Drew lawyer: Savio homeowners stiffed by Will Co.
By Janet Lundquist Sun-Times Media July 16, 2012 10:48PM
Updated: August 18, 2012 6:28AM
A lawyer for Drew Peterson said Will County authorities tried to stiff the couple who bought Kathleen Savio’s Bolingbrook house after authorities removed the bathtub where she died as well as carpeting and other items.
Attorney Joel Brodsky said in an email that Rodolfo Hernandez, who lives in the house where Savio, Peterson’s third wife, was found dead in March 2004, had to hire a lawyer to get reimbursement for the items that were taken.
Brodsky said Hernandez was paid for the cost of a new tub and faucet but not for a plumber to reinstall them and is angry to the point that he will not cooperate with authorities “without a court order.”
During Peterson’s murder trial, which begins Monday, prosecutors hope to show jurors Savio’s bathtub, either in the courtroom or reinstalled inside the Hernandez house.
No one answered the door at the house Monday afternoon, and the family’s phone number is unlisted.
Charles Pelkie, spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office, said Brodsky’s email was simply an attempt to “stir up controversy.” Pelkie said prosecutors and Illinois State Police have communicated directly with Hernandez during the investigation into Savio’s death and have made sure he was fully compensated for his time and trouble.
Peterson, 58, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, sold the house where Savio lived during their bitter divorce about eight months after her death, which was initially ruled an accidental drowning.
In October 2007, after Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, vanished, drawing national media attention, investigators reopened Savio’s case. Peterson was charged with her murder in May 2009 and has been held since at the Will County Jail. He’s also the prime suspect in Stacy’s disappearance but has not been charged.
Since the inquiry into Savio’s death resumed, the Hernandez house has been visited regularly by police, prosecutors, reporters and random sightseers. The visits became more frequent after Peterson was charged with killing her.
