Why was Kathleen Savio’s third autopsy “news” last week?

Authorities exhume the body of Kathleen Savio 11/13/2007

Last week Lisa Bloom appeared on CNN’s Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell with a story about Dr. Michael Baden’s autopsy of the remains of Kathleen Savio, promising “jaw-dropping” and “gruesome” details. Then followed stories on CNN, CBS and numerous local news outlets.

For anyone who has been following the Drew Peterson cases, it was a bit of a déjà vu experience. There was essentially no new information in any of the reports. Since Dr. Baden performed his autopsy at the request of the Savio family in November 2007, he has made public his opinion that Savio was beaten, that she struggled, and that her drowning death was a result of an act of homicide.

So why were news outlets resurrecting this 20-month-old story? It appears that Lisa Bloom got possession of Baden’s actual report on his autopsy findings and a hard-copy of the document was enough to warrant a news story.

The report itself doesn’t appear to shed any new evidentiary light on what may have happened to Kathleen Savio during the last days of February, 2004. Yes, there are details about the condition of her remains that aren’t pleasant to read. Velez-Mitchell called these details “gruesome” but in reality they are only sad. Naturally, a body exhumed after three years in the grave will have undergone some decomposition, but that’s not what should be making us cringe or shudder.

What should be giving us goosebumps is the thought that she was murdered, that she predicted it and pointed out the man who would kill her to no avail, that she cried out for help and was ignored, that after her murder a sham of an inquest betrayed and insulted her and consigned her to the ground to wait for three years until yet another tragedy shed new light on her case.

So, we’ve heard these details and opinions before. Well, fine then. Why not hear them again? The story should be told over and over — even if it isn’t “news”. Kathleen’s family and friends live it every day.

REMINDER: If you have any legal/courtroom questions about the case for Karen Conti, please continue to post or email them and we’ll post her replies. Thanks!

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Drew Peterson and Empathy

Dr. Keith Ablow, psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author.

by Dr. Keith Ablow

When Drew Peterson was brought into court on charges that he murdered his third wife Kathleen Savio, he was in a good mood. He yelled jokes to reporters about how “spiffy” his red prison jumpsuit was and called his shackles “bling.”

Peterson is, of course, also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of Stacy Peterson, his fourth wife. He insists he is an innocent man.

Think of how you’d respond to being dragged into court on murder charges, especially if you were wrongly accused. You might be terrified or confused or enraged at the injustice of your plight, but you wouldn’t be all smiles, spewing one-liners.

So how can Drew Peterson do it?

To have any hope of understanding Drew Peterson, one first has to understand human empathy. Empathy is the ability to resonate with the feelings of others to such an extent that one actually experiences some of their joy or grief or anxiety. It is a remarkable and inexplicable quality that we too often take for granted. The fact that a friend can be brought to tears by a loss of yours, that you can intuit and share the worries or hopes or pride of your partner in life, or that the hunger of children thousands of miles away could spur you to action on their behalf is a tribute to this miraculous force.

Empathy does even more, though. It helps us contain our anger and our destructive impulses, because we can imagine how it might feel to be the object of that rage. It also helps us gauge what is appropriate language and behavior in various situations, again because we can imagine how others are likely to respond to us. We can put ourselves in the shoes of our friends or neighbors or loved ones.

Greta’s take on Drew Peterson’s Telling Faux Pas

Another good video posted by WomenScorned. The last moment is the best: Ooops!

Unlike the earlier Fox video, this clip shown on Greta Van Susteren’s On The Record does not cut away to still photos during Drew’s slip-up and the subsequent back-pedalling and denial so you can see the total “oh shit.” expression on Peterson’s face.

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Drew Peterson: Mommy’s on vacation and she’s not coming back.

This morning Drew Peterson and his attorney Joel Brodsky made the local morning show circuit to respond on air to the Savio family filing a wrongful death suit against Peterson.

On Fox’s Good Day Chicago show Drew made an embarrassing blunder. While leading into questions about the wrongful death suit, host Jan Jeffcoat asked a few questions about Peterson’s children, including what Drew tells them regarding his missing wife, Stacy’s, whereabouts. “What do you tell your children when they say, ‘Where’s Mommy?’ What do you say to them?” Jeffcoat asked.

Drew responded, “She’s on vacation and she’s not coming back.”

With some surprise in her voice, Jeffcoat asked, “Why do you say she’s not coming back?” Peterson quickly did a one-eighty, “I don’t say she’s not coming back.”

As the video feed switched to still images of Stacy and her children, Jeffcoat pursued the question, “You just said, “I tell them she’s on vacation. She’s not coming back.” Drew began to backpedal saying, “Oh, I didn’t mean that. She’s on vacation…and we don’t know when she’s coming back. My little girl keeps asking when she’s coming back and I keep telling her I don’t know.”

Jeffcoat then expressed that it must be heartbreaking for Drew. He responded, “It is for me, yes. But it’s become commonplace for the kids”

If it’s so commonplace for the kids, why is it that his little girl keeps asking when Mommy is coming back? If it’s so heartbreaking for Drew, why does he have an ongoing relationship with a young woman who according to Drew “comes and goes” from his home and in and out of the children’s lives? How does he explain that to his children?

Savio Family to Bring Wrongful Death Suit against Drew Peterson

NBC reports that the suit will be filed tomorrow – April 21st.
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Kathleen Savio

Exclusive: Drew Sued For Wife’s Death
Family of Kathleen Savio files wrongful death suit

By ROB STAFFORD and BJ LUTZ

BOLINGBROOK, ILL — No one has been criminally charged in the death of Kathleen Savio, but her family’s attorney on Monday night said they will file a wrongful death civil suit against the man many believe committed the crime: Savio’s former husband, Drew Peterson.

The 15-page lawsuit, to be filed in Will County Circuit Court, carefully lays out a case the family says shows that Peterson was responsible for the death of his third wife.

The suit claims:

•  that during the couple’s “contentious divorce” in 2002, “there were a number of confrontations” that resulted in police reports that detailed Peterson’s physical assaults and threats of physical violence,
• that upon finalization of the divorce, Peterson gained entry to the home of which Savio had become the sole owner by using a garage door opener and, on one occasion, by cutting through a wall and crawling through it,
• that Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, met with a pastor and said that she had “personal, detailed knowledge” that Peterson had killed Savio.

Five months after their divorce was finalized, Savio was found dead, face down in a dry bathtub. Her death was initially ruled an accident but follow-up autopsies determined it was by homicide.

Peterson’s attorney, Joel Brodsky, said the allegations in the lawsuit are “absolutely untrue” and said he looks forward to questioning witnesses in the case.