Scrutinizing The Microscopic View of Drew Peterson. Update Time Line & Gun Arrest Update 7-16-09 Update 11-4-2011: Detention

Drew Peterson lives under a microscope, perhaps unlike any one else. Whenever Peterson opens his mouth, it hits the media. Now, the former Bolingbrook police sergeant who is a suspect in the disappearance of his wife makes the news for a traffic stop. Peterson was apparently stopped in Naperville, Illinois for speeding early Saturday morning. Drew was apparently on the way to meet a young woman (she apparently works at a tanning salon and may have needed a ride.) Peterson apparently was stopped at 2:30 a.m. on his way to help the 22-year-old damsel in distress according to the Sun-Times. Peterson did not get a ticket. He did; however, get a warning.

While Peterson remains a suspected in the October 2007 disappearance of his wife, Stacy, he has not been officially charged. Why? Perhaps one reason is that the prosecution's case may rest in large part on the testimony of Tom Morphy, Peterson's step brother. Apparently, Illinois State Police hypothesize that Tom Morphey may have helped Peterson load a blue barrel into a vehicle on October 28th. (This is believed to be a day after Stacy is last seen. The very next day, apparently Thomas Morphy overdoses on three anti-depressants and alcohol. The drugs are believed to be Zoloft and Xanax. (Others, in the comments, speculate it is because Stacy Peterson is not dead. They opine that she may be in protective custody or well hidden away from Drew. Again, this is pure speculation and assumes she is a key witness in Kathleen Savio's death.)

As the story goes, Tom Morphy is taken by paramedics to Edwards Hospital. Rumors continue to fly as to whether or not Tom Morphy is a credible witness for the prosecution. Joel Brodsky, in an exclusive interview with Legal Pub, apparently denies that a blue barrel was ever in Peterson's possession. Apparently, there are no receipts documenting the acquisition of the "blue barrel." Joel Brodsky goes on to add that "Morphy" may have a drug problem and may be in rehab. Attorney Brodsky has supplied some photos to Legal Pub which could be Tom Morphy. One of the photos is displayed above. (There does not appear to be anything particularly unusual about the photo in and of itself.)

The other photo is less clear and is not published at this time. It looks to be a man similar in appearance to Morphy with what appears to be a pipe. There is no way to tell what is in the pipe. The authenticity and dates of the photos are not verified by Legal Pub. The photos in and of themselves appear to offer little evidential value without corroborating testimony. Nevertheless, if in fact Morphy is to be the star witness of the prosecution, it may be understandable why they have yet to file formal charges against Peterson.

Update 5-13-08: Is it possible that Stacy Peterson is in protective custody as some posters have suggested? Will she be a surprise witness in a trial involving the murder of Kathleen Savio whose death has been ruled a homicide?

Comment 168 has a Drew Peterson Timeline!

Update 5-20-08: Is grand jury testimony nearing its end? Some expect a decision soon. Others say, no body no indictment as to Stacy. See comments 200-230.

Update 5-21-08: Peterson is arrested for having an illegal weapon. The barrel was too short. D.P. claims is was a gun he owned when he was a police officer. His son posts $7,500 and Peterson is bonded out of jail.

Update 5-22-08: Joel Brodsky shared his press release concerning the gun charge. "The allegation is that Drew Peterson had in his possession an AR-15 assault rifle that had too short of a barrel. According to Illinois law, the barrel of a rifle may not be shorter than 16 inches. State police say this particular weapon had a barrel that was 3/8 of an inch too short. This weapon in question was used by Drew while he was a Bolingbrook, Ill. police officer. Under Illinois state law, police officers are exempt from barrel length requirements for duty weapons. And this particular gun was registered as one of Drew's SWAT duty weapons.
Authorities seized the weapon in question while Drew was a sergeant and a member of the SWAT team in the Bolingbrook Police Dept. He did not resign until after the weapons were seized by authorities. This is nothing more than an attempt by state police to avoid returning guns to Drew that had been seized as evidence."

Update 3-6-09: Drew Peterson best be careful. Christina Raines is his 24-year-old " fiance." She reportedly has moved back in with Peterson. Previously, Christina Raines told CBS’ “The Early Show” that her engagement to the 55-year-old former Bolingbrook police sergeant had been a publicity stunt. But now that they are back together, she has retracted her statement and said that she was engaged to Peterson. But what assurance does Peterson or his attorney, Joel Brodsky have that Raines is not working with the authorities as an informant?

It makes sense that this could at least be a possibility. Afterall, what beautiful 24 year old lady is going to agree to be Peterson's 6th fiancee? No offense to Drew as he has not been convicted of any crime at this point, but he is 55 and has been married four times. That alone would put most women on guard. Perhaps love is the sole motivation for Christina Raines. But if you were a suspect under police scrutiny, wouldn't you at least consider some other possibilities?

Update 4-24-09: Attorneys for the family of Kathleen Savio have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday against Drew Peterson. A grand jury has been investigating the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, and the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, since November 2007. Savio's family apparently grew impatient and filed the civil case despite the fact that Peterson has not been charged in either case. For some, this may be seen as an example of greed and interference with our criminal court system of justice. For others, it may be seen as a quest to take control or to gain notoriety. Peterson's kids were on the Today Show. And guess what, they apparently do not approve of the civil suit!

Update 5-7-09: Drew Peterson a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, was charged Thursday with murdering his third wife. Kathleen Savio , died in 2004. Originally her death was ruled an accident. His second wife, Stacy Peterson, has subsequently vanished. According to Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow , Peterson, 55, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of Kathleen Savio. The gauntlet has been thrown down!

Update 5-22-09: A preliminary autopsy was unable to identity whether the partial skeletal remains found on the bank of the Des Plaines River, less than 30 miles from the homes of two missing Illinois women, was in fact the body of a woman. Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil will undoubtedly have to await DNA testing results before the remains will be identified. In the interim, forensic examination was inconclusive as to identity, race or sex. The remains consisted of a rib cage, spinal column and partial left and right femur. Shreds of blue jeans and a small amount of money were also found. DNA results should be available within 15 days. Illinois State Police Sgt. Tom Burek indicated that Michelle Williams previously discovered a blue barrel in Channahon, Illinois, along the river. Conflicting reports have surfaced as to whether the barrel matches the description of the "blue barrel" Tom Morphy claims he helped moved. Peterson is not alone in the hot spot: Peterson pleads not guilty ; Woman evicting husband also disappeared.

Stacy Peterson disappeared in October 2007 and Peterson claims that he is totally innocent. Drew Peterson has also plead not guilty in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Channahon (where the remains were found) is 15 miles from Plainfield, Illinois, where Lisa Stebic was last seen in April 2007. On the day she went missing, she petitioned to have her husband, Craig, evicted from their home. Craig Stebic is a suspect in his wife's disappearance. Keep in mind all suspects are to be considered innocent unless otherwise proven in court!

Update 5-29-09: The remains found last week near a blue barrel are not those of Stacy Peterson or Lisa Stebic. Testing done on the remains showed they belonged to a male.

Update 7-16-09: A comment of this date addresses the waiver of a "speedy jury trial" by both sides and the defendant and his attorney's relationship with author Derek Armstrong.

Update 9-9-09: Peterson remains in jail with an astronomical bail. State's Attorney James Glasgow apparently said during the May bail reduction hearing that Peterson tried to solicit a hit man for $25,000 to kill Kathleen Savio. 12th Circuit Judge Carla J. Alessio-Policandriotes denied Peterson's request to reduce his $20 million dollar bail. Joel Brodsky dismissed the prosecutor's allegation saying it was one of many claims to come out of the hearing that he would disprove.

Update January 19, 2010: Is Kathleen Savio finally getting her day in court? Due to a change in the law, the judge in essence will allow Savio to testify from the grave through witnesses who will be allowed to give hearsay testimony. A witness will apparently be allowed to testify how Savio discussed and wrote about her fears that her ex-husband, Sgt. Drew Peterson, would kill her. The judge can admit such hearsay evidence in a first-degree murder cases if prosecutors can prove a defendant killed a witness to prevent her from testifying. The Illinois Legislature passed the law after Peterson was named a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy. Subsequently, Savio was exhumed and an investigation into her death reopened. The new law has been referred to as "Drew's Law."

The hearing is expected to last three weeks with Will County Judge Stephen White presiding. 60 witnesses may testify as to 15 alleged hearsay statements. Judge White will then decide if the jury will hear any or all of those statements when Peterson stands trial for murder. Peterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering Savio and must be presumed innocent of all charges. A trial date has yet to be set.

Update 1-20-10: Was the relationship between Drew Peterson and Savio violent?According to the A.P. Eighteen times in two years, police were called to the couple's Bolingbrook home. Savio allegedly told officers that her husband had beaten her and threatened to kill her; however, Peterson was never charged. However, Savio was charged with domestic battery. (She was acquitted.) There was a 2002 order of protection in which Savio alleges that Peterson knocked her down, ripped off her necklace and left marks on her body."He wants me dead, and if he has to, he will burn the house down just to shut me up," she apparently wrote. Can a member of the clergy at a Bolingbrook church attended by Stacy Peterson testify? In the days after her disappearance, some members of the media allged that a clergyman allegedly said that Drew Peterson had confessed to her that he killed Savio. Peterson's attorneys will attack the credibility of some if not all of the witnesses offered by the prosecution. "All it is, is rumor, innuendo and gossip," says defense attorney Joel Brodsky.

Do witnesses have an ulterior motive for their testimony? Are they unreliable people as the defense suggests? Stay tuned for the results of the hearing and the eventual trial. Again, keep in mind, Peterson is innocent until proven otherwise.

Update 2-26-10: Steve Maniaci, the boyfriend, and sisters of Savio all testified at the pretrial hearing how she feared for her life and predicted Peterson would kill her. The testimony was mostly cumulative of the 42 witnesses, saying Kathleen Savio, correctly guessed she would die under suspicious circumstances.
A pathologist called by Peterson's attorneys testified Wednesday that in his opinion evidence surrounding Savio's death points to an accident. Drew Peterson Case. State police originally thought her death was an accident. They apparently changed their minds three and a half years later when Peterson's next wife, Stacy Peterson vanished. (Peterson faces no criminal charges in connection with Stacy's disappearance.) Maniaci told of battery and how Peterson allegedly cut his way through a garage wall into Savio's living room, disabled a deadbolt and broke into her house to pin her to the floor.
Maniaci said he originally told all of this to state police during his interviews with their investigators. But state police investigators didn't include any of it in their reports on Savio's death.

Savio's sisters, Susan and Anna Doman, told how Savio expected Peterson to kill her and disguise her death as an accident. One of Peterson's lawyers, George Lenard, revealed that Susan Doman had signed a contract for a book and movie project with media consultant Larry Garrison and writer Stephanie Good. Lenard said the contract called for Susan Doman, Garrison and Good to split the profits equally, and for Susan Doman to be paid at least $30,000 if the book was made into a movie.

Assistant State's Attorney John Connor pointed out that Susan Doman gave similar statements during a May 2004 coroner's inquest before any book deals.

Update 4-30-10: Lawyering up. Drew Peterson has added Chicago defense attorneys Steven Greenberg, Ralph Meczyk and Darryl Goldberg to his defense team. The three join Joel Brodsky, his partner Reem Odeh and attorney Joseph Lopez. Peterson will be tried in June for the alleged murder of his third wife Kathleen Savio in 2004.

Update 9-30-10: Reem Odeh, one of eight lawyers on the Peterson defense team, filed a motion to withdraw her appearance citing "irreconcilable differences with defense counsel Joel Brodsky." Brodsky told the media: "I guess it's a case of, 'You're fired,' 'No, I quit.' " This is not all that unexpected when you realize that Odeh and Brodsky were law partners for years but ended their partnership in May. Peterson has been in jail since May 2009 while he awaits trial on murder charges concerning his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Update 2-18-11:

Attorneys argued the controversial hearsay law that may allow Peterson's deceased wives to testify from their grave. The Illinois appellate court allowed the oral arguments to be broadcast live for the first time in state history. The Third District Appellate Court allowed WGN-TV to film the arguments of counsel.
Update 11-4-11: The court's most recent rulings should trouble any citizen who believes that our system of justice presumes innocence. Recently the Illinois Supreme Court denied Peterson's request to be released from jail while prosecutors appeal a critical evidential ruling.
No one can deny that the proprietorial appeals have delayed Peterson's trial for more than a year while he sits in jail subject to 20 million dollar bond.

The trial was suppose to start 14 months ago but Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow decided to appeal a judge's ruling barring several hearsay statements allegedly made by Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio. Peterson is charged with killing Savio, who was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004. The death was initially ruled an accidental drowning, but authorities reopened the case after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared in October 2007. Drew Peterson has not been charged in Stacy's disappearance and he denies wrongdoing in both cases.

"A defendant shall not be held in jail or to bail during the pendency of an appeal by the state ... unless there are compelling reasons for his continued detention or being held to bail." Despite this law, Peterson is held in Jail all this time because he is allegedly a "threat to society." The Supreme court has yet to rule on the hearsay statements; however, an appellate court ruled that Glasgow missed the 30-day appeal deadline to try to overturn a trial court's decision barring 8 of 14 hearsay statements. In the mean time, Peterson has been in jail since his May 2009 arrest. Does there still exist a presumption of innocence until proven guilty in Illinois? I submit even those most staunch in their beliefs that Peterson should be held accountable recognize the need for a presumption of innocence. Keep in mind, another convicted man was recently freed on DNA testing. Michael Morton; Raymond Towler ; James Bain

Mistakes need to be made in favor of liberty and not detention.