Drew Peterson Update

Another a**hole I haven't updated on is Drew Peterson. Boy does he piss me off. His court process is even slower than Casey Anthony's, too much bickering and neogotiations, not enough progress in getting through any real actual trial. Here are a few things on him that I dug up:

Is Stacy Peterson Dead?
BOLINGBROOK, Ill., Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The disappearance of Stacy Peterson, the fourth wife of a former Bolingbrook, Ill., police sergeant, remains a potential homicide three years later, police say.

Peterson was 23 when she disappeared Oct. 28, 2007, shortly after telling her church pastor her husband, Drew Walter Peterson -- once named the Bolingbrook Police Department's "Police Officer of the Year" -- had killed his third wife and she feared for her own safety.

Stacy Peterson's sister, Cassandra Cales, reported Stacy missing after failing to hear from her. Cales told police she suspected Drew Peterson had killed her sister, just like she believed he killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio, found drowned in a dry bathtub March 1, 2004.

Drew Peterson, now 56, proclaimed his innocence and claimed Stacy had left him for another man.

He was indicted in Savio's death May 7, 2009, with bail set at $20 million.

As he was arrested, Peterson joked, "I guess I should have returned those library books."

Peterson has been in near-solitary confinement for a year and a half while an appellate court decides what hearsay evidence can be used against him at trial.

His lawyer, Joel Brodsky, told The (Joliet, Ill.) Herald-News he doubted the state would charge Peterson with Stacy's death.

"If (prosecutors) can't convict Drew Peterson on the stronger case, they won't charge him with the weak one," Brodsky said.

State attorney's office spokesman Charles B. Pelkie told the newspaper he could not comment on any plans to indict Drew Peterson in Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

Peterson says his wife accidentally fired gun, not him
BOLINGBROOK (AP) — Former police officer Drew Peterson acknowledges a gun did go off in his home a few months before his wife disappeared but says it was his wife and not him who pulled the trigger.

Responding to a claim by his sister-in-law that Peterson fired a gun, with the bullet almost striking his wife, Peterson told the Chicago Tribune that his wife accidentally fired the gun he’d bought her as a gift.

“She had a fascination with guns,” he said of Stacy Peterson. “I bought her a Glock for Valentine’s (Day) — because nothing says I love you like a Glock. That was our joke.”

Stacy Peterson, 23, vanished in late October and her husband, a 53-year-old former police sergeant in the Bolingbrook Police Department has been named a suspect in her disappearance. Investigators say they believe the case may be a homicide.

Drew Peterson’s story is a direct conflict with the account of Cassandra Cales, Stacy Peterson’s sister.

Bolingbrook police Lt. Ken Teppel said that on Oct. 29, hours after Cales reported her sister missing, she and her father met with Police Chief Ray McGury. He said she told the chief that Drew Peterson was in an upstairs bedroom when the gun went off. Teppel said Cales told the chief that the bullet pierced the bedroom floor and struck the garage floor near where Stacy was pulling a soda from a refrigerator.

Teppel said McGury encouraged Cales report the account to Illinois State Police.

Drew Peterson suggested Stacy Peterson fabricated the story reported to Cales because “she was embarrassed about it.”

But Stacy Peterson’s family spokeswoman, Pamela Bosco, called Peterson’s explanation “idiotic” and said Cales stands by her account of what happened.

Judge says Drew Peterson’s property must be returned
JOLIET (AP) — A Will County judge says investigators must return to Drew Peterson all items seized from his home within 30 days.

The investigators took the property -- including guns and computers -- in November as they investigated the disappearance of Peterson’s wife, Stacy.

Judge Richard Schoenstedt made the ruling during a morning hearing. The only condition is that Peterson must agree not to challenge the validity of photographs of the property or documents related to them at any future trial.

The former Bolingbrook police officer has been named a suspect in Stacy Peterson’s October disappearance. He hasn’t been charged with any crime and denies having anything to do with her disappearance.

Pathologist: Peterson's ex-wife didn't die in fall
JOLIET – A pathologist who concluded that the death of Drew Peterson's ex-wife was a homicide and not an accident as first determined testified Friday that her injuries weren't consistent with a fall in a bathtub.

Dr. Larry Blum, in his first public comments since the 2007 autopsy of Kathleen Savio, said he didn't think bruises on her body and a laceration to the back of her head came from a single fall. Savio's body was found slumped forward in a dry bathtub in 2004, and Blum said that her position wasn't consistent with a fall in the tub.

Blum said Savio did drown but her death was not accidental, as another pathologist initially found.

"It was my opinion that it was a homicide," Blum said.

Peterson, a 56-year-old former Bolingbrook police officer, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of his third wife, Savio. Her body was exhumed in 2007 following the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. Drew Peterson has not been charged in Stacy Peterson's disappearance, but authorities say he is a suspect.

Blum's findings will be at the center of the courtroom battle between Will County prosecutors and Peterson's attorneys, who argue that Savio's death was accidental.

Blum testified at a hearing to determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed at Peterson's upcoming trial. Hearsay, or statements not based on the direct knowledge of a witness, usually isn't admissible in court. But Illinois judges can allow it in murder trials if prosecutors prove a defendant may have killed a witness to prevent him or her from testifying.
There's little available forensic evidence in Savio's case, so prosecutors are expected to rely on statements Savio allegedly made to others saying she feared Peterson could kill her.

Blum, who said he laid down in Savio's tub as part of his investigation, testified the injury to the back of Savio's head may have been made shortly after her death and not as a result of a fall. He also pointed to a wound in the area of Savio's diaphragm as one that wouldn't have been caused in a fall.

"The bruise was deep, down to the bone," he said.

He also agreed with Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow's suggestion that the diaphragm injury might have been caused by what Glasgow called a "bear hug."

Blum also testified that Savio had no measurable drugs or alcohol in her system when she died — an effort to head off the argument defense attorneys have raised that perhaps Savio was in a condition that would have made a fall more likely.

Earlier in the day, Mary Parks, who studied nursing with Savio, testified about a day in late 2003 when Savio showed her red marks on her neck and told her Peterson made them.

"She told me her ex-husband had come into the house and had pinned her down," Parks testified.

Parks said Savio told her that during the incident Peterson told Savio, "Why don't you just die?"

She also said that Savio told her Peterson was intent on leaving her with nothing in the couple's divorce — but that even leaving her without any money, a share of the business the two owned, child support or custody of their two sons wouldn't have been enough for him.

"Kathy was very sure that if she gave up every cent ... that her ex-husband still would not leave her alone," Parks said.

Parks said she contacted prosecutors after Savio was found dead but was told there was no investigation into the case.

Supreme Court: Peterson Stays in Jail

(WLS) -- Drew Peterson will remain in jail after the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a request he be released while his case is on appeal.

Peterson's attorneys now plan to take the case for his release to federal court.

The defense has argued that Peterson should be freed while the Will County state's attorney appeals a judge's decision barring key hearsay evidence in his trial for the 2004 murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Savio's death was first ruled an accidental drowning but was reclassified as a homicide several years later.

Stacy Peterson Search Fruitless

Chicagoist- Calling it a search based on "a jailhouse tip," authorities conducted a search for the remains of Stacy Peterson near a farm in Peoria yesterday afternoon.

But after a full day of searching, the investigation has, so far, come up empty-handed. David Alwan, on who's property the search was conducted, told the Tribune, "They had pretty solid leads with specific coordinates."

Authorities do not consider Alwan connected to the case. Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Tom Burek told the press, "I don't want to stand here and tell you this is the magical lead that's going to solve the case. ... Like any lead we hope that it has a positive outcome. ... I don't want to allude to (the idea that) we're looking for a body. We're looking for evidence of a crime based on this lead that we have."

Will County Sheriff's spokesman Pat Barry said his office was unaware of such a tip and that Drew Peterson has been held in solitary confinement. Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky called it a publicity stunt aimed at hurting Peterson's image ahead of his trial for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, scheduled to start in early July: "They're trying to dirty up the defendant with an irrelevant search.

It's a despicable tactic." By yesterday evening, after 12 hours of searching, Sgt. Burek said, “We’ve exhausted the digging portion [of the search] with the anthropologist," and announced they had no plans to pick up the search today. Burek did note, though, that they would return to the area soon: "We are pursuing some other avenues in reference to this lead and we will be back in this area."

Volunteers Search Pond For Sign of Stacy Peterson

(BOLINGBROOK, Ill.) (WLS) -- Volunteers searched a southwest suburban Bolingbrook pond last Wednesday in hopes of finding clues to the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.

Wednesday's effort was organized by Stacy's sister, Cassandra Cales. Police were not involved in the search near Weber Road and Boughton.

Nothing was found.

Stacy Peterson disappeared in October 2007. Authorities are calling her husband Drew Peterson a suspect.

Drew Peterson is being held on $20 million bond in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. That case is set to go on trial in June.

Peterson Defense Gets 3 New Lawyers

April 29, 2010 (WLS) -- Drew Peterson has three new attorneys as he prepares for his murder trial.

Chicago defense attorneys Steven Greenberg, Ralph Meczyk and Darryl Goldberg are joining Peterson's defense team, which includes Joel Brodsky, his partner Reem Odeh and Chicago defense attorney Joseph Lopez.

Peterson is charged with murdering his third wife Kathleen Savio in 2004. The trial is scheduled to begin in June.

June 14 Start Planned for Drew Peterson Trial

JOLIET, Ill. -- A Will County judge has ordered that jury selection begin June 14 in the murder trial of former Bolingbrook police officer Drew Peterson.

Judge Stephen White set the date Tuesday. In August, White called about 240 potential jurors to the courthouse to fill out questionnaires and tell them to avoid any media reports about the case - in an effort to protect the potential jury pool.

Peterson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the 2004 death of his ex-wife, Kathleen Savio. He's been named a suspect but isn't charged in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. He denies any involvement in her disappearance.

The judge still has to decide if he'll allow the jury at Drew Peterson's trial to hear hearsay evidence - statements attributed to Savio and Stacy Peterson.

Hearsay Hearing for Drew Peterson Comes to an End

JOLIET, Ill. -- 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 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."

The former Bolingbrook police sergeant is charged with Savio's death, but no charges have been filed in Stacy Peterson's disappearance. Friday's closing statements marked the first time they said outright they believe he killed Stacy Peterson.

The unprecedented hearing is easily the most extensive use of a state law allowing a judge to admit hearsay evidence in first-degree murder cases if prosecutors can prove a defendant may have killed a witness to prevent him or her from testifying. The law was passed after authorities named Peterson a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy, then exhumed Savio's body and reopened her death investigation.

The statements that prosecutors want Judge Stephen White to admit as testimony are those in which the women allegedly expressed to friends and family that they were afraid Peterson would kill them.

Prosecutors want friends and relatives of Savio to be allowed to testify about a threat she described, in which Peterson reportedly held a knife to her throat and allegedly told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident. They also want the judge to allow a friend of Stacy Peterson to testify Peterson had told her he killed Savio.

Defense attorneys argued that many of the statements shouldn't be admitted. For example, they pointed to statements Savio gave police after the alleged knife incident in which Savio never said Peterson had a knife.

"She describes things the way she wants in order to make people feel sorry for her," said Andrew Abood, saying Savio wasn't a credible witness.

White also must consider testimony from three pathologists. They all agreed Savio drowned, but two - including Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner who testified Friday - contended Savio's death was a homicide. The other pathologist backed the original finding that her death was an accident.

Throughout the hearing, it became clear 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 his 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.

Stepbrother: Drew Indicated He'd Kill Wife Stacy

January 21, 2010 (JOLIET, Ill.) (WLS) -- There was some dramatic testimony Thursday during the hearing to determine if hearsay evidence can be used against Drew Peterson.

A key witness, Thomas Morphey, told the court Peterson talked about killing his fourth wife, Stacy. Morphey, Peterson's stepbrother, also described how Peterson may have disposed of the body.

Peterson has not been charged with Stacy's murder. But he is charged with the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

This hearsay hearing is about the murder case of Kathleen Savio, but the majority of the testimony Thursday was about Stacy Peterson and what may have happened to her the weekend she disappeared.

Morphey trusted and looked up to his stepbrother Drew Peterson until, Morphey says, he became scared to death of the former Bolingbrook cop. In a pre-trial hearsay hearing, 42-year-old Morphey detailed the conversations and interactions he had with Peterson the weekend that Stacy Peterson disappeared.

One day before Peterson's fourth wife was reported missing, Morphey testified that Peterson took him on a drive to a park. On the way, Morphey said, "Drew asked me, 'How much do you love me?' I said, 'I do'. He said, 'Enough to kill for me?' I said, 'I always assumed you killed Kathleen.' He said, 'I would never kill Kathleen. She was a good mother'."

"We've always said that from the beginning of this case that Mr. Morphey has very serious credibility issues. That's becoming apparent," said Joel Brodsky, Peterson attorney.

Brodsky says Morphey's admitted history of mental illness and alcohol problems do not make him a credible witness. Despite that, Morphey calmly testified that the day before Stacy went missing, Peterson told him she wanted a divorce and was kicking him out of their Bolingbrook home. Morphey said, "He told me he planned to do something to Stacy."

Morphey said both men discussed renting a storage unit where Peterson wanted to store an air airtight container for six months until he could dispose of it. The following night, the same night Stacy was reported missing, Morphey was inside Peterson's home. Morphey said Peterson walked out of his master bedroom and "he had a large barrel-like container...he had me grab an end, he grabbed the other end. It felt warm."

Morphey testified that Peterson drove him home and said, " 'This never happened.' I said, 'I will not tell a soul' ."

Under cross-examination, Morphey was asked why he never called 911 during that time, specifically on that Sunday, and Morphey answered that he was afraid Drew Peterson would shoot him because Drew always carried a weapon.

Morphey testified that he never saw what was inside that blue barrel, but based on the conversations he had with Peterson that Saturday and the events that took place Sunday, he is assuming that it was Stacy Peterson's body in the blue barrel.

Later in the afternoon, testimony turned back to Kathleen Savio. Peterson's oldest son, Eric, testified that he saw his dad physically abuse Savio in the early 1990s.

Drew Peterson Adds Joliet Lawyer to His Defense Team

Associated Press- Another attorney has joined the criminal defense team for Drew Peterson, who is accused of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

George Lenard, of the Chicago suburb of Joliet, has practiced law for more than two decades.

Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky says Lenard has been consulting with the defense team for months and brings experience.

Peterson is being held on 20 million bail in Will County on charges that he killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2004.

Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, has been missing since October 2007.

Peterson has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Private Autopsy: Ex-cop's Third Wife Fought Killer

(CNN) -- The private forensic pathologist who conducted an autopsy on Drew Peterson's third wife affirmed the official findings that ruled the death a homicide, a copy of the autopsy report shows.

The report, obtained by CNN legal analyst Lisa Bloom, was written by noted pathologist Dr. Michael Baden. He conducted a third autopsy on the body of Kathleen Savio at the request of Savio's family in November 2007.

Peterson, a former Bolingbrook, Illinois, police sergeant, pleaded not guilty May 22 to a charge of first-degree murder in Savio's 2004 death.

The initial autopsy report concluded that she died as the result of an accidental drowning.

Savio was found in the bathtub in her home with a bloody gash on the back of her head; at the time she and Peterson were going through a bitter divorce.

But investigators took another look at the case after Peterson was named as a suspect in the October 28, 2007, disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

Savio's body was exhumed on November 13, 2007, and state pathologist Dr. Larry Blum performed a second autopsy. Three days later, Baden conducted another autopsy on behalf of Savio's family.

Baden's report cited Blum's findings of a 1-inch blunt-force laceration on the back of her head, five scraping abrasions and six blunt-force black-and-blue bruises on her extremities, abdomen and buttock.

Baden also noted that even though the body was partially decomposed, "bruises and contusions caused by blunt force injuries shortly before death" were still visible on the right breast, the upper right thigh and the abdomen.

The severity of those injuries, Baden said in his report, indicated a struggle. See a timeline of the case »

"It is my opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that the drowning of Ms. Savio ... should be properly classified as a homicide," the pathologist concluded.

The Will County, Illinois, prosecutor announced in February 2008 that the findings of the second autopsy, conducted by Blum, provided the basis to classify the case as a homicide.

Peterson has denied any wrongdoing in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy, who was 23 when she was last seen.

The former police sergeant remains in jail, awaiting trial on the first-degree murder charge in Savio's death.

Peterson Trial Witness List: 805 People

June 26, 2009: JOLIET — Saying Drew Peterson's attorneys were attempting to simplify disclosure evidence into "CliffsNotes," prosecutors thwarted the bid Thursday but will have to pare an 805-witness list down to the 50 most likely to testify.

John Connor, the chief of the major crime unit for the state's attorney, countered an eight-point motion from Peterson's defense team that would help the accused wife-killer's lawyers more easily navigate the thousands of pages of discovery evidence.

"I think what the counsel is asking us to do is give them CliffsNotes on this," Connor said, referring to the study guides that simplify books for students.

One of Peterson's attorneys, Joel Brodsky, argued that the first-degree murder indictment against Peterson was too vague.

He wanted prosecutors to provide detailed descriptions of such matters as how Peterson allegedly drowned his third wife, Kathleen Savio; whether he used any weapons or tools to kill her; exactly where and when the alleged 2004 murder occurred; and how Peterson may have gained entry to her home.

"Was it a key?" Brodsky asked. "Was it, 'Beam me up, Scotty'?"

Connor countered that all of the information Brodsky is entitled to can be found in the discovery evidence already handed over by prosecutors. But Brodsky said it was too much for him and Peterson's other attorneys to sift through.

Judge Stephen White denied all the requests in Brodsky's motion, but did tell Connor to come up with an approximate time Savio was last seen alive and about when her body was found.

Brodsky also took issue with the 805 men and women listed as possible witnesses against Peterson. Connor is supposed to come up with the 50 most likely to testify by July 10, but was not forbidden from calling the remaining 755 at trial, which is scheduled to start Aug. 24.

White also shot down Brodsky's request for Peterson to take possession of the evidence against him while he is in jail. White said Peterson could review the evidence in the presence of his attorneys, who have been granted unlimited jailhouse visits with their client.

Brodsky also asked whether three key witnesses against Peterson were compensated by the state police.

Brodsky named Peterson's former friends Len Wawczak and Paula Stark, who clandestinely recorded their conversations with Peterson for seven months at the behest of the state police, and Peterson's stepbrother, Thomas Morphey, who claims to have helped Peterson dispose of the body of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, in October 2007, as the witnesses he suspects may have profited from their statements.

Brodsky asked whether Stark, Wawczak or Morphey were paid money or given consideration in regard to criminal charges that may have faced them.

White said this issue would be resolved July 10.

Drew Peterson's Bid to Reduce Bail Rejected

A state appellate court has turned down Drew Peterson's bid to lower his $20 million bail on charges he murdered his third wife, his attorneys said Saturday.

The 3rd District Appellate Court was not persuaded by arguments that Peterson's deep roots in Bolingbrook and lack of a criminal record called for a lower bail. The $20 million bail was set May 7, the day Peterson was arrested for the 2004 murder of Kathleen Savio.

Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, is missing. On May 22, another Will County judge denied Peterson's attempt to lower his bail to less than $1 million. Peterson's attorneys indicated they may try again. "We are also confident that as the weakness of the state's case is exposed over the following weeks and months we will have another opportunity to ask for a reduction in bond," attorney Joel Brodsky said in a statement. (source)

Judge Puts Leash on Media Hound Drew Peterson in Wife's Murder Case

Fox News - A judge on Wednesday prohibited murder suspect Drew Peterson, a notorious media hound, from contacting anyone except people on a court-approved list of family, friends and attorneys -- jailhouse restrictions in response to Peterson's recent phone call to a Chicago talk radio show.

Will County Judge Stephen White ordered Peterson's lawyers to give him the phone numbers of family, friends and attorneys who Peterson calls. If Peterson wants to call someone who is not on the list, he must notify the jail and get the judge's approval.

The judge issued specific guidelines to Peterson's attorneys on pre-trial publicity and media interviews, asking that the lawyers inform the judge of any pre-arranged media interviews and supply him with copies of any press releases sent out on the case.

Drew Peterson Calls Radio Show to Joke From Jail

May 27th: CHICAGO (AP) -- Drew Peterson has broadcast his trademark -- and seemingly inappropriate -- sense of humor live from jail.

The former cop, suspected in his third wife's death, called collect to WLS Radio's Mancow & Cassidy show on Wednesday and offered snippets of a comedy routine he's working on.

Peterson, who once proposed a "Win a Date With Drew" contest, offered a jail version called "Win a Conjugal Visit with Drew."

He also joked about prison showers, his legal fees and his "bling" handcuffs, saying humor is how he deals with stress.

Peterson is being held on $20 million bond on charges of first-degree murder in Kathleen Savio's death. He's also a suspect in his fourth wife Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

Peterson denies any wrongdoing.

Drew Peterson Judge Replaced For A Second Time

For the second time, the judge in the Drew Peterson murder case has been replaced.

Will County Chief Judge Gerald Kinney on Monday assigned the case to Circuit Judge Stephen White. The move was in response to the defense's motion for a judge other than Carla Alessio Policandriotes. Kinney said he found that the defense's motion "does appear to meet the criteria."

Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, didn't specify why he wanted a different judge. Earlier, State's Atty. James Glasgow, who is prosecuting the case, said in court he didn't oppose the motion, saying it is "a statutory right."

Policandriotes handled a small part of the 2002 divorce case between Peterson and Kathleen Savio, signing an early order setting child support and awarding Savio temporary custody of their children.

Peterson is alleged to have killed Savio in 2004 after they had divorced but before financial and other matters had been settled.

Peterson has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutor: Peterson Tried to Hire Hit Man

(CNN) -- Prosecutors alleged Friday that Drew Peterson tried to hire a hitman to kill his third wife, Kathleen Savio, a spokesman for the Will County, Illinois, state attorney said.

State's Attorney James Glasgow said during a bail reduction hearing Friday that Peterson tried to solicit a hitman for $25,000 to kill Savio, press secretary Charles Pelkie said.

Peterson has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in Savio's death.

New Judge Assigned to Peterson Case

A new judge has been appointed in the murder case against former Illinois police officer Drew Peterson.

Will County Chief Judge Gerald Kinney on Thursday appointed Carla J. Alessio-Policandriotes (pahl-ee-KAN'-dree-oh-tihs) to oversee the case.

Earlier this week, the state's attorney had asked that Judge Richard Schoenstedt (SHAYN'-stehd) be removed, on the grounds of bias against the state.

Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky challenged that motion. On Thursday, Brodsky initially said in court that he would ask that that new judge be replaced, too, but he later withdrew that request.

Peterson is charged with first-degree murder in the 2004 drowning of Kathleen Savio. Her death was initially ruled an accident but was reopened after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared in 2007. (source)

Remains Found Near Homes of Missing Women

(CNN) -- An autopsy was being conducted Thursday on remains found on the bank of a river less than 30 miles from the homes of two missing Illinois women.

The "partial skeletal remains" were found on the south bank of the Des Plaines River near Channahon, Illinois, said a recording on the Will County, Illinois, coroner's media line. They were found by a marine cleanup crew, the recording said. Authorities have not said whether the remains were thought to be those of a male or female.

Illinois State Police were on the scene Thursday conducting additional searches, spokesman Sgt. Tom Burek said.

Channahon is 20 miles from Bolingbrook, Illinois, where Stacy Peterson lived with her husband, former police officer Drew Peterson.
Watch police uncover skeletal remains »

Stacy Peterson disappeared in October 2007. Her husband has been named a suspect in her disappearance, but he has maintained his innocence, saying she left him for another man.

Stacy Peterson, 23 when she was last seen, was Drew Peterson's fourth wife. This month, Drew Peterson, 55, was indicted on murder charges in the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, while the two were in the midst of a nasty divorce. He has pleaded not guilty.

Savio's death was originally deemed an accident, but authorities took a second look at the case after Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

Channahon is also 15 miles from Plainfield, Illinois, where Lisa Stebic was last seen in April 2007.

On the day she went missing, she petitioned a court to have her husband, Craig, evicted from their Plainfield home. Craig Stebic told police he was working in the backyard when his 37-year-old wife left home about 6 p.m., taking her cell phone and purse.

Authorities have said they believe that Lisa Stebic was the victim of foul play and have named Craig Stebic a suspect.

Peterson Shocker: Pleads Not Guilty

CHICAGO - UPDATE: Drew Peterson formally entered a plea of not guilty this morning on charges that he murdered his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Meanwhile, prosecutors have asked for a new judge to be assigned to the case. The hearing currently is in recess.

Drew Peterson is scheduled to be arraigned this morning on charges he murdered his third wife five years ago. But the major issue at that hearing is whether he will get his bond reduced.

The arraignment at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet had been delayed because Peterson's lead attorney, Joel Brodsky, was doing a series of media interviews in New York, proclaiming his client's innocence, the day after Peterson was arrested on a Bolingbrook street.

As with all murder defendants at arraignment, the former Bolingbrook police officer will plead not guilty. But the major news to come out of his court appearance will focus on whether a Will County judge will lower Peterson's $20 million bail.

That bail has kept Peterson in jail since his arrest May 7. He has been unable to post the 10 percent--or $2 million--needed to gain his freedom pending trial.

Brodsky has said he will move to get Peterson's bail reduced to somewhere between $100,000 and $500,000. He asserts Peterson isn't a flight risk, saying that if was going to flee, he would have done so long ago.

An attorney representing Savio's estate said he opposes any bail reduction because any assets Peterson may use to post bail are ones that Savio's estate likely has its own claim on. Savio's estate filed a wrongful death suit against Peterson in April.

It's not known if prosecutors today, in opposing bail reduction, will reveal any evidence they have against Peterson. Brodsky has characterized the prosecution's case as "a weak, circumstantial case at best."

At trial, prosecutors are expected to rely on a new Illinois statute -- one that Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow sought for months and that some call Drew's Law -- to allow Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, to "testify from beyond the grave." Peterson's defense team has vowed to challenge the law -- which would allow a judge to admit certain hearsay evidence into court -- as unconstitutional.

Savio, was found drowned in an empty bathtub in her Bolingbrook home five years ago. Her death at that time was ruled accidental, but prosecutors reopened the case following the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, in October 2007.

Another autopsy ruled Savio's death a homicide. At the time of her death, the couple was in the process of divorcing. The divorce threatened to strip Peterson of substantial assets.

Peterson has denied any involvement in Stacy's disappearance and has not been charged in that case.

Move Could Signal Stacy Peterson Investigation Is Nearing An End

[Photo from Chicago Tribune: Thomas Morphey (left), Drew Peterson's stepbrother, and Lenny Wawczak, an ex-acquaintance of Peterson's]

Tribune staff report --->I yanked this from prairiechicken blog though!
May 15, 2009
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Three potentially key witnesses in the cases against Drew Peterson appeared Thursday before the same special grand jury that returned a murder indictment last week against the former Bolingbrook police sergeant in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
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The grand jury is still investigating the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy. Thomas Morphey, Lenny Wawczak and Paula Stark all entered the Will County Court Annex Building, where the grand jury has been meeting for 18 months. They declined to comment.
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But their appearance could signal the end of the investigation into Stacy's disappearance. They were expected to be the last witnesses called to testify, sources said. The grand jury's term expires May 21. If the jury does not return an indictment, State's Atty. James Glasgow could continue the investigation with another panel.
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Morphey, Peterson's stepbrother, has alleged he helped Peterson move Stacy's body in a blue container from their Bolingbrook home Oct. 28, 2007, the day she disappeared. He described the container as heavy and warm to the touch.
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Wawczak and Stark, former acquaintances of Peterson's, have claimed they secretly recorded Peterson last year for the state police.
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Peterson's neighbor and friend Steve Carcerano also appeared before the grand jury. He was one of the neighbors who discovered Savio's body and has defended Peterson. It is at least the second time he has been called to testify.