Tom Morphey- Step brother of Drew Peterson

[Lorie Taylor]

Day 2 of Hearsay Hearing January 21st 2010

[Lorie Taylor]

Other testimony focused on a cup of coffee bought at a Bolingbrook Starbucks at 8:44 p.m. Oct. 28, 2007, the day Stacy Peterson disappeared. Prosecutors intend to use videotapes and cash register data from the purchase to bolster Drew Peterson’s stepbrother’s allegation that the two men were together on the night she disappeared.

Thomas Morphey has told police that Peterson used him to concoct a fake alibi for that day. The defense team dismisses the allegation as lies from a man with a long history of mental illness and multiple suicide attempts.

Prosecutors also quizzed a cell phone company representative over records detailing cell phone calls made on the day she vanished. And a police lieutenant testified that Peterson punched him in the head after a round of locker room horseplay at the Police Department.

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local....38.story?page=2

[Lorie Taylor]

Witnesses: Peterson threatened to kill Savio

www.suburbanchicagonews.com/naper....011910.article#

January 20, 2010
By JOE HOSEY [e-mail]

JOLIET — A cop, co-workers and the uncle of the woman her husband left her for told of the anguish and abuse Kathleen Savio suffered at Drew Peterson's hands.

"She was a mess, she was crying and shaking, her hands were trembling," said Lisa Mordente, Savio's boss at a Romeoville sign company


Mordente said Peterson, a disgraced former Bolingbrook cop, regularly stalked and intimidated Savio in late 2003 while the couple was divorcing, with Peterson sometimes using his police car to tail his estranged wife.

Mordente was one of nine witnesses to testify at Tuesday's hearing to determine what — if any — hearsay evidence will be allowed at Peterson's murder trial. The prosecution plans to call at least 50 witnesses before the proceeding is through.

Hearsay refers to statements a person didn't hear directly. In most cases, they aren't admissible in court. Instead, the person who actually heard the statement has to testify. But a law recently passed in Illinois would allow some hearsay testimony to be admitted if the person who actually heard the statements was killed so he or she couldn't testify. This hearing will determine if things Peterson allegedly said to Savio and his next wife can be used against him at his trial.

Peterson was permitted to wear a red polo shirt and khaki pants instead of his usual jail scrubs, and on occasion nervously gnawed on his left index finger during the hearing. He is charged with drowning Savio — his third wife and the mother of two of his six children — in March 2004.

Peterson's next wife, Stacy Peterson, who is the mother of two more of his children, has been missing for the past two years and three months. State police believe Drew Peterson may have killed her but have yet to bring criminal charges in the matter.

Savio's death

Stacy Peterson's uncle, Kyle Toutges, also testified on the first day of the hearing. He recalled a party held at the Peterson home in March 2004. Savio's recent death was brought up by a group of Peterson's friends, he said.

"They were talking about how convenient it was for his wife to be found dead at that time … and how bad it looked for him," Toutges said, adding that Peterson responded, "Let them prove it."

Bolingbrook police Lt. James Coughlin, a co-worker Peterson once punched in the head during a station house locker room dustup, said he ran into Peterson in the courthouse in February 2004. He said Peterson groused about the attorneys handling his divorce making money off him and said, "My life would be a lot easier if she were dead or died."

Savio turned up dead two weeks later.

Peterson's divorce attorney, Alexander Beck, was called as a witness but could say little due to attorney-client privilege.

Peterson's stepbrother

Bolingbrook police Detective Kenneth Simpson, two Starbucks loss prevention employees and a representative of Sprint-Nextel also testified, likely to lay the groundwork for the potentially explosive statements of Peterson's stepbrother, Thomas Morphey.

Morphey said in an exclusive interview with The Herald-News that the night Stacy disappeared, he and Peterson got coffee at a Starbucks drive-through before heading to a park off Weber Road. There, Morphey said, Peterson handed him a cell phone, told him not to answer it, then left.

About 45 minutes later the phone rang. Then it rang again. Both times, the caller ID showed "Stacy's cell," Morphey said. Peterson returned to the park within an hour of the phone calls, Morphey said, and Drew insisted he help him "at the house moving something."

They went inside the Peterson house, and Morphey noticed all of the children's bedroom doors were closed. They took a blue barrel "right out the front door" to Peterson's Yukon Denali, which was parked in the driveway, Morphey said. Part of a thick plastic bag was protruding from the lid of the barrel, he said.

Morphey is sure Stacy's body was in the barrel.

Morphey has not yet testified at the hearsay hearing.

Co-worker's letter

During Tuesday's hearing, one of Savio's co-workers from the sign company, Issam Karam, testified that Savio told him she came home one night in late 2003 and "Drew Peterson tackled her from the side."

Peterson pinned Savio down on the stairs and held a knife to her throat, Karam said, then told her "nothing she could do or say would make her safe," telling her she could not hide.

Karam also said Savio told him Peterson said "he could kill her right there but it would be too bloody."

After hearing about Stacy's October 2007 disappearance, Karam said he wrote a letter about the stories Savio told him about Peterson. He planned to anonymously send it to a TV news outlet. But before he could get it in the mail, he was contacted by state police and decided to turn the letter over to the authorities.

One of Peterson's attorneys, Andrew Abood, claimed Karam was attempting to seek the spotlight by sending an anonymous letter.

"You just wanted to bring attention to yourself," Abood told Karam. "That's exactly what you did."

Another of Peterson's attorneys, Joel Brodsky, accused Toutges, Stacy's uncle, of coming forward with his story for the sake of publicity.

"Kyle never came forward until he was getting limo rides to Larry King and such," Brodsky said.

Toutges explained that he told his sister about Peterson's suspicious statements, but since the state police had initially decided Savio died accidentally — and because Peterson made her out to be a mad woman — he did not go to the authorities.

"We were told Kathleen was crazy, on drugs, heavily medicated," Toutges said. "That's what Drew told us."

Toutges also failed to see the point of reporting Peterson to the police since "he is a police."

Toutges went on to explain that he was unsure how to handle the situation because he "never had a niece murdered before" — referring to Stacy.

Brodsky shot back, "It didn't happen," to which Toutges replied, "Then where's Stacy?"

[Lorie Taylor]

Peterson hearing resumes with stepbrother’s testimony
January 21, 2010 11:25 AM

A relative who claims he helped Drew Peterson carry out a heavy barrel the night Peterson’s fourth wife Stacy disappeared has taken the stand today in a hearing over whether hearsay evidence should be allowed when Peterson is tried for the murder of his third wife.

Tom Morphey, Peterson’s stepbrother, testified that the day before Stacy disappeared, Peterson asked him if he could kill for Peterson.

“How much do you love me?” Peterson asked, according to Morphey, 42. “Enough to kill for me?”

Morphey said he told Peterson no, and Peterson then asked, “Can you live with knowing about it?”

“I always assumed that you killed Kathleen,” Morphey said he replied, referring to Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, who had been found dead in a bath tub more than three years before.

“No,” Peterson answered, according to his stepbrother, “I would never hurt Kathleen. She was a great mother.”

Morphey said the conversation occurred the morning of Oct. 27, 2007, the day before Stacy Peterson, Peterson’s fourth wife, disappeared. Peterson had picked Morphey up at Morphey’s home and the two were traveling in Peterson’s Yukon Denali SUV.

Morphey has said he fears the barrel he helped carry out contained Stacy’s body. Peterson has not been charged in connection with Stacy’s disappearance, but he has been charged with murder in the death of Savio.

Testimony is expected to continue into the afternoon.

The hearing is an outgrowth of a new state law that has come to be known as Drew’s Law. Will County prosecutors are calling witnesses to testify that before her death Savio feared that her former husband would kill her.

The law allows prosecutors to introduce as evidence statements from victims who allegedly were killed to prevent them from testifying against their attackers. Prosecutors are expected to call dozens of witnesses over the next several weeks.

On Tuesday, a co-worker of Savio testified Savio told him about how Peterson confronted her with a knife and told her he could kill her if he wanted to.

– Steve Schmadeke

www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/....umes-today.html

[Lorie Taylor]

POSTED BY RESCUEAPET ON JUSTICE CAFE:

#
rescueapet
January 21, 2010 at 12:13 pm | #115
Quote

** Morphey added to what we’ve already seen that Drew asked him to rent a storage locker so that he could store an air-tight container for at least six months, after which time he’d dispose of it.**

petersonstory.wordpress.com/2010/..../#comment-56145

[Lorie Taylor]

POSTED BY RESCUEAPET ON JUSTICE CAFE:

#
rescueapet
January 21, 2010 at 12:16 pm | #116
Quote

Also, Craig Wall was asked about DP’s demeanor. He said he was focused on Morphey, but when he looked over at DP, his face was red with anger, as though he were sunburned.

Mophey also detailed a conversation in which DP told him Stacy was having an affair, and he had to get rid of her because she’d get his money.

petersonstory.wordpress.com/2010/..../#comment-56145

[Lorie Taylor]

www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-bea....ng82266037.html


Prosecutors in the Drew Peterson pre-trial hearsay hearing called today on Peterson's step brother to testify about the former Bolingbrook cop's murderous nature.

Thomas Morphey told the court that Drew asked him to kill his fourth wife Stacy Peterson, but that he declined.

"How much do you love me?," Morphey said Drew asked. " ... enough to kill for me?"

Morphey has gone on record before saying that helped Peterson carry a blue barrel from Petersons bedroom that contained the body of Stacy Peterson about a week after Drew asked Morphey to murder her. He admitted that he suffers from manic depression, and says he was so shaken by the incident, he tried to kill himself with a bottle of anti-depressant pills.

Morphey also listened as States Attorney Jim Glasgow played a wiretap of a phone conversation he had with Drew Peterson during which Peterson tells him not to talk to anybody.

"If the police want to talk to you," Peterson said on the tape. "tell them you want a lawyer."

Morphey has been granted immunity by state's attorneys.

Peterson is not on trial for Stacy Peterson's death, but under the terms of the hearsay law, speculative testimony counts. Morphey said that he always assumed Peterson killed his third wife Savio.

Savio's death was ruled a homicide after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared in 2007. Peterson hasn't been charged in the Stacy Peterson dissappearance, but he is the lead suspect, cops say.
First Published: Jan 21, 2010 11:44 AM CST

[Lorie Taylor]

POSTED BY RESCUEAPET On JUSTICE CAFE:

#
rescueapet
January 21, 2010 at 1:03 pm | #120
Quote

joehosey Tom Morphey’s testimony paints a grim picture. Attorney
George Lenard is trying to discredit it on cross examination.
1 minute ago from txt

petersonstory.wordpress.com/2010/..../#comment-56145

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heral....O012110.article
Stepbrother: I helped Drew carry a blue barrel
January 21, 2010
By JOE HOSEY [e-mail] and DAN ROZEK [e-mail]

Chilling testimony from Drew Peterson's stepbrother Thursday outlined the plot to conceal the murder of Stacy Peterson. Thomas Morphey's testimony mirrored an exclusive account he gave to the Herald-News in March 2008.

Morphey testified in a hearsay evidence hearing in Will County that he helped Peterson carry a blue barrel to a waiting SUV the night Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared.

Drew Peterson's stepbrother, Thomas Morphey (left), took the stand Thursday in a hearing to decide whether prosecutors can use 'hearsay' evidence.

Morphey's testimony came as Will County prosecutors sought to win a judge's permission to use so-called "hearsay evidence" against Peterson when he stands trial for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Peterson has not been charged in connection with Stacy Peterson's 2007 disappearance.

Morphey's testimony mirrored remarks he made last year during an exclusive interview with the Joliet Herald-News.

In that interview, Morphey said he believed that Stacy Peterson's body was in the barrel he helped remove from his stepbrother's Bolingbrook home on Oct. 28, 2007.

The day before, Morphey said Peterson tried to enlist him in a murder plot.

“How much do you love me?" Peterson asked that day, according to Morphey. "Enough to kill for me?"

The state police recorded a telephone conversation between Morphey and Peterson in november. Peterson ordered Morphey not to talk to the police or press and repeatedly told Morphey not to discuss their situation on the phone.

Attorney George Lenard began attempting to chip away at Morphey's testimony and will continue to do so this afternoon.

A new state law allows prosecutors to introduce as evidence statements from victims who allegedly were killed to prevent them from testifying against their attackers. Prosecutors have said they intend to call dozens of witnesses to present statements purportedly made by Savio and others -- including Stacy Peterson -- to show that Drew Peterson murdered Savio.

[Lorie Taylor]

petersonstory.wordpress.com/2010/..../#comment-56224
January 21, 2010 at 4:04 pm | #172
Quote

Excerpts

While the Will County hearing is about the death of Savio, Thursday’s testimony focused on the day Stacy Peterson disappeared. Prosecutors would not say why Morphey was being asked to testify about Stacy Peterson, but Will County state’s attorney’s office spokesman Chuck Pelkie said the reasons would become clear in the proceedings.

Peterson’s attorneys have raised questions about using Morphey as a witness. He suffers from a bipolar disorder and has admitted to drinking too much.

Morphey has acknowledged both issues and on Thursday prosecutors presented evidence that verified what Morphey said happened. That included video footage and witness interviews showing that both men made a trip to Starbucks around the time of the blue barrel incident.

www.mywesttexas.com/articles/2010/01/21/ap/headlines/us_drew_peterson.txt

[Lorie Taylor]

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local....1344,full.story
By Erika Slife and Steve Schmadeke, Tribune reporters

January 21, 2010

Drew Peterson's stepbrother recounts night he helped Peterson remove blue storage container
Thomas Morphey says he is convinced Stacy Peterson's remains were in container

Drew Peterson has dismissed his stepbrother as a druggie, a drunk, a liar and psychologically unbalanced. But Thursday, Thomas Morphey took to the witness stand composed, serious and unflinching as he recounted the night that he says he helped Peterson remove his wife's body from the couple's Bolingbrook home.

In a hushed Will County courtroom, Morphey testified that the two carried a heavy, blue container — containing what he thought was Stacy Peterson's body — out the front door of the house and into the back of Peterson's GMC Yukon Denali. Afterward Peterson turned to him and said, "This never happened."

"I won't tell a soul," Morphey said he replied.
The dramatic testimony came on the second day of a special pretrial hearing to determine whether to allow hearsay statements in the murder case against Peterson, 56, who is charged with killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Morphey, 42, is believed to be one of the prosecution's star witnesses because of his claims he helped Peterson dispose of his fourth wife, Stacy, who vanished on Oct. 28, 2007.

Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, is a suspect in her disappearance but has not been charged.

Morphey did not waver Thursday in his recollection of the days leading up to the disappearance of Stacy, who was 23 at the time.

He acknowledged he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and battles manic depression. He admitted to being treated for drug and alcohol abuse.

But he said his memory was clear about the morning of Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007, when Peterson allegedly drove Morphey to an industrial park and on the way asked Morphey, "How much do you love me?"

"I said, 'I do,'" Morphey told the court. "He said, 'Enough to kill for me?'"

Morphey said he replied it was not something he could live with.

"Could you live with knowing about it?" Peterson allegedly asked.

"I always assumed you killed Kathleen," Morphey said he told Peterson, to which Peterson allegedly replied, "'No, I would never hurt Kathleen; she was a great mother.'"

Morphey said Peterson then told him Stacy was cheating on him and wanted a divorce.

"He said she would take everything," Morphey testified. "He would have to continue to work for the rest of his life."

He said Peterson told him he would give him $200 to rent a storage unit under Morphey's name and store a container there.

"I said, 'What about the smell?'" Morphey said. "He said (the container) would be airtight."

Peterson allegedly said Morphey would check on the unit "from time to time to make sure there was no odor." Peterson would return in six months after the "smoke cleared" to take care of it. If something happened to Peterson during that time, Morphey testified, Peterson allegedly told him to "drop it in the canal."

Morphey said that he later called Peterson to tell him he couldn't take part in the plan, but that Peterson still picked him up the next day for help in removing the container.

Peterson's attorney George Lenard interrogated Morphey about inconsistencies in his story, such as why he described the container to Illinois State Police as no taller than his knees and on Thursday said it was 3 1/2 feet tall.

Morphey, who said he tried to commit suicide shortly after helping Peterson remove the container, blamed any irregularities on his mental state at the time.

"It's the most traumatic thing that ever happened to me in my life," he said. "Things were coming at me pretty quick."

Peterson's adult son Eric also testified Thursday, seeing his father for the first time since moving out of Peterson's Bolingbrook home in 2003, in part out of anger that his father was dating Stacy, a much younger woman.

Eric Drew Peterson testified that while spending the weekend at his father's home in 1993, Peterson dragged Savio — who was screaming and pleading for someone to call police — through the front door by her hair and arm.

Asked whether he still loved his father and whether he thought he had been a good dad, Eric Peterson paused for a long time before twice answering, "no."

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