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Peterson lawyers ask judge to limit trial

Pictured in this photo provided by the Will County Sheriff's Department is former Bollingbrook, Illinois police sergeant Drew Peterson who was arrested on May 7, 2009 and charged with the 2004 murder of his third wife Kathleen Savio. Peterson is also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. (UPI Photo/Will County Sheriff's Department/HO)

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Published: May 8, 2012 at 2:01 PM

JOLIET, Ill., May 8 (UPI) -- Attorneys for Drew Peterson, a former police officer accused of killing his third wife, asked a judge to bar mention of the disappearance of his fourth wife.

In a batch of pretrial motions filed with Will County Judge Edward Burmila, Peterson's attorneys are asking that jurors in the trial for the murder of Kathleen Savio not discuss the issue of Stacy Peterson's disappearance "or possible death."

Defense lawyer Joel Brodsky called Stacy Peterson's disappearance in October 2007 "irrelevant."

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Savio's death was originally presumed to be an accident when she was found dead in a dry bathtub. However, when Stacy Peterson disappeared, Savio's body was exhumed for autopsy and medical examiners determined her death to be a homicide.

Barring mention of Stacy Peterson's disappearance could complicate the use of hearsay statements she made which are allowed to be used in the trial for the retired Bollingbrook, Ill, police sergeant, the Sun-Times reported.

Topics: Stacy Peterson, Kathleen Savio, Drew Peterson, Joel Brodsky

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