Drew Peterson's Trial *FIRST WEEK*

[~n/t~]

Locksmith Robert Akin takes the stand

In Session Akin: "I’m a locksmith...for 40 years.” He briefly goes over his training in that field.

1m In Session ‏@InSession
#drewpeterson : State calls locksmith Robert Akin, who opened #KathleenSavio's front door the night she was found.

 

[~n/t~]

In Session Akin is being questioned by prosecutor Chris Koch. Akin says he is a “certified, institutional, and automotive locksmith.” He currently works for Larry’s Locksmith in Bolingbrook (of which he’s been the sole owner since 1978). Currently, he has one official employee, and his son helps him out as well. “I do regular work for the Bolingbrook Police Department, for their maintenance…and then on occasion we will have a have a call for a wellness check…when friends, family, or neighbors might be concerned…once the house is opened, officers usually go in and make sure everything is OK.”

 

[21merc7]

Can someone riddle me this? How did such an ugly boorish ogrish man like DP get beautiful women like Stacy and Kathleen to look his way,much less marry him???

:sick: It grosses me out too much to think about it, lol.

My best guess is he finds the "lost kittens" and makes them feel comfy, friendly, safe, then goes into how long he's been an officer -steady job, security, protection to a lost kitten - then brings them flowers. I have no idea and am now grossed out again.

 

[~n/t~]

In Session Normally, a police officer is already at the scene when he arrives to open a door for a wellness check. “I usually jump out of the truck and ask what they want me to do. And then I just do what they tell me.” Prosecution: “Is there a procedure typically followed with regards to verifying if anyone’s home?” Akin: “I usually just leave it to the discretion of the person in charge at time…I just open the door, step out of the way, and let them do their job.” If there’s no one home, the witness has to re-lock the residence before leaving the scene.

In Session Akin’s firm “used to be a 24 hours company, but I no longer do it. It’s just too much trouble…but we try…we have cell phones, and we transfer the phone from the land line at the shop to our individual phones. So we can take calls after 5:00.” He tries to split the schedule on a rotating basis with his one employee, Chris Wolzen.

 

[~n/t~]

In Session On March 1, 2004 this witness was not actually on call. “I did get a phone call…about opening up a house.” Prosecution: “Do you know how you were notified?” Akin: “I don’t remember; I really don’t.” Prosecution: “Did you agree to go to that particular location?” Akin: “I did…I arrived and parked in front of the location…Sgt. Peterson was outside.” Prosecution: “Do you know an individual known as Sgt. Peterson?” Akin: “Yes, I do.” He identifies the witness in the courtroom (“the gentleman with the nice tie”). He says he’s known Peterson “for almost 30 years…it’s been going back years.” Prosecution: “Do you associate with the defendant on a personal level?” Akin: “I see him through business dealings; I’ve run into him on occasion when he was doing his patrols…so I know him.” Persecution: “Have you ever provided any services for Mr. Peterson personally?” Akin: “Oh, yeah…he had a bar in Montgomery; we changed the locks there. He had a printing company; we changed the locks there. I personally have not been to his house, but my associate did…my associate did most of the work for him.”

 

[Cubby]

Well first, Kathleen is not the only victim of DP, so let's not forget Stacy either.

And...it's not over yet. Let's see how tomorrow goes.
Maybe the Prosecution doesn't have the greatest case, but i'm hoping that the Defense crying "Mistrial!" twice in two days says that they want out quick, because they dont have a great hand either.

Of course Stacy is a victim. However, Drew is on trial for Kathleen's murder. This trial is only about Kathleen. Drew has not legally been charged with anything regarding Stacy. Drew being found guilty in this trial is only a consolation with regards to what happened to Stacy, but we still need to keep in mind, this trial is really ONLY for Kathleen's murder. Drew is NOT on trial for disappearing or murdering Stacy.

This is the trial for Kathleen Savio's murder, not Stacy Peterson's disappearance. We should not forget that.

 

[~n/t~]

In Session When he arrived at the scene, Peterson was there, in uniform. “When I got there, he was standing out front. I said, ‘What’s up?’ and he said that they needed the house opened. Once I get into locksmith mode, I just do my job…I get blinders.” He doesn’t recall seeing any external lights on at the Savio house. He describes the “pick set” that he had with him that night. Prosecution: “Did you learn whose house it was?” Akin: “No, I don’t remember even discussing it…I was in locksmith mode.”

 

[~n/t~]

In Session Akin: “I went to the door knob; the door knob was locked…it was the front door; there were two locks, the deadbolt and the door knob.” Prosecution: “Is there a reason you always start with the front door?” Akin: “II always go to the front door, because that’s usually the one that’s used the most. It’s a little bit easier…I always start on the locked ones, because you’d hate to unlock something and find it was already unlocked.” Prosecution: “Was the front door locked?” Akin: “It was locked…the first thing I noticed was the [knob] lock was upside down…and then, after a few minutes, I went to the deadbolt. After I picked the lock, there was absolutely no resistance when I turned it. And I said, ‘Wow, this is unlocked.’” Akin then explains how he was able to tell that the deadlock was “clearly unlocked…I went, ‘Wow, this is great!’…one less lock to worry about.”

 

[~n/t~]

In Session The deadbolt lock was a Quickset lock (“very popular in the Lowes, the Menard’s, the Home Depots”). “Then I had to go back to the door knob…I came back, and it just popped right open; it was no problem…it’s just a regular door knob, with a latch, with the little push button; you push the button, and then just close the door.” Prosecution: “Where was the defendant at while you were trying to get the door unlocked?” Akin: “He was behind me, and he pulled out his flashlight…anytime anybody wants to give me a hand, I’m all over it. It was a nice flashlight!” He heard other people talking while he was working on the lock. Akin: “I know there were people…but that may be because later on I knew there were people.”

 

[Cubby]

57s In Session ‏@InSession
#drewpeterson : Brodsky says State wants a "do-over."

Ross Weidner ‏@RossWeidner
#drewpeterson's lawyer Brodsky says prosecution is intentionally pressing for a mistrial so they can get a do over. http://pic.twitter.com/AuXtw5Bi

Anyone else get the feeling Brodsky has to be reading WS after reading the above?

 

[~n/t~]

I have to go for 45 minutes BBL

 

[Mama-cita]

Anyone else get the feeling Brodsky has to be reading WS after reading the above?

Well we know Baez paid people to read here so it wouldn't surprise me in the least! From one smarmy lawyer to another!

 

[Cubby]

In Session Steve Greenberg just walked into the overflow courtroom. In answer to a reporter’s question, “What’s happening?” Greenberg responds, “Nothing’s happening. The judge is going to deny our motion. And then we’ll go another two hours, and they’ll [the prosecution] screw up again.”
about a minute ago

:what:

Ok, now that was funny! :lol:

I'm not yet caught up, but I'll say I am flippin mortified to say I am an Illinoisan after how much the pros have screwed up in this case. Illinois has completely turned into a dang toilet. Just the swoosh as it goes round and round before it get's sucked into the drain.

This is mortifying.

 

[Cubby]

Thank you for the link. Looking above the judge's head, there is a rough sketch of Kathleen in the bathtub. If it is close to fact, it would seem unlikely she got into that position in a fall. She's all tucked in very neatly.

If she fell in the tub, or getting into the tub, I would assume she would have hit her head on the faucet to cause a bloody injury. Even with a gash on her head, she could have moved so as not to drown in a millisecond unless she passed out from the injury.

That's the crux of murder vs. fall. Prosecution, get into the science of this and stop messing around.

Thank you! This is what I have been thinking all along. I don't think Drew could defy the scientific logic of it, so let's get on with it.

Thanks to whomever posted the sketch link, it's a great link to have and that tub sketch really shows how unlikely it is an accident occured leaving Kathleen in that position.

Not to mention, I think there was too little blood for it to be a head injury.

Get to the science of it dang it!

 

[Cubby]

In Session Judge Burmila has just taken the bench. “Good morning everyone…the matter comes on in regard to a memorandum filed yesterday regarding a double jeopardy issue and a motion for a mistrial. Is someone going to address that?” Attorney Steve Greenberg responds: “We are still seeking a mistrial, a mistrial with prejudice. We don’t want to just simply come back and start over. I think it’s justified, because in the two days we’ve been here, not only have we got these instances like with the bullet yesterday, which I think is just so outrageously prejudicial…it’s as if they’d said to the witness, ‘Hey, do you know Mr. Peterson likes fishing?’ and the witness said ‘One day I got a box with a fish in it, it made me feel intimated.’ ‘Do you have any evidence that he didn’t send the box?’ ‘No, I don’t have any evidence that he didn’t send the box’…it’s undeniably prejudicial. They’re trying to show the fear that Kathleen Savio went through…[but] her fear is not admissible. They’re showing these instances, and they can’t tie it up.”
25 seconds ago

Ok, I am confused. Kathleen's fear of Drew is not admissable?

Do we have a seperate thread that lists all of what has been ruled not admissable? Or a place we have a compiled list of all that is not admissable? Because it is confusing to me. It's like telling a baseball team to play a game of baseball, without bat's, gloves or a baseball.....

very confused.

 

[ACandyRose]

This picks up where ~n/t~ left off:

Locksmith Robert Akin still on the stand

In Session

Akin: “Most of the time I try to kneel down, to see what I’m doing.”

Prosecution: “Recall how long it took you to open that door that night?”

Akin: “I would say probably about six minutes.”

Prosecution: “What happened after you opened the door?”

Akin: “I opened the door, and the people walked into the house. I was putting my picks away, and just chit-chatting for a minute or two.”

Prosecution: “Did the defendant go into the house?”

Akin: “No, he did not.”

Defense: “Were there any other police officers at the house at this time?”

Akin: “No, I didn’t see any…[only] Sgt. Peterson.”

Prosecution: “Did you go into that house?”

Akin: “I did not.”

Prosecution: “Do you customarily go into the house after you open it up?”

Akin: “I do not, unless it’s an eviction, and I’ve been cleared to go in…you never know what you’re going to run into. And that’s how it’s done.”

about a minute ago · Like

===============================

In Session

As he was collecting his equipment, he was speaking to the defendant.

“I don’t even remember the conversation, probably giving him the business about something.”

Prosecution: “What happened next?”

Akin: “There was a commotion, like a screaming…I was standing in front of Sgt. Peterson. He just looked and said, ‘I’ve got to go!’ and went running in. And I just got the heck out of Dodge, and went and sat in my truck for a couple minutes.”

a few seconds ago · Like

===============================

In Session

Prosecution: “Can you tell me where you went after you collected your tools and the defendant went into the house?”

Akin: “I walked to my truck, and got in my truck and called back to my house. I said I’d be back in a few minutes.”

Prosecution: “Did you know what had happened at that point?”

Akin: “No…I just kind of figured it wasn’t good. I’ve been through stuff where it wasn’t a good situation; you don’t want the locksmith around, trust me.”

Once he saw the ambulance arrive, he decided to leave.

about a minute ago · Like

===============================-

In Session

During the time he and Peterson were speaking, they were probably three feet apart.

Prosecution: “After the ambulance arrived, did you leave then?”

Akin: “Yes, I did.”

a few seconds ago · Like

===============================

In Session

Prosecution: “Had you ever done a wellness check for the defendant before?”

Akin: “None.”

4 minutes ago · Like

===============================

In Session

Prosecution: “When you do wellness checks, do you typically charge the Bolingbrook Police Department?”

Akin: “Well, every wellness check is different…so not every situation is hard and fast. I’ve had situations where unfortunately there was a clear-cut deceased person…but every one is different. There are times I just don’t want to get into it, and I just let it go.”

Prosecution: “Did you charge on this particular incident?”

Akin: “No, I did not.”

3 minutes ago · Like

===============================

In Session

That ends the direct examination of Robert Akin.

The judge decides to call the lunch recess at this time.

The trial will resume at 1:15 CT (2:15 ET).


===============================

ACR

 

[ACandyRose]

Interesting that Akin has known Drew for 30 years yet he never mentions that he knew that was Peterson's ex-wife's house. Seriously, you would have thought since they were long time friends that Drew would have told him this was where his ex was living and he was concerned about her. Plus Akin never charged for the lock picking job on the house. :banghead:

 

[ohiogirl]

It doesn't seem that he was asked those questions. jmo

 

[passionflower]

Glenn Marshall ‏@GMarshall_Jr
"I went to pick the lock but it had no resistance" "it was clearly unlocked" -Akin #DrewPeterson

Glenn Marshall ‏@GMarshall_Jr
Savio's father and stepmother leaving court for break #DrewPeterson http://twitter.com/GMarshall_Jr/status/231076933260177408/photo/1

photo above at link

 

[passionflower]

Glenn Marshall ‏@GMarshall_Jr
Oleszkiewcz during his testimony #DrewPeterson
also a photo on this twitter