[DiamondSmiles]

Updated at 4:10 p.m. ET: JOLIET, Ill. -- A jury on Thursday found Drew Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in the 2004 drowning death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

There were loud gasps in the courtroom as the verdict was delivered.

Peterson, a former Chicago-area police sergeant, sat stoically and did not react, and then was cuffed and led away from the courtroom.

When Savio was found dead in a bathtub, the death was initially ruled accidental. The 2007 disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, raised suspicions.

Little physical evidence linked Peterson to Savio's death, and the prosecution's case relied heavily on testimony from people who said Peterson threatened Savio, tried to hire a hit man and warned he could make her death look like an accident.

A seven-man, five-woman Will County jury spent about 14 hours deliberating over whether to convict Peterson on a case based solely on hearsay and circumstantial evidence. In the end, the words of Savio’s friends, family and close relations were enough to convince them of his guilt.

Outside the courthouse, people cheered, NBC station WMAQ of Chicago reported.

"This is better than the White Sox winning the World Series," Savio's brother, Nick Savio, said through tears outside the courthouse.

"We got the bastard," Savio’s brother-in-law, Mitch Doman, said as he left the courtroom, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Peterson "will never be able to hurt another woman again," Pam Bosco, spokeswoman for the family of Stacy Peterson, said outside the courtroom, the Sun-Times reported.

Bosco said the verdict is partial justice for Stacy Peterson because statements she made before vanishing were heard in the courtroom through testimony of other witnesses at the trial.

Hearsay, or a statement not based on the direct knowledge of a witness, isn't usually admissible in court, but Illinois passed a law in 2008, dubbed "Drew's Law," that allowed it in rare circumstances.

Peterson and Savio were divorced a year before her death. Prosecutors argued that his motive for killing her was fear that a pending settlement in the split would wipe him out financially.

Throughout five weeks of testimony, jurors heard of Savio's purported conversations with family and friends about threats Peterson allegedly made against her. In one, Savio said Peterson once held her captive at knife-point in her own home. In another, she said her husband told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident. Another witness said Savio was so fearful of Peterson that she slept with a knife beneath her bed.

Jurors also heard the purported words of Stacy Peterson through the testimony of divorce attorney, Harry Smith, who spoke to her by phone just days before she vanished.

Her body has not been found and no charges have been filed in connection with her disappearance.

Judge Edward Burmila barred any mention of Stacy's disappearance during the trial and it was unclear what the jury, which was ordered to avoid media coverage of the case for nearly two years, knew about her or the fact that she's still not surfaced.

It's not immediately clear how much credence jurors gave to the forensic testimony given by a bevy of pathologists. State witnesses were adamant Savio's death was a homicide. Defense witnesses said precisely the opposite.

Peterson now faces a maximum 60 years in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 26. It's not immediately clear if Burmila will take into account the nearly three years Peterson has already spent in jail awaiting trial.

Former police sergeant Drew Peterson is shown in a 2009 booking photograph released by the Will County Sheriff's Office.


*My guess is he plans to try to make a deal and maybe tell police where Stacy's body is, but, I hope he fries or rots in jail! Wipe that smirk off his ugly face!*

[Karma]

Good. I remember the Stacy Peterson case all over the news when I lived in the US. I always remember the name, because of Scott Peterson too!

[DiamondSmiles]

Also, Michael Peterson, who murdered his wife, then pushed her down the steps to try to make it look like an accident.

Watch those Peterson guys! Drew and Scott were such arrogant pricks! Kind of like Ted Bundy! Playing to the cameras!

Justice got the last laugh! I love it!

[r0tten]

Laugh now Drew, you stupid fucker. He was just hoping for a Casey Anthony like verdict; high profile case, gain sympathy, walk free. Thank fuck he didn't get it.

[DiamondSmiles]

I'll never understand that Casey Anthony verdict!

[r0tten]

Originally Posted by diamondsmiles ↗

I'll never understand that Casey Anthony verdict!

There wasn't enough, or any really, physical evidence to solidify a conviction. No blood, no hair, no other DNA. Most of the jurors said they wanted to convict her, they knew she was guilty, but legally there was nothing proving she did it.

[DiamondSmiles]

Yes, but, Dr. G said it was a homicide.

She could not determine the actual cause.

If her hyoid bone was broken, she was strangled.

[Sibella]

The convict him but not Casey Anthony?

Sexist.

[K9Grip]

Too bad he didn't marry Casey.

[Pyramid_Head]

What a scumbag