The motion for a directed verdict came Monday morning after prosecutors rested their case. It gives Judge Edward Burmila the opportunity to render a not guilty verdict before the jurors deliberate or the defense presents a case.
If Judge Burmila granted a rare directed verdict, it would mean the state failed to prove their case. The prosecution presented a case full of hearsay evidence with no physical evidence linking Peterson to the Savio murder.
"They haven't done anything that placed Drew Peterson at the scene of her death. They haven't put him in the house or the bathroom, they haven't shown how it was gone as opposed to say gee whiz she drowned and he did it," defense attorney Joel Brodsky said.
The defense is expected to call around a dozen witnesses over the next two or three days. One of them could be Peterson.
"I don't think Drew is afraid of testifying. I think he would like to if it's the right thing to do. But once again that's a decision that hasn't been made yet," Brodsky said.
Throughout the last week of trial, jurors have showed solidarity by wearing the same colors. On Monday, they wore sports jerseys, which led the judge to joke with them. Judge Burmila called them "intelligent" since no one wore a Cubs jersey.
Peterson, 58, is charged with first-degree murder in the 2004 death of Savio, whose body was found in a bathtub. Originally declared an accident, the case was reopened after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared in 2007.
Peterson is a suspect in Stacy's disappearance, but no charges have been filed. He maintains his innocence in both cases.
