Drew Peterson fate in jury's hands

The defense told Illinois jurors a freak fall killed Drew Peterson's wife while the state told them to use common sense when they begin deliberations Wednesday. Defense attorney Joseph Lopez told jurors in closing arguments Peterson's ex-wife, Kathleen Savio -- whose body was found in a waterless bathtub March 1, 2004 -- died in a "weird" household accident. He said prosecutors failed to prove otherwise. The defense alleges Savio, 40, slipped and fell in her Bolingbrook, Ill., home's bathtub. Will County Assistant State's Attorney Chris Koch asked jurors in his summation to use their "common sense and everyday-life experience" when deciding how Savio died. "It's not one side [of her body that showed injuries], it's four sides -- how can you get that in one fall?" Koch said. "You can't do it -- it's not possible." State's Attorney Jim Glasgow said the case's circumstantial evidence added up to a powerful indictment against Peterson. "It's solid, it's real and it proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Drew Peterson murdered Kathleen Savio in cold blood," Glasgow said. Lopez said the state provided "garbage evidence" that jurors should ignore. "If you can't show it's a homicide, who cares?" he said. Peterson 58, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant charged with Savio's murder, sat expressionless at the defense table, watching jurors, taking notes and sometimes whispering to his lawyers, the Chicago Tribune reported. After more than 4 1/2 hours of closing arguments, county Judge Edward Burmila sent jurors home for a "nice night's rest" before starting deliberations Wednesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Savio's death was initially ruled an accidental drowning by a coroner's jury that included a police officer who personally knew Peterson and assured the other jurors Peterson was "a good man who would never hurt his wife," WGN-AM, Chicago, reported at the time. After the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, 3 1/2 years later, Savio's body was exhumed and she was determined to have died of drowning following a struggle. Glasgow has said Savio's death was a "homicide staged to look like an accident." Stacy Peterson, 23, disappeared Oct. 28, 2007. Drew Peterson claims she called him at 9 o'clock that night to tell him she left him for another man. Prosecutors allege Peterson killed Savio because he was afraid their pending divorce settlement would ruin him financially. They have suggested he killed Stacy Peterson because she knew about Savio's death. He has not been charged in Stacy Peterson's disappearance but is under investigation and has repeatedly denied involvement in either case.