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Subscribe to RSSAn Illinois jury finds the former cop guilty of murdering his third wife. NBC's Chris Clackum reports.
JOLIET, Ill. — A jury on Thursday found Drew Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in the 2004 drowning death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
There were loud gasps in the courtroom as the verdict was delivered.
Peterson, a former Chicago-area police sergeant, sat stoically and did not react, and then was cuffed and led away from the courtroom.
When Savio was found dead in a bathtub, the death was initially ruled accidental. The 2007 disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, raised suspicions.
Read more about the case at NBCChicago.com
Little physical evidence linked Peterson to Savio's death, and the prosecution's case relied heavily on testimony from people who said Peterson threatened Savio, tried to hire a hit man and warned he could make her death look like an accident.
A seven-man, five-woman Will County jury spent about 14 hours deliberating over whether to convict Peterson on a case based solely on hearsay and circumstantial evidence. In the end, the words of Savio’s friends, family and close relations were enough to convince them of his guilt.
Outside the courthouse, people cheered, NBC station WMAQ of Chicago reported.
Former police sergeant Drew Peterson in booking photograph released by the Will County Sheriff's Office on May 8, 2009.
"This is better than the White Sox winning the World Series," Savio's brother, Nick Savio, said through tears outside the courthouse.
"We got the bastard," Savio’s brother-in-law, Mitch Doman, said as he left the courtroom, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Peterson "will never be able to hurt another woman again," Pam Bosco, spokeswoman for the family of Stacy Peterson, said outside the courtroom, the Sun-Times reported.
Bosco said the verdict is partial justice for Stacy Peterson because statements she made before vanishing were heard in the courtroom through testimony of other witnesses at the trial.
AFP - Getty Images file
Drew Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Ann Peterson, who has been missing since 2007. It was her mysterious disappearance that prompted state prosecutors to pursue charges against Drew Peterson in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder on Thursday.
Hearsay, or a statement not based on the direct knowledge of a witness, isn't usually admissible in court, but Illinois passed a law in 2008, dubbed "Drew's Law," that allowed it in rare circumstances.
Related content:
Savio family: 'Stacy, you are now next for justice'
So what happened to Stacy Peterson?
Peterson and Savio were divorced a year before her death. Prosecutors argued that his motive for killing her was fear that a pending settlement in the split would wipe him out financially.
Throughout five weeks of testimony, jurors heard of Savio's purported conversations with family and friends about threats Peterson allegedly made against her. In one, Savio said Peterson once held her captive at knife-point in her own home. In another, she said her husband told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident. Another witness said Savio was so fearful of Peterson that she slept with a knife beneath her bed.
Jurors also heard the purported words of Stacy Peterson through the testimony of divorce attorney, Harry Smith, who spoke to her by phone just days before she vanished.
Her body has not been found and no charges have been filed in connection with her disappearance.
M. Spencer Green / AP
Marcia Savio, step-mother of Kathleen Savio cries outside the Will County Courthouse after word that Drew Peterson was found guilty of murdering his third wife Kathleen Savio. She is accompanied by Kathleen Savio's half-brother Nicholas Savio.
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Judge Edward Burmila barred any mention of Stacy's disappearance during the trial and it was unclear what the jury, which was ordered to avoid media coverage of the case for nearly two years, knew about her or the fact that she's still not surfaced.
It's not immediately clear how much credence jurors gave to the forensic testimony given by a bevy of pathologists. State witnesses were adamant Savio's death was a homicide. Defense witnesses said precisely the opposite.
Peterson now faces a maximum 60 years in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 26. It's not immediately clear if Burmila will take into account the nearly three years Peterson has already spent in jail awaiting trial.
Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow speaks outside an Illinois courthouse, where Drew Peterson was found guilty of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
See previous NBC News stories on the case
Whatever the sentence, it could be cut drastically shorter if appeals promised by his defense team are upheld by a higher court. The trial was threatened three times by a mistrial after prosecutorial missteps, errors Peterson's legal team will no doubt attempt to exploit.
Speaking to reporters after the trial, Defense Attorney Joel Brodsky promised an appeal.
"Believe me, there's several world-class appellate lawyers that are just waiting to get their teeth into this case," he said.
State's Attorney James Glasgow also spoke to reporters, saying that prosecutors would "aggresively review" the disappearance of Stacy Peterson and potentially pursue additional charges against Peterson.
A legal analyst on NBC Chicago said that the prosecutors would, at a minimum, likely use the fourth wife's disappearance in its argument for more jail time at Drew Peterson's sentencing hearing scheduled for Nov. 26.
During the trial, jurors displayed unity by color-coordinating or otherwise matching their attire. It was business attire on one day; sports jerseys on another. Bewildered court observers searched for meaning in the choices.
After the trial, Peterson jurors did not immediately speak to the public, but issued a statement read by Will County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ken Kaupas saying they believe they took their responsibility with "solemnity" and "diligence" and "we have reached a decision that was just."
NBC News staff and Reuters contributed to this report by BJ Lutz of NBCChicago.com.
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You'd think society would have caught on after the second wife.
Mistrial. Jury stupidity.
Updated at 3:45 p.m. ET: A jury has found Drew Peterson guilty of both counts of first-degree murder in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, The Associated Press reported from the Chicago courtroom on Thursday.
I guess the questions are answered.
Thank goodness! Peterson not only killed his third wife, he killed his fourth wife too! I lived in Chicago the last twenty years and we got the news reports almost daily for awhile.
There is no question but what he killed both wives. He is such an arrogant guy. He thought he would easily get away with the murders due to his being a police officer.
A lot of the police officers in Chicago and suburbs should be behind bars. They are worse than the criminals they don't bother to apprehend.
Right, Joan, The man is a serial killer. He's no better than Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. He needs to go to jail for the rest of his life and then burn in hell for eternity after that.
May this monstrous serial wife killer be dispatched to hell, from whence he came, soon.
POS was found guilty. Quick verdicts almost always return a guilty verdict. I have a feeling the Jury was playing a serious head game with Petersen. Pay back for his disrespectful behavior during the Trial. I bet his head is spinning like a cheap Top. Maybe he'll hang himself tonight and save the Tax payers some money.
well What a stupid question!!! hahaha oh well..one thing the jury did get right.. this slime bag was GUILTY! May he rot in jail.. I guess Stacy's justice will have to be second hand justice. I pity the poor children left behind and picking up the pieces this man has left. God bless his son who is raising his other two kids. May Ms. Savio and Stacy rest in peace knowing he is getting what he deserves..finally!
OMG, my apologies jury! Good job!! Way to go. Casey Anthony jury....TAKE NOTE!!!!!!!!
Good one, thanks for the laugh! Question, though, didn't she wash up on the beaches with all the rats after Isaac?
Good! They got it right! It won't bring back the wives he murdered, but he won't get away with it!
Look, I believe the guy is guilty as sin, but this will and must be overturned! The legislature passed a law just to convict Petersen, undoing a hundred years of law relating to hearsay evidence. No way on earth an appeals court will let this stand. It is unconstitutional. But again, no doubt in my mind this guy killed his wives. But we are a better country than this. We convict with evidence, not hearsay and double hearsay from someone who is dead!
The double heresay confession from Drew (through Stacy to the divorce lawyer) was likely the key evidence that changed the tide. However, it was brought in by the DEFENSE, not the Prosecution, therefore, no appeal on that issue. An appeal cannot be done because laws were changed. If said law were followed in the courtroom, then it's legal. Heresay commonly has exceptions that bring it in because the circumstances provide reliability to the communication.
He needs to be sentenced to a slow painful death!
It's about time the damn legal system gets it right!
Good thing that jury wasn't to smart..they might of realize it wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Oh well..they got it correct still..Bye Bye killer.
Mike, that fact that he was convicted means it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Just becuase you may not agree does not establish a reasonable doubt. Only the jury gets to decide that. I guess the jury didnt realize that you were more reasonable than they were.
Justice was served!
Untill someone stands up and says You are Guilty , Then You would be the first to Cry Justice was not Servd....No evadence and no profe ..wheres the justice ..someone said so ? ..Everyone could be next Maby you ...Be weary what you pray for ....Frank Blackstone
Geez, were you on the jury? You seem just the type of semi-literate individual to ask the definition of "unaminous", as someone above wrote.
Good. He's obviously guilty as sin. Now maybe this will wipe that smug grin off his face. Too bad Illinois doesn't have a death penalty.
I don't care how it went down- that man needs to be in prison..chances for appeal- pretty excellent- in a few years!
He can appeal all he wants, but his happy a** will still be in jail where it belongs.
Don't know what some of you are talking about, but this guy was guilty as hell and I don't understand how anybody can see otherwise. How many wives ended up dead? Now some of you seem to think that it was just bad luck or coincidence? NO it was murder! He's no Sandusky but i think he's not going to enjoy himself in the pokey. They tend to not like ex cops in places like jail houses.
Two things they hate in prisons...child killers..and ex- police officers.
Angelo, I don't think anyone has a problem with the guilty verdict, but just with the fact that the jurors had to ask what the definition of "unanimous" is.
Well that shows you just what shape our educational system is in this country doesn't it?
I work in law and I can tell you that some of the jury instructions can be quite complex. I'm not sure I'd know my own name after trying to figure some of them out. I think what happened in the Casey Anthony trial is the jurors just couldn't figure out the charges, so she got off and maybe the reverse is true in this case. I do think this slime is guilty as he** but he'll appeal this for the next three decades at least.
I agree with this. I was on a jury and at the end of the trial we were handed a series of instructions on how to go about the process which resembled more of a cook book approach.
So, I could understand why Casey Anthony was cleared.
The jury room just isn't 12 people sitting around a table discussing the issue. There are steps that the jury needs to follow which is why surprising verdicts result.
I'm very happy the system worked in this case.
Unanimous Washington? He used to play basketball for Seton Hall.
Yes, the jury is dumb as hell when it comes to their vocabulary, but at least they were smart enough to find that POS guilty. I hope he rots in jail for the rest of his miserable life.
I'll drink to that...!
Just to be devils advocate for 10 seconds... maybe the (il)logic behind the question was: do they all have to agree on BOTH counts. Possibly they were unanimous on one count and somehow split on one count. So they were asking the judge if they had to return an "all or nothing" verdict. Maybe??
I'm just in denial that an adult would ask "what does unanimous mean".
Carry on.
First time I have seen true justice in a long time, it is also called COMMON SENSES
How shocking.
Must be the "token" guilty cop for the next 10 or so years. Now all the other crooked cops can get off or get substantially lesser charges now that they have this "sacrifice."
I can certainly beleive it , Someone else says youre Guilty the Prosicuter agrees and the Juruy agrees So people go to Prison beceause someone said there guilty , No evadence required , Typicaly Amerikan Justice systenm , This is the reason I was never invited to be on a Jury , Im the last person they ever want , Prove it or get screwd and No one was ever going to brw beat me into going along with what they thought ..Like so many Jurrers ..They dont have the Guts to disagree with the one votes himself in charge of the others...It Is sad this amerikan justice system of convicting with no evedance or profe of Guilt...Sick sick sick //
Frank I think the reason you weren't invited to be on a jury is that you're ignorant. If you're going to write posts for everyone to see, you need to use spellcheck because the mistakes in your grammar and your spelling make you sound really stupid.
Lacybell sounds rather childish to me " Spelling and grammer were not the subject mater I was talking about So if you cant read it , too bloody bad ...