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[Angel Who Cares]

Drew Peterson hearsay ruling might be kept secret
Judge expected to issue decision under seal to avoid influencing jury pool
4:09 p.m. CST, February 17, 2010
<snipped>
More than 80 hours of testimony from 68 witnesses along with at least 155 pieces of evidence have given the public a fascinating preview of the murder case against Drew Peterson, but the actual results of the hearing might be kept secret.

Attorneys for both sides say the public likely won't hear which, if any, of the 15 hearsay statements will be allowed at trial in the 2004 drowning death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio.

As part of his ruling on the monthlong hearing, Will County Judge Stephen White must essentially find Peterson guilty or not of killing his third or fourth wife before deciding to allow any of the submitted hearsay to be used at trial. Attorneys on both sides expect White will issue his ruling under seal to avoid influencing the jury pool.

The hearing, a first of its kind in Illinois, was required under a new state law allowing judges to admit certain hearsay statements.

Many legal experts believe that any decision under the new law to admit the submitted hearsay statements likely will be overturned.

But former federal prosecutor Steven Miller said he thought prosecutors would get much of their submitted hearsay into evidence.

"It's the sheer volume of evidence, the multiple dead women connected with (Peterson)," he said. "The dozens of witnesses is a witch's brew of problems for a defendant."
*Much more at link!

Article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...erson-hearing-resumes20100216,0,4425394.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Fox News Contributor to Testify At Hearing
February 17, 2010 - 2:22 PM
Drew Peterson Pretrial Heresay Hearing - PM Update
<snipped>
Prosecutors plan to call Fox News Contributor, Dr. Michael Baden, a well known forensic pathologist, to testify Friday morning at the pretrial hearing for Drew Peterson. Peterson's defense team only called two witnesses today, including a forensic pathologist expert from the University of Michigan's School of Medicine, who believes Kathleen Savio's death in 2004 was an accident. Will County State Attorney, James Glasgow, told the judge the prosecution plans to call one rebuttal witness, Dr. Michael Baden, before closing arguments begin Friday.

Dr. Baden is the former chief medical examiner of New York City and contributes regularly to various programs on Fox News Channel. After Kathleen Savio's body was exhumed in 2007, Dr. Baden performed an autopsy, at the request of Savio's family. Based on his own exam and evaluation of past evidence, Dr. Baden determined Savio's death was a homicide. Savio's death was initially ruled an accidental drowning by the Will County Coroners Office in 2004.

Forensic pathologist, Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen, from University of Michigan, testified for more than two hours about the medical examiner's report related to Kathleen Savio's death in 2004. Dr. Jentzen maintains Savio died from blunt head trauma, most likely caused by hitting her head after she slipped and fell in her bathtub. "All injuries she sustained could've been sustained by a simple fall," Jentzen testified.

After court broke for lunch, Drew Peterson's attorney, Andrew Abood, spoke about Dr. Jentzen's testimony. "Everything he (Jentzen) said was convincing. He examined the case objectively The prosecutor (John Connor) tried to beat him up and in end he (Jentzen) walked away standing. They (prosecutors) don't have any evidence she (Savio) didn't die by accidental cause. We are stuck in this case with accidental death."

Abood believes the hearsay ruling by the judge in this hearing will not be an endorsement for either side in this case. Once the judge issues a ruling regarding hearsay testimony, it's likely it will be placed under seal - meaning only the judge and the attorneys in the case will know the ruling. An actual trial date for Drew Peterson's case is not set yet.
*More at link!

Article:
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/02/17/homicides-in-a-bathtub-are-very-rare/?test=latestnews

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Pathologist: Kathleen Savio died accidentally
February 18, 2010
<snipped>
Jeffrey Jentzen, a forensic pathologist and professor at the University of Michigan, took the stand Wednesday as the first defense witness and testified that he concluded Savio was not the victim of a homicide.

"It's my opinion that it's an accidental death," Jentzen said. He made this decision after reviewing reports from three autopsies conducted on Savio's remains, police and coroner reports, and crime scene and postmortem photographs.

Ruling to be sealed
Jentzen's testimony came on the 17th day of the pivotal hearing to determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed at Peterson's upcoming murder trial. Peterson is charged with killing Savio, who was his third wife, in March 2004.

When the hearing finally ends, Judge Stephen White will determine if any of 15 hearsay statements can be used against Peterson during his murder trial. State's Attorney James Glasgow on Wednesday confirmed that White will keep his decision under seal until the start of the trial.

Prosecutors called 68 witnesses to make their case, and have another in store for Friday, when celebrity medical examiner Michael Baden is scheduled to take the stand.

Accident theories
But Jentzen then unveiled a theory in which he said Savio might actually have suffered a heart attack and inhaled bathwater into her sinuses after she was already dead.

He also speculated that she may have slipped, fallen, hit her head, passed out and drowned, or possibly fainted before falling and hitting her head.

Drew Peterson's lead attorney, Joel Brodsky, also had trouble maintaining consciousness during Wednesday's hearing, as he repeatedly nodded off while Jentzen testified.

Morphey's friend
After Jentzen, defense attorney George Lenard called Walter Martineck to the witness stand. Martineck is a long-time friend of Peterson's stepbrother, Thomas Morphey, the man who claims to have helped Peterson dispose of Stacy's body.

Morphey testified on the second day of the hearing that he gave Peterson a hand carrying a blue barrel containing Stacy's body out of the Peterson home and to a waiting sport utility vehicle.

Article:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/...eterson-hearing-pathologist_SCN021710.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson defense witness says Savio's death an accident
February 17, 2010
<snipped>
A forensic pathologist testified today that he believes the ex-wife of former Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson died from an accidental fall and was not murdered.

Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen, the director of autopsy and forensic services at the University of Michigan Medical School, took the stand in a pre-trial hearing for Peterson, who is charged with killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2004. A Will County judge has been hearing testimony over the last month to determine what hearsay evidence can be allowed at Peterson's upcoming murder trial.

"It's my opinion that it's an accidental death,'' he said.

Jentzen, the defense's first witness, said that while he did not conduct an autopsy on Savio's remains himself, he reviewed investigative reports, photographs and other materials to come up with his determination that her death was an accident.

But Will County Assistant State's Atty. John Connor asked him if his opinion would change if there had been evidence of a flawed state police investigation. Recent testimony at the hearing has shown that the investigation was mishandled. Jentzen answered that it would be a factor he would take into consideration.

Connor referred to testimony by a pathologist who conducted Savio's first autopsy determined that bruises on her body were not significant. "That borders on the imbecilic, doesn't it?" Connor asked. But after defense lawyers objected to the question the judge refused to let Jentzen answer, and the question was stricken from the record.

Wally Martineck, a neighbor of Peterson's stepbrother Thomas Morphey, was briefly called to the stand as a defense witness to rebut Morphey's previous testimony.

Morphey has testified that he and Peterson carried a heavy blue container to Peterson's pickup truck in October 2007. Morphey said he believed the body of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, was inside the container.
*More at link!

Video: Peterson Defense Witness Takes The Stand 2:19
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=d1373b29-78e0-4502-ab30-f3154c7a612a

Video: Peterson Defense Says It Will Call Two Witnesses Today 2:54
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=99b4ed84-20a2-4a9c-a112-a5c783f84793

Video: Terry Sullivan Talks Drew Peterson Case 3:56
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=31028f18-c7fd-4450-a17e-2da868bc69fc

Video: Peterson Hearsay Evidence 1:36
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=d45bb40e-3ecb-4d2d-8c7e-75d735f2c093

Video: Peterson Hearing Nearing End 0:26
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=c3d8a720-fa17-4f04-bfd9-29ad2de9571e

Video: Witness Calls Drew Peterson "A Big Ego With A Gun" 0:33
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=0bf67d05-779e-489a-91c4-3eb8522a7f5d

Video: Peterson Hearsay Continues 0:36
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=f3539085-a294-4c4f-a549-60bf1a76830e

Video: State Police Testify In Peterson Hearing 0:26
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=7427e5cc-f33c-4946-aafb-c504369d717d

Video: Peterson Hearing Continues 0:30
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=d1b58d5e-44da-4596-abdf-79f47587d6ad

Video: List Of Witnesses Growing Who Say peterson Threatened To Kill Savio 1:26
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=5b983586-899c-41ed-afb0-e8cb026838c8

Video: Peterson Haering More Than Halfway Over 1:54
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=6ff66595-50e3-438d-a9ff-796da8b179db

Video: Peterson Trial Enters Third Week 1:43
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=58975301-5fc5-4ffb-8e99-921542a02c43

Article:
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-closing-arguments-may-be-presented-feb17,0,2842578.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Video: Attorney Joel Brodskey Talks About Representing Drew Peterson 2:21
http://www.chicagotribune.com/videobeta/?watchId=db404be4-582a-44a8-ae9c-722abf9c132e

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Expert: 'Drew's Law' a 'Dangerous Law'
Updated: Wednesday, 10 Feb 2010, 11:01 PM CST
Published : Wednesday, 10 Feb 2010, 9:15 PM CST
<snipped>
Over the past three and a half weeks, prosecutors have laid out their case against Drew Peterson, in an extraordinary pre-trial hearing that's raised serious debate about the state's new hearsay law.

"It's a dangerous law, it's one that I think the intent is to hold people responsible for their bad acts, but on the other hand, I think, if abused, can result in failures of the system," said Attorney Terry Ekl.

"At least some of these statements are made by party to a divorce and frequently parties to divorce go around and say awful things about the other side that are not true," Ekl says.

But Attorney Dean Polales says "Drew's Law" is based on a United States Supreme Court ruling.

*Video Included In Article!

Article:
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/drew_peterson/drew-peterson-legal-experts

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson Weapons Case Back to Court
Updated: Monday, 15 Feb 2010, 1:36 AM CST
Published : Monday, 15 Feb 2010, 9:36 AM CST
<snipped>
Drew Peterson's problems are piling up, as the appellate court shot down the dismissal of a felony gun charge a local judge dropped more than a year ago. Three appellate judges unanimously agreed to reverse Will County Judge Richard Schoenstedt's decision to dismiss the unlawful use of a weapons charge Peterson was arrested on in May 2008.

Two of Peterson's attorneys, Joel Brodsky and Andrew Abood, went before the appellate court in Ottawa last month to argue that Schoenstedt's dismissal was the right move. They lost, and now Peterson, who is already in jail on murder charges in connection with the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, has the weapons charge hanging over his head again as well. The weapons case stemmed from Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, allegedly possessing an assault rifle with a barrel shorter than the state-mandated 16 inches. His attorneys claim he had a right to own and carry the weapon, as he toted it while working with the Bolingbrook Police Department's SWAT team.

The weapon, along with other firearms, were seized by the state police when they executed a Nov. 1, 2007, search warrant on his house just days after his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared. About three months later, Peterson triumphed in court and won the return of his weapons. The state police responded by revoking Peterson's firearm owner's identification card. Undaunted, Peterson's lawyers asked that the weapons be turned over to his son, Oak Brook cop Stephen Peterson. The day before Schoenstedt was to rule on this request, the state police swooped in to pick up Peterson on the weapons charge.

While the appellate court sent the case back to Will County, it was not clear when it will make its way in front of a judge. The gun case apparently will return to Schoenstedt's court call, but it remains to be seen if prosecutors will move to get it heard by another judge. Charles B. Pelkie, the spokesman for the state's attorney's office, declined to comment on the status of the weapons case. Brodsky, the longest serving of Peterson's four attorneys, failed to return calls for comment.
*More at link!

Article:
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/drew_peterson/peterson-weapons-case-back-to-court

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson's Attorneys Will Call Single Witness To End Trial
Updated: Monday, 15 Feb 2010, 11:26 PM CST
Published : Tuesday, 16 Feb 2010, 7:26 AM CST
<snipped>
Drew Peterson seemed to love the limelight in the year and a half between his fourth wife's disappearance in late 2007 and his arrest in May for allegedly murdering wife No. 3. In custody, Peterson languished alone in a jail cell, effectively cut off from the public by a judicial order limiting his calls to an approved list of his friends, family and attorneys.

That abruptly changed Jan. 19, when a parade of witnesses took the stand to talk about Peterson. They recalled, among other sordid stories and accusations, how his last two wives lived in fear that he might kill them and make their deaths appear accidental, how he tried hiring a co-worker to do away with his third wife and of course, how he is considered by nearly everyone who knows him to be an inveterate "jokester."

While "jokester" was about the best thing any of the 68 men and women called into court had to say about Peterson, the former Bolingbrook cop and serial marrier at least had the chance to grab the spotlight for himself once again.

This most recent star turn by Peterson is expected to end Wednesday with the conclusion of the 17-day hearing to determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed at Peterson's upcoming murder trial. Peterson's attorneys will supposedly call a single witness to testify before facing off with prosecutors in closing arguments.

Article:
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/drew_peterson/peterson-attorney-single-witness

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson Defense Claimed Savio's Death an Accident
Updated: Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010, 9:49 PM CST
Published : Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010, 4:05 AM CST
<snipped>
The defense hired former Milwaukee Medical examiner and now University of Michigan professor Jeffrey Jentzen to review the evidence from Savio&#8217;s death. The forensic pathologist, who estimates he&#8217;s performed or supervised 18,000 autopsies in his career, concluded Savio&#8217;s death was an accident.

Jentzen said Savio fell and hit her head because she either slipped, got dizzy, was experience prescription drug withdrawal, or suffered a heart arrhythmia. After collapsing in her bathtub, she drowned.

&#8220;He explained, chapter and verse, how it could happen &#8211; and that there couldn&#8217;t be another opinion,&#8221; said Joel Brodsky, Peterson&#8217;s attorney.

&#8220;They don&#8217;t have any evidence that she didn&#8217;t die by an accidental cause, and ultimately, without opportunity,&#8221; said Andrew Abood, another one of Peterson&#8217;s lawyers. &#8220;In a house that&#8217;s never been broken into, with no sign of forced entry, with a defendant who has an alibi, you&#8217;re stuck with the conclusion in this case of an accidental death.&#8221;

Watch Karen Conti's analysis of the trial
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/good_day/karen-conti-peterson-trial-good-day

*2-Videos Included In Article!

Article:
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/new...rson-defense-claimed-savios-death-an-accident

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Prosecutors Must Prove Peterson's Wife Was Killed
Feb 16, 2010 3:19 pm US/Central
<snipped>
The crime scene technician didn't think twice about the bottle of cleaning fluid near the bathroom where the body of Drew Peterson's ex-wife lay slumped in her bathtub -- or whether it might have been used to wipe away evidence of a crime. Six years later, as Peterson prepares to stand trial for murder in Kathleen Savio's death, the bottle underscores the huge challenge facing prosecutors: Before they ask jurors to convict Peterson of murder, they first must prove a homicide occurred in the first place.

In most murder trials, the evidence of a slaying is as obvious as a bullet hole or a stab wound, and the only question is "whodunnit?" But in Peterson's case, nothing is obvious. "This is a true circumstantial evidence case,"' said Vincent Bugliosi, who won a murder conviction of Charles Manson in the 1969 slayings of Sharon Tate and six others even though Manson was not at the scenes when the slayings occurred. "In circumstantial evidence cases you're putting one speck of evidence upon each other... You're putting on evidence showing the unlikelihood that this is an accidental death."

Witnesses said there were no towels, no robe and no other clothes near the tub, and toiletry items lining the tub's edge were undisturbed. Prosecutors likely want jurors to believe if Savio was taking a bath, she'd at least have laid out a towel and if she did fall, she would have knocked something over. Then there was Savio's hair. It was down when her body was found, but a woman who had lived with Savio said Savio always put her hair up in a clip before taking a bath.

Some of those answers will resonate with jurors, said Marilyn Brenneman, a prosecutor in Seattle's King County, who's handling a similar case in which a man was charged with killing his 3 1/2-year-old stepdaughter after the death was originally ruled an accident. "Women on the jury will understand putting hair up because they don't want to have to dry it again," she said.

That means the original challenge remains: overcoming a lack of physical evidence, like fingerprints or DNA, to prove she didn't just drown. "You have to pile a lot of suspicious circumstances on top of each other," Bugliosi said. "You have to get to the point where you can say (to a jury) 'Come on folks."'
*Much more at link!

Article:
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/drew.peterson.case.2.1498469.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Defense Witness: Savio's Death Was An Accident
Closing Arguments Expected Friday In Hearing On Hearsay Testimony
Feb 17, 2010 5:45 pm US/Central
<snipped>
There was a change of plan for the defense team on Wednesday at a pretrial hearing in Drew Peterson's murder case. The defense wanted to call the pathologist who performed the original autopsy on Kathleen Savio &#8211; which ruled her death an accident &#8211; but he's seriously ill.

So as CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports, the defense called an author who said he'd taken part in more than 18,000 autopsies &#8211; although he had no direct involvement in either of the autopsies performed on Savio's body. On Wednesday, the defense's pathologist, Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen said "it is my opinion that it was an accident." He also said that a cut on her head and six bruises and abrasions on her body all could have stemmed from the same fatal fall in her bathtub.

Defense attorney Joel Brodsky said, "he's putting his reputation on the line that her death was an accident. So i think he's very credible."

The judge may have a ruling at the end of the hearing on Friday, but the public probably won't hear what it is. CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller, says the judge is expected to have it sealed because he doesn't want to taint the jury pool. "The first thing he will have to decide in his mind is that the prosecution proved by preponderance of evidence that Drew Peterson murdered Kathleen Savio and/or he murdered Stacy Peterson, in order to get to the next step whether these statements are admissible in trial," Miller said.

At the hearsay hearing, prosecutors were required to show by a "preponderance of evidence" that Drew Peterson killed one or both of his wives. Miller says the judge's decision may not be all or nothing. He has 15 separate statements to consider, but with both women unable to speak for themselves all of the statements are in question.

Miller also says it's not unusual that the defense is only calling one witness, since they have nothing to prove at this hearing. If the ruling is successfully kept under wraps, it may not be until Peterson's trial that we find out exactly what evidence was allowed. The answer will finally be revealed when prosecutors make their opening statements and tell the jurors what testimony they'll be hearing from witnesses.
*Much More At Link!

Video: Defense Witness Says Savio's Death Not A Homicide 2/17/10
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=68049@wbbm.dayport.com

Video: Peterson Hearsay Ruling May Be Kept Secret 2/17/10
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=68039@wbbm.dayport.com

Article:
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/drew.peterson.hearing.2.1499677.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson hearsay hearing coming to end
February 19, 2010
<snipped>
hearsay hearing in Drew Peterson's murder case is finally coming to an end after more than three weeks and nearly 70 witnesses.

A Will County judge says the hearing for the former Bolingbrook police sergeant charged with first-degree murder in 2004 death of ex-wife Kathleen Savio will conclude today.

The last witness expected to testify is Dr. Michael Baden, who was hired by Savio's family in 2007 to conduct an independent autopsy on her. Both sides are then expected to make closing arguments today.

Video: Peterson hearsay hearing 2:38
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=9078629d-2d46-4d55-93c0-aeabd3658ed9

Video: Peterson Hearsay Hearing Coming To An End 2:40
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=41585c44-59a5-4e18-8bfb-602ea6658316

Video: Peterson Hearsay Hearing Expected To End 0:31
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=5699428d-8b45-4a59-a09d-e9579235a560

Article:
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-peterson-hearsay-hearing-ending-feb19,0,7555393.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Pathologist: Fox News producer helped with Savio autopsy
February 19, 2010 4:40 PM
<snipped>
Drew Peterson's defense today tore into a prominent pathologist who declared that Peterson's third wife was killed, contending he was determined to reach the conclusion to please his bosses at Fox News.

During cross-examination, Michael Baden acknowledged that a producer for Fox News host Greta Van Susteren helped him with the autopsy on Kathleen Savio by taking photos and moving the body.

"One always needs an assistant during an autopsy and there was no one else available," Baden said under questioning by Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky.

Baden had testified earlier that he believes Savio was beaten up and then placed in the bathtub, where her attacker drowned her. Bruises to her body support his theory, Baden said.

The defense tried to downplay the bruises by suggesting they were the result of rough sex or clumsiness. While Baden conceded some could have been made that way, a few -- particularly a hemorrhage of the diaphragm -- was the result of blunt force trauma.

"You can get a lot of injuries from rough sex, but a hemorrhage of the diaphragm is not one of them," Baden said.

Under questioning by prosecutors, Baden had said it was highly unlikely for a healthy adult to drown in the bathtub. But when pressed by the defense, he conceded that it was equally rare for healthy adults to be killed in a bathtub.

"They're neck and neck," Baden said.

Article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/peterson-hearsay-hearing-expected-to-end-today.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Prosecutor: 'Hideous' Peterson used choke hold on wife
February 19, 2010 8:42 PM
<snipped>
Drew Peterson, the former Bolingbrook police sergeant, likely killed his 23-year-old wife Stacy using a choke hold in their bedroom on the Sunday morning family and friends first noticed she disappeared, Will County's top prosecutor said today. State's Attorney James Glasgow, who referred to Peterson as a "knucklehead" and "hideous B-movie stalker," laid out for the first time a theory of how Stacy, who disappeared in 2007, was killed.

Glasgow's comments came during closing arguments in a unique pretrial hearing on whether hearsay statements can be heard by a jury in Peterson's upcoming trial for the 2004 drowning death of third wife Kathleen Savio.

Prosecutors also said that in 2007 they found a red "alibi folder" in Peterson's home with unwrinkled receipts for cash purchases he made on the day before Savio's body was found in a dry bathtub in her Bolingbrook home. The early morning hours of that Sunday are when prosecutors allege Savio was slain. "How does he know this was the operative time?" Glasgow said.

Peterson acted strangely the night Savio's body was discovered, sending four untrained neighbors into a home where an intruder could have been lurking instead of calling his fellow officers, Glasgow said. When Peterson heard a neighbor scream, he didn't run in with his gun drawn as police are trained to do.

In his closing argument, defense attorney Andrew Abood said prosecutors had failed to show Savio's death, which was initially ruled accidental, was a murder or link Peterson to her home at the time she died. Abood noted that even if Judge Stephen White believed witnesses whose hearsay statements prosecutors hope to used, Savio herself had a history of lying.

A trial date will be set Tuesday, White said. White said he would issue a written ruling on the hearsay under seal, but it would be unsealed after jury selection.

Article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/prosecutor-hideous-peterson-used-choke-hold-on-wife.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson Used Vulcan Nerve Pinch?
Updated 3:15 PM CST, Fri, Feb 19, 2010
<snipped>
Drew Peterson may have used a "pinched carotid artery" maneuver to incapacitate Kathleen Savio before killing her, according to pathologist testimony. During cross-examination, Dr. Michael Baden, a board-certified forensic pathologist and host of HBO's Autopsy, testified that Peterson used such a maneuver before drowning Savio. "It's extremely rare ... a healthy adult will almost never drown in a bathtub," Baden said. "My opinion is that it was a drowning. She was in an altercation, beaten up and drowned."

A second pathologist, Dr. Larry Blum, who performed the autopsy on Savio, submitted similar testimony two weeks ago. Blum reviewed 43 cases of bathtub fatalities in Illinois and said Savio&#8217;s position wasn&#8217;t consistent with a typical fall in the tub. &#8220;There was no blood, hair or tissue on the tub,&#8221; Blum said according to the Sun-Times. He described the murder scene as &#8220;pristine&#8221; with little blood and no splashed water around the tub making it hard to identify if the scene was staged.

A pinched carotid artery maneuver could include anything from a choke hold to the Star Trek series' famous Vulcan nerve pinch, in which an assailant applies precise pressure over barrorecptors of the carotid sinus at the base of the neck.

Peterson's defense team attacked Baden, saying that he was trying to please Fox News. The defense suggested that the bruises on Savio's body were the result of rough sex or clumsiness. Baden retorted: "You can get a lot of injuries from rough sex, but a hemorrhage of the diaphragm is not one of them."

Article:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Pathologist-Savios-death-was-a-homicide-84799417.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Drew Peterson Trial: A Fox News Producer Helped Pathologist With Kathleen Savio's Autopsy
First Posted: 02-19-10 03:54 PM
Updated: 02-19-10 04:58 PM
<snipped>
After a renowned pathologist testified that the 2004 death of Drew Peterson's third wife Kathleen Savio was a homicide on Friday, Peterson's defense attorneys tore into the doctor--who then admitted that a Fox News producer helped him perform the autopsy.

Closing arguments were set to begin this afternoon, according to the Tribune. The hearing, which has brought testimony from nearly 70 witnesses, will determine what hearsay evidence Judge Stephen White will allow a jury to hear.

Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/19/drew-peterson-trial-a-fox_n_469468.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Hearsay hearing for Drew Peterson comes to an end
10:21 p.m. Friday, February 19, 2010
<snipped>
A hearing for Drew Peterson ended Friday night with the same question it began with a month ago: Is there enough evidence to convince a judge that the former police officer may have killed his third and fourth wives to keep them from testifying before a jury? In dramatic closing statements that came after the last of more than 70 witnesses testified, prosecutors portrayed Peterson as a cold-blooded killer who took the lives of Kathleen Savio in 2004 and Stacy Peterson three years later to keep them from getting his money. "They are killed so they can't take the witness stand in a divorce proceeding," said Will County Assistant State's Attorney John Connor. But defense attorneys said the case against Peterson is built on lies.

Savio's death was a tragic accident, they said, and Stacy Peterson may have vanished in 2007, but she's not dead. "For someone to say five, six, seven, eight, nine times that she's dead doesn't mean she's dead," defense attorney George Lenard said. "The reason she is not here with Mr. Peterson is that she left, and she left with another man."

Throughout the hearing, it became clear that the hearsay evidence is critical for prosecutors. They presented no physical evidence linking Drew Peterson to Savio's death, and Stacy Peterson remains missing.

Abood characterized the weakness of the case against Peterson this way: "They (prosecutors) want to come in here and say it's a staged crime scene because they have no evidence." But prosecutors said the only explanation for the deaths of both women is that Peterson killed them. Both, they said, posed a threat to Drew Peterson. They said he was worried that the property settlement with Savio would wipe him out financially, and that Stacy Peterson's planned divorce from him would do the same.

What happened, Connor said, is exactly what Savio and Stacy Peterson feared would happen, as friends and family described. "Mr. Peterson's wives are two-for-two in predicting their own murders," he said. White did not say when he would rule on the hearsay, but he did say he would order the ruling sealed until a jury is selected. He explained that he didn't want his decision to influence potential jurors.

Article:
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/hearsay-hearing-for-drew-314881.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Prosecution Expert: Savio's Death A Homicide
Renowned Pathologist Says Drew Peterson's Ex-Wife Was Beaten, Drowned
Feb 19, 2010 5:48 pm US/Central
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Dr. Michael Baden, the former chief medical examiner of New York City, said there were bruises on Kathleen Savio's body consistent with a struggle but no physical signs that she'd slipped and fallen, such as marks or blood on her bathroom wall. "In my opinion, this is a homicide in which she drowned and was beaten up," Baden said.

He supported a prosecution theory that Savio could have been killed by being choked into unconsciousness from behind. He said she then could have been drowned, and then beaten in the back of the head with a police baton in order to make her death look like an accident. However, under cross examination, Baden admitted that Savio could have died from an accidental fall in her bathtub.

Baden said it's "extremely rare" for a healthy adult such as Savio to drown accidentally in a bathtub, noting that most people who drown in tubs are babies or the elderly. Savio's toes were pressed against the side of the bathtub, as if she was struggling, not relaxed as if she'd fallen and knocked herself out, Baden said. He also refuted claims by the defense pathologist that a heart murmur may have caused Savio's heart to stop, saying her heart condition "did not cause or contribute in any way to her death."

During their closing argument, the defense argued that prosecutors have not come close to proving that fourth wife Stacy Peterson is even dead. They argued she'd run away from a husband she had come to find to be increasingly repulsive. Prosecutors say that's absurd. They point to a laundry list of witnesses, all of whom testified that Stacy Peterson and Kathleen Savio told them separately that they feared for their lives.

Video: Prosecution Expert: Savio's Death A Homicide 2/19/10
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=68178@wbbm.dayport.com

Article:
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/drew.peterson.case.2.1506751.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson pre-trial hearsay hearing ends
Updated at 09:15 PM today
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Next week a judge is expected set a date in the murder trial of former Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson. Peterson is accused in the 2004 murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

The pre-trial hearing on what hearsay evidence will be allowed in the murder trial ended Friday after both sides gave closing arguments. Prosecutors spent weeks calling witnesses to testify about what they were told of Savio's death by Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, who is missing. Peterson is also a suspect in Stacy's disappearance, but has not been charged in the case.

The judge is expected to announce his decision in the hearsay hearing only after seating a jury in the murder trial.

Pathologist: Savio's death no accident
Dr. Michael Baden was the last of 70 witnesses called during the hearing on what hearsay evidence can be admitted during Peterson's murder trial. The former Bolingbrook police sergeant is accused of killing his ex-wife Kathleen Savio in 2004.

Dr. Baden was not allowed to talk to reporters as he left the hearing Friday. The world renowned forensic pathologist performed an autopsy on Savio in 2007. He said it's "extremely rare" for a healthy adult to drown accidentally in a bathtub and wasted no time in telling the court Savio was murdered.

Video: Closing arguments in Peterson hearing 2:33
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7287904

Video: Last witness testifies in Peterson hearsay hearing 2:17
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7287676

Article:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7286640

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Prosecutors: Drew Peterson killed wife over money
February 19, 2010
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Prosecutors say Drew Peterson killed his fourth wife, Stacy, because he knew she would destroy him financially if she went through with a divorce.

Closing statements were under way Friday after a monthlong hearing to decide what hearsay evidence a judge will allow in Drew Peterson's upcoming murder trial.

Prosecutors want jurors to hear from witnesses who say Stacy Peterson told them Drew threatened to kill her and hide her body.

Defense attorneys say prosecutors haven't shown any evidence Stacy Peterson is dead. They maintain she left voluntarily with another man.

Video: Prosecutors: Drew Peterson killed wife over money 2:50
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/?watchId=9aa7854f-2433-49b9-b9ba-ba7cec56508a

Article:
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-peterson-02-19,0,6387700.story