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Friday, July 29, 2011

[IL] If Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peteron foresaw getting away with wife-murder twice he might be right

The high-profile murder case against former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson, accused of killing his third wife, may never make it to trial, experts say, after a court agreed prosecutors shouldn't be allowed to use certain hearsay statements as evidence... [Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew] Peterson was accused of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio, after his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared... Friends and family claim Savio told them during her divorce proceedings that if she turned up dead, her husband would be to blame... Friends of Stacy Peterson said that she made similar statements to them... Prosecutors have presented no physical evidence or eyewitnesses and have said the hearsay statements were vital...

Though you can't tell from the thousands of articles put out on Drew Peterson, this case has always been about officer-involved domestic violence. The articles don't explore what other victims married to a cop may be trapped into situations like Kathleen and Stacy were, unable to make police reports, fearing death any day - with no way to keep their children from their killer. None of the articles about Drew Peterson explore what is being done about domestically abusive cops or what policies some law enforcement agencies around the country are putting in place to make sure domestic violence in officer's homes is handled professionally. WHAT A SHAME on journalism, Illinois, the Chicago area, and really all of the U.S. - since there's no public outrage - that this horrid case isn't used to save lives and push for accountability. Instead it's served to us as entertainment, over the blood of Kathleen "Kitty" Savio and Stacy Peterson. It is discussed below that there is no physical evidence. GEE, I wonder why. How many wives and girlfriends on this blog, dead and alive, have said that they were told they would be murdered and that no one would be held accountable? Too many. Now Drew is looking forward to the very real possibility he may not have to go to trial - the day the children from his last two no-longer-living-wives will be returned to his care.

DREW PETERSON PROSECUTORS FILED HEARSAY APPEAL TOO LATE, APPELLATE COURT RULES
American Bar Associatio
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Posted Jul 27, 2011 9:55 AM CDT
[Excerpts] Jurors deciding the fate of former Bolingbrook, Ill., police officer Drew Peterson won’t be allowed to consider a variety of hearsay evidence because prosecutors failed to appeal a trial court ruling within a 30-day window, an appeals court says. The Illinois Appellate Court’s 3rd District ruled Tuesday that prosecutors missed a deadline in one of three interlocutory appeals challenging evidence rulings. Peterson was accused of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio, after his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared. The Chicago Tribune covered the decision (PDF), which split 2-1 on the missed deadline. The trial judge had excluded eight hearsay statements on May 18, 2010, and the state did not file a motion for reconsideration or an appeal within 30 days... The trial judge had ruled six other hearsay statements were admissibl... The appeals court also upheld the trial judge’s exclusion of “other-crimes evidence,” including testimony about past incidents of domestic abuse and threats by Peterson against Savio and his second wife... [Full article here]

EXPERTS SAY THE CASE MAY NEVER MAKE IT TO TRIAL
By The Associated Press, NBCChicago.com
Thursday, Jul 28, 2011
Updated 8:35 AM CDT
[Excerpts] The high-profile murder case against former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson, accused of killing his third wife, may never make it to trial, experts say, after a court agreed prosecutors shouldn't be allowed to use certain hearsay statements as evidence. The ruling by a state appellate court this week upholding a lower court's decision to exclude eight of 14 hearsay — or second-hand — statements raises fresh questions about the viability of trying Peterson on charges he killed Kathleen Savio in 2004. Peterson was charged only after his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared in 2007 and Savio's body was exhumed... Asked Wednesday how his client reacted to the ruling, lawyer Joseph Lopez said, "He's happy." Any hopes Peterson may harbor of altogether averting a trial in Savio's death may be well founded, some observers say... A person familiar with the case previously told The Associated Press that the statements excluded by the lower court judge included one from [4th wife] Stacy Peterson's pastor [Neil Schori], who said she told him she'd given Peterson a false alibi the weekend of Savio's death... Stacy Peterson is presumed dead by authorities. Drew Peterson has never been charged in her disappearance, but authorities have said he is a suspect... [Full article here]

APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS LIMITS ON DREW PETERSON HEARSAY EVIDENCE
Chicago Tribune
By Steve Schmadeke and Stacy St. Clair
July 26, 2011
[Excerpts] ...“It’s a big win because it keeps out evidence that was unreliable,” said attorney Steve Greenberg, who argued the defense team’s position before the appellate court. “It reduces the chance of the trial being based on rumor and innuendo.” Will County prosecutors have not yet commented on the ruling. The case, which has drawn national media attention, has been put on hold for more than a year as State’s Attorney James Glasgow pushed for the hearsay statements to be declared admissible. The trial judge had ruled jurors could not hear the statements because they were unreliable. Peterson, 57, is charged with killing Savio, who was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004. Officials initially said the death was an accidental drowning, but authorities reopened the case after his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, vanished in October 2007... Prosecutors can still appeal the case to the Illinois Supreme Court, but Peterson’s defense team believes the appellate ruling will be difficult to overturn. “It’s clear that the state is a day late and a dollar short,” defense attorney Joseph Lopez said. “It’s a good day for Drew. It’s a good day for all of us”... [Full article here]

PROSECUTORS CONSIDER APPEAL OF HEARSAY RULING IN DREW PETERSON MURDER TRIAL
FoxNews.com
Published July 27, 2011
Prosecutors say they are considering filing an appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court after a state appellate court refused to overturn a decision barring prosecutors from using some hearsay - or second hand - evidence against Drew Peterson, a former police sergeant accused of killing his third wife and a suspect in his fourth wife's disappearance... Peterson is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his third wife Kathleen Savio, whose body was found in a dry bathtub in 2004. Investigators initially ruled Savio's death an accidental drowning, but later reopened the case after Peterson's fourth wife, 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, disappeared in 2007. Peterson remains a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy, a mother of four who is still missing and presumed dead by authorities... "It's a resounding victory - without question"... The state appellate court's ruling on Tuesday means that prosecutors will not be allowed to admit 8 of the 14 hearsay statements they wanted to use in their case against him. Friends and family claim Savio told them during her divorce proceedings that if she turned up dead, her husband would be to blame, MyFoxChicago.com reports. Friends of Stacy Peterson said that she made similar statements to them... The Will County State's Attorney's Office said Wednesday that it strongly disagrees with the ruling and is mulling a decision to appeal... The ruling was particularly frustrating to the members of Savio's family, who have been trying to convince authorities since shortly after Savio's death that she did not simply drown accidentally. "I was very shocked," Savio's sister, Susan Doman, told MyFoxChicago.com after the ruling. "My heart was set on being able to get everything in with the hearsay evidence. I believe that the jury should hear everything," Doman said... [Full article here]

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[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder teflon history hx repeat illinois state politics]
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 03, 2012

    You're wrong - period. We, here in Illinois, all feel Peterson is a good casse for guilty. We do NOT view it as entertainment, it is a disgrace and insulting to state it as such. How many volunteers were there to help find her for so long and YOU dare say "WHAT A SHAME" on us??! How dare you! In Illinois, we take this seriously! How dare YOU to berate an entire state for what? A one-sided view, few facts are displayed on the sight, suppositions and guesses are shoved down throats - give a factual account of what happened and you may be taken more seriously. I don't hate cops or victims, I do despise one-sided, bull-shit spewing, no fact giving media. And that's what you are!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Behind The Blue WallJanuary 04, 2012

    It's directed to media not searchers.

    ReplyDelete

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