Posted on by facsmiley court appearance, Drew Peterson, Hearsay Law, Joel Brodsky, Kathleen Savio, murder charge, Stacy Peterson

Drew Peterson hearsay hearing – Day 9: Neighbors testify

Hearings resume today to determine which statements will be admissable in the trial of Drew Peterson for the murder of his ex-wife, Kathleen Savio.

Nick Pontarelli, 19, took the stand this morning. At the time of Kathleen Savio’s death, he lived next door to the Savio home with his parents, Mary and Thomas Pontarelli. Nick was one of the people Drew Peterson sent into Kathleen’s home the night her body was discovered.

Pontarelli said that Kathleen Savio was like a second mom to him and that she confided in him about her fear that Drew would kill her. She showed him evidence of Drew breaking into the house and possibly recording her phone conversations.

Thomas Pontarelli, Nick’s father, testified about Drew’s demeanor once Kathleen’s body was discovered as well as the absence of towels and clothing from the bathroom. Pontarelli also stated that Drew left a .38 caliber bullet on his driveway as a warning and told him that any friend of Savio’s was an enemy of his.

SOURCES:
Joe Hosey’s Twitter Feed
Chicago Tribune Breaking News

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102 thoughts on “Drew Peterson hearsay hearing – Day 9: Neighbors testify”

  1. FWIW, I heard back about getting transcripts:

    If you want transcripts of the case you would have to contact the court reporter at 815-740-8790.

    I called the number but it’s been disconnected. LMAO … should I take that as a sign? If anyone knows how to contact the court reporter, please let us know.

  2. joehosey
    Kathleen Savio’s teenage next-door neighbor told of the night Savio was found dead. Nick Pontarelli, 19, was 14 when Savio was found …
    5 minutes ago from txt

    Drowned in her dry bathtub. State and Bolingbrook police both failed to talk to Pontarelli until 2007. Pontarelli also told how Savio …
    3 minutes ago from txt

    Feared for her life and told him that if she died, it would not be an accident. Pontarelli also said Peterson and his next wife, Stacy …
    2 minutes ago from txt

    Peterson instigated a domestic incident that ended with Savio’s arrest.
    less than a minute ago from txt

  3. joehosey
    Feared for her life and told him that if she died, it would not be an accident. Pontarelli also said Peterson and his next wife, Stacy …?!!!?

    thanks joe-n-facs!

  4. bucketoftea :
    joehosey
    Feared for her life and told him that if she died, it would not be an accident. Pontarelli also said Peterson and his next wife, Stacy …?!!!?
    thanks joe-n-facs!

    Did he mean “ex wife” is “dead wife” as regards Peterson?

  9. Neighbor testifies at Peterson hearsay hearing
    February 01, 2010 13:17 EST

    JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A teenage neighbor is testifying at a hearing to determine what hearsay evidence a jury can hear when Drew Peterson stands trial in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

    Nick Pontarelli testified Monday that Savio told him Peterson once put a knife to her throat, broke into her suburban Chicago house and planted recording devices. Pontarelli says Savio was afraid of Peterson…

    http://www.wicd15.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.il/25d90814-www.wicd15.com.shtml

  10. Neighbor says Savio terrified of Drew Peterson
    February 1, 2010 12:29 PM
    A neighbor of Kathleen Savio testified today that she was terrified of estranged husband Drew Peterson in the months before she was found dead, fearing Peterson had bugged her phone and was sneaking into the home through a hole in the garage.

    Nick Pontarelli, 19, said he was 14 at the time of Savio’s death in 2004. “Kathy was like a second mom to me,” said Pontarelli, dressed in a blue oxford shirt and tie.

    He said Savio had placed a deadbolt lock on her bedroom door and a second deadbolt lock on the front door, but she believed Peterson had drilled a hole over the deadbolt in her bedroom.

    Savio also told him that she believed Peterson had bugged her home and showed him a black box connected to a telephone in the basement bedroom that had been Peterson’s before he moved out, Pontarelli said.

    She showed him a stack of tapes she said were of conversations she believed Peterson had recorded.

    Pontarelli took the stand at a hearing to determine what hearsay evidence a jury can hear when Peterson stands trial for the murder of Savio.

    He said Savio showed him a hole leading from a garage to her home that Peterson used to climb through to get into the home. He said Savio had him take a picture of the hole so she could use it during the divorce proceedings.

    Pontarelli said he last saw Savio shortly before her body was found in March of 2004. Savio told him over a lunch that she was afraid because the divorce settlement was coming up and she was planning to move away.

    That evening, as he was driving back to his home with his family, he noticed a light on in her bedroom. He said he tried to call her the next day to offer her pasta from his family and even went and rang her doorbell but go no answer. She was found dead the next day in her bathtub.

    Pontarelli said Savio was considering suing the Bolingbrook police department, where Peterson was working at the time. “She didn’t feel law enforcement helped her as much as they could,” said Pontarelli.

    Pontarelli’s father Thomas Pontarelli testified next. He was one of the four people who were in the home with Peterson when Savio’s body was discovered; his son, his wife, and another neighbor were the others.

    He said that he did not see any clothes or towels in the bathroom in which Savio’s body was found; he did not see a rug on the tile floor. He said that when Peterson saw Savio’s body, he took her pulse and asked, “What am I going to tell the children?” Peterson then told people to leave the bathroom because it might be a crime scene, he said.

    The senior Pontarelli also said that he was standing in a hallway next to Peterson when Peterson used his cellphone to call what Pontarelli believed was the police. Pontarelli said that one of the things Peterson said to the person on the phone was that people would think Peterson did it.

    Pontarelli testified that Peterson seemed genuinely emotional and that his voice appeared to crack and his eyes seemed to tear up after discovering Savio’s body.

    More than 30 witnesses have testified about Savio’s death and the 2007 disappearance of Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. Peterson has pleaded not guilty in Savio’s death. He hasn’t been charged in Stacy Peterson’s disappearance.

    On Friday, Stacy Peterson’s pastor testified that she told him how Peterson disappeared from their house the night before Savio’s body was found and how he coached her to lie about his whereabouts.

    — Erika Slife

    http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/peterson-hearing-more-than-halfway-over.html

  11. joehosey
    Savio’s next-door neighbor Thomas Pontarelli, the father of Nick, recounted the night in March 2004 that Savio was found dead. Pontarelli ..
    2 minutes ago from txt

    Said Drew Peterson exclaimed, “What will I tell my children?” Peterson then called the police on his cell phone and said, “They’re going …
    less than a minute ago from txt

    To thin I did it.” Pontarelli also sdaid Peterson left a .38-cailber bullet point-up in his driveway as a threat and told him any friend …
    half a minute ago from txt

    Of Savio was an enemy of his.
    half a minute ago from txt

  17. I cannot even begin to express my total fury and outrage.

    Kathleen’s family-estate needs to sue the ever living ^%$# out of Bolingbrook.

    This was a conspiracy to deny Kathleen her constitutional right to equal protection under the law as well as enforcement of the Illinois Domestic Violence Protection Act.

    Drew sure had a lot of waterboys, didn’t he…now all these rotten^%$#@!@# can pay.

  19. craig_wall
    Kathy Savio’s neighbors testify. one says she told him if something happened to her it wasn’t an accident
    2 minutes ago from API

    craig_wall
    second neighbor was in the bathroom where Savio’s body was found and saw no clothes or towel
    half a minute ago from API

    Don’t know yet who this second person is…Mary Pontarelli, Steve Carcerano or…?

  20. Ahh…that putrid stench that is Drew is finally getting the fresh air of truth. Oh, how I wish I could sit in that courtroom and watch him attempt to keep that smirk going. The harder it is for him to appear nonchalant, the easier it would be for me to see him try.

  21. Rogue cop Drew Peterson certainly had a lot of influence around town:
    Mayor Drew Peterson—Chief Of Police Drew Peterson—Commander Drew Peterson of the ISP–Lead investigator Drew Peterson Will County States Attorney’s Office

    Seems he did as he pleased and why ? Why did others in seemingly more powerful positions of authority submit to Drew ? Why were they afraid of him ? Seems he was cut a wide berth to do as he pleased and he did. Threats and skulking around in a black ninja suit terrorizing his neighborhood.

    Poor Kathleen. No one to protect her, despite her pleas and cries. To them, she didn’t matter….

  22. February 1, 2010 at 2:03 pm | #20 Quote Ahh…that putrid stench that is Drew is finally getting the fresh air of truth. Oh, how I wish I could sit in that courtroom and watch him attempt to keep that smirk going. The harder it is for him to appear nonchalant, the easier it would be for me to see him try.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ..and the disease-ridden filth who enabled Drew to hurt, kill and cover it up.
    I am sure there are a few uniform-wearing waterboys who wish they never laid eyes on Drew but as the saying goes..”if you sup at the table of the devil, you’ll need a long spoon…”

  24. At WGN they are saying that the defense went after Nick for not contacting authorites with what he knew and had been told.

    I don’t know. When my 14-year-old was Freshmen Homecoming King I didn’t hear a word about it until a friend sent me a photo from the parade. Kids aren’t always going to be very forthcoming…and after Drew had threatened him and Kathleen’s predictions of her own death came to pass, he had all the more reason to keep quiet.

  25. Doesn’t it just boggle the mind to know how this man instilled fear in most everyone that may have crossed him? When he threatened someone, it looks like, they froze with fear. Just shows that they must have thought his ability to keep them in line reached far, even beyond him. After all, Kathleen was found dead after telling anyone and everyone she thought she would be, and it would be because of Drew, yet, he danced on her grave for years. Scary.

    Imagine a 14 year old who had this information, only to see it come to be. Finally, maybe this will all come to an end. Drew Peterson needs to be erased himself, by whatever means. He doesn’t deserve to breath the same air as the rest of the human race. Lying skunk that he is.

  27. facsmiley :
    At WGN they are saying that the defense went after Nick for not contacting authorites with what he knew and had been told.

    Jeez. What rat bastards. How low can they freaking go. Wonder what his answer was….they may be well sorry they asked that question, ie everyone was scared/nervous; we didn’t talk about it…

  28. I guess the things in Bolingbrook were much more “complicated” that just a bunch of police officers supporting each other. This is just the matter of time when we can start openly talk about it.

  29. If the neighbor boy had gone to the *authorities* chances are, he would have just disappeared into thin air or been the victim of an unfortunate accident which one of Drew’s uniformed waterboys would have been called in to investigate and coverup.

    The *authorities* already knew about Drew’s threats and violence and did nothing, so what good would this have done. None, thats what. For their own self-preservation they were correct to keep quiet. A bullet on the driveway from a cop would have sealed that decision for any family member.

  31. 03/01/04 STEVE CARCERANO, DREW PETERSON’S NEIGHBOR: “That night I, was coming home from work. It was about 9:00, 9:30, and I was coming down the street. And Drew was accosting (ph) me on the street. He actually stopped me and said, I need you to go to the house in the next 10 to 15 minutes. I have a locksmith coming over there. Mary, her friend, he contacted to go over there. He said he he`d been trying to drop off the kids for the past day-and- a-half and she hasn`t been responding. So I pulled up in the driveway, and I went nest door to get Mary, and then we proceeded over to the house. And the locksmith and Drew were there. The locksmith opened up the door. Mary and I went up the stairs. Drew stayed downstairs by the door. And Mary`s husband and son went into the (INAUDIBLE) to see if the car was there. We went up the stairs and went into the bedroom. Mary veered off to the right and went to the bed because the covers were kind of puffed up, ruffled over, and I went into the closet …” – “And then I went into the bathroom, and that`s when I noticed a balloon-type object in the tub”
    http://www.acandyrose.com/kathleen_savio_documents.htm

    IF the prosecution had done their homework, they’d have known he was there. And I agree w/Writer-all of this information was already out there, and it still didn’t do any good, so why go after him now?
    At 14, he was very young. There were so many older, wiser, louder people screaming this at the top of their lungs, and no one was even [i]pretending [/i] to listen! What makes them think anyone would have listened to Nick in 2004?
    My thinking is that young Nick will never entertain the idea of going into law enforcement.

  32. I’m not ready to make the leap that all of DP’s co-workers were going to cover for him, including hiding a murder. What I take from this is that Peterson was a dark scary, intimadating man (I hate calling that lying skunk a man). I doubt that many of his co-workers cared one iota about him, and avoided him more than associated with him. They had their own lives to worry about. I think he needs to be held accountable for his mind numbing life. But, there was a time when domestic violence was overlooked by plenty of authorities, not just the Bolingbrook P.D.

  34. It seems his MO was to threaten woman and children unless he was on duty with his gun in hand to threaten a man. That wimp.

  36. Police officers are just people like we are. If other people were afraid of Drew , why wouldn’t they be? As you said, Rescue, they have their lives, children and so on. Some of them probably had to stay indifferent to keep their jobs. Others had no idea what was going on, I guess. For majority of good policemen all the story must be shocking too. I had something different on my mind than accusing all the people(=police officers) around. IMO, Drew is just a tip of an iceberg. Without having support from at least a few significant people, he would have been in jail for murdering Kathleen since 2004.

  38. rescueapet February 1, 2010 at 2:57 pm | #32 Quote I’m not ready to make the leap that all of DP’s co-workers were going to cover for him, including hiding a murder.
    (end snip)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I am not suggesting this however I believe that he was enabled because all that is necessary for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing, which means there were bad people enabling Drew, effectively cancelling out the good people who may have tried to stop Drew, and these bad people were in positions of authority and they know who they are. Watch for a cavalcade of early retirements……

  40. The updated story makes a little more sense. In the first version, Nick was driving home. I thought, “At 14?” Now it’s been amended that he was going home w/his family.
    I add my thanks, too, Facs.

  41. Think about this:

    Every time the Defense uses the line “Why Didn’t You Go To The Authorities” or Why Didn’t You Report This” or Why Didn’t You Go To The Police” they are bolstering the case for the Prosecution !

  42. Every time the Defense uses the line “Why Didn’t You Go To The Authorities” or Why Didn’t You Report This” or Why Didn’t You Go To The Police” they are bolstering the case for the Prosecution !

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    and for a civil rights violation suit against the BB cops et al

  43. Cheryl, you wrote: “IF the prosecution had done their homework, they’d have known he was there.”

    What prosecution do you mean? The prosecution called Nick to testify. Who didn’t know Nick was there? *confused*

  44. The defense seems to be stuck on stupid these days with the cross-exam comeback that asks the witnesses whether or not they contacted the police.

    I don’t get it. Kathleen Savio, and after her death, her sisters, did everything imaginable to get someone to listen. Where is the defense going to go with this crap if, in fact, the woman who lived with the most fear couldn’t get the attention she asked for. Same with Stacy.

    Then, along came Chief McGury, who appears to have been unable to even be in the same room with the lying skunk. He was working on getting him before the police board, so he could be investigated for abusing his authority, and he wanted charges brought against him. He retired first.

    So, the end was coming for the skunk anyway. Too bad it took two women’s deaths to nail him.

  45. Looks like the whole family has testified.

    joehosey
    Mary Pontarelli from next door gives her version of the night they found Kathleen Savio’s body. No big surprises.
    6 minutes ago from txt

  46. Police officers are just people like we are. If other people were afraid of Drew , why wouldn’t they be? As you said, Rescue, they have their lives, children and so on.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    And did see what he could get away with and could do the same to them, their families and get away with it !

  47. rescueapet :

    The defense seems to be stuck on stupid these days with the cross-exam comeback that asks the witnesses whether or not they contacted the police.

    I don’t get it. Kathleen Savio, and after her death, her sisters, did everything imaginable to get someone to listen. Where is the defense going to go with this crap if, in fact, the woman who lived with the most fear couldn’t get the attention she asked for. Same with Stacy.

    Then, along came Chief McGury, who appears to have been unable to even be in the same room with the lying skunk. He was working on getting him before the police board, so he could be investigated for abusing his authority, and he wanted charges brought against him. He retired first.

    So, the end was coming for the skunk anyway. Too bad it took two women’s deaths to nail him.

    Post of the Day.

  48. Remember what Glasgow said months ago. Watch the movie Internal Affairs to get an insight into Peterson’s soul.

    I doubt Drew Peterson cared what type of uniform someone was wearing, as long as the guy in it wasn’t causing him trouble.

  49. facsmiley :
    Cheryl, you wrote: “IF the prosecution had done their homework, they’d have known he was there.”
    What prosecution do you mean? The prosecution called Nick to testify. Who didn’t know Nick was there? *confused*

    My bad, Facs. Of course I meant, “IF the defense…” I’m defenseless…

  50. rescue: (snipped)
    Then, along came Chief McGury, who appears to have been unable to even be in the same room with the lying skunk. He was working on getting him before the police board, so he could be investigated for abusing his authority, and he wanted charges brought against him. He retired first.

    So, the end was coming for the skunk anyway. Too bad it took two women’s deaths to nail him.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    how was the end coming for Drew ? The way I see it, Drew got his hefty pension without having to go B4 any board to answer any charges. Money talks. Prior to that, wasn’t Drew fired but reinstated ? Seems Drew always came out on top, until Cassandra stopped him.

  52. WOW – Chief McGury was not star struck by Peterson is all I meant. Peterson is not a god, he’s a piece of crap that was bound to screw up sooner or later. Don’t give him more credit than the lying skunk deserves.

  53. OK Cheryl. Got it. Still, I have to believe the defense also knew Nick was present since they brought up something the other day about the death scene being contaminated by a teen. I mean, they knew he was there…they are just jumping on him for not going to authorities earlier with what he is saying today.

  55. LOL, Facs. Do teens contaminate a crime scene *Oh, excuse me-death scene* any more than adults?
    No, I know what they’re trying to intimate, and I know what you mean.
    And this is going to sound awfully elementary, but did the defense question these that are testifying prior to their appearance in court?

  56. JAH – yes, he had already gotten away with an obscene amount of misdeeds, and then bolstered by his success I guess, he thought he couldn’t be touched and he killed again.

  57. The catalyst was that Drew blew himself out of the water by making his fourth wife disappear. justanother..

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    and if it were not for Cassandra’s aggressive action IMHO and tenacity, he might be still skulking around his neighboorhood wearing ninja clothes. Cassandra rocks!

  58. cheryljones :

    LOL, Facs. Do teens contaminate a crime scene *Oh, excuse me-death scene* any more than adults?
    No, I know what they’re trying to intimate, and I know what you mean.
    And this is going to sound awfully elementary, but did the defense question these that are testifying prior to their appearance in court?

    At these particular hearings, the defense does not know exactly who will be brought to testify each day. However, they were supplied with a complete list of witnesses by the State at one point, and then later with a short-list. Also, when the defense challenged the admission of hearsay evidence, the State answered with a list of the kinds of witnesses and statements that they wanted to admit, so IMO the defense can’t possibly be surprised by any of the witnesses who are taking the stand during these hearings. I don’t know if any of these witnesses gave a deposition but Nick did appear before the Grand Jury.

    If any one else has more information about this feel free to correct or add to it!

  60. Neighbor: Drew Knew He’d Be Suspect
    Hearsay hearing enters third week
    By CHARLIE WOJCIECHOWSKI
    Updated 4:02 PM CST, Mon, Feb 1, 2010

    A neighbor who helped find the body of Drew Peterson’s third wife said the former Bolingbrook police sergeant seemed “genuinely distraught.”

    But Thomas Pontarelli said Peterson also immediately suggested he’d be a suspect in Kathleen Savio’s 2004 death.

    In a hearing to determine what hearsay evidence a judge will allow jurors to hear when Peterson stands trial in the slaying of Savio, Pontarelli testified about the night her body was found. He said Peterson called him and told him he was bringing a locksmith to gain access to her house.

    He said when Savio was discovered lifeless in her bathtub, Peterson’s first words were “What will I tell my children?”

    He said when Peterson used his cell phone to notify police he said, “People are going to think I did it.”

    Pontarelli’s son Nick also testified that Savio told him she feared Drew Peterson.

    “She said if anything ever hapened to her it wasn’t an accident,” Nick Pontarelli told Judge Stephen White…

    http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/peterson-hearing-83271727.html

  62. If Drew had followed proper police protocol (he was on-duty after all) and called for officers to do a well-being check, none of these people would have been called to testify today.

  63. facsmiley :

    If Drew had followed proper police protocol (he was on-duty after all) and called for officers to do a well-being check, none of these people would have been called to testify today.

    Amen. An officer, a sergeant, no less, that orchestrated the sham of a well-being check he did is outrageous. 911 is all he had to call. Not a locksmith, not meet Carcerano in the subdivision and set-up an elaborate scheme to find his ex-wife, just 911. Hello, my ex is not answering calls or her door for me to return our children.

    What he did is legend now. Convicting him after all the screw-ups, missteps and lies is another. May he spend the rest of his miserable life living in the hell hole he deserves. The lying skunk.

  64. rescueapet :

    facsmiley :
    If Drew had followed proper police protocol (he was on-duty after all) and called for officers to do a well-being check, none of these people would have been called to testify today.

    Amen. An officer, a sergeant, no less, that orchestrated the sham of a well-being check he did is outrageous. 911 is all he had to call. Not a locksmith, not meet Carcerano in the subdivision and set-up an elaborate scheme to find his ex-wife, just 911. Hello, my ex is not answering calls or her door for me to return our children.
    What he did is legend now. Convicting him after all the screw-ups, missteps and lies is another. May he spend the rest of his miserable life living in the hell hole he deserves. The lying skunk.

    Easy there, rescue. DP is in his own Hell every minute of every day in these Hearsay Hearings. He is being confronted by each witness with the fact that everyone saw through all his B.S. that he thought he was soooo good at slinging. He gotta be thinking, oh sh*t, I forgot. DP forgot about the clothing he picked up from the bathroom, the fact he told everyone Kathleen drowned and didn’t just hit her head and die in the tub. Ummmm, what else?

  68. I was doing some research to see if the police would know if a lock was picked. I found out they can by testing the tumblers for foreign particles. I can’t help but think Drew brought in a locksmith to cover up the evidence of Drew picking the lock nights before

  70. Everything else said about contaminating the crime scene is right also. A good defense attorney would have no problems getting any evidence found there thrown out for that reason. Drew knew what he was doing.

  72. A source tells me that there were some photos of Kathleen’s death scene shown in court today. Some were shown to the whole courtroom but those that depicted Kathleen’s remains were shown only to the witnesses.

  73. givarat :Everything else said about contaminating the crime scene is right also. A good defense attorney would have no problems getting any evidence found there thrown out for that reason. Drew knew what he was doing.

    Ha, old dog DP left his own trademark… he is a neatness freak!!!!!

    DP left no evidence… the perfect crime!

    Lack of evidence IS evidence!

  74. Bolingbrook family speaks in Peterson case
    February 1, 2010
    By JOE HOSEY jhosey@stmedianetwork.com

    JOLIET — A Bolingbrook family recounted the nightmare of finding their beloved next-door neighbor drowned in her dry tub and told of her estranged husband shoving her face in the dirt during a confrontation.

    Thomas and Mary Pontarelli and their 19-year-old son, Nick Pontarelli, all testified Monday about what it was like to live next-door to Kathleen Savio, both before and after her husband, Drew Peterson, left her to take up with his teenage girlfriend in a house down the street.

    The Pontarellis were called as witnesses on the first day of the third week of a crucial hearing to determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed at Peterson’s upcoming murder trial.

    Peterson is charged with drowning Savio, who was his third wife.

    Prosecutors are also tying to prove he killed his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, to prevent her from testifying against him. Stacy Peterson vanished in October 2007. The state police believe Peterson may have done her in, but have yet to charge him with harming her.

    ‘Police business’

    Nick Pontarelli told of Stacy driving by Savio’s home and giving her the finger. That same day in May 2002, Savio was charged with battery for allegedly punching Stacy in the face. The way Nick Pontarelli told it, Stacy was videotaping Savio with a camera supposedly stolen from Savio’s home.

    During a confrontation, Stacy called out that Savio struck her, Nick Pontarelli said. Peterson, a Bolingbrook police sergeant, then threw Savio to the ground, twisted her arm behind her back and pushed her face into the grass, the 19-year-old testified. Peterson also warned away those who tried to intervene, he said.

    “Every time anyone would approach, we were told it was police business,” said Nick Pontarelli, whose mother pulled up in her car while Peterson was pinning Savio to the ground.

    “I said, ‘Drew, how could you pin your wife down into the lawn in front of the whole neighborhood?'” Mary Pontarelli testified. “He said, ‘Mare, don’t come any closer. This is police business.'”

    Savio was later acquitted of the battery charge. She was arrested on another occasion for allegedly battering Peterson and was again acquitted. Despite her numerous calls to the police, Peterson was not arrested once.

    Nick Pontarelli said Savio was frustrated with the police and planned to sue the village of Bolingbrook once issues with her divorce were settled.

    Savio’s body

    The Pontarellis and another neighbor, Steve Carcerano, found Savio’s body in her bathtub after a locksmith opened her front door in March 2004. The Pontarellis all testified that Peterson called their home and asked them to go inside Savio’s house while he waited outside.

    Carcerano was the first to see Savio’s body. Mary Pontarelli was right behind her and screamed when she caught a glimpse of her friend in the tub. Her husband and son — with Peterson on their heels — then bounded up the stairs to the bathroom.

    “To me, it seemed like somebody placed her in there,” Mary Pontarelli said of Savio’s body.

    Peterson checked Savio’s pulse and said, “What am I going to tell my children?” Thomas Pontarelli testified.

    In the hall, Peterson used his cell phone to call the police department. He told them he had just found his wife’s dead body, Thomas Pontarelli said, and then predicted, “People are going to think I did it.”

    Threat alleged

    Thomas Pontarelli also said Peterson bore him ill will and left a .38-caliber bullet nose-up in his family’s driveway as a threat. He said Peterson went on to tell him “any friend of (Savio’s) was an enemy.”

    Many of the 40 witnesses to testify in the hearing so far have recalled either Stacy or Savio telling them that if they died it would appear to be an accident but would really be the work of Peterson. Mary Pontarelli and her son Nick were no different.

    “Kathy was afraid,” Mary Pontarelli said. “It was after he had moved out that she said that she was afraid that he was going to kill her one day and he was going to make it look like an accident.”

    http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2023618,Family-drawn-into-Peterson-fight_JO020110.article

  75. I heard about some things that happened in the courtroom today besides what is in the news stories.

    Mary Pontarelli told about a time that Kathleen called her and said “Drew is trying to kill me!” Mary ran over to Kathleen’s and Drew and Alex Morelli were both there in uniform. Kathleen ran to Mary and pushed a piece of paper into her shirt and asked her to keep it for her.
    The paper she gave her was the letter that was sent to Kathleen about Drew having an affair with Stacy. Kathy told Mary that she had been in the act of FAXing it to her lawyer when Drew attacked her.
    Drew confronted Mary and asked for the letter but she said she didn’t know what he was talking about.
    After Kathy made Drew move out, she and Mary went to the address that was in the letter to talk to Stacy, but the address was nonexistant.

    Also Mary described how it was to find her friend dead. She knelt by the tub and touched her. She wanted to cover her body, but Drew said no.

  76. widebirth: I heard about some things that happened in the courtroom today besides what is in the news stories.

    Mary Pontarelli told about a time that Kathleen called her and said “Drew is trying to kill me!” Mary ran over to Kathleen’s and Drew and Alex Morelli were both there in uniform. Kathleen ran to Mary and pushed a piece of paper into her shirt and asked her to keep it for her.
    The paper she gave her was the letter that was sent to Kathleen about Drew having an affair with Stacy. Kathy told Mary that she had been in the act of FAXing it to her lawyer when Drew attacked her.

    ~~~~~~~~~
    Drew and Alex were both present ? The same Alex who witnessed the will allegedly signed by Kathleen ? Drew was assaulting Kathleen while Alex was present? I wonder if Alex has applied for early retirement….

    This gets more outrageous and infuriating my the second.

  78. I have the feeling there is a lot of people who were involved with Drew, and his escapades that are not feeling so well right now, and worried about what is going to come out, and if they are going to be in any trouble. For their sake, if they know something they better go ask for immunity while they have the chance, and out with it.

  79. Q4Y: You beat me to it! I was going to say that exact same thing. Yep, the same Alex Morelli that wants nothing to do with Drew, because he “turned his life upside down.”

    Yeah, he turned a lot of lives upside down, and now he will pay the piper. Lying skunk that he is.

  80. Neighbor: Savio was terrified of Peterson

    February 1, 2010

    On the night of March 1, 2004, when she and a neighbor discovered Kathleen Savio’s body curled in a fetal position in an empty bathtub, Mary Pontarelli ran screaming from the bathroom into Savio’s adjoining bedroom.

    “I threw myself down and started hitting her bed with my fists,” Pontarelli testified Monday.

    The two women had been close ever since Pontarelli brought a poinsettia to her new next-door neighbor in Bolingbrook just before Christmas in 1999. Their families went on vacation and spent holidays together. And Savio shared her profound fears that her ex-husband, Drew Peterson, would eventually kill her, Pontarelli testified.

    When Pontarelli returned to the bathroom that night, she checked Savio’s wrist for a pulse. She ran her hand through Savio’s wet hair and noticed it wasn’t pinned up like normal.

    She saw no towels, bathrobe or clothes. A rug Pontarelli remembered sitting next to the tub was gone.

    On Monday, for the first time since a pretrial hearing on charges that Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, killed third wife Savio began nine days ago, testimony centered on her 2004 death. Much of the prior testimony has been about the 2007 disappearance of Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy. Peterson is the sole suspect in her disappearance but has not been charged.

    Witnesses testified that Savio, fearful of Peterson, always kept her front door and screen door locked when she was gone or inside her home. But locksmith Robert Akin Jr. said only the front doorknob –– one of at least three locks on the two doors –– was locked when he was called to her home that night.

    Mary Pontarelli’s son Nick, 19, testified that Savio said Peterson would try to kill her. Pontarelli, then 14, said Savio was terrified of Peterson in the months leading up to her death, which happened just weeks before a property settlement between her and Peterson was to be decided.

    “If anything ever happened to her, it wasn’t an accident,” Savio told Nick Pontarelli, who considered her “a second mom.”

    After her ex-husband moved out, Savio had Nick Pontarelli install a new lock and deadbolt on the home’s front door. His father, Thomas, installed a deadbolt on Savio’s bedroom door at her request after she said items were missing from the room.

    Savio told Nick Pontarelli that Peterson had bugged the home and was recording phone conversations, showing him a little black box attached to a phone in the basement where Peterson slept before he moved out, he testified.

    Savio played two of the tapes, Pontarelli testified.

    In late 2003, Nick Pontarelli said, he took photos of damage inside Savio’s home that she said was caused by Peterson, including a drilled hole and scratches above the deadbolt on the bedroom door, and repairs from a large hole cut into the drywall of the garage that Peterson has admitted making to gain access inside the home. Pontarelli said Savio was planning to use the photos in the property dispute.

    Mary Pontarelli told the court that one day in 2001, Savio called her to say Peterson was trying to kill her. When she went outside, Savio ran out and shoved a letter that she had been trying to fax to an attorney down Pontarelli’s blouse.

    Peterson then came up to her and asked about the letter, in which an anonymous writer told Savio that Peterson was having an affair with a girl named Stacy Yelton, referring to Stacy Cales, who became Peterson’s fourth wife. “Protect yourself and your family,” it said. Pontarelli told Peterson she didn’t know about the letter.

    Nick Pontarelli also testified that he’d heard stories from Savio recounting alleged abuse by Peterson, including a 2002 incident when Peterson allegedly put a knife to her throat and held her hostage for a couple of hours. Nick said he talked to her afterward and that “she was crying, very upset.”

    Emergency medical technician Louis Oleszkiewicz testified that a towel shown in crime scene photos alongside the tub was not there when he arrived. Under questioning from a defense attorney, he said he did not see a bathrobe and two towels shown in a photo, hung on the inside of the bathroom door, which were not visible when the door was open.

    sschmadeke@tribune.com

    eslife@tribune.com

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-0202-drew-peterson-hearing-20100201,0,2627193.story

  81. Emergency medical technician Louis Oleszkiewicz testified that a towel shown in crime scene photos alongside the tub was not there when he arrived. Under questioning from a defense attorney, he said he did not see a bathrobe and two towels shown in a photo, hung on the inside of the bathroom door, which were not visible when the door was open.

    Thomas Pontarelli said there were no towels in the room when he arrived either. If Drew told Mary not to cover the body, because he wanted to preserve the scene, why was someone allowed to then strew towels around before police photographers arrived?

  82. Didn’t Peterson ask everyone to leave the bathroom after he decided it may be a possible crime scene?

    Wasn’t asking them to leave the possible crime scene right after it was blurted out that there were no clothes or towels in sight? How convenient. Was that so he could cover up his blunder and get the bathrobe and towels in place?

  83. questions:February 1, 2010 at 10:52 pm | #78 Quote I have the feeling there is a lot of people who were involved with Drew, and his escapades that are not feeling so well right now, and worried about what is going to come out, and if they are going to be in any trouble. For their sake, if they know something they better go ask for immunity while they have the chance, and out with it.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    IMO Alex Morelli is in deep.

  84. judgin :

    givarat :Everything else said about contaminating the crime scene is right also. A good defense attorney would have no problems getting any evidence found there thrown out for that reason. Drew knew what he was doing.

    Ha, old dog DP left his own trademark… he is a neatness freak!!!!!
    DP left no evidence… the perfect crime!
    Lack of evidence IS evidence!

    IMO I do think DP probably well in the first place. Yet now days they can tell you how long a fingerprints been there.So DP at least himself,(A possible suspect in the murder),could of accounted for why his fresh fingerprints are around from him entering the house again with a good reason why and witnesses if they were to have prosecuted Drew back then in the first place.So because they didn’t take the doorknob at the time or do a possible thorough investigation in the first place,is the sad part of it all. Just to note: “the defense could throw it out of court ,” that I spoke of is what the past defense could of done. This is a whole new ballgame. They will lack evidence they could of had with a more thorough investigation. Just wanted to make it clear that I was talking about the defense of the past, that the defense has less advantage now IMO. They will be able to use what ever evidence there was if the judge decides to and now theres another wife gone. Its just heart wrenching that innocent lives had to be lost with scum like he is. That was hard tryin to explain it the best I can lol. Anyone else have that problem?

  87. How crazy is it that Peterson went through his elaborate scheme to muck up the bathroom, with all of its evidence to be found, and then declares it a possible crime scene and sends everyone back out? I mean — does that make sense? You destroy any possible crime scene evidence by touching things and walking around all over the place, and then openly admit you’re the most likely suspect if it was a crime. Peterson left prints and DNA everywhere, but professes his fear that he’s a possible suspect? With decades of police experience, yet no solid police procedures were followed?

  88. It is no longer just hearsay. It is so compelling to hear witnesses visual accounts of the abuse they say inflicted on Kathleen (accounts by the son Eric and the neighbor boy). Poor Stacy was just out of her league when she got mixed up with this animal. I wonder how Drewpy is reacting–I’d love to be there to see his face. (Hope that snicker is wiped off.) (Also, wonder how Oscar Meyer “wiener head” Brodsky is doing LOL.)

  89. Police procedure wasn’t followed Rescue and Brodsky is definitely out of his league in this one. He doesn’t know which way to go.Didn’t he like do a turnaround of what his view was on Collin’s testimony?

  90. facsmiley :

    Emergency medical technician Louis Oleszkiewicz testified that a towel shown in crime scene photos alongside the tub was not there when he arrived. Under questioning from a defense attorney, he said he did not see a bathrobe and two towels shown in a photo, hung on the inside of the bathroom door, which were not visible when the door was open.

    Thomas Pontarelli said there were no towels in the room when he arrived either. If Drew told Mary not to cover the body, because he wanted to preserve the scene, why was someone allowed to then strew towels around before police photographers arrived?

    Remember Drew took a bag of womens clothes etc home and put them in the washing machine.

    He must have taken them back and hang everything back in its place minus the crime scene evidence (!!)

    As we’ve also learnt in the past week the “new/naive/inexperienced” investigator Sergeant Collins did not seal the house as a crime/accident scene, enabling Drew to come back at his leisure and do what he needed to do when he needed to do it.

    Destroying evidence is evidence in itself that evidence has been destroyed !

  91. I just want to apologize that I’ve been feeling emotional stress lately and I mainly post my questions to Recue or Fax since I know them.Or at least talked to them a lot. So I don’t mean to offend anyone on this board with any comments I make. But with that said, Facs and Rescue know when to delete my arse lol. But I do really appreciate those I’ve read here. I don’t have no problems with anyone and this is a very imformative board.I just feel guilty sometimes that I’m an outsider posting I guess. Gnight folks and I think tomorrow is Savio hearing No pretrial day.

  92. Drew also went to see Elizabeth Fragale several times with the request to have Kathleen “prosecuted to the full extent of the law”, so amongst other things he set up the fight between Kathleen and Stacy, having Stacy torment Kathleen with her own camera stolen from her house and conveniently film the whole debacle to give him the opportunity to have Kathleen charged.

    He knew how to pit these two women against each other with him reaping the benefits three ways (!!)

  93. Glasgow has 805 persons on his witness list. We’re only hearing a limited amount of information from each of the 40 witness testimonies so far in this mini Trial.

    How long will the real Trial take to reveal all the things DP was into?

  94. I’d like to see how a bath robe, towels, bath mat, whatever that weren’t there initially ended up in the death scene photos.

    That can only be explained as a psychic phenomena if ever there was one (!!)

  95. judgin :

    givarat :Everything else said about contaminating the crime scene is right also. A good defense attorney would have no problems getting any evidence found there thrown out for that reason. Drew knew what he was doing.

    Ha, old dog DP left his own trademark… he is a neatness freak!!!!!
    DP left no evidence… the perfect crime!
    Lack of evidence IS evidence!

    Haha, yes like the super clean kitchen the morning after Stacy “disappeared”.

    No place mats or a sippy cup in sight – LOL !!

  96. The day after Savio’s body was discovered, Nick Pontarelli said he saw Drew Peterson, Stacy and one of Drew’s adult sons pull up to Savio’s house and load the vehicle with items, including a bag of clothes.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    This is what Drew was able to do because Sergeant Collins did not get the house sealed.

    I can see a lot of 0000000 emerging at the end of a Savio Law suit.

  97. Givarat! Don’t be silly! You’re definitely one of us whether you like it or not LOL! Love to read your contributions. 🙂 🙂 🙂

    I just wanted to say that the television and clothes removed the following day were probably for the boys. Properly looting the house like he did on the day of the funeral is something else.

    Brilliant Pontarelli testimony. It seems like a small thing, but we know it’s not to have lots of corroboration about the clothes and towels (I didn’t know they’d featured in the photographs)and the brutal way he treated her. The last few years must have been appalling for them. Scary and sad. His parents must be very proud of Nick. He sounds like a lovely boy who like Kitty’s other friends and family wanted to protect her.

  98. I’ve been wondering where the Defense stands (as far as the Law goes) in crying foul about the death scene being contaminated etc if these people went into the house at the request of a veteran Police Sergeant who should have known better in the first place.

    These people were not supposed to go anywhere near that house so is that just supposed to be discounted and disregarded and Police policies and procedures count for nothing when it comes to Drew ??

  99. This is what Drew was able to do because Sergeant Collins did not get the house sealed.
    I can see a lot of 0000000 emerging at the end of a Savio Law suit.
    &
    These people were not supposed to go anywhere near that house so is that just supposed to be discounted and disregarded and Police policies and procedures count for nothing when it comes to Drew ?? justanotherhen

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    and the investigator Collins was a narc cop and not a death investigator makes me curious as to how he was assigned this case, since Bolingbrook supposedly called the Illinois State Police into the case.
    More staging ? you betcha ! look for a relationship between DP & PC to emerge.

  100. justanotherhen :I’ve been wondering where the Defense stands (as far as the Law goes) in crying foul about the death scene being contaminated etc if these people went into the house at the request of a veteran Police Sergeant who should have known better in the first place.
    These people were not supposed to go anywhere near that house so is that just supposed to be discounted and disregarded and Police policies and procedures count for nothing when it comes to Drew ??

    Winners don’t cry!

  101. bucketoftea :

    Givarat! Don’t be silly! You’re definitely one of us whether you like it or not LOL! Love to read your contributions. :) :) :)

    I just wanted to say that the television and clothes removed the following day were probably for the boys. Properly looting the house like he did on the day of the funeral is something else.

    Brilliant Pontarelli testimony. It seems like a small thing, but we know it’s not to have lots of corroboration about the clothes and towels (I didn’t know they’d featured in the photographs)and the brutal way he treated her. The last few years must have been appalling for them. Scary and sad. His parents must be very proud of Nick. He sounds like a lovely boy who like Kitty’s other friends and family wanted to protect her.

    Agree 100%!

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