As the Drew Peterson murder trial continues at a lethargic pace, prosecutors presented the court with their next witness, Jeff Pachter, who claims to be offered $25,000 by the 58-year-old former police-officer, to kill Kathleen Savio, Peterson's third wife, whose murder he is currently being trialed for.
Patcher told the court that Peterson offered him the money to kill Savio while they worked together for a cable company. Prosecutors said that in the end Peterson decided to commit the murder himself. Patcher told the court that in 2004 (the year Savio died) Peterson told him "I no longer need (that favor) anymore," as reported by the Washington Post.
Peterson's defense attorney Joe Lopez accused the witness of lying under oath in order to gain a fleeting moment of fame in the spot light. Upon cross examination, Patcher admitted that Peterson never specifically asked him to "kill" his wife, his precise words were "to take care of," which do not necessarily imply murder, according to Lopez.
Peterson was a former sergeant in the Bolingbrook Police Department in Illinois. In 2007 he became the chief suspect for the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. The Search for Stacy led the police to discover the body of Kathleen Savio, who was found in her dried bathtub in 2003. Peterson instantly became the prime suspect in her murder. Police believe that Peterson had something to do with the disappearance of his fourth wife as well. The Peterson mystery swept the nation, who were immediately hooked this real-life murder mystery. The media reveled in it, so much so that LifeTime TV made a movie based on the incident called "Untouchable" starring Robert Lowe.
Last week, Peterson's defense withdrew a bid for mistrial telling Judge Edward Burmila "We are not giving the state a practice run...This is a real race and Mr. Peterson wants the world to know that he's not afraid. He wants to keep this jury in its place," Lopez said according to the Washington Post.
Lopez seems pretty confident that prosecutors do not have enough substantial evidence convict his client with first degree murder. Before the trial he told reporters, "I don't know why they are prosecuting this. I am serious. This case should never have been brought...If they can prosecute Drew Peterson on this garbage, rumor, back fence gossip, then nobody's safe," he told ABC News.
The trial has so far seen an influx of witness testifying that Peterson often talked about the desire of killing Savio. These witness included Savio's sisters, friends and even one of Peterson's ex-lovers. Defense remains adamant that all testimonies are hearsay and wanted the court to dismiss the evidence.
Judge Burmila, however, dismissed defense request to render hearsay evidence inadmissible. On Wednesday, defense presented, who told the court that Savio did not want to file a complaint against Peterson in the incident where he allegedly threatened her with a knife.
The defense's game-plan has been to portray Savio as person of questionable motives and shifty behavior. Prosecutors are ringing people who have so far testified that Peterson threatened Savio on various occasions.
Catch an hourly presentation of witness had to say here.
