Drew Peterson Case: New Court Date Set By Judge

JOLIET, IL — A decade after being convicted of first-degree murder, 68-year-old Drew Peterson is now moving forward with his attempt to overturn his conviction in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

On Monday morning, Peterson remained in Michigan City at the Indiana State Prison while his new court-appointed counsel with the Will County Public Defender's Office appeared before the judge in Courtroom 801.

Will County Judge Ed Burmila set Peterson's next court hearing for May 18. Peterson filed several pro se motions in October and November seeking a new trial on grounds that he was provided ineffective assistance of counsel from his lead defense lawyer, Joel Brodsky.

Burmila issued a ruling late last year expressing a willingness to give Peterson's post-conviction filing further consideration. In his December follow-up letter to Judge Burmila, Peterson had this to say:

"Dear Judge Burmila, thank you for going forward with my post conviction petition. It's hard enough to deal with a case while free. Dealing with a case while incarcerated is almost impossible," Peterson wrote.

In 2013, Peterson was sentenced to 38 years for Savio's murder. He received another 40 years for attempting to orchestrate the killing of the Will County State's Attorney from behind bars.

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