Ex-cop Peterson faces arraignment in wife's murder

[May 18, 2009]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Former police officer Drew Peterson could be allowed to stay at his suburban Chicago home as he awaits a possible trial in the death of his third wife.

Peterson, who has been jailed since May 7, is scheduled to be formally arraigned Monday on first-degree murder charges in the 2004 slaying of Kathleen Savio. Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky is expected to ask a judge to reduce Peterson's bond, which is now $20 million.

Savio's death was originally ruled an accident. But after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared in 2007, Savio's body was exhumed. Authorities reclassified the death as a homicide after an autopsy.

Peterson, 55, has denied any involvement in Savio's death or Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

But his numerous media appearances, where he has gained a reputation for making smart-aleck remarks, could play a big role as prosecutors try to lock him up.

Peterson, of suburban Bolingbrook, has never shied from the media, seeming to relish the spotlight and often offering reporters a joke. As he was led to his first court appearance this month, he referred to his prison-issued jumpsuit as a "spiffy outfit."

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.

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 Brodsky.

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."

[Associated Press; By DON BABWIN]

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