 Drew Peterson's third wife told a friend a year before she was found dead in her bathtub that the former suburban Chicago police officer once broke into her home, grabbed her by the throat, pinned her down and asked a threatening question, the friend testified Thursday. Peterson is charged with first-degree... (Associated Press) 
 
 "She said that her husband said, "`Why don't you just die?'" As Savio recounted the attack, she unzipped a top she was wearing to show dark red bruises on her neck, saying they were a result of Peterson's attack, Parks testified. After Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, vanished from their home in 2007, police exhumed Savio's body and reexamined it for signs of murder, finally charging Peterson. Peterson, 58, is on trial for killing Savio, his third wife, and making it look like an accident. Kristen Anderson, who lived in Savio's basement after Savio and Peterson split up, said that Savio slept with a knife under her mattress because she was so afraid of Peterson. "Kathy told me that her husband, Drew Peterson, said he could kill her, make her disappear," Parks said on the stand, according to ABC News affiliate WLS. The hearsay testimony is critical because police who investigated when Savio was found dead quickly decided it was an accident and didn't collect any physical evidence. Today, Savio's friend Mary Parks testified about conversations the two women had regarding Peterson. Before the trial began, Judge James Burmila left open the possibility he could prohibit most or even all of the hearsay prosecutors wanted to enter as evidence. Jurors are frequently asked to leave the courtroom so attorneys can argue over the admissibility of hearsay statements.
– Former suburban Chicago cop Drew Peterson once choked his wife, and then asked her: "Why don't you just die?" a friend of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, testified yesterday. Peterson is on trial for allegedly killing Savio and trying to make it look like an accidental drowning in her bathtub. Peterson's fourth wife mysteriously vanished from their home after police opened an investigation into the death of Savio. Savio's pal, Kristen Anderson, also testified that Savio once described how Peterson boasted that he could kill Savio and "make it look like an accident." It was the second day that hearsay testimony from Peterson's late wife was allowed by the judge in the case, reports ABC. There's no physical evidence linking him to her murder. A police officer testified that Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, was very distraught as they questioned her about Savio's death, and that Peterson "corrected" her answers as she spoke, reports AP.