Peterson Told Son's Girlfriend Savio May Have Overdosed

Updated 4:50 p.m. 

The former girlfriend of Drew Peterson's son Stephen Peterson recalled the
night Kathleen Savio was found dead.

Jennifer Schoon lived with Stephen Peterson in the basement of Drew
Peterson's home from June 2003 until March 2005. 

In March 2004, Schoon said Drew Peterson told her Savio "had drowned in a bathtub, had hit her head and there was no water in the bathtub because
there was a leak." 

Peterson also told her there were anti-depressants on a counter and that Savio may have overdosed on the pills.

Updated 3:32 p.m. 

Retired insurance adjuster Joseph Steadman briefly testified about
conversations he had with Drew Peterson after Kathleen Savio was found
dead.

"I asked Drew Peterson what she had died from and he said her death was
drug-related and she had been found dead in her bathtub," Steadman said.

Steadman also said Peterson "advised me he is a Bolingbrook, Illinois,
police officer and he was the first person on the scene of her death and
he found the body."

Steadman also said Peterson told him he was not allowed to investigate his
ex-wife's death and if the police believed she had been murdered, that he
would be a suspect in the investigation.

Updated at 2:58 p.m. 

Judge Burmila is barring Scott Rossetto from testifying due to a series of
prosecution screw-ups.

Rossetto, a nurse and U.S. Army captain, is now returning to his post in
Germany. Rossetto's testimony is critical to the prosecution's case.

Rossetto could have testified about a night in 2007 when Stacy Peterson came to visit him days before she vanished. 

During the visit, she leaned over and tried to kiss him, but he demurred because he had a girlfriend, according to a police report read in court by defense attorney Steve Greenberg.

During the same visit, Stacy supposedly told Rossetto that she went to sleep with her husband the night Savio was last seen alive, but when she woke she found him dressed entirely in black and putting women's clothes in their washing machine.

The women's clothes were not hers, Stacy supposedly told Rossetto.

The sleeves of Peterson's black shirt were either wet or darker below the elbow than above, Rossetto may say, according to attorneys' interpretations of the police reports.

Peterson then told Stacy, "If anyone asked, he was there all night," according to what Greenberg said was in a police report.

Defense attorney Joel Brodsky tried and failed to convince the judge to bar this testimony.

While that supposed episode looks like it will get before the jury, Burmila will not allow Rossetto to repeat that Stacy supposedly told him how Peterson boasted, "I've now created the perfect crime."

Rossetto also will not be allowed to discuss a supposed meeting with Stacy at a Bolingbrook Denny's shortly before she disappeared.

While they were together inside the Denny's, Peterson supposedly circled the restaurant about a half-dozen times in his squad car.

He then went inside—in his full Bolingbrook police uniform—and confronted Rossetto, demanding to see his identification, according to a testimony from a pretrial hearing.

Peterson then supposedly said to Stacy, "I wish you would just come home."

Greenberg also warned the judge that he has text messages between Stacy and Rossetto and "they're quite graphic."

"The graphic nature of the text messages is of no import to me," Burmila said.

Updated at 2:11 p.m. 

The testimony of Scott Rossetto was cut short after defense attorney Steve
Greenberg objected to discrepancies in the dates he claimed to have met
with Stacy Peterson.

Greenberg claimed that the Illinois State Police, prosecutors and Rossetto
all have given different dates in late October for a supposed meeting
between Stacy and Rossetto.

The prosecution and defense are trying to work out a methid for Rossetto
to testify and be subjected to cross-examination. Judge Edward Burmila
raised the possibility of Assistant State's Attorney John Connor being put
on the witness stand to testify about the mixup about the dates.
In the meantime, Jennifer Schoon, a former girlfriend of Drew Peterson's
son Stephen Peterson, may be called to testify.

Updated at 12:45 p.m.

Testimony from Stacy Peterson's friend Scott Rossetto was pushed back until this afternoon.

Instead, this morning saw testimony from a neurologist who treated Kathleen Savio from 1999 until 2002.

The neurologist, Dr. Gene Neri, testified that Savio suffered from cervical vertigo brought on by high stress.

The condition made Savio feel unsteady on her feet, Neri said. But the increased sense of caution associated with the feeling made it less likely for Savio to actually fall down than a person without cervical vertigo, he said.

The doctor said Savio's condition was improving with treatment and drugs that helped her to sleep.

Defense attorney Darryl Goldberg seemed to be trying to get Neri to admit it was possible that Savio developed a case of multiple scleroris and that the disease caused her to accidentally drown in her bathtub.

"She did not have multiple sclerosis," Neri insisted.

After the doctor left the witness stand, attorneys argued over what Rossetto can and cannot tell the jury.

Judge Edward Burmila appears to be willing to allow Rossetto to recount how Stacy Peterson visited his Shorewood home just days before she mysteriously vanished in October 2007.

During the visit, she leaned over and tried to kiss him, but he demurred because he had a girlfriend, according to a police report read in court by defense attorney Steve Greenberg.

During the same visit, Stacy supposedly told Rossetto that she went to sleep with her husband the night Savio was last seen alive, but when she woke she found him dressed entirely in black and putting women's clothes in their washing machine.

The women's clothes were not hers, Stacy supposedly told Rossetto.

The sleeves of Peterson's black shirt were either wet or darker below the elbow than above, Rossetto may say, according to attorneys' interpretations of the police reports.

Peterson then told Stacy, "If anyone asked, he was there all night," according to what Greenberg said was in a police report.

Defense attorney Joel Brodsky tried and failed to convince the judge to bar this testimony.

While that supposed episode looks like it will get before the jury, Burmila will not allow Rossetto to repeat that Stacy supposedly told him how Peterson boasted, "I've now created the perfect crime."

Rossetto also will not be allowed to discuss a supposed meeting with Stacy at a Bolingbrook Denny's shortly before she disappeared.

While they were together inside the Denny's, Peterson supposedly circled the restaurant about a half-dozen times in his squad car.

He then went inside—in his full Bolingbrook police uniform—and confronted Rossetto, demanding to see his identification, according to a testimony from a pretrial hearing.

Peterson then supposedly said to Stacy, "I wish you would just come home."

Greenberg also warned the judge that he has text messages between Stacy and Rossetto and "they're quite graphic."

"The graphic nature of the text messages is of no import to me," Burmila said.

Original post

Stacy Peterson's friend Scott Rossetto appears to be the only witness set
to testify today. There may be more in store, but attorneys aren't sure
they will get through Rossetto.

Also, Judge Edward Burmila may decide whether to allow the testimony of a
man who claims Drew Peterson offerered him $25,000 to find someone to kill
his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

If they get done with Rossetto, next on tap is Jennifer Schoon, the former
girlfriend of Drew Peterson's son Stephen Peterson, retired insurance
agent Joseph Steadman, Illinois State Trooper Bryan Falat, and Dr. Gene
Neri, who was one of Savio's physicians.