Today in "Drew Peterson keeps himself in the news:" Bolingbrook's favorite ex-cop with the unique kavorka is using a case of a woman who went missing 18 years ago and was recently discovered to be alive as a foundation demand an apology from the Illinois State Police for publicly stating they believe Peterson's fourth wife Stacey is "missing and presumed dead." more ›

Prosecutors have asked the Illinois Supreme Court to jump in on the murder case against Drew Peterson. Procedural rulings related to important hearsay evidence have held up prosecutors' progress, largely due to the fact that they may have missed a deadline. more ›

An Illinois Appellate Court ruled against Will County prosecutors in allowing statements by Kathleen Savio in the case against Drew Peterson for her murder. more ›

The 3rd District Appellate Court in Ottawa has allowed one single camera into the courtroom to broadcast live a hearing to allow hearsay evidence in the murder case against Drew Peterson of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. You can watch this historic moment live now. more ›

We know that Drew Peterson has a receptive soundboard for his thoughts from jail in Sun-times columnist Michael Sneed, who's published his letters from jail before (after they've been edited by Sneed's "confidential source"). Now it looks like another in the Peterson brood has found a personal transcriber in Michael Sneed. more ›

While he awaits his trial for the murder of third wife Kathleen Savio and the search for missing fourth wife Stacy continues, Drew Peterson has found himself with a lot of time on his hands. So he's channeling his time and energy to letter writing, specifically to Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed. The Sun-Times ran their first "installment" of the letters yesterday and the second installment today; the letters were received and edited thusly: more ›

While Blago's last-ditch attempt to delay his trial was turned down today, another high-profile trial has gotten pushed back. Circuit Judge Stephen White has pushed back Drew Peterson's murder trial from a scheduled June 14 start date to July 8 when jury selection will begin. Peterson's attorney had submitted a proposed new date of August 23 but White didn't want such a substantial delay. Peterson is charged with the murder of third wife Kathleen Savio who died under mysterious circumstances in 2004. more ›

It's going to be a busy summer in local courts. Besides the impending trial of former governor Rod Blagojevich, Drew Peterson will go on trial for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. While all involved parties are still dealing with the hearsay aspect of the case, the date of June 14, 2010 has been set as the start for the trial. more ›

A hearing will get underway today in which a judge will ultimately determine which, if any, hearsay statements the jury will be allowed to hear in the upcoming murder trial of Drew Peterson. Peterson has been charged with the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. The controversial law was passed by the state legislature in 2008. The law is controversial because, well, hearsay is generally not accepted in trials [see Article VIII, page 15 - PDF]. There are exceptions, which this new law proposes to be, but it still seems to walk a fine line and, if Peterson is convicted, will surely be the cornerstone of any appeal, as will the retroactive application (i.e., the ex post facto nature) of the law (as pointed out by readers in the comments of this old post on the story). more ›

• A hearing on whether or not to allow hearsay statements in to the murder trial of Drew Peterson has been set for January 19.
• Speaking of Peterson, a tree and plaque honoring missing fourth wife Stacy was stolen.
• Separating fact from fiction on H1N1.

Drew Peterson's trial is staying put. Earlier today, a judge rejected Peterson's motion to move his murder trial out of Will County. Attorneys had said Peterson couldn't get a fair trial because of the extensive media coverage surrounding the case. Peterson is charged with the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. [Tribune] more ›

It looks like Drew Peterson won't be going on trial next month after all. Due to stand trial for the murder of Kathleen Savio, his third wife, on August 24, Peterson's lawyers informed presiding Judge Stephen White that Peterson has waived his right to a speedy trial. The move to indefinitely delay the start of the trial is so the defense can review over 40,000 pages of evidence. The next big day in court for Peterson is August 14 when his lawyers will try to have the case moved out of Will County and when they will challenge the constitutionality of the recently passed controversial hearsay law, which plays a big role in the prosecution's case against Peterson. [Chicago Breaking News] more ›

Some legal wrangling went down this week in the case against Drew Peterson, set to stand trial for the murder of wife #3, Kathleen Savio. Among the more notables moves made, Judge Stephen White asked prosecutors to cut their witness list down from a mind-boggling 805 to 50. One battle prosecutors did win was an attempt by Peterson's defense team to make the large amount of discovery evidence "easier to navigate." John Connor, the chief of the major crime unit for the state's attorney, claimed, "I think what the counsel is asking us to do is give them CliffsNotes on this," and said all the information the defense was seeking was available in the evidence. Another issue raised by Peterson's attorney - whether three key state witnesses received compensation for their testimony - will be reviewed and ruled on by Judge White at a July 10 hearing. [Sun-Times] more ›

While Drew Peterson remains jailed on charges of killing third wife Kathleen Savio, WGN AM has gone forward with a mock trial and will air the mock closing arguments this Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. According to WGN: more ›

Drew Peterson formally entered a plea of "not guilty" this morning on two charges of first-degree murder related to the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Meanwhile, the Will County prosecutors are asking for a new judge to hear the case. more ›

Never one to go more than a few days without telling the media what he thinks, Drew Peterson gave a jailhouse interview with NBC's Today Show that, once again, proclaimed his innocence. more ›

When the news of Drew Peterson's arrest hit yesterday evening, there was actually some surprise but not many details other than that it was in connection with the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. At a press conference last night held by Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow and Illinois State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich, it was announced that Peterson has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with Savio's death - per Glasgow: "one on the theory of intentionally killing and the other knowingly doing an act that caused great bodily harm" - and is being held on $20 million bail. With so much info out there (we recommend the Tribune, Sun-Times, and NBC 5 for more info), we'll just hit some highlights. more ›

Media outlets all over the city are reporting that State Police have taken Drew Peterson into custody. Reports say state police arrested Peterson at his home around 5:30 p.m. this afternoon. CBS 2 reports that it's in connection with the death of Wife #3 Kathleen Savio. more ›

It's been an interesting couple of days in the case of Stacy Peterson's disappearance. While D-Pete, who has never met a camera he doesn't love, showed up on national television again last week in the wake of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of deceased murdered third wife Kathleen Savio, there are some new happenings in the case of missing fourth wife Stacy. News came from NBC 5 yesterday that police and Coast Guard officials were searching a canal for possible evidence. D-Pete attorney Joel Brodsky dismissed the actions, saying, "They did it all last summer. They're doing it again, so I don't think it's of any significance." Pam Bosco, spokeswoman for Stacy's family, was more optimistic, saying, "I think what we can take from that is that they're still considering this a very important investigation, and that it's very active. We believe she can be found yet, and so we want to put all our efforts into doing our searches. Yet we believe that eventually we will find Stacy." more ›

While they seem no closer than before to getting criminal charges brought against Drew Peterson, the family of Drew's deceased murdered third wife, Kathleen Savio, are planning to bring a wrongful death suit against Peterson. According to NBC 5:

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. more ›

• Former priest Donald McGuire was sentenced to 25 years for having sex with a minor.
• Aquan Lewis, the 10-year-old boy who was found hanging from a hook in a school bathroom and later died, was laid to rest today.
• The 3rd District Appellate Court has upheld a ruling that Drew Peterson is not the suitable person to gain control of the estate of his murdered third wife, Kathleen Savio.

The Saga of Drew Peterson continues as "ex-fiancee" Christina Raines appeared before a Joliet grand jury on Thursday afternoon. The grand jury was formed in November 2007 to investigate the death of D-Pete Ex-Wife #3 Kathleen Savio and the disappearance of current wife Stacy Peterson. Last week, Peterson appeared on ABC's Nightline and the next day Raines moved out. Funny how that works. Not really sure what new insight will be gained from this, especially considering the source. more ›

It's been one year since the disappearance of Bolingbrook's Stacy Peterson and her estranged husband, Drew Peterson, took to The Today Show to maintain his innocence and to ask Stacy to, "Show yourself. Put an end to this nightmare." Of course, he doesn't expect her to reappear, as he told the AP: “If I was a little girl and the focus of all this media attention, I wouldn't be coming back. Why would a little girl come back to that?” While Drew makes media appearances, Stacy's family will be marking the anniversary with a candlelight vigil. After Stacy's disappearance, police went back and, after further investigation, reclassified the death of Kathleen Savio, Peterson's third wife, from accidental drowning to murder, adding to the intense scrutiny on Peterson. Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow announced last week that he expected, "a resolution in at least one of these investigations in the near future," a charge Peterson and his lawyer have dismissed as a mere play for votes in next week's election. more ›

Drew Peterson's third wife's death has been ruled a homicide, Will County States’ Attorney James Glasgow announced today. Kathleen Savio died in 2004, and her body was exhumed in November after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared. more ›

We were initially trying to believe Drew Peterson could somehow be innocent of any wrongdoing in his wife's disappearance, yet it's becoming increasingly difficult to think anything good about the Bolingbrook policeman. At best, he's a chronic philanderer, a domestic abuser, and a bad cop. At worst... the man's been married four times, and wife #3, Kathleen Savio, turned up dead, wife #4, Stacy Peterson, is missing, and wife #2, Vicki Connolly, has finally spoken... more ›

Drew Peterson was on the Today Show this morning, chatting with Matt Lauer about his wife Stacy's disappearance and his former wife Kathleen Savio's exhumation. (Anyone know how to embed that video?) "I can look you right in the eye and tell you I had nothing to do with either of those instances. I’m not afraid of law enforcement. I’m afraid of the media," he said. Maybe because he works in law enforcement, and Savio's... more ›

And the hits just keep on coming for Rod Blagojevich. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops elected a new president today, and it's Chicago's own Cardinal Francis George. But it's not all good news today for George: the Sun-Times got a copy of a letter he sent, in which he says new legislation that allows sex-abuse victims to sue perpetrators even after the criminal statute of limitations has expired, is "about money." Police are... more ›

Roundy's wants to buy Dominick's. Earlier today, a judge ordered that Kathleen Savio's body be exhumed, and Drew Peterson has been upgraded (downgraded?) from person of interest to suspect in his wife Stacy's disappearance. Peterson has also been suspended without pay from the Bolingbrook police department. Despite dozens of arrests at O'Hare this week, Aviation Commissioner Nuria Fernandez says, "The [security] process we have in place out there is a very good process.” First... more ›

Things were jumping at the Will County Court House. Lisa Stebic's children testified in front of a grand jury yesterday about their mother's disappearance six months ago. Craig Stebic, Lisa's estranged husband and person of interest in the case, hasn't allowed the police to interview his kids, even though they're two of the last people to see her. Lisa's family says they wanted the kids to be interviewed at a child advocacy center instead,... more ›

We were hoping this story would have a happy ending but weren't too surprised to wake up this morning to find out it didn't. Alma Mendez had been missing since Sunday afternoon; her body was found yesterday at 2 p.m. in the river next to her jogging path; her throat was slashed. Mendez, a mother of three, had recently separated from her husband. He, along with other with other family members, was interviewed about the... more ›