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Will County Sheriff's Office / AP, file
The trial of former Illinois police officer Drew Peterson, who was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the drowning death of his former wife Kathleen Savio, is set to begin Tuesday.
Almost five years after the disappearance of his fourth wife, former Illinois police officer Drew Peterson will go on trial Tuesday for the murder of his third wife.
A jury of seven men and five women will hear opening arguments in the long-delayed trial on whether Peterson, 58, killed his then-wife Kathleen Savio in 2004 and made it look like an accident.
Savio, 40, was found dead in a dry bathtub on March 1, 2004. Officials ruled the death an accidental drowning until Savio’s body was exhumed as part of their investigation. They eventually changed the cause of her death from an accident to homicide and charged Peterson with murder.
Jury selection in the high-profile case was completed last week.
"You will hear the story of Drew Peterson from beginning to end," lead defense attorney Joel Brodsky told reporters last week. "We will show that the state's theory is implausible at best."
Peterson, who was a sergeant in the Bolingbrook, Ill., police department, was in the middle of a bitter divorce from Savio and had already begun seeing Stacy Peterson at the time of Savio’s death. Prosecutors argue Peterson killed Savio because he feared their divorce settlement would wipe him out financially, the Associated Press reported. Prosecutors are expected to call their first witnesses Tuesday .
Stacy Peterson vanished in 2007. Her body has never been found, but authorities believe she is dead and have named Peterson a suspect. He contends the 23-year-old mother of two ran off with another man, which Stacy’s family vehemently disputes.
The jury is likely to hear statements that Savio and Stacy Peterson allegedly made to friends and relatives about threats from Peterson -- hearsay testimony that is usually barred in court proceedings.
Peterson, who has been in jail since he was charged with Savio's murder in 2009, denies wrongdoing in both Savio's murder and Stacy Peterson's disappearance.
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This trial is going to be a clusterffffkkk! The evidence is quite barren or closer to non-existent. There's a lot of innuendo and circumstantial information. I would guess that the jury will have to vote not guilty. But the mainstream news media has already convicted Peterson. If NG is the verdict, the media will now have to figuratively execute the jurors for disagreeing with news journalists. And the jurors will come back and sue every news outlet that attacks them for millions of dollars. And the ACLU will be forced to call for the shutdown of the news media for lying scumbag subversion of the US Justice System. And people will get cheap body parts from news journalists ..... is that a fairy tale or a prediction.
They dug up the body and found she was murdered. The only person with a motive was her soon to be ex. I don't think he will be found NG, if it's a trial by jury. I'm surprised to see they picked that over trial by judge.
odds (judge /jury)
and I like your handle credo
civil acts of disobedience
I'll blunt to that
I agree that he will probably walk and I hope he walks if all they have is "hearsay" evidence to present to a jury. We are starting to see an alarming trend in this country of people going to trial based on circumstantial evidence based on hunches by overreaching or eager prosecutors being driven by public or political pressure.
It's all fine and dandy when the defendants are found not guilty. Oh except for the part that their lives have been ruined by the media exposure and they have been bankrupted trying to defend themselves.
The justice department is getting away with some very questionable conduct lately. Remember that they could do it to you or one of your loved ones some day. It's time to get back to burden of proof and trying cases on facts. If we keep allowing crap cases lie this go to trial it won't be long before they start skipping trials altogether and just send you to the can because the dictators say you are guilty.
Barren to non-existent evidence? Do you even know anything about the case? There is plenty of evidence to support murder by DP. Him being a cop was the reason it wasn't investigated as a murder in the first place even though many had suspicions that the "drowning" story didn't make sense.
Question for SayWhat..One wife is found to have been murdered and the husband had motive and opportunity and the last wife with whom he was cheating while still married to wife #3 is now missing and he wants us to believe that she ran off and left not only him, but her 2 children. Do you see a pattern here or what? If he is found innocent I hope that all women are warned that he is out and about again. Hope that all women avoid him like the plague with his history of having been married 4 times. Regardless of his innocence or guilt he is bad husband material.
I just want to know...where are wives #1 and #2???
wait a cop on trial? wow. the cop and his boss must of not got along with each other. either that or its cuz the victim is a women. if he killed another man he would be on paid vacation. the jury will find him not guilty anyway. ill take bets.
Saywhat, Just how many wives have you misplaced. An overwhelming percentage of married guys have never lost one due to other than natural causes and this guy has lost two under very suspicious circumstances. Granted it's not evidence of any kind, but it does get some to wondering if he's a mite too careless with his wives.
huh?
Jurors are generally not smart enough to determine reasonable doubt, hard evidence or hearsay. They vote from an emotional state, therefore this guy will be found quilty.
Bullet, now days the "criteria" that jurors are forced to go by, are designed to ferret out those ignorant of court jargon and procedures.......Let's just say if he walks, I won't be shocked. Right triumphing over evil is the exception now days----not the norm....
It would be tough for me to be caught alone with him, woman or guy.
even for a murdererer this guy is thoroughly unlikable. RIghtly or wrongly this atttribute will not serve him welll in his trial.
If they could not convict Casey Anthony, they surely will not be able to convict this guy. There is even less evidence here than the other case. I am sure he did it or had something to do with it. Noone has 2 wives die in a three year period without being involved in there deaths. He was a cop and knew how to get away with it. Problem is proving it.
They have more evidence in this case then in Casey Antony's, they have where and how she died but not who killed her, I don't think he will be convicted.
Ron, I don't believe that the prosecution could prove how or where Caylee died and that was why the jury had to acquit Ms. Anthony. Prosecutors sometimes get too cocky and go after a charge that is difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
atleast hes on trial. whens the last time you heard a cop on trial? the cop and his boss must of not got along so this cop is in trouble. my question is if he killed another man like his son or someone i bet there would be no charges, instead a paid vacation. he only got charges cuz the victim was a women and his wife.
They have a body...wife number 3 was exhumed and her death ruled homiced, so they have evidence. it is wife #4 they have nothing but his trial is for wife #3. He is guilty I knew it then and I know it now. I hope the Jurys find him GUILTY and loick him away in an IL prison, he will get what is deserved...ASh wife #1 & #2 they will tell you he was violent and controlling. So evidence is not sercomstantial. He said she drowned in a dry bathtub and the other cops rolled with it, why not? He is a cop right...why investigate. He messed up when number 4 disappeared and I am quite sure he had everythign to do with that as well.
I don't know this guy or any of his ex.'s but how could he not be found quilty. I just wish there was someway to make him tell where wife number 4 body is. I know how to get the information from him but they would never let me do it. I personally agree that it is OK to convict on circumstantial evidence if it is strong enough, I mean very strong and as long as the person has had competent council. Things just don't look good for this fella.
The guys a PIG!!! He killed her and the Stacy Peterson!!! He thinks he's slick, But he will be called out for what he's done!!! PIG!! And thats being nice..
@Cindy: Please don't insult pigs! This guy is the most disgusting, smug, narcissistic piece of trash on the face of the earth and I hope they lock him away forever. He knew that since he got away with murder once, he could get away with it again with Stacey. I remember him flaunting his notoriety after Stacey disappeared because he knew he wouldn't get caught even to the point of finding a new young girl he thought he would control. How many more women will lose their lives if this guy goes free?!
I wish everyone would remember that, even if found not guilty, it does not mean that person did not commit the crime! I.e. 'not guilty by reason of insanity'. And, as in the case of Crazy Anthony, just because the prosecution could not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt does not mean that more evidence was not there at the time of the murder, it just disintegrated over time. She was able to cover her tracks and send the police on a wild goose chase to kill time. I am not a fan of the judicial system by far (sorry the CRIMINAL JUSTICE system, screw the victims!) but to say that the authorities are always on a witch hunt (the Peterson & Anthony cases) PLEASE remember the Powell case where there was ABSOLUTELY no justice and the cops dropped the ball. It makes me sick to think about that case and the fact that the perv father/in law knows what happened and can't be forced to confess!
Unfortunately, Cindy, "emotion" does not convict---or Casey Anthony would be 6 feet under about now....
they jury needed a brain at Casey Anthony's trial. These idiots let a murderer free because they didnt actually see Casey kill her daughter .
Beyond a reasonable doubt , there was no reasonable doubt.
You have lost your mind if you believe that both of Peterson's wives died both with insurance pay offs one investigated by Drew himself and given a pass by a fellow officer on the coroners jury.
She was already his Ex. He might have killed her but, with the evidence they have now i would have to vote Not Guilty.
But, the first problem with that is that you don't have all the evidence and you would be "voting" with ignorance at this point.
I love how flippant people are. Eh, yeah, he probably killed her. But it don't matter cause he was crafty.
That's the main thing I've noticed....just look at Peterson's face---it says loud and clear, "Not only did I kill all of my wives, but NONE of you will ever be able to prove it!" The arrogance in his eyes is staggering...
Judging from his mug shot, he should definitely be convicted of being a smug, arrogant, SOB.
Kingpin -- I wrote much the same thing before I was able to read your post. Maybe I read your mind ...
of course I see that also
and dumb ass it is to have an attitude while taking your mug shot
(and knowing they'll use that image)
or
he knows
McDonald's eyebrows too.
That POS knows he got away with murder, for now. You can see it in his eyes. Sickening individual. Don't worry, justice will be served, all in good time.
We don't yet know what evidence exists -- smart prosecutors don't divulge that information until the trial, and even though they must disclose it to the defense, his attorneys certainly are not going to give it to the media. Personally, I think he'd have a better chance with a jury if he didn't sport that arrogant, smug grin!
IN support of filings of charges each DA HAS TO SHOW CAUSE WHY A PERSON SHOULD STAND TRIAL. If it was a grand jury then proof of guilt must be shown. As soon as the charges were filed the DA must show his cards within days, Its called disclosure. Prosecutors get caught not disclosing everything and you know what judges do to D.A.s when they do that? 1/2 the time the charges are dropped.
They don't have to disclose anything to the press and I doubt they have or would.
First of all he is a retired cop not an ex cop. Semantics right. Just dont like things being twisted. I have watched, listened and read as much about this as a person can. I dont see the proof that he did it. If we as a nation allow the government to put people in prison WITHOUT PROOF we are going to be in for a really rough ride. We are approaching a Police State and if we give them the right to convict without proof none of us will be safe from corrupt DAs and policemen. The wording goes like this "Proof beyond a reasonable doubt".
The subject of that sentence is Proof, not reasonable doubt. If there is NO PROOF then we should not be bringing this to trial. Having a motive is not proof, having the opportunity is Not Proof. Its time to say..... Just the facts maam, just the facts.
if you "did" something , you wouldnt be mad and staying mad
not say
I said do
.
.
by your own admission you can see"the wording"
how can I say
dont mean @!$%#
.
theres your proof
We all hope that your not railroaded some day. Say the word. Proof. My username was chosen because I see a lot of malaise in this country. THings happen to us and we dont have the sticktuitiveness to get the necessary changes to hold. The Planners, killers, and those covering up JFK have never been brought to justice, why? Because we dont stay mad long enough to get it done.
the smashed skull of the woman he will go on trial for murdering might argue with your point just a little. Drew Peterson is showing "sticktuitveness", don't you think? He's been so smug and arrogant from day one. I've seen almost every interview he's given. Oh, and the 4th wife... ran off with another man. Hasn't contacted her family even though she may know he's in custody and can't get to her. Yeah right. Dream on. There's some proof right there. She would be out of "hiding" by now and with her children, unless, she's dead too.
@ pototbabou, your entire meaning and thought was scrambled in your formatting. If you have something to say, just say it....without being fancy. What we got was nothing shy of 100% babbling....
She was found dead in a DRY bathtub and they called it an accidental drowning? Hmmm, somebody explain that one!!!!
First of all its not proof of guilt that Drew Peterson. Anyone knows that tubs dont hold water forever. A leak test done on the drain stop would solve this question. When she fell she could have dislodged the drain lever. Its just not definitive enough to say that Drew Peterson killed his wife. I want to see proof that he did it. If not let him go. I dont want the government railroading anyone. Period.
She was perfectly dry too, including her hair. If you are a girl, you know that can take hours.
Getsmad: did she "fall" and hit her head on a cast iron tub? Most big tubs are acrylic. She could have gotten a goose egg from an acrylic tub, possible concussion from a cast iron one, but, she's been exhumed and examined and it's confirmed she was murdered....my guess is by a man who can't seem to keep up with his wives or soon to be ex-wives. I can't remember now, where, but i did read that he confided in someone before her death that she was taking everything he had. Don't you think Stacy, wife#4 would have contacted her family by now if she just ran off with another man? Too many coincidences in this man's life with dead and missing wives. Put 2 and 2 together and move on. Only types of people I can see defending this bastard are abusers themselves.
My thoughts exactly!!
I just hope they put his first wife on the stand to testify to his character. It sounds like she's still afraid of him and the son they had together. The son who hid his guns and has subsequently lost his job as a police officer.
I didn't know anything about the son, was he in the same community as pop and was hiding guns the reason for his downfall as a cop??? Just interested to know.
I wouldn't say there's no evidence, it will be a matter of if some of it is allowed or hearsay. Stacy confided in her priest that Drew had admitted to her that he killed Kathleen Savio. Unfortunately since she's "missing", they may never hear that, but under the circumstances, hopefully, they'll allow it. Also, if they could get the brother-in-law to talk - they may be able to charge him with Stacy's disappearance. For those of you not familiar with the story, the brother-in-law of Drew Petersen admitted to police that he helped Drew move a "heavy, blue drum or barrel" from the home right after Stacy's disappearance. Shortly after sharing that, he suffered a nervous breakdown and was unable to further help police. Illinois police looked in the rivers for weeks to find a barrel that matched that description and did in fact find one, but nothing was inside. For those who think Stacy actually ran away with another man, that's ridiculous. No mother would leave her children with a man she deemed as a murderer, as told to her priest. No mention here either of the fact that Drew started dating Stacy when she was 16 years old? Statutory rape anyone? The guy is a pig.
He's worse than a pig.
We can call him an ignorant MF all we want, but if the DA can't convict---he walks.... So far, all anyone can really prove is that he's a complete A$$hole, but there's no law against that.....if there was, half of America would be indicted....
I thought Drew's brother committed suicide shortly after he helped with the blue drum. I'm gonna have to read up on that story again. Or maybe he tried to?
One thing I'll say is Peterson must be quite a salesman.
Can you just hear the call
"Hey Dude - need help moving a barrel out of the bedroom"
Whats in the Barrel?
Who knows the wife left it.
Just help me get it into the truck.....
I don't know about you...but I would have insisted in looking in the barrel.
Allowing junk science such as hair analysis, bite marks and fiber evidence into a courtroom is bad enough but to allow heresay evidence is even worse. Convicting someone based on he said/she said testimony, which takes away a defendant's ability to confront the dead/missing person who allegedly made such statements, is inherently unfair. Regardless, the sixth amendment of the U.S. Constitution doesn't give a defendant the right to cross examine an accuser but rather restricts the government from preventing a defendant from confronting his accuser. What most Americans don't realize is that the U.S. Constitution was not written to protect U.S. citizens. It was written to restrict the power of the government over the people. The only U.S. entity that has power that can't be checked by the U.S. Constitution is the U.S. Supreme Court and the only way to deal with that is impeachment, which is highly unlikely. A new amendment to the constitution that expressly gives a defendant the right to confront his accuser would have to be passed.
Prosecutors getting a conviction without the evidence to back up such a conviction is nothing new. It happens all the time.
Keep watching for the mothership.
Wife #4... tell me he is innocent:RE: :Rick Mims, Peterson's long-time friend, has admitted that Drew Peterson and Mims bought three blue containers from a cable company where they both worked part-time in 2003, and has provided photos of the containers to police. Mims had also sold his story to the tabloids for an undisclosed sum of money. Peterson's stepbrother, Thomas Morphey, who has a history of drug and alcohol addiction, attempted suicide two days after allegedly helping Drew carry a large blue plastic container from Peterson's Bolingbrook home to his sport utility vehicle, fearing he may have helped dispose of the body of Stacy Peterson. Neighbors reported seeing Peterson and another man hauling a 55-gallon barrel, large enough to hold a person, out of the house shortly after Stacy's disappearance. Cassandra Cales, Stacy's sister, said she wanted Drew Peterson to take a lie detector test about his knowledge of a blue barrel or container that she said she saw in their garage two days before Stacy disappeared. Joel Brodsky, Peterson's attorney, has denied any container is missing from the home. There were also reports of truckers referring to the containers, but their stories were treated as not credible, after it was found they were not in the Bolingbrook area at the times they claimed.
What is it with the "Peterson's"? Drew and Scot.....murderers......must be the name.
I forgot about this piece of s--t. Kill him
How many of Peterson's wives have to die before he is stopped... This guy is like the Teflon Don! I hope he win's a date with the electric chair. Lethal injection is far to kind! His wive's didn't get the choice, why should he! They just got to lose their lives, for making the unfortunate decision of sleeping with a homicidal maniac!
You wouldn't want me on your jury Drew, I would vote to sizzle your a$$!!!!! No tricky lawyering would stop me from doing it either!
ssssszzzzzzzttttt...
If you did other than the judge "instructed" you to do (and it was proven), the rap on you would be contempt......being a juror is not as simple as it may seem....though I understand your outrage....
white cop white jury...hmm just send him home save the tax payers money next case.
meworld, that explains OJ being sent home. Black athlete, black jury.
@pixie1 their have been thousands of black men wrongly convicted by white jurys in this country. the situation was so bad several governors had to release them from prison because DNA evidence showed they could not have done the crime. and for you to reach for an OJ case that is over 20 years old lets me know you dont have very much to support your argument. heres something for you when are they going to convict someone for the thousands of hangings done by the KKK in this country.
@ meworld "white cop white jury...hmm just send him home save the tax payers money next case."
Such are the "whinings" of the true racists in America...
Well, that explains Obama's utter disdain for this country and why he's hell-bent on bringing it to it's knees.
Ps; I found out my direct ancestor was William the Conqueror but much later 1600s...William Bradford penal colonist became 2nd governor of Massachusetts. HELL, that ought to qualify me as a shoe-in for President!
While I DO have the lineage paperwork to prove it, I'd like to see such documentation to back up this "first-slave" statement. I'm not asking for his birth certificate...
Wrong Story...
To my understanding, Obamanever made that claim. It was researched by ancestry.com/geneaology and confirmed through DNA. But what does that have to do with the Peterson story?
This piece of sh!t is a con artist. He will do his best to con the jurors. I so hope they put this creep away forever. Better yet, release him into General Pop! They will have just too much fun with him. He can play "Daddy" for a day. Then, LIGHTS OUT.
I did here one of his missing wives might be in a sealed drum.
Honestly, my heart goes out to the children. Can't even imagine what they must be going thru.
I think hes guilty, but im not sure they can prove it. Hopefully they have what they need to convince the jury hes a murderer..
I too don't know what factual proof they have of him. If he walks, I don't see him alive on the streets for long. He might as will hook up with Casey Anthony (sp). Appears they have lots in common.
This guy did it ! He knows it and most of us who use our gut/intuition know it. Far to arrogant and casual about the entire thing. He LOVED his 15 minutes of fame. Did one interview with his "next girlfriend" holding her hand. Young, impressionable and looked oh so similiar to the missing/dead women. Finally, this girl's father stepped in and ended that "romance". He likes them young because no woman his age would ever let his crap walk!
He is a legend in his own mind and the way he throws off testosterone....Women around him must faint-LOL. How many times has this guy married? 3-4?? Now what about those red flags does a woman not get? But he is a charmer....no his is a social predator and woman are his challenge and his conquest. Nothing new about that, but most men that enjoy that "game" do not kill.
I don't care if he gets off, because he will end up in the same NO WHERE land that Casey Anthony lives in. No one cares, no one needs another interview or a book deal....he is a dried up walnut of a man and NOBODY will care.
Many people in this country are wrongfully accused and jailed and that makes me sick. But, there are many that walk away on a technicality or just good lying and that makes me sicker! His judgement will come on another level, after he hits the dirt nap. Which, I am sure, is a long long way off.
I totally agree with you. But what really pulls these young girls in is the money he flaunts and throws around (don't know where he got it, though) and most likely empty promises. Most women his own age are not impressed by that trivial stuff-he can probably only reel in the young ones who don't know better until it's too late. I knew he had a new young gf, and kudos to her father for putting an end to it (of course if he gets out of jail, nothing says it won't start up again, unless she's moved on with someone else), but I hadn't heard about that part. I hope he's convicted. but if not, it's a very scary thought that he might get custody of Staci and his children. I fear for them.
Wipe him out financially is what the lawyers want. Lopsided family laws created by lawyers to garnish money from the greedy side (wife) to the destitute side (husband). Family law does the same thing with child custody. Awarding the mother custody 90% of the time with no valid reason leaving the father and his children without each other. I can understand these things happening and wonder why there are not more suspicious deaths.
The lawyers profit from lopsided family laws to the tune of over a BILLION dollars a year industry. It keeps them employed. Lawyers and family law judges are bottom of the ocean scum.
Even if they can't prove it I'm glad this POS has spent the past few years in jail awaiting trial. Hope he gets to experience a lot more of that.
Agreed. Also hope he's wiped out financially!
I believe that this person is guilty. You have to know when to stop. Savio dies, then the other wife disappears and no one from her family has not heard from her since. But now to the legal side. If the system is unfair to one american it can be unfair to all americans. Since when during a criminal trial is hearsay testimony ever allowed. That is bullsh.. and unfair.
You are probably right Smitty, but I hate like h3ll that this monster might walk free. It's just too hard to believe that wife #4 abandoned her kids and ran off with another man. The only way I can see that is if she did and then was regretful and wanted to return home and the other guy killed her. I just can't believe #4 is out there working in her rose garden, ignoring her family and friends, people just don't do that.
Regardless if he gets convicted. His life is pretty much over. Maybe some media deals here and there, but there has already been a Lifetime movie. He will always have the stigma that he did kill them. As a result of both, likely never have any sort of job again. Including McDonalds.
I don't think there has ever been a more vile and disgusting Human being than this guy. To even call him Human is an insult to normal Humans.