Drew Peterson pleads not guilty to murdering wife

[May 19, 2009]  JOLIET (AP) -- Former police officer Drew Peterson got the chance Monday to plead not guilty to charges that he killed his third wife, but could not ask the judge to lower his multimillion-dollar bail.

The judge may no longer be on the case.

The prosecution had asked Judge Richard Schoenstedt to step down from the case, saying that he was biased against them. The motion delayed Peterson's $20 million bail reduction hearing and angered his attorney.

"It's nothing but gamesmanship," Joel Brodsky said. "It shows the state does not want to try this case on the merits."

Brodsky said he would press Will County State Attorney James Glasgow at a hearing on Thursday to explain his reasoning.

Will County prosecutors have not been happy with Schoenstedt's dismissal of felony gun charges against the former Bolingbrook police sergeant late last year. Peterson is accused in the 2004 drowning death of Kathleen Savio.

Glasgow's office would only say in a two-page document that it wants the judge replaced "on the ground of prejudice against the State ... ."

Schoenstedt dismissed the gun charges in November after prosecutors refused to hand over internal documents between their office and the Illinois State Police that led to their decision to arrest Peterson.

Will County prosecutors told the judge such a move would open a "flood gate" for future cases.

The two sides also appear headed for a fight over a state law passed after the 2007 disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy.

The law allows a judge to admit hearsay evidence in first-degree murder cases if prosecutors can prove a defendant killed a witness to prevent them from testifying.

The law is unconstitutional and should be struck down because it was passed specifically to put Peterson in jail, Brodsky said.

Several members of Savio's family, as well as Stacy Peterson's relatives, attended the hearing.

Stacy Peterson's disappearance led authorities to re-examine Savio's death. Savio's body was found in a dry bathtub with a gash on the back of her head.

Originally ruled an accident, her death was reclassified as a homicide after her body was exhumed and an autopsy conducted.

Peterson's numerous media appearances, in which he gained a reputation for making smart-aleck remarks, played a role Monday.

While the 55-year-old Peterson, wearing a blue jail-issue jumpsuit with both his feet and hands shackled, did not make any comments, members of Savio's family said later that he waved to Savio's sister, Sue Doman.

Her son, Michael Lisak, said Peterson looked at family members "almost in a mocking way."

Brodsky disputed that contention. And Peterson, who shortly after his May 7 arrest held up his hands to reporters and jokingly referred to the handcuffs as "bling," did not make any obvious gestures or facial expressions.

Even one of Savio's relatives said Peterson's demeanor had changed since his arrest.

"He's been walking around for over a year with a smug smirk and now it's gone," said Savio's niece, Melissa Doman.

The next argument will be over Brodsky's plan to ask the judge to reduce Peterson's bond to under $500,000.

Before the hearing, Brodsky said that since police named Peterson a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance in late 2007, he has traveled to such places as Mexico, California and Florida without ever trying to flee.

With a home in Bolingbrook, where he lives with his four youngest children, and other relatives in the area, Peterson is not the kind of flight risk or danger to the community that would justify a multimillion-dollar bond, Brodsky said.

[Associated Press; By DON BABWIN]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.