03/07/2008 (www.cnn.com) Nancy Grace Show

Attorney Harry Smith says Stacy Peterson wanted divorce

2004 Coroner and Inquest Jury under fire

http://www.acandyrose.com/2008-03-07-NancyGrace-StacyDivorce.htm

PLEASE NOTE: This original official transcript has been (SNIPPED) to include ONLY information discussion on the Stacy Peterson and/or Kathleen Savio case.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0803/07/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Police Cite Promising Leads in Auburn University Student Murder

Aired March 7, 2008 - 20:00:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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GRACE: And tonight, breaking developments in the case of missing 23- year-old mom Stacy Peterson, vanishing from upscale Chicago suburbs, husband/cop Drew Peterson the prime suspect in his fourth wife`s disappearance. A highly unusual exhumation of the body and second autopsy classifies the suspicious dry bathtub drowning of Peterson`s third wife to be a homicide.

Tonight, the first coroner under fire after third wife, Kathleen Savio`s, death deemed accident. And tonight: It`s revealed Stacy Peterson reaches out for help from a divorce lawyer 48 short hours before she vanishes.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bombshell in the Drew Peterson investigation. Missing wife Stacy Peterson consulted a divorce attorney twice the week before she disappeared, according to divorce attorney Harry Smith (ph). Smith also represented third wife, Kathleen Savio, just before she was murdered. Smith says he`s been questioned by investigators. Charges also flying about the quality of the coroner`s inquest into the death of Kathleen Savio. Election challenger Charles Lion (ph) says if Stacy Peterson`s found dead, it may have been prevented if the Will County coroner Patrick O`Neil (ph) had conducted a more thorough investigation, the coroner calling those charges nonsense.

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Everyone, updates in the Drew Peterson case. Take a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stacy`s good friend and neighbor says she`s not surprised to learn that Stacy contacted a divorce attorney just two days before the 23-year-old vanished without a trace. Harry Smith says he spoke with Stacy twice on the telephone. She was looking for information about filing a divorce. Now, Smith is the same divorce attorney who represented Kathleen Savio, the third wife of Stacy`s husband, ex-Bolingbrook cop Drew Peterson.

Drew, meanwhile, has been labeled a suspect in Stacy`s disappearance which prompted authorities to reopen Kathleen Savio`s case. Last month authorities declared her death, ruled an accident in 2004, was actually a homicide. Drew has repeatedly denied any involvement in either case.

As for Sharon (INAUDIBLE), she says everything is moving on track for justice for both Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson.

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GRACE: We can only hope justice for both of these ladies, both gone in very unusual circumstance. Tonight the coroner who led the investigation in wife number three`s highly unusual dry bathtub drowning. Remember that first autopsy? The result was accident even though Kathleen Savio was covered head to toe in bruises, a laceration to the back top part of the head, her hair matted in blood, how`s that an accident? And she died of drowning in a dry bathtub? You should see the autopsy. I`ve got it right here and then it`s absolutely incredible that a coroner led a jury to a finding of accident.

All right. He is under fire tonight and he is speaking out. And also we learned that wife number three, Kathleen Savio -- excuse me, wife number four, Stacy Peterson goes to a divorce lawyer, reaching out for help, just days before she suddenly vanishes into thin air.

To Kathy Cheney with the "Chicago Defender," what is the latest in the case? Any movement?

KATHY CHENEY, REPORTER, CHICAGO DEFENDER: Any movement as far as Stacy Peterson`s case?

GRACE: Yes.

CHENEY: Really no movement other than the Kathleen Savio`s divorce attorney coming out saying that Stacy contacted him two days before she disappeared. She contacted him twice, talking about she wanted to end the marriage but he wouldn`t divulge further any more details of that conversation but he did say that she didn`t appear to be overly emotional or anything.

GRACE: You know, interesting. Let`s unleash the lawyers, Anne Bremner, at the Seattle jurisdiction, high-profile lawyer, and Greg McKeithen, defense attorney in the Atlanta jurisdiction.

To Anne Bremner, I`ve tried in the past when I had the murder of a wife, I tried to get in before the jury the that fact she has gone to a divorce attorney and divulged to him how she had been beaten, had been mistreated and feared for her life. I couldn`t get it in. I could not get it in because the closest of kin in my old jurisdiction had to allow the attorney-client privilege to be broken. And the closest of kin was the husband on trial for murder.

ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Exactly. Yes.

GRACE: Of course he wasn`t going to allow that.

BREMNER: Yes. Fun how that worked out, huh?

GRACE: Yes.

BREMNER: Which is -- great as a lawyer and D.A. as you were and are, I mean, you couldn`t get it in, the fact is, you can`t get that in into evidence and it`s also hearsay. So interesting this lawyer`s coming out right now. I`ve kind of been wondering about that, too, in terms of his revelation.

GRACE: And Greg McKeithen, the way I even found out about it is her best friend told me this is what she said to the lawyer, this is what the plan was for the divorce. Is there any way, Greg, that you can think of -- you tried both -- cases on both sides of the fence, prosecution and defense -- that this could actually come in before trial?

GREG MCKEITHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I can`t think of any way, Nancy. Remember, a defendant always has a right to confront his accusers. There`s that fundamental principle called the sixth amendment. That would violate that principle. I know of no exception that would allow that type of evidence to come in.

GRACE: Well, I mean -- well, hold -- pause. You`ve got the -- dying declaration, you got other ways that words of the dead can come in. But attorney-client privilege.

MCKEITHEN: Exactly.

GRACE: .is basically insurmountable.

Out to Michelle Sigona, what more do we know tonight about Kathleen Savio and especially with the coroner under fire about naming her death accidental?

MICHELLE SIGONA, CORRESPONDENT, AMERICA`S MOST WANTED: Yes. And this, again, Nancy, as you mentioned this is the coroner that, you know, oversaw the first inquest into Kathleen Savio`s death. And he`s basically defending his actions and basically, you know, saying that he followed things by the book.

Also, in addition, subpoenas were issued for Drew Peterson`s two middle-aged sons, the two teenagers. And you know, this grand jury, they meet once a week, Nancy, usually on Thursdays. Sometimes they skip one here and there. But they were -- the children were supposed to appear in front of the grand jury today, but they did not make it this week. Maybe next week.

GRACE: Out to the lines, Patty in South Carolina. Hi, Patty.

PATTY, FROM SOUTH CAROLINA: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

PATTY: Well, first I`d like to thank you for being such an advocate for victims all over the country.

GRACE: Thank you. Thank you, Patty.

PATTY: And I would also like to ask you about the retirement of law enforcement in South Carolina whenever there is a divorce going on or pending, the spouse receives half of the retirement money for life. And I was wondering since both of these women were wanting to get away from Drew Peterson and divorce him, and he had a $3 million policy on Kathleen Savio, well, it kind of sounds like there`s a great motive not to give up that retirement money.

GRACE: What do you know about it, Michelle Sigona?

SIGONA: Well, what we have learned was that Drew Peterson is, in fact, receiving a portion of his retirement money at this time.

GRACE: You know, I want to go back to this coroner`s report. I notice that the only police officer he called -- I`m going to throw this to Michael Alvarez, spokesperson for the Will County coroner -- well, the officer he called had not even been to the crime scene. Is that true?

MICHAEL ALVAREZ, SPOKESPERON, WILL COUNTY CORONER: Well, Nancy, what I can tell you is that the Will County Coroner`s Office in 2004 followed the policies and procedures laid forth in performing an inquest jury. And the policies and procedures laid forth stipulate the coroner`s office contact the reporting and investigating police body, in this instance it was the Illinois state police, and send them a letter, contact them and ask them who this letter is to be sent to. And in this case it was to be sent to Special Investigator Hardy.

The coroner`s office has no ability to decide who`s going to be sent to this inquest. We have no way of knowing.

GRACE: OK. So, bottom line, yes, no? Did the officer that testified go to the crime scene? Simple.

ALVAREZ: No, they -- no, they didn`t, Nancy.

GRACE: OK. That`s all I`m asking.

ALVAREZ: Sure.

GRACE: We`ll be right back with Michael Alvarez.

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Drew, meanwhile, has been labeled a suspect in Stacy`s disappearance which prompted authorities to reopen Kathleen Savio`s case. Last month authorities declared her death, ruled an accident in 2004, as actually a homicide. Drew has repeatedly denied any involvement in either case.

As for Sharon (INAUDIBLE), she says everything is moving on track for justice for both Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Amazingly, it seems as if police are making more strides in a nearly four-year-old case to the date, almost, March 1, 2004, Kathleen Savio found dead in a dry bathtub, cause of death, drowning.

Joining us tonight, special guest Dr. Randall Moss, medical physician and author of "Live Longer and Love Life." Highly ironic title when we`re talking about Kathleen Savio.

Doctor, the body is now four years old. What can we really realistically learn from an exhumation?

DR. A. RANDALL MOSS, MEDICAL PHYSICIAN, AUTHOR OF "LIVE LONGER AND LOVE LIFE": The original autopsy would have given us basic information. With the second autopsy you simply augment or add that information. A pathologist would certainly be able to glean information from the body and be able to present that to the authorities.

GRACE: Also, even if Stacy`s body were preserved, it`s now been months. True, cold weather outside. What condition would you expect it to be in, Dr. Randall Moss?

MOSS: The body would be somewhat decomposed. If it were in a very cold area, perhaps not so much as when you store a body in a morgue where you always try to store it in a cool area.

GRACE: I want to go back out to the lawyers, Anne Bremer, Greg McKeithen, back to the coroner trying to defend himself after naming the first death of Kathleen Savio accidental.

Now, Anne Bremer, it`s not as if he just did it on his own. Coroners have juries but the coroner is responsible for putting up the witnesses in front of that jury, right?

BREMNER: That`s why it`s called a coroner`s inquest, Nancy. And it`s actually medieval that it sat around all this time and it -- basically you conduct it as the coroner and give -- ask the jury to make factual findings, who, what, when, where, how. And -- but you know, one thing that struck me in this is that, if you look at what`s happening now, is this driven by suspicion about Drew Peterson, et cetera? And you know, was this guy really as wrong as we`re saying he is?

GRACE: Well, I don`t know what you mean by that. Can you be more specific and quickly?

BREMNER: Well, yes, I mean, simply that, you know, at the time he didn`t have to go to the scene, he didn`t go to the scene, but he reached the findings that he did. But are -- is there - are we somehow tainting our view of whether he`s right or wrong by what we know about Drew Peterson now?

GRACE: Well, have you actually read the autopsy report, Anne?

BREMNER: I have.

GRACE: Have you looked at it, each page?

BREMNER: Yes.

GRACE: And did you observe multiple bruises all across the body, specifically a blow to the back top part of the head, the hair matted in blood, and she`s found in a dry bathtub drowned?

BREMNER: You know what, Nancy? The fact is the findings were made by those jurors. That`s what.

GRACE: Yes, I`m just asking you, did you read that and are you suggesting that was an accident?

BREMNER: No. But here`s the thing, Nancy, that her hair was wet. There was evidence of drowning in terms of her lungs and everything else.

GRACE: Right.

BREMNER: The fact of what the finding was is what it was at the time. The question is how does it stand up today or can it be basically overturned today by somebody else.

GRACE: OK. Thank you.

Greg, Greg, quickly, in so many jurisdictions now we use medical examiners versus inquests. Why?

MCKEITHEN: The medical examiner, I would say, is one who can be qualified as an expert. He`s a medical doctor, and certainly would be in a position to render a professional opinion based on the evidence.

GRACE: To Michael Alvarez, a spokesperson for the Will County coroner, I understand there`s a change in the law now. Briefly what is it?

ALVAREZ: Nancy, that`s a most important thing here. In 2004, you`re.

GRACE: Well, I don`t think it`s the most important thing. The most important thing is Kathleen Savio was murdered. And it was deemed an accident.

ALVAREZ: As it pertains to the coroner`s office involvement in this it`s the most important thing. The law changed in 2007, January 1st of that year.

GRACE: Just tell me the change.

ALVAREZ: The coroner was able to, from that point, January 1st of 2007, determine the cause and the manner of death. In 2004 the coroner`s office was only allowed to determine the cause of death and the cause of death alone which I want to state was the same in Dr. Mitchell, Dr. Baden, and Dr. Blum`s all death by drowning. So the first autopsy was validated by the following two. That`s the most.

GRACE: Well, Michael Alvarez.

ALVAREZ: Yes.

GRACE: I`m very grateful for that change in law and you -- you`re correct. It`s extremely important.

Michael Alvarez, spokesperson for the Will County Coroner.

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Everybody I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp, Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

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