Prosecutor Confident Drew Peterson Trial Will Resume Thursday

Updated: 5:30 p.m. 

State's Atty. James Glasgow told the Tribune Thursday he did not believe there would be a mistrial.

"It's a complicated case," he told the Tribune. "We're confident the trial will resume tomorrow." 

Updated: 2:18 p.m. 

Defense attorney Joel Brodsky asked for and was granted a temporary adjournment until Thursday morning. The defense wants to explore its options. They can have all or some of Thomas Pontarelli's testimony or continue to pursue a mistrial.

Updated: 1:31 p.m. 

Burmila has suggested striking all of Thomas Pontarelli's testimony instead of a mistrial. The defense team is in a conference room talking this option over.

Updated 11:54 a.m. 

Judge Edward Burmila slammed prosecutors saying he will decide at 1:15 p.m. if the case will end in a mistrial. 

Peterson's defense is arguing behind closed doors that if there's a mistrial, double jeopardy applies and Peterson must be freed.

The judge could also rule a "mistrial without prejudice," which would allow prosecution to retry the case if they want. 

Update 11:30 a.m. 

Attorneys are in the judge's chambers arguing again whether to declare a mistrial.

Neighbor Thomas Pontarelli testified he found a .38-caliber bullet in
his driveway. He said Drew Peterson put it in his driveway to intimidate him.

Defense attorney Steve Greenberg called for a mistrial.

Prosecutor Kathleen Patton conceded that she can't prove Peterson put it there.

"You're not going to be able to tie it to the defendant," said Judge Edward Burmila before storming off the bench and ordering the  attorneys from both sides to follow him out for a conference.

It's the second time in two days the defense has moved for a mistrial. On Tuesday, it looked like there was nearly a mistrial after  brought up the co-worker  allegedly offered $25,000 to orchestrate a hit on his third wife 

Glasgow failed to disclose to the defense he was going to use that evidence. This was a big part of the prosecution's case and they now can't use it at trial. Peterson's defense team moved for a mistrial.

There was a long argument, but the judge denied the motion. Prosecutors will still be hampered going forward.

Update 10:30 a.m.

The first witness called today was Kathleen Savio's next-door neighbor Thomas Pontarelli. Pontarelli's wife, Mary Pontarelli, testified yesterday.

Thomas Pontarelli said Drew Peterson told him "any friend of Savio's is an
enemy of mine" when he caught him helping her move things in 2002.

Thomas Pontarelli said Peterson also questioned him about changing the
locks on Savio's front door.

Thomas Pontarelli also said the tub Savio was found in was "clean, pristine. There was no ring. No soap scum." 

After finding Savio's body, Peterson made a phone call and told someone he would be suspected of killing her, Pontarelli said.

Orginal post

As the second day of testimony in the murder trial was set to begin Wednesday, Peterson's attorney said the accused wife-killer is sleeping soundly in jail now that his murder trial has started.

"He got a solid 10 hours sleep," Brodsky said, also noting Peterson "was very confident at the end" of Tuesday's session.

Brodsky also continued to disparage Peterson's dead third wife, , saying she was "someone who never took no for an answer."

Despite Peterson's supposed confidence, he was aware the rest of his life hangs in the balance during his murder trial, Brodsky said.

"He knows that this is probably the most important event in his entire life," he said.

Check out our Storify feature to see what people are saying about the Drew Peterson trial around the web. 

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