Drew Peterson: another hearing this friday

UPDATE July 8: Hearing rescheduled for Tuesday, July 14th.

NAME                 DATE     ROOM    TIME      CASE   
PETERSON DREW W     7  10  9  402     930     09CF001048
PETERSON DREW W     7  10  9  402     930     09CF001048

Drew Peterson will be in court again this Friday, July 10, for a motions hearing. At that time Judge Stephen White should rule on continued motions and hear any new ones.

At Peterson’s last hearing Joel Brodsky argued six motions before the judge. He asked that prosecutors be required to give more details about their theory of how Peterson killed Kathleen Savio as well as summaries of the 9,470 investigative reports provided to the defense. This was denied. The judge also denied the request that Peterson be allowed to retain evidence against him while he is in jail.

At the last hearing Judge White asked the prosecution to reveal if payment or other consideration was given to Paula Stark, Len Wawczak or Thomas Morphey in exchange for their testimony. He also agreed to enter an order forbidding the state from listening to recorded phone calls between Peterson and his attorneys; although John Connor, chief of the Will County State’s Attorney’s major crimes unit stated that prosecutors have not been listening in.

The prosecution was also asked to produce a list of the fifty witnesses most likely to be called to testify, from over 800 witnesses originally named.

Will County Circuit Court Schedule

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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.

PETERSON GRAND JURY HEARS WIRE TAP TESTIMONY

Thomas Morphey and Lenny Wawczak take a break from testifying.

From NBC 5 News…

PETERSON GRAND JURY HEARS WIRE TAP TESTIMONY
By DICK JOHNSON

Updated 11:30 AM CDT, Thu, May 14, 2009

The former friends of Drew Peterson who allegedly wore wire taps to record potentially incriminating conversations with him are before a Will County grand jury today.

The grand jury is in its final two weeks of work toward a possible indictment in the disappearance of Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy.

Also in front of the grand jury is Thomas Morphey, Drew’s stepbrother, who claims he helped carry a blue plastic barrel out of the Peterson home, which he now believes contained Stacy’s dead body.

Read the story at NBC Chicago News

BTW, Steve Carcerano also appeared before Grand Jury today.

MAY 15 UPDATE: Mike Robinson also testified at yesterday’s Grand Jury.

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Drew Peterson on trial: Who will be called to testify?

Joel Brodsky is back in town and one can only assume that Monday he will be getting around to dealing with his client, Drew Peterson, who currently sits in isolation in the medical unit of the Will County Adult Detention Facility.

Peterson is scheduled for an arraignment hearing on May 18, for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

It’s anyone’s guess when the case will actually go to trial, but when it does who do you think will be called up as witnesses? The following is a list I put together but maybe you can think of more…or reasons why some of these people might not be called.

1. Michael Baden, M. M.D.
   Forensic Pathologist
   He analyzed Kathleen Savio’s remains November 16, 2007 at the request of her relatives. He concluded she died after a struggle, and her body was placed in the bathtub where she was found.
2. Bill Belcher Jr.
   A witness for Kathleen’s first autopsy, March 1, 2004
3. Dr. Larry W. Blum
   Forensic pathologist who performed autopsy of Kathleen on November 13, 2007. Concluded in his report that the actual cause of Kathleen Savio’s death was drowning and that the legal manner of death was homicide. “Dr. Blum’s forensic report renders his expert opinion that this is a homicide,”
4. Bob Brenczewski
   Will County Chief Deputy Coroner
5. Mike Calcagno
   BBPD Chief in 2004 said he felt for Kathleen and gave her his personal cell number
6. Steven Carcerano
   A friend and former neighbor of Drew and Kathleen. Discovered Kathleen’s body.
7. James B. Carrol
   Drew Peterson’s Uncle and executor of the estate of Kathleen Savio
8. Victoria L. Connolly
   Drew Peterson’s 2nd Wife
   Said that during their marriage an increasingly controlling Peterson told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident.
9. Charlie Dastych
   DuPage County’s Chief Deputy Coroner
   Reviewed Kathleen’s autopsy report at CBS 2’s request. “The injuries that are noted in the autopsy report definitely indicate there is evidence of suspicion that could be looked at at a different level,” Dastych said. “Evidence of a possible struggle.”
10. Bob Deel
    ISP crime scene technician.
    Deputy Coroner Mike VanOver: “Bob Deel was asked by me if he thought there was anything hinky here, and stuff like that, and if we should be doing something different, and I was told no.”

Drew Peterson: Where is the Love?

Drew Peterson cutting down ribbons honoring his missing wife on Sunday.

Recently, I came across a Facebook comment from Tom Morphey’s sister, Sue Cathcart. She wrote, “The entire Morphey family is anxiously awaiting SOMETHING to put this murderer away! It is incomprehensible that Drew is walking around a free man, destroying the lives of his innocent children and mocking the justice system. I pray for some closure for Kathleen & Stacy’s families, and normalcy for the Morphey family. Thanks to everyone who has encouraged and supported my brother, Tommy, during this difficult time for him.”

Sue isn’t the only person to come forward in support of Tom Morphey, the man who claims to have helped his brother move a blue container from Drew Peterson’s house the night that Stacy Peterson went missing. Tom’s brother, John Morphey, has also spoken publicly in defense of his brother. He’s described Tom as a man with a past of drug and alcohol abuse, but also as a man who has worked hard to clean up. He describes his brother as trusting and loyal saying “He’s loyal to a fault. Put it this way: His sophomore year of high school, he was playing football [at Hinsdale South High School] and one of the guys on his team picked up the ball and ran the wrong way. Tom blocked for him.”

Tom’s friend Walter Martinek says, “He’s a down-to-earth person. He’ll give you the shirt off his back. I can’t say nothing bad about him. His past is his past. From when I moved into the neighborhood six years ago, I’ve never seen no problems whatsoever.”

These people have all come forward in support of a man who Drew Peterson’s defense is trying to paint as someone with “severe mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction“; someone who lies and hallucinates; a man who thirsts so much for approval that he’ll admit to knowing about and being involved in the murder of his sister-in-law. Yet, there are people who will stand up to vouch for and defend Tom Morphey.

So, where are Drew Peterson’s supporters?

Drew Peterson Lies on the Air About Visiting a Storage Facility.

Drew Peterson at WIND 560.

Yesterday, while we were all waiting to see Thomas Morphey speak on Good Morning America, Drew Peterson and Joel Brodsky did a radio interview at WIND 560 am,with Geoff Pinkus and Amy Jacobson.

My hat is off to Jacobson and Pinkus, who went after Drew with some very direct questions, including some about the storage locker that Thomas Morphey claims Drew wanted him to rent the day before Stacy Peterson disappeared. You need to listen to this audio clip from the show.

I was very interested to hear Drew at first deny that the visit had occurred and then under the urgings of Jacobson and his attorney, do a complete 180 and admit that indeed he had visited such a facility with his step-brother, but only to inquire about renting a unit, and only to store tires. Not in any way did he want Tom to put the unit in his name, so that Drew could store a corpse there. No. No way. Absolutely not!

UPDATE:  Geoff Pinkus has got four audio segments from the show available on his site now. They are good!

UPDATE: From a new ABC story
A spokesperson for the Will County State’s Attorney Office responded to the allegations by Brodsky saying that, “Mr. Brodsky has no first-hand knowledge of our investigation and no concept of whom we deem credible or not. Our investigation is focused on the disappearance of Stacy Peterson and the murder of Kathleen Savio.  We fully expect to bring one of those cases to a successful conclusion in the very near future.”.

Has Tom Morphey Run Away to Join the Media Circus?

This is a little concerning. Just how much is Tom going to talk…and what will he say?

Do you think Tom should be speaking out publicly about the events surrounding Stacy’s disappearance? Give us your opinion by taking the poll at the end of this post.

Chris Cuomo, the reporter who interviewed Tom Morphey for tomorrow’s Good Morning America appearance, hosted a Twitter chat this morning about the interview. Scroll down the comments on this thread to see what Cuomo had to say.

Preview of Morphey’s appearance on Good Morning America.

**********************************

Tom Morphey will appear on Good Morning America Monday.

Peterson’s stepbrother wanted on TV news shows
March 13, 2009

By JOE HOSEY jhosey@scn1.com

Thomas Morphey laid low for nearly a year and a half and watched his stepbrother Drew Peterson make the rounds of various TV news shows.

Now Morphey, who says Peterson pulled him into a sinister murder plot against his will, is taking his turn on the small screen.

Tom Morphey, Drew Peterson’s stepbrother, has come clean about what happened in the time around the disappearance of Drew’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson in October 2007.

Morphey jetted out to New York on Thursday to tape an interview on “Good Morning America.” It is the first TV appearance for Morphey since he went public with his story that Peterson not only asked him to commit murder, but roped him into disposing of his wife’s body. The show will air Monday morning.

Peterson’s wife, Stacy Peterson, vanished in October 2007. State police consider Stacy, who is Peterson’s fourth wife, to be the victim of a “potential homicide” and named Drew Peterson their sole suspect.

State police also are investigating the mysterious, March 2004 bathtub homicide of Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio. State police first found nothing fishy about Savio’s death, but got another shot at it after Stacy vanished.

The Peterson Grand Jury: Weighing the Witness Testimony

MORPHEY’S GRAND JURY WORTHINESS

Comments have come up recently about Grand Jury appearances, after Tom Morphey went public with his knowledge of the events leading up to and after the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.  Mr. Morphey has stated that he has not given testimony before the Grand Jury.  Drew Peterson’s attorney, Joel Brodsky, has offered the reason for this, based on his own interpretation.  He has determined, in his ultimate wisdom, that Mr.  Morphey is not credible, and that he “has a documented history of severe mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction.”

While Brodsky may say he’s relying on information provided to him, he seems to be the only one in the public that has specifically mentioned multiple suicide attempts by Mr. Morphey.  When doing an appearance at one time on Fox’s OntheRecord, Brodsky said that Thomas Morphey had attempted suicide “many” times in the past, and was not reliable. While he was on TV saying that, Greta got an email from Thomas Morphey’s sister, who said that was a blatant lie. He had “never tried suicide before.”  We have not found any references to Mr. Morphey’s “many” suicide attempts in the media, other than coming from Brodsky himself.  Wouldn’t it just be wiser, sound more reasonable, to say if and when Mr. Morphey does testify at a potential trial, Brodsky will submit evidence that disputes these implications?  No, instead, a man’s mental stability, references to medication he has been prescribed, and name calling is the rule of the day.  “Fantasy.”  “Delusional.”

CONFIDENTIAL MEDICAL RECORDS

Funny guy, that Brodsky is, since we are all covered under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which “provides federal protections for personal health information held by covered entities, and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information.”  In other words, unless one specifically gives another a Medical Authorization to freely obtain one’s medical records, they are private. Confidential.  We here assume Mr. Morphey did not give Brodsky a Medical Authorization to legally obtain his medical records, so we must assume Brodsky is full of himself and is merely making up the accusations of Mr. Morphey’s multiple suicide attempts to deflect attention from his  crime-suspect client. What is the word that comes to mind, the one  defense lawyers hate?  Oh, yeah, “hearsay.”  Brodsky must be relying on “hearsay” to make those bold statements repeatedly about Mr. Morphey’s “many suicide attempts”.  Unless Brodsky comes out with proof and can verify he has legally obtained authentic medical records relating to Mr. Morphey, we can just assume it’s all smoke and mirrors, once again. 

Health Information Privacy

Joel Brodsky: This Witness Isn’t Credible Because He’s Lying–I Mean Confused!

"Nothing against people with mental illness..."

Tuesday afternoon, in response to Thomas Morphey coming forward and giving a detailed account of his knowledge of the events surrounding the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, Joel Brodsky held a news conference.

In front of a handful of bored-looking reporters, he recited the same tired defense we’ve heard for the last seventeen months: Thomas Morphey is delusional and suffers from mental illness. He never came to Drew’s house. There was no blue barrel. Not in the past, the present or the future (pretty neat trick that–seeing into the future).

But earlier in the day Joel strayed from the script a little and told Steve Miller of WBBM that maybe Tom was just confused, “There’s probably things in the past that Morphey might have done – helping Drew unload a truck on some job project or something, that Morphey, in his mind, may have twisted around.”

Joel Brodsky did the same thing when the Engagement Stunt fiasco was in the news. Joel at first completely denied that there was any sort of stunt. But, when it got a little hot for him (since the Idiot Woman-child, Christina Raines, claimed that it was in fact, Joel who had plotted it) he hedged a bit saying, “I don’t blame her. She made a mistake. She basically confused a couple of things she overheard and just didn’t know what she was really saying…”

Tom Morphey Talks!

Thomas Morphey

Peterson’s stepbrother tells police his story
A summary of what Morphey told police about weekend of Stacy’s disappearance

By JOE HOSEYmailto:jhosey@scn1.com

Believing Stacy Peterson was in the blue barrel he helped his stepbrother haul to a waiting get-away car, Thomas Morphey said he tried to kill himself by swallowing bottles of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety pills.

Morphey survived the attempt but does not know if this makes him lucky.

“It kills me,” said Morphey, who broke a near 17-month silence to speak out last week. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I could take back the events of that day.”

Morphey is talking about Oct. 28, 2007. That’s when Drew Peterson, he said, came out of the master bedroom in his home pushing a blue barrel and asked Morphey for a hand in carrying the barrel downstairs.

“I asked him, ‘Shouldn’t we have gloves on?’ He said, ‘No, don’t worry about it,” then hushed Morphey to be quiet.

“That leads me to believe the kids were home, in their rooms,” Morphey said.