Drew Peterson: Defense asks for yet another judge.

Joel Brodsky at Peterson's Mock trial Thursday

UPDATE JUNE 1: Case reassigned to Judge Stephen White

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Drew Peterson’s Attorney Asks For New Judge

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Drew Peterson’s defense attorney has asked for another new judge to be appointed in Peterson’s murder trial.

If Joel Brodsky’s motion is granted, the case would have its third judge.

Last week the Will County state’s attorney had asked that Judge Richard Schoenstedt be removed, on the grounds of bias against the state. Will County Chief Judge Gerald Kinney last Thursday appointed Carla J. Alessio-Policandriotes to oversee the case.

Drew Peterson calls in to radio show from jail

This morning the hosts of the Mancow and Cassidy Show at WLS radio accepted a collect call from Drew Peterson who is currently in custody at the Will County Adult Detention Facility in Joliet.

Told by his attorney, Joel Brodsky, to expect to hear Drew’s new “stand up comedy act” they goaded him to joke with them and give them his “A material”.

Besides cracks about the food, and the sterotypical fear of being sodomized by fellow inmates, Drew joked that maybe they could hold a “Win a Conjugal Visit with Drew” contest. He then went on to talk about missing his kids and the fact that he’s reading the bible and doing a fair amount of praying these days.

DNA analysis has determined that human remains found along the Des Plaines River near Channahon were from an unidentified male, the Illinois State Police said in a statement today.

TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS STORY

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Stacy Peterson Searchers – “We Will Find Her”

Over these many, many months, there remained, and still does, a dedicated group of searchers who were steadfast in their belief that Stacy would be found. They quietly used their bonds of friendship to organize when they could, set out on ground and water, and continued to be steadfast in their belief that they could make a difference. They wanted to help Stacy’s sister through a difficult time and be supportive in any way they could, especially if they could bring her beloved sister home.

Yesterday, this very dedicated group of searchers set out to do a water and land search, yet again. They are united in hoping that the remains discovered last week are Stacy, but felt they wanted to continue to search until they are assured that Stacy has, in fact, been found.

While doing a ground search near the area where the remains were discovered last week, a bone fragment was sighted. After verifying that they had, indeed, found a piece of human skeleton, they contacted law enforcement regarding their discovery. This was overwhelming for them, as they had to come to grips with finding a skeletal portion of a human being. The searchers do not consider this discovery as being by any one particular person, because they do this as a group. However, for the searcher that did make the initial, unnerving discovery, it was a moment of distress and utter sadness.

We are told the bone fragment is significant, and will, no doubt, be important in making an identification.

We hope their kind actions and months of dedicated searches bring closure, someday, to Stacy’s family and friends.  They are the quiet warriors.

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Glasgow drops bombshell: Peterson tried to hire someone to kill Savio

In 2003, Drew Peterson offered someone $25,000 to kill his third wife, Kathleen Savio, a year before he himself killed her, Will County state’s attorney James Glasgow told the new judge in the case as she let Peterson’s $20 million bond stand.

Glasgow revealed no details about who Peterson approached or how the plot was supposed to have been carried out.

The prosecution also alleged that Peterson told a police officer he would be better off if Kathleen Savio was dead because he would be financially ruined by a pending divorce. She was found drowned in her bathtub three weeks later, a gash to the back of her head.

The defense first asked Circuit Judge Carla J. Alessio Policandriotes to recuse herself on the grounds that she had minor contact with Drew and Kathleen over their divorce case in the past. She refused.

No word yet who this police officer is who says Drew told him Kathleen would be “better off dead”, but Fox once reported that Drew’s former partner, Alex Morelli, severed all ties and says that he wants nothing more to do with Drew and has nothing positive to say about him. He has said Drew has “turned his world upside down”.

Several police officers have testified at the special Grand Jury over the last year and a half.

A source said the would-be hit man was an undercover narcotics officer who had once worked with Peterson when the disgraced former cop was a member of the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad.

Joel Brodsky says, “Amazing how people are suddenly starting to remember these things in the last six weeks. Obviously, someone came forward and we’re going to find out who it is. But, in these high-profile cases, they often bring people out of the woodwork making allegations.”

A pretrial conference is scheduled for June 17.

Read story at CNN
Read story at Herald News
Read story at NBC News
Morelli info from Acandyrose

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Drew Peterson case has a new judge

From WGN/Tribune Breaking News Center:

Prosecutors get new judge in Peterson case
May 21, 2009 2:26 PM

Will County Chief Judge Gerald Kinney today allowed prosecutors to replace a judge in the Drew Peterson murder case, saying the defense had not established a pattern of abuse by the state of its right to replace judges.

“I do not find that this has been established by the defense’s response,” Kinney said during a hearing held at the Will County courthouse.

Prosecutors had filed a motion to replace Judge Richard Schoenstedt, arguing he was prejudiced against the state.

Kinney assigned the case to Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes — at which point Peterson’s attorney, Joel Brodsky, said he wanted to replace that judge. But after a brief recess, Brodsky withdrew his request.

A hearing with the new judge is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.

UPDATE: REMAINS FOUND NEAR DES PLAINES RIVER REMAIN UNIDENTIFIED – CORONER’s STATEMENT

Decomposed body found on the banks of the Des Plaines River

Could these be the remains of Lisa Stebic or Stacy Peterson?

This is what we know so far:

• The body is female
• Lower half of the body only
• Clad only in panties
• The Stacy Peterson water searchers say the body was found south of where they had previously seen a sonar image of a body in the water
• Apparently, the body moved to the location where it been discovered.
• Cales family has been contacted by ISP
• Task forces that were working on both Stacy Peterson and Lisa Stebic cases are on the scene.
• Drew Peterson is being monitored as this news is breaking. He can watch TV but cannot listen to radio
• Remains reported found in some sort of tub
• Autopsy to take place tomorrow morning
• Joel Brodsky reportedly said drew is “unconcerned” about the remains being found

We will update as we learn more.

Story at ABC
Story at CBS
Story at Tribune

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Drew Peterson’s Motion to Modify and Reduce Bond

Below is the motion filed on May 18th by Joel Brodsky to get Drew Peterson’s twenty million dollar bond reduced. It makes the same assertions that we have heard the defense state during their many media appearances: Peterson is a solid citizen, not a flight risk and that the bond is uncommonly and unjustly high.

View this document on Scribd

The motion also begins to attack the case of the prosecution, calling it “weak and circumstantial at best”. It questions whether or not a crime was even committed, and attacks the so-called Hearsay Law which State’s Attorney James Glasgow has said will be part of the prosecution arsenal.

The motion is accompanied by an Exhibit A: Kathleens Savio’s Death Certificate and strangely enough, Exhibit B: an anonymous editorial and comment from the Sun-Times.

One interesting claim made in the motion is that Peterson is on a small, fixed income–something that Joel Brodsky denied less than two weeks ago during an appearance on WLS radio, Mancow and Cassidy show.

From the Motion to Reduce Bond.

“13.  Mr. Peterson is retired and his only source of income is his pension from the Bolingbrook Police Department which is approximately $6,000 per month. He has no substantial savings or investment accounts.”

From the Mancow and Cassidy Radio Show.

Mancow Muller: He’s broke! You’re never going to get paid.

Joel Brodsky: Oh, I’ll get paid. Drew not only was a police officer but he was a business man. He owned a bar. He had a printing company. He had a photography company. He had, if I recall, five different businesses. All were profitable.

 
Peterson’s on-again off-again fiancée, Christina Raines, also seems to think he’s good for the two million dollar bail. At least, that’s what she told her father.

Thanks, Bucketoftea for finding the document.

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Peterson Grand Jury Ends

SOURCE:  GRAND JURY ENDS PETERSON PROBE

May 19, 2009

By JOE HOSEY

JOLIET — The grand jury investigating the fate of Drew Peterson’s last two wives wrapped up Tuesday with the testimony of potential star witness Thomas Morphey, a source said.

The grand jury’s 18-month term is set to expire Thursday, but the source said it finished two days early.

Charles B. Pelkie, the spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office, said he could neither confirm nor deny whether the grand jury, which was hearing testimony regarding the murder of Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, and the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, as well as the apparently unrelated disappearance of Plainfield mother Lisa Stebic, was in fact done.

The grand jury indicted Peterson two weeks ago on first-degree murder charges in connection with Savio’s death, but no indictments are on file relating to either Stacy Peterson or Stebic’s disappearance, although they may be under seal.

Pelkie declined to comment on whether or not the grand jury has returned indictments in either Stacy or Stebic’s case.

The Selling of Drew Peterson, continued

Steph Watts, formerly of On the Record with Greta Van Susteren and now a freelancer, described on Fox News Chicago tonight how Joel Brodsky approached him with an offer: $200,000 for a story about Drew Peterson and Chrissy Raines, complete with the opportunity to videotape the two of them at home.

The figure of $200,000 was arrived at by their belief that is what the family of Casey Anthony was offered for a story.

Watts stated that were Peterson to be acquitted he imagines Drew and Joel Brodsky would simply “Rejoin the media circus” and the two of them would continue to “pimp themselves out for interviews.”

Rumor has it that NBC paid six figures for the collect-call interview granted to Matt Lauer earlier this week.

Fox News Chicago

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Drew Peterson pleads not guilty to murder

Former police officer Drew Peterson pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday on first-degree murder charges in the 2004 slaying of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

9:47: The prosecution has asked for Judge Richard Schoenstedt be removed from Peterson’s case.

10:01 According to MSNBC Brodsky is challenging the move to change judges, and Will County Chief Judge Gerald Kinney is slated to hold a hearing on the issue Thursday.

10:03: The request sent the hearing into a recess, and it is going to be continued until Thursday.

10:14: Press Conference: Brodsky says Drew is going to get a vigorous and zealous defense.

Now that the charges have been brought, it will limit what they can say. They’ll try to be as open as possible.

Calling the proceedings gamesmanship and says the State doesn’t want to try this case on the merits. Says they want to try it on technicalities.

Says it shows the State’s weakness.

10:15: Abood says the motions says prosecution believes the judge is “prejudiced against the state.”

10:16: Reporter: Savio’s familoy says that Drew was smirking and waving at them today. Abood says he was with Drew and didn’t see it.

10:17 Reporter asks Joel about being paid for interviews. He skirts it by saying “News agencies don’t pay for interviews”.

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