FOR THE STATE’
heard at the trial alleges that she was coached by Peterson to lie and tell police he was home with her on the night authorities contend Savio was killed.
In 2007, Stacy allegedly told her minister, Rev. Neil Schori, she saw Peterson return to their Bolingbrook late at night, dressed in black and carrying a bag of women’s clothes that weren’t hers. from Savio and Stacy Peterson that may be allowed as evidence by Judge Edward Burmila could help corroborate their claims, prosecutors have said.
Stacy also allegedly told a friend, Scott Russetto, a similar account about discovering Peterson returning to their home the night before Savio was discovered dead.
Even those statements, however, don’t definitively put Peterson inside Savio’s Bolingbrook house in the hours before she was found dead on March 1, 2004.
Peterson’s lawyers have dismissed the hearsay statements as concocted or uncorroborated, arguing prosecutors lack any evidence to show Peterson played a role in his former wife’s death— which they repeatedly have said was an accidental drowning.
That will be clear to jurors when they hear the evidence, his lawyers have predicted.
“And they’re not going to be able to find he did it because there’s no evidence that he did it,” defense attorney Steve Greenberg has said.
Medical experts called by Peterson’s attorneys are expected to testify that Savio fell and accidentally drowned in her own bathtub.
It’s never clear, though, how much jurors rely on conflicting testimony from dueling experts.
“Often, the jury cancels those out,” Ekl said. “The jury is going to look at the circumstances and evidence themselves. They’re not going to be driven by expert testimony.”
Jurors ultimately might base their verdict simply on which version of events — a tragic household accident or a carefully staged murder — makes the most sense to them.
“Jurors love circumstantial cases because they can be the detectives and put the case together,” said DeLuca, a lawyer for 33 years. “If they convict him, it’ll be because something didn’t make sense to them, it didn’t fit.”
State’s Attorney James Glasgow has declined to comment specifically about the evidence but spokesman Charles Pelkie said Friday prosecutors are “eager for the trial to begin.”
“The state’s attorney and his team will do their arguing in court,” Pelkie said.
A Hispanic man in his 20s who studies broadcasting at Columbia College who attended Bolingbrook High School while Kathleen Savio’s oldest son, Tom, was at the school. His brother serves in the Army, and his parents work at Will County high schools.
A Plainfield man who owned a construction company and now works as a consultant. He plans to retire on Sept. 1. He’s married and has two grown children, and he takes flying lessons. † A divorced woman in her 50s who works as an office secretary. She edited her college’s newspaper and describes writing poetry as “a passion.” She also reads mystery novels, true-crime books and watches TV cooking programs.
A woman whose family emigrated from Poland when she was a child. Her favorite TV show is “Dancing with the Stars.”
A divorced Bolingbrook man in his 40s who works for the U.S. Postal Service. He served in the Army National Guard and attended law school and graduate school.
A man in his 60s who works as a plant manager for a manufacturing company and rides a HarleyDavidson motorcycle.
A married woman whose husband read newspapers first to remove articles relating to the Peterson case The alternate jurors are:
A woman who is a semiretired school crossing guard. She doesn’t watch TV.
A divorced man with a graduate degree in education. He runs, cycles and swims.
A man who collects pistols and has an orchard. He once was attacked by a bat-wielding robber.
A divorced man who is fan of the Chicago Cubs and Green Bay Packers. His son is an aspiring police officer
Contributing: AP