Who is she??Years after the mysterious bathtub drowning of Drew Peterson's third wife, a noted forensic pathologist told a hushed Will County courtroom Friday that Kathleen Savio was murdered.
Dr. Larry Blum testified the pattern of Savio's injuries, the position in which her body was found and the scene of her death led him to rule out an accidental drowning due to a single fall.
"There was no blood, hair or tissue to show she hit her head on the tub," said Blum, in his first public comments about Savio's 2004 death. "The evidence doesn't really bear that out."
"That is my opinion, that it was homicidal."
Peterson, 56, maintains his innocence on charges he killed Savio, weeks before the financial terms of their bitter divorce were to be finalized. A Will County coroner's jury ruled the 40-year-old Bolingbrook woman's death accidental after Illinois State Police said they found no evidence of foul play.
But her body was exhumed Nov. 13, 2007, three weeks after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, 23, vanished as that marriage crumbled. The former Bolingbrook police sergeant has not been charged, but authorities said he is the only suspect.
Blum testified at a Will County pretrial hearing to determine what hearsay evidence will be allowed at Peterson's upcoming murder trial. The hearing, which has included testimony of 55 prosecution witnesses, may end next week.
As Blum detailed Savio's injuries, Peterson focused intently on photos of her decomposed remains - which showed a gash on the back of her head, about one half dozen small bruises and several cuts and scratches along her extremities, abdominal area and buttocks. Peterson even changed chairs at the defense table to view the photos, shown on a television monitor turned away from the courtroom gallery of spectators.
Blum said Savio tested negative for drugs or alcohol. He did not find any medical reason to support the defense's theory that she slipped and fell in the bathtub. In fact, Blum testified, it was his opinion that Savio's head wound and her other injuries - sustained near the time of her death because there were no signs of healing - were inconsistent with a single fall. He noted internal bruising on Savio's diaphragm consistent to a "bear hug."
Despite defense attorney Joel Brodsky's intense cross examination, a resolute Blum said he is "without doubt" that it would be impossible for Savio to suffer that pattern of injuries in a single fall.
"I've never seen that in 30 years," testified Blum, who said he's personally conducted 9,233 autopsies. Celebrity forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden reached a similar opinion in a third autopsy Savio's family sought.
Several relatives, friends, co-workers and neighbors of both of Peterson's last two wives said they portrayed him as controlling, abusive and full of bravado that his training as a longtime cop would allow him to get away with their murders.
Also Friday, Mary Parks testified about an unforgettable encounter she had with Savio while the two attended nursing school. Parks described how a devastated Savio unzipped her fleece jacket one day to reveal neck bruising.
"I said, 'Oh my God, what happened?'" Parks said. "She told me her ex-husband, Drew, the night before had come into her home and had penned her down."
Parks said Savio quoted Peterson telling her: "Why don't you just die."
The violent encounter is alleged in fall 2003 but, upon defense attorney Andrew Abood's cross examination, Parks conceded she may have confused the date. For example, Savio had another family - the Andersons - living in her basement for a couple months then. Still, Parks was certain of one thing - Kathleen Savio lived in fear of the man with whom she had two children during an 11-year marriage.
"More than once, she told me he told her he could kill her and no one would know; no one would find out," said Parks, echoing other prosecution witnesses. "She indicated that he had a huge ego and that he was going to get whatever he wanted. He wanted everything. It became very scary, because he was a huge ego with a gun."
Earlier in the hearing, the lead Illinois State Police investigator in Savio's death conceded he believed from the onset that her death was accidental and never viewed Peterson as a suspect or followed up with interviews of her family members. Sgt. Patrick Collins said he relied on the opinion of the crime-scene investigator, Robert Deel, who testified earlier this week that he did not collect a shred of forensic evidence, dust for fingerprints, test for traces of blood elsewhere in the home or even collect a disposed condom in the bathroom trash, for possible clues.
In fact, Deel said, he didn't even notice the gash on Savio's head.
Blum said authorities also didn't use what's commonly called a rape kit during the initial investigation to ensure Savio, found nude, wasn't sexually assaulted. He did. The results came back negative. Still, Blum described the original failure to perform one as, "not good."
So many years I have been waiting for investigators to find out the truth of the Peterson's murder. Now knowing the above information, he is guilty, in my mind, he will always be guilty. Why? If you compare is response to the everyday murders that are being reported on television, you would say to yourself, "somethings wrong with that picture!" Many people weather they want to be seen or not express their emotions very heavily through bod language. Don't get me wrong, not everybody express their emotions visibly in public, but your actions can reflect a psychological expression. Peterson seemed to calm about the situation, was it a hit man that he hired or was if his bare hands doing the work?
To those of the Peterson family, please don't take this personally, I too know how it feels to have a love one be convicted or believed to be a murderer. Yet, do you think that the authorities let him get away purposely?
No comments:
Post a Comment