The fourth wife of accused murderer Drew Peterson spoke to an attorney in the days before she disappeared to get advice on how to extort money out of the defendant, that attorney testified Wednesday. In a move that many court observers say backfired, the defense team called Harry Smith to the stand. Smith was the divorce attorney who represented Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio. Peterson is fighting first-degree murder charges he killed Savio. Her death was initially ruled an accident but the case was re-opened when his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, vanished in October 2007. Smith told jurors he received a phone call from Stacy Peterson just days before she disappeared. "She wanted to know if, in my opinion, the fact that he killed Kathy could be used against him," Smith testified Wednesday afternoon, NBC Chicago reported. "She didn't use the word leverage, but that certainly was the intimation." A friend of Stacy Peterson’s said the testimony was a “gift from the defense.” But Scott Peterson’s defense team said the conversation showed greed and a “motive to lie.” The defense rested their case later Thursday.
