Verdict: Drew Peterson Found Guilty of Murdering Kathleen Savio
The jury has given its verdict after weeks of controversial hearsay testimony, stops and starts and antics from both sides.
Drew Peterson has been found guilty of first degree murder in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
The jury returned with its verdict around 2:50 p.m. Thursday after a day-and-a-half of deliberations.
Peterson had no expression when the verdict was read. The Savio family was crying and hugging in the courtroom.
"Oh my god it's about friggin' time," sobbed Savio brother-in-law Mitch Doman as he hugged his wife, Savio's sister Susan Doman.
"Now she can rest in peace," Mitch Doman said. "They got the murdering
bastard."
"I just feel that she's with us right now," Susan Doman said. "I loved my sister very much. She's finally getting the justice she deserved. He's a sick man. He's an evil man."
What does "unanimous" mean?
At 12:35 p.m., the jury asked Judge Edward Burmila to tell them what the word "unanimous" means.
Burmiila said he received the jury's question at 12:35 p.m. "Just to be clear, judge, what does 'unanimous' mean?" Burmila said the jury asked.
Burmila said he was sending back a note telling the jury that 'unanimous' means the agreement of all in regard to the matter at hand, and that when a verdict is reached, each juror must sign his or her name to it.
Testimony asked for during Wednesday's deliberations
The jury started its day shortly after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Within two hours, they sent a note to Judge Burmila asking to see and hear some of the evidence from the trial.
Jurors asked to see Peterson's phone records from Feb. 28 to March 1, 2002 and the phone records of his missing fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, for the same time period.
They also wanted transcripts of the testimony from the Rev. Neil Schori and Wheaton attorney Harry Smith, and a November 2002 letter written by Peterson's slain third wife, Kathleen Savio, to former Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth Fragale.
On top of that, the jury wanted the Bolingbrook police report detailing a July 2002 attack Peterson allegedly perpetrated against Savio, and later requested—and was provided—photographs of Savio curled naked and dead in her bathtub.
An Illinois State Police crime scene technician took the bathtub death scene pictures soon after Savio's body was discovered by neighbors in March 2004.
The jury also asked for photographs taken during the autopsies performed on Savio and pictures showing the bruises on her dead body.
Defense attorney Joel Brodsky objected to turning over some of the autopsy photos, which the jury has already seen. Brodsky claimed those particular photographs were "too gruesome" for jurors to look at again.
babs
3:53 pm on Thursday, September 6, 2012
You need to put bars in front of his picture.
Rob
8:04 am on Friday, September 7, 2012
Be very careful, we are treading on very thin ice here. I don't think for a minute that he is not guilty....but to pass a law allowing circumstancial evidence and to have the nads to name it after the guy you are convicting, all because there is no physical evidence connecting him to the crime....pretty scary stuff.
Whach for his appeal to go the Supreme Court, I wouldnt be surprised to see the law and his conviction overturned.
McCloud
7:25 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012
I agree with you, this is scary stuff. Hardly a word from anyone based on this particular story, however the implications for future cases looms more toward something not American. Then again, I have to remember what state we live in where a mayor can stop a business from opening based on the owner's opinions. We live in different times.
Rob
7:53 am on Saturday, September 8, 2012
I hear ya McCloud, there are some crazy things going on right now and people seem to worried about themselves to do anything about it. Keep up the good fight, I enjoy reading your comments and arguements!
Iva Christensen
8:39 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
I think that it is quite obvious that he killed her. and to say that she left him for another man is quite suspicion. I mean he was the one that cheated on her from the cases that I have read. he was the last to have seen her and he had three wives before Stacy. therefore, I do believe that he is a prime suspect in this case.