Drew Peterson trial update murder trial day 14 week 4 recap

By Chellie Cervone - Posted: Aug 23, 2012 at 5:16 am

Drew Peterson trial update

Could this be final week of testimony in the Drew Peterson trial as the prosecution has hinted at?

At times, the trial moves at a snails pace, with the jury being escorted out of the courtroom numerous times, while the defense and prosecution argue over issues out of jurors’ earshot.

The Drew Peterson trial has been running from Tuesday to Friday however the Judge has now ruled that court will be in session on the Drew Peterson Monday through Friday due to all the previous delays.

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Yesterday only one witness Mary Case, a St. Louis County medical examiner, testified.

The Judge has stopped her testimony yesterday when she mentioned names of witnesses that had either been barred from testifying of who were simply not going to be called.

Ultimately her testimony was allowed with jurors being instructed to disregard the names mentioned.

A major victory was won by the prosecution yesterday when Judge Burmila ruled to allow the testimony of Jeff Pachter, the alleged hit man that Dre Peterson wanted to hire for $25,000 to kill his ex-wife Kathleen Savio.

Savio was Peterson’s third wife who was found dead in a waterless bathtub. Her cause of death was initially ruled an an accidental drowning.

After Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson disappeared, Savio’s body was exhumed and the the cause of death was changed to a homicide. Peterson was arrested and is now on trial for her death.

The case against Peterson is circumstantial; there is no physical evidence tying to him to her death however mounds of circumstantial evidence has been presented by the prosecution in their attempt to prove to the jury that Peterson is responsible for Savio’s death and staged the crime scene to cover up a homicide by making the death appear to be an accident.

Prosecutors ascertain that Drew Peterson placed a choke hold on Savio rendering her unconscious and then drowned her in the bathtub. He then allegedly struck her on the back of her head.

Drew Peterson trial update jurors are coordinating their outfits

People are speculating what it means that the jury is color coordinating their outfits. Does it simply mean they all just get along well and wish to present a unified front or are their outfits saying something else?

Both the prosecution and the defense would likely wish to believe that it to their benefit and that the jury is sending a message with their color coordinating attire however we will not truly know what this means until the trial is over and verdict rendered.

Drew Peterson trial update alleged hit man testifies

Jeff Pachter who worked with Peterson at a cable company that Peterson was moonlighting at claimed that Peterson offered him $25,000 to take care of Savio and the arrangement was that Pachter would hire someone for the job, pay him out of the $25,000 and keep whatever was left over while Peterson established an alibi.

In previous testimony Patcher said he didn’t think Peterson was serious and that when he called him for an unrelated matter after Savio’s death, Peterson had told him that he no longer needed the favor he has previously asked him and his testimony today essentially mirrored previous statements.

He did admit under cross examination that he never went to police about the alleged hit, that Peterson never actually used the word murder and that he was not provided a picture of Savio.

Bryan Falat, an Illinois State Police master Sargent also testified.

Falat said that he was a Trooper at the time and had only been involved with 2 other homicide cases.

Back in 2010 when he testified, he had said he was disgusted with the way the investigation was handled.

On the stand today, he expressed concern when he was told that he would be interviewing Peterson at the Bolingbrook Police Department because he didn’t think that people should be interviewed where they are comfortable.

He also did not think that Drew Peterson should have present when he was interviewing his 4th wife Stacy Peterson because, “We never interview two people in the same room”.

Also when asked if a thorough investigation was conducted he said, “I’m sure there was a lot more stuff that could have been looked for that I wasn’t trained on”.

Drew Peterson trial update another witness talks of homicide suspicions

He said he was suspicious about the death and thought that it might be a homicide and that he did express his views during the 1/2 hour they were in the Savio residence.

Dr. Vinod Motiani who was Kathleen Savio’s doctor testified and said that she had no conditions that would make her more prone to fall more than any other person.

Will testimony “from” the grave be enough?

The last witness to testify was Nicholas Pontarelli.

He was with Drew Peterson the night Kathleen Savio’s body was found along with Thomas and Mary Pontarelli when Peterson called a locksmith to let them in to Savio’s residence.

He said that Savio was like a second mother to him and that after Savio’s death, he noticed Drew Peterson, Stacy Peterson and Peterson’s son removing items from Savio’s residence.

The trial is expected to resume Thursday morning so please visit again for more Drew Peterson trial updates.