1. 7/24/12 Drew Peterson Trial: Jury Selection Begins In Long‑Delayed Murder Trial
July 24, 2012
Drew Peterson Trial: Jury Selection Begins In Long-Delayed
Murder Trial
By MICHAEL TARM 07/23/12 10:35 PM ET
JOLIET, Ill. — Drew Peterson formally introduced himself to would-be jurors Monday in
his long-delayed murder trial, but it was clear many of them already were familiar with the
former suburban Chicago police officer known to make crass jokes in the media.
Peterson, 58, is charged with killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2004. Her body was
found in a dry bathtub in her home, her hair soaked with blood, but her death was ruled
accidental until police began investigating the 2007 disappearance of the ex-police
sergeant's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. He is a suspect in that case as well, although he
has not been charged.
Peterson, his trademark mustache shaved off, stood and spoke to some 40 potential jurors
Former Bolllingbrook, Illinois police officer Drew as jury selection began Monday.
Peterson leaves the Will County Jail after posting bail
for a felony weapons charge May 21, 2008 in Joliet,
Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mr. Peterson," he said in a steady voice.
Finding an impartial jury was the first immediate challenge for attorneys in the trial, in
which jurors are likely to hear statements Savio and Stacy Peterson allegedly made to friends and relatives about threats Peterson
made. Such hearsay is usually barred, but an appellate court ruled jurors can hear the statements.
One question looming over the trial is how much Peterson's personality will influence the jury. Before his arrest, Peterson was
often seen joking about a "Win A Date With Drew" contest, his missing wife's menstrual cycle and other topics that were widely
seen as inappropriate. Even after his arrest in 2009, Peterson called a Chicago radio show to make jokes about life behind bars.
Despite a judge's order to avoid all news about Peterson, several of the prospective jurors said they found it hard to avoid media
reports about him. The 200-person jury pool has been waiting three years for the trial, which was put off because of appellate court
battles over the hearsay statements.
Several potential jurors said they had watched a 2011 cable TV movie about the Savio case titled "Drew Peterson: Untouchable,"
in which actor Rob Lowe portrays the former Bolingbrook police officer.
Many insisted they understood the movie was Hollywood fiction. One potential juror who works as a plumber watched the movie
and said it made Peterson look guilty of murder, but he said he could separate the movie from evidence presented during trial.
One man said that when he hears Peterson's name on the radio he switches it off or leaves the room. But the man said that just last
week he saw Peterson's photograph splashed across the front page of a suburban Chicago newspaper.
One woman, asked what she thinks she's heard about the case, answered, "Something about a bathtub."
Vetting would-be jurors typically takes a few days, but extra time is sometimes required in high-profile cases to weed out those
who come in with well-formed opinions. Jury selection Monday went well into the evening before wrapping up for the day. Eight
jurors have been chosen so far.
Jury selection is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning. Opening statements at Peterson's trial in Joliet are slated for next
Tuesday.
Jurors are likely to hear from a parade of pathologists who will dispute each other's conclusions about how the 40-year-old Savio
died. They will hear about her death being ruled an accident, her body being exhumed after 23-year-old Stacy Peterson's
disappearance and the autopsy after which her cause of death was changed from accidental to homicide – and the continued
dispute over those findings.
There's apparently no physical evidence, so the hearsay is the heart of prosecutors' case.
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2. 7/24/12 Drew Peterson Trial: Jury Selection Begins In Long‑Delayed Murder Trial
Before jury selection began Monday, Will County Judge Edward Burmila refused prosecutors' request to give them blanket
approval to admit eight key hearsay statements. Burmila said he will make a final ruling on the admissibility of each statement only
as they come up at trial.
Neither Burmila nor the attorneys spoke in any detail about the substance of the eight statements.
At a 2010 hearing to determine what hearsay a jury could hear, dozens of witnesses testified that Savio told them she feared
Peterson would kill her and make it look like an accident.
Peterson's lead attorney, Joel Brodsky, has said the three years that Peterson has been in jail and largely out of the public eye
might help him because the memories of his behavior have faded.
"I've never heard of anything comparable to this – a jury pool waiting around for so long knowing what case they're going to be in
and the reliance on hearsay," said Gal Pissetzky, a Chicago defense lawyer with no link to the case.
Peterson, jailed since his arrest, pleaded not guilty. His attorneys say Savio's death was an accident and that Stacy Peterson – 30
years younger than Drew Peterson – ran off with another man and is alive. Authorities have said they believe she is dead,
although her body has never been found.
___
Follow Michael Tarm at . www.twitter.com/mtarm
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