Drew Peterson Found Guilty of Killing Wife, Making It Look Like Accident

JOLIET, Ill., Sept. 6, 2012— -- Former Illinois cop Drew Peterson was found guilty today of killing his wife, Kathleen Savio, and making it look like an accident in 2004.

The jury returned a verdict after two days of deliberations, just an hour after stopping discussions to ask the judge the meaning of the word "unanimous."

Peterson now faces up to 60 years in prison. He will be sentenced in November.

Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in her bathtub in 2004, and her death was initially ruled an accident. However, after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared without a trace in 2007, police exhumed Savio's body and reexamined it, changing their finding to homicide.

Peterson was then charged with first-degree murder.

Following the verdict, the jury released a statement saying they had "taken the responsibility bestowed on (them) by the court with great deal of solemnity and diligence."

"After a great amount of deliberation, we have reached a decision we believe is just," the statement said.

After the verdict, members of Savio's family said they finally got what they wanted for Kathleen: justice.

"Today is the culmination of eight years, eight long years, and today we've gotten justice," Savio's nephew, Michael Lisak, said after the verdict. "Today Kathleen Savio, Kitty Savio can finally rest in piece and the Savio family can finally move on."

Lisak noted that the verdict should be a hopeful sign to all victims of domestic abuse.

"Today is a day for battered women, not just Kathleen Savio. Your voice will be heard. My aunt's voice was heard through the grave, she would not stop. They will listen to you now. The Kathleen Savio hearsay law is a real thing," Lisak said, referring to a law that allowed into evidence statements that Savio made to friends and family before she died.

The jury asked to have some of the hearsay statements from the case reread to them Wednesday. Statements that Stacy Peterson made to her pastor and her divorce attorney about Drew Peterson killing Savio were allowed into court testimony because of the Kathleen Savio hearsay law.

Peterson's defense attorneys criticized the prosecution's reliance on hearsay in the case. There was no physical evidence and there were no eyewitness accounts placing Peterson at the scene of Savio's death.

"These jurors were under a lot of pressure. The whole world was watching, and now we wait for appeal," said Joel Brosky, Peterson's lead attorney.

The jury also stopped their deliberations with another question, this one just an hour before reaching their verdict, to ask the judge the meaning of the word "unanimous."

"Just to be clear, judge, what does unanimous mean?" read a note sent by jurors to Judge Edward Burmila this afternoon.

Judge Edward Burmila, who has overseen the six-week murder trial of the former Bolingbrook, Ill., police sergeant, wrote a note back to jurors explaining the meaning and referring the jurors back to the jury instructions he gave Tuesday morning.

"The word unanimous indicates the agreement of all on the matter at hand," the note said.

Stacy Peterson's sister, Cassandra Cales, also attended the trial. She said after the verdict that she hoped Peterson's conviction and impending jail time would convince anyone with knowledge of Stacy's disappearance to come forward.

"Game over, Drew," Cales said. "He can wipe the smirk off his face. It's time to pay."

Peterson has denied any involvement in Savio's death and Stacy Peterson's disappearance. He has never been charged in connection with Stacy's case.

His attorney, Joel Brodsky, said Peterson was "anxious" ahead of the verdict.

"He's a bit anxious but prepared emotionally for whatever happens," Brodsky said Tuesday.

The five-week long trial in Joliet was plagued by legal battles between Peterson's attorneys and prosecutors over which evidence would be allowed in court. Much of the testimony in the case was hearsay, based on statements that Savio and Stacy Peterson made to friends and acquaintances, portraying Peterson as violent and threatening.

Stacy Peterson's divorce attorney, hired before she disappeared, testified that Stacy had asked him about telling authorities that Drew Peterson had killed Savio.