quickly, attention turns to drew's third wife kathleen savio, who only three years before, died under mysterious circumstances. kathleen married drew in 1992. they have two children. her brother nick says the family didn't like drew from the start. but his sister was seduced by the life he offered. >> he gave her everything she never had. money, security. the whole family thing she had what she always wanted. >> judge jeanine: eventually, their relationship soured. >> he became manipulative in their relationship. wanted to know everything she was doing, following her. just trying to control every move. >> judge jeanine: they decide to divorce. savio tells family she fear force her life. >> she told me she would never live to see the end of a divorce. jessica starr she sends letters, one to a state's attorney begging for help. she writes, he knows how to manipulate the system and his next step is take the children away or kill me she is weeks away from finalizing the financial terms of her divorce. when she is found dead in her bathtub. the coroner rules kathleen fell and accidentally

the defense maintains that kathleen savio was bitter about an affair that drew peterson was having with soon-to-be fourth wife and the prosecution says that he was trying to avoid sharing his six-figure pension with kathleen savio ... this trial could stretch to one month ... a van transporting the defendant to court ... he is now in court wearing a charcoal gray suit ... the former bollingbrook police officer is charged with the murder of kathleen savio who was found dead in her bathtub ... he is also a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth and much younger wife stacy peterson ... he has not been charged ... the state's attorney is trying this case himself and he is relying on circumstantial evidence and hoping that hearsay evidence will be submitted to allow his ex-wife's to speak from beyond the grave ... the judge denied the defense request to limit opening statements ... the defense maintains the prosecution has no evidence ... >>the way they do a murder case is they will present someone whom i have been the last person to see the woman alive ... and then there will be someone

could bring the bath tub into the courtroom now in possession investigators eight years after kathleen saviowhat the bathroom looked alike could not find evidence that drew peterson had anything to do with kathleen savio death. >> prosecutors begged to differ say the judge bolstered state position on a crucial testimony so-called hearsay testimony top prosecutor says will point to drew peterson as the killer. >> arguments he set the record straight. i believe his interpretations are completely in line with the a lot in the state of illinois >> when it comes to the bathtub and jurors would still get a chance to see this judge permits state to be installed the top kathleen savio home leading to trial jury can find themselves struggling to the bathroom to see the reconstructed seen the >> judges left the door open if the top is be installed to potential for the jury overall very pleased with what happened in court today >> drew peterson on trial for allegedly murdering kathleen savio but still considered to be the prime suspect in the mysterious disappearance of his fourth wife stacey prosecuto

done here in joliet. >> judge jeanine: and we are hearing, martin, that although the family kathleen savio's family could not be he in the courtroom there was contact between susan dolman andrew peterson. tell us what happened there? >> they approached mr. peterson shortly after it was announced that kathleen had died and they really wanted to get together with kathleen's kids but drew absolutely forbid it or was is so restrictive in the circumstances that he had to be present, he couldn't -- no one could leave the room, they could only go to a certaine, ae conditions were laid down, the family really avoided contact because their contact was not going to be enjoyable or something that they desired to have with tom and chris. >> at the same time, martin, the family could have gone to court and tried to get visitation. after all, they are her dead sister's children without those restrictions, yes? >> yes, i guess they probably could although divorce and marital family law is not really my area of expertise so i'm not sure entirely if they would have been allowed visitation. it certainly was g

for kathleen savio's family this is the moment they have been waiting for, for more than eight years. march 1, 2004. neighbors find kathleen dead in her bath tub. her death is ruled an accidental drowning but her family doesn't buy it. at the time, kathleen was only weeks away from finalizing the financial terms of a bitter divorce from illinois cop drew peterson. she told her family she feared for her life. >> she told me she would never make the divorce, never live to see the end of the divorce. >> she also sent letters, one a states' attorney begging for help. she writes he knows how to manipulate the system and his next step is to take the children away or kill me. >> nobody wanted to listen do her when she was writing the letters to the states attorney's office or whatnot. >> they brushed it off. >> and he being an officer they took his word for it. >> judge jeanine: that is until october 28, 2007 when drew's new wife stacey peterson vanishes, raising new questions about kathleen's death. the state's attorney reopens the investigation. his body is ec exumed and an autopsy is perf

the former small town cop accused of killing his third wife -- kathleen savio.... t fox news legal analyst lis wiehl says the prosecution faces an uphill battle.weihl says: "the prosecution - in their opening statement -- laid out a case, a circumstantial case, meaning there's no direct evidence." savio's death was originally ruled an accident, until peterson's áfourth wifeá -- stacey -- went missing... her pastor came forward when he heard the news.... telling authorities he was counseling stacey peterson and had information about savio's death. savio's body was exhumed and a second autopsy determined she was murdered. one of peterson's lawyers feeling confident before the trial started... insisting savio died when she hit her head and drowned in her bath tub.greenberg says: "we're ready to get started today and stop them from trying to frame drew for an accident." the opening statements setting off controversy in the courtroom the defense ... scolded by the judge... when peterson's attorney began opening statements with drew peterson's life history. and the trial

it was originally ruled an accidental drowning but when his fourth wife disappeared, kathleen savio's body was exhumed. throughout this case peterson has displayed confidence in jail. ,ed in the courtroom, joking with his attorneys. >> this is going to be a spectacle. this is going to be all about drew peterson. this is the drew peterson show. >> reporter: among the first witnesses, prosecutors are calling savio's neighbor and a locksmith. but it's all circumstantial witness. >> the fact there's no eyewitness, no smoking gun, no dna. >> reporter: attorneys estimate the trial could last up to four weeks, reporting from los angeles. >>> in another high profile case, shelly zimmerman has plead not guilty to a perjury trial. she is the wife of 28-year-old george zimmerman. shelly is accused of lying about the family's financing. the judge revoked her husband's bond and sent him back to jail. the judge said the zimmerman's misrepresented how much they had when the initial bond was set. george zimmerman pleaded not guilty saying he is shot the teenager -- he shot the teenager in self-defens

they have to keep the focus on kathleen savio.the reasons why it would be so hard for drew peterson to take the witness stand in this case. if he opens the door or if the defense in some way, shape or form, opens the door to stacy peterson, then, the prosecutors would be able to introduce evidence. and that would be an even bigger problem for the defense team. >> a lot more to get into here with you. dan abrams. thank you. >>> now, to the rendition of the national anthem that's gone viral on youtube. some are saying it's the worst and making their feelings known. but are people ganging on up on this 11-year-old? ryan owens has the story. ♪ oh, say can you see >> reporter: it was supposed to be her big break. and even this 11-year-old knew she blew it. >> it wasn't my best performance at all. >> reporter: before a nationally televised major league soccer game, in a stadium packed with 22,000 fans, well, just listen. ♪ the perilous fight >> reporter: 11-year-old harper gruzins had been practicing for weeks. she said she couldn't hea

his attorney is here as well as a spokesman for the family of kathleen savio.st over two weeks that iowa cousins disappear interested their small town. elizabeth turns nine on tuesday and the girls' families are desperate to find them. >>> and the horrific beating of several babies by a nine-year-old boy in a day care facility. where are the adults who should have been watching them? >> even more disturbing to see the action of this 9-year-old kid who just pretty much ran rampant in this room full of kids attacking at will for a period of 10 or 15 minutes. >> judge jeanine: hello and welcome to "justice." i'm judge jeanine pirro. the jury selected and tuesday opening statements begin in the state versus drew peterson. for kathleen savio's family this is the moment they have been waiting for, for more than eight years. march 1, 2004. neighbors find kathleen dead in her bath tub. her death is ruled an accidental drowning but her family doesn't buy it. at the time, kathleen was only weeks away from finalizing the financial terms of a bitter divorce from illinois c

he is on trial now killing wife number three, kathleen savio.er death was initially ruled an accident but the case was reopened after stacey vanished under mysterious circumstances. mike tobin live outside the courthouse in illinois. mike, good morning. >> reporter: bill, the lawyer for drew peterson said at the moment he is against his client testifying in this trial but he says peterson is relaxed and confident as the day of reckon something upon him. he was a bolling brook, illinois, cop who is now a notorious murder suspect at the center of a drama, filled with sex, lives and missing lives. >> are you surprised by the charge and the arrest yesterday? >> reporter: 58-year-old drew peterson has been behind bars since 2009 awaiting trial. his third wife died in 2004 in odd circumstances. police never came after peterson until his fourth wife stacey disappeared. >> we'll line up this way and head that way. >> reporter: an intense search for the mother of two led nowhere. it gave authorities reason to exhume the body of that third wife, kathleen

he's charged with the murder of his third wife, kathleen savio. she was found drowned in her bathtub in 2004. her death was ruled an accident. but the case was reopened in 2007 after peterson's fourth wife stacy, vanished. she disappeared. peterson is not facing charges in that case, however. cnn's ted rollins is on the phone in joliet, illinois. ted by no means is this an open-and-shut case. prosecutors are facing a a lot of challenges. what can you tell us? >> absolutely right, zoraida. there's a very good chance, people don't realize this, that drew peterson at the end of the trial is going to walk out of the courtroom a free man. and the problem for the prosecution is that there's no direct evidence tying him to the death of his third wife, kathleen savio. and prosecutors can't really bring up the disappearance of his fourth wife, stacey. let's be frank, he never would have been investigated for kathleen savio's death if stacy peterson, his fourth wife, wouldn't have gone missing. in this case, there's an autopsy report, there was a coroner's

and a former peterson girlfriend someone he had an affair with while married to kathleen savio his third wife who was found dead in a bathtub in 2004 prosecutors say that drew peterson told susan macaulay who was the girlfriend that kathleen savio was crazy ... and there is conflicting information with what peterson told the detectives given her testimony ... there's more to come in the pre- trial motions the murder trial is set to begin in 20 days ... from they will county courthouse i'm julian crews for wgn news ... next, another use for botox plus... how a lucky pup dodged rush hour traffic on the stevenson... we have his rivetting rescue. many of us fudge the facts every now and then...even if it's just a little. here to explain how to cope with the fibbers in your life trib u's jenniffer weigel. >>apparently it is as common as taking a shower everyone lies once a day at least ... >>that's how it is? >>absolutely it ranges from little complement's to better fit thisbbing kids do this all the time ... there are all kinds of categories ... there is the omission ... commission and denia

today defense lawyers said before kathleen savio died she had been angry about drew peterson having anir and that they and they say she lied in court documents about being afraid of him. that didn't sit well with savio's relatives. >> got to stop trashing kathleen. drew is not the victim. kathleen was what is it going to take for these people to realize. we had her exhumed for a reason so there would be no more of this nonsense. >> wouldn't trash her, she had a very hot -- this is not something of dispute. cathy savio was describing everybody as a hell cat, a fighter, a very spirited person who would never take no for a answer and always had to get her way. >> jurors also heard from kathleen savio's neighbors today. neighbors who described finding the woman's body in that dry bathtub. there is word home prices are now on the in a bunch of cities across the country. experts say other new numbers are not so promising for the economy. we'll get reaction from wall street and the white house. plus, a 12-year-old girl had to think fast when she saw her grandfather pass out behind the wheel.

peterson is charged with drowning his third wife, kathleen savio, in 2004. jury selection got underway yesterday. attorneys questioned dozens of prospective jurors about their knowledge of the case. opening statements in the trial will be presented next tuesday. the trial is expected to take several weeks. for the first time in nearly a year, a homicide in chicago's jeffery manor neighborhood. 17 year-old alixi johnson was shot and killed, and three others were wounded, at merrill park near 96th place last night. police say at least two people stepped-out from a gangway nearby... and opened-fire. johnson's grandmother believes he was the victim of a random shooting, and didn't have any ties to gangs. in all, at least 13 people were wounded in shootings since eight o'clock last night. six of those victims were hit in a 15- minute span. a community alert has been issued for chicago's near north neighborhood. a string of burglaries have occurred in the area since july 12th. the offender enters the residence through a rear door or window, and the burglaries are

he is on trial for the murder of his wife kathleen savio ... this is an evidentiary hearing both sides are gearing what are to be permissible in court as evidence ... there's an animated video that the state wants to produce to argue its case against him along with certain witness statements ... defense attorneys cannot give us many details but what everyone is concerned about is jury selection people were assembled to two years ago when this initially began with all the attention the case has garnered sense including a made for television movie the judge concedes that sitting a jury will not be easy ... >>you don't know the effects of that movie ... things like that can make picking a jury difficult ... they may have lost a third of the original jury pool ... questionnaires had been sent to the original pool defense prosecutors all getting the questionnaires back today ... we have a starkly seen drew peterson march in and out of this court house we are told that we will not see that anymore will only see him in the courtroom ... the family of

but it gave authorities reason to exhume the body of that third wife, kathleen savio. death was initially ruled an accident. but a second autopsy determined she was murdered. with little physical evidence prosecutors will exploit illinois's new hearsay law. >> which basically says if you cause someone not to be available to testify, then that person's hearsay statements that may implicate you are admissible against you. >> reporter: which means savio will in essence testify from the grave because family and friends may be able to tell the jury that savio said peterson threatened to kill her. now the defense team says what's working for them is the evidence in this case. they say the prosecution can not put drew peterson at the scene of kathleen savio's death. they say what is working against them though, the fact that the circumstances are just too suspicious. jenna? jenna: lots more to this case and it is day one. mike tobin. thank you so much. >> reporter: you got it. rick: coming up, singer wayne newton, why the las vegas icon could soon be evicted from his home. re

his attorney is here as well as a spokesman for the family of kathleen savio.eir small town. elizabeth turns nine on tuesday and the girls' families are desperate to find them. >>> and the horrific beating of several babies by a nine-year-old boy in a day care facility. where are the adults who should have been watching them? >> even more disturbing to see the action of this 9-year-old kid who just pretty much ran rampant in this room full of kids attacking at will for a period of 10 or 15 minutes. >> judge jeanine: hello and welcome to "justice." i'm judge jeanine pirro. the jury selected and tuesday opening statements begin in the state versus drew peterson. for kathleen savio's family this is the moment they have been waiting for, for more than eight years. march 1, 2004. neighbors find kathleen dead in her bath tub. her death is ruled an accidental drowning but her family doesn't buy it. at the time, kathleen was only weeks away from finalizing the financial terms of a bitter divorce from illinois cop drew peterson. she told her family she feared for her li

drew peterson goes on trial for the death of his third wife, kathleen savio.ourth wife and, of course, he was married to two wives before that. that's another story. interviewed the husband of his first wife once, a strange interview, but that's a story for another day. savio's body was exhumed, second autopsy determined it with you a homicide after the suspicion of the four wife. police removed the tub after the autopsy. the prosecutors want that tub to be shown to jurors. avery, how important is that? and why isn't it happening? >> well, prosecutors are claiming that the bathtub is the so-called murder weapon. actually it is. what the prose cutors wanted to do was haul the bathtub into court to use it during their opening statement and judge vermilla handling this matter is showing discretion, employing judicial temperament and saying no, maybe, but not right now. the tub belongs in the house and the jurors may have to see that, but if there are complications getting into the house, believe it or not that bathtub may, indeed, be coming into the courtroom. >>

accused of killing his third wife kathleen savio, police say she died in a dry bathtub in 2004.tors ruled her death an accident, but then police exhumed her body in 2007 following the disappearance of his fourth wife stacy peterson. she's never been found. her family believes he killed her because of what they say he told stacy about kathleen savio's murder. boy, this as been coming for eight years the family has been waiting a long time. we're hearing from both sides. the lack of physical evidence means the prosecution will be relying heavily on hearsay or circumstan circumstanceal evidence and statements that savio and peterson made to family and friends before disappearing, stacy peterson told family at that drew peterson actually admitted to her about killing savio, savio's family members have waited years for this trial to begin and hope it will bring some closure. >> you know, they're doing pretty well, as well as could be expected. they certainly are very concerned and anxious that the trial may not go their way, and may not find the truth of the matter, at hand. but they

peterson.he's the former chicago police officer charged with killing his third wife, kathleen savio... and the suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, stacey peterson. a 2-hundred-person jury pool has been waiting á3 yearsá for a trial to get under way. among the questions potential jurors may be asked... is whether they saw a t-v movie about the life of peterson. a 16-year-old lifeguard is being hailed a hero... not for pulling someone out of the water...but for saving a couple from their burning home. alex panopoulos and his friends left a midnight screening of the ádark knight risesá ...when he saw smoke and flames rising from the roof of a home on ácromwell bridge roadá. that's when he and his friends' mom called 9-1-1 and banged on the door of the home .. alerting the family inside. "they were just like oh my god, thank you, they were like in shock i guess had we not knooked on the door they probably would've uh, they wouldn've have noticed it." alex's mom says she wasn't too surprised by her son's actions. when he's not in school, he's a lifeguard at a local swim c

it's based on statements made by the wife he is accused of killing, which is kathleen savio, and his wife who is still missing, stacy anderson. >> how unusual is that? >> it's very unusual. because if you're going to convict someone of a crime, they have the right to cross examine the people involved. now, you can't cross examine someone in the grave about the evidence. however, in illinois they passed a special law that said if you kill somebody who is potentially a witness in a case against you, that evidence can come into evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule. we find that it's highly reliable, and so it's permitted in illinois. it's only fair to say there are other examples of hearsay evidence that get into court frequently. there are a lot of exceptions. there is no certain rules in the law, but this, a murder case based entirely or almost entirely on circumstantial evidence and hearsay, very, very rare. >> some people have found it remarkable he was sitting in jail when, in fact, it was all circumstantial or hearsay evidence. this is a very high-profile case. this man is

. >> a former police officer in illinois goes on trial for the murder of his third wife kathleen saviodrew petersen was arrested for her murder years ago. we'll get a full report on opening statements from good morning america at 7:00 a.m.. >> suspect in the colorado, excuse me, the colorado movie theater shooting was charged with 24 counts was murder and 141 accounts of attempted murder. he was charged with multiple counts for people will create more options if he is convicted. here's more on his day in court. >>reporter: in a packed colorado courtroom james holmes heard the charges that could cause him his life. he sat daze confused. prosecutor charge him with 24 counts of murder for each of the 12 people killed and attempted murder for the people injured. many of the victims showed up to hear the charges. they saw holmes fiery orange hair and heard him speak if the judge asked him if he wanted waive his right to a speedy trail. >> he looked like an anim in a corner. just a sickly animal that was defeated. >> they argued over whether a notebook mailed to his psychiatrist will be used

third wife..., kathleen savio... / and... the suspect ...in the 2007 disappearance ... of...ife,.. stacey .../ a.. 200--person ...jury pool.. has waited ...á3 yearsá... for a trial... to start...//. among ... the questions... potential jurors... may... be asked... / is... whether ...they saw ... a... t-v movie... about... peterson's life. a... huge... air force jet... makes a big mistake!and... it's caught on camera. camera."oh my god!" the massive ...c-17... landed at the wrong tampa airport.../. most... of the planes ...that take off... from this airport ... are the size... of... s-u-v's./.. so... you... can see ...why this jet... is ásoá out of place. "macdill's air strip is 11,000 foot long. this one's only 3,400 so it's almost triple the length over there." the thrust reversers went on full blast. it was sound-deafening and there was rubber coming from the tires. and he stopped just about 10 feet short of the end of the runway." eventually ...the c-17 ...took off again..../the .. air force... is investigating ...to see if it was pilot error. besides a medal.... british a

the 58-year-old is charged with killing his third wife kathleen savio back in 2004, her death was initially ruled an accident but peterson was charged after his third wife went missing back in 1997. he's also a suspect in that case. >>> and in philadelphia, it's visiting day for the first roman catholic official convicted in the church's sex scandal. monsignor william wynn is was seven years in prison. >> i read something that that said the catholic church could learn something from the ncaa. that's a different story. let's take a look at weather from across the country. severe storms from coastal new england to eastern long island, d.c. and the carolinas. also stormy into the ohio valley. upper midwest and the dakotas. thunderstorms from the midwest and showers from texas to florida. >> 90s from florida and boston and the plains. 80s from detroit and billings, warming up to the 70s in seattle. >>> coming up next, the airlines are asking you to dig a little deeper. >>> plus, some actual good news about the nation's housing market. business news is next. >>> also, those olympic uniforms that

his wife kathleen savio was found dead in her bathtub in 2004. her death was initially ruled an accident. police reopened the investigation after his fourth wife stacy went missing in 2007. she's still missing today. prosecutors decided to put stacy on the witness list for the trial. experts say they did it to suggest she sal live some more. >>> more than a dozen soldiers in an army base have been killed in what's turning out to be the single deadliest day in that country this year. also today police say bomgs blew up in homes north of taji. when rescuers got there, a suicide bomber blew himself up. 28 people were killed in the attack, this is a day after car bombings killed 20 people and wounded 80 others. death toll today across that country now at 82. >>> also, israeli security forces say they believe a terrorist with a u.s. passport may be targeting israeli athletes at the olympics. this is the man they're looking for. they say he has a u.s. passport under the name david jefferson. they believe he was involved in last week's suicide bombing i