CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
A key prosecution witness in the Drew Peterson murder trial came under fire on Wednesday during a pretrial hearing as attorneys battled over evidence that would allow Peterson's third wife Kathleen Savio to testify from the grave.
The witness, Savio's divorce attorney Harry Smith, found himself in the hot seat as defense attorneys sought to keep his testimony out of the trial, and with good reason. He says that Savio told him on numerous occasions that Peterson was going to kill her and make it look like an accident.
The defense claims that Smith would be violating his attorney client privilege if he testifies. But Smith told the court that Kathleen Savio made it very clear to him that if something happened to her during her bitter divorce from Peterson, that Smith was to tell police, prosecutors and the media that he threatened to kill her.
"Here's a guy who was a prosecutor," said defense attorney Joe Lopez. "He would know who to call, if this in fact happened. He would have been on the horn, called and he would have sent letters, he would have told the divorce court judge. He would have done something. He did nothing. He sat idle, which means it never happened."
Defense attorneys pounced on Smith's admission that he did not come forward until three years later when Peterson's fourth wife Stacy disappeared. They claim Smith just wanted the publicity.
"The fact that he would claim that his client was in his belief murdered and he made one phone call to someone he can't name and never followed up with anything is just preposterous," said defense attorney Steve Greenberg.
Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow angrily told the judge that Smith was not lying.
"Harry Smith is a courageous attorney who did not have to come forward with the information that he did, but he felt an ethical obligation to do so and he did," Glasgow said. "I want to thank him."
Peterson attended the hearing. He looks older these days and it seems he may have put on some weight. But he still flashed a few smiles during the hearing, irritating Savio's family. Savio's sister Sue Doman is attending all the pretrial hearings and is anxious to see her sister get justice.
"My sister never had a voice," Doman said. "I'm here to support her, it's very personal, very painful and I want to be here for her."
Jury selection in Peterson's trial begins July 23, with the trial scheduled to start on July 31.
