Post by sadie on Jul 27, 2011 21:10:31 GMT -5
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. Prosecutors have presented no physical evidence or eyewitnesses and have said the hearsay statements were vital.
The former Bolingbrook police sergeant, in jail awaiting trial since 2009, has apparently drawn encouragement from the court decision. 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. "It sounds like a lot of this was at the crux of their case," Chicago attorney Michael Helfand said about the statements excluded by the courts. "If they don't have anything more -- like eye witnesses or good forensics, which they don't -- then how can you not drop this case?"
The legal saga surrounded the burly, mustachioed ex-cop has attracted national attention, even inspiring a TV movie -- now in production -- starring Rob Lowe as Peterson.
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I have never thought they had enough to convict him. He's a slime ball and probably killed more than one wife.........but he sure didn't leave behind much to work with.
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. Prosecutors have presented no physical evidence or eyewitnesses and have said the hearsay statements were vital.
The former Bolingbrook police sergeant, in jail awaiting trial since 2009, has apparently drawn encouragement from the court decision. 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. "It sounds like a lot of this was at the crux of their case," Chicago attorney Michael Helfand said about the statements excluded by the courts. "If they don't have anything more -- like eye witnesses or good forensics, which they don't -- then how can you not drop this case?"
The legal saga surrounded the burly, mustachioed ex-cop has attracted national attention, even inspiring a TV movie -- now in production -- starring Rob Lowe as Peterson.
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I have never thought they had enough to convict him. He's a slime ball and probably killed more than one wife.........but he sure didn't leave behind much to work with.
Omega
