Local
Peterson in court for evidence hearing
Wednesday, June 03, 2009 | 11:40 AM
June 3, 2009 (WLS) -- Drew Peterson returns to court Wednesday afternoon. A Will County judge is expected to consider a motion by the state's attorney to keep evidence under wraps.
Peterson's defense attorney says he'll oppose the attempt to seal discovery in the case because of all the news coverage surrounding the case. He says the process should remain transparent.
Peterson is charged with murdering his third wife, Kathleen Savio. The former Bolingbrook police sergeant is also a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy.
Peterson in court for evidence hearing
Wednesday, June 03, 2009 | 11:40 AM
June 3, 2009 (WLS) -- Drew Peterson returns to court Wednesday afternoon. A Will County judge is expected to consider a motion by the state's attorney to keep evidence under wraps.
Peterson's defense attorney says he'll oppose the attempt to seal discovery in the case because of all the news coverage surrounding the case. He says the process should remain transparent.
Peterson is charged with murdering his third wife, Kathleen Savio. The former Bolingbrook police sergeant is also a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy.
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/01/19/drew-peterson-back-in-court/print/
Drew Peterson Back In Court
Posted By Marla Cichowski On January 19, 2010 @ 2:19 PM In Crime, U.S. | No Comments
Drew Peterson is back in Will County Court today, for a hearing that will determine what hearsay testimony will be allowed at his trial.
Peterson is charged with first degree murder for the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, who died in 2004. The pretrial hearing is expected to last up to three weeks. The Will County State's Attorney plans to call at least 60 witnesses to testify. Many will talk about conversations they had with Kathleen Savio about Drew Peterson.
Court broke for lunch recess. Court resumes at 130pm CT.
Drew Peterson Back In Court
Posted By Marla Cichowski On January 19, 2010 @ 2:19 PM In Crime, U.S. | No Comments
Drew Peterson is back in Will County Court today, for a hearing that will determine what hearsay testimony will be allowed at his trial.
Peterson is charged with first degree murder for the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, who died in 2004. The pretrial hearing is expected to last up to three weeks. The Will County State's Attorney plans to call at least 60 witnesses to testify. Many will talk about conversations they had with Kathleen Savio about Drew Peterson.
Court broke for lunch recess. Court resumes at 130pm CT.
THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GREAT DAY FOR A DREW PETERSON UPDATE:
http://shorewood-il.patch.com/artic...fe-killer-told-to-stay-put-by-appellate-court
Drew Peterson, Accused Bolingbrook Wife-Killer, Told to Stay Put by Appellate Court
Jailed for more than two years on murder charges, Drew Peterson learned he's not going anywhere, at least for the time being.
By Joseph Hosey | July 5, 2011 | 10:56am
Accused wife-killer Drew Peterson’s latest plea to get out of jail again fell on deaf ears, as the appellate court shot it down last week and told him he’s not going anywhere.
Jailed since May 2009 on charges he murdered his third wife, Kathleen Savio, Peterson, 57, has been waiting on the appellate court to return a decision on what hearsay evidence can be used against him at trial.
The appellate court has been mulling over the matter for just shy of a year.
The murder charge in the Savio case stemmed from the then-4-year-old woman’s death in March 2004.
Savio was found drowned in a dry bathtub. At the time of her death, Savio and Peterson were embroiled in a contentious divorce. Still the state police quickly determined she died in a freak bathing accident and quickly closed the case.
But three and a half years later, when Peterson’s next wife, the 24-year-old Stacy Peterson, vanished without a trace, the state police were forced to re-examine their investigation of Savio’s death.
Within a year and a half of Stacy’s disappearance, Peterson was up on a charge of murder in connection with Savio’s death.
Stacy remains missing, and the state police have publicly stated they believe she was the victim of a “potential homicide.” The state police also have publicly identified Drew Peterson as their sole suspect in the Stacy case, but have stopped short of actually charging him with harming her.
Peterson, a former Bolingbrook cop who quit his job in the wake of Stacy’s disappearance rather than answer questions at an internal affairs inquiry, is being held at the Will County jail in lieu of a $20 million bond. His attorneys have tried without success in the last two years to get Peterson’s bond lowered while he awaits trial.
In recent weeks, it was learned that Hollywood star Rob Lowe would be playing the part of Drew Peterson in a Lifetime movie adaption of the book Fatal Vows: The Tragic Wives of Sergeant Drew Peterson.
http://shorewood-il.patch.com/artic...fe-killer-told-to-stay-put-by-appellate-court
Drew Peterson, Accused Bolingbrook Wife-Killer, Told to Stay Put by Appellate Court
Jailed for more than two years on murder charges, Drew Peterson learned he's not going anywhere, at least for the time being.
By Joseph Hosey | July 5, 2011 | 10:56am
Accused wife-killer Drew Peterson’s latest plea to get out of jail again fell on deaf ears, as the appellate court shot it down last week and told him he’s not going anywhere.
Jailed since May 2009 on charges he murdered his third wife, Kathleen Savio, Peterson, 57, has been waiting on the appellate court to return a decision on what hearsay evidence can be used against him at trial.
The appellate court has been mulling over the matter for just shy of a year.
The murder charge in the Savio case stemmed from the then-4-year-old woman’s death in March 2004.
Savio was found drowned in a dry bathtub. At the time of her death, Savio and Peterson were embroiled in a contentious divorce. Still the state police quickly determined she died in a freak bathing accident and quickly closed the case.
But three and a half years later, when Peterson’s next wife, the 24-year-old Stacy Peterson, vanished without a trace, the state police were forced to re-examine their investigation of Savio’s death.
Within a year and a half of Stacy’s disappearance, Peterson was up on a charge of murder in connection with Savio’s death.
Stacy remains missing, and the state police have publicly stated they believe she was the victim of a “potential homicide.” The state police also have publicly identified Drew Peterson as their sole suspect in the Stacy case, but have stopped short of actually charging him with harming her.
Peterson, a former Bolingbrook cop who quit his job in the wake of Stacy’s disappearance rather than answer questions at an internal affairs inquiry, is being held at the Will County jail in lieu of a $20 million bond. His attorneys have tried without success in the last two years to get Peterson’s bond lowered while he awaits trial.
In recent weeks, it was learned that Hollywood star Rob Lowe would be playing the part of Drew Peterson in a Lifetime movie adaption of the book Fatal Vows: The Tragic Wives of Sergeant Drew Peterson.
Old Man Icon.
FYI - I added this old white bearded man icon to the post icons to help identify the rash of old threads that for the most part are being needlessly bumped lately. I know there are some classics that are enjoyable to many but on the other hand many others that are just run of the mill threads can confuse newer posters as well as some veterans if they don't check the post date before they start reading.
I hope this helps some to realize that they may be reading a thread that goes back as far as 2003 in some cases..
Thanks, wilheim
FYI - I added this old white bearded man icon to the post icons to help identify the rash of old threads that for the most part are being needlessly bumped lately. I know there are some classics that are enjoyable to many but on the other hand many others that are just run of the mill threads can confuse newer posters as well as some veterans if they don't check the post date before they start reading.
I hope this helps some to realize that they may be reading a thread that goes back as far as 2003 in some cases..
Thanks, wilheim
Update:
http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/n...d-after-being-banned-from-peterson-trial.html
*
Ohio restaurateur arrested after being banned from Peterson trial
BY JANET LUNDQUIST
Staff Reporter/jlundquist@suntimes.com
Last Modified: Aug 24, 2012 01:12PM
Ohio restaurateur Jeff Ruby was arrested Thursday night at Harrah’s Casino in Joliet after being thrown out of the Will County Courthouse earlier that day for mouthing an expletive to Drew Peterson during a break in the trial.
Ruby was charged with direct criminal contempt and was released without having to post a cash bond.
“There’s been something I’ve been meaning to tell him for seven years,” Ruby said just after he was tossed out of the courtroom Thursday morning. Ruby was standing with a cigar outside his luxury bus, parked across the street from the courthouse.
In an interview, Ruby acknowledged that he mouthed the words but did not say anything.
“So I did this,” he said, mouthing the words “F--- you.”
A Will County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Ruby is banned from the rest of the trial.
Late Thursday, Ruby detailed how the arrest happened.
He said he found himself locked out of his hotel room at Harrah’s Casino, so he went down to the front desk.
Two sheriff’s deputies, who had apparently asked the hotel to lock Ruby out of his room, were waiting for him.
Ruby said the criminal contempt charge holds no water and maintains he didn’t say anything to Peterson.
“There’s no way any audible sound came out of my mouth,” Ruby said.
Ruby claimed he did it because Peterson was giving him dirty looks.
Ruby said he started to stare back. When Peterson wouldn’t break eye contact, Ruby sent his message.
Peterson immediately turned to his attorney, Joel Brodsky, and told him what happened. Brodsky asked a bailiff to throw Ruby out.
“I denied it. I said, ‘Who are you going to believe, me or Drew Peterson?’ ” Ruby said. “It was the first time in [Peterson’s] life he wasn’t lying. I said it.”
Ruby traveled to Joliet for the trial after getting publicity by placing ads criticizing Peterson’s defense team in Sun-Times Media newspapers. He was in the courthouse for the trial all day Tuesday and Wednesday.
During his time here, he befriended defense attorneys Joe Lopez and Steve Greenberg. “They’ve stood up and they respect me for what I’ve done,” Ruby said.
Copyright © 2012 — Sun-Times Media, LLC
http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/n...d-after-being-banned-from-peterson-trial.html
*
Ohio restaurateur arrested after being banned from Peterson trial
BY JANET LUNDQUIST
Staff Reporter/jlundquist@suntimes.com
Last Modified: Aug 24, 2012 01:12PM
Ohio restaurateur Jeff Ruby was arrested Thursday night at Harrah’s Casino in Joliet after being thrown out of the Will County Courthouse earlier that day for mouthing an expletive to Drew Peterson during a break in the trial.
Ruby was charged with direct criminal contempt and was released without having to post a cash bond.
“There’s been something I’ve been meaning to tell him for seven years,” Ruby said just after he was tossed out of the courtroom Thursday morning. Ruby was standing with a cigar outside his luxury bus, parked across the street from the courthouse.
In an interview, Ruby acknowledged that he mouthed the words but did not say anything.
“So I did this,” he said, mouthing the words “F--- you.”
A Will County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Ruby is banned from the rest of the trial.
Late Thursday, Ruby detailed how the arrest happened.
He said he found himself locked out of his hotel room at Harrah’s Casino, so he went down to the front desk.
Two sheriff’s deputies, who had apparently asked the hotel to lock Ruby out of his room, were waiting for him.
Ruby said the criminal contempt charge holds no water and maintains he didn’t say anything to Peterson.
“There’s no way any audible sound came out of my mouth,” Ruby said.
Ruby claimed he did it because Peterson was giving him dirty looks.
Ruby said he started to stare back. When Peterson wouldn’t break eye contact, Ruby sent his message.
Peterson immediately turned to his attorney, Joel Brodsky, and told him what happened. Brodsky asked a bailiff to throw Ruby out.
“I denied it. I said, ‘Who are you going to believe, me or Drew Peterson?’ ” Ruby said. “It was the first time in [Peterson’s] life he wasn’t lying. I said it.”
Ruby traveled to Joliet for the trial after getting publicity by placing ads criticizing Peterson’s defense team in Sun-Times Media newspapers. He was in the courthouse for the trial all day Tuesday and Wednesday.
During his time here, he befriended defense attorneys Joe Lopez and Steve Greenberg. “They’ve stood up and they respect me for what I’ve done,” Ruby said.
Copyright © 2012 — Sun-Times Media, LLC
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/2...ew-peterson-new-murder-trial/?test=latestnews
Judge sentences Drew Peterson to 38 years in prison for murder
Published February 21, 2013Associated Press
Feb. 20: In this courtroom sketch, Drew Peterson, left, sits before Will County Judge Edward Burmila as his defense team sought to convince the judge to grant him a new trial at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Ill. (AP)
JOLIET, ILL. – Drew Peterson -- the swaggering former suburban Chicago police officer who gained notoriety after his much-younger fourth wife vanished in 2007 -- was sentenced to 38 years in prison on Thursday for murdering his third wife.
Illinois does not have the death penalty, and the 59-year-old Peterson had faced a maximum 60-year prison term. The judge gave him four years' credit for time he has served since his arrest.
Jurors convicted Peterson in September in Kathleen Savio's 2004 death. Neighbors found the 40-year-old's body in a dry bathtub at home with a gash on her head -- her hair soaked in blood.
Peterson is also a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson -- who was 23-years-old when she vanished -- but he hasn't been charged in her case. It was her disappearance that led authorities to take another look at Savio's death and eventually reclassify it from an accident to a homicide.
Fascination nationwide with Peterson arose from speculation he sought to use his law enforcement expertise to get away with murder.
Peterson shocked the courtroom during his sentencing hearing by shouting, "I did not kill Kathleen!" as he made a statement to the court.
Someone in the court audience responded by shouting back, "Yes, you did," and the person was then removed from the room.
Earlier Thursday, Judge Edward Burmila denied a defense request to grant Peterson a retrial. Peterson's current attorneys contended his former lead attorney, Joel Brodsky, botched the initial trial.
Brodsky stepped down from the defense team in November, as his quarrel with Peterson's current lawyers worsened.
Steve Greenberg was on the trial team and still represents Peterson. Greenberg says Brodsky forced Peterson to take part in a damaging pretrial media blitz and that it was Brodsky's decision to call a witness whose testimony ended up backfiring on the defense.
Brodsky has called allegations from his former colleagues "a bald-faced lie" and insisted the entire legal team agreed on trial strategy.
A turning point at the trial came when the defense called a divorce attorney who said he spoke to Stacy Peterson before she vanished. Rather than blunting her credibility, the witness stressed to jurors that Stacy Peterson seemed to truly believe her husband killed Savio.
Before his 2009 arrest, the glib, cocky Drew Peterson seemed to taunt authorities, suggesting a "Win a Date With Drew Contest" and then, after his arrest, "Win a Conjugal Visit With Drew Contest." More recently, his story inspired a TV movie starring Rob Lowe.
The case began with a gruesome discovery. A neighbor came across Savio's body March 1, 2004. She was face down in her dry bathtub, her thick, black hair soaked in blood and a 2-inch gash was on the back of her head.
The death of the aspiring nurse was initially deemed an accident. After Stacy Peterson vanished in 2007, Savio's body was exhumed and re-examined.
Drew Peterson had divorced Savio a year before her death. His motive for killing her, prosecutors said, was fear that a pending settlement would wipe him out financially.
Peterson's personality loomed large over his 2012 trial, illustrated by crowds of bystanders gathered outside the courthouse in a circuslike atmosphere after his conviction last year, cheering as prosecutors walked by and shouting, "Loser. Loser. Loser," at defense attorneys.
The verdict was a vindication for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow and his team, who gambled by putting on a case they conceded was filled with holes.
Prosecutors suspect Peterson killed his sandy-haired fourth wife because she could finger him for Savio's death, but her body has never been found and no charges have ever been filed. Jurors weren't supposed to link her disappearance to Savio's death, and prosecutors were prohibited from mentioning the subject.
Peterson has maintained his fourth wife ran off with another man and is still alive.
Prosecutors faced enormous hurdles as they tried Peterson for Savio's death.
They had no physical evidence tying him to her death and no witnesses placing him at the scene. They were forced to rely on typically barred hearsay -- statements Savio made to others before she died and that Stacy Peterson made before she vanished. Illinois passed a hearsay law in 2008 tailored to Peterson's case, dubbed "Drew's Law," which assisted in making some the evidence admissible at Peterson's trial.
The hearsay -- any information reported by a witness not based on the witness' direct knowledge -- included a friend testifying that Savio told her Peterson once put a knife to her throat and warned her, "I could kill you and make it look like an accident."
Peterson's attorneys have said they might appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court on grounds the hearsay law is unconstitutional.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/2...w-murder-trial/?test=latestnews#ixzz2LZodx6yk
Judge sentences Drew Peterson to 38 years in prison for murder
Published February 21, 2013Associated Press
Feb. 20: In this courtroom sketch, Drew Peterson, left, sits before Will County Judge Edward Burmila as his defense team sought to convince the judge to grant him a new trial at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Ill. (AP)
JOLIET, ILL. – Drew Peterson -- the swaggering former suburban Chicago police officer who gained notoriety after his much-younger fourth wife vanished in 2007 -- was sentenced to 38 years in prison on Thursday for murdering his third wife.
Illinois does not have the death penalty, and the 59-year-old Peterson had faced a maximum 60-year prison term. The judge gave him four years' credit for time he has served since his arrest.
Jurors convicted Peterson in September in Kathleen Savio's 2004 death. Neighbors found the 40-year-old's body in a dry bathtub at home with a gash on her head -- her hair soaked in blood.
Peterson is also a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson -- who was 23-years-old when she vanished -- but he hasn't been charged in her case. It was her disappearance that led authorities to take another look at Savio's death and eventually reclassify it from an accident to a homicide.
Fascination nationwide with Peterson arose from speculation he sought to use his law enforcement expertise to get away with murder.
Peterson shocked the courtroom during his sentencing hearing by shouting, "I did not kill Kathleen!" as he made a statement to the court.
Someone in the court audience responded by shouting back, "Yes, you did," and the person was then removed from the room.
Earlier Thursday, Judge Edward Burmila denied a defense request to grant Peterson a retrial. Peterson's current attorneys contended his former lead attorney, Joel Brodsky, botched the initial trial.
Brodsky stepped down from the defense team in November, as his quarrel with Peterson's current lawyers worsened.
Steve Greenberg was on the trial team and still represents Peterson. Greenberg says Brodsky forced Peterson to take part in a damaging pretrial media blitz and that it was Brodsky's decision to call a witness whose testimony ended up backfiring on the defense.
Brodsky has called allegations from his former colleagues "a bald-faced lie" and insisted the entire legal team agreed on trial strategy.
A turning point at the trial came when the defense called a divorce attorney who said he spoke to Stacy Peterson before she vanished. Rather than blunting her credibility, the witness stressed to jurors that Stacy Peterson seemed to truly believe her husband killed Savio.
Before his 2009 arrest, the glib, cocky Drew Peterson seemed to taunt authorities, suggesting a "Win a Date With Drew Contest" and then, after his arrest, "Win a Conjugal Visit With Drew Contest." More recently, his story inspired a TV movie starring Rob Lowe.
The case began with a gruesome discovery. A neighbor came across Savio's body March 1, 2004. She was face down in her dry bathtub, her thick, black hair soaked in blood and a 2-inch gash was on the back of her head.
The death of the aspiring nurse was initially deemed an accident. After Stacy Peterson vanished in 2007, Savio's body was exhumed and re-examined.
Drew Peterson had divorced Savio a year before her death. His motive for killing her, prosecutors said, was fear that a pending settlement would wipe him out financially.
Peterson's personality loomed large over his 2012 trial, illustrated by crowds of bystanders gathered outside the courthouse in a circuslike atmosphere after his conviction last year, cheering as prosecutors walked by and shouting, "Loser. Loser. Loser," at defense attorneys.
The verdict was a vindication for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow and his team, who gambled by putting on a case they conceded was filled with holes.
Prosecutors suspect Peterson killed his sandy-haired fourth wife because she could finger him for Savio's death, but her body has never been found and no charges have ever been filed. Jurors weren't supposed to link her disappearance to Savio's death, and prosecutors were prohibited from mentioning the subject.
Peterson has maintained his fourth wife ran off with another man and is still alive.
Prosecutors faced enormous hurdles as they tried Peterson for Savio's death.
They had no physical evidence tying him to her death and no witnesses placing him at the scene. They were forced to rely on typically barred hearsay -- statements Savio made to others before she died and that Stacy Peterson made before she vanished. Illinois passed a hearsay law in 2008 tailored to Peterson's case, dubbed "Drew's Law," which assisted in making some the evidence admissible at Peterson's trial.
The hearsay -- any information reported by a witness not based on the witness' direct knowledge -- included a friend testifying that Savio told her Peterson once put a knife to her throat and warned her, "I could kill you and make it look like an accident."
Peterson's attorneys have said they might appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court on grounds the hearsay law is unconstitutional.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/2...w-murder-trial/?test=latestnews#ixzz2LZodx6yk
