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[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

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson neighbor to testify today in hearsay proceeding
January 25, 2010 8:11 AM
<snipped>
A neighbor of Drew Peterson is expected to take the stand again today in a hearing to determine whether hearsay evidence can be used during Peterson's trial for the murder of his third wife.

On Friday, Sharon Bychowski testified that she doesn't believe Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, left her children behind to run off with another man, as Peterson claims.

Drew Peterson has not been charged in Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

Article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/...r-to-testify-today-in-hearsay-proceeding.html

 

[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

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Peterson's neighbor: Stacy warned Drew would kill her
January 25, 2010
<snipped>
A week before she disappeared, Stacy Peterson told her next-door neighbor that her cop husband, Drew Peterson, is &#8220;going to kill me,&#8221; the neighbor testified this morning at a hearing in Joliet.

&#8220;If I disappear, Sharon, it&#8217;s not an accident. He killed me,&#8221; Stacy Peterson told Sharon Bychowski in 2007, Bychowski testified this morning.

A week before that, Sharon Bychowski saw Stacy Peterson crying outside the home, Bychowski testified this morning.

&#8220;She said Drew wouldn&#8217;t go. He wouldn&#8217;t leave,&#8221; Bychowski testified. &#8220;She didn&#8217;t love him anymore and having sex with him made her skin crawl.&#8221;

Bychowski, who began crying during her testimony, said she told Stacy to begin writing down her concerns. But Stacy had a chilling response, Bychowski told the judge.

Stacy replied:&#8221;It doesn&#8217;t matter. I&#8217;m already dead. He&#8217;s going to kill me,&#8221;

After telling the Judge Stephen White that, Bychowksi broke down and White called a recess.

Drew Peterson&#8217;s defense attorney Joel Brodsky dismissed Bychowski&#8217;s emotional testimony as &#8220;clearly staged.&#8221;

&#8220;That was absolutely rehearsed. It was almost as if she cried on cue,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That was clearly staged.

Article:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/2010008,drew-peterson-neighbor-stacy-hearing-012510.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Friends: Stacy Peterson wanted out of marriage
January 25, 2010
<snipped>
The last person to speak to missing Bolingbrook mom Stacy Peterson revealed in Will County Court Monday afternoon an alleged plot to make her husband "stop loving her."

Bruce Zidarich, the former boyfriend of Stacy's sister Cassandra Cales, said Stacy spoke of having sex with another man in front of her husband Drew Peterson so he would let her go.

"In the same house in front of him while he was there," Zidarich said. "So he would give up on her basically and let her go.

She defininetly wanted away," he said. "She wanted to make him stop loving her,&#8221; Zidarich said.

Zidarich testified at the hearing that will determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed into the actual trial of Drew Peterson, who is charged with the murder of his third wife Kathleen Savio.

Article:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/...,Peterson-neighbor-testifies_JO012510.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Neighbor: Stacy Peterson Said 'I'm Already Dead'
Filed at 7:28 p.m. ET
<snipped>
Sharon Bychowski told the court that she found Stacy Peterson, then 23, crying outside her suburban Chicago home. 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.

Bychowski also testified that Stacy Peterson talked at length about her intention to divorce Peterson.

Drew Peterson tried to dissuade his young wife from leaving by showering her with gifts, including a motorcycle and a ring, as well as by paying for breast enhancement surgery, Stacy Peterson allegedly told Bychowski. But holding up the ring at one point, she said, '''He thinks he's going to keep me. No way,''' Bychowski recalled.

Drew Peterson was so possessive of Stacy, he even installed a satellite GPS tracking system in her cell phone to monitor her movements by computer, Bruce Zidarich -- a then-boyfriend of Stacy Peterson's sister, Cassandra Cales -- also testified Monday.

Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/25/us/AP-US-Drew-Peterson.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]

Peterson's neighbor: Stacy warned Drew would kill her
January 25, 2010
<snipped>
A tearful Stacy Peterson confided that she feared Drew Peterson planned to kill her because she had asked for a divorce and wanted him out of their Bolingbrook home, a neighbor testified Monday.

&#8220;If I disappear, Sharon, it&#8217;s not an accident. He killed me,&#8221; neighbor Sharon Bychowski quoted Stacy Peterson as telling her on Oct. 20, 2007 &#8212; barely a week before Stacy vanished.

A day after the 23-year-old woman disappeared, another of Stacy&#8217;s friends called Drew Peterson to ask if he knew what had happened to his fourth wife.

Peterson, then a Bolingbrook cop, calmly replied that Stacy had taken $25,000 and left for Jamaica with another man, said Bruce Zidarich, who lives with Stacy&#8217;s sister.

Zidarich said he was immediately skeptical because he didn&#8217;t believe Stacy would vanish without taking her two children or her two stepchildren.

&#8220;I don&#8217;t think she&#8217;d leave &#8212; not without her kids,&#8221; Zidarich said.

Defense attorneys questioned Zidarich about whether Stacy had been involved with other men &#8212; something Zidarich denied any knowledge of.

But he testified that Stacy had raised the possibility of openly becoming involved with another man as a way to force Peterson to accept a divorce.

Article:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/2010008,drew-peterson-neighbor-stacy-hearing-012510.article

 

[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 sensed death
She said husband was going to kill her, woman says in pretrial testimony
updated 3:50 p.m. ET, Mon., Jan. 25, 2010
<snipped>
The fourth wife of former Illinois police officer Drew Peterson was sure her husband would murder her, even telling a neighbor before her disappearance in 2007 that "'I'm already dead,'" according to testimony at a pretrial hearing on Monday.

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.

Bychowski testified that Stacy Peterson talked about her intention to divorce Peterson.

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.

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

 

[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