UPDATE Posted Monday, December 8th, 2008 -- 4:10 pm
By Zac Schultz

Madison: Adam Peterson appeared in court unshaven, wearing a suicide prevention smock. His parents and twin brother sat directly behind him. "He didn't look good," says his father, Melvin Peterson. "Not the way you want to see your son obviously."

Across the courtroom, Joel Marino's parents hugged as Peterson pleaded guilty to killing their son.

Judge James Martin went through the standard plea quesions. "Do you acknowledge that you acted with the intent to kill Joel A Marino?"

"Yes, Sir," Adam responded evenly.

On January 28th, in the middle of the day, Adam Peterson walked into Joel Marino's home on Monona Bay: He used a paring knife to stab Marino repeatedly.

We still don't know why. "I think it was just a random act," says Lou Marino, Joel's father.

Joel died in the alley near his home, within sight of the hospital.

"I think this kid is very troubled and has all kinds of issues," says Melvin about his son.

Adam Peterson has been diagnosed with a mental illness, and is on three different medications.

He had dropped out of the UW just before the murder, but his father didn't see any problems coming. "It's not the same kid I saw at Christmas last year when he was home and we had such a great time together with our family. For him to go out a month later and commit this kind of crime is beyond my comprehension."

First degree intentional homicide comes with an automatic life sentence. "The court will at this time sentence you to life imprisonment," says Judge Martin.

Adam will have a sentencing hearing in a few months where the judge will decide if or when Peterson is eligible for parole.

Lou Marino would like to see no parole, but he'd settle for as long as his son was expected to live. "He took 54 years of my son's life away. I would find that as justice."

Melvin Peterson doesn't know what is appropriate. "I think a life sentence is too much personally, I really do."

Melvin Peterson says he's relieved this part is over, and hopes everyone can move on. "I would hope this is one step towards closure for the Marino family and for my family. It's been a very difficult six months to a year."

Lou Marino doesn't think that will happen. "Nothing will ever bring closure to the family on this situation. We're just going to have to learn how to live with it and deal with it day to day."

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UPDATED Monday, December 8, 2008 --- 10:10 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A college dropout has pleaded guilty to the stabbing death of a 31-year-old Madison resident.

Twenty-year-old Adam Peterson entered the plea to one count of first-degree intentional homicide during a hearing in Dane County Circuit Court. Peterson is a Stillwater, Minnesota, native who dropped out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison last year.

His attorney, Dennis Burke, says his client is suffering from mental illness but was able to tell right from wrong when he stabbed Joel Marino to death in his home in January.

Peterson faces a mandatory life sentence when he is sentenced by Judge James Martin in the next 60 to 90 days. The maximum sentence would be life without parole.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Monday, December 8, 2008 --- 9:00 a.m.

Breaking News: Adam Peterson pleads guilty to the murder of Joel Marino.

Peterson received an automatic life-sentence. But at a future sentencing date, a Judge will determine his parole eligibility.

Peterson appeared in court wearing a suicide-prevention outfit. He's currently being held in Dane County jail where he has been on a suicide watch.

Adam's father, mother and twin-brother attended today's hearing. Joel Marino's family was also in the courtroom.

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UPDATED Monday, December 8, 2008 --- 8:00 a.m.

Adam Peterson is expected to plead guilty this morning, for the murder of Joel Marino.

NBC15's Zac Schultz will be in the courtroom this morning. Watch for his reports at NBC15.com and on today's editions of NBC15 News.

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UPDATED Friday, December 5, 2008 --- 7:30 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A former University of Wisconsin-Madison student is expected to plead guilty to fatally stabbing a man during an attempted robbery.

Assistant Public Defender Dennis Burke says Adam Peterson will enter the plea to first-degree intentional homicide on Monday.

Burke says the defense was prepared to concede at the upcoming trial that Peterson killed Joel Marino, but that he should be found guilty of a lesser charge.

Prosecutors say they have tapes of the 20-year-old North Grant, Minnesota man speaking with his parents from jail in which he admits killing Marino during an attempted robbery.

The 31-year-old Marino was stabbed at his Madison home Jan. 28. Marino was a musician and technical representative for a medical device company.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Thursday, December 4, 2008 --- 5:15 p.m.

Click HERE to read article in the Capital Times

From the Capital Times: Sources close to the case have told The Capital Times that accused killer Adam Peterson, 20, will plead guilty Monday to first-degree intentional homicide for the stabbing death of Joel Marino in his Madison home in January.

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UPDATED Wednesday, November 19, 2008 --- 4:30 p.m.

A defense attorney admits his client killed Joel Marino but says it was impulsive, not murder.

Today Dennis Burke, Adam Peterson's defense attorney, filed a series of stipulations admitting Peterson caused Joel Marino's death in January.

Marino was found stabbed to death near his home and in the paperwork filed Burke also admits Peterson's DNA was found on a knife at Marino's home.

Burke tells the Wisconsin State Journal that by admitting several things, he can get them out of the way and concentrate on whether Peterson committed first degree intentional homicide or a lesser crime like reckless homicide that would mean Peterson did not intend to kill Marino.

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UPDATED Friday, July 18, 2008 -- 9:15 pm

"I stabbed him out of nowhere."

An accused killer is caught on tape while in jail.

The 20-year-old suspect -- charged with the murder of a Madison man in January -- will stand trial.

One person testified at the preliminary hearing for Adam Peterson.

He's charged with 1st degree intentional homicide in the death of Joel Marino. But prosecutors also played clips from a couple of recorded phone conversations between Peterson and his parents.

Peterson's Mother: "How could this have happened, honey?"
Adam: "I don't know."
Peterson's Mother: " ... They didn't talk you into this? You did this?"
Adam: "I was just so hopeless."

Hopeless is how Adam Peterson describes himself to his mother during a phone conversation recorded last month. The clip was taped at the Washington County Jail in Minnesota after Madison Police arrested the former UW Madison student for murder.

Peterson's Mother: "You actually did this?"
Adam: "I actually did this."
Peterson's Mother: "How? Why?"
Adam: "I thought, I thought if I could like, I could like rob him (ok) for money."

It was an emotional hearing for Lou Marino, Joel's father. He listened as another conversation was played between Peterson and his own father the day of his arrest. During the call, Peterson refers to Marino as a working man, a stranger. The suspect tells his father he was not on drugs at the time.

Peterson's Father: "Number one, you were not in your right frame of mind."
Adam: "I know."
Peterson's Father: "I'm not going to judge you on this."
Adam: "Alright."
Peterson's Father: "You clearly you had mental health issues and you, I'm guessing, it began before that happened."
Adam: "Yeah."

But, Madison police say, Peterson also confessed to detectives at his mother's home in Minnesota.

"He said I know I committed this.
Prosecutor: and what else?
"When asked why, he said no reason."

Detective Alix Olson says that's when Peterson was arrested and taken to the local jail. Detectives originally went to Peterson's mother's home to serve a search warrant for DNA. The crime lab has since linked Peterson's DNA to the knife police say was used to kill Marino.

"We plead not guilty."

Peterson's family offered no comments after the hearing. Lou Marino said it was incredibly difficult to be in the same room as the suspect. Peterson's defense attorney began to inquire about his client's mental condition at the time of the phone calls but was stopped short by the judge.

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UPDATED Friday, July 18 --- 4:25pm

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A former University of Wisconsin-Madison student has been bound over for trial in connection with a January stabbing death.

Twenty-year-old Adam Peterson faces one count of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Joel Marino.

Assistant district attorney Corey Stephan on Friday played tapes of calls Peterson made from jail to his parents in which he confesses to killing Marino in a robbery.

Peterson's father, Melvin Peterson, can be heard telling his son he was not in his right mind.

Defense attorney Dennis E. Burke didn't challenge the content of the calls and entered a not-guilty plea on Peterson's behalf.

Peterson sat in court but showed no emotion.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Friday, July 18 --- 4:00pm

A preliminary hearing for the former UW Madison student accused of killing Joel Marino is underway right now.

Marino was stabbed to death at his downtown Madison home in January.

Police say DNA from the knife found at the scene matched DNA from Adam Peterson.

He was arrested at his mother's home in Minnesota last month.

A judge will likely determine today if Peterson should stand trial on first degree intentional homicide charges.

NBC15's Dana Brueck is in court right now.

She tells us just moments ago tapes between Peterson and his parents where he allegedly confessed were played in court.

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UPDATE: Thursday, July 3, 2008 --- 7:45 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The defense attorney for the suspect in the high-profile January stabbing death of Joel Marino says his client gave Madison police an incriminating statement.

Adam Peterson's defense attorney, Dennis Burke, says he doesn't know what Peterson told police when they contacted him and arrested him in his mother's Minnesota home on June 26th.

Burke says he believes Peterson made an admission that's not in the complaint.

Police have reported they served a search warrant for Peterson's DNA, which ended up matching DNA from the Marino crime scene.

But they arrested the 20-year-old Peterson before the DNA results were back.

The former University of Wisconsin-Madison dropout is in jail on $1 million bail on a charge of first-degree intentional homicide.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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UPDATE: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 --- 2:25 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A suspect in a high-profile stabbing death that frightened Madison residents has been ordered jailed on a $1 million bail.

University of Wisconsin-Madison dropout Adam Peterson showed no emotion and said nothing during his initial appearance Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court.

Instead of the traditional jumpsuit, he wore a sleeveless one-piece black garment given to Dane County inmates considered at risk of committing suicide.

Court Commissioner Todd Meurer accepted a prosecutor's recommendation to impose the $1 million cash bail on the 20-year-old Peterson. Peterson's Public Defender Dennis Burke did not challenge the motion.

Meurer scheduled a status hearing for the case on July 9.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATE: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 --- 11:20 a.m.

Adam Peterson will make his initial appearance today at 1:30 p.m. in the Public Safety Building.

Tune in to NBC 15 and nbc15.com for continuing coverage and immediate updates.

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UPDATE: Monday, June 30, 2008 --- 6:05 p.m.

Statement from Adam's twin - Eric Peterson.

"Adam is my best friend and I love him more than anything. He did a terrible thing that has caused the victim's family pain that I can't imagine, and can't begin to condole. But I have always known him as a very gentle and sensitive person, and though I don't understand why he did this, I want what's best for him."

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UPDATE: Monday, June 30, 2008 --- 2:20 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A college dropout charged with murdering a Wisconsin man is being transported from Minnesota to Madison.

The Washington County jail in Stillwater, Minnesota, confirmed that Adam Peterson left its custody on Monday.

His father, Melvin Peterson, says his son is being transported to the Dane County Jail in Madison. He is expected to make his initial court appearance on the first-degree intentional homicide charge within days.

Police say the 20-year-old Peterson fatally stabbed Joel Marino in his home on Jan. 28. He was arrested at his mother's home last week in Grant, near Stillwater. Peterson declined to challenge his extradition.

Melvin Peterson says he believes his son is suffering from mental illness.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATE: Sunday, June 29, 2008 --- 12:30 p.m.

Click HERE for interview with father of suspect published in the Star Tribune

Father of Adam Peterson was interviewed by a reporter for the Star Tribune, in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

He says it is very unlikely that his son is tied to the unsolved murders in Madison. Melvin Peterson said Brittany Zimmermann was killed in April, a month after his son, Adam Peterson, 20, had returned to Minnesota, where he underwent treatment for depression. Another woman, Kelly Nolan, was killed last summer, when Adam and his twin brother, Eric, were working at Wisconsin Dells.

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UPDATED Friday, June 27 --- 6:45pm
By: Evrod Cassimy
ecassimy@nbc15.com

Eric Brown lives right next door to where Adam Peterson used to live, the major suspect in the high profile Joel Marino murder case.

"We've had him over I mean once or twice just for random get togethers little parties and stuff," says Brown. "It's eye opening. I mean, I had no idea. I never would have guessed. It's kind of a shock actually."

This shock is felt by almost all neighbors here on South Bassett Street (one of the many places Peterson had stayed), including his own roommates. We tried to speak with them this afternoon about the case but they declined to comment only stating he moved out early this past school year. However, his name is still clearly visible on the mailbox. Across the street, neighbors that ran in to Adam at parties are upset by the news.

"I'm like really sad," says one neighbor. "I hope everything's okay with their like family I guess. That's intense."

"It is kind of weird that it's right next door," says Brown.

Still hard to believe none of his neighbors would suspect the 20 year old former UW student was capable of murder. Neighbors say Peterson worked at the Capital Center Market on Broom street but was fired from that job. The store owner wouldn't confirm this and declined to comment about him.

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Friday, June 27, 2008 --- 12:55 p.m.
By: Abby Riese
ariese@nbc15.com

Twenty-year-old Adam Peterson has been formally charged with First Degree Intentional Homicide in the January 28 murder of 31-year-old Joel Marino. The arrest was announced this morning by Madison Police Chief Noble Wray in a press conference.

According to police, this arrest culminates an exhaustive five month investigation which included contact with more than 800 witnesses and involved more than 200 potential suspects.

Adam Peterson was a sophomore at UW-Madison until he dropped out last October. Melvin Peterson, Peterson's father, said in an interview this morning with WIBA that his son Adam appeared “troubled” when he moved back home to his mother’s house near Stillwater, Minnesota this past March. He refused to elaborate further.

Adam Peterson has a twin brother Eric who is a junior at UW Madison. NBC 15 spoke with a student who lived on the same floor as Eric Peterson his freshman year. "(Adam was) a cool guy, he seemed like his brother. He seemed like a nice guy, a little quiet, quieter than Eric. They were both very similar,” the student says. “(Adam) was a little weird, but not crazy. He’s not crazy or anything.”

Adam Peterson attended UW-La Crosse his freshman year. Cody Pearce lived next to Adam Peterson during their freshman year at La Crosse. “He seemed very nice, always smiling, kind of quiet, though.”

Stephen Linzmeier was Adam's roommate at La Crosse. “He’d always stay up really late and listen to music. He was a little weird, kept to himself, didn’t talk too much.” But Linzmeier never could have predicted this. “I didn’t think he would do anything that crazy."

Melvin Peterson said he cannot believe his son would do this, and added that he is innocent until proven guilty. But he says if Adam did murder Joel Marino, he’s convinced it was a purely random act.

Melvin says he did talk briefly with his son yesterday when Adam called from jail. He said Adam only told him he’s okay, and Melvin told him not to say anymore due to the fact that jail calls are recorded, and Adam did not yet have an attorney.

Melvin did not believe that Adam used alcohol or drugs, but noted that Adam could have kept that from him. He said Adam was a solitary person who enjoyed music and electronics.

Adam had no girlfriend, and few friends, Melvin said.

When asked if Adam would have attacked Marino if it could have been for money, drugs or crime of passion, Melvin said he had no idea.