The defense attorney for a former UW-Madison student awaiting trial for homicide charges filed a set of stipulations in Dane County Circuit Court Wednesday, including one acknowledging his defendant did cause the death of Joel Marino in January.
Adam Peterson, 20, was arrested in June after DNA connected him to a knife, knit cap and backpack found near the South Park Street crime scene where Marino died of stab wounds to the chest Jan. 28.
Peterson was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death, but plead not guilty.
Judge James Martin, who is presiding over the case, said part of the trial would likely involve debate over whether Peterson intended to kill Marino.
Peterson confessed to police he killed Marino. In a recorded jailhouse conversation with his father after the arrest, Peterson said Marino was a stranger he stabbed during a botched robbery.
I just stabbed him out of nowhere,"" Peterson told his father. Peterson also said he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the killing and he ""just wasn't thinking sanely.""
The series of stipulations filed by Peterson's defense attorney, Dennis E. Burke, indicates the DNA extracted from the knife, backpack and knit cap was the defendant's.
The document says that Peterson purchased the backpack found on the crime scene at Sportsworld on State Street. It also says Peterson concealed the backpack in a recycling bin and discarded the white knit cap near the recycling bin.
The stipulation also states the defendant was taking five different medications at the time of the arrest. The medications listed include those used to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety and panic disorders and reduce the side effects of antipsychotic treatment.
Burke did not return phone calls Wednesday afternoon.
Peterson has been in Dane County Jail since his arrest from his mother's house in Grant, Minn., in June. His trial is scheduled to begin in January 2009.
