Drew Peterson Trial: Alleged Wife-Killer Drops Appeal, Says He's Ready For Court

Former Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson has reportedly decided not to appeal an appellate court's recent decision to allow for prosecutors' hearsay evidence to be considered in his case, a decision which paves the way for the trial to convene in Will County court.

The Chicago Tribune reports, according to a motion filed in the Third District Appellate Court, that Peterson's attorneys will not object to the court's decision on the 14 statements supposedly spoken by Kathleen Savio, his dead third wife, and Stacy Peterson, his fourth wife who vanished in October 2007.

Joel Brodsky, Peterson's lead attorney, told the Tribune that they decided not to appeal the recent decision because "we want to get this case moving."

"Drew has been locked up long enough and we are ready to go to trial," Brodsky continued.

Patch reported Tuesday that the Peterson trial will not begin until May 17 at the earliest. The minimum period between the appellate court announce its decision and the case returning is 35 days. Once the case returns, a judge must be appointed to preside over it.

Joseph "Shark" Lopez, the Chicago attorney who will present the closing argument at Peterson's murder trial, admitted to Patch that "nobody knows" exactly when the trial will take place.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that Peterson did not take the court's recent ruling well. Peterson, 57, reportedly told a Sun-Times source "we were ready to go to trial two years ago" and he argued that "they took away my right to a speedy trial."

Brodsky added, to the Sun-Times, that "we have a solid base to object to the hearsay which is why Drew is not devastated … just frustrated. Disappointed."

Last fall, the state Supreme Court ruled that hearsay evidence in the Savio case -- 13 statements reportedly made by Savio prior to her death -- be reconsidered by the appellate court. The court's previous rejection of this evidence was considered by many to seriously undermine the prosecution's case against Peterson. His perpetually delayed criminal trial was previously slated for this spring.

Peterson has been jailed on $20 million bail since 2009 in connection with the 2004 murder of Savio, his third wife who was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004, and is a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy, his fourth wife. Stacy was last seen on October 28, 2007, and friends and loved ones have said she told them she had feared for her life.

WATCH a previous report on the appellate court's recent ruling on hearsay testimony in the upcoming Drew Peterson trial: