Lawyers: Stop Savio proceedings
NEWLY REOPENED PROBATE CASE
JOLIET -- Lawyers representing Drew Peterson and his uncle asked a Will County judge Thursday to stop the court proceedings in Kathleen Savio's newly reopened probate case until a higher court makes a decision on their appeal.
Will County Judge Carmen Goodman then scheduled a 10 a.m. July 17 hearing on Joel Brodsky's request.
Last month, Goodman decided to reopen the probate case and removed James B. Carroll, Peterson's uncle, from his position as Savio's executor. The judge chose Henry J. Savio and Anna Doman -- Kathleen Savio's father and sister -- to replace Carroll.
Brodsky opposes Goodman's decision and wants the appellate court to overturn it.
Savio, 40, was the third wife of now-retired Bolingbrook police officer Drew Peterson, now 54.
On March 1, 2004, she was found dead in a dry bathtub at her Bolingbrook home.
At her inquest, a coroner's jury ruled her death was an accident.
When Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, 24, disappeared in late October, authorities decided to reconsider the bathtub death.
Savio's body was exhumed, new autopsies were performed, and experts then decided that she actually was the victim of a homicide.
More than six months later, Stacy hasn't returned or been found. Police have called Peterson a suspect in a case that might involve murder.
They wanted to consider the possibility of filing a wrongful death lawsuit and remove Carroll as executor. They are being represented by several lawyers, including Lawrence Varsek, of Joliet.
On April 17, Goodman decided to reopen the estate and remove Carroll. A few days later, Brodsky asked the appellate court to overturn Goodman's decision.
Both sides appeared in Goodman's courtroom Thursday morning for a short hearing on the status of the case.
After Brodsky filed paperwork asking Goodman to stop the probate proceedings until the appellate court makes a decision, they discussed the role of local lawyer Chrystel Gavlin, the guardian ad litem in the case.
A guardian ad litem is a lawyer who works independently to protect the interests of Savio's children with Peterson -- two teenage boys -- in relation to the reopened probate case.
"(Gavlin) has done this before," Goodman told Brodsky.
They decided that Brodsky and Varsek would both file documents explaining how they view Gavlin's position. Then Gavlin will have a chance to respond.
