Drew Peterson murder trial delayed
Too much information -- including more than 40,000 pages of investigative reports -- is delaying Drew Peterson's trial for the 2004 murder of third wife Kathleen Savio.
Peterson and his attorneys agreed Tuesday to postpone his scheduled Aug. 24 trial for Savio's bathtub drowning death so they have time to study thousands of pages of police reports, forensic evidence and electronically recorded conversations.
His defense team, though, indicated they plan an aggressive defense, including launching a pre-trial legal challenge against a controversial new state "hearsay" law that allows statements Savio purportedly made before her death to be used at Peterson's trial.
And, Peterson's attorneys also contended that an Illinois State Police investigator acted improperly by asking out Peterson's girlfriend -- a potential witness in the case -- following his May 7 arrest.
"It's bizarre beyond belief," defense attorney Joel Brodsky said after Peterson's court hearing.
Will County prosecutors quickly brushed aside Brodsky's allegation, saying state police investigators did nothing wrong in trying to talk to Christina Raines about the case.
"It's absolutely a ridiculous assertion," said Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow.
Peterson, 55, remains jailed while awaiting trial.