Stacy Peterson told Bychowski she had mulled over whether to leave herself or insist Drew Peterson leave their Bolingbrook home. Stacy Peterson said she was certain she'd keep her own two children but hadn't decided whether to seek custody of her two stepsons, Bychowski said.

*snip*

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35064297/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Witness recounts last hours before Stacy Peterson's disappearance
January 25, 2010
<snipped>
Bruce Zidarich, 45, of Downers Grove, said he and Stacy had grown closer in the weeks before she vanished because they both were having relationship problems &#8212; he with Stacy's sister Cassandra Cales and she with Drew Peterson, then a Bolingbrook police sergeant.

"She said she didn't want anything &#8212; she wanted out," Zidarich said. But Stacy told him Peterson, who had been tracking her whereabouts with a GPS system on her cell phone, wasn't about to let her go, telling her that even if she slept with someone else in front of him he would still love her.

On Oct. 27, the day before Stacy vanished, Zidarich talked to Stacy about her increasing desperation to leave Peterson. They exchanged a series of text messages just after midnight, where Zidarich suggested they meet for coffee. Stacy asked if they could "go to breakfast in the morning w/my babies instead" because it had been a long day.

But the planned meeting on Oct. 28 never happened. Instead, Zidarich spoke to Stacy by phone later that morning about helping him repaint the inside of his Yorkville rental home.

Stacy never responded to his 4:30 p.m. text message &#8212; "Whatcha doin 2marrow?" and within a few hours Stacy's family and friends were frantically searching for her.

Zidarich said he and Cales drove past the Petersons' home, spotting both of their cars in the driveway &#8212; and when he called Peterson about 2:25 a.m. Drew Peterson told him that Stacy had taken $25,000 and gone to Jamaica with her boyfriend.
*Much More At Link!

Article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...rew-peterson-hearing-20100125,0,5557788.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Prosecutors preview case against Peterson
They present witnesses who recall two wives&#8217; fears about his threats
updated 11:19 a.m. ET, Mon., Jan. 25, 2010
<snipped>
In an extraordinary court hearing, prosecutors are previewing their murder case by presenting witnesses who recall each woman's fears in the face of threats from Peterson. At issue is a legal milestone &#8212; the so-called Drew Peterson Law, adopted by the Illinois legislature after Peterson became a suspect &#8212; that allows previously inadmissible hearsay to be used in court against him. Will County Judge Stephen White will hear as many as 60 witnesses over three weeks to decide which statements ultimately may be presented to a jury.

"All it is, is rumor, innuendo and gossip," Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky told the media after a previous hearing. "People had ulterior motives for saying what they said or are out-and-out unreliable people."

Even so, the allegations as Peterson's case regains the spotlight are riveting.

Legal experts are waiting to see how many such statements a jury may eventually hear, noting that prosecutors have not identified any eyewitnesses or scientific evidence linking Peterson to Savio's death. A date for the murder trial has not been set.
*Much More At Link!

Article:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35058784/ns/today-today_people/

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Neighbor: Stacy Peterson said 'He's going to kill me'
Updated at 08:50 PM today
<snipped>
In the most dramatic testimony yet at a pretrial hearing on the use of hearsay evidence, Sharon Bychowski said Monday she came upon Stacy Peterson outside her house crying one day. She told Bychowski that she wanted a divorce.

Bychowski says Stacy Peterson told her: "'If I disappear, Sharon. It's not an accident. He killed me."'

Bychowski testified that she told Stacy Peterson to start writing down what she was saying. A sobbing Bychowski recalled that Stacy Peterson responded: "'It doesn't matter. I'm already dead. He's going to kill me."'

Drew Peterson's attorney, however, doesn't buy Bychowski's testimony.

"The statement makes no sense, clearly, she was trying to mull together the Kathleen Savio case and Stacy Peterson case because disappearance can never be an accident," said attorney Joel Brodsky.

Also on stand was Jacqueline Torrez who testified that on the day Stacy Peterson disappeared, she saw a man on her street wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Torrez testified that he looked as though he was confused and had no purpose. She also said he had a look in his eyes as if he just killed someone. Torrez later learned that person was Drew Peterson.

Video: Neighbor: Stacy Peterson said 'He's going to kill me' 2:26
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7238666

Article:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7237493

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Neighbor Testifies At Peterson's Hearing
Updated: Monday, 25 Jan 2010, 9:34 PM CST
Published : Monday, 25 Jan 2010, 4:50 AM CST
<snipped>
Bruce Zidarich, a former boyfriend of Stacy Peterson's sister, may have been the last person to talk to Stacy before she disappeared. He testified that Stacy told him she wanted out of her marriage so badly that she even floated the idea of having sex with another man in front of Drew so he would stop loving her and let her go.

He said after Stacy vanished, Drew told him she took $25,000 and went to Jamaica with another man.

Also testifying was Sharon Bychowski, who lives next door to Peterson and was a good friend of Stacy's.

Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky suggested Bychowski made that quote up, saying it sounded strangely similar to what Peterson's third wife Kathleen Savio allegedly told her sister before she died. Peterson is now charged with her murder.

&#8220;What she did was take a clip from Kathy, about it being an accident, and tried to stick it into Stacy&#8217;s case,&#8221; Brodsky said.

*2-Videos Included At Link!

Article:
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/Neighbor-Testifies-At-Peterson's-Hearing

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Some of Stacy Peterson's talks with minister allowed in trial
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
<snipped>
The hearsay hearing for Drew Peterson's murder trial got a bit more complicated Tuesday. Now the prosecution and the defense are battling over whether a minister may testify about conversations he had with Stacy Peterson.

Neil Schori, a counseling minister at Westbrook Christian Church in Bolingbrook, left the courtroom Tuesday without testifying about what Stacy Peterson told him she knew about Kathleen Savio's death. Schori provided marital counseling to both Stacy and Drew Peterson. He has previously told reporters that Stacy confided in him that Peterson confessed to Stacy that he killed Kathleen Savio. Peterson's attorneys objected to allowing such testimony based on marital and clergy privilege.

Judge Stephen White will allow testimony involving conversations between Stacy and Schori that took place in public places such as coffee houses.

Schori was told to return Wednesday until Judge White rules on allowing additional testimony from the minister.

Meantime, Donna Badalementi, a close friend of Stacy Peterson's aunt from California, testified about a chilling and strange statement Peterson made to her at a family party. Badalementi testified that Peterson said, "this marriage better work out or I will kill myself, or I will kill her." She also testified on a separate occasion that Drew Peterson bragged about his police training saying it was so good that he could get away with murder.

Schori is now one of over 20 witnesses that the prosecution has called and there are many more to go.

Video: Some of Stacy Peterson's talks with minister allowed in trial 2:17
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7240846

Video: Neighbor: Stacy Peterson said 'He's going to kill me' 2:26
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7238666

Video: Retired cop testifies at Drew Peterson 'hearsay' hearing 3:07
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7234664

Article:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7239454

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Ruling due on testimony by Stacy Peterson's ex-pastor
January 27, 2010 4:29 AM
<snipped>
A Will County judge is expected to rule today on whether Stacy Peterson's former pastor can testify in open court about what Stacy told him about the death of her husband Drew's third wife.

Pastor Neil Schori has said in interviews that Stacy confided in him that Peterson told her he had killed third wife Kathleen Savio.

Judge Stephen White already has barred Schori from recounting conversations he had in the couple's home and during a ride in Peterson's squad car. Now White is expected to rule on whether Schori can testify to what Stacy Peterson said during a counseling session at a coffeehouse.

White, who heard testimony from Schori behind closed doors, is expected to issue a formal ruling Wednesday morning. Schori is scheduled to take the witness stand in the pretrial hearing a short time later.

Schori's testimony plays a key in role in the prosecution's case, which relies heavily on hearsay statements Stacy Peterson and Savio allegedly made. White must decide whether each of the 15 statements will be allowed at trial based largely on the witnesses' credibility and relevance to the case.

In testimony Tuesday, Stacy's maternal aunt said her niece was desperate to leave Peterson in the weeks leading up to her disappearance. Candace Aikin testified that Stacy wanted to leave but did not know how she would support her children if they divorced.

She had been drinking more and was on antidepressants, her aunt said. Aikin also said Stacy complained of trouble sleeping because Peterson kept waking her to ask if she had been cheating on him.

"'I wish Drew would hit me so I could get out,'" Aikin said Stacy Peterson had told her in early October 2007. "'I feel stuck.'"
*Much More Info At Link!

Article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/01/judge-bars-public-media-from-peterson-hearing.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Witness: Peterson Bragged He Could Cover up Murder
Relative of Drew Peterson's missing wife says he bragged he could get away with murder
JOLIET, Ill. January 26, 2010
<snipped>
Candace Aikin testified that Drew Peterson made the boast in front of her, Stacy Peterson and others at a family gathering in January 2007, months before Stacy disappeared.

"I just remember him saying something like he could kill and make it look like an accident," Aikin said.

She said Stacy Peterson heard that and replied, "Not with this chick you don't."

Aikin also said Stacy and Drew Peterson often fought, and that her niece told her he would follow her from room to room while she was speaking on the phone.

Drew Peterson hasn't been charged in Stacy Peterson's disappearance, but authorities say he's the only suspect.

Aikin's friend, Donna Badalamenti, also testified. Badalamenti, who has know Stacy Peterson for years, said they were at a family event in 2003 when Peterson told her that if the marriage to Stacy Peterson didn't work out he would kill himself.

Badalamenti told Drew Peterson not to say that, and she said he responded, "Then I'll kill her."

Article:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=9669577

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Judge: Minister can testify about talks with Stacy Peterson
PETERSON MURDER TRIAL | Judge limits discussions about counseling
January 26, 2010
<snipped>
A Naperville minister can provide details about counseling sessions he had with Stacy Peterson shortly before she vanished in 2007, a Will County judge ruled Tuesday.

But Rev. Neil Schori won&#8217;t be allowed to testify about conversations he held jointly with Stacy and her husband, Drew Peterson, or about any talks he had individually with Drew Peterson, the judge said.

&#8220;We&#8217;re happy with the judge&#8217;s ruling,&#8221; defense attorney Joel Brodsky said outside the courtroom.

The judge could further limit the testimony when he rules Wednesday on whether Schori can testify about statements Stacy Peterson purportedly made to him about her husband&#8217;s alleged involvement in Savio&#8217;s 2004 murder.

Article:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/2011844,drew-peterson-hearsay-savio-012610.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Stacy to aunt: 'I wish Drew would hit me so I could get out'
January 26, 2010
<snipped>
Stacy Peterson was desperate to leave her husband, Drew, in the weeks before she disappeared, her aunt testified this afternoon.

"I wish Drew would hit me so I could get out," she told her aunt Candace Aikin in early October 2007. "I feel stuck."

Aikin took the stand at a hearing to determine what hearsay evidence, if any, can be presented at Peterson's trial for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. She died more than three years before Stacy was reported missing.

Stacy also began confiding things about Drew Peterson's temperament and troubling behavior, including a story in which she accused Drew of stealing Savio's garage door opener to go to her house to swipe her wedding ring shortly before she was found dead in her bathtub in March 2004.

"She said she was starting to say things so people would know the real Drew," Aikin testified.

Earlier today, a Will County judge ruled that a minister can testify about conversations he had with Stacy Peterson in coffee shops in the months before she disappeared.

Neil Schori has said he provided marriage counseling to both Drew and Stacy Peterson.

Schori has told several media outlets that Stacy told him Peterson had confessed to killing Savio. She also talked about Peterson's whereabouts on the night Savio died, contradicting an alibi she had provided for Peterson, according to Schori.

White then closed the courtroom to everyone except attorneys after defense lawyers made a motion to bar all testimony from Schori regarding what Drew Peterson may have told Stacy Peterson, under the theory that those statements should be protected under marital privilege.

Afterwards, the judge said he will not rule under tomorrow on whether Schori can testify about statements Stacy attributed to Drew.

As expected, much of the testimony at the hearsay hearing so far has been about Stacy's disappearance. In order to have hearsay evidence admitted under a new state law, prosecutors are trying to convince a judge that Peterson caused Savio's death or Stacy's disappearance.

Video: Testimony Continues In Peterson Evidence Hearing 2:12
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=9a85f3d8-4c1d-49ff-bfc3-6667781de682&src=front

Video: Minister Possibly To Testify In Peterson Case 2:33
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=3bf0a025-b8df-4040-9e00-5afb51e965a4&src=front

Video: Witness Says Stacy Peterson 'Wanted Out' 2:23
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=04c113ef-0b41-4f2d-ac70-86e9ffede976&src=front

Video: Witness Says Stacy Peterson 'Wanted Out' 2:07
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=1910bc92-5549-4f3d-906c-0a8c0e17c570&src=front

Video: Stacy Said Drew Was 'Going To Kill Me,' Neighbor Testifies 2:03
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=198458cb-0f55-4263-bd53-2757d8f99e17&src=front

Video: Stacy Said Drew Was 'Going To Kill Me,' Neighbor Testifies 2:28
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=f620d838-7ad2-4143-8755-eac45733e73c&src=front

Video: Stacy Said Drew Was 'Going To Kill Her,' Neighbor Testifies 2:18
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=ce254598-7d28-4d63-aff4-d39dc319355c&src=front

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

Video: Retired Sergeant Admits Mistakes In Savio Case 1:35
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=8f063d54-2f20-4799-ae45-a61cc5138db5&src=front

Article:
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-minister-testify-about-talk-with-stacy-jan26,0,4618994.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Drew's back, but there's no funny business
No laughs, just mind-boggling, chilling revelations at hearing
January 27, 2010
<snipped>
That Drew Peterson, what a character. He's given us such great material!

Remember when Peterson called Steve Dahl's radio show and there was talk of a "Win a Date With Drew" contest? Wacky!

I'm not saying the media ever forgot why Drew Peterson was in the news. That was never the case. But we did get a lot of comedic mileage out of Peterson's antics.

Now Peterson's back on the front page, as we learn about chilling testimony from witnesses at the hearsay evidentiary hearing, e.g., one of Kathleen Savio's former co-workers telling of Savio having a bruised arm and saying Peterson had held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her on the spot, "but it would be too bloody."

On Tuesday, Stacy Peterson's aunt testified that Drew once bragged he could kill someone "and make it look like an accident."

There's also the mind-boggling revelations about the original investigation of Savio's death. The now-retired Illinois State Police sergeant who led the investigation allowed Peterson to sit in on an interview with Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, who of course is now missing. He collected no forensics, not even fingerprints. He never interviewed Savio's relatives. He didn't seal the house when he left the scene.

In the meantime, other than the anecdote about Peterson's glory-hound attorney handing out pens to reporters in a lame attempt at . . . whatever, there's no sideshow aspect to the latest blitz of Peterson news. Maybe that's because there isn't a damn thing funny about any of this stuff.

Article:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/2013296,CST-NWS-roep27.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Former co-worker alleges Savio murder plot
January 28, 2010
<snipped>
A former co-worker testified Thursday that Drew Peterson invited him for a ride in his Bolingbrook squad car, then abruptly offered him $25,000 to kill ex-wife Kathleen Savio.

&#8220;He asked me, because of the area I worked in, if I knew of anybody who could have his third wife taken care of,&#8221; Jeff Pachter, 35, testified, explaining that at the time he worked in a gritty area of Joliet frequented by gangs and drug dealers.

Pachter said he never did anything to arrange Savio&#8217;s death and said Peterson only mentioned the offer one other time &#8212; a few months after Savio was found drowned on March 1, 2004. During a July 2004 phone call, Pachter said Peterson told him to forget about the &#8220;favor&#8221; he had asked about.

Earlier in the day, a state police officer testified that in the days after his young wife supposedly ran off to the tropics with another man, Drew Peterson reportedly kept telling state police about all the "great sex" he used to have with her.

"It seemed like he was always bringing it up," state police Special Agent Patrick Callahan said of Peterson's boasting about his robust sex life to detectives.

Ex-mistress testifies
Callahan was followed on the witness stand by a Bolingbrook woman Peterson was romantically involved with in the late 1990s.

Peterson was married to Savio while he was dating Susan McCauley, a bartender in his Montgomery tavern, Sud's Pub.

McCauley recalled a visit to the home of Daniel Harrison, a friend of Peterson's, in early 2008. During the visit, Peterson told her "he had some business to take care of, that we're on the 'street death squad,'" and that he and Harrison went together to the garage.

McCauley testified that Peterson later told her "that if we ever need anyone taken care of, that they could take care of them."

A Bolingbrook police officer, Richard Treece, was called as a witness and testified that he bumped into Peterson in the courthouse while Peterson was in the midst of his divorce from Savio.

"He said he'd be better off if that (expletive) was dead," Treece recalled.

Battery case
The last witness to testify Wednesday was Elizabeth Fragale, who was an assistant state's attorney from 2001 to 2004.

Fragale handled a battery case and a domestic battery case against Kathleen Savio, who was charged with attacking Peterson and Stacy on separate occasions. Savio was acquitted in both instances. Fragale handed off the cases before they went to trial because she was promoted to a different division.

Fragale said she met with Savio and her attorney, Harry Smith, in the state's attorney's office so Savio could explain that she was actually the victim of Peterson's abuse. Fragale said she suggested Savio seek an order of protection against Peterson and to make her allegations to the state police.

"He knows how to manipulate the system," Savio wrote in the letter, "and his next step is to take my children away. Or kill me instead."
*Much Much More Info At Link!

Article:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/...ce-ex-mistress-Peterson-case_JO012810.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Doc: Savio wasn't prone to falling
January 28, 2010
<snipped>
Prosecutors on Wednesday began battling Drew Peterson's attorneys over a crucial question a jury will have to answer at the former police officer's upcoming trial - whether his third wife died accidentally by falling in the bathtub or whether she was murdered.

Called by prosecutors to testify, Kathleen Savio's physician Dr. Vinod Motiani told the court there was nothing in Savio's medical history to suggest she was prone to falling. He said he never treated Savio for dizziness or for injuries suffered in a fall.

But Motiani did concede to defense attorneys that his records included at least one notation that Savio had complained about dizziness and numbness. He also read a note in his files from another physician that said "she feels very unsteady in her gait."

Also called to testify Wednesday was Patrick Callaghan, an Illinois State Police special agent assigned to investigate Stacy Peterson's disappearance. He said from the outset of the investigation, Drew Peterson said he and Stacy had been having marital problems and that he believed she left him for another man.

Callaghan also noted that when Peterson talked about his wife, he used the past tense.

A minister who was scheduled to testify Wednesday instead will testify Friday.

Article:
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/2015685,012810peterson.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Witness: Peterson offered money to kill 3rd wife
Updated at 05:58 PM today
<snipped>
One of Drew Peterson's former co-workers testified Thursday that Peterson offered him money to kill Kathleen Savio.

"It that's a hitman, that's got to be the most worst choice of a hitman in history of the world," said Joel Brodsky, Drew Peterson defense attorney.

While being questioned by assistant Will County state's attorney John Connor, Jeffrey Pachter said during a ride along with the suburban cop, "Drew asked me if I knew anyone who could take care of his third wife." He said he simply replied, "OK."

Stacy Peterson's sister, Cassandra Cales, told the court about the night she reported her sister missing. Cales said Stacy feared for her life and that would never leave her children. Cales said when she called Drew looking for her sister, Drew told her that Stacy had left him taking $25,000 from a safe, the car titles, and the keys to the house. He allegedly said, "one minute we're having wild passionate sex and the next thing she wants to leave like your mother."

"I think it solidified that day, the timeline for the prosecution and I think also it showed the love that she had for her, her family and her children. We know without a doubt she would have never left on her own accord," said Pam Bosco, Stacy Peterson family spokesperson.

Testimony ended early Thursday afternoon because the father of one witness is reportedly gravely ill and the other had a scheduling conflict.

Video: Witness: Peterson offered money to kill 3rd wife 2:53
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7245286

Video: Savio's Doctor Testifies At Drew peterson Hearing 2:42
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7243034

Video: Some Of Stacy's Peterson's Talks With Minister Allowed In Trial 2:17
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7240846

Article:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7244184

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Co-worker: Peterson offered $25,000 to have Savio killed
January 28, 2010 9:19 PM
<snipped>
Jeff Pachter, 35, who worked with Peterson when he moonlighted at a local cable outfit in 2003, said the Bolingbrook police sergeant "wanted her taken care of" because Savio knew a secret about him that could get him kicked off the force.

The alleged proposition took place in late 2003, just a few months before Savio was found dead in the bathtub of her Bolingbrook home. Her March 2004 death was originally ruled an accidental drowning, but her case was reopened and ruled a murder after Stacy Peterson vanished.

Earlier Thursday, Stacy Peterson's sister told the judge that Stacy was determined to divorce Peterson and had expressed concerns about her safety just two days before she disappeared. In a tear-filled, 90-minute testimony, Cassandra Calles recounted how Stacy Peterson asked her what she thought about her plan to take her two biological children and leave.

Calles said the idea terrified her. "I told her I was scared. Everything that happened to his ex-wife is kind of weird," Calles said.

Stacy Peterson responded by leaning in and lowering her voice to a whisper as they sat on the floor of the Petersons' master bedroom, Calles said. "She looked at me with a blank face and said she feared for her life. She said if anything ever happened to her, Drew did something to her."

Stacy Peterson was last heard from on Oct. 28, 2007, less than 48 hours after she told her sister she intended to divorce Drew Peterson. Calles testified she suspected something was wrong when Stacy did not show up at her house as promised to help her paint that Sunday.

She tried reaching her all day by phone without success and finally called Drew Peterson around 11 p.m. to check on her whereabouts.
*More At Link!

Article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/...ied-about-safety-2-days-before-vanishing.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Minister: Drew urged Stacy Peterson to lie to police
PETERSON CASE | Provided lines for wife to tell police regarding Savio
January 30, 2010
<snipped>
An anxious Stacy confided that Peterson warned her not to tell investigators he had left their Bolingbrook home the night before his former wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in her bathtub, Scott Rossetto testified Friday. &#8220;He came home real, real late, all dressed in black and said, &#8216;If anybody asks, I was home all night,&#8217; &#8221; Rossetto said Stacy told him on Oct. 26, 2007 &#8212; two days before she disappeared.

Stacy&#8217;s former minister offered similar testimony, saying she confessed during an August 2007 marriage counseling session that her husband coached her &#8220;for hours&#8221; not to be honest when questioned by police about Savio&#8217;s death. &#8220;He told her what to say,&#8221; Pastor Neil Schori said. &#8220;She said what he told her to say was a lie.&#8221;

But Will County Judge Stephen White barred much of that testimony after defense attorneys argued marital privilege meant most of Stacy&#8217;s purported statements to Schori &#8212; including comments Peterson allegedly made to her &#8212; couldn&#8217;t be used without her consent. Instead, Schori recounted only small portions of what he said Stacy told him occurred shortly before Savio was found drowned in her home on March 1, 2004.

That included Stacy recalling how her husband came home late the night before wearing black clothing and carrying a duffle bag containing women&#8217;s clothing that Stacy said didn&#8217;t belong to her, Schori testified. Peterson dumped all the clothing in the washing machine, Schori said Stacy told him. Peterson told Stacy to lie to officers questioning her about Savio&#8217;s death, Schori said, though he offered no details.

At their Aug. 31, 2007, counseling session, Stacy also said she was fearful of her husband, the minister testified. &#8220;She didn&#8217;t believe she could ever get away from him safely,&#8221; Schori testified. &#8220;She said he made it very clear that she would never get away from him, that she would never be with someone else.&#8221;

For his part, Rossetto said Stacy mentioned Savio&#8217;s death as they talked at his home about Stacy&#8217;s desire to divorce Peterson and her concerns about gaining custody of her two children and two stepchildren. &#8220;She lowered her voice, then she asked me, &#8216;Can you keep a secret?&#8217; &#8221; Rossetto, a 37-year-old U.S. Army nurse, quoted Stacy as saying. Stacy then recounted how Drew had ordered her to tell police he had been home all night, Rossetto said.

Pressed by defense attorneys, Rossetto acknowledged that Stacy had grown increasingly flirtatious with him in the weeks leading up to her disappearance, including sending sexually suggestive text messages. But Rossetto &#8212; whose brother dated Stacy before she married Peterson &#8212; denied having any romantic interest in her.
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Article:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2018535,drew-peterson-minister-012910.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Minister testifies in Drew Peterson hearing
Friday, January 29, 2010; 4:59 PM
<snipped>
The testimony from the Rev. Neil Schori was the most potentially damaging yet during a pretrial hearing to determine what hearsay evidence a judge will allow jurors to hear when Peterson stands trial in the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose body was found in a dry bathtub in her home.

"She was scared of the control Drew had on her life," Schori said. "She was scared to be with him and scared to be away from him."

Schori said that Stacy Peterson told him that the night before Savio's body was found, she had fallen asleep with Drew Peterson, but woke up in the middle of the night to discover her husband was gone. She searched the house and called his cell phone without an answer, but didn't see her husband until later in the laundry room, Schori said.

Schori said Stacy Peterson told him her husband was dressed entirely in black. The minister said Stacy Peterson told him that her husband dumped the clothes was wearing, along with women's clothing from a bag he was carrying, into the washing machine. Schori said Stacy Peterson said the women's clothes weren't hers.

Schori said he didn't tell police because Stacy Peterson asked him not to. Schori testified that she told him: "It won't do any good. You can't get away from the police when your husband is a police officer."

Scott Rossetto, a friend of Stacy Peterson, said that days before Stacy Peterson disappeared she told him she had contacted a divorce lawyer and was ready to leave her husband. Then, he said, she asked if Rossetto could "keep a secret." She then told him that the night Savio died, Drew Peterson came in late at night and said "if anybody ever asks I was home," Rossetto said.

Prosecutors also presented a neurologist to combat defense attorneys' contention that Savio's death was an accident, that she simply fell. Dr. Gene Neri testified that he had diagnosed her with cervical vertigo, but he said "In 30 years of treating (patients) I haven't had a single person fall as a result of cervical vertigo."

Article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012903398.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Pastor: Stacy lied to police for Drew Peterson
Published: 1/29/2010 11:02 AM | Updated: 1/29/201 8:15 PM
<snipped>
Neil Schori said Stacy made the tearful confession Aug. 31, 2007, after the two met at a coffee shop. The 23-year-old woman said she awoke the night before Kathleen Savio's body was discovered to find Drew Peterson missing from their Bolingbrook home, Schori testified. He said Stacy told him Peterson, upon his return, immediately washed his black clothing, as well as another woman's apparel that he had in a duffel bag.

For hours, Peterson "coached" Stacy what to tell police, Schori said.

A state police officer earlier testified Stacy said her husband was home with her and their children. Her friend, Scott Rossetto, who also testified Friday, said Stacy confessed to him that it was a false alibi.

Rossetto said Stacy confided in him that she talked to a divorce attorney. She was eager to break free of Peterson's control and was reconnecting with old friends, looking into attending nursing school, similar to Savio, and wanted to get a job.

After his talk with Stacy, Schori said, he had a voice-mail message waiting for him back at work from Drew Peterson. "The voice mail said, 'I know you were just meeting with Stacy. I haven't seen you in a while. I thought maybe we could get together today and go for a ride in my plane." Did you think that was a good idea, asked Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow. "Certainly not," Schori responded.

The defense team, lead by attorney Joel Brodsky, often drills witnesses on their credibility and bias. "If that's all they got, it ain't a lot," Brodsky said Friday after Schori's much-anticipated testimony. The Will County hearing continues Monday in Joliet.
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Article:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=354968&src=2