NORWICH – Day three of testimony in the Peter Wlasiuk murder trial found the prosecution continuing to detail the events of April 3, 2002, specifically what the Chenango County District Attorney’s Office is calling a staged automobile crash into Guilford Lake. It’s alleged that Wlasiuk – charged with one count of second degree murder – staged the accident in an effort to cover-up the murder of his wife, Patricia.

Wlasiuk was first charged with the class A-1 felony in 2002. He has twice been convicted – in 2003 and 2008 – sentenced to serve 25 years to life in state prison. Both convictions were overturned on appeal, in 2006 and 2011, respectively.

Marlene Brown, a Bainbridge resident and volunteer firefighter with the Bainbridge and Oxford fire departments, was one of six witnesses called to the stand by the prosecution Monday. As a registered EMTD – one of the first on the scene – she testified that Peter Wlasiuk showed no symptoms of hypothermia when she examined him, despite the approximately 40 degree temperature of the lake and his claim of trying to rescue his wife from the submerged truck. Wlasiuk, said Brown, “seemed fine,” although he did start shaking when she introduced herself as an EMTD.

According to Brown, Wlasiuk told her that his wife “had swerved to miss a stupid deer,” and although he had been able to get Patricia out of the truck, he was unable to get her out of the water. Brown listed the symptoms of hypothermia: A white, waxy or blue-ish tint to the skin; uncontrollable shivering; skin extremely cold to the touch; lethargic speech; and goosebumps. Wlasiuk, she added, showed no such symptoms and his hair was “perfect” and “dry.”

Brown said that, “in all honesty,” Wlasiuk’s story seemed theatrical, calling it “bad drama” and “bad acting.”