Drew Peterson Jury Selection Begins, Finally Goes on Trial for the Death of his Third Wife Kathleen Savio

Finally, will there be Justice for Kathleen …

It has been three years in the making, but finally the delays are over and the jury selection begins today for the Drew Peterson murder trial in the death of his third wife Kathleen Savio.  Drew Peterson, the former Bolingbrook police officer, was arrested in 2009 and charged with the murder of his third wife  Kathleen Savio after it was initially ruled that she died from an accidental drowning in the bath tub in 2004.

However, it was later changed to a homicide by drowning.  During this trial, jurors will hear testimony from statements from the grave of both Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, and his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. Such hearsay is usually barred. However, an appellate court ruled jurors can hear them. Although still missing, Drew Peterson is a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.

Jury selection is to begin Monday in Drew Peterson’s long-delayed murder trial, where prosecutors want the former suburban Chicago police officer’s wives — one he’s charged with slaying and another who has disappeared — to effectively testify from their graves through friends and relatives about his threatening to kill them.

Those picked for the jury are likely to hear witnesses describe statements that Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, and his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, allegedly made. Such hearsay is usually barred. However, an appellate court ruled jurors can hear them.

Peterson, 58, is charged with killing Savio in 2004. Her body was found in a dry bathtub in her home, her hair soaked with blood. The ex-Bolingbrook police sergeant is also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

A judge will vet would-be jurors starting Monday. A 200-person jury has been waiting three years for a trial to get under way. It was put off because of appellate court battles over the Savio and Stacy Peterson statements.

CNN: Drew Peterson goes on trial in 3rd wife’s death; 4th wife still missing.

Opening statements are scheduled for next week. Peterson’s defense attorney Joel Brodsky told CNN’s sister network In Session that he expects the trial to last about a month.

In April, an Illinois appellate court ruled that prosecutors can use potentially incriminating statements made by Savio and Peterson’s still-missing wife against him — a key development in the case.

The ruling overturned an earlier judge’s decision that forbid prosecutors from using eight statements made by Savio before her death and by Stacy Peterson before her disappearance.