Drew Peterson's Words Could Spark Trouble

Murder Suspect's Relish Of Spotlight May Be Seen As Smart-Aleck Behavior; Enters Not Guilty Plea

(CBS/ AP)  Drew Peterson may not take the stand if he goes to trial for killing his third wife, but his words could still play a big role as prosecutors try to put him away.

Peterson will remain jailed on $20 million bond until at least Thursday after a prosecution request to remove the judge handling his case derailed plans for defense attorneys to ask for a bail reduction. Defense attorney Joel Brodsky entered a not guilty plea on Peterson's behalf as his client stood silently in court Monday, wearing a blue jail jumpsuit and shackles.

"What this trial is going to show - if we even get to trial - will be that there is absolutely no evidence that Drew did anything wrong, anything at all regarding Kathleen Savio's death," Brodsky told CBS' The Early Show.

The former police officer, facing first-degree murder charges in the 2004 drowning death of ex-wife Kathleen Savio, has never shied from the media that has followed his every move since his fourth wife Stacy vanished in 2007 and he became a suspect in Savio's killing.

In fact, he's seemed to relish the spotlight, often offering reporters a joke or smart-aleck remark - like smiling and calling his handcuffs “bling” as he was led to his first court appearance earlier this month.

And that, attorneys say, could be one of Peterson's biggest problems.

“If one wife goes missing and (another) wife is dead, those aren't usually the subject of jokes,” said Roy Black, a defense attorney whose clients have included Rush Limbaugh and William Kennedy Smith. “People are going to think this is a very bizarre person, who's more likely to have committed murder than someone who is in mourning.”

Peterson is accused of drowning Savio, who was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004 with a gash on the back of her head. Her death originally was ruled an accident, but after Stacy Peterson went missing, Savio's body was exhumed and authorities ruled it a homicide staged to look like an accident.

Marilyn Brenneman, a senior deputy prosecutor in Seattle's King County, once won a murder conviction after she showed a jury a video of a news conference given by the man she was prosecuting in a drowning death.

“We used it to show his attitude was blase,” she said. “He was kind of wooden and didn't show any emotion. ... That is not really an appropriate response.”

Defense attorney Mark Geragos has seen what a defendant's own words can do to a case - starting with one of his most famous clients, Scott Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, after a trial in which jurors watched three television interviews given by Peterson before he retained Geragos.

The interviews included Scott Peterson saying he told police about his affair with another woman the first night his wife was reported missing and saying he told his mistress the truth about being married within several days of the disappearance. Neither was true. And by the time those clips played at trial, jurors knew from other testimony they were watching Scott Peterson lie.

“Some of the most compelling evidence the jury can see is prejudicial but unfortunately it's compelling,” Geragos said.

If the Scott Peterson case is exhibit A in how their own words can hurt defendants, then the case of Cynthia Sommer is exhibit B.

Sommer was convicted in San Diego in 2007 of first-degree murder in the slaying of her husband after prosecutors based much of their case on the idea that Sommer did not behave like a grieving widow after her husband's death.

The jury heard about how Sommer used insurance money to pay for breast implants, took part in wet T-shirt contests and had casual sex with other men.

Then a year later, a judge dismissed the charges that Sommer poisoned her husband with arsenic after new tests revealed there were no arsenic in his system.

“This case was all about a grieving unbecoming of a widow,” said Sommer's attorney, Allen Bloom. “That's all it was, it was a lifestyle, it was painting her with a scarlet letter.”

Even if the videos of Drew Peterson's arrival in court or of his interviews don't make it into trial, they can still have an effect.

“Whether it's admissible or not is one thing ...” said Joe Tacopina, a prominent defense attorney in New York. “But it's certainly admissible in the court of public opinion, which is your jury pool.”

Peterson's attorney said joking around is how Peterson deals with stress.

“In a tight, uncomfortable situation, you're gonna get humor and wisecracks,” said attorney Joel Brodsky, who is expected to ask a judge Monday to reduce Peterson's bond, which is now $20 million.

Peterson said he wouldn't behave any other way.

“Would it be better if I hid my head down and tried to hide my face and hunched and had tears in my eyes?” he asked NBC's Matt Lauer during a telephone interview aired on the “Today” show Friday. “I mean, no, that's just not me.”

Instead, from almost the day Stacy Peterson vanished in October 2007, Peterson has done things like joke about his fourth wife's menstrual cycles and agree to take part in a radio show's suggested “Win a Date With Drew” contest.

Brodsky said he is confident that if Peterson stands trial the jury will do the right thing.

“My experience is that juries usually work very hard to put away biases and look at the facts,” he said.

Others, though, aren't so sure.

Bloom said even though most people who sit on juries want to be fair, they can still end up being swayed by things that have nothing to do with evidence.

“They say they won't, but they can be impacted by innuendo, suspicion, speculation and moral judgment,” he said.

That explains why Peterson reminds Black of a lawyer who displayed a mounted fish on his wall.

“It had a sign that said, 'I wouldn't be here either if I kept my mouth shut,”' said Black, chuckling.

[stickdog3]

My take on this and a whole lot others like it, is. How do these men get these women? Again, how do these men get these women? I remember he was on Nightline and he was showing the reporter all the emails and letters he was getting from women who wanted to be with him and marry him. Hundreds of them. Hundreds. He told the reporter how every single day he goes out in public women just come up to him and start giving him their numbers, at a restaurant he was saying how one sat on his lap and exposed her breast and told him to write his number down. How do these men get these women? Nice guys always finish last. That is a true statement. I see this same scenario on the show "Cheaters" every Saturday nite. The husband is focused, responsible, good provider, has bought her a home or nice apartment, condo, etc. he has a good job, excellent father treats her with respect and dignity, but, she still goes out and start screwing some other guy who is the exact opposite of the husband. I've never seen that fail yet, he is always the exact opposite, he's underemployed, some don't even have their own car, or home, pulls on 'em have sex with them in the back seat of cars in parks up against the wall, I've seen everything under the sun on "Cheaters", its very sad, what it boils down to, the husband is not Mr. Excitement. These clowns they screw on the side are. You throw all that goodness away for a cheap thrill when you should have did that in the first place. Drew Peterson is a sugar daddy supreme, thats why he's able to get all these women trust me.

[justcurious777]

Hey tbbaot,
"There's nothing worse than a dirty cop"...

Did you not read about the 4 year old boy whose father ATE his eyes (allegedly - the father was on PCP at the time). As bad as dirty cops are, I'd have to say having your eyes eaten out of your head by your father qualifies as something worse.

Or what about the 10-year old with breast cancer who had to have a double mastectomy only to discover that the cancer has already spread to her lymph system (which means there's an increased risk of it spreading elsewhereas well)?

Maybe you should give some more thought to your "nothing worse than" theory as there are so many things "worse than a dirty cop"...at least with a dirty cop, there's always a chance that they will be caught and stopped. What chance do these babies have of a normal life?

[andie52]

Former Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson said Monday that he couldn?t explain why a polygraph exam showed he was deceptive in answering questions about the Oct. 28 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy.

Appearing on CBS? ?The Early Show,? Peterson said the test showed he was deceptive on the last time he saw his wife, if he knows where she is and if she had called to say she was leaving. Peterson said he passed all other questions on the test, which was part of an interview for a book, ?Drew Peterson Exposed,? due out Wednesday.

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/sep/30/local/chi-drew-peterson-interview-30-sep30

[Dgunner]

Behold the devil comes in many guises. Being a betting man. I bet the man doesn't survive thirty days inside before he falls down in the shower say thirty one times .

[quapawsix]

This is all very entertaining, and is a great distraction to what is going on in Washington.

[tbbaot]

What goes around comes around. This narcistic piece of human garbage has thumbed his nose at the public for the last time. There is nothing worse than a dirty cop and this guy is a pig.

[ramos1129]

That explains why Peterson reminds Black of a lawyer who displayed a mounted fish on his wall.

?It had a sign that said, 'I wouldn't be here either if I kept my mouth shut,?' said Black, chuckling
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Years ago, one of my best friends got into serious trouble with the law. He started to talk to the press but his lawyer intervened and got him to keep his mouth shut. I repeated the lawyer's advice. My friend was found not guilty. Peterson is doing the exact opposite and stands an excellent chance of his own words being used againist him whether he is innocent or guilty.

[hamiltongrad]

ANOTHER MISTAKE ?

Does anyone remember Richard Jewell ?


////////He was almost rail roaded to the gas chamber by the mod of DRIVE BY MEDIA types looking for a story line.



///////////So far, I have not seen one iota of evidence against this father of 4 and a brave undercover policeman.



sssssssss All I have seen is bad journalism,and a class clown as the accused, ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' obviously putting on a good front for his kids.

[aiglustizgood]

Boy those overwieght cops shouldn't even be employable..maybe as food tasters at a foodcourt.wow mingboggling.

[deb45il]

I didn't know he had his pilots liencse! But you would think, there would be a record of him flying that day somewhere. If so where did he go?

[deb45il]

How in Gods name do they see brusies and cuts and not think it was murder? How stupid are these people? The real question is. How much did he pay these people to say it was a "accidental" dealth. This is all a cover up! From a whimp that needs to hurt women. How long did he prepare for this? As a cop watching, how people get busted and how they don't! He could commit the perfect crime easily! Besides he wouldn't be harassed from the department. Yet in yet another story, they said the cops had been to his house (I believe) 19 times. So, don't you think that he should have been arrested? Come on thats proof right there. Just look at what this man all got away with. Tell me he was not paying someone off? I don't recall ever hearing where or what happened, with his first 2 marriages? Where are these women? I am sure they are afraid to speak up. Get them in court! Ask em how they were treated. Ask em if they were abused by Drew! Are they alive? Heres yet another point. If this whimp is released from jail. Each and every witness should be placed in protective custody. Because they will all disappear. His lawyer says he is not a risk to people. EXCUSE me than why is he in jail? Why is he charged with murder? Come on people! Keep his bail at 20 million. I am surpried he hasn't bailed himself already with his "Blood Money" From Savios dealth. Money hungrey jerk!

[albert571]

Here's a good test ,tell Drew that his two youngest childern were involved in a traffic accident and they died on impact and he will be allowed to attend their funerals,then watch him on closed circuit tv and see how he responds to the death of some one he cares about.

[ricmarc2001]

only someone who is guilty would act like this creep does.

[hamiltongrad]

We can't keep someone in jail just because he is the class clown.

[virgosal]

I hope Drew will suffer the same fate as his "brother" Scott. Because he got away the first time, he pushed his luck and did it again the second time and was laughing all the way to what he thought his freedom. He even managed to get another new young girl friend-victim. Now his two poor wives will have the last laugh, ha ha.

[cleolady1]

RIGHT ON credibility2

[timothyww]

Peterson and Bush are both innocent! Man, this is some great acid!

[dragyn30]

This is just plain sick.

This guy thinks this is a big joke. Hopefully the justice system will wipe that smug smile off his face.

Wouldn't it be something if the ex-wife who has not been found appears and testifies against him?

[moderateminded44]

Don't worry....tell them that you're a Democrat with no morals or ethics and get a liberal judge/attorney and they'll set you free. They'll find a good excues such as bad home life, sexually abused, and what ever the excuse of the week they can think of. Low life liberals can get by with anything.
Posted by enjoylife63 at 8:13 AM : May 18, 2009

But then again, we both know he would be lying like a good little Repiglickkker.

[News2579]

Just because Drew is not sorry that a mean wife drowned according to fresh at the time forensics, and a later wife ran off and is hiding successfuly, does not make Drew a killer, it just means he has been wronged too often and has a thick skin.