Baden Questioned Over Selling of Autopsy Tape

Updated 2:51 p.m. 

The prosecution rested its case Thursday after calling two rebuttal
witnesses.

Dr. Mary Case followed Dr. Michael Baden to the witness stand.
Case countered statements made by Doctor Jeffrey Jentzen and Doctor
Vincent DiMaio.

Defense motions will round out the rest of today and resume Friday.

Updated 1:15 p.m.

One of Drew Peterson's attorneys accused an assistant of celebrity medical
examiner Michael Baden of trying to "peddle" a tape of Kathleen Savio's to
the sexually explicit video franchise "Girls Gone Wild."

"Did you know Mr. (Steph) Watts tried to peddle that tape to the people
who produce 'Girls Gone Wild?'" Peterson attorney Ralph Meczyk asked
Baden.

Watts was a producer with Greta Van Susteren's show on Fox News. Watts
assisted Baden and shot video of the autopsy, but did not film Savio's
body.

Meczyk pursued the line of questioning despite pretrial testimony showing
the accusation was baseless.

Judge Edward Burmila cleared the jury from the courtroom so he could get a
better grasp on the situation.

"I express my ignorance of what 'Girls Gone Wild' is," Burmila said. "Is
this some entity?"

Defense attorney Steve Greenberg explained that the "Girls Gone Wild"
producers "go to spring break locations and get very drunk girls to do
various thing."

Greenberg then told the judge that during Savio's autopsy, Watts was
checking voicemail messages and had a call from "Girls Gone Wild" founder
Joe Francis, who was doing time on tax charges.

Watts was working on a show about Francis, Greenberg said, and he wrote
his phone number on the pad he was using to jot autopsy notes.

"The testimony regarding 'Girls Gone Wild' and any connection it has to
Mr. Watts is to be ignored by you," Judge Burmila ordered the jury.

Original post

Prosecutors called celebrity medical examiner Michael Baden to rebut the
testimony of the two forensic pathologists called by Drew Peterson's
attorneys.

Baden performed a pro bono autopsy on the corpse of Kathleen Savio after
it was pulled from its grave in the wake of Stacy Peterson's mysterious
disappearance in October 2007.

Baden refuted the testimony of Dr. Vincent DiMaio. Baden said there were
bruises below Savio's collarbone.

Baden also said the numerous injuries on Savio's body were consistent with
what one would suffer in a struggle.

Baden said Savio would not necessarily suffer injuries to her face in such
a struggle.

The numerous injuries could not have been suffered in a single fall, Baden
said.

DiMaio and Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen previously testified that Savio accidentally drowned after falling once and hitting her head.