Accused wife-killer Drew Peterson’s latest plea to get out of jail again fell on deaf ears, as the appellate court shot it down last week and told him he’s not going anywhere.
Jailed since May 2009 on charges he murdered his third wife, Kathleen Savio, Peterson, 57, has been waiting on the appellate court to return a decision on what hearsay evidence can be used against him at trial.
The appellate court has been mulling over the matter for just shy of a year.
The murder charge in the Savio case stemmed from the then-40-year-old woman’s death in March 2004.
Savio was found drowned in a dry bathtub. At the time of her death, Savio and Peterson were embroiled in a contentious divorce. Still the state police quickly determined she died in a freak bathing accident and quickly closed the case.
But 3 1/2 years later, when Peterson’s next wife, the 24-year-old Stacy Peterson, vanished without a trace, the state police were forced to re-examine their investigation of Savio’s death.
Within a year and a half of Stacy’s disappearance, Peterson was up on a charge of murder in connection with Savio’s death.
Stacy Peterson remains missing, and the state police have publicly stated they believe she was the victim of a “potential homicide.” The state police also have publicly identified Drew Peterson as their sole suspect in the Stacy case, but have stopped short of actually charging him with harming her.
Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police officer who quit his job in the wake of Stacy’s disappearance rather than answer questions at an internal affairs inquiry, is being held at the Will County jail in lieu of a $20 million bond. His attorneys have tried without success in the last two years to get Peterson’s bond lowered while he awaits trial.
In recent weeks, it was learned that Hollywood star Rob Lowe would be playing the part of Drew Peterson in a Lifetime movie adaption of the book Fatal Vows: The Tragic Wives of Sergeant Drew Peterson.
"Drew's Law" is the only thing keeping most of the hearsay evidence out of his trial since it calls for higher standards of reliability than the common law hearsay exceptions which is what the prosecution now wants to call upon. (BTW, the statute has nothing to do with Drew Peterson and was enacted as a way to better prosecute victims of gang/drug dealer hits.) Drew Peterson and his fans should be lovin' the hearsay statute since at the moment its his best (and maybe only) friend. ;)
Once Drew springs out of jail and win his lawsuit against the County. Don't be surprised if he gets one too.
Here is the link in case you have not seen it. (May take a while to load because of volume of traffic). http://www.change.org/petitions/create-caylees-law
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/casey-anthonys-lawyer-jose-baez-208926 http://www.deadline.com/2011/07/paradigm-signs-casey-anthonys-attorney/
I did not know he quit rather than answer questions. Only makes him seem even guiltier to me. I wonder if he thinks he will go scott-free, a la Casey Anthony, once his case makes it to trial?