http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-drew-peterson-both-18jul18,0,7679524.storyDrew Peterson's lawyers end effort to block wrongful-death suit in Savio case
Drew Peterson's lawyers withdraw motion to halt caseBy Erika Slife | Chicago Tribune reporter
July 18, 2008
Lawyers representing the estate of Drew Peterson's third wife are now free to file a wrongful-death lawsuit against Peterson after his attorneys withdrew a motion Thursday that sought to block them.
But attorneys for Kathleen Savio's estate said that a wrongful-death lawsuit against the former Bolingbrook police sergeant likely won't be initiated until after the grand jury investigating Savio's death was discharged.
"That's something we'll have to look at," said John Q. Kelly, a New York attorney representing the Savio family. Kelly was the lawyer for Nicole Brown Simpson's family in a successful civil suit against O.J. Simpson.
"We still have to wait for some finality from the current grand jury investigation," Kelly said.Drew Peterson news The special grand jury in Will County is investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding Savio's death in 2004, as well as the Oct. 28 disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, then 23.
Savio, 40, was found dead in an empty bathtub in her Bolingbrook home. Her divorce to Peterson was only weeks away from being finalized.
Although her death initially was ruled an accident, authorities in February reclassified it as murder after a second autopsy was conducted after Stacy Peterson disappeared.
In February, Savio's relatives filed a petition to reopen her estate in preparation for a wrongful-death lawsuit against Peterson, 54. In April, Will County Judge Carmen Goodman granted their request and named Savio's father and sister as new executors of her estate, replacing Drew Peterson's uncle.
Attorneys for Peterson, who has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing in either case, promptly appealed Goodman's ruling.
Joel Brodsky, one of Peterson's attorneys, said he withdrew his motion to delay the court proceedings to reopen Savio's estate because he expects the Illinois Appellate Court to make its decision in the next couple of months.
And besides, he said, if Savio's attorneys file a wrongful-death lawsuit, he'll have subpoena powers to interview grand jury witnesses.
eslife@tribune.com