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[Angel Who Cares]

Attorney: Savio said if she died, Drew did it
February 8, 2010 12:57 PM
<snipped>
An attorney who represented Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, testified this morning that if she died, "you need to let people know that Drew did it."

Attorney Harry C. Smith, who later represented Stacy Peterson, also testified that Peterson's fourth wife told him that "Drew was pissed at her" because he thought that Stacy had told Peterson's son Tom "that he (Peterson) killed Kathy."

He said that after Savio's body was found in a bathtub in her home, he did called state police to tell them about Savio's statement implicating Peterson. But the person he talked to "was not prepared for that kind of conversation," Smith said, and said someone would get back to him. No one ever did, he said.

Also after Savio died, Smith said he got a phone call from Peterson's attorney saying the executor of Savio's estate did not want him involved anymore. That executor was Peterson's uncle, James Carroll, who previously testified that he only did what Drew told him to do.

Article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/attorney-savio-said-if-she-died-drew-did-it.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Lawyer: Wife Mulled Extorting Ill. Murder Suspect
Published: February 8, 2010
Filed at 4:51 p.m. ET
<snipped>
The dramatic details provided by Harry Smith were the first in more than three weeks of testimony that recounted Stacy Peterson talking directly about Drew Peterson's alleged involvement in the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Smith said that Stacy Peterson had called him for her own divorce, but he told her he could not represent her because he thought it was a conflict of interest. He is also the first witness to suggest Stacy Peterson had a plan to squeeze money out of her husband.

''She asked, 'Could we get more money out of Drew if we threatened to tell the police he killed Kathy?''' said Smith. He told her that plan might be dangerous, but Stacy Peterson said her husband would never try to hurt her and that she had too much dirt on him at the police department. ''She wasn't concerned about her safety,'' Smith said.

Smith's testimony also suggested a motive for why Peterson might have wanted Savio dead -- money. In detailed testimony Smith said things were not going well for Drew Peterson and he knew it in the later stages of his contentious divorce from Savio.

He testified that shortly before Savio was found dead, a judge had told him and Peterson's attorney that she was about to recommend that Savio be allowed to keep the couple's Bolingbrook home, receive a share of his police pension, receive child support and some money from the sale of a bar the couple had owned.
*More At Link!

Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/08/us/AP-US-Drew-Peterson.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Lawyer: Stacy Peterson talked about extorting Drew
Monday, February 08, 2010
<snipped>
Divorce attorney Harry C. Smith said Stacy Peterson once asked him how much money she could get from Drew Peterson if she threatened to go to police with information that he killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Smith also testified his client, Savio, told him, "if I die, you have to call the authorities and tell him who did it...that Drew did it."

Smith also said he was contacted by Stacy Peterson just days before she went missing.

After some 14 days and 60 witnesses, the prosecution could rest this week in a hearing that is supposed to decide what hearsay evidence if any can be heard in the upcoming murder trial of Drew Peterson in connection with the death of Kathleen Savio.
*More at link!

Video: Lawyer: Stacy Peterson talked about extorting Drew 1:47
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7265663

Article:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7265367

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Attorney: Stacy Peterson asked about extorting money from husband
February 8, 2010
<snipped>
Harry C. Smith, who had represented Drew Peterson's ex-wife, Kathleen Savio, in their divorce, said Stacy did not seem afraid of the former Bolingbrook police sergeant during their two conversations, saying she told him she had "so much (expletive) on him at the police department, he couldn't do anything to her." Smith said he told Stacy Peterson he could not represent her because of the conflict of interest. Smith represented Savio beginning in January 2002.

Smith said Savio frequently faxed and called him with complaints about Peterson, including custody matters and alleged threats. Smith said Savio told him Peterson had threatened to kill her and make it look like an accident, but he had believed she may have been "paranoid." After she was found dead, Smith said, "I thought I'd done a poor job of listening to my client."

Savio had told him that if she died, "to let people know that Drew did it," Smith testified. So Smith said he called Illinois State Police but the officer he spoke with was "not prepared for that kind of conversation." Smith said he was told someone would get back to him, but no one ever did.

Former Peterson friend Ric Mims testified Monday that he helped Peterson follow Savio around, once sitting in a parked vehicle outside her office while Peterson told him he was removing papers from Savio's house. Mims testified the National Enquirer paid him $17,500 for his story.

Prosecutors, who have called 60 witnesses, said they have six more to call. Defense attorneys said they plan to call about 20 witnesses.
*Much More At Link!

Article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-0209-drew-peterson-hearing-20100208,0,1766037.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Lawyer: Stacy planned to blackmail Peterson
February 9, 2010
<snipped>
Harry Smith, the lawyer who represented Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, in their divorce, said fourth wife Stacy called him and requested he represent her when she dumped Peterson herself. Smith said representing two of Peterson's wives in divorces only a couple years apart would be a conflict, and Stacy revealed a chilling secret.

"She told me that Drew was pissed at her because 'he thinks I told (his son) Tom that he killed Kathy,'" Smith said.

Smith said he had two phone conversations with Stacy in the five days before she disappeared.

While Peterson faces no charges in connection with Stacy's disappearance, prosecutors are trying to prove he killed her to keep her from testifying against him. If they succeed, statements Stacy made to others can be admitted at Peterson's murder trial

Also Monday, Peterson's former friend Ric Mims testified that he stalked Savio at Peterson's request. Mims, who moved into Peterson's house for the better part of a week after Stacy vanished, also said Peterson asked him to be his hostage if the police came to take him. "He said, 'I'm going to ask you a really weird question. I'm going to ask you to be a hostage,'" Mims said.
*Much More At Link!

Article:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/...wyer-Stacy-planned-blackmail_JO020910.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Attorney: Savio Said If She Died, Drew Did It
Updated: Monday, 08 Feb 2010, 10:55 PM CST
Published : Monday, 08 Feb 2010, 1:02 PM CST
<snipped>
The divorce attorney who represented Drew Peterson's third wife took the witness stand and testified Monday about a plan Peterson's fourth wife had to squeeze him in a divorce.

After Savio's death Smith said he tried to contact State Police, per her instructions: "She told me if I die, you have to go to the authorities and tell them Drew did it," Smith said. But he testified, as several others have previously told the court, that no one from the State Police returned his calls.

Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky dismissed Savio's alleged statements, saying she "was very much a person who would say anything to hurt Drew and that's what she did, she made up a lot of stuff up."

Also testifying, Drew's former friend Ric Mims who said he helped Drew run surveillance on Savio. And in a bizarre twist after Stacy disappeared Mims said Drew asked him to be a hostage for him, in case the police came to get his children. Mims also had a website where he said someone, using Stacy's name, blogged that she was sorry for running off, but that she was in a safe place and happy with her new life, which is fits in with Drew's story that Stacy left him for another man.
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*Video Included In Article Link!

Article:
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/drew_peterson/attorney-testifies-drew-ptereson

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Dozens of witnesses left in Drew Peterson hearing
February 9, 2010 4:14 AM ET
<snipped>
Attorneys say more than two dozen witnesses are yet to be called in the hearing to determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed when Drew Peterson stands trial in the 2004 slaying of his third wife.

The Will County state's attorney has called at least 60 witnesses in the hearing that began last month. A spokesman says the office will call six more witnesses and should be finished on Wednesday.

Defense attorneys say they expect to call 20 witnesses of their own, meaning the hearing is expected to go into next week.

Article:
http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=11955270

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Dozens More Witnesses Set to Testify at Drew Hearing
Defense will call 20 witnesses later this week
Updated 7:15 AM CST, Tue, Feb 9, 2010
<snipped>
The parade of witnesses who have been telling a Joliet judge about Drew Peterson's murderous intentions keeps on coming.

Attorneys say more than two dozen witnesses are yet to be called in the hearing to determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed when Drew Peterson stands trial in the 2004 slaying of his third wife Kathleen Savio.

Add that to the nearly 60 witnesses who have been called already and the Joliet court is in store for a gore overload.

A spokesman for the Will County States attorney said the tales should be done by Wednesday.

Defense attorneys say they expect to call 20 witnesses of their own, meaning the hearing is expected to go into next week

Article:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/loca...-Set-to-Testify-at-Drew-Hearing-83876672.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Man says he was asked to kill Peterson's ex-wife
February 9, 2010
<snipped>
William Green testified Tuesday that Peterson was looking for someone to kill Kathleen Savio and make it look like an accident. Green says he quickly declined and never talked about it again -- either with Peterson or his friend, Jeff Pachter.

Previously, Pachter testified that Peterson asked him to find someone to kill Savio for $25,000. Patcher says he did talk to Green about the offer.

Green says he contacted police after Peterson's fourth wife disappeared in 2007 because that's when he first heard about Savio's death.

Article:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/2037970,drew-peterson-stacy-kill-wife-020910.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Former Peterson Co-Worker Says He Was Asked To Murder Savio
Tuesday, Feb 9, 2010 @02:59pm CST
<snipped>
A former co-worker of Drew Peterson has told an Illinois judge he was asked in 2003 to kill Kathleen Savio.

William Green testified Tuesday that Peterson sent someone to find out if he'd be willing to murder his third wife and make it look like an accident.

Green also told the judge he didn't take the offer seriously.

Earlier in the day another ex-co-worker, Jeff Pachter, testified he was offered 25-thousand dollars to find someone to kill Savio but never followed through.

Article:
http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=136322

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Drew Peterson's second wife testifies at hearing
February 9, 2010 4:34 PM ET
<snipped>
Drew Peterson's second wife has testified he threatened to kill her and told her he could make it look like an accident.

Victoria Connolly testified Tuesday the former Bolingbrook police sergeant also pulled a gun on her three or four times. She says he once put the weapon to her head and told her he would kill her and then kill himself.

Connolly and Peterson were married for 9 1/2 years. She described their divorce as amicable.

Article:
http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=11959127

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Drew Peterson's 2nd wife: He threatened to kill me
February 9, 2010 9:54 PM
<snipped>
Drew Peterson pulled a gun on his second wife at least three times during their marriage and threatened to kill her so it would look like an accident, she testified Tuesday. Ex-wife Victoria Connolly's description of her tumultuous nine-year marriage to Peterson mirrors accounts his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and fourth wife, Stacy, provided to friends and relatives about their relationships with the now-retired Bolingbrook police officer.

Sixty-nine witnesses have been called during the pretrial hearing, which will take a hiatus until Feb. 17. Closing arguments are expected that afternoon.

Connolly, who married Peterson in 1982, described how he became violent with her on several occasions and stalked her after they separated. One night, she awoke to find him standing over her. "We did not exchange words at all," she said. "Drew turned around and left."

The divorce was amicable, in part, Connolly said, because she did not go after Peterson's pension. Prosecutors suggested a tug of war over Peterson's pension played a key role in Savio's death. They presented documents Tuesday that showed they fought over marital assets worth more than $893,000, including Peterson's nearly $324,000 police pension.

Savio had life insurance totaling more than $1 million. Peterson also had nonmarital assets worth more than $528,000 in 2004, and his pension was projected to be more than $97,000 annually. "He felt the pension belonged to the man ... because he worked hard for it," Connolly testified.
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Article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/...o-worker-says-he-was-asked-to-kill-savio.html

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Coroner disagreed with CSI team on Savio
February 9, 2010
<snipped>
The deputy coroner who took the Kathleen Savio death call testified in a Will County courtroom today that state police Crime Scene Investigator Robert Deel told him there was nothing "we need to be looking for here," prompting him to abandon the suspicious death protocol.

The protocol dictates the hands of the body be bagged, the body be placed in a fresh white sheet and into a white body bag, and then a second body bag.

Only Savio's hands were bagged. The deputy coroner said he "didn't quite agree" with the state police's assessment of the case.

Also Tuesday prosecutors are trying to elicit testimony from accountant, Howard Ellison, about how much Savio stood to gain by surviving her divorce from Peterson.

Article:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/...Peterson-hearsay-cableworker-JO020910.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Ill. murder suspect threatened to kill 2nd wife
2/9/10
<snipped>
Victoria Connolly said her ex-husband, Drew Peterson, pulled a gun on her three or four times when they were married, once putting it to her head and telling her he would kill her then kill himself.

Peterson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Prosecution called 68 witnesses at the pretrial hearing to determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed at Peterson's upcoming murder trial. Defense will begin Wednesday.

Also Tuesday, a friend of Stacy Peterson testified that before they married Stacy Peterson had said Drew Peterson planned to kill Savio.

"She told us he planned on killing her and make it look like an accident," said Michael Miles, recalling the conversation he and another friend had with Stacy Peterson in 2002.

Miles also testified that Stacy Peterson, who was dating Drew Peterson at the time, said the "only reason" Peterson's third wife was still alive was because Stacy Peterson talked him out of killing her.
*More At Link!

Article:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hbfkKdZZEPQinpLBXO6Df3-5s2SwD9DOUG2G0

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Controversy surrounds Drew Peterson hearsay hearings
February 9, 2010
<snipped>
"It's a miscarriage of justice," said Leonard Cavise, a DePaul University law professor. "This hearing is not how the American judicial system is supposed to work. It's ridiculous."

The prosecutors are relying on a new Illinois statute, dubbed "Drew's Law," that allows them to build their case around comments made by Savio and Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, who vanished in 2007. The case, so far, seems underwhelming, some legal experts say. None of the evidence physically tied Peterson to the crime or put him inside Savio's house the weekend of her death. Illinois State Police have admitted they, at best, blundered Savio's death investigation and collected no evidence from the scene.

So far, at least eight witnesses &#8212; including her two sisters, boyfriend and co-workers &#8212; have testified that Savio told them Peterson broke into her home in 2002, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her. Savio's divorce attorney testified that Savio told him Peterson often threatened to kill her and make it look like an accident. And Stacy Peterson's aunt recalled hearing Drew Peterson, then 54, apologize to his young wife for "burdening her with his past."

"If I were the prosecutor, my attitude would be the rule of law is there &#8230; and if it's a weapon I'm able to use, I'm going to use it," said Mark Rotert, a former state and federal prosecutor now in private practice. "He's only using the tools that the law provides to him. People can argue when those tools were put in his toolbox, but those are policy and constitutional questions he should not spend a lot of time on."

Judge Stephen White is presiding over the hearing, which has drawn the attention of attorneys across the state, with lawyers popping into his Joliet courtroom to watch the proceedings. Legal experts describe White as "well-schooled" and "extremely competent." But he has no road map in which to follow.

"You've got to look at these things very skeptically," Ekl said. "Two people who are going through a terrible divorce can say a lot of terrible things about each other that aren't true."

In Illinois, the law calls for the judge to determine whether the hearsay is trustworthy &#8212; and the defendant possibly guilty &#8212; before the trial begins, said defense attorney Richard Kling, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. "It's a serious constitutional problem because you're taking defendants who are presumed innocent under the Constitution and you're having them go before a judge &#8230; who has to decide that they're probably guilty," Kling said. "To get hearsay statements (into trial), they have to prove that they're trustworthy and also have to prove that more likely than not that he's guilty of murdering to keep them from testifying."
*Much More At Link!

GRAPHIC: Testimony relation and witness connection

Article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...n-hearsay-hearing-expe20100209,0,518581.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Drew Peterson's 2nd wife says he threatened to kill her
Ex-wife Victoria Connolly testifies at hearsay hearing, which goes on hiatus until Feb. 17
February 9, 2010
<snipped>
Drew Peterson pulled a gun on his second wife at least three times during their marriage and threatened to kill her so it would look like an accident, she testified Tuesday.

Ex-wife Victoria Connolly's description of her tumultuous nine-year marriage to Peterson mirrors accounts his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and fourth wife, Stacy, provided to friends and relatives about their relationships with the now-retired Bolingbrook police officer.

Under defense questioning, Connolly said she had been in discussions about a book deal but decided against it. However, she still would consider a movie deal.

Bolingbrook police Sgt. Craig Gunty testified that Stacy Peterson poured out her fears to him in a nearly two-hour phone call about a month before she disappeared. " 'If you guys knew what Drew did, it would make your head flip,' " he said Stacy Peterson told him.

" 'Drew would kill me if I said what it is.' "

Article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-2010-drew-peterson-hearing-20100209,0,1250944.story

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Ex-wife: Peterson said he'd kill me, too
February 10, 2010
<snipped>
The parade of people with bad things to say &#8212; or bad things they claim to have heard other people say &#8212; about Drew Peterson looks to be at an end, unless prosecutors decide to pull one more onto the stand.

The state said that as long as they can work out details with Peterson's defense team during a court appearance this morning, they have called their last witness in the marathon hearing to determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed at the former Bolingbrook cop's murder trial. So far, 68 men and women, including Peterson's ex-wife, ex-girlfriend, an uncle, son, neighbors and co-workers have taken the stand in the 15-day hearing.

Victoria Connolly, the second of the four women Peterson married, and one of two who has neither mysteriously died nor disappeared, testified Peterson put a gun to her head "in a threatening manner, three or four times" during their marriage. Also Tuesday, a man who worked at the same Downers Grove cable company as Peterson said a mutual friend approached him and said Peterson wanted him to kill Savio. The man, William Green, said the go-between for the deal was Jeffrey Pachter. Pachter, another cable company worker, has previously testified that Peterson offered him $25,000 to hire someone to kill Savio.

Late Tuesday, prosecutors called to the stand one of Stacy's classmates from Joliet Junior College. Michael Miles, an electrician and auxiliary Lockport police officer, said Stacy told him and another classmate that she thwarted Peterson's scheme to murder Savio in the fall of 2002. Peterson and Savio were still married then, and he was seeing Stacy at the time. "He said he planned on killing her and making it look like an accident, and he could do it too because he was a Bolingbrook cop," Miles said. "The only reason his wife was still alive was because Stacy stopped him."

Miles said Stacy wanted to leave Peterson but "had nowhere to go." He also recalled how he and a friend drove Stacy to Peterson's home one night, only to be confronted by the angry Bolingbrook cop, who called after them, "Keep driving, pretty boys," as they fled. Miles said he saw Stacy in class soon after, and she was upset. "She wasn't herself again," he said. "She said she was pregnant." Peterson and Stacy married the following October.
*More at link!

Article:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/...8690,Ex-wife-Peterson-threat_JO021010.article

 

[Angel Who Cares]

[urle]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ3vGLgy6fo[/url]

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Ex-Ill. cop's hearing feels like real murder trial
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
<snipped>
Family members, investigators, clergy and even a psychic have spent weeks testifying in a northern Illinois courtroom _ and Drew Peterson's murder trial hasn't even started.

Billed as a preliminary step in the case, an extraordinary hearing to determine what hearsay, or secondhand, evidence jurors will be allowed to hear during the former police officer's trial in his third wife's death has turned into a sort of legal dress rehearsal.

But none of it may matter if the judge doesn't allow at least some of the witnesses to testify during the real thing. "If they don't get the hearsay stuff in, then they don't have a shot at this case," said Terry Sullivan, a Chicago attorney and former prosecutor.

Some legal scholars say the Peterson hearing has underscored the serious constitutional problems with the hearsay law. "It violates the right to a fair trial because it calls for a judge to decide if a guy is guilty even before he stands trial, in open court where a jury pool can see it," said Leonard Cavise, a DePaul University law professor.

Dozens of other witnesses provided small pieces of what prosecutors contend is a puzzle that will help jurors believe Peterson could have killed Savio.

Drew Peterson's attorneys, meanwhile, have asked about medication Savio was taking and pointed to a doctor's report that said Savio complained of dizziness. And while under no obligation to call witnesses in the hearing, they have now decided to do so.
*More info at link!

Article:
http:///news/us/2010/02/10/ex-ill_cops_hearing_feels_like_real_murder_trial

 

[Angel Who Cares]

Professor: Peterson can't get fair trial
Published: Feb. 10, 2010 at 8:40 AM
<snipped>
A Chicago law professor says pre-trial proceedings for Drew Peterson make it impossible for the former Bolingbrook, Ill., policeman to get a fair trial.

Leonard Cavise of DePaul University calls the hearsay hearing to decide what testimony will be allowed at Peterson's homicide trial "a miscarriage of justice," the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

"There's no way ever that they'll find a fair jury," Cavise said. "By the time the pretrial hearing is over, Drew Peterson won't be able to find two people who don't know all of this."

Article:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/02/10/Professor-Peterson-cant-get-fair-trial/UPI-94601265809221/