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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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Leave a Comment:
OK, so he may have done it. I might even think he probably did do it. But as a member of the jury I'm not entitled to that presumption. I have to presume he's innocent until the prosecution proves otherwise.
...and for them to do so, absent any physical evidence or direct testimony-- based solely on hearsay-- is an outrage that strikes at the legal protections enjoyed by every single one of us. It deprives the accused of due process because his lawyers don't get to cross examine the witnesses against him. It creates a prejudicial mindset on the part of the jury.
You idiots are having your own rights & legal protections stripped away, & you don't even realize it! Don't you get it? This is how the totalitarians operate.
1st the accused drug dealers have no rights, because who cares about them? Then unpopular accused wife-killers have no rights. The next thing you know, the USA has by an incredibly wide margin the largest proportion of its citizens imprisoned in the entire world-- which it does, BTW. And then you wake up one morning & realize that you have no rights. Because when they came to get the Jews, you said nothing because you weren't a Jew. When they came to get the trade unionists, you said nothing because you weren't a trade unionist. When they came to get Drew Peterson you said nothing because you didn't like him, you figured he probably did it, & anyway you weren't Drew Peterson.
...and then they came to get you, & there was no one left to say anything. You media-hypnotized morons.
I and many other people are happy that Drew Peterson was found guilty. He was a dirty cop, a real thug. He should rot in prison for the rest of his life.
LorraineH... Kudos! Well said.
What a scary county we now live in. To convict someone of murder all on the basis of 'hear say' and that's it. Not one other shred of evidence. I hope everyone takes note of this! Guys, let this be a lesson to you, if you EVER get into a heated arguement with your wife or girlfriend do not and I repeat, DO NOT ever say something stupid like Peterson did. Even if your joking around the courts still wont take into account the contex in which you said it. I guess our justice systems old mantra "It's better to let go 9 out of 10 guilty men than convict 1 innocent man" no longer applies in the 21st century. It's now like my dad says, he'd "rather see 9 innocent men found guilty than let 1 guilty man walk free". This coming from the ultra-conservative religious fanatic. That thinking, and I know it's shared by alot of other religious nuts, scares the living sh!t out of me.
Maybe Peterson really was guilty, I don't know. But for some reason when the coroner 1st looked at the crime it looked like an accident to him and the only reason they ever looked back at it was because his new wife disappeared. And when that happened you know there was NO WAY they were going to accept the original assesment by the coroner of accidental death. I could just see the conversation now. "Hey coroner, that one guys new wife just disappeared, remember that one drowning death you ruled an accident? Yeah, that was his old wife. Why don't you go back and look at it and see if you can find any mistakes? Oh, you did. Yea, that's what I thought. I knew you weren't up for working that day, you just looked really... Tired? No,no wait, you were under alot of stress and just missed some, uh, key evidence, okay? Yup. Good, all settled."
If there is even the slightest doubt that the defendant didn't do it than we are supposed to find him NOT GUILTY. I don't know about you, but not having one ounce of physical or any other kind of evidence, at least in my mind, raises just a little doubt. It's the prosecutions and detectives fault that there was no physical evidence, therefore you don't take it out on the defendant. What has this country eroded into???
Are you serious? In what context would threatening to kill someone be "joking around??" And what on earth does your reference to "alot of other religious nuts" have to do with the story of Drew Peterson, murderer? Just curious.
I have skipped a lot of comments. But there are some dead women and one body never found. Closer is essential. Common sense shows this guy needs to brought to trial and if convicted. The system works? I think he is a disgrace for our law enforcement.
This Scumbag Ex-Cop, can be considered a Serial Killer, based on his crimes.
This Scumbag Ex-Cop gives all other Cops a bad reputation.
The Crooked Police Unions are just has bad, defending Cops who are considered above the law.
Clearly there's no Bias on the part of the D.A's when Cops are charged with Crimes.
I'm glad he spend three years in jail, making new anal attracted friends while waiting for his trial.
As stated earlier, he can wipe that wise ass grin off his face.
Call Morgan & Morgan for The People, I'm T.J. Hooker, and I support this message.
Well !!! good 4 him !!!! Isn't that special !!! like the church lady sez!!!
Husband of Horror,
Women had a nasty habit of dying or disappearing around this guy ... sooner or later he was going to have to face the music. Having been a cop must have had some play in bolstering his self assuredness and a feeling that he could get actually away with a murder. His 'missing' fourth wife didn't just run off, he most likely killed her as well, and she will never be found. A real nice guy ... enjoy your new 6'x 8' home.
This is a travesty of justice; this man was convicted with no evidence. Now, you may think this guys guilty and he may very well be but, we aren't supposed to convict someone on what we think they did or didn't do; we are to make our decisions based on evidence. I hope those that agree with this verdict don't find themselves in court one day under similar circumstances; you just may be found guilty because someone thinks you did it.
This just in...........Da Republican TeaBilly Conservative Whack jobs have just added "Drew Peterson" to their "War on Women".....Committee.
They had to wait for the Blood Test's to make sure that he did have "Todd Akins Disease".
You BetCha.....Fer Sure.
first let me say that "Drew's Law" is the biggest pile of horse **** law ever. Our judicial system was founded on the principal of beyond reasonable doubt. Circumstantial evidence is worthless and should not be able to be provided as evidence.
Just because someone says that I killed JFK, Kidnapped the Lindburg Baby, and said that i talked about molesting children at football camps.....does not provide legit evidence. There is no way of being able to verify that yes the person said what he did or if the person claiming that it was said may or may not have any other possible motive.
In this case the crime team admitted that they did not have any physical evidence that he could be linked to her death. No Evidence means no basis of beyond reasonable doubt.
If the court system were to base cases off of hear say and circumstantial evidence then there would have been more people in jail that are convicted even though the cases came out other wise. Casey Anthony, OJ, The Ramsey's ect the list could go on for ever.
When it goes to the appeals court they are going to base it off of the evidence provided and not provided in this case and they are going to see that there was not enough evidence to prove that he killed her beyond a reasonable doubt and the ruling will be over turned.
I am sorry for the families loss.
"One eye witness is better than ten hearsayers"
Plautus
Still looks like Darrell "The Gambler" Sheets from Storage Wars with a flat top wig!!!
"Untouchable" never hurts women again. Justice is served. RIP Kathleen and Stacy.
With his track record he won't even be able to get a new wife in prison !
It is about time they got this piece of walking Dog dung.
Sure am glad i don`t get in trouble of any kind cause do i trust jurys? Heck no. After reading how people yell guilty guilty before they even hear a case wouldn`t let me trust a jury. Too many people out there with nothing but hate on their minds.
America is in trouble money wise. Our prison system is filled with dirt bags like this guy. This douche bag should be put on an auction block and sold to the highest bidder. The money could go towards the National Debt. As for him, who knows, sex slave perhaps or maybe hunt him down in the woods/jungle/mountains for sport. If the bidder is into cannibalism that would be fine too. Yes basicly he would be sold into slavery. Who cares, he will no longer be on the tax payers dime.
I would suggest that everyone read LorraineH's comment. It tell it all.
One more foot note: Drew Perterson thought he was on "Law and Order" and figured that he would get off. It's always the little the thing that will kill you. In Illinois "hear say evidence is admissible. That's what got him.
When he goes to jail he's going to be met with open arms by all the prisoners because they just love cops. Let's see how cocky he's going to be when his cell mate is Bubba. Hey Drew you out smarted yourself.
Why on earth is there this much talk about yet another cop, who has killed in this case several people and is trying to use the blue code and the system to get away with it, because he was too stupid and got caught in this "I am the boss"(with gun) self serving system.
The police shot and killed 832 people here last year (that we know of)! I hope it was not someone you know--I can still see the black man in Saginaw Michigan 6 cops shooting 46 bullets into one man standing in the street 60 feet away--you should see how people in EU are thinking, when they consider to travel here on vacation-- I have two family member who just went to Egypt instead of here--can you imagine after the attempted killing 2 weeks ago on 9 people in front of Empire--can you imagine 9 people shot by police, and not one in jail yet--I ques we are slowly switching roles with Libia/Egypt here!
It is funny how you were dishing on Casey Anthony, with a pool accident, but these stupid police people get " treated" like the rest of us are a bunch of idiots!
We have seen more than enough of him, now send him to real male prison(no death penalty), and see how long this bastard will last.--He has already enjoyed several years of extra FREEDOM, where as Casey Anthony was in jail for several years, and no one has told us why as of yet, compared to this idiot she should have 1 million Dollars a day for wrongful arrest and harassment paid by the police unions, that we pay for indirectly, so they can school us in politics.!
And/but at least he killed them instead of having all these girls go to battered women centers off and on for years, like the ones from returned soldiers (number one and two girl groups at most of those places)--and please note as we have seen lately being used on the public again and again, they both have guns, like if we are living in a war zone here.
USA please wake up and behave like regular Western countries, and take those "king pin" heroes off the streets, and make all of them obey the law.-----even tiny things like speed limit and parking rules!
I remember him strutting around , making jokes and smirking at the press. He felt invinceable because of his relationships in the criminal justice system. He should die!
Time to go to Joliet prison, Drewboy... An ex-cop doesn't make many friends in there.
You'll be hearing a familiar line in the future, Drewboy...
"Spread your cheeks".
LOL!
The defense said during the trial that they loved the jury that Drew loved the jury but now that they lost they take issues with the jury, typical lawyer double talk. Lawyers are nothing but crooks and liars themselves that is why they identify with their clients so well.
I like to see justice wipe off his smirk off his face, unfortunately
it looks like ex-cop Mr. Peterson has the last laugh on us going to club Fed
having free room and board plus three square meals a day and all the sex he can
handle and a personal television set to keep him happy that are US tax dollars
well spent and our society call that justice.
Whether he's guilty or not he got railroaded when they let hearsay evidence be used. There is an old saying believe half you see and nothing you hear.Now that the courts are allowing hearsay evidence there will be many innocent people sent to prison just because someone has a grudge against them.Hard proveable facts should be the only evidence allowed in a court room in this country, otherwise we will become like some foreign countries if you don't like someone start some hearsay and they wind up in jail although they are innocent.
Peterson is an absolute narcissist! He deserves the fate he received. He makes me sick! How come there are so many Peterson's that are jerks? Weird....