JOLIET, ill. — And now it’ll be Drew Peterson’s turn.
After four weeks of witnesses telling jurors that Peterson wanted ex-wife Kathleen Savio dead, threatened to kill her and was willing to pay someone else $25,000 to do the job, the former suburban Chicago police officer’s attorneys will get a chance this week to present his side of the story.
With the Will County prosecution expected to rest Monday, Peterson’s attorneys will try to convince jurors that the death of Peterson’s third wife was nothing more than a tragic accident, despite testimony about his threats and how she was so fearful that she slept with a knife under her mattress.
Their case might have been aided by repeated prosecution missteps in a trial that has rested almost exclusively on hearsay and circumstantial evidence.
For three years, Peterson’s attorneys have insisted Savio slipped in the tub, hit her head and drowned. They have pathologists poised to testify to that, countering other pathologists who told jurors that Savio’s 2004 death was a homicide and an autopsy reached the same conclusion — though only when authorities exhumed her body after the disappearance of Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.
Defense witnesses could include officers who investigated Savio’s death, to counter a prosecution argument that the police work was bungled. They also must decide whether to call Peterson himself, a risky move given the arrogant personality he displayed for years.
