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Subscribe to RSSThe judge in the Drew Peterson murder trial turned down a second request to declare a mistrial. NBCNews.com's Craig Melvin reports.
The judge in Drew Peterson's murder trial denied the defense team's request for a mistrial Thursday, enabling the trial to resume -- with first responders and a locksmith testifying about the night Peterson's third wife was discovered dead.
The mistrial ruling by Will County Judge Edward Burmila during the trial in Joliet, Ill., follows several blunders by prosecutors, who are seeking to prove the 58-year-old former police sergeant killed Kathleen Savio, in 2004. Peterson also is a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, but has not been charged in her case.
The mistrial decision came before prosecutors have even presented the most delicate of the hearsay evidence, including Savio's alleged remarks to others about Peterson threatening to kill her before her body was found in a dry bathtub at her home in Bolingbrook, Ill., a Chicago suburb.
Prosecutors alleged earlier in the week that Peterson staged Savio's death to look like an accident; the defense argues Savio died after she fell in the tub.
On Thursday, defense attorney Steven Greenberg asked paramedic Louis Oleskiewicz if he noticed a rubber mat or bath rug when he arrived on the scene, reported The Chicago Tribune.
"So you did see anything in that tub that would keep a person from slipping?" Greenberg said.
"Not that I remember seeing," he said, adding that he leaned over the tub to check for signs of life, The Tribune reported.
Robert Akin Jr., the locksmith called to open the door of Savio’s home, testified he waited downstairs with Peterson and went to sit in his truck once he heard a scream come from upstairs in the bathroom.
Savio’s divorce attorney, Harry Smith, was called next to testify, but after objections by the defense and sparring between prosecutors and Burmila over the line of questioning, prosecutors decided not to have him testify on Thursday.
They instead called Lt. Michael R. Newton, who was on the fire truck that responded to Savio’s home. Newton testified he did not see a blue towel on the bathtub edge. The towel was caught in a crime scene photo.
He said Peterson seemed upset and told him: “This is my ex-wife, treat the scene with respect.”
Judge in Drew Peterson case adjourns court early; no decision on mistrial
The defense first asked for a mistrial Wednesday, arguing the prosecution had improperly introduced evidence that could taint the jury's objectivity. Burmila gave them another option instead of a mistrial: throw out the testimony in question and tell the jury to ignore it. The defense lawyers took the rest of the day to consider their choices; on Thursday morning, they returned to court and renewed their request for a mistrial.
"So far, we have a jury that thinks that everyone is afraid of Mr. Peterson," defense attorney Steven Greenberg said, NBCChicago.com reported. "How is that fair to Mr. Peterson?"
As he arrived at the Will County, Ill., courthouse Thursday morning, Greenberg said he believed prosecutors were trying to derail the case.
"We think this was calculated," Greenberg said, according to The Tribune. "The prosecution wants to goad us into a mistrial so they can start over and they can recover from their mistakes."
But the judge said Thursday that Peterson still can get a fair trial.
A furious Burmila admonished prosecutors Wednesday after the second witness in just their second day of testimony began talking about finding a .38-caliber bullet on his driveway. Thomas Pontarelli, a former neighbor of Savio's, hinted in his testimony that Peterson may have planted it there to intimidate him.
Prosecutors later admitted under tough questioning by the judge that there was no evidence to support the claim. And Burmila wondered aloud about whether the testimony made Peterson appear menacing in jurors' eyes and undermined his ability to get a fair trial.
Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow himself nearly triggered a mistrial during his opening statement Monday when he referred to an accusation that Peterson once tried to hire a hit man for $25,000. Burmila said there was no proof of that, either, but stopped short then of declaring a mistrial.
Peterson, who was a police officer in Bolingbrook, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Savio's death. He also has said he wasn't responsible for his fourth wife's disappearance.
The legal snafus are just the latest twist in a case long plagued by problems, including a botched initial investigation that left prosecutors with no physical evidence and forced them to rely heavily on normally prohibited hearsay.
Legal experts say what has unfolded so far has damaged the case.
"It's bad news if a judge is chastising prosecutors so much, because it tells the jury, 'I don't trust this prosecutor, I don't approve of this prosecutor,'" said Marcia Clark, Los Angeles' lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. "It's a scary place to be as prosecutor."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The prosecutor is trying to make chicken salad out of chicken @!$%#.
If the prosecutor even had chicken poop, it would be more evidence than what is being presented in this case.
So far what has been presented are rumors, hearsay, innuendo, suppositions, speculation and lies. When there is no evidence and no crime, you just make it up as you go along. This is one case that should never have been brought up.
The defense team has to keep beating on each and every thing this prosecutor does. When the jury goes to deliberate (if the judge doesn't eventually throw this out) they will remember that they were lied to, repeatedly.
A conviction which is done without due process is not worth getting. The rule of law is important.
I don't know if Drew Peterson did anything to anyone, but he is being made to look guilty to many.
Come on now...The man was a Police Officer and we all know they would never lie.
This whole thing stinks. Peterson seems to be dirty as hell in all this. I mean all his wives are dying or disappearing and this guy is just unlucky? Just like Casey Anthony however, Peterson is going to walk because the prosecution's case is tissue paper. Almost pure conjecture and hearsay I wish they had just a piece of physical evidence. A miscarriage of justice but "not guilty" I'm afraid.
How can you say that? you can't see the proof from where you stand, if it went to trial and they just deny a mistrial, maybe the chicken (&*&* is you, they have proof that he kill more than one wife, and you come here with your stupid empty argument, are you a wife beater too?
I read about the case years ago......anyone who believes this man did not kill, I have beachfront property in Death Valley to sell you!
It is a shame we have a legal system in place, INSTEAD of a justice system. The courts and attorneys focus on legal maneuvering rather than finding the truth.
Letunga Tunga & Blondeness032,
You two need to read more. It's not that no one does not believe he did not do it, we all believe he did. The hanger is, they, the prosecution has 'no evidence, at all' to prove he did. Just because he has threatened, made remarks, people have heard arguments, and he has made neighbors uneasy, it is not evidence to make him a murderer. The prosecutors have jumped the 'gun' so to say, like they did in, OJ's and Casey Anthony's.
Most prosecutors are "persecutors" and are evil .... they don't give a rats ass if a person is innocent they just want to get a win .. which is a conviction at any cost ....
If they have any real evidence that this defendant killed his wife present it ... and skip the innuendos & BS ... most of us from the pre trial media publicity believe he did it ... but that doesn't count ....
PROVE IT ... or GET OFF THE STAGE!
His first wife said although he was not abusive he was controlling and possessive toward her. The second wife says he threatened to kill her. The third wife is dead mysteriously during the divorce settlement. The fourth wife is missing. Either he is the most lucky or unlucky SOB god ever created. How does one afford three ex-wifes on a cops salary? The guy is a serial cheater. To cheat on one's wife you have to be a good liar. " I did't kill my wives." Yea OK liar.
Anyone that believes they have any proof at all that is beyond reasonable doubt is an idiot. They have nothing. NOTHING. they just throw out all sorts of crap and beg it sticks. While he might very well have done it, that's not how it works, nor should it, in this country. You have to have proof for good reason, else people would be in prison for the sole reason of someone just didn't like them.
TO: Ted-803281 who wrote:
Ted, I have to disagree with you a little. They have to have something, SOMETHING, otherwise the case would have been dismissed.
The prosecutor has some kind of prima facie evidence that a jury is going to hear and decide on.
We should wait, take a look at the evidence, and then wait for the verdict.
Personally for me, I don't like this guy's attitude because so far he's acting like this whole thing is just one big joke, which I don't believe is consistent with an innocent man. His actions are more like he's committed the crime but he's also convinced himself that no one can prove it.
As a former police, he knows loop holes and cover ups and he's using them to benefit himself. I know the prosecution has little to go on but really....
He's nothing more than an arrogant egoTESTICLE killer. He's butt ugly too.
Marcia Clark has no credibility after she totally botched the OK prosecution. This judge is trying to save the case for the prosecution. This arrogant s.o.b. has killed two wives...both of these women said "if you find me dead, you will nkow he killed me"...both of them voiced their fears to others. That's enough circumstancial evidence. Also, the bruises on the body of Savio should have been evidence that he beat or knocked her down. He "stayed by the door" while the EMT's went up...the whole thing is fishy. He's a killer, and since he was a police officer, knows how to fix evidence or get rid of evidence. I hope he goes down. I wish I was prosecuting this case. But I'm not a DA.
What ever happened to no hearsay in teials? This is going to be a lynching if this guy is convicted. How will the police and all the rest fell if he is convicted of a murder they all said was an accident. They just want to get him because they cannot prove his latest wife was killed.
This arrogant s.o.b. has killed two wives
One would hope people like Nancy Grace two here never end up on a jury they are before...
He's a pig. Smirking, sure of getting off. If they don't want to find him guilty at least keep him from marrying anyone again. It never ceases to amaze me how many stupid women are out there for these criminals to ensnare. He was a detective, stands to reason he paid attention to the cases he investigated, figured it was a fun game to play. Interesting that there is a lack of evidence. Seems that the amount of wives he's had die and disapear that something would remain. Unless of course, you have friends in high places that could make ithe evidence disapear...
CBurroughs
May have disagreed last week, but today I agree with you 100%. Prosecutors from the States Attorney's Office jumped the gun on this one. Drew Peterson is as innocent as O.J. Simpson and Casey Anthony. What people don't understand is that being a bad husband, an over jealous cop who was suspended at one time and fought to get his job back, was a bully neighbor, a cheater, suffers from a huge inflated ego and has an arrogant attitude that sickens most people...it not proof of homicide.
There is "no physical evidence" in this case. And with the passing of Illinois's "Drews Law" regarding hearsay, it may stretch the limitations to allow some hearsay evidence only if the prosecutors can convince the Judge that they believe the victim was killed to prevent his or her testimony. That would open the door for hearsay evidence to be admissable from the things Stacy said to her pastor. I believe if the States Attorney's office had continued to work on the evidence regarding the barrels removed from Peterson's property after Stacy was reported "missing" they would eventually had physical evidence. And if Peterson's home at that time was treated like a "crime scene" they may have found physical evidence as well.
In homicide the stand of proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt with the preponderance of the evidence standard of fact finding on questions regarding physical evidence". Where there is no physical evidence, how can that standard be met by a jury? As Marcia Clark stated "it's a scary place to be as a prosecutor".
Amazing how the armchair lawyers are out in force on this one. The case hasn't even been presented and you are all saying what the outcome will be. Let the case be presented before you judge one way or the other.
@American Girl
"You can indict a ham sandwich."
Just put him in general population for a few days and save the taxpayers some money.
Well, I can see already that this will be another O.J. Simpson trial scenario.....only this scum Peterson will be getting away with two murders instead of one. I can only hope that someday Stacey's dissappearance will come back to haunt him with evidence that she was murdered by him, too! I dislike seeing his picture with that smirk he always has on his face. He is laughing at all of us and his defense team has joined in his "fun".
Actually Joyce, OJ also got away with two murders. At least if they acquit Peterson of this murder they will still be able to try him for Stacy's murder if they ever come up with the evidence.
Joyce: "Well, I can see already that this will be another O.J. Simpson trial scenario.....only this scum Peterson will be getting away with two murders instead of one."
Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman... How soon we forget
debbereye: how about just a little bit of evidence ? Maybe even proof that Stacey Peterson is dead ?
@dirp - Stacey Peterson IS dead. If she just ran off with another man as Drew said, why hasn't she come back? Why let her children and family suffer just to me with a man? If is doesn't make sense, its probably not true. Evidence will eventually turn up, but even without it, we know he killed her.
Realistic: I'm sure the prosecutor will be in touch with you soon. Apparently knowledge such as you have is all that he needs to put someone on trial. That's all he's needed so far. That, a few rumors, lies, hearsay, innuendo and lies.
I'm dead! Oh Drew, what have you done?
OJ wasn't even tried in all reality, it was a joke on our justice system where attorneys were allowed to play their game & the forcasted rioters were pacified when the media & Justice system put the police on trial instead of OJ. The evidence was all there & the likes of Jessie Jacksons crying racism instead of justice. No race card to be played here, all wifes & perp are white.
Evidence she's dead please. Any at all? Her not being around isn't evidence at all. Then from there (if you find her body) prove he did it. If you cannot then you cannot prosecute. Some times the bad guys get away with it. We don't throw people in jail who we don't have proof on. It far worth the injustice because otherwise the injustice would be people that didn't do anything getting thrown in jail. That is far worse than a murderer going free.
dirp: (does that rhyme with burp?) You must not have read my whole comment. I said:
"if they acquit Peterson of this murder they will still be able to try him for Stacy's murder if they ever come up with the evidence."
Just skimming the comments won't qualify you to fire off a reply that is obviously not very well thought out.
For the record, I do believe he killed them both. The circumstantial evidence is enough for me to believe that.
@Ted
Lynch mobs don't need no stinkin' evidence....we just know he did it, look at all these other posts, they can't all be wrong can they? Besides, even if he is innocent it must be God's will that he is on trial. I just don't understand why we're wasting all this money supporting him while he watches tv in jail and I gotta work, why can't we just string him up like we did in the good old days.
This guy has gone through 4 marriages with, what, 2 dead/missing wives? Just look at his face...he's pretty sure he'll get away with it and probably will. Once he's back out on the street I'm sure justice will be done. Any woman with half a brain would run screaming from this murderer. Too bad his wives didn't run fast enough!
The scumbag had the same disdainful smirk on his face as he was trying to convice viewers on tv that his fourth wife had run away with aother man, leaving behind 2 very young children. Maybe one of his chums in prison will re-arrange that ugly smirk...including the baggy eyes.
Yeah, we need to convict all the ugly people !!!!
Thank God.Do not set this man free to kill again.He has to many time all ready.
Why doesn't someone do everyone a favor and just take this scumbag out? Save the people of Illinois the $$$ it is costing the taxpayers to prosecute this lying, murdering POS!
@cookykamp
Why don't the constitutionality challenged who are apparently clueless when it comes to the constitutional rights we all have just STFU and go back to sleep. Better yet, move to a country without these rights....just because they don't value them doesn't mean I don't. This prosecutor is an idiot and incompetent. Don't believe it, see how this farce of a trial turns out.... which will also wind up being a disservice to Savio's family, just like the OJ trial wound up being to the Brown and Goldman families.
I agree with Dirp.............We are hitting dangerous waters if we go and try to convict someone on little or no evidence. The rule of law IS important!
Here is my question.....it took so long for this to go to trial....and the prosecution have squat. What were they doing all this time?
By the way I would ove to slap that flippin smirk off of Peterson's face.
What was the prosecution doing all this time? Sandbagging.
If I remember correctly, when Peterson's 4th wife, Stacey, disappeared they started looking into his past wives. When they got to thinking about how Kathleen was found dead in a dry bathtub and the coroner ruled it a drowning they thought, gee, maybe there's foul play here...ya think? So they exhumed her, did another autopsy and decided it was murder. I guess we'll just have to wait for wife #5's murder before we can put this piece of crap away forever.
No, by then he'll just be even more adept at hiding the body and coming up with stories. Sometimes all you have is circumstantial evidence, behavior, and conjecture. The rule of law states that a person needs to be found guilty BEYOND a reasonable doubt. That doesn't mean NO doubt. If you're on the jury and you are able to hear all of the details, and you come to the conclusion that he's likely guilty, what do you do? Maybe you have a little doubt because there's no 'hard' evidence, but just because someone is very knowledgeable about how to hide a body or make it dissolve (lyme, anyone?), does that mean you're not guilty? I don't think so.
The standard is to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The presumption is that you are innocent. The prosecutor has to prove otherwise, usually with facts and evidence.
In this case, we have a prosecutor who is lying, prosecution witnesses who are lying. No evidence that a crime has even taken place.
What I have seen of Drew Peterson does not make me want him to be my neighbor. However, I have a real problem allowing the state to throw people into jail just because they are not likeable.
Oh would I love to wipe that grin off his face!!!
Me too , only I'd use a shovel !!
Right, and if he was wearing a frown you would say he has the look of a cold blooded KILLER. Same thing happened to Scott Peterson, smiling in court. If you look worried and distraught you are obviously guilty, and if you look confident and at ease you are undoubtably guilty. How would you look? Which face would YOU put on for your MUG shot?? Hmmmmmnnn...I dont now if he really did it or not and niether do you. It sickens me to think of a cop getting off clean for a murder, and also for a man going to jail because the media has tried him already. He is no different than George Zimmerman, OJ Simpson, Scott Peterson, Casey Anthony, Mike Goodwin, etc. Either way it shows that the justice system if flawed. I guess Amanda Knox was lucky she was convicted in Italy.
Peterson should join forces with Casey Anthony's smirking attorney, Jose Baez. Their joint arrogance could move mountains; of course, the mountains would move out of utter disgust!
Don't worry, it always comes back to Karma, ie;[OJ Simpson} . He will probably get off this time but will screw up again & be put away or taken care of by some other misfortune. What goes around , comes around . So keep smirking u little piece of sh*% ...
It's pretty clear that a mistrial will have to be declared. As for women running from this POS, not likely. There are women that dig psychopaths like him.
There is not enough envidence to convict him,he will marry again and kill again, go free again because he has no conscience.
If the neighbor saw a bullet on the driveway, let him say it! That's why they are witnesses for the PROSECUTION! Each sides witnesses say what they know as they are under oath duh!
Troy from Omaha,
The Judge can not let him testify about the bullet, the Prosecution can not place the bullet in Drew's possession at any time. Therefore it can not be entered as evidence, anyone could have placed it there, threw it out of a moving vehicle or such.
CBurroughs--BUT..what are the chances that a bullet thrown from a random vehicle onto a random driveway just happens to be the same caliber of ones used for Peterson's dept.-issued gun???? And..Drew was the ONLY police officer and/or detective in the WHOLE neighborhood. And...it just happened to land on the driveway of a neighbor who Drew was pissed off at for him helping Drew's exwife????? Way too many coincidences surrounding this POS. Just by Drew's actions these past several years- who can put it past him to do just that?? Put a bullet in someone's driveway to intimidate them??? No one with COMMON SENSE.
tss
Mr. Pontarelli never filed a police report regarding the .38 caliber bullet he said he found laying in his driveway. There was no investigation to prove it was the same caliber of the weapon (then) Sgt Peterson carried. There was absolutely no evidence to show that the bullet came from his gun. I do believe that Mr. Pontarelli did in fact find a bullet placed in his driveway and most likely it was put there by this poor excuse of a human being, but it is hearsay....not evidence. No report to police at the time, only told to investigators well-after the fact. When the judge asked the State's prosecutor if he had evidence it was a bullet from Drew Peterson, the prosecutor directly told the judge "No Sir". Knowing something for sure and proving something for sure are very different. Sometimes common sense has nothing to do with evidence and sometimes, unfortunately, neither does the justice system.
So much money being spent on this trial and the defendant just loving every minute of it. This is an example of our broken justice system and his lawyers are taking full advantage of while he make jokes with everybody he comes in contact with. It's past time for this murderer to get what he should have gotten long ago, a life sentence or the death sentence. If that doesn't happen then set him free and he will test the system once more.
I guess we can always set him free, wait to see if he gets married again and if that wife disappears as well, maybe they will bother with some competent police work.
It seems the prosecutor isn't qualified to try a guy like this and the police botched up the evidence as they did in the OJ Simpson case.Im not going to judge this guy , but some thing is wrong when he has so many wives die or dissapear. They need to find better evidence against him if they want a conviction.
This turd will self-destruct. Even if he's found "not-guilty" (I didn't say innocent), they will nail him for something else (example: OJ). When they wantcha, they will getcha! It's just a matter of time.
If they can't find evidence for a crime that you may have committed, they'll make up a crime for what evidence they do have. The prosecutor and police actually did try to do that against Peterson. They attempted to have him tried for having a weapon that for a police officer is legal, but for anyone else is not legal. Then the Oak Brook police chief decided he didn't like his son Steven, so he went after him and fired him.
Best bet for all involved would be to change their names and move to another state.
Let the S.O.B. rot in prison!
this man, if you dare call him that, gives police and law enforcment a bad name, he should have been killed on the spot, rather than spend millions on a trial, defense, jail time...its a shame that god lets people like this enter the human race!! ! ! and maybe if it wasnt in the fruit and nuts capital of the united states, he would have... maybe we should give him to sheriff joe in arizona????
Sometimes, the monsters get it easier than they should so that the rest of us don't get it any harsher than we should.
If we started killing people on the spot for being suspicious, there'd be a whole lot more Trayvon Martin-esque shootings.
You are so right, I mean, just look at him. He's gotta be guilty. We have to kill all the people who just simply look guilty !!!
They need to advertise it, charge admission and HANG THE BASTARD!!!!!
I fear that this POS will walk. The prosecution is messing up too early in the case and I don't like this hearsay evidence. Even if Peterson is convicted, it will be thrown out on appeal. He's go free and find some stupid young woman to make his next victim. This is making me sick.
Like a lot of people here I am sick of seeing this guy's smug look on his face and the way he has drawn this out to be a theatrical performance for years. I do think he is guilty as hell - but thinking it and proving it are two different things. I think some character witnesses should be allowed but again that wont convict him. However I do believe with his huge ego that if he gets off on this murder he will be cocky enough to see if he can engage the police and law by doing something else. Afteralll this is a game for him. I do believe that sometimes justice is slow but it is not blind and what goes around comes around and he will get his in the end but I sure hope it doesnt mean that another person will have to be murdered to find justice. I believe that underneath his cockiness is a terrible temper and I think he got a bit of a shock in court yesterday when the witness said what he said hopefully wiping that smirk off his face for even 10 minutes. We will see his true colours - it is just a matter of when.
I can never figure out why a woman would lower herself to be wife 3,4,5 or whatever. This creep is so full of himself he knows they can't pin #4 on him, no body on crime, sound familiar? Even when they find a body it is usually so long after death the bottom feeder lawyers will say can't prove how they die, like CA, drowned and then made it look like a murder yeah thats is as good as drowned in a dry bathtub. But of course it has been proven that juries will forego all evidence and decide a case on whether they like the defense attorney more than the prosecutor. Hopefully these jurors have more brains than the CA or OJ jury. What is it with the name Peterson, this is like the 3or 4th man with that last name that likes to kill his wife. The Mrs. Petersons out there better beware it seems to be a very unlucky name.
that smug dirtbag is guilty even if a jury doesn't convict him but i really, really hope they do.
There is no evidence - what's hard to understand about that?! Why do we continually hear of someone brought to trial for reasons of (feminist) political correctness, and on the basis of suspicions - suspicions generated by gossip. Good lord, people, living under a legal system like this is like going out on Texas highways - there is no damned way to know what anyone else is going to do.
You know alot of people will disagree with me but i dont give a S..t,i hope he walks out a free man and does a cart wheel out of jail(which the only reason he is there because of a weapon he had that was illegal as a civilian and not as a cop)when the verdict comes back NOT GUILTY.The whole reason this is even coming out of my pocket(tax payers to pay for this B.S.),Is because prosicutors cant find the body of stacy and they have no evidence,an are being pressured by people to find this guy guilty.Although he probably did do it they are really pulling out crappy ways of doing it on my dime.Im also sure being cocky about it dont help,but this shouldnt be a personal thing for the government on my dime.They didnt go out of there way this much for O.J. Simson.Relax people im not making it a racial thing im just saying.We ALL NOW carma got O.J. in the end.
What's with all the 'respect' this POS is getting in court? They are calling him "Sergeant'. They're laughing with him. Making jokes. The locksmith (who, I don't think, helped the def. in his testimony, so far) said to Drew: Nice tie, Drew. (Laughter among those in court ensued) WHAT???? Why is that kind of 'brotherhood' allowed in the court in front of the jurors?????