Peterson - Links

[Pauli]

Stacey's website http://www.findstacypeterson.com/



Missing Woman's Officer Husband Has Troubled Past

Sergeant's Third Wife Died From Drowning

POSTED: 6:02 am CDT October 30, 2007
UPDATED: 8:17 pm CDT October 30, 2007

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. -- State police are searching for the wife of a southwest suburban Bolingbrook police sergeant.

"Because he's one of our officers, we thought it would be better to have an independent agency investigating," Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar said of the state's involvement in the disappearance of Stacey Peterson. NBC5's Phil Rogers reported Tuesday that Will County authorities were looking into the one of the officer's previous marriages for clues into the disappearance of his current wife.
http://www.nbc5.com/2007/1030/14455097_320X240.jpg (http://www.nbc5.com/family/14455029/detail.html?dl=mainclick#)

It was not clear how long Peterson, the 23-year-old wife of Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, has been missing. Illinois State Police Trooper Mark Dorencz at first declined to comment on the matter, but later said the state is handling the case as a missing persons investigation.

Drew Peterson said he heard from his wife Sunday evening, when she called from her cell phone and told him where he could come and retrieve the family car.

Drew Peterson's previous wife, 40-year-old Kathleen Savio, was found dead in the dry bathtub of her Pheasant Chase home in March 2004. Drew Peterson and Savio were divorced and he was returning their two sons to their home after a weekend visit, but no one answered the locked door.

Peterson went to a neighbor's to call a locksmith. Once entry was gained, the neighbor went inside and found Savio's body in a waterless bathtub.

The investigation revealed Savio drowned. Her fingertips showed pruning from being submerged in water and her hair was wet when she was found. While there was no water in the bathtub, it may have drained out over time, as the plug was down, investigators speculated.A coroner's jury ruled the death accidental. State police investigated that case as well. No charges were filed.

Rogers reported that Peterson's third wife had been granted an order of protection against Drew Peterson, saying, "He wants me dead." The order of protection was dismissed 10 days later.The Will County State's Attorney's Office said they were reviewing the circumstances of Peterson's former wife's death three years ago.

The disappearance of Stacey Peterson was being investigated by the Illinois State Police, Rogers reported.

The Bolingbrook Police Department said Drew Peterson was not scheduled to work Monday. A message left for him at the department went unreturned. Rogers reportedAccording to one official, Savio was Drew Peterson's third wife, and Stacey Peterson is his fourth.

More than 20 years ago, Drew Peterson was fired from the Bolingbrook Police Department after the village board of police and fire commissioners found him guilty of disobedience, conducting a self-assigned investigation, failure to report a bribe immediately and official misconduct.

He had been indicted two months earlier on charges of official misconduct and failure to report a bribe. Peterson was working under the auspices of the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad at the time. Indictments alleged he solicited drugs in exchange for information about his agency. The charges later were dropped. Special Prosecutor Raymond Bolden said at the time that the charges were not provable.

Drew Peterson won reinstatement with the department in March 1986. Judge Edwin Grabiec ruled police and fire commissioners lacked sufficient evidence to find Peterson guilty of the charges.

According to an Illinois State Police news release -- which spelled her name Stacy Ann Peterson -- she was last heard from at 10 a.m. Sunday. She was supposed to help a friend do some painting, but never showed up.

Stacy Peterson is described as a white female, 5 feet 2 inches tall, about 100 pounds, with brown hair and eyes. She was last seen wearing a red jogging suit. She has a tattoo of a blue and yellow carnation on the small of her back and a scar across her stomach, the release said.

According to the release, Stacy Peterson frequents Joliet Junior College and her family reported her missing at 4 a.m. Monday.Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call ISP Joliet District at 815-726-6377.

http://www.nbc5.com/family/14455029/detail.html?dl=mainclick

[Pauli]

Bolingbrook police sergeant's wife missing

TROOPERS INVESTIGATE

October 30, 2007
By Joe Hosey Staff Writer
BOLINGBROOK -- State police are searching for the wife of a Bolingbrook sergeant.
"Because he's one of our officers, we thought it would be better to have an independent agency investigating," Mayor Roger Claar said of the state's involvement in the disappearance of Stacey Peterson.

Authorities say Stacey Peterson, 23, the wife of Sgt. Drew Peterson, was last heard from Sunday morning when she called a friend.

It was not clear how long Peterson, the wife of Sgt. Drew Peterson, has been missing. State Trooper Mark Dorencz at first declined to comment on the matter but later said the state is handling the case as a missing persons investigation.

The Bolingbrook department said Peterson was not scheduled to work Monday. A message left for him at the department went unreturned.

Peterson's previous wife, 40-year-old Kathleen Savio, was found dead in the dry bathtub of her Pheasant Chase home in March 2004. Peterson and Savio were divorced and he was returning their two sons to their home after a weekend visit, but no one answered the locked door.

Peterson went to a neighbor's to call a locksmith. Once entry was gained, the neighbor went inside and found Savio's body in a waterless bathtub.
The investigation revealed Savio drowned. Her fingertips showed pruning from being submerged in water and her hair was wet when she was found. While there was no water in the bathtub, it may have drained out over time, as the plug was down, investigators speculated.

A coroner's jury ruled the death accidental. State police investigated that case as well. No charges were filed.

According to one official, Savio was Peterson's third wife, and Stacey Peterson is his fourth.

Charges, reinstatement
More than 20 years ago, Peterson was fired from the police department after the village board of police and fire commissioners found him guilty of disobedience, conducting a self-assigned investigation, failure to report a bribe immediately and official misconduct. He had been indicted two months earlier on charges of official misconduct and failure to report a bribe. Peterson was working under the auspices of the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad at the time. Indictments alleged he solicited drugs in exchange for information about his agency.

The charges later were dropped. Special prosecutor Raymond Bolden said at the time that the charges were not provable.

Peterson won reinstatement with the department in March 1986. Judge Edwin Grabiec ruled police and fire commissioners lacked sufficient evidence to find Peterson guilty of the charges.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/bolingbrooksun/news/626014,4_1_JO30_COP_S1.article

[Pauli]

Posted: Tuesday, 30 October 2007 2:19PM

Search On For Cop's Wife, Officials Probe Death Of His Previous Wife

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. STNG/WBBM) -- Illinois state police are searching for the 23-year-old wife of a veteran Bolingbrook police sergeant Tuesday who was last seen over the weekend -- meanwhile officials are taking a deeper look into the death of the sergeant's previous wife who was found in a bathtub.

Stacy Peterson was last seen Sunday morning in the southwest suburb, wearing a red jogging suit, police said. She is the fourth wife of Sgt. Drew Peterson, a 29-year veteran of the Bolingbrook Police Department.

Police say Sergeant Peterson got a call from his wife Sunday night.
On the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, Bolingbrook Police spokesman Lieutenant Ken Teppel says Sergeant Peterson is cooperating fully.
"Right now he is utilizing some personal time to be with his family and the children, and he's made himself available 24/7."
"We're treating this as a missing persons (case) at this time. There's no sign of any foul play or suspicious circumstances."

Peterson is described as white, with brown hair and brown eyes, about 5-foot-2 and weighs about 100 pounds.

Bolingbrook police said that Drew Peterson has been cooperating with the investigation.

Meanwhile, in light of Stacy Peterson's disappearence the Will County State's Attorneys office said they will be taking a deeper look into the death of Kathleen Savio, 40, Drew Peterson's third wife.

Savio was found dead in a bathtub of her home in March 2004. Drew Peterson and Savio were divorced at the time of her death and he was returning their two sons to their home after a weekend visit, but no one answered the locked door.

Peterson went to a neighbor's to call a locksmith. Once entry was gained, the neighbor went inside and found Savio's body in a waterless bathtub.

The investigation revealed Savio drowned. A coroner's jury ruled the death accidental. State Police investigated that case as well. No charges were filed.

Anyone with information is asked to call 815-726-6377.

http://www.wbbm780.com/Search-On-For-Cop-s-Wife--Officials-Probe-Death-Of/1151043

[Pauli]

Bolingbrook Police Sergeant's Wife Disappears

Sergeant's Previous Wife Died In '04, Case Ruled Accidental

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― State police are searching for the wife of a southwest suburban Bolingbrook police sergeant. The young mother went missing from her Bolingbrook home sometime after Sunday morning.

When family members last talked to the 23-year-old Peterson Sunday, they agreed to meet that day to paint a house. She never showed up and her sister filed a missing person report because she never went a day without talking to Peterson, who is a mother of two small children.

"Because he's one of our officers, we thought it would be better to have an independent agency investigating," Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar said of the state's involvement in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.

Cassandra Cales, Peterson's sister, believes there is no possibility she walked away.

"If she did, she'd call," Cales said. "She knows my number. She has it memorized."

Peterson was studying to be a registered nurse assistant. Her husband, 53-year-old Drew Peterson, is a patrol sergeant with the Bolingbrook police.

Cales said Drew Peterson told her he did not know where Stacy Peterson was.

"She left, left him and wasn't coming back, taking a vacation," Cales said. "But I don't believe she would leave the kids."

The couple has two toddlers, 4-year-old Anthony and 2-year-old Lacy. Two older boys by a previous marriage live with the family.

The mother of those boys, 40-year old Kathleen Savio, died mysteriously in 2004 in her house in the same neighborhood. Savio was found dead in the dry bathtub of her Pheasant Chase home in March 2004. Drew Peterson and Savio were divorced and he was returning their two sons to their home after a weekend visit, but no one answered the locked door.

Peterson went to a neighbor's to call a locksmith. Once entry was gained, the neighbor went inside and found Savio's body in a waterless bathtub.

The investigation revealed Savio drowned. Her fingertips showed pruning from being submerged in water and her hair was wet when she was found. While there was no water in the bathtub, it may have drained out over time, as the plug was down, investigators speculated.

A coroner's jury ruled the death accidental. State Police investigated that case as well. No charges were filed. Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has asked to re-examine the Savio case. She was Peterson's third wife. Stacy Peterson is his fourth wife.

A person who answered the Petersons' door declined to talk to CBS 2 Tuesday afternoon, but Sgt. Peterson has talked to police.

"He's cooperating fully with the investigation," said Lt. Ken Teppel of the Bolingbrook police. "The Illinois state investigation, I know the chief has spoken to him several times."

Stacy Peterson's family is offering a $20,000 reward for information about Stacy. Sgt. Peterson is taking personal time off from his job.

Stacy Peterson is described as a 5-foot-2-inches, 100 pound, white female with brown hair and eyes. She was last seen wearing a red jogging suit. She has a tattoo of a blue and yellow carnation on the small of her back and a scar across her stomach, according to a news release.

More than 20 years ago, Drew Peterson was fired from the Bolingbrook Police Department after the village board of police and fire commissioners found him guilty of disobedience, conducting a self-assigned investigation, failure to report a bribe immediately and official misconduct. He had been indicted two months earlier on charges of official misconduct and failure to report a bribe. Peterson was working under the auspices of the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad at the time. Indictments alleged he solicited drugs in exchange for information about his agency.

The charges later were dropped. Special prosecutor Raymond Bolden said at the time the charges were not provable.

Drew Peterson won reinstatement with the department in March 1986. Judge Edwin Grabiec ruled police and fire commissioners lacked sufficient evidence to find Peterson guilty of the charges.

Anyone with information should call ISP Joliet District at (815) 726-6377.

CBS 2's Joanie Lum and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

[Pauli]

One dead, one gone

BOLINGBROOK | Drew Peterson's ex-wife was found dead 3 years ago, now his current wife is missing

October 31, 2007
BY Stefano Esposito AND Dan Rozek Staff Reporters
Three years ago, Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson's ex-wife was found dead in her bathtub. It was, police said at the time, an accidental drowning.

But now, prosecutors plan to take a fresh look at Kathleen Savio's death, as police investigate the disappearance of Peterson's current wife, Stacy Ann Peterson.
http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/103107boling_cst_feed_20071031_01_20_46_538-116-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/628014,103107boling.fullimage%27,%20%27fullimage%2 7,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,stat us=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width= 650,height=650%27%29)
Stacy Ann Peterson, the wife of Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, was last heard from at 10 a.m. Sunday. Peterson's family reported her missing early Monday morning.
(STNG/Courtesy)

Savio's family, who never thought a seemingly healthy 40-year-old woman had drowned, is elated.

"I'm so happy," said one close relative, who asked not to be identified. "I don't feel they investigated it well enough."

But as the Savio family awaits answers, so too do Stacy Peterson's loved ones.

Stacy Peterson was supposed to meet a relative Sunday morning to help paint a home, but she never arrived. Relatives couldn't reach the 23-year-old mother of two by phone, became alarmed and eventually contacted police at 4 a.m. Monday to report her missing, police said.

But Peterson's husband told investigators he spoke with his wife on the phone about 9 p.m. Sunday -- and nothing in their conversation worried him. There have been no signs of foul play, authorities said.

"Right now, it's a missing person case," said Bolingbrook Police Lt. Ken Teppel. "She didn't come home."

Stacy Peterson's relatives asked Bolingbrook Police Chief Ray McGury to allow the Illinois State Police to lead the investigation.

Drew Peterson, 53, is a 29-year Bolingbrook Police veteran. He is "cooperating fully with the investigation," Teppel said.

Peterson has not been named as a suspect in his wife's disappearance. He's been married four times and one source Tuesday portrayed Peterson's marital relationship with his current wife as strained.

His relationship with his most recent ex-wife had also been troubled, Savio's relatives said.

When Drew Peterson and Savio met in the early 1990s, he was the Romeo boyfriend who surprised her with a Valentine's Day trip to Jamaica, one relative recalled. But five or so years into the marriage, Savio began to receive anonymous letters saying her husband was cheating on her, said the relative, who didn't want to be named.

Whenever Savio confronted Peterson, he would beat her, the relative said. The relative said she took Savio to a hospital after one such beating in the late 1990s.

"She was hit, she was bruised up, and she was dazed," the relative recalled. But Savio, who had two children with Peterson, was initially "deathly afraid" to leave her husband, the relative said.

In 2002, Savio sought an order of protection in Will County court. In the order, Savio claimed that her husband had threatened to kill her.

"He just doesn't care if he live[s] or die[s], or I live or die," Savio wrote in March 2002.

That same year, Savio claimed in a letter to prosecutors that her husband had held a knife to her throat.

In 2003, Savio filed for divorce after learning her husband was having an affair with a young woman --the future Stacy Peterson. When Savio confronted her husband, he admitted that he had made the woman pregnant, the relative said.

Then in March 2004, Savio was found dead in a bathtub in her Bolingbrook home after the couple had divorced. Her death was ruled an accidental drowning even though the tub was empty when her body was discovered. Investigators theorized the water drained out.

"The state's attorney's office is looking at it, reviewing it with fresh eyes and an open mind," said a spokesman for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, who wasn't in office at the time.

Meanwhile, Sgt. Peterson has taken time off to care for the couple's young children, Teppel said.

Reached at the couple's home in Bolingbrook, Peterson referred questions to his lawyer, who couldn't be reached for comment.

But Peterson bristled at a suggestion she may have met with foul play. "She's just missing," he said.

In 1985, Peterson was fired after the village board of police and fire commissioners ruled he had conducted a self-assigned investigation, failed to report a bribe immediately and committed official misconduct and disobedience.

He was reinstated in 1986, after a judge ruled the village board lacked evidence against Peterson. Related criminal charges were also dropped.

Stacy Peterson attends Joliet Junior College and is a pre-nursing major, a school spokesman said. She is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 100 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes and was last reported wearing a red jogging suit.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/627832,CST-NWS-boling31.article

[Pauli]

Bolingbrook Cop Speaks About Wife's Disappearance

Husband Says 23-Year-Old Is 'Where She Wants To Be'

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson commented Wednesday for the first time about the disappearance of his young wife Stacy Peterson. Meanwhile, prosecutors are taking a fresh look at the death of his ex-wife three years ago.

Sgt. Peterson says it was an unusual but fatal slip in the tub that caused the death of Kathleen Savio. He also took time to lash out on the media for, in his words, being more interested in the death of his ex-wife than in finding Stacy Peterson.

As CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli reports, at Stacy Peterson's Bolingbrook home police were on standby in marked and unmarked cars throughout the day Wednesday. While Drew Peterson and his kids remained holed up inside with no plans to go trick-or-treating. But CBS 2 did talk with his friend briefly outside the home.

"Drew is doing the best he can in a situation like this," Richard Mims said.

Drew and Stacy Peterson have been married for four years. She disappeared seemingly without a trace. Sgt. Peterson didn't want to go on camera but he did allow CBS 2 inside for a 10-minute conversation.

He described his last conversation with Stacy on Sunday night as being very unusual. He says she seemed "snotty."

He also said that her demeanor changed after one of her sisters died recently from cancer. He said she'd been under the care of a psychiatrist who had put her on the anti-anxiety drugs.
He also said he had no reason to suspect foul play in his wife's disappearance.

But Stacy Peterson's only surviving sister, Cassandra Cales, says Stacy lived in fear of the veteran police officer.

"She feared for her life," Cales said. "She wanted a divorce and was talking about getting a divorce."

Cales says her sister planned to meet with a divorce attorney on Monday. On Sunday she had planned to help a friend paint her home. When she never showed up, Cales started worrying.

"She told me if anything happened, if she disappeared she wanted somebody to know," Cales said.

So Cales called police before dawn Monday. Sgt. Peterson said he believes Stacy is "where she wants to be." He also said after she sees the media reports she'll either go deeper underground or she'll surface.

Police have been searching with canines and heat-seeking planes for Stacy Peterson. Sgt. Peterson said he thought it would be "very unusual" for Stacy to leave her children. He also said he has lived an honorable life and now people are looking at him with suspicion. He said that hurts.

http://cbs2chicago.com/westsuburbanbureau/stacy.peterson.bolingbrook.2.479768.html

[Pauli]

Missing woman's husband says she left him

A Bolingbrook police sergeant whose wife has been missing since the weekend told the Tribune on Wednesday he believes she simply left him for someone else.

Sgt. Drew Peterson, 53, said in an interview at his home that when he spoke with his wife, Stacy, 23, on the telephone Sunday night "she said she was leaving."

State police said Stacy's cell phone has not been used since Sunday night.

"I believe she's safe," he said, his voice cracking with emotion. "Sorry, I get choked up about it. I believe she's with someone else, but I believe she's safe."

Peterson, unshaven and exhausted, said his wife's disappearance has been overblown by the news media. The case has drawn national attention.

"The media is flaring it up," he said. "I still have to answer and meet with people with a cloud hanging over my head. I still have to live with the aftermath of the media hype."

Peterson, the mother of two young children, was last seen dressed in a red jogging suit about 10 a.m. Sunday by her husband, a 29-year veteran of the Bolingbrook department. He told authorities she had left home to meet with a relative and help rehab a home. But she never showed up for that meeting.

One person close to Stacy Peterson doubted Wednesday afternoon that she would have voluntarily left her children.

Her family spent Sunday trying to reach her by phone, Bolingbrook Police Lt. Ken Teppel said. When they couldn't, they went to the Illinois State Police early Monday to report her missing.

Teppel said there were no signs of foul play and investigators are treating the disappearance as a missing person case.

He said state police are investigating the case because it involves a member of an officer's family.

Stacy Peterson is Drew Peterson's fourth wife. A previous wife, Kathleen Savio, 40, was found dead in an empty bathtub in her Bolingbrook home on March 1, 2004, officials said.

At the inquest hearing, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil said Savio drowned. Although the bathtub was dry, her hair was wet when she was discovered and her fingertips were wrinkled from being in water.

Investigators speculated the water must have drained from the tub and a coroner's jury ruled the death accidental. State police also investigated Savio's death. No charges were filed.

Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow, who was not in office at the time of that case, said Tuesday he wants to review the Savio file.

"I was not the state's attorney when this case was processed, so for purposes of this investigation, this is being relooked at," Glasgow said, adding the jury's ruling at the 2004 inquest was not binding on his office.

He declined to discuss what, if any, connection there might be between the Savio case and the search for Peterson, saying only "there are some unusual circumstances in the 2004 [Savio] case."

A relative of Savio said Savio was nearing a divorce settlement at the time she died.

Glasgow would not say whether authorities have identified persons of interest in Peterson's disappearance, noting it is a missing person case, not a criminal investigation.

"Right now, we're at the very preliminary stages of the investigation and that kind of comment would be inappropriate," he said.

Peterson is a student at Joliet Junior College, where she is majoring in pre-nursing.

She is described as white with brown hair and brown eyes, about 5-foot-2 and 100 pounds.

Drew Peterson said he first met Stacy when she was 17 and he was 47.

"When I met Stacy, she was working at SpringHill Suites [in Bolingbrook]," he said. "We just hit it off, and one thing led to another. It wasn't something I planned. It was a very romantic time. It was very exciting."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson01_webnov01,1,5540924.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

[Pauli]

Whom do you believe?

November 1, 2007
BY Dan Rozek AND Stefano Esposito Staff Reporters
In the months before Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson's ex-wife drowned in her own bathtub in 2004, she told a relative she had detailed notes about her fights with her ex-husband -- just in case something bad happened to her.

Shortly before Peterson's current wife, Stacy A. Peterson, went missing earlier this week, she began telling her relatives she wanted people to know she was afraid -- in case she disappeared.

http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/peterson.jpg_20071101_00_45_57_227-116-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suntimes.com/news/630741,110107boling2.fullimage%27,%20%27fullimage% 27,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,sta tus=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width =650,height=650%27%29)
Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson and his 19-year-old wife Stacy in this 2003 photo.
(Courtesy)

http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/boling.jpg_20071031_16_53_55_191-116-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suntimes.com/news/629284,110107boling.fullimage%27,%20%27fullimage%2 7,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,stat us=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width= 650,height=650%27%29)
The house of Bolingbrook Sgt. Drew Peterson at 6 Pheasant Chase Ct. in Bolingbrook.
(STNG)

PHOTO GALLERY
http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/15980961h7773266.jpg_20071101_11_11_09_20-251-165.imageContent (http://www.suntimes.com/news/630813,CST-NWS-boling01.article#)
• The Petersons (http://www.suntimes.com/news/630813,CST-NWS-boling01.article#)

But on Wednesday, Drew Peterson -- facing a swarm of media -- fiercely denied he had anything to do with the drowning of Kathleen Savio or Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

"It bothers me," Peterson said during an interview in his Bolingbrook home. "I've led an honorable life, and people are looking at me sideways. It hurts. "

Drew Peterson, 53, a 29-year police veteran, said he believes his wife left voluntarily, even taking clothes with her. He said she's been suffering from "mood issues" since her sister Tina Ryan death's last year from colon cancer.

"Ever since then, Stacy has been different," Peterson said. ". . . She's been under the care of a psychiatrist." She's taking anti-depressants, he said.

The mother of two was supposed to help her sister, Cassandra, paint an apartment in Yorkville on Sunday but she never showed up, her family told the Sun-Times Wednesday. Drew Peterson said he last spoke to his wife Sunday about 9 p.m. He said he didn't know where she was calling from.
"She seemed snotty," Drew Peterson said, describing the call as "unusual," though he wouldn't disclose details of what was said.

"I believe she's not missing," he said. "She's where she wants to be. I have no reason to suspect foul play."

Besides the disappearance of his wife, Drew Peterson is also dealing with Will County prosecutors' decision to take another look at the 2004 drowning death of his ex-wife, Kathleen Savio.

Savio's relatives say they have always doubted the official conclusion that her death was accidental.

"I just have to live through it," Drew Peterson said of the renewed suspicions.

As for Stacy Peterson, Illinois State Police said Wednesday they have used tracking dogs and an airplane equipped with a heat-sensing device to search for the 5-foot-2-inch tall, 100-pound woman, but have not located her.

Investigators have found no signs of foul play.

On one point, Stacy Peterson's family agreed with her husband: Stacy was deeply depressed, "lost and confused," according to one relative. But they say she was troubled because her husband was watching her every move, and she wanted out of their four-year marriage.

"She just wanted people to know she was unhappy, and she didn't like how she was being treated," said her aunt, Candace Aikin, 48, of El Monte, Calif. "In case she disappeared -- if something bad happened to her."

"Drew was very distant, and it was just a weird feeling," Aikin said. "I don't know how to explain it."

Aikin stayed with the Petersons for a week earlier this month.
At one point during the visit, Aikin and her niece drove to a Bolingbrook grocery store and talked for an hour in the parking lot.

"She didn't feel like she loved Drew any more," Aikin said Stacy Peterson told her. "He was following her around. She wasn't allowed to have friends. She couldn't have a social life. She always had to be with him."
Drew Peterson repeatedly asked his spouse, 30 years his junior and his fourth wife, if she had a boyfriend, Aikin said.

Stacy Peterson told her aunt she'd asked her cop husband for a divorce, and he'd said to wait until he retired, Aikin said. Stacy Peterson wanted a way to leave, but she didn't want to lose the children she adored, Lacy, 2, and Anthony, 4.

"I know damn well she wouldn't go without them kids," said her uncle, Gary Cales, 68, of Hemet, Calif.

On Wednesday, Drew Peterson said: "I believed our marriage was good, but maybe she didn't."

When Stacy Peterson didn't show up for painting Sunday, her family called her repeatedly on her cell phone, but she didn't answer, and the family then called police.

Monday morning, Aikin called Drew Peterson at home. He wasn't there, but he returned her call that afternoon, she said.

Peterson told Aikin he'd spoken to his wife Sunday evening and "he said she went with someone. He didn't say who."

Aikin didn't probe further, but assumed Peterson meant his wife was with another man.

"He said she was with someone, and she was OK," Aikin said. Peterson also said his wife had taken some money from the couple's safe and had bought some new clothes.

"He got a little upset at one point because he said he didn't know what he was going to do," Aikin said.

Stacy Peterson's distraught relatives say they have heard nothing from her.

Aikin said she spoke to her niece weekly and knows she didn't have a boyfriend.

"She didn't have time for a boyfriend," Aikin insisted. "She had a husband who was following her 24/7."

The missing woman's mother has a history of disappearing and hasn't been heard from in years, Aikin said.

But Aikin says Stacy Peterson isn't like her mother and would never have abandoned her children.

Does Aikin think her niece is still alive?
"I hope she is, but I sort of don't," Aikin said. "I was scared for her when I was in that car [in Bolingbrook]. I was scared. I was looking around to see if he was following us."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/630813,CST-NWS-boling01.article

[Pauli]

Police search missing woman's home, impound cars

Bolingbrook, IL - Illinois State Police executed a search warrant Thursday afternoon at the Bolingbrook home of police Sgt. Drew Peterson, whose wife, Stacy, had been reported missing Monday.

The warrant was obtained by the Will County state’s attorney, according to spokesman Chuck Pelkie. Police towed two cars, a 2005 GMC sport utility vehicle and a 2002 Pontiac coupe, from Peterson’s property on Pheasant Chase Court.

Police arrived at Peterson’s house at about noon Thursday, according to neighbors, and the cars were towed at about 3 p.m.

Bolingbrook police and members of the media — local, regional and national — continued to be stationed outside Drew Peterson’s home four days after members of Stacy Peterson’s family filed a missing persons report with the Illinois State Police.

Bolingbrook police said Drew Peterson, 53, told investigators Monday he spoke with his wife on the telephone Sunday night about picking up her car at a Bolingbrook airport.

Police on Thursday were still labeling it a case of a missing person and not a criminal investigation.

Stacy Peterson, a mother of two, was reported missing by family members after she failed to show up Sunday morning to meet a friend help paint a house, police said.

Drew Peterson, who police said has been cooperating with authorities, told investigators Monday that he spoke with his wife by telephone at 9 p.m. Sunday, nine hours after members of Stacy’s family said they last heard from her via cell phone.

Initially, authorities did not divulge the content of the telephone call Drew Peterson said occurred — nor could they confirm investigators had verified the call had been made through telephone records, citing the ongoing investigation — but Bolingbrook police now say Drew Peterson told investigators Stacy called to tell Drew that her vehicle was at Bolingbrook Clow International Airport and that he should pick it up.

According to Ken Teppel, spokesman for the Bolingbrook Police Department, Drew Peterson told police he went to the airport and retrieved the vehicle.

“(Drew Peterson) told us Stacy called him Sunday night to tell him the vehicle had been left at the airport, and he said he went there to recover it and brought it home that night,” Teppel said.

No details were provided on whether Drew Peterson was driven to the airport to retrieve the vehicle or whether he walked there.

Peterson’s house is on Pheasant Chase Court, less than 400 yards from the airport.

“That information is investigative, and because of the ongoing investigation, I cannot comment,” said Teppel.

According to Joseph DePaulo, manager of the airport, investigators have been there regarding the case.

“Unfortunately, Clow Airport is a general aviation airport without a manned tower, and pilots can take off and leave without (being documented), so there is no way to identify all of the planes that came in and out of the airport on Sunday,” DePaulo said.

The airport does have three Web cameras — one facing the parking lot and two facing the runway — but they are not videotaped.

“The Web cameras are used to provide a live feed on our Web site, but have no capability of taping,” DePaulo said.

Family members told authorities they grew concerned when they could not contact Stacy Peterson by cell phone throughout the afternoon and evening Sunday, said Teppel.

The last time Stacy Peterson reportedly spoke with a family member other than her husband was Sunday at about 10:15 a.m., Teppel said.

The last time a family member saw Stacy Peterson was Saturday night, police said.

The family filed a missing persons report with Illinois State Police at about 4 a.m. Monday.

Teppel said it is common practice for an outside law enforcement agency to investigate a case that involves a police officer from another jurisdiction to avoid a conflict of interest.

Three years ago state police investigated the death of Drew Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, when she was discovered dead in her bath tub, a death that was ruled an accidental drowning by the Will County coroner’s office.

That case is now under review by State’s Attorney James Glasgow, who was not in office at the time of Savio’s death.

Pelkie said the Savio case is being “re-examined because of the unique and unusual circumstances involved.”

Teppel said police have received no calls for domestic disturbances or other requests for assistance at the Pheasant Chase Court address where Drew and Stay Peterson reside.

The case has received local, regional and national media attention.
“We’ve had requests for information from at least seven national media outlets and almost all of the Chicago area print and electronic media,” Teppel said. “This is the most attention we’ve ever had here, probably as much or more than the case of Rachel Mellon disappearing more than 10 years ago.

“Because of all the attention and all the media that have been camped out at the Peterson home, we have a unit on the street just to maintain some order.”

According to Teppel and Illinois Trooper Mark Dorencz, Drew Peterson has been in touch with police and has been cooperative.

Drew Peterson has worked for the Bolingbrook Police Department for 29 years and has been married four times.
http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/romeoville/homepage/x1149875992

[Pauli]

http://imgsrv.wbbm780.com/image/DbGraphic/200711/765134.jpg
Posted: Thursday, 01 November 2007 11:58AM

Missing Wife's Car Found At Suburban Airport

BOLINGBROOK ,Ill. (WBBM) -- Clow Airport in Bolingbrook is one focus of the investigation into the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.

WBBM's Steve Miller reports.

Bolingbrook police say Sergeant Drew Peterson told them he found his wife's car at the airport Sunday night.

A camera is aimed at the parking lot of the airport, and investigators have been trying to figure out if they can get images that will yield some clues.

The problem, says Clow Airport Manager Joe DePaulo, is the the camera aimed at the parking lot is only a Web cam. Meaning, it does not record anything.

DePaulo says investigators have been to the airport at least twice to try to get images from the Web cam.

As far as flights out, DePaulo says the Bolingbrook airport has no tower and keeps no records of most planes that go in and out.



http://www.wbbm780.com/Missing-Wife-s-Car-Found-At-Suburban-Airport/1162596

[Pauli]

His side: Sgt. Drew Peterson

November 1, 2007
BY Dan Rozek AND Stefano Esposito Staff Reporters
Drew Peterson believes his missing wife left voluntarily -- even taking extra clothes with her -- and isn't a victim of foul play, the Bolingbrook police sergeant said Wednesday, breaking his silence on the puzzling disappearance of Stacy Peterson.

"I believe she's not missing. She's where she wants to be," he said. "I have no reason to suspect foul play."

His 23-year-old wife has been seeing a psychiatrist, taking Effexor, a prescription anti-depressant medication and struggling with "mood issues" since the cancer death last year of her sister, Peterson said during a brief interview in the couple's Bolingbrook home.

"Ever since then, Stacy has been different," the 53-year-old Peterson said. "There's been mood issues. She's been under the care of a psychiatrist."

That carried over into their last conversation, he said. She left their home Sunday morning to help a relative paint, then called him at their home at about 9 p.m. Sunday.

"She seemed snotty," Peterson said, describing the call as "unusual" though he wouldn't disclose details of what was said.

That call at 9 p.m. Sunday was his last communication with his wife -- and even then he said he didn't know where she was calling from.

"I don't know where she was when she called," he said.

Her relatives reported her missing about 4 a.m. Monday and there have been no signs of her since then.

Peterson, a 29-year veteran of the Bolingbrook Police Department, said he doesn't know why his wife of four years would leave him and their two children, ages 2 and 4, behind. She also adopted his children from a previous marriage, he said.

"I find that very unusual," he said of her absence. "She's a very good mom. For the last year or so, she's been very short-tempered, snapping on everyone, but still a good mom."

Stacy, who also took classes at Joliet Junior College, hadn't talked of suicide, Peterson said.

He said he thought their marriage was solid.

"I believed our marriage was good, but maybe she didn't," he said.
He believes the publicity surrounding her disappearance may prompt her to return, but added cryptically," there's other things involved."

Now taking leave from his job -- which he was set to retire from on Dec. 16 -- Peterson said he talked "for a while" on Monday night to state police investigators searching for his wife.

He said he found her purse, cell phone and even some clothing gone after she left their two-story brick home on Sunday.

Peterson ripped media reports that Will County authorities are reviewing the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, who drowned in a tub in her Bolingbrook home shortly after the couple had divorced.

A state police investigation concluded the death was accidental, but Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said Tuesday he wants to take another look at the case.

"She just had an accident," he said. "Yes, it was an unusual accident."
That announcement, he said, has created public suspicion that he was somehow involved in her death -- something he adamantly denied.

"It bothers me. I've led an honorable life and people are looking at me sideways," he said. "It hurts. I just have to live through it."

He also complained that publicity surrounding his wife's disappearance had disrupted the family, even keeping his children from going Trick-or-Treating on Halloween.

"My klds can't even go Trick-or-Treat. I hate it," he said. "I'm a prisoner here."

He declined to answer a number of different questions, citing the ongoing investigation and family privacy.
"I'm not going to say anything that would jeopardize my family," he said.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/630821,CST-NWS-drew01web.article

[Pauli]

Police Surround House of Missing Illinois Woman Last Edited: Thursday, 01 Nov 2007, 2:50 PM MDT Created: Thursday, 01 Nov 2007, 10:01 AM MDT

Bolingbrook police have reportedly taken husband of a missing Bolingbrook woman, Stacy Peterson, into custody for question related to her disappearance.

The Illinois State Police have surrounded the couple’s house. Two vehicles were seized from the property and towed to another location.

Stacy Peterson's Father Speaks Out (video: MyFoxChicago) (http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=4797637)

Stacy Peterson went missing on Sunday. Her husband Drew Peterson, 53, says he has nothing to do with her disappearance but believes she is unharmed.

"I believe she's with someone else, but I believe she's safe," Drew Peterson, 53, said of his wife, Stacy Peterson, whom he said called him Sunday night and told him she was leaving. He said she had even taken some clothes and money from the safe in the couple's home.

Drew Peterson, a 29-year police veteran and Bolingbrook police sergeant, said his wife has suffered from what he called "mood issues" since her sister's death from colon cancer last year.

"Ever since then, Stacy has been different," Peterson said Wednesday. "... She's been under the care of a psychiatrist" and is taking antidepressant medication.

Peterson, who is 30 years older than his 23-year-old wife, said the couple celebrated their four-year wedding anniversary last month. He said hours before his wife called him Sunday night she had left their home to help her sister and her sister's boyfriend paint their home.

She did not show up, prompting the family to try unsuccessfully to reach her on her cell phone, police said.

The Illinois State Police have used tracking dogs and an airplane equipped with a heat-sensing device to search for the woman. Authorities also have found no indications of foul play.

Peterson said he thought the couple had a good marriage, "but maybe she didn't," he said.

In fact, Stacy Peterson's family, while agreeing the woman was depressed, said the reason was she believed her husband was watching everything she did and had asked for a divorce.

"She just wanted people to know she was unhappy, and she didn't like how she was being treated," said her aunt, Candace Aikin, 48, of El Monte, Calif. "In case she disappeared -- if something bad happened to her."

Aikin said she talked to her niece every week and knows she did not have a boyfriend.

"She had a husband who was following her 24/7," she said.

Nor do family members believe the woman would leave without her kids, Lacy, 2, and Anthony, 4.

"I know damn well she wouldn't go without them kids," said her 68-year-old uncle, Gary Cales, of Hemet, Calif.

The disappearance has triggered renewed interest in the death of Kathleen Savio, Peterson's ex-wife who drowned in a bathtub in 2004.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow already has started pulling and reading through old files from the Savio case, including police and coroner's reports, spokesman Charles Pelkie said this week.

According to court records, Savio in 2002 obtained an order of protection against Peterson, alleging a pattern of physical abuse and threats.

"In light of recent developments, he's reviewing this with an open and fresh mind ... to determine if further action will be warranted," he said, adding Glasgow wasn't in office when Savio died and so hadn't been familiar with her case.

Peterson adamantly denied he had anything to do with his ex-wife's death or Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

"It bothers me," he said. "I've led an honorable life, and people are looking at me sideways. It hurts."


http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4804285&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.3.1

[Pauli]

Police Search Bolingbrook Sergeant's Home, Pond

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Police are searching the Bolingbrook home of police Sgt. Drew Peterson, whose wife has been missing since Sunday.

At 2:15 p.m. Thursday FBI agents, state's attorney's investigators and Illinois State Police swarmed the house to execute search warrants. They then searched the house using canines and video. They also towed away two vehicles to be searched.

As CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reports, police are now searching a retention pond near the Petersons' home, alongside a runway at a local airfield. The pond is a half mile north of the home, just north of 107th Street at the south end of the airfield.

Investigators say Sgt. Peterson himself led investigators to the air field. Stacy Peterson's car was found there over the weekend.

Bolingbrook does not have a dive team, so a dive team from another jurisdiction is assisting in the investigation.

Drew Peterson is not facing any charges at this time in the disappearance of his 23-year-old wife, Stacy. So far, Sgt. Peterson has declined to give any on-camera interviews, saying he would prefer to protect his anonymity. But he told CBS 2 Wednesday he believes Stacy has gone underground. He said he thought their marriage was healthy, but maybe she did not. He also said that since the death of her sister, Stacy had become a different person, in part, he believes, because she was on antidepressants.

Her half-sister says that is not the case at all.

"We're there to support each other," Kerry Simmons said. "She's had problems in her marriage and she needed… if it was for anything it was for that, just to help her."

Stacy's loved ones watched as investigators searched the couple's home and front and back yards.

Matt Simmons, who is married to Stacy Peterson's half sister, is holding out hope Stacy has not been harmed.

"Stacy, if you're out there, hopefully you see what the family is going through and we all just hope and pray that you come home today, tomorrow, whenever you can."

In 2004 Sgt. Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in a bathtub just down the street from the Petersons' current home. The incident was ruled an accident, but the state's attorney is taking a second look at that case.

Drew and Stacy Peterson have been married for four years. Stacy Peterson's only surviving sister, Cassandra Cales, says Stacy lived in fear of the veteran police officer.

"She feared for her life," Cales said. "She wanted a divorce and was talking about getting a divorce."
http://cbs2chicago.com/westsuburbanbureau/bolingbrook.sergeant.wife.2.480497.html

[Pauli]

How do police find the missing?

November 2, 2007
By Brian Stanley Staff Writer

Police investigate all missing person reports, but the officer's initial assessment of the case often determines how they are handled.

"The patrol officer's judgement is very important, because he's the first one to talk to the complainant and get a feeling of the situation," said Will County sheriff's spokesman Pat Barry.

Barry said the sheriff's department's procedures are similar to other area departments.

http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/multimedia/JO02_MISSING_P4_scn_feed_20071101_22_00_33_408-117-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/632196,JO02_MISSING_P4.fullimage%27,%20%27fullimag e%27,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,s tatus=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,wid th=650,height=650%27%29)
The Peterson family smiles during a cruise last year. Drew Peterson holds his daughter Lacy, while his wife Stacy holds onto their son Anthony. Drew's sons from his third marriage are Kris (far left) and Tom (far right).
submitted photo
http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/multimedia/JO02_MISSING_P3_scn_feed_20071101_22_00_36_409-109-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/632197,JO02_MISSING_P3.fullimage%27,%20%27fullimag e%27,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,s tatus=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,wid th=650,height=650%27%29)
A state police cadaver dog barks while searching outside of the garage at the Peterson home Thursday afternoon in Bolingbrook. In addition to the search with the dogs, police towed cars and seized items from the home. Naperville police divers searched a pond between the subdivison and a Bolingbrook airport.
MICHAEL R. SCHMIDT/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Missing people are typically reported to the local police department. Contrary to popular belief, there is no 24-hour waiting period before a report can be made. The Missing Persons Identification Act, passed by the state legislature in August, requires police to accept any missing person reports.

"If your mother is home every day by 4 p.m. and it's 8 p.m. and she's not there and not picking up her phone, that's not a normal situation and you know about it," Barry said.

Barry said the first thing police will ask: "Is foul play suspected?" They'll also ask about medical conditions, enter information into a national network of law enforcement agencies and ask where the person may have gone. "There is a different (approach) if it's a teenager who's fighting (with relatives) especially those who have run away before," he said.

Police will have parents check with friends before a description is broadcast and officers will check areas the teen is likely to be.

"If someone isn't located, the case will move up to detectives the next day," Barry said. Investigators rarely are called in immediately.

Under the missing persons act, reports can be made by anyone, no matter what their relationship is to the missing person. "If you haven't seen an elderly neighbor out for a few days and there are newspapers in the driveway, call the local police and ask for a well-being check. They'll contact relatives and see if someone knows where this person is," Barry said.

He said it's important to share information with people you trust in case something happens: "Cell phone numbers, phone numbers of friends and relatives and vehicle descriptions give police somewhere to start. It's really important to provide law enforcement with as much information as possible."
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/632166,4_1_JO02_MISSING_S2.article

[Pauli]

Police Officer a Suspect in Wife's Disappearance

Investigators Taking Another Look at Drowning Death of Third Wife, Ruled Accidental


Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing since Sunday. Her husband Drew, a 53-year-old veteran police officer, has become a prime suspect. (ABC News )

Wearing a mask and standing behind the front door of his suburban Chicago home, Drew Peterson spoke briefly about his missing wife, Stacy.
"I miss her," Peterson said.

Peterson has become the focus of the investigation, and police searched his home and his car Thursday. They have also sent divers and cadaver dogs to search a pond near the couple's home.

Stacy, 23, was on her way to visit her sister Sunday, but never showed up. Peterson, 53, said Stacy called him Sunday night and told him she was leaving. He said she has suffered from "mood issues" since a sister died.

He told reporters that he believes she left him for another man.
The couple's two young children are staying with neighbors.

Stacy Peterson's disappearance has also triggered renewed interest in the death of Kathleen Savio, Peterson's former wife, who drowned in a bathtub in 2004.

Neighbors of the Petersons say there were no outward signs of trouble between the two.

"I'd see them out holding hands walking around the block, playing with their kids," said neighbor Jim Lepper.

Family members and close friends tell a different story, though. One friend, Sherrie Mills, said Stacy described her marriage as abusive, and she fears the worst.

"She would not leave without her children," Mills said. "Her life was everything with those children."

Stacy's father, Anthony Cales, said he believes foul play is involved.
"I do. After four days, we've been looking for four days, and absolutely," Cales said.

Third Wife Drowned in Bathtub

Stacy and Drew had been married for four years. This was her first marriage, and his fourth.

In light of Stacy's disappearance, prosecutors are taking a second look at Savio's death three years ago in the bathtub of the couple's home.

Before she died, Savio had filed an order of protection against Drew, which said in part, "He wants me dead, and if he has to, he will burn the house down to shut me up."

The coroner ruled her death accidental.
Now Peterson said he wants the focus to be on his current missing wife -- not him.

"I'd like to be able to walk down the street and not get pointed at," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3810718&page=1

[Pauli]

Peterson, ex-wife disputed over pension

November 2, 2007
Jennifer Golz Staff writer

Now on leave from his sergeant's job, Drew Peterson was reportedly set to retire from the Bolingbrook Police Department in December.

A 29-year veteran of the department, Peterson would have a healthy pension from which to pull. Something his young wife, 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, also would be entitled, at least that which he earned since their 2003 marriage.

Peterson's pension also was something his third wife, Kathleen Savio, felt she was entitled. But Peterson did not, according to Will County Circuit.
The divorced couple was set to go to trial on the matter April 6, 2004, but Savio did not live to make that court appearance.


Just one month before the court date, Savio, 40, was found dead in an empty bathtub of her Bolingbrook home. Her hair was wet and fingers pruned, and the death was ruled an accidental drowning with investigators speculating the water drained from the tub before being discovered.

In September 2003, Peterson filed a petition calling for the sale of the Bolingbrook home in which Savio and their two children resided to reduce the mandatory $2,000 monthly child support payment made to his ex-wife. The motion was denied and a month later the divorce was finalized, on Oct. 10, 2003.

Peterson married Stacy (Cales) Peterson eight days later.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/632483,6_1_NA02_PETERSON_S3.article

[Pauli]

Search for missing wife resumes

Bolingbrook woman feared for her life, an aunt says

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-11/33593696.jpg

Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson steps outside his home for a few seconds before running back inside as police investigators search Peterson's home on Pheasant Chase Court in Bolingbrook, Thursday. (Tribune photo Antonio Perez / November 1, 2007)

By Matthew Walberg, Erika Slife and Hal Dardick, Tribune staff reporters 11:41 AM CDT, November 2, 2007 http://m1.2mdn.net/viewad/817-grey.gif (http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/35fe/0/0/%2a/n;44306;0-0;0;12925715;21-88/31;0/0/0;;~sscs=%3f)The search for a Bolingbrook police sergeant's wife resumed this morning, with boats, dogs and divers searching for clues in a small pond near Stacy and Drew Peterson's home.

Police returned to the retention pond at Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport about 9 a.m. By 10 a.m., divers were in the water accompanied by a boat with a cadaver dog onboard.

Officers stretched a cable across the narrow 5-acre pond, which one officer said was about 18 feet at its greatest depth.

Divers could be seen swimming beneath the cable, and they were checking the area around numerous floating markers that had been placed by investigators earlier in the morning.

Meanwhile, reporters again gathered outside the Peterson home, where Richard Mims, Drew Peterson's longtime friend, said neither he nor the sergeant got any sleep because of the noise from helicopters hovering overhead throughout the night.

Two days before she disappeared, Stacy Peterson, 23, told her husband she wanted a divorce, the missing woman's aunt said Thursday.

A day later, on Saturday, Peterson told her sister she feared for her life, said Suzan Robison, Stacy's paternal aunt.

Sgt. Drew Peterson, Stacy's husband, "was a very jealous, very controlling person," Robison said. "He followed her. He tracked her with GPS on her cell phone, called her constantly."

Robison gave the account of her niece's troubled marriage Thursday as police executed search warrants at the couple's home on Pheasant Chase Court in Bolingbrook.

Peterson, 53, told the Tribune his wife Stacy called him Sunday night to say she was leaving. He said he believed she left for another man, an account Stacy's family members dismissed as highly unlikely.

Peterson said he never abused his wife and that he believed their marriage was good.

Asked outside his neighbor's house Thursday about whether he was nervous, Peterson told the Tribune, "Why should I be nervous? I did nothing wrong."

As police stepped up their probe of Stacy Peterson's disappearance, Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow scoured files related to the 2004 death of Peterson's previous wife, which other authorities ruled accidental.

"There were two items that we wanted to recover," Illinois State Police Capt. Ken Kaupas said, referring to Thursday's search. He declined to say what those were.

Family member Kerry Simmons said Stacy kept in the home a journal that contained notes about fights she had with her husband. "She documented everything," Simmons said.

Charles Pelkie, Glasgow's spokesman, said the warrants also gave police the authority to search a 2005 GMC sport-utility vehicle and a 2002 Pontiac coupe at Peterson's home.

No charges have been filed against Peterson, who went next door during the search and was not taken into custody.

Crime scene technicians searched the home with cadaver dogs, while at least one police helicopter flew overhead. Halloween decorations outside were deflated. Neighbors, including children, stood and watched.

Richard Mims, Peterson's longtime friend who was helping him watch his children, ages 2 and 4, said police in Peterson's home were looking at a computer.

Peterson later told the Tribune the police took the computer and his guns.

Mims said he "firmly believed there's no foul play here. I believe that in my heart."

Meanwhile, at least five police divers entered the pond at Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport, where a manager said police earlier this week tried unsuccessfully to review previous images from a Web cam. Federal Aviation Administration records indicate Drew Peterson is licensed to fly a plane, but manager Joe DePaulo said there were no records that Peterson had used the airport.

Peterson said Stacy left their home sometime Sunday and called him at 9 p.m. to say she was leaving.

Her relatives said she never showed up Sunday to help them paint a house. After she did not answer her cell phone, the relatives reported her missing.

Police said her phone hasn't been used since 9 p.m. Sunday.

"She would not go one day, much less four days, without calling her sister and her father and her Aunt Candace in California," Robison said. "There's no way she would walk out of her house without those kids. ... If she was going to leave, she would have taken the kids and been on the phone with one of us."

Simmons said the couple were in marriage counseling, and she asked Stacy about it during a phone call last week.

"She said she didn't want to talk on the phone because she was afraid he was listening and watching everything she was doing," Simmons said. "She was stressed. She wanted out of her marriage."

In addition to the toddlers, Drew Peterson's two sons, ages 13 and 14, lived with the couple.

Peterson found Kathleen Savio, the mother of his sons, dead in the bathtub on March 1, 2004.

At the time they were officially divorced, but the court had yet to approve a division of assets. When Savio died, her sons, under Peterson's guardianship, received $1 million from a life-insurance payment, according to court records.

Peterson later received the proceeds from other life insurance policies, the profits from the sale of a bar they owned in Montgomery and profits on the sale of their home, all valued at more than $600,000, the records state.

Robison, 60, of North Aurora said that when she learned about the previous wife's death, she became scared for her niece.

She said her family is offering $20,000 for information leading to Stacy Peterson's whereabouts.

Family members also organized a 10 a.m. Saturday search of the DuPage River Greenway between Illinois Highway 53 and Weber Road.

Robison is trying to remain positive she will see her niece again. "I'm trying my best to," she said. "I'm kind of numb. I'm praying she's OK. But in my heart, I know it's not looking good that she hasn't called any of her family."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-petersonnov02,0,1501660.story?page=2&coll=chi_news_politics_ugc

[Pauli]

New search, but still no clues

Peterson stepsister says 'family just needs to know'


By Jeff Long |Tribune staff reporter November 5, 2007 http://m1.2mdn.net/viewad/817-grey.gif (http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/3601/0/0/%2a/n;44306;0-0;0;12925715;21-88/31;0/0/0;;%7Esscs=%3f) http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/trb.chicagotribune/news/local;tk=10107;tk=11587;ptype=s;slug=chi-peterson_searchnov05;rg=ur;ref=courttvcom;pos=1;sz =88x31;tile=2;ord=48748268? (http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/trb.chicagotribune/news/local;tk=10107;tk=11587;ptype=s;slug=chi-peterson_searchnov05;rg=ur;ref=courttvcom;pos=1;sz =88x31;tile=2;ord=48748268?)

With their ranks swollen by increasing media attention, about 90 volunteers combed rural areas near Bolingbrook for a second day Sunday for clues to explain the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, the wife of a Bolingbrook police sergeant who was last seen Oct. 28.

Family, friends and strangers who just wanted to help fanned out across wetlands at Whalon Lake, part of the Will County Forest Preserve District, about 4 miles from the Peterson home. They also searched around Indian Boundary Park and other rural, wooded areas.

But they found no evidence to help police, said organizer Roy Taylor, son of the missing woman's neighbor.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2007-11/33635548.jpg (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-search20071104175406,0,3688159.photo?coll=chi_news _politics_ugc) Still no clues in Peterson's disappearance (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-search20071104175406,0,3688159.photo?coll=chi_news _politics_ugc) Photo (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-search20071104175406,0,3688159.photo?coll=chi_news _politics_ugc)
Lisa Stebic's friends search for Stacy Peterson (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-071104stacysearch-wn,0,4273795.worldnowvideo?coll=chi_news_politics_ ugc) Video (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-071104stacysearch-wn,0,4273795.worldnowvideo?coll=chi_news_politics_ ugc)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/thumbnails/photogallery/2007-11/33593713.jpg (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-071101peterson-photogallery,0,6654063.photogallery?coll=chi_news_ politics_ugc)
"The family just needs to know," said Peterson's stepsister Debbie Forgue of Westchester. "We need to find her."

But by now, the relatives fear they will never find Peterson alive.

"I don't think we're looking for a person that's alive at this point," said another stepsister, Kerry Simmons of Riverside.

Taylor said Texas EquuSearch, a non-profit organization involved in hundreds of missing-person cases over the last several years, has agreed to join the search for Peterson.

As Forgue and the other volunteers inched across the wetlands surrounding Whalon Lake on Sunday morning, they looked for any unusual signs of disturbance in the ground. Local stores have donated two-way radios to assist the volunteer searchers, and about 600 fliers have been posted throughout the community.

Peterson, 23, a mother of two, was reported missing to Illinois State Police on Oct. 29 after she failed to meet her sister the day before to help paint a house.

Divers from the Naperville Police Department spent Thursday and Friday searching a 5-acre pond at Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport, just blocks from her home.

Her husband, Sgt. Drew Peterson, 53, has said he last saw her about 10 a.m. Oct. 28 and last spoke with her about 9 p.m. that day when she called on her cell phone to say she was leaving him.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_searchnov05,1,3948640.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true

[Pauli]

Stacy Called Marriage 'Somewhat Abusive' In E-mail

Bolingbrook, Ill. (Naperville Sun) ― Stacy Peterson may have told friends and family she wanted a divorce from her husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson.

But she wrote her own chilling message in e-mails to a friend, who shared them with The Naperville Sun.

"I have been arguing quite a bit with my husband," Stacy wrote in an e-mail to family friend Steve Cesare 10 days before she disappeared.

"As I mature with age I am finding that the relationship I am in is controlling, manipulative and somewhat abusive," she wrote in the Oct. 17 e-mail. "Tomorrow is our four-year anniversary and I'm not as excited as the years that have passed.

"If you could keep me in your prayers I could use some wisdom, protection and strength."

Cesare said he worried when he received these e-mails from Stacy, but was in disbelief at the reports that his friend went missing.

"Someone could take off, but they usually let someone know and if Aunt Candy doesn't know where she is, then nobody knows," Cesare said, referring to Stacy's aunt from California who visited the Peterson household just a week before her niece's disappearance.

Cesare has known Stacy since she was a young girl, as he dated her older sister Tina in the 1990s. The two kept in touch after Tina died last year of colon cancer.

Cesare last saw Stacy two months ago when she surprised him at work with a picture album of her sister's from when the two had dated.

"I couldn't imagine this family going through any more tragedy," he said. "They've been through plenty."

Stacy's mother disappeared a decade ago, seemingly without a trace. And before that, Stacy lost two sisters, one in a house fire and another to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, according to a family friend. A brother of Stacy's has continuing legal troubles.

Those childhood hardships may have led Stacy to marry a man 30 years her senior.

"It was the picture of a controlling older man and I was always very cautious of it because this is a guy you don't want to mess with, so I always kept my distance," Cesare said.

Drew Peterson made it easy for Cesare to keep his distance because Stacy's husband limited her phone use.

"Don't worry about calling my cell anymore, or the house phone. I have talked with Drew, so no worries," Stacy wrote in an e-mail to Cesare.

"I don't think she ever had time to get away from him," he said.

According to Cesare, this included when her sister battled cancer in a downstate hospital.

"I tried to arrange to drive Stacy to see her sister," he said. "We were going to go for the day and would be back that night but her husband wouldn't let her go with me.

"It didn't make sense because we were going to see her sister and he wouldn't let her go."

Cesare is doubtful that Stacy has run off with another man, a scenario her husband has offered in response to questions about her disappearance.

"She was thoughtful enough to bring me that photo album," he said. "It's a piece of Tina I'll have to remember.

"I hope they find her alive and well."

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/stacy.peterson.bolingbrook.2.482031.html

[Pauli]

Texas search team to help in Peterson case

November 5, 2007
BY Stefano Esposito Staff Reporter/sesposito@suntimes.com
As volunteer searchers ended a second day without finding clues in the disappearance of Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson, a Texas team that helped look for missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba was expected to join the Peterson search this week.

But Peterson's family held out little hope of finding the mother of two alive.

She was last heard from Oct. 28, when she missed an appointment with relatives in Yorkville.

"I'm trying to stay positive," Candace Aikin, one of Peterson's aunts, said Sunday. "I don't feel a lot of hope, to be honest."

A team of about 100 volunteers combed an area surrounding Stacy Peterson's home on Pheasant Chase Court. The all-day search ended shortly before 5 p.m.

Meanwhile, representatives from The Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team, an all-volunteer group with resources that include divers, helicopters, dog teams, horses and foot teams, were set to help in the search.

Family friend Bruce Zidarich said Peterson's relatives had reached out to the group last week, and they had agreed to help.

Stacy Peterson, 23, is the fourth wife of veteran Bolingbrook cop Drew Peterson.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/635440,CST-NWS-stacy05.article

[Pauli]

November 5th, 2007 4:51 PM Eastern
Dr. Baden: “HOMICIDE…NOT AN ACCIDENT” (more tonight at 10pm eastern ON THE RECORD) (http://gretawire.foxnews.com/2007/11/05/dr-baden-homicidenot-an-accident-more-tonight-at-10pm-eastern-on-the-record/)

by Greta Van Susteren
http://gretawire.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/kathleen-savio3.jpg (http://gretawire.foxnews.com/2007/11/05/check-this-out-and-tune-in-at-10pm-eastern-tonight//)
Was Sgt. Peterson’s wife# 3 (pictured above) murdered? The coronor said her death was an accident but was it? You might want to see the email Dr. Baden sent me about the autopsy of Sgt. Peterson’s wife #3 who died in the bathtub.
Plus, I just did a GretaCast with Dr. Baden that I will post in the next few hours in which he goes into greater detail. You can listen to Dr. Baden’s detailed discussion. In the GretaCast he says wife # 3 death was not an accident but in his opinion, a homicide.
From: Dr. Baden
To: Van Susteren, Greta
Sent: Sun Nov 04 14:49:28 2007
Subject: re: coroners
Greta, You raised a very basic question Friday—how could the Coroner make such an obvious mistake in ruling that the death of Drew Peterson ’s Wife #3 was Accidental Drowning rather than Homicide given the history of spousal abuse, the order of protection, the autopsy evidence of a bloody beating before drowning, and the fact that healthy sober adults don’t drown accidentally in bathtubs. The death should have been classified as a Homicide which would have triggered a full police investigation. The Accidental classification required no further investigation. Similarly, the Coroner’s classification that the second Stanley sister died of Psychogenic Epilepsy—a here-to-fore unknown cause of death—has also raised concerns about the accuracy of death certifications.

Greta, the medical investigation of murder in this country is a national disgrace. One half of all U.S.counties have elected coroners rather than medical examiners who are physicians appointed on the basis of merit. Most coroners have little or no medical or scientific background (usually required only to be a U.S. citizen of voting age) and they have the legal responsibility of determining cause and manner of unnatural deaths. About ten states do not have a single forensic pathologist in the entire state. There are 60 murders every day in the U.S.; in more than half the perpetrator will not be convicted (so much for the perfect murder–most are!!) –and in some murders innocent people may be convicted. The medical/forensic investigation of murder is very uneven in this country and is conducted according to local county or state laws.(Almost all murder is local!) Perhaps we should consider establishing a federal Forensic Sciences General position to create a bully pulpit to improve unnatural death investigation in the entire country as the Surgeon General position has been able to improve public interest and research into natural diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease and breast cancer. michael baden
http://gretawire.foxnews.com/

[Pauli]

Police target 7 areas in Peterson search

Texas group poised to assist effort

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-11/33635548.jpg

Debby Forgue (front right) leads volunteers on the search for her step-sister, Stacy Peterson, in the fields surrounding Whalon Lake in the Will County Forest Preserve near Bolingbrook on Sunday. (Tribune photo by Stacey Wescott / November 4, 2007)

By Hal Dardick and Erika Slife | Tribune staff reporters 2:50 PM CST, November 5, 2007 Police today are searching seven "areas of interest" in their effort to find Stacy Peterson, the wife of a Bolingbrook police sergeant who went missing eight days ago, an Illinois State Police spokesman said.

Master Sgt. Louis Gutierrez declined to identify the areas being searched, but said all are based on the weeklong missing person investigation led by his agency.

At each site, seven police officers and a canine team, consisting of a handler and cadaver dog, are looking for Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old mother of two young children.

Meanwhile, Cassandra Cales, Stacy's sister, contacted Texas EquuSearch and asked for the national organization's help in looking for Stacy, said Cindy Wisdom, case manager for the not-for-profit group founded in 2000 to help authorities find missing persons.

Tim Miller, the group's founder and director, is in the area speaking with Stacy's family and trying to set up a meeting with law-enforcement authorities, Wisdom said. "We don't enter a case unless family or law enforcement contact us, and we don't move forward with a case unless law enforcement agrees to work with us," she added.

Gutierrez said state police had yet to decide whether to bring EquuSearch into the effort. "We have been contacted by them."

After meeting Monday with Stacy's family and friends in Bolingbrook, Miller was asked what his group could add.

"We know this much: If nothing is done, there's zero chance of locating her," he said. "We have a lot of resources. We are here. We are ready to get started."

Miller would not disclose any search plans. "We're not going to take a chance on her being moved," he said.

Cales said she was comforted by the group's presence. "I was prepared for the worst, but I hope for the best. I just want to bring her home."

EquuSearch's involvement came after groups of volunteers failed to find any trace of Peterson during weekend searches. She went missing Oct. 28, two days after telling her husband, Sgt. Drew Peterson, 53, that she wanted a divorce, according to Stacy's family members. She is his fourth wife.

State police have searched Peterson's home and other locations, including a pond at nearby Clow International Airport, in what is still classified as a missing person case.

Peterson's previous wife, Kathleen Savio, was found drowned in her bathtub in 2004. Her death was ruled accidental, but Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow, who was not in office when that determination was made, is taking another look at the case "with an open mind," said spokesman Charles Pelkie.

Miller's 16-year-old daughter, Laura, was abducted and murdered in 1984, said Wisdom. Miller's group initially used horse-mounted volunteers but the search methods have evolved.

They now employ helicopters, all-terrain vehicles, drone aircraft, sonar and other high-technology tools, but people on horseback are still utilized. "There are a lot of places a horse can go that even an ATV can't," Wisdom said.

The group has opened cases on more than 800 missing people. It has found 300 and the remains of 76 others, Wisdom said.

"The idea is to bring home missing persons, dead or alive," she said.

In late September, the group found the body of Naomi Arnette, 36, the mother of seven, in a shallow grave in a wooded area about three miles from her house in Sadorus, south of Champaign, she said. Arnettte's husband, Robert, has been charged with her murder.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_searchnov05,0,1553669.story?coll=chi_tech nology_util

[Pauli]

Family, friends search woods for missing Bolingbrook mother

Missing woman, 23, likely dead, they say

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-11/33623350.jpg

Roy Taylor of Naperville (center) checks an area of loose dirt as friends and family of Stacy Peterson search Knoch Knolls Park in Naperville on Saturday. (Tribune photo by Bonnie Trafelet / November 3, 2007)

By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons | Tribune staff reporter November 4, 2007 Giving up hope that missing Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson is alive, her family and friends are now focused on finding information to help with the investigation into her disappearance.

Dozens of people combed a forest near her home for several hours on Saturday looking for any traces of the 23-year-old, who disappeared last Sunday. Their search through the wooded Knoch Knolls Park came up empty, but the group planned to return with more people on Sunday morning.

Peterson's sister, Cassandra Cales, said the family no longer believes she is alive.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this," Cales, 22, said during the search. "I just want whoever did this to her brought to justice."

Cales also confirmed Saturday that her sister said the Friday before she disappeared that she feared for her life and wanted a divorce from her husband, Drew, a Bolingbrook police sergeant.

Neighbors posted fliers at local malls while friends created a Web site to pool information on her case. Some searched the DuPage River a mile from her home by kayak; others walked a cadaver dog through nearby wetlands at Whalon Lake Dog Park.

Meanwhile, her sister pieced together a timeline of accounts from friends and family of the days leading up to her disappearance.

It was a coordinated effort by a community hungry for an explanation into her disappearance, especially as the national media have descended upon the quiet southwest suburban neighborhood.

Drew Peterson, 53, has been interviewed by police in his wife's disappearance. The couple have two children, ages 2 and 4, and Drew has two sons, ages 13 and 14, from a previous marriage. His former wife and the mother of his sons, Kathleen Savio, drowned in a bathtub accident in 2004, but prosecutors are now reviewing that case.

Authorities are calling the Stacy Peterson case a missing-person investigation, but those who knew her best suspect foul play and say Peterson never would have skipped town without her children.

Peterson was reported missing to the Illinois State Police early Monday after she failed to meet her sister Sunday to help paint a house. Her husband said he last saw her about 10 a.m. Sunday, and last spoke with her about 9 p.m. Sunday when she called on her cell phone to say she was leaving him.

Authorities were not performing any searches on Saturday after divers spent Thursday and Friday dragging a 5-acre pond at Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport, just blocks from the Peterson home. Drew Peterson, who is licensed to fly a plane, said he found his wife's car in Clow's parking lot Monday.

State Police on Friday searched a hangar at Cushing Field in Sheridan where Drew Peterson kept a plane, according to Michael Hudetz, a flight instructor at A&M Airsports. Cushing Field is about 38 miles west of Bolingbrook.

The Web site dedicated to Stacy Peterson is findstacypeterson.com.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_newnov04,0,4325632.story?coll=chi_home_to p

[Pauli]

http://gretawire.foxnews.com/ (http://gretawire.foxnews.com/)

November 5th, 2007 7:41 PM Eastern
FNC’s Jeff Goldblatt Just Sent Me This From Outside Sgt. Peterson Home
by Greta Van Susteren
In blue is an email FNC’s Jeff Goldblatt just sent me from outside Sgt. Peterson’s home in Bolingbrook, Illinois”

Subject: Fw: Peterson News Release

From Illinois State Police. Latest on investigation. For Urgent.

Also, at abt 610pm central, 2 cops showed up at Peterson house with a
rolled up piece of paper in hand. They knocked on door several times.
Got no answer. Drove off. I’ve reached out to State Police to confirm it
was their guys.


and Jeff also forwarded in this email this just released press release: (in bold)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS:
November 5, 2007 Trooper Mark T. Dorencz
Safety Education Officer
Illinois State Police - District 5
(815) 726-6377 Ext. 271

Master Sergeant Luis Gutierrez
Public Information Office
(312) 814-8367

JOLIET - On Monday, November 5, 2007 at approximately 11:00 am, the Illinois State Police (ISP) and Bolingbrook Police Department, in conjunction with several local law enforcement agencies have conducted and concluded the searches of nine areas of interest established by the ongoing missing person investigation. Each area of interest was assigned a team, which was comprised of approximately seven law enforcement officers and one canine unit. The ISP also utilized an airplane to assist with an aerial search of these areas. The missing person investigation of Stacy Peterson is still ongoing.

A new tip line, (815) 740 – 0678 has been established by the ISP to address any new information the public may have reference the Stacy Peterson Missing Person Investigation. The caller is required to leave a name, telephone number and a brief but detailed description of the information they wish to provide.

[Pauli]

http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/romeoville/homepage/x1086968072 (http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/romeoville/homepage/x1086968072)

Peterson’s neighbor committed to finding missing woman

By Don Grigas, dgrigas@mysuburbanlife.com (dgrigas@mysuburbanlife.com)
GateHouse News Service
Mon Nov 05, 2007, 05:22 PM CST


Romeoville, IL -

Sharon Bychowski, next-door neighbor to Stacy Peterson — the Bolingbrook mother of two who has been missing since Oct. 28 — said she is committed to finding Peterson and bringing her “back home.”

“There is no question, we will eventually find Stacy and bring her home,” said Bychowski. “I think I’ve slept two hours in four days, but I don’t care. I owe Stacy that much.”

Bychowski has spearheaded an effort by local volunteers to search for Peterson, and over the weekend more than 75 volunteers searched area wetlands, parks and lakes seeking clues into Peterson’s disappearance.

The search turned up no clues.

But by Monday afternoon, a team from Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit organization specializing in conducting searches for missing persons, had arrived in Bolingbrook to set up headquarters at a local church, Bychowski said.

“They are out now establishing a headquarters at a local church and will be out looking for Stacy again tomorrow morning,” she said.

A man who identified himself as a member of the search team specializing in underwater sonar said Monday’s windy conditions would delay the search operation until Tuesday.

Illinois State Police spokesman Trooper Mark Dorencz said state investigators had searched seven locations unsuccessfully on Monday.

Stacy Peterson, 23, wife of Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, was reported missing by family members seven days ago.

Stacy’s sister, Cassandra Cales, said the last telephone contact she had with her sister was at about 10 a.m. Sunday. After that, all attempts to reach Stacy by cell phone were unsuccessful.

Drew Peterson, a 29-year veteran on the Bolingbrook Police Department, said he spoke to Stacy at about 9 p.m. Sunday, at which time he said Stacy told him she had left him.

At 4 a.m. Monday, family members filed a missing persons report with Illinois State Police.

Family members and friends close to Stacy said she never would have left her two children, Lacy, 2, and Anthony, 4, regardless of the circumstances.

Cales recently said she does not believe her sister is still alive.

“Whether or not I think Drew had anything to do with the disappearance is irrelevant. What is important is that Stacy felt threatened, and recently told me if she were to disappear, it would not be the result of an accident,” Bychowski said.

Stacy Peterson recently told Bychowski she wanted to get out of the marriage, Bychowski said.

Stacy Peterson first met Drew Peterson when she was 17, but over the last six years “Stacy had matured and wanted to get out,” Bychowski said.

Bychowski spent the last two days organizing volunteers from the garage attached to their home, and over two days more than 75 volunteers fanned out to walk through wetlands, parks and along bodies of water seeking clues into Stacey’s disappearance and distributing hundreds of fliers.

Bychowski said she knew Stacy and Drew Peterson for more than three years and Stacy “was a feisty person, quite a person” who regularly visited the Bychowski home.

“Her two children, Lacy and Anthony, were always here and Stacy came over almost daily. Sometimes she would cook for us in our kitchen,” said Bychowski.

Bychowski said she does not believe Drew Peterson’s story that Stacy called him Sunday night and told him she was leaving him for another man.

“That whole story is a farce, a bunch of bologna,” she said.

On Thursday, investigators from the Illinois State Police executed a search warrant for the Peterson home at 6 Pheasant Chase Court.

After a five-hour search, two vehicles were impounded, as well as cartons of other items. State police have not released the contents of the cartons removed from the Peterson home.

“Prior to the search warrant being executed, Drew came over and asked me if I would move his car into our driveway for him. I told him he could move it into the driveway but not the garage. We weren’t going to hide his car for him,” Bychowski said.

“I just didn’t feel comfortable with that request,” she said.

Shortly after Stacy Peterson was listed as missing, Bychowski said, Drew Peterson was asked for a photograph of Stacy Peterson to advertise her disappearance.

“He said he didn’t have one, even though the family went on a cruise recently in which Stacy personally told me she spent about $500 on photographs. To say there was no photograph of Stacy was ridiculous,” Bychowski said.

Authorities continue to list the case as that of a missing person, not a criminal investigation.

Last week the Will County state’s attorney’s office began re-examining the March 2004 case in which Drew Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, died in her bathtub while the two were going through a divorce.

According to Chuck Pelkie, spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office, “unique and unusual circumstances” surrounding Savio’s death triggered a review of the case.

Attempts to reach the Will County state’s attorney’s office today were unsuccessful.

Bychowski said the goal of the intensified search — she said EquuSearch has, in the past, provided up to 1,500 people as volunteers — is to keep the case fresh and in the public’s eye.

“All it could take is one small clue, something someone might have missed, to help locate Stacy,” Bychowski said.

Last week state police also searched local ponds without success.

Bychowski, who said the four children living in the Peterson home now are being cared for by one of Drew Peterson’s adult sons living in North Aurora, said she no longer is in contact with Drew Peterson.

“When he publicly said Stacy left him and implied she was with someone else, I couldn’t believe it. Drew just threw her under the bus, then backed up over her a few times,” she said.

[Pauli]

Smaller-Than-Expected Crew Continues Search For Peterson

Mom Missing Since Oct. 29


POSTED: 1:32 pm CST November 6, 2007
UPDATED: 2:11 pm CST November 6, 2007
BOLINGBROOK -- A smaller-than-expected group of about 40 volunteer searchers turned out today to poke through brush near the Des Plaines River in hopes of finding out what happened to missing Bolingbrook mom Stacy Peterson.

The cold, windy conditions kept a volunteer group, Texas Equusearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team, from using search dogs, horses and an aerial drone in the hunt for the 23-year-old Peterson, who was reported missing on Oct. 29.

That left the bulk of the searching up to about 40 volunteers who gathered at a Bolingbrook church this morning, then spread out to several sites in the Bolingbrook area.

That number “is far less than what we anticipated,” said Tim Miller, director of the Texas-based search team.

“We’re kind of getting off to a slow start, a cold start,” Miller added.

One group of about 15 searchers waded through brush and tall grass along a utility right-of-way not far from the Des Plaines River near Romeoville.

“That wasn’t easy at all,” said Fred Stanford, as he pushed through brush 10 feet tall.

Aside from finding several old shotgun shells and a few empty, rusting 55-gallon drums, the searchers there turned up no signs of Peterson by 11:15 a.m.

Some searchers knew Peterson while others like Stanford were strangers but wanted to help.

“I just live in the area and think it’s my duty to get out and do this,” said Stanford, a Bolingbrook resident.

Suz Elder, who brought her granddaughter along with her in the search, went to church with Peterson and decided she should do what she can to find the missing woman.

“She’s a friend of mine,” Elder said. “I guess we’re just trying to eliminate the places she could be."
http://www.nbc5.com/news/14524507/detail.html?dl=headlineclick

[Pauli]

Peterson searchers include group on horseback

By Matthew Walberg and Erika Slife | Tribune staff reporters 1:38 PM CST, November 7, 2007 Volunteers on foot and horseback, in boats and airplanes, resumed their search Wednesday morning for Stacy Peterson, 23, the Bolingbrook mother who has been missing for 11 days.

Close to 60 volunteers turned out, including a team of eight women and their horses from the Fox Valley Trail Riders. The women--carrying machetes, pliers and fence cutters--are experienced in clearing brush, said Marni McClennan, owner of Newark-based Saddle Up Stables and organizer of the equestrian search group.

Meanwhile, volunteers with sonar equipment resumed their search of a nearby body of water on private property in Plainfield, said Dennis Watters, of St. Louis, who volunteered the use of his equipment. "I think we're going to pick up where we left off yesterday."

Tim Miller, director of the non-profit search and rescue group Texas EquuSearch, which is organizing the volunteer effort, said dogs and all-terrain vehicles were also in use this morning at four locations, and he expected a helicopter and small plane would scan the areas this afternoon.

"Everyday we'll generate more people, and it will get bigger and bigger and that's good," Miller said. "There's a lot of strength in numbers, and the more area we cover, the chances are we come up with something."

Police suspended their search effort Wednesday morning in order to review evidence that has been collected, said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez.

"They're re-evaluating all the evidence they have and are deciding where to go with the case," Gutierrez said. He said he did not know whether there was a possibility that the case could be reclassified as a death investigation or a criminal investigation today.

Stacy Peterson was last seen by her husband, veteran Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, on Oct. 28 when she left the couple's home on Pheasant Chase Court to help her sister Cassandra Cales paint a home.

Drew Peterson, 53, told police he last heard from her that night, when she called him on her cell phone.

He later said his wife called to tell him that she was leaving him, and that he believed she was with someone else--a statement her family disputes. She is Peterson's fourth wife.

Gutierrez would not discuss what investigators took from the Peterson home late Tuesday night when they executed a second search warrant at that location in less than a week. He said police were inside the residence for about 90 minutes and no one was home at the time.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson-search_webnov08,0,2529891.story

[Pauli]

Search for Peterson widens with boats, horses, ATVs

http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/romeoville/content/sites/woc_bolingbrook/petersondisappearance/0/g1100cdee1d19acba3d4dbba975d459752115d47863741b.jp g (http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/romeoville/content/sites/woc_bolingbrook/petersondisappearance/0/g258258e6441f88175b6a36a3e1b64c4d5ce1ed94b6635d.jp g)Photo by Don Grigas
Volunteers gather in Veterans Woods off Joliet Road near Bolingbrook to conduct an on-foot search of the woods for clues in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson Wednesday.

By Don Grigas, Bolingbrook Reporter
Dozens of volunteers fanned out throughout the Bolingbrook and Romeoville area by 10 a.m. Wednesday, targeting a handful of sites organizers hope will lead them to Stacy Peterson, the 23-year old mother of two who was reported missing Oct. 29.

Teams of searchers prepared to work on foot, horseback and in boats looking for clues into Peterson’s disappearance.

Texas EquuSearch is coordinating the volunteer effort while state police are in charge of an investigation into the disappearance of Peterson, who is married to Sgt. Drew Peterson, 53, a 29-year veteran of the Bolingbrook Police Department.

The state police and Texas EquuSearch are not working together.

Texas EquuSearch began searching for clues into Peterson’s disappearance on Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday morning teams of searchers were heading to several target sites, including Veterans Woods in Romeoville and a Plainfield-based private fishing and hunting club near 135th Street and Essington Road.

“We spent a few hours at the private club yesterday before our motor went out, but it is too good a site to pass up because there are so many little secluded slivers of water inlets, so I’ll spend as much time as I can there today,” said Dennis Watters, a professional fisherman from Moro, Ill., who made the trip to Bolingbrook Monday.

Watters said his sophisticated sonar can detect shapes up to depths of 80 feet.
“If someone made a mistake and put Stacy’s body underwater, I’ll find her, even if she is submerged in algae or mud,” Watters said.

Watters did not identify the private club in Plainfield, but said an official of the club told EquuSearch team members Drew Peterson had made inquiries into using the club “to go shooting,” Watters said.

Watters did not say how recent Peterson’s inquiries were, and club officials could not be reached for comment.

Mark Rogowski, an employee at the U.S. Postal Service branch in Bolingbrook, said he arrived by 8 a.m. at EquuSearch command headquarters to volunteer.

“I know if it were my sister or niece, I would want others to help find her,” said Rogowski, a Joliet resident.

Rogowski said he was using a day off to volunteer, and might return on Sunday if the search continues.

Bolingbrook resident Josh Giovenco, an employee with Naperville-based Platinum Care, an ambulance service, said he volunteered because he knew Stacy Peterson when she was a freshman attending Bolingbrook High School.

About eight people on horseback were given assignments to look into areas that might not be easily accessible on foot.

“All-terrain vehicles can get to some steep areas and hard-to-walk areas, but in ravines and other steep areas vehicles can roll over. Horses are more dependable,” said Marni McClennan, owner of Saddle Up Stables in Newark, Ill.

Searchers also were scheduled to work at Hidden Lakes Historic Trout Farm, a Bolingbrook Park District site near Boughton Road and Schmidt Road, said Tom Carstens, deputy director of the Park District.

“We received a call today asking permission to search the lakes, and we gave them permission. They will be on the lakes with small Johnny boats,” Carstens said.

Stacy Peterson has been missing since Oct. 28 when her sister, Cassandra Cales, said she last spoke to her at about 10 a.m.

Drew Peterson said he last heard from his wife at about 9 that evening.
Stacy’s family filed a missing persons report with the Illinois State Police at about 4 a.m. Oct. 29.

Illinois State Police say they are treating it as a case of a missing person, and within the last week have executed search warrants for the Peterson home at 6 Pheasant Chase Court in Bolingbrook.

Last week the Will County State’s Attorney’s office said it would re-examine the case in which Drew Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, died in her bath tub in March 2004.
The Will County Coroner’s office listed the death as accidental.



http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/romeoville/homepage/x1375677846

[Pauli]

Stacy Peterson's husband visits courts complex

Drew Peterson's lawyers: 'Nothing to say'


November 7, 2007
BY DAN ROZEK (drozek@suntimes.com), JOE HOSEY AND STEFANO ESPOSITO (sesposito@suntimes.com)
The police sergeant husband of missing Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson visited the Will County courthouse complex in Joliet for about two hours this afternoon.

A grand jury is meeting in the building he entered, which also houses the Will County State's Attorney's offices.

http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/110707drewct.jpg_20071107_17_58_26_70-116-165.imageContent (javascript:dc_popup_win('http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/639882,110707dpeterson.fullimage', 'fullimage', 'toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,m enubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=650,hei ght=650'))Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, whose wife Stacy has been missing since Oct. 28, leaves a Will County building in Joliet with his lawyers Wednesday afternoon.

(Rich Hein/Sun-Times)


But neither Sgt. Drew Peterson nor the two lawyers who accompanied him would say what they were doing there.

"This is an on-going investigation," said attorney Fred Morelli. "We have nothing to say."

Drew Peterson -- clean shaven and dressed in a dark suit and tie -- would not respond to repeated questions from reporters. Moments later -- about 3:30 p.m. -- the sergeant and his lawyers left the courthouse complex in a gray Volkswagen.

State police investigators have said Drew Peterson is not considered a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, who was last heard from by family Oct. 28.

Drew Peterson's ex-wife, Kathleen Savio, drowned in her bathtub in 2004. In light of Stacy Peterson's disappearance, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has said they are reviewing the circumstances of her death.

In a late development Tuesday night, Illinois State Police investigators executed a search warrant at the home Stacy Peterson shared with her husband. Authorities offered no details on what they were seeking.

Earlier Tuesday, a smaller-than-expected group of 50 volunteers searched grassy areas along the Des Plaines River near Romeoville and a section of Veterans Woods Forest Preserve, but found no sign of the 23-year-old Stacy Peterson.

The poor weather conditions were blamed for keeping volunteers away and for preventing the all-volunteer Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team from using its search dogs and an aerial drone.

"We will continue until we find Stacy," said Pam Bosco, a family spokeswoman. "I do believe in the end we will have answers.'"
The search continued today.

Police apparently returned to Peterson's Bolingbrook home late Tuesday afternoon. Two investigators walked around the home's fenced backyard, but didn't enter the home, neighbors said.

Stacy Peterson was last seen Oct. 28 at the home, where she resides with Drew Peterson, their two young children and Drew Peterson's two sons from a previous marriage. Drew Peterson has said he believes his wife left voluntarily, possibly because she had become involved with another man.

Her relatives, though, have disputed that claim, saying she wouldn't leave her children. She had told them in recent days that she feared her husband and planned to divorce him.

Will County authorities expect to soon question her two stepchildren - ages 12 and 15 - to see if they can offer any information that will help solve her disappearance.

"We have plans to do that in the very near future," said Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow. "We want to find out what the kids know about [her] disappearance.''

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/639607,peterson110707.article

[Pauli]

Wife #4’s disappearance raises questions about #3

Stacy Peterson’s relatives say she was unhappy, but would have taken kids

Nov. 7: Investigators search the home of a Chicago police sergeant whose wife has disappeared. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.
Today show

By Mike Celizic

TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 8:50 a.m. CT, Wed., Nov. 7, 2007

Stacy Peterson wanted out of a marriage to a police sergeant 30 years her senior, but she would not have left her suburban Chicago home without her kids, her half sister told TODAY on Wednesday.

“I don’t believe she would ever leave her children,” Kerry Simmons told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira. “She loved those kids to death.”

The 23-year-old Peterson is the fourth wife of Bolingbrook, Ill., Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, 53. Stacy Peterson’s disappearance has prompted new questions about the death of Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub shortly after Peterson told her he was having an affair with Stacy and had gotten her pregnant.

The 2004 death was ruled an accidental drowning, although the tub was bone-dry when Savio's nude body was found in it.

Stacy Peterson had two children by Drew Peterson, Anthony, 4, and Lacy, 2. She was reported missing to Bolingbrook police on Sunday, Oct. 28. Her husband said that she had told him two days earlier that she wanted a divorce. He said she went to help friends paint their house and never returned.

Police initially treated it as a missing person’s case, not searching the couple’s home until last Thursday. Her family and friends, though, are convinced that the young woman is dead and that her husband is responsible.

“She told many [people] that if anything happened to her, it was not an accident,” one relative told NBC News.

Simmons confirmed that, telling Vieira, “It was the end of pretty much every conversation that we had when we were together or when we spoke on the phone, that one day if she never answered her phone or if we ever couldn’t get ahold of her, we would need to look for her, that something happened.”

Debby Forgue, Stacy Peterson’s stepsister, told Vieira that the missing woman had said the same things to her.

Deteriorating marriage
Friends and family members have told the media that Stacy Peterson, who had been abandoned by her own mother in 1998, had fallen in love with Drew Peterson when she was 19. They have said that the marriage was happy at first, but after the birth of her two children, she had complained that her husband was controlling and abusive and would not allow her to go anywhere without him. They said she kept a journal documenting the deteriorating marriage.

Stacy Peterson’s family has been searching for her from the beginning, recently enlisting the help of EquuSearch, a Texas-based volunteer search and recovery organization. More than a week after she was reported missing, the Illinois State Police joined the search, although they are still treating the disappearance as a missing person's case. In addition to two searches of the couple’s home, police divers have also searched a pond at a nearby airport where Drew Peterson has a small airplane.

The police sergeant has not helped in the search, maintaining that his wife told him she was leaving him. “I believe she's not missing,” he told reporters in Illinois. “She's where she wants to be. I have no reason to suspect foul play."

Drew Peterson still has custody of the children, and Forgue and Simmons said they have not been allowed to speak with them. Nor have they spoken with Drew Peterson.

“We haven’t spoke to him, we haven’t heard from him, he hasn’t been out there helping,” Simmons said. “Nothing.”

The sisters said that they are satisfied that police have finally taken the disappearance seriously, but admitted to frustration at the delays in starting a criminal investigation. Once Drew Peterson was considered a suspect, police also reopened the investigation into the death of his third wife. When Savio died, he collected a million-dollar insurance settlement.

While maintaining his innocence, Drew Peterson has taken to wearing sunglasses and a bandanna over his face when he goes out and has told reporters it’s to protect his identity.

Asked if he’s concerned about being the focus of the investigation, he told “The Chicago Tribune,” “Why should I be nervous? I did nothing wrong.”

Simmons and Forgue said if Stacy Peterson were still alive, she would have contacted friends and family.

“Hopefully, we’ll find her,” Simmons told Vieira, “but it doesn’t look good.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21668534/?GT1=10547

[Pauli]

Lots of leads on missing Bolingbrook woman (video)

http://cltv.trb.com/ (http://cltv.trb.com/)
Volunteers are making progress
Tim with TES told the reporter that a lot of leads are coming in and there have been a lot of developments. "I'm very optimistic that this case will be coming to a close shortly, not going to say today or tomorrow, but I think there are some things that are happening. I think we just need that little tiny bit of luck to go along with all these efforts and I think this is going to come to a close."

[Pauli]

Coroner Debates Cop's 3rd Wife's Cause Of Death

Volunteers Sought In Search For Bolingbrook Sergeant's Current Wife, Stacy Peterson

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― As the search for the missing wife of a Bolingbrook police sergeant enters its twelfth day, authorities have reopened the investigation into the death of the sergeant's previous wife.

As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, officials at the Will County State's Attorney's office are discussing the possible exhumation of the body of Kathleen Savio, the third wife of Sgt. Drew Peterson.

Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, has been missing for the past 12 days. One of her family member was glad that the investigation into Savio's death was being reopened.

"I'm glad that they went back to research that," said Stacy Peterson's friend Roy Taylor. "I'm glad that they didn't just worry about Stacy. Stacy's very important, obviously, but I'm glad that they went back, and maybe Kathleen's family can get some closure here as well."

Savio was found dead in a whirlpool-style bathtub in March 2004. At the time, it was ruled accidental, but on Wednesday, Will County Coroner Pat O'Neil released a written statement regarding her death.

It reads: "Certain aspects of Kathleen Savio's death raised concerns for me as well… it was my opinion that, at the very least, her death should have been ruled 'undetermined.' It must be noted that a state's attorney's office may file criminal charges in a case regardless of a ruling by a coroner's jury that a death is accidental."

No charges were originally filed in the case, but the current state's attorney has decided to reopen it in light of Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

Prosecutors are discussing whether to exhume Savio's body, and her sister told CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli she hopes they will.

Three and a half years after Kathleen Savio was found dead, her sister, Anna Doman, is speaking out for the first time for her desire to see her youngest sister exhumed from her eternal resting place.

Her sister says Kathleen always lived in fear of her husband.

"She came right here and told me. Oh, yeah, she said 'take care of my boys and I want you to make sure you get these papers because I want you to go get him," Anna Doman said.

So that's why this sister is releasing the letter Savio wrote to the state's attorney, in the hopes that authorities will exhume Kathleen's body and find out exactly how she died.

Anna Doman says Kathleen always believed that her husband, Drew Peterson, would hurt her.

"She told me she'd never make it to the end of the divorce. She'd never make the property settlement," Anna Doman said. "That's a shame."

Anna Doman said Kathleen Savio told her she knew she would be killed. And although she's never said publicly that she believed Drew Peterson killed Kathleen, she's not holding back anymore.

When asked if she thinks Drew Peterson killed Kathleen Savio, Anna Doman said, "It's hard to say… yeah, I do. …He had the most to gain – money."

She says there was $1 million in life insurance and a more than $600,000 estate that stood to be divided.

"She would have gotten half. Instead she got none," Anna Doman said. "He got it all."

Records show Savio obtained an order of protection against Drew Peterson in 2002, alleging a pattern of abusing and threats. She did the same in a letter to a prosecutor, written 16 months before she died.

"He knows how to manipulate the system, and his next step is to take my children away, or kill me instead," Savio wrote in the letter. "I haven't received help from the police here in Bolingbrook and am asking for your help before it's too late."

Also in the letter, Savio accuses Drew Peterson of violence, saying, "There have been several times throughout my marriage with this man where I ended up at the emergency room in Bolingbrook for injuries."

Drew Peterson said he had nothing to do with Kathleen's death. CBS 2 tried to reach him Thursday but he did not return calls. Anna Doman says she has not spoken to authorities since Stacy Peterson went missing, but says she is now ready to.

"How in the world could anyone say it was an accident?" Anna Doman said. "The cut was on the back of her head, and she was on her face in a waterless bathtub. Give me a break."

Meanwhile, professional searchers and volunteers continue to seek Stacy Peterson. Drew said she voluntarily left him, but her family says she would never have abandoned her children.

Stacy's disappearance remains a missing persons case, and Illinois State Police are investigating. They are conducting searches based on information that comes in, along with volunteers from the professional search group Texas Equusearch.

"By water, we've got a lot of different water areas that we're doing this sonar equipment. We're going to be back up in the air today with an airplane and a helicopter again," said Texas Equusearch founder Tim Miller. "I know her sister said, 'I can live with the fact that maybe she's dead, but I can't live with the fact that I'm not going to be able to say goodbye to her, so please don't quit.'"

On Wednesday, CBS 2 news partner the Naperville Sun saw Drew Peterson leaving the courthouse annex at 3:30 p.m. Published reports said he came for grand jury proceedings but officials would not confirm that.

But a friend of Drew Peterson's told a producer for the CBS Early Show that Peterson was in court and repeatedly pleaded the Fifth Amendment.

Volunteers are wanted for the search. To volunteer, come to the Westbrook Christian Church, at 1175 Lily Cache Lane in Bolingbrook. Organizers say volunteers may come anytime starting at 8 a.m.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/drew.peterson.wife.2.563488.html

[Pauli]

Volunteers continue search for Petersonhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-11/33696689.jpg

Horseback rider Cindy Broth keeps in contact Thursday with other searchers on her cell phone. Riders from the Fox Valley Trail Riders looked for any sign of Stacy Peterson, who was last seen Oct. 28, at the I&M Canal area near southwest suburban Lemont. (Tribune photo by John Smierciak / November 8, 2007)

By Matthew Walberg and Erika Slife | Tribune staff reporters 1:33 PM CST, November 8, 2007 About 60 volunteers resumed the search Thursday for Stacy Peterson, the Bolingbrook mother who was last seen Oct. 28 by her husband, Sgt. Drew Peterson.

Spearheaded by the rescue organization Texas EquuSearch, the volunteers were dispatched to areas throughout Will County on horseback, on foot and by boat.

Rebecca Marinellie, 18, of Lockport, showed up to the makeshift command center at Westbrook Christian Church on Lily Cache Lane on Thursday shivering in jeans and a light sweatshirt. Marinellie said she met Peterson, 23, through nursing classes at Joliet Junior College and wanted to help.

"I know Stacy from my class. She struck me as the nicest person in the world," she said. "I was talking about a problem with a classmate one day, and she jumped in to help me, and she didn't even know me."

Roy Taylor, whose mother lives next door to the Petersons and who is helping orchestrate the search, said organizers Thursday were most worried about feeding their volunteers. All week, local businesses have been donating lunch, or volunteers have picked up the tab.

"We need food," he said. "We'll have all these volunteers come back for lunch, and we'll have nothing to feed them. Yesterday, we were able to hook it up. Today, it's not looking good."

Meanwhile, boaters used sonar equipment to search the Elmhurst Chicago Stone Quarry in Plainfield.

Taylor said the volunteers spent two days combing the marshes, but now were planning to move into deeper areas in the water-filled quarries.

One bright spot in the effort was a Wednesday night donation of an industrial printer, ink and 20,000 pieces of paper for fliers. Dave Nolen, who recently moved to the area from Cleveland, told organizers he saw a flier this week and wanted to help, Taylor said.

For the most part, volunteers tried to keep their spirits up, but Taylor acknowledged it was getting harder to hold onto hope they would find Peterson alive.

"I [would be] happy to have her call and say she's in Hawaii having a great time, but at this point, I don't think it's going to happen," he said.

He criticized Peterson's husband for his lack of support in the search.

"He has not taken any part of this. He has not gone on TV to plead for her to come home," he said. "He has done nothing but protect his own [rear]."

Peterson, 53, has been out of sight in recent days except for a visit Wednesday afternoon to the Will County Courthouse.

Illinois State Police officials continue to point out that the disappearance of Stacy Peterson – who is Drew Peterson's fourth wife -- is not even a criminal investigation; it remains a missing person case.

Will County state's attorney's officials have, however, said they're reinvestigating the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40, who divorced Peterson shortly before she was found dead in a bathtub at her Bolingbrook home in 2004.

Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil said late Wednesday he disagreed with the finding of an inquest that her death was an accident.

"It was my opinion that, at the very least, her death should have been ruled 'undetermined,'" O'Neil said in a statement.

Savio's family believed the death was suspicious, O'Neil noted. Her family, which has furnished a copy of her autopsy report to the Tribune, welcomed the reopening of the investigation and said it begged police at the time not to close the case.

Previous descriptions of the scene have noted that while the bathtub was dry, Savio's hair was soaking wet. But the autopsy states that her hair was "soaked with blood." It notes a one-inch laceration on the back of her head and numerous small bruises and abrasions all over her body.

No evidence of drugs or alcohol were found in her system, according to the report. The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy said the cause of death was drowning and wrote that the "laceration to the posterior scalp may have been related to a fall in which she struck her head."

O'Neil noted that if a recent state law allowing coroners to bypass the jury process were in place in 2004, the ruling would have been different.

He said he had "every confidence the police agency [Illinois State Police] that investigated the case would present its reports to the Will County state's attorney's office for review." Jeff Tomczak was state's attorney at that time, and O'Neil said that any criminal charges would have been his responsibility, and that criminal charges could be lodged regardless of a coroner's jury ruling.

Officials in current State's Atty. James Glasgow's office have discussed the possibility of exhuming her body.

"Are we open to it? Are you kidding?" asked her sister, Anna Marie Doman. "She'd be having a party up there. I know [exhumation] is kind of creepy, but if that's what it takes, that's what it takes."

Medical records and letters obtained from Savio's relatives outline a pattern of alleged abuse and frustration with a lack of action by Bolingbrook police.

In a November 2002 letter to a Will County assistant state's attorney, Savio mentioned Peterson's relationship with his current wife.

"When I found out Mr. Peterson was having an affair with a minor . . . he began to get very violent," she wrote. "Their [sic] has been several times throughout my marriage with this man where I ended up at the emergency room in Bolingbrook for injuries, and I have reported this only to have police leave my home without filing any reports."

Bolingbrook police officials issued a statement this week in which they confirmed 18 domestic calls to the home, but said they always investigated fully. They also noted that they turned the Savio investigation over to the state police, as they have the Stacy Peterson disappearance.

Peterson's mother, Betty Morphey, said her son has done nothing wrong. "I stick by him 100 percent, like any mother would," she said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_08nov08,0,638225.story?page=2&coll=chi_tab01_layout

[Pauli]

November 8th, 2007 1:33 PM Eastern
Prosecutor Wants Kathleen Savio Exhumed (http://colbyfiles.blogs.foxnews.com/2007/11/08/prosecutor-wants-kathleen-savio-exhumed/)

by Jamie Colby
Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s investigation into the 2004 death of Kathleen Savio, Drew Peterson’s third wife takes a new turn this hour.

His office is speaking right now to the Savio family about exhuming Kathleen’s body. The Savio family has already said publicly they support the exhumation of Kathleen’s remains for further review.

The prosecutor is not obligated to get the family’s permission to do this but his office tells me he believes this is the right thing to do. What can be learned by looking at Kathleen Savio’s remains three years later? A second autopsy might not be possible but her remains could be thoroughly re-examined. The prosecutor is also not bound by the determination of the jury that heard the inquest and ruled her death an accidental drowning.

I’m also being told for the first time today that the Illinois State Police visited the previous State’s Attorney Jeff Tomczak within days of Savio’s death in 2004 “seeking guidance”. I’ve also learned that Tomczak’s file on the case is slim…there is very little paperwork available on that meeting with police or whatever investigation previous State’s Attorney Jeff Tomczak conducted. Why is that? One source suggests Drew Peterson may have had “connections” that limited the scope but I see no concrete proof of that.

My sense is for the Savio family the current State’s Attorney James Glasgow is giving the case the review it should have had initially.

Stacy Peterson’s disappearance is still being classified a “missing persons” case. I believe it is significant that the two Peterson cars taken by police a week ago have not been released. It’s been reported too that when police returned to the Peterson home executing a second search warrant they found what they were looking for.

I’ve asked a neighbor of Stacy how the children are doing. They are staying with Drew Peterson’s son Steve who is a police officer and is married. His wife works with the FBI. This neighbor believes the kids may have been interviewed by authorities. This would not be uncommon but Illinois police are not commenting on this part of their investigation.

Stacy’s neighbor tells me she believes Drew has found safe haven with former Bolingbrook police officer Mike Robinson and that Robinson has provided Drew she says with new cell phone and car. I’ve called Drew at home and the answering machine has an outgoing message from Stacy.

http://colbyfiles.blogs.foxnews.com/

[Pauli]

Kathleen (Peterson) Savio from America's most wanted:

http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=50297 (http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=50297)

Breakdown:

http://www.amw.com/pdf/peter001.PDF (http://www.amw.com/pdf/peter001.PDF)

http://www.amw.com/pdf/petersonletter.pdf (http://www.amw.com/pdf/petersonletter.pdf)

http://www.amw.com/pdf/petersonemergency.pdf (http://www.amw.com/pdf/petersonemergency.pdf)

[Pauli]

Thursday, November 8, 2007 3:45 PM CST
Searchers believe missing woman is dead, hope to find clue

By DON BABWIN

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. - They believe they're looking for a body now.

Nobody scours the woods, peering behind bushes, or watches divers bob in a retention pond for somebody who is alive.

And they look in the windows of her house and they think the answer could be in there, behind those curtains. Stacy Peterson's friends and family just can't shake the notion that her husband could help them determine the 23-year-old mother of two's whereabouts.

"We all know she's dead. She wouldn't leave her kids," said Jim Murray, 38, who spent Thursday traipsing through an overgrown field about a mile from the couple's home looking for signs of the missing woman. "If we thought she was alive, we wouldn't be out here."

Peterson, a petite brunette who was studying nursing at a nearby junior college, was last seen Oct. 28. Authorities on Thursday still classified the case as a missing person _ not criminal _ investigation.

But they also have started looking again at the death of one her husband's three ex-wives, whose death in a bathtub three years ago was ruled accidental, and are considering exhuming the body.

In the days since her disappearance, much attention has centered on Peterson's husband, Drew, a 53-year-old police officer who began dating Stacy when she was just 17. On Thursday, some of the 60 searchers who combed area fields, waterways and construction sites, said Drew Peterson's own actions _ and inaction _ have left them angry.

"He has not taken part (in) anything to help us locate her," said Roy Taylor, whose mother moved next door to the Petersons' house four years ago. "He has not gone on television, pleading with her to come home. He has done nothing..."

In the immediate aftermath of his wife's disappearance, Peterson told reporters the two talked on the phone the day she disappeared and that he believed she was with another man. But he has not spoken publicly in several days.

He added to the strangeness of the case by standing outside his house as police served a search warrant, a bandanna covering much of his face, his eyes behind sunglasses and wearing a baseball cap. He since has been away from the home, presumably staying elsewhere with the couple's 2- and 4-year-old children.

He did appear at the Will County courthouse in Joliet for two hours Wednesday, but his attorney would not say why he was there.

Meanwhile, the Will County State's Attorney's office has not said much about their probe of the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose bloody and bruised body was found in her bathtub in 2004.

A coroner's jury said her drowning death was accidental, even though no water was found in the tub. But this week the Will County Coroner added to speculation about the case when he said Savio's death should instead have been ruled "undetermined."

"Certain aspects of Kathleen Savio's death raised concerns for me, as well," Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil said.

On Thursday afternoon, it appeared likely county state's attorney's office would have her body exhumed.

"What we're doing now is taking a look at what is legally required to move forward with the exhumation of a body and talk to the appropriate family members," said Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for the office. "We need to talk to the appropriate family members. We have heard they would agree to go ahead with this and we want to talk to them."

Drew Peterson has denied involvement in either case.

While he has said he thinks his wife left him for another man and is alive, family friends don't believe that is true.

"I'm hoping to get a call from her in Hawaii, but I don't think that's the case," said Taylor, who has helped marshall volunteers to look for the woman. "We hope she's alive, but with all the evidence here, we don't think that's the case."

The Illinois State Police would not comment on whether there has been any indication Stacy Peterson is alive, such as use of her cell phone or credit cards. It has, though, said officers with cadaver dogs have conducted several ground searches and a search of a retention pond near the Petersons' home.

And Thursday, the agency that has used dogs, divers, ATVs and an airplane in the search, announced it has started coordinating efforts with a private search organization, Texas EquuSearch.

As he helped search a field just blocks from the Petersons' home, Joshua Giovenco, a paramedic who went to school with Stacy Peterson, didn't sound optimistic she was alive or that volunteers would find a body.

But, he said, "I want to find something that will help the investigation," he said. "We search for anything we can get."
http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2007/11/08/ap-state-il/d8spnuhg0.txt

[Pauli]

Peterson's 3rd wife was 'terrified'

She feared husband, sister told inquest

By Matthew Walberg and Erika Slife | Tribune staff reporters
11:09 PM CST, November 8, 2007 Susan Savio told a coroner's jury in 2004 that her sister Kathleen Savio believed if something should happen to her, her death would only look like an accident.

Kathleen Savio, 40, was found dead in her bathtub in March 2004, her hair soaked with blood, just weeks before a financial settlement of a divorce with her husband, Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, was to be finalized.

Susan Savio told the six-person jury when she learned of her sister's death, "I asked if her ex-husband killed her," according to a transcript released Thursday. "The reason I asked that is . . . they were divorced, but they did not settle anything [financially] . . . and she was terrified of that—him and him threatening her."

The jury ruled the death was accidental. On Wednesday, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil—who conducted the inquest—questioned the ruling, saying the death at least should have been ruled "undetermined."

O'Neil's statement prompted one juror Thursday to ask why the coroner did not express misgivings at the time.

"If the coroner thought we were wrong, why didn't he say something?" Walter James asked. "The choices we had were that it was accidental, homicide or suicide. But now I'm hearing . . . that you can say 'undetermined.' And I don't think [O'Neil] indicated that at the time I was on the inquest. I think if that had been brought up, or had been available at the time, that's the way I would have gone myself."

Kathleen Savio was Peterson's third wife. His fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing for nearly two weeks, and the extensive search for her continued Thursday.

Drew Peterson, 53, told police he last saw her the morning of Oct. 28, and last spoke with her by cell phone that night. He said his wife told him she was leaving him for someone else.

Authorities have said Peterson is cooperating with police. A source close to the investigation said Thursday that Drew Peterson's two teenage sons from his marriage to Kathleen Savio voluntarily talked to police about Stacy Peterson.

Her disappearance has prompted intense scrutiny of her husband's background, bringing Kathleen Savio's case to light once more.

The state's attorney's office said it was carefully reviewing whether to exhume Savio's body.

"The decision hasn't formally been made yet, but we're talking very seriously about the legal steps that need to be taken to move forward with an exhumation," said Charles Pelkie, spokesman for State's Atty. James Glasgow.

"We want to make sure that we're taking the right steps and that it's done in a dignified and proper way."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_09nov09,0,1096979.story?coll=chi_tab01_la yout

[Pauli]

His whereabouts were totally accounted for"
chicagotribune.com
Third wife was 'terrified'
Savio feared husband, sister told inquest
By Matthew Walberg and Erika Slife

Tribune staff reporters

November 9, 2007

Susan Savio told a coroner's jury in 2004 that her sister Kathleen Savio believed if something should happen to her, her death would only look like an accident.

Kathleen Savio, 40, was found dead in her bathtub in March 2004, her hair soaked with blood, just weeks before a financial settlement of a divorce with her husband, Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, was to be finalized.

Susan Savio told the six-person jury when she learned of her sister's death, "I asked if her ex-husband killed her," according to a transcript released Thursday. "The reason I asked that is ... they were divorced, but they did not settle anything [financially] ... and she was terrified of that -- him and him threatening her."

The jury ruled the death was accidental. On Wednesday, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil -- who conducted the inquest -- questioned the ruling, saying the death at least should have been ruled "undetermined."

O'Neil's statement prompted one juror Thursday to ask why the coroner did not express misgivings at the time.

"If the coroner thought we were wrong, why didn't he say something?" Walter James asked. "The choices we had were that it was accidental, homicide or suicide. But now I'm hearing ... that you can say 'undetermined.' And I don't think [O'Neil] indicated that at the time I was on the inquest. I think if that had been brought up, or had been available at the time, that's the way I would have gone myself."

Kathleen Savio was Peterson's third wife. His fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing for nearly two weeks, and the extensive search for her continued Thursday.

Drew Peterson, 53, told police he last saw her the morning of Oct. 28, and last spoke with her by cell phone that night. He said his wife told him she was leaving him for someone else.

Authorities have said Peterson is cooperating with police. A source close to the investigation said Thursday that Drew Peterson's two teenage sons from his marriage to Kathleen Savio voluntarily talked to police about Stacy Peterson.

Her disappearance has prompted intense scrutiny of her husband's background, bringing Kathleen Savio's case to light once more. The state's attorney's office said it was carefully reviewing whether to exhume Savio's body.

"The decision hasn't formally been made yet, but we're talking very seriously about the legal steps that need to be taken to move forward with an exhumation," said Charles Pelkie, spokesman for State's Atty. James Glasgow. "We want to make sure that we're taking the right steps and that it's done in a dignified and proper way."

Anna Marie Doman, another sister of Kathleen Savio, confirmed she spoke with Glasgow Thursday.

"That's exactly what [Glasgow] told me," Doman said. "He said no papers have been filed, but they're checking out all the legal avenues. They need a court order, and they haven't done that yet. It's looking like they probably will."

Glasgow reopened the Savio case, citing the unusual circumstances of her death. The state's attorney at that time was Jeff Tomczak.

"We know definitely that Illinois State Police sought the direction of the Will County state's attorney's office in this case within days of Kathleen Savio's death," Pelkie said. "We don't know to what extent [the state police case] was reviewed by Tomczak's people. There is documentation here in the office that the state police had consulted with Jeff Tomczak's administration, but it's very scant." Kathleen Savio was found face down in an empty bathtub at her Bolingbrook home, her hair soaked in blood from a head wound. An autopsy determined she died of drowning, and a forensic pathologist concluded the wound was likely the result of a fall.

At the inquest, the jury was told that Kathleen Savio had more than $1 million in life insurance naming her sons as beneficiaries, and that she would have received the couple's $300,000 home in the divorce settlement.

Illinois State Police Special Agent Herbert *. Hardy told jurors that the sergeant's "whereabouts were totally accounted for" at the time of Kathleen Savio's death.

"We had all kinds of evidence, and all of us went through it," James, the inquest juror, told the Tribune. "We came to the conclusion that it was accidental due to the fact that the evidence we looked at did not indicate a homicide."

But James said the bloody bathtub gave him pause.

"I had some doubt as to what happened because the pictures that we did see, the tub was empty, but there was all kinds of blood still in the tub and all around the drain and the rim of the tub," James said. "I thought in the back of my mind that if there was water in the tub, that would have probably diluted some of the blood and the blood would have gone out with it. But as we looked at the pictures, there was still a lot of blood inside the tub.

Meanwhile, state police joined forces Thursday with Texas EquuSearch, a volunteer group that began looking for Stacy Peterson this week at her family's request. They are coordinating searches of key areas of interest based on the investigation, a police statement said.

Texas EquuSearch spokesman Gary Peterson said about 70 volunteers searched 30 to 40 areas by boat and foot Thursday but found nothing of note.

Pam Bosco, a spokeswoman for the Peterson family, said that the searches are not in vain and that the family remains hopeful.

"We know obviously where she's not. It helps us plan for tomorrow," she said. "There's always tomorrow."

More information has surfaced on Drew Peterson. According to court documents, Peterson was fired in 1985 after the Bolingbrook Fire and Police Commission found him guilty of official misconduct, disobedience, failure to report a bribe and self-assigned police action. At the time, he was part of the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad, working on a case against a reputed drug dealer.

In 1986, Peterson was reinstated shortly after a Will County judge overruled the commission's decision, said Gerard Nowicki, who served on the panel. When asked if the commission agreed with the court's ruling, Nowicki flatly replied, "No." He declined to elaborate.

[Pauli]

Stacy Peterson Disappearance Called Homicide

Husband Drew Peterson Called Suspect By State Police

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― An Illinois State police captain said Friday that the Stacy Peterson case had gone "from a missing persons case to a potential homicide case," and that her husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, had "gone from being a person of interest to clearly being a suspect."

Stacy Peterson has been missing since Oct. 28, and at the time of her disappearance, Drew Peterson said she had been voluntarily left. Late Friday, the Bolingbrook Police Department suspended Peterson without pay in wake of the day's developments.

But after Stacy's family filed a missing persons report, police conducted two separate searches at the Peterson home, on the house, the vehicles, and a trailer, Illinois State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich said at a news conference Friday.

"Subsequent to that search warrant, we went back several days later on another search warrant based on information that was learned after the first search warrant," Dobrich said.

Based upon the information learned since then, police have concluded that the case had gone "from a missing persons case to a potential homicide case," Dobrich said.

"Early on, we looked at this as a missing persons case, but also believed strongly that based on the (Kathleen) Savio investigation (into the death of Drew Peterson's third wife) and the information that we were gleaning within the first 24 hours of the missing persons case with Stacy, was starting to strongly point to Drew Peterson being a person of interest," Dobrich said. "I would say that right now, Drew Peterson has gone from being a person of interest to clearly being a suspect."

Stacy Peterson's friends and family consider her disappearance highly suspicious.

Meanwhile, the DuPage County state's attorney's office has petitioned to exhume Kathleen Savio, who drowned in a bathtub three years ago. DuPage County coroner Peter Siekmann says he thinks a coroner's jury was mistaken when they declared her death accidental, and Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said that case was also likely a homicide. Read More Here (http://cbs2chicago.com/local/kathleen.savio.autopsy.2.564233.html)

Meanwhile, search crews continue to look for Stacy Peterson, and are asking for more volunteers.

"Today the search will continue, and tomorrow if we don't find anything today," said search team member Lisa Loper. "But we're also in great need of food and drinks for the volunteers."

Two teams of volunteers gathered Friday morning at Westbrook Christian Church, at 1175 Lily Cache Rd. in Bolingbrook. In addition to donations of food and drinks, they are looking for paper products – such as cups, plates and utensils, for the volunteers. Donations may be brought to Westbrook church.

As part of the search on Friday, volunteers will be using a powerful sonar boat in the historic Illinois and Michigan Canal, and a number of lakes yet to be determined.

Sonar boat owner Dennis Watters explained how he intends to help in the search.

"God forbid that she's in a lake or whatever," Watters said. "If she's in there, we will see her body. If we run across a car we see a car, we see boats."

Gary Peterson is a member of Equusearch, a volunteer organization from Texas helping in the search for Stacy Peterson. He said they will bring in a drone Friday afternoon that will be flying in the marshy area near Lemont.

"Each morning I pick three of four target areas, target priority areas that we want to search and we assign people and they go out and they search these pieces of property," Peterson said.

Drew Peterson has maintained that Stacy left him voluntarily and called him to say she had done so. But Stacy's family insists she would not have abandoned their children.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/stacy.peterson.search.2.564429.html

[Pauli]

Cops: Husband Is A Suspect In Wife's Disappearance

Stacy Peterson, the 23-year-old wife of longtime Bolingbrook, Ill. police officer Sgt. Drew Peterson, vanished on Sunday, October 28, 2007. Cops say that Stacy may have left the house in a jogging suit and was supposed to be headed to a relative's home. She never made it.

Sgt. Peterson claims he received a phone call from Stacy on Sunday at 9 pm. But, no one else heard from her after a Sunday morning phone call with relatives.

Stacy's family has asked the Illinois State Police to look into her disappearance since her husband is a cop with the local police department. State Police Commander Carl Dobrich announced that the Bolingbrook police officer is indeed a suspect in Stacy's disappearance.

Drew Peterson is 53-years-old. Stacy is his fourth wife. Sgt. Peterson has served on the Bolingbrook Police force for 29 years.

The Savio family, reacting to the news, told AMW that the exhumation will be "bittersweet because we will have to bury Kathleen again."
ISP Digs Up Old Mystery

Stacy's family says she would never leave her children behind and they fear the worst.

State investigators are trying to track down the missing woman and in the process are looking in to Sgt. Peterson's past. That includes the mysterious death of his third and previous wife, Kathleen Savio.

Kathleen's death in March 2004 was ruled an accidental drowning after she was found in the waterless tub of the home she shared with Sgt. Peterson. At the time of her death, Kathleen and Sgt. Peterson were divorced and settling their assets and custody of their two children.

A week and a half after the disappearance of Stacy, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil spoke publicly about the Savio death. He said that he would have preferred to classify Kathleen's cause of death as "undetermined" rather than "accidental." In 2004, coroners in Illinois deferred to jury panels to rule on deaths. In this case, the jury stated Kathleen's cause of death was accidental.

Now, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow says that because of Stacy's disappearance, new evidence has come to light about Kathleen's death. They have formally reopened the investigation and are exhuming Kathleen's body.

Authorities say the Savio death is rife with inconsistencies, including that the gash on the back of her head may not have been sufficient to render her unconscious. If she wasn't unconscious, cops say she would not have drowned accidentally. Investigators will be looking at Kathleen's remains to find any previously unseen broken bones or subcutaneous bruising that would result from choking and other injuries. In a November 9 press conference, Glasgow also cited the inconsistencies surrounding the draining of the bathtub's water and the blood evidence left behind.

The Savio family, reacting to the news, told AMW that the exhumation will be "bittersweet because we will have to bury Kathleen again." However, they also told us they are elated that Kathleen will finally see some long-awaited justice.
»PDF: Drew Peterson's Third Wife's Protection Order (http://www.amw.com/pdf/peter001.PDF)
»PDF: Letter To The Prosecutor From Third Wife Kathleen Savio (http://www.amw.com/pdf/petersonletter.pdf)
»PDF: Third Wife's Emergency Room Report (http://www.amw.com/pdf/petersonemergency.pdf)
»PDF: Will County Coroner's Statement About Kathleen Savio's Death (http://www.amw.com/pdf/petersoncoroner.pdf)
»PDF: Autopsy Report: Kathleen Savio (http://www.amw.com/pdf/coronerdeathreport.pdf)

Nearly Two Weeks With No Answers

As Stacy has remained missing for nearly two whole weeks, family, friends and cops are stepping the search up a notch.

Police have searched the Peterson home twice now, impounded their cars for further investigation and sent divers into a nearby retention pond in an effort to track down clues on the case. Sgt. Peterson also spent two hours testifying in front of a grand jury at the Will County Court house on Wednesday, November 7.

State's Attorney Glasgow also revealed that the Peterson children have all been taken to a Child Advocacy Center and questioned about their mother's disappearance. He added that the Illinois State Police is handling the missing investigation as if it were potentially a homicide.

The Illinois State Police say that they pinpointed nine different locations in their investigation and sent a team of investigators and canines to each. So far, their searches have yielded no new clues.

Family and friends have organized several searches in the woods near the Peterson home in Bolingbrook. They have called in the Texas-based search team Equusearch to join the hunt.

Equusearch, working with dozens of volunteers, have set-up their command post at a church near the Peterson home. They are doing ground and water searches in the woods in and around the Petersons' Bolingbrook home, following the Illinois State Police lead. They have also launched their drone airplane, often used in these kinds of searches, in an effort to highlight suspicious areas for future searching.
http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/case.cfm?id=50297

[Pauli]

Sgt. Peterson now a suspect in wife's disappearance

Stacy Peterson's family calls it 'first step'


November 9, 2007
BY DAN ROZEK (drozek@suntimes.com) Staff Reporter
Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson this afternoon was formally labeled a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, who vanished Oct. 28.

The announcement came shortly after a judge ordered that the body of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, be exhumed after prosecutors argued the circumstances around her 2004 bathtub death appear suspicious.

http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/boling110907.jpg_20071109_15_43_51_51-116-165.imageContent (javascript:dc_popup_win('http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/643577,drew110907.fullimage', 'fullimage', 'toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,m enubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=650,hei ght=650'))Sgt. Drew Peterson leaves the Will County Courthouse complex on Wednesday.

(Rich Hein/Sun-Times)


http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/savio110907.jpg_20071109_16_31_33_54-116-88.imageContent (javascript:dc_popup_win('http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/643604,savio110907a.fullimage', 'fullimage', 'toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,m enubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=650,hei ght=650'))
Kathleen Savio

http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/stacy110907.jpg_20071109_16_35_13_55-111-88.imageContent (javascript:dc_popup_win('http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/643609,stacy110907.fullimage', 'fullimage', 'toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,m enubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=650,hei ght=650'))
Stacy Peterson


The new developments played out in a Will County courtroom and then during a press conference held by Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow and investigators probing the mystery around Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

"Right now, Drew Peterson has gone from being a person of interest to clearly being a suspect," State Police Captain Carl Dobrich said at the news conference.

Pam Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's relatives, said news that Drew Peterson is now considered a suspect in his wife’s disappearance has summoned mixed emotions.

"This is the first step in the direction we need to go," Bosco said this afternoon. "Those words only mean we most likely won't see Stacy again. That's the saddest part of this."

Bosco said she was standing next to Stacy's father when they both heard the news about Drew Peterson. "To hear that and look at him, and know what he's thinking, it's very sad," Bosco said.

Earlier today, a Will County judge ordered that Savio's body of Kathleen Savio be exhumed.

"The 1-inch gash on the back of Kathleen Savio's head did not render her unconscious, which would have been necessary for her to accidentally drown in the bathtub," Glasgow stated in a petition to Judge Daniel J. Rozak.

"This evidence is consistent with the 'staging' of an accident to conceal a homicide," the petition stated.

"Blood evidence in the tub is not consistent with an accidental drowning followed by water slowly leaking out od the tub."

The developments are the latest in a story that's developed since Stacy Peterson went missing. Her family members say they believe the woman didn't leave voluntarily, and they fear she's dead.

Peterson's third wife was Savio. Her niece, Melissa Marie Doman, said family members support the decision by the Will County state's attorney's office to exhume Savio's body.

Family members have long suspected that Savio didn't drown accidentally in her bath tub as ruled by the coroner's office, Doman said.

''I am all for it, along with the rest of my family, because something just was never right,'' said Doman. ''I can't really say who, but someone did something. I don't think it was an accident.''

When prosecutors learned of Stacy Peterson's disappearance, they reopened the investigation of Savio's death.

Drew Peterson, 53, began dating Stacy when she was 17. They have two children, ages 2 and 4.

In the immediate aftermath of his wife's disappearance, Peterson told reporters the two talked on the phone the day she disappeared and that he believed she was with another man.

Peterson was divorced from Kathleen Savio, but financial issues hadn't been completed, when her body was found in her bathtub in 2004. There was no water in the tub.

A coroner's jury said her drowning death was accidental. But this week, the Will County coroner said Savio's death should instead have been ruled ''undetermined.''
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/643426,boling110907.article

[Pauli]

Body Of Kathleen Savio To Be Exhumed

State's Attorney Says Drew Peterson's Third Wife Likely Died In Homicide

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― The Will County State's Attorney plans to exhume the body of Kathleen Savio, the deceased third wife of Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, and says she may have died in a homicide.

It's a day the Savio family has been waiting for for more than three years. Now the Will County State's Attorney is making sure that justice delayed is not justice denied.

Authorities say tell-tale signs of trauma including bruising and head injuries found on Kathleen Savio may mean her death, previously ruled accidental, may have been staged. Following the disappearance of Drew Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, the case was reopened. The chief criminal judge in Will County has approved the petition, State's Attorney James Glasgow said at a news conference Friday.

Glasgow said the possibility of a homicide is suspected.
Savio's family says they've long suspected that Savio didn't drown accidentally in her bathtub as was determined by the coroner's office.
CBS 2 obtained a 28-page autopsy report on Kathleen Savio, who drowned in a whirlpool-style bathtub in March 2004. In it, a pathologist noted Savio's head was covered in blood, and she had suffered a laceration.

Savio's family members believes the original coroner's report shows how a coroner's inquest became a miscarriage of justice.

"We always believed she was murdered," Savio's sister, Anna Doman, said. "There was no way my sister was not murdered."

And they believe Drew Peterson killed his ex-wife. But a six-member coroner's jury ruled Savio accidentally drowned in her bathtub. The coroner said Wednesday that was a mistake. He released on Thursday the inquest transcript.

The proceedings began when Kathleen's sister told how she was informed by a relative of Kathleen's death.

"I was told that my sister was dead," Doman said. "I asked if her ex-husband killed her, and she told me she didn't know. And the reason I ask that is because she was terrified of him and him threatening her. "

The only police officer called to testify never was at the death scene, and didn't attend the autopsy, where eight separate injuries were noted on Savio's body.

The coroner asked him if there was "any signs of a struggle noted at the scene?"

The officer answered: "no there was not."

"Any signs of a struggle or defense wounds?" the coroner asked.

"No, there was not," the officer answered.

"And there was a little bit of blood in the tub?" the coroner asked.

The officer said, "That's right."

But, DuPage County's chief deputy coroner, Charlie Dastych also reviewed the autopsy report at CBS 2's request, and isn't so sure.

"The injuries that are noted in the autopsy report definitely indicate there is evidence of suspicion that could be looked at at a different level," Dastych said. "Evidence of a possible struggle."

"When they talk about an injury to the scalp, and blood matted in the hair, I think it would raise questions of what caused this trauma if you're drowned in a bathtub," said DuPage County Coroner Peter Siekmann. "But basically healthy people that have no toxic substances in their system, essentially they don't drown."

Siekmann has said he believes the jurors who ruled on Savio's death made a mistake, and that her cause of death should have been listed as undetermined.

No charges were originally filed in the case, but the current state's attorney decided to reopen it in light of Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

"If the coroner's jury says it's an accident and the pathologist who performs the autopsy says it's not an accident, the state's attorney has every right in the world to forget and disregard what the coroner's jury has to say," said CBS 2's legal expert Irv Miller.

Doman said Savio told her she knew she would be killed. And although she's never said publicly that she believed Drew Peterson killed Savio, she's not holding back anymore.

When asked if she thinks Drew Peterson killed Kathleen Savio, Anna Doman said, "It's hard to say… yeah, I do. …He had the most to gain – money."

She says there was $1 million in life insurance and a more than $600,000 estate that stood to be divided.

"She would have gotten half. Instead she got none," Anna Doman said. "He got it all."

Records show Savio obtained an order of protection against Drew Peterson in 2002, alleging a pattern of abusing and threats. She did the same in a letter to a prosecutor, written 16 months before she died.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/kathleen.savio.autopsy.2.564233.html

[Pauli]

Cop once fired over claim of betrayal

UNDERCOVER | Peterson was accused of outing fellow officer to killer


November 10, 2007
BY STEFANO ESPOSITO (sesposito@suntimes.com) AND DAN ROZEK (drozek@suntimes.com) Staff Reporters
Retired State Police Lt. Col. Ronald Janota hasn't spoken to Drew Peterson in more than a decade, but Peterson is a man he hasn't forgotten and will never forgive.

In 1985, Janota was Peterson's boss at the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad -- working out of a "clandestine" office near Joliet, Janota told the Chicago Sun-Times this week. Peterson, for reasons Janota said he has never been able to explain, allegedly sabotaged one of the squad's drug stings and gave the identity of an undercover narcotics agent to a convicted killer under investigation for dealing drugs, Janota said.

"We found out from different sources that the identity of an Illinois State Police officer was revealed to the [killer], by Mr. Peterson," Janota said. "
. . We immediately notified the undercover officer that his life was in jeopardy."

Added Janota, "Putting a fellow officer's life in jeopardy is unforgivable as far as I'm concerned."

But Peterson tells a far different story of the incident, which led to his temporary firing in 1985. And Peterson got his job back after he appealed the Bolingbrook Board of Police and Fire Commissioners' decision to fire him.

In 1986, a Will County judge found Peterson's firing to be "excessive."
Peterson began working as a Bolingbrook police officer in June 1977, according to court documents his lawyers filed in the appeal of his firing.

Peterson had previously been a military policeman and was responsible "from time to time . . . for the security of persons such as President Gerald Ford [and] the King of Siam," according to the court papers. Two years after being hired at Bolingbrook, Peterson received a "police officer of the year" award, according to court documents.

Peterson didn't admit leak
Beginning in 1978, Peterson was assigned to the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad, a joint operation of state, county and local officers from Will and Grundy counties. But Peterson got in trouble in 1985, when he revealed to his supervisors that he'd embarked on a solo narcotics investigation of a convicted police killer and drug dealer -- the same man a State Police undercover officer was investigating, according to court documents.

Although he knew about the other probe, Peterson never told his supervisors about his own investigation until it hit a dead end.

"You had better take your guns off -- I have something to say that's real bad," Peterson allegedly told his supervisors at the time.

But Janota alleges he also learned Peterson had leaked the undercover agent's identity to the drug dealing suspect.

"Obviously [the squad's investigation] had to be terminated immediately," Janota said.

Then-Bolingbrook Police Chief William Charnisky recommended Peterson be fired, and the village police and fire board terminated Peterson.

But two separate appellate court judges on different occasions said the firing was excessive. Peterson's lawyers have said he was just trying to put a dangerous criminal behind bars, that he never did anything illegal and never divulged the identity of the state undercover agent.

But Charnisky told the Sun-Times this week: "My opinion was that his conduct was unbecoming of an officer and he shouldn't have been reinstated."


http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/644147,CST-NWS-police10.article

[Pauli]

Source: Peterson Searchers May Have Made Discovery

Search Team Leader Declines To Elaborate On What It Was

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― A source tells CBS 2 sister station WBBM Newsradio 780 that search teams are investigating something they found while searching for missing Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson.

Meanwhile, her husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, has been stripped of his powers, and authorities are looking at him Saturday morning as a suspect in the disappearance of his wife.

Sources told WBBM Newsradio 780's Mary Frances Bragiel that something that resemblked or what was suspected to be a shallow grave was found by search teams from the professional search group Texas Equusearch, which has had members searching for Stacy Peterson for the last week.

Texas Equusearch founder and head Tim Miller would not say whether the discovery was believed to be a shallow grave or something else, or elaborate otherwise on what it was.

Miller would not say exactly where the discovery was made, but said it was not in the Green Valley Forest Preserve near Naperville where teams had been searching earlier. He said they had been looking about six miles from the search command post -- the Westbrook Christian Church, at 1175 Lily Cache Rd. in Bolingbrook.

Miller said the search teams were examining the unidentified discovery only as a precuation until state police arrive. He said search teams expected to finish up for the day around 4 p.m.

Police would not confirm any of the information.

Drew Peterson, 53, was a member of the Bolingbrook police force for 29 years – six years longer than his missing wife Stacy has even been alive.

Stacy Peterson has been missing for nearly two weeks, and Drew Peterson has insisted that she left him voluntarily and called to say she was doing so.

But on Friday, Capt. Carl Dobrich said, "Drew Peterson has gone from being a person of interest to clearly being a suspect."

Dobrich added, "I would say the case has shifted now from missing persons case to a potential homicide."

Late Friday, two Bolingbrook police officers came to the Peterson house with written notice that Drew Peterson is no longer one of them; that pending an internal affairs investigation he is suspended from the force without pay. Peterson never came to the door.

This is the first step the police department takes before firing an officer.

In addition, a neighbor of Drew Peterson's said she might be seeking an order of protection. She said a couple of nights ago, Drew Peterson approached her constantly screaming her name, and she and her family do not feel safe anymore.

Stacy disappeared on Oct. 28. After her family filed a missing persons report, police conducted two separate searches at the Peterson home, on the house, the vehicles, and a trailer, Dobrich said at a news conference Friday.

"Subsequent to that search warrant, we went back several days later on another search warrant based on information that was learned after the first search warrant," Dobrich said.

Based upon the information learned since then, police have concluded that the case had gone "from a missing persons case to a potential homicide case," Dobrich said.

"Early on, we looked at this as a missing persons case, but also believed strongly that based on the (Kathleen) Savio investigation (into the death of Drew Peterson's third wife) and the information that we were gleaning within the first 24 hours of the missing persons case with Stacy, was starting to strongly point to Drew Peterson being a person of interest," Dobrich said. "I would say that right now, Drew Peterson has gone from being a person of interest to clearly being a suspect."

Dobrich hinted that evidence was found in the recent searches of the Peterson house, perhaps computer evidence which is changing the nature of this case.

A neighbor of Drew Peterson said she and her family are afraid to stay in their house at night, and they may seek a restraining order to keep him from their house. It stems from an incident in which she called police after she said Drew Peterson approached her in her driveway, repeatedly screaming her name.

"The thing that really concerned me most of all is that he would go into my backyard and do it again, while the police officer's in the front of the yard," said neighbor Sharon Bychowski. "That sounds just like someone that's coming a little unglued."

Stacy Peterson's friends and family consider her disappearance highly suspicious. A spokesperson for Stacy's family talked with reporters Friday night.

"It's been a whole range of emotions for me -- but, there is some relief in the fact that we are making progress with the case," said Pamela Kay Bosco.

And, she had this message for Drew Peterson: "Be honest with yourself -- come forward -- give information to police if you have anything... just be honest."

Meanwhile, the Will County state's attorney's office announced Friday they plan to exhume Kathleen Savio, who drowned in a bathtub three years ago. Her death was ruled accidental at the time, but authorities now say tell-tale signs of trauma including bruising and head injuries found on Savio's body may mean her death may have been staged to appear accidental.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/drew.peterson.stacy.2.564863.html

[Pauli]

Police: Peterson Suspect In Both Wives' Cases

POSTED: 10:58 am CST November 10, 2007
UPDATED: 11:44 am CST November 10, 2007

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. -- Authorities probing the disappearance of police Sgt. Drew Peterson's wife said Friday he is now considered a suspect and he has been suspended without pay from the Bolingbrook Police Department.

In addition, he has been named a suspect in the death of his previous wife, Kathleen Savio.Police confirm that both cases have shifted to potential homicides.

Bolingbrook police, carrying papers, knocked on the door of the Peterson home around 4 p.m. Friday. Sources said those papers were notification that, affective immediately, Sgt. Peterson would be suspended without pay pending the results of the investigation.

Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old petite brunette who was studying nursing at a nearby junior college, has not been seen since Oct. 28. Her family has said that she feared her husband, was making plans to divorce him and would not have willingly left her children.

Illinois State Police Cpt. Carl Dobrich said Drew Peterson, 53, has moved from being a person of interest in her disappearance to "clearly being a suspect.

""We have mixed emotions right now," said Pamela Bosco, Stacy Peterson's adoptive stepmother. "We're sad, but we needed to move on and this is something we've needed to hear for a long time. It's sadness, anger, frustration … but we knew it would come to this point. We've always felt that she would not run off. It's something she would never have done.

"NBC5's Lauren Jiggetts reported on Friday that Peterson's next-door neighbor said that late Thursday night, she and her husband were taking out the garbage when Peterson emerged from his home and walked over to the house. The neighbor said Peterson chased her and yelled her name.

Later on in the night, Peterson knocked on her back window and yelled her name, the neighbor said.The neighbor said she no longer felt safe staying next door to Peterson at night. She is being relocated to an undisclosed motel to protect herself.

Police said Drew Peterson was cooperative up to the point when they asked to search his Pontiac Grand Prix, which he refused.

Peterson has said his wife phoned him and told him she had left him for another man. His attorney did not immediately return calls for comment.In a news conference, officials said they triangulated off the couple's phone conversations, which gave them an idea of where to search.

They also received court approval to exhume the body of the previous wife of Drew Peterson after prosecutors said her death appeared to have been staged as an accidental drowning.

A coroner's jury ruled the 2004 death of Kathleen Savio an accident, even though there was no water in the bathtub where the 40-year-old's body was found facedown, her hair soaked in blood from a head wound.

Investigators theorized the water had drained.The review of Savio's death found that bleeding was inconsistent with drowning and the bruises inconsistent with her position in the bathtub.

"I looked at the photograph and it was clear it wasn’t an accident," one official said.

But in a petition the Will County state's attorney filed Friday listing the reasons authorities want to exhume Savio's body, prosecutors said a review of evidence in the case "is consistent with the 'staging' of an accident to conceal a homicide.

"Prosecutors said they reviewed photographs of the crime scene and autopsy, the autopsy protocol, and police reports.

"The 1-inch gash in the back of Kathleen Savio's head did not render her unconscious, which would have been necessary for her to accidentally drown in the bathtub," the petition stated.

Will County Circuit Court Judge Daniel J. Rozak signed the petition granting the exhumation Friday. It was not immediately clear when the body would be exhumed.No charges were filed in Savio's death, but "at the very least, her death should have been ruled 'undetermined,"' Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil said earlier this week.

Savio's niece, Melissa Marie Doman, said family members support the decision by the Will County state's attorney's office. Relatives have long suspected that Savio didn't drown accidentally, Doman said.

"I am all for it, along with the rest of my family, because something just was never right," said Doman. "I can't really say who, but someone did something. I don't think it was an accident.

"Savio had gotten an order of protection in 2002, alleging a pattern of physical abuse and threats, according to court records. Drew Peterson has denied involvement with his ex-wife's death.Savio's sister, Susan Savio, told the coroner's jury that her sister feared Drew Peterson.

In a transcript of the coroner's inquest, Susan Savio is quoted as telling the six-person jury that her sister told family members that, "if she would die, it may look like an accident, but it wasn't."Susan Savio testified that, after her sister died, "I asked if her ex-husband killed her ... The reason I asked that is ... they were divorced, but that did not settle anything (financially) ...and she was terrified of that -- him and him threatening her.

"Stacy Peterson's stepmother said Friday that Drew Peterson had gone to Savio's house the day her body was found. Unable to get into the locked house, Peterson reportedly solicited the help of a neighbor, who either used a key or called a locksmith to open the door.
http://www.nbc5.com/news/14560157/detail.html?dl=mainclick

[Pauli]

Missing Illinois Mom's Neighbor Reports to Police Cop-Husband's Odd Behavior

Saturday, November 10, 2007

http://www.foxnews.com/images/321130/4_63_peterson_drew.jpg (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310405,00.html#)
Drew Peterson

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — A neighbor of an Illinois woman filed a police report against the husband of an Illinois woman and recalled seeing the mother of two sitting at the end of her driveway in tears a week before she disappeared.

"’He's all packed up and I want him to go,’" Sharon Bychowski told FOX News Stacy Peterson said. Six boxes allegedly filled with Drew Peterson’s belongings sat in the couple’s open garage, she continued.

A close friend and next-door neighbor of Stacy and Drew Peterson, Bychowski said she filed a police report on Thursday after Drew Peterson showed up on her lawn at 11 p.m. and began shouting her name: "'Come here, Sharon. … I want you,’" FOX News’ Jeff Goldblatt reported she said.

Bychowski, who at times baby-sits the Petersons’ two children and took them trick-or-treating this year, said she is staying in a hotel under a fictitious name to avoid the area and is contemplating seeking an order of protection against the suspended Bolingbrook, Ill., police sergeant. On Friday he was named a suspect in Stacy Peterson’s disappearance.

On Saturday, Drew Peterson’s mother defended him in a telephone interview with FOX News.

"He didn’t do anything," Betty Morphey said. In response to a question about Drew Peterson’s refusing to let officers search his home, she asked: "Would you want people going through your house?"

Peterson, however, did give a tour of his house to FOX News' Jamie Colby.
Click here to read Jamie Colby's blog: "Inside Drew Peterson's House." (http://colbyfiles.blogs.foxnews.com/)
Peterson was suspended without pay on Friday, pending the outcome of an investigation of an incident several months ago that apparently violated Bolingbrook’s no-chase policy, a source said.

Peterson, the shift commander that night, reportedly granted permission to an officer to chase a suspect, who crashed into another vehicle after speeding nearly 100 miles per hour, opening the department to a potential lawsuit.

"None of them have been very much help to him," Morphey said of Peterson’s fellow officers. "They turn their back on him. I find that very disrespectful."

Police said they planned to exhume the body of Drew Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in a bathtub in 2004. The coroner had ruled the cause of death an accidental drowning.

"Drew Peterson went to being a person of interest to clearly a suspect," said Illinois (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310405,00.html#) State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich at a press conference, adding that the case has shifted to a potential homicide case.

"There's no doubt in my mind that it wasn't an accident," James Glasgow, the Will County State's Attorney, said.

Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil, who reviewed Savio's autopsy, said earlier this week that there were aspects of her death that concerned him.

The autopsy report found that Savio had a one-inch "blunt laceration" on the left side of her scalp, her "hair is soaked with blood" and she also had abrasions or bruises on seven different places on her body.

Family members long have suspected that Savio didn't drown accidentally, Melissa Marie Doman, Savio's niece, said.

"I am all for it, along with the rest of my family, because something just was never right," Doman said. "I can't really say who, but someone did something. I don't think it was an accident."

When prosecutors learned of Stacy Peterson's disappearance, they reopened the investigation of Savio's death.

Stacy Peterson was reported missing Oct. 29 after she didn't arrive at a friend's house. Drew Peterson began dating Stacy when she was 17. They have two children, ages 2 and 4.

Drew Peterson recently told reporters that he believes his wife is alive and said he is being treated unfairly in this case.

Drew Peterson divorced Kathleen Savio, but financial issues hadn't been finalized when her body was found in her bathtub in 2004. There was no water in the tub.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310405,00.html

[Pauli]

Geraldo interviews Drew Peterson

November 11, 2007
BY DAN ROZEK (drozek@suntimes.com) Staff Reporter/drozek@suntimes.com
With the media camp growing outside his Bolingbrook home, Sgt. Drew Peterson took his case to Geraldo Rivera Saturday.

Off-camera, he insisted he had nothing to do with his wife’s disappearance and complained to the Fox Network broadcaster that stress caused by media coverage has caused him to lose 25 pounds.

The interview came on a day when more than 100 volunteers — though not Peterson — scoured forest preserves and ponds looking without success for 23-year-old Stacy Peterson.

In another twist, two of Stacy Peterson’s relatives entered the couple’s home and removed the ashes of Stacy’s deceased sister, who died last year of cancer.

After Drew Peterson talked briefly with Rivera, the broadcaster stepped outside to relay denials of any role in his wife’s Oct. 28 disappearance or the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” Rivera quoted Peterson as saying. “I’ve been cooperating fully with police.”

Police on Friday, however, said Peterson hasn’t offered them any help in more than a week.

Texas Equusearch, the rescue group leading the search for Stacy Peterson, will take a break today to review its maps, but neighbors still hold out hope.

“We really want to bring this girl home with the dignity she deserves,” said neighbor Sharon Bychowski.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/645271,cst-nws-bolingtv11a.article

[Pauli]

Originally posted: November 10, 2007
If Kathleen Savio was murdered, other, terrible questions loom

The urgent question, "What happened to Stacy Peterson?" is now at least temporarily eclipsed by the question, "Why wasn't the cause of Kathleen Savio's death investigated more thoroughly back in 2004?"
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/images/2007/11/10/savio.jpg (http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/11/10/savio.jpg) Savio (right) was the third wife of Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, and she was found dead in her bathtub shortly before their divorce was to be finalized.
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/images/2007/11/10/stacypeterson.jpg (http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/11/10/stacypeterson.jpg) Stacy Peterson (left) is, of course, Sgt. Peterson's fourth wife , and her Oct. 29 disappearance has become the latest in the sad series of real-life mysteries that grip cable-news watchers coast to coast.
Friday, when the Illinois State Police took the highly unusual step of naming Sgt. Peterson a suspect in his wife's disappearance, we learned (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_10_nov10,0,2461755.story?coll=chi_tab01_l ayout) from Will County prosecutors that, gee, in retrospect, Savio's death three years ago had "signs indicating it was a homicide."
Savio's wounds and the blood evidence were inconsistent with the ruling made at the time that she'd accidentally drowned in the tub, prosecutors said.
In their petition, prosecutors wrote that the head wound "did not render her unconscious" and that "evidence is consistent with the 'staging' of an accident to conceal a homicide."

"The abrasions that were seen on her left buttock and her elbow are not the type of injuries that would occur on a smooth surface as those in the tub area," Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow said....
"No one drowns in a bathtub without being unconscious," Glasgow said, adding the (independent medical) examiner will look for "fractures of bones [and] subcutaneous bruises that could indicate choking or other injuries" (in a new autopsy)...
Glasgow appeared to back up members of Savio's family who have said Peterson threatened to kill her and abused her physically, but that police and prosecutors never charged him.
Was the earlier ruling an oversight? An error made in haste? Or did Sgt. Peterson get the benefit of doubt in the murder investigation and in the domestic abuses cases because of his status as a police officer? And who is ultimately accountable for these decisions?
Such questions demands furious scrutiny: If the suspicions of the Illinois State Police prove true, Stacy Peterson may have paid for that ruling with her life.
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2007/11/savio.html

[Pauli]

Search firm's chief heads to South to help find missing teens

Crews to focus on water before ice sets in


By Alexa Aguilar, Tribune staff reporter November 12, 2007 http://m1.2mdn.net/viewad/817-grey.gif (http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/3608/0/0/%2a/n;44306;0-0;0;12925715;21-88/31;0/0/0;;%7Esscs=%3f) http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/trb.chicagotribune/news/local;tk=10107;tk=11587;ptype=s;slug=chi-peterson12nov12;rg=ur;ref=courttvcom;pos=1;sz=88x3 1;tile=2;ord=88975778? (http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/trb.chicagotribune/news/local;tk=10107;tk=11587;ptype=s;slug=chi-peterson12nov12;rg=ur;ref=courttvcom;pos=1;sz=88x3 1;tile=2;ord=88975778?)

The director of a national search firm that has been scouring fields and woods for Stacy Peterson said Sunday he is leaving Illinois to start searches for two missing teens in the South.

Tim Miller, founder and director of Texas EquuSearch, has been organizing daily searches for the mother of two who was last seen by her husband Oct. 28.

Miller said he spent Sunday reviewing last week's findings, including hundreds of aerial images. In the coming days, volunteers will scale back the ground search and concentrate on bodies of water before icy temperatures make those searches impossible, he said.

"I don't think it's going to be long" before searchers uncover something, he said. He added, however, that he felt the same way last Monday.

Miller said he is leaving because of searches for missing teenagers in Alabama and Georgia but would return to Bolingbrook midweek.

"I will be back," he said.

On Friday, Illinois State Police named Drew Peterson, 53, a suspect in the "potential homicide investigation" of Stacy Peterson, 23, his fourth wife. Bolingbrook police suspended Sgt. Drew Peterson without pay the same day.

Drew Peterson said he last heard from his wife the night of Oct. 28, when she called to tell him she was leaving him for someone else. Family members discount that, saying she would never leave her two small children.

Also Friday, Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow announced that the body of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, would be exhumed and undergo a second autopsy, adding "that there are strong indications that it was a homicide."

Savio, 40, was discovered by a neighbor in her home March 1, 2004, face down in a dry bathtub. Her hair was soaked with blood, and there was a gash on the back of her scalp.

An autopsy determined that she drowned, and a coroner's jury ruled months later that the death was accidental.

Savio had recently divorced Peterson, but the financial settlement was pending.

Drew Peterson has not been charged in connection with either case.

Early Sunday morning, Paul Peterson, Drew Peterson's brother, left the Petersons' house on Pheasant Chase Court in Bolingbrook to pick up doughnuts.

He said his family was thankful for the media coverage of the search for Stacy Peterson, and said, "Keep it on the front page."

On Saturday, however, Drew Peterson told Fox News Channel that "the media has done nothing but harass my family and terrorize my children. ... The damage done by the media I'm going to have to live with long after this is over."

Stacy Peterson's family and friends assembled Sunday at the house next door to the Petersons' to rest and regroup. About 30 volunteers showed up throughout the day willing to search but instead were given fliers to hand out at malls and stores. Volunteers would start searching again Monday morning, said Kerry Simmons, Stacy Peterson's stepsister. Simmons said all signs are "pointing to this not ending well."

She said she crossed the yard to the Petersons' home Saturday night to see their two small children. Though the exchange with Drew Peterson was uncomfortable, he let her in, telling her, "You don't have to be afraid," she said.

She said the children, ages 2 and 4, are fine and seem unaware that anything is amiss.

Simmons said that Miller and his volunteers have taught them how to conduct a search and that volunteers will continue daily searches.

"We'd really like some closure," she said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson12nov12,0,1702856.story?coll=chi_tab01_lay out

[Pauli]

Searchers Not Giving Up Hope In Peterson Case

Family & Friends Hope Exhumation Of Husband's Third Wife Will Reveal New Clues

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Volunteers aren't giving up hope they will find missing Bolingbrook mom Stacy Peterson.

CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports that they will continue searching for her Monday morning.

Peterson's family spoke with reporters Sunday about the case and plans to exhume the body of Drew Peterson's third wife.

Searchers plan on meeting again at 10 a.m. Monday at their base of operations. The man who's been heading up the Texas Equusearch team will be back midweek, but the quest to find Stacy Peterson will go on in his absence.

On Sunday family, friends and volunteers passed out fliers with Stacy's picture on them.

The man who's been named a suspect in the case – suspended Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson -- claims Stacy left him for another man. But her family doesn't believe that is the case.

While Illinois State Police conduct what they now call a possible homicide investigation, Peterson is on suspension without pay from his law enforcement job.

He's made only brief appearances outside his home since Stacy's disappearance.

A number of people in the neighborhood have been part of the search for his wife.

Stacy's stepsister Debby Forgue said, "If she was out there and saw all this, I'm pretty sure she'd come forward and say, 'Hey, I'm okay. I know she would not want to see her family go through this. She really did care for her whole family, her friends."

That family is hopeful another development in a parallel case will help their own. Drew peterson's thrid wife, Kathleen Savio was found dead in a bathtub in 2004.

Savio's death is the focus of another investigation, with prosecutors saying it might not have been an accident as originally determined. They have said they're going to exhume Savio's body. Sources say the exhumation could be as early as Monday.

Stacy's family hopes what they find will bolster their own position; that it will, in the words of Stacy's stepsister, "make our suspicions more valid."
http://cbs2chicago.com/westsuburbanbureau/stacy.peterson.search.2.565518.html

[Pauli]

Volunteers To Resume Search For Stacy Peterson

Focus Of Search Will Likely Be Water Monday

POSTED: 6:49 am CST November 12, 2007
UPDATED: 9:20 am CST November 12, 2007

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. -- The volunteer search for Stacy Peterson resumes Monday morning, the family of the missing Bolingbrook woman said.

NBC5's Kim Vatis said that the focus Monday will be on water sites.

The director of a national search firm that has been hunting for Peterson said volunteers will scale back their ground search for the missing woman and will concentrate, instead, on scouring bodies of water before they ice over.

The search for Peterson, who was last seen Oct. 28, was halted Sunday at the request of Illinois state police, a family spokeswoman said.

Pam Bosco said State Police asked them to hold off Sunday, but this could not be confirmed with investigators. Texas Equusearch, the rescue group leading the search for Peterson, a 23-year-old mother of two, had already planned to take a break Sunday to review its maps.

"We were told as the investigation got more in depth, they wanted it to be more controlled," Bosco said, referring to the rescue group.

Volunteers who showed up Sunday to help search were asked to distribute leaflets. But the ground search will resume at 8 a.m. Monday at Westbrook Christian Church, 1175 Lily Cache Lane in Bolingbrook."I believe we will resolve this," Bosco said. "We don't want to lose hope that we're going to find her. We'll eventually find the answers and resolve this case."

Peterson's husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, has been named a suspect in her disappearance.Investigators are also reviewing the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub in 2004. Vatis said that investigators will exhume Savio's body to further the investigation.
http://www.nbc5.com/family/14570464/detail.html?dl=mainclick

[Pauli]

'He was a knight in shining armor'

ROUGH LIFE ON THE ROAD | 'We had a - - - - - - up childhood,' says Stacy Peterson's sister, who fears she is dead. 'I'm not going to give up until I find her,' the sister vows.


November 11, 2007
BY KARA SPAK kspak@suntimes.com
Growing up, Stacy Peterson was on the move.
But no matter where her family went, trouble followed.
http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/11107boling.jpg_20071111_02_53_16_256-116-165.imageContent (javascript:dc_popup_win('http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/645239,111107boling.fullimage', 'fullimage', 'toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,m enubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=650,hei ght=650'))Cassandra Cales poses for a picture with her big sister, Stacy, for a family photo. Cassandra talked to Stacy every day until Oct. 28, the day she disappeared.

There was an absent mother. Alcoholism. Domestic violence. Troubled finances. Two sisters who died young. A brother in prison. More than 20 addresses, and with them, new schools.


Her younger sister, Cassandra Cales, 22, revisits the family's history bluntly.

"We had a - - - - - - up childhood," she said. "It was tough."
Out of this chaos emerged Stacy, quiet, maternal, organized, crafty, pretty, a good student who graduated early from Romeoville High School, a young woman forced to grow up too soon.

Husband named as suspect
She was 17 when she met Drew Peterson, a 47-year-old Bolingbrook cop who seemed to have everything missing from her family life: money, authority, stability and a nice house in the suburbs.

Stacy would find out that he shared that house with his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and their two young sons. Savio was found dead in her bathtub in 2004.

On Friday, Peterson was named a suspect in Stacy's Oct. 28 disappearance, and the case was changed from a missing person investigation to a potential homicide investigation.

Also on Friday, a judge approved exhumation of Savio's body after a coroner said her death was mistakenly ruled an accidental drowning.
It's easy to think Stacy saw a father figure when she fell for Drew. But Stacy may have just been looking for a way out.

Drew Peterson has said he thinks she left him for another man, but her family and friends continue searching, insisting she would never leave that way. They fear the 23-year-old nursing student and mother is dead.

"People that are good, good things are supposed to happen to them," said Dawna Klitzke, whom Stacy lived with in Fort Myers, Fla., for part of Stacy's junior high school years. "And she's come a long way from where she came from."

Stacy Ann Cales was the third of five children born to Anthony and Christie Cales, his second wife. Her older sister Jessica, and baby sister Lacy, both died before the age of 2, one in a house fire, the other from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Stacy's mom 'kind of went crazy'
"After her second child died, Christie kind of went crazy," said Linda Cales, Anthony's third wife, who was married to him from 1996 to 2002 and no longer speaks to his family. Linda Cales said Christie was in and out of the family's life.

Linda Cales said she met Stacy's father in 1994 at the Lani Kai, a tiki bar in Fort Myers, Fla. She had just ended a stint of seasonal work. He was scoping out a marina to buy.

"We danced," she said. "A couple of days later, he invited me out to dinner, and I went."

At the end of a week together in Florida, he told her the baby-sitter in Downers Grove watching his three kids -- Yelton, Stacy and Cassandra -- quit. He offered her the job and a ride to Illinois. She took both. "The kids came home from school and it was like 'Hi!' " Linda Cales said.

Anthony Cales returned to Downers Grove, selling the family's home for money for the marina and moving the group to the home of a friend in Naperville. Within months, the family moved to Florida.

Cassandra Cales estimates the family moved between 20 and 30 times while she was growing up.

"The shortest time I ever went to school was two days," Cassandra said. "Then we changed schools again because we moved."

Anthony Cales drank heavily. So did his wife, Linda. The marina deal fell through.

In March 1996, a justice of the peace married the two in a bar parking lot. She said she thought his drinking would stop. It didn't.

Drunken dad called kids names
"When he was drunk he was very verbally abusive," she said. "He called the girls horrible names."

One night, tired of his drinking and watching his kids, she attacked him and was arrested for domestic violence. She spent 21 days in jail.

Linda's daughter, Dawna Klitzke, 36, lived in Fort Myers, and for nearly two years, she gave Yelton and Stacy a home. Stacy, she said, was a strong student, especially bright in science and history.

"Stacy was a good kid in a bad environment," she said.

She loved playing with Klitzke's babies. "She was a mom before she had kids," Klitzke said. "When she lived with my mom and her dad, she did most of the cooking and took care of Cassandra while her brother was running in the streets."

Yelton Cales, 28, is incarcerated in the Western Illinois Correctional Center, convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor.

A year after their wedding, Linda, Anthony and the three kids moved to Morgan City, La., after Anthony read a newspaper article about jobs there. The next year the couple separated, living in trailers. Soon after, Anthony and his children moved back to Illinois. The Caleses divorced in 2002.

Despite the rough life on the road, the loving bond between Cassandra and Stacy was the constant.

"It was just me and her, we moved around so much," Cassandra said. "It was all we had."

Then one day, Drew Peterson appeared at the hotel where Stacy worked. They talked over coffee; he would drop in during her shift. Months later, they became intimate, Stacy told Klitzke.

Savio divorced Peterson in 2003 after learning of the affair and that Stacy was pregnant. Drew Peterson married Stacy later that year.

Cassandra said she was surprised when Stacy told her she was marrying Drew. They exchanged vows in a field in Bolingbrook. Drew invited one son as his witness. Stacy asked Cassandra to be there.

Thrived as a young mother
"They didn't want to tell any of the family," Cassandra said. "They just wanted to get it done."

Klitzke said when she learned about Drew Peterson, she told Stacy she should date someone her own age. Stacy seemed genuinely happy, though.

"There was the jewelry, he wined and dined her," she said. "He was a knight in shining armor."

While Stacy's view of the marriage appeared to sour toward the end -- family members said she wanted out -- she thrived in her new role as a mother. She stocked pantries with food, determined to give her kids variety she didn't have growing up. She spent hours creating scrapbooks filled with pictures of the happy life she craved.

She and Cassandra talked every day until Oct. 28, the day Stacy disappeared. Each day of silence further motivates Cassandra.

"I'm not giving up," Cassandra said. "I'll do anything. I'm not going to give up until I find her."
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/644521,CST-NWS-boling11.article

[Pauli]

Search firm's chief heads to South to help find missing teens

Crews to focus on water before ice sets in

By Alexa Aguilar, Tribune staff reporter November 12, 2007 The director of a national search firm that has been scouring fields and woods for Stacy Peterson said Sunday he is leaving Illinois to start searches for two missing teens in the South.

Tim Miller, founder and director of Texas EquuSearch, has been organizing daily searches for the mother of two who was last seen by her husband Oct. 28.

Miller said he spent Sunday reviewing last week's findings, including hundreds of aerial images. In the coming days, volunteers will scale back the ground search and concentrate on bodies of water before icy temperatures make those searches impossible, he said.



"I don't think it's going to be long" before searchers uncover something, he said. He added, however, that he felt the same way last Monday.

Miller said he is leaving because of searches for missing teenagers in Alabama and Georgia but would return to Bolingbrook midweek.

"I will be back," he said.

On Friday, Illinois State Police named Drew Peterson, 53, a suspect in the "potential homicide investigation" of Stacy Peterson, 23, his fourth wife. Bolingbrook police suspended Sgt. Drew Peterson without pay the same day.

Drew Peterson said he last heard from his wife the night of Oct. 28, when she called to tell him she was leaving him for someone else. Family members discount that, saying she would never leave her two small children.

Also Friday, Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow announced that the body of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, would be exhumed and undergo a second autopsy, adding "that there are strong indications that it was a homicide."

Savio, 40, was discovered by a neighbor in her home March 1, 2004, face down in a dry bathtub. Her hair was soaked with blood, and there was a gash on the back of her scalp.

An autopsy determined that she drowned, and a coroner's jury ruled months later that the death was accidental.

Savio had recently divorced Peterson, but the financial settlement was pending.

Drew Peterson has not been charged in connection with either case.

Early Sunday morning, Paul Peterson, Drew Peterson's brother, left the Petersons' house on Pheasant Chase Court in Bolingbrook to pick up doughnuts.

He said his family was thankful for the media coverage of the search for Stacy Peterson, and said, "Keep it on the front page."

On Saturday, however, Drew Peterson told Fox News Channel that "the media has done nothing but harass my family and terrorize my children. ... The damage done by the media I'm going to have to live with long after this is over."

Stacy Peterson's family and friends assembled Sunday at the house next door to the Petersons' to rest and regroup. About 30 volunteers showed up throughout the day willing to search but instead were given fliers to hand out at malls and stores. Volunteers would start searching again Monday morning, said Kerry Simmons, Stacy Peterson's stepsister. Simmons said all signs are "pointing to this not ending well."

She said she crossed the yard to the Petersons' home Saturday night to see their two small children. Though the exchange with Drew Peterson was uncomfortable, he let her in, telling her, "You don't have to be afraid," she said.

She said the children, ages 2 and 4, are fine and seem unaware that anything is amiss.

Simmons said that Miller and his volunteers have taught them how to conduct a search and that volunteers will continue daily searches.

"We'd really like some closure," she said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson12nov12,0,1702856.story

[Pauli]

Search For Missing Stacy Peterson Back in Water Last Edited: Monday, 12 Nov 2007, 4:27 PM CST Created: Monday, 12 Nov 2007, 11:18 AM CST
From MyFoxChicago Reports

Search teams were back out today looking for Stacy Peterson. Search teams today focused on lakes and waterways (video: MyFoxChicago) (http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=4907974) around Bolingbrook, Ill., looking for the body of Stacy Peterson. They wanted to search there before the water freezes over.
Peterson has been missing for two weeks.

Over the weekend, Stacy's husband and prime suspect in the case, Drew Peterson, spoke to Geraldo Rivera (video: (http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=4900882)


http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=853D99A5F5B3C2ED0DFC06BB3980ADAA ?contentId=4907956&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

[Pauli]

Authorities move forward with Peterson probe

Bolingbrook, IL - Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, husband of Stacy Peterson, who has been missing since Oct. 28, has been under suspension from his $85,000 a year job since Friday afternoon.

Two officers from the Bolingbrook Police Department served Peterson with paperwork detailing his suspension pending an internal affairs investigation and a hearing before the Bolingbrook Fire and Police Commission, according to Lt. Ken Teppel, public information officer with the Bolingbrook Police Department.

Peterson’s legal counsel also was notified and provided paperwork, Teppel said.

Attempts to reach Peterson and his attorney for comment were unsuccessful.

Peterson, who began as a patrol officer with the Bolingbrook Police Department on Dec. 15, 1977, was scheduled to leave the force Dec. 15 on the 30th anniversary of his employment, according to Teppel.

No estimate on how long an internal affairs investigation and a hearing by the commission was provided.

Robert Armstrong, chairman of the Fire and Police commission, said the commission had not yet received any paperwork regarding Peterson’s employment from the Village of Bolingbrook or Police Department.

“It’s a little premature to comment because until we are forwarded any formal charges on which to act — and there haven’t been any yet — we have no jurisdiction,” Armstrong said.

Teppel said due process requires the department to prepare and file charges of violations of employment and/or policies with the commission, which then would conduct a hearing.

Peterson or his legal counsel would be allowed to attend the hearing and formally respond to any charges. If a disciplinary action were to be taken — which could include termination — Peterson could also appeal that decision, Teppel said.

Peterson is a suspect in the missing person’s case of Stacy Peterson, who last was heard from by her family on Oct. 28.

Peterson said he last spoke to his wife at about 9 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 28 when she informed him she was leaving him for another man.

According to the Illinois State Police, the lead investigating agency in the case, investigators have not confirmed or denied through tracking telephone records that a call was placed from Stacy Peterson’s telephone to Drew Peterson the night of her disappearance.

“That is investigative, and we cannot comment on that,” said Trooper Mark Dorencz, a spokesman for the state police.

During a press conference last Friday, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said Peterson had become a suspect in the case of Stacy Peterson.

At the same press conference authorities also said they planned to exhume the body of Peterson’s third wife — Kathleen Savio — to re-investigate the cause of her death, which occurred in march, 2004.

Savio was found dead in her bath tub on March 1, 2004, not long after her divorce from Drew Peterson. At the time the courts had yet to resolve the distribution of marital assets.

Glasgow said when he reviewed the case files — including photographs of the scene — he said “based on all my experience I could see clearly this was not an accidental death.”

At the time of Savio’s death Glasgow was not in office.

Savio’s family has said they never agreed with an autopsy report that said Kathleen Savio died from an accidental drowning, and have welcomed the state’e attorney to move forward with exhuming her body from a Hillside cemetery.

A second autopsy will be performed on her body, although Will County Coroner Patrick O’Neil could not say when that would take place.

O’Neil publicly stated last week he disagreed with a six-person Coroner’s Jury that listed the cause of death as an accidental drowning, although Kathleen Savio was discovered in her bath tub with a laceration to the back of her head.

The search continues
Volunteers were out at 10 a.m. Monday, continuing their search efforts for the missing 23 year old.

Four groups of volunteers, totaling about 105 people, were in Naperville Monday morning searching the Springbrook Forest Preserve area.

http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/wooddale/homepage/x676138017

[Pauli]

Body Of Drew Peterson's Third Wife To Be Exhumed

Volunteers Focus On Water Areas In Peterson Search


POSTED: 6:49 am CST November 12, 2007

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. -- Investigators are reviewing the death of Sgt. Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub in 2004. NBC5's Kim Vatis reported Monday that investigators will exhume Savio's body to further the investigation.

A spokesman for the Will County State's Attorney's Office isn't saying when the exhumation will occur.

State's Attorney James Glasgow said evidence strongly suggests that someone killed Savio and tried to make it look like an accident in 2004. At the time, her drowning was called accidental.

Glasgow moved to exhume the body in the hopes of gathering more information in the case and on Friday a judge signed his petition to exhume the body.

Savio's ex-husband, Drew Peterson, hasn't been named a suspect in her death, but is a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

http://www.nbc5.com/2007/1112/14573890_240X180.jpg (http://www.nbc5.com/family/14570464/detail.html?dl=mainclick#)
The volunteer search for the missing mom resumed Monday morning. Vatis said that Monday's focus is aimed at water sites.
The director of a national search firm that has been hunting for Peterson said volunteers decided to scale back their ground search for the missing woman and planned to concentrate, instead, on scouring bodies of water before they ice over.

The search for Peterson, who was last seen Oct. 28, was halted Sunday at the request of Illinois state police, a family spokeswoman said.

Stacy Peterson's step-mother, Pam Bosco, said State Police asked them to hold off Sunday, but this could not be confirmed with investigators. Texas Equusearch, the rescue group leading the search for Peterson, a 23-year-old mother of two, had already planned to take a break Sunday to review its maps.

"We were told as the investigation got more in depth, they wanted it to be more controlled," Bosco said, referring to the rescue group.

Volunteers who showed up Sunday to help search were asked to distribute leaflets. But the ground search resumed at 8 a.m. Monday at Westbrook Christian Church, 1175 Lily Cache Lane in Bolingbrook.

"I believe we will resolve this," Bosco said.

"We don't want to lose hope that we're going to find her. We'll eventually find the answers and resolve this case."

Peterson's husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, has been named a suspect in her disappearance.

http://www.nbc5.com/family/14570464/detail.html?dl=mainclick

[Pauli]

Preparations Made For Kathleen Savio's Exhumation

Volunteers Continue Search For Stacy Peterson; Authorities May Soon Exhume Body Of Her Husband's Third Wife

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Authorities are moving forward with their investigation into the disappearance of a missing Bolingbrook woman and could exhume the body of her husband's previous wife on Monday to take another look at her mysterious death.

Investigators are preparing to exhume Kathleen Savio's body. With her ex-husband, Drew Peterson, a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, close friends are struggling to believe his story.

As CBS 2's Katie McCall reports, the people who searched for Stacy Peterson Monday are certainly focused on finding her, but they are also interested in finding out what happened to Savio, Drew Peterson's third wife.

Reporters stationed outside the Peterson home Monday were greeted by a man who appeared to be Drew Peterson's brother. He brought out a video camera, took a few shots, then went back inside.

Peterson's friend tells CBS 2 he is concerned about the suspended Bolingbrook police sergeant, whose wife, Stacy, has now been missing for two weeks. Police are calling Peterson a suspect, and Illinois State Police are treating the case as a possible homicide.

Drew Peterson's friend Rick Mims has been defending him from the beginning of this case, but when he spoke with CBS's "Early Show" Monday morning, he said that given the evidence that has come out and Drew's "peculiar behavior" recently, it's getting harder to believe his friend's claims of innocence.

"It's getting harder to believe him," Mims said. "All the evidence is coming out and his peculiar behavior."

"His timelines don't match up with what the neighbors and Cassandra are reporting," Mims added.

Mims said he is now waiting for police to complete their investigation before judging his friend's guilt or innocence.

Mims wouldn't talk about Drew Peterson's lack of involvement in the search for his fourth wife, Stacy, but he did tell CBS 2 that he's not happy with the way the media have been portraying Drew Peterson.

"The Drew that I know is not the monster that they're portraying him to be. The media's getting caught up with trying to portray Drew as a monster and losing focus of what we're really trying to do. We're trying to find Stacy … that's the main thing right now, not to get on TV and bash Drew," Mims said.

A few miles away 70 volunteers conducted another land and water search for Stacy, canvassing a vast area of forest preserve where they found what they call potentially significant items.

"Certain things have been brought to our attention that we will provide to the police so they can investigate them further," said family spokesperson Pamela Bosco.

Relatives of the 23-year-old mother are anticipating the exhumation of Savio's body.

"I think that will provide a lot of answers that we have and progress the case faster than it is," Bosco said.

Savio's grave in Hillside now has a tent over it, indicating that the Will County State's Attorney's petition to dig up her body could be carried out at any time.

Savio died mysteriously in 2004 in the couple's bathtub. Her death was ruled accidental but is now being re-investigated. The state's attorney says the autopsy indicates head trauma that is not consistent with an accident.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has said evidence strongly suggests that someone killed Savio and tried to make it look like an accident.

Glasgow moved to exhume the body in the hopes of gathering more information in the case and on Friday a judge signed his petition to exhume the body.

Drew Peterson has claimed Stacy left him for another man, but her friends and family say the mother of two never would have abandoned her children.

Stacy's stepsister Debby Forgue said, "If she was out there and saw all this, I'm pretty sure she'd come forward and say, 'Hey, I'm OK. I know she would not want to see her family go through this. She really did care for her whole family, her friends."

The search for Stacy Peterson resumes Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock.

Volunteer Teri Bukovsky said she responded to the call for help because, "I have four children and I would hope that if anything happened to me that somebody would go out there and look for me."

The Will County State's Attorney has not said exactly when Savio's body will be exhumed.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/stacy.peterson.search.2.565518.html

[Pauli]

Family of missing Plainfield woman to ask Michigan deer hunters for help

Lisa Stebic's relatives want them to watch for clues near her vacation home in Upper Peninsula


The family of a missing Plainfield woman will distribute fliers and hand warmers to hunters in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Wednesday to raise awareness about her disappearance and encourage hunters to look for her.

Lisa Stebic, 37, was divorcing when she vanished from her family home April 30. Her estranged husband, Craig, who was one of the last people to see her, is a hunter, and his family spent part of each year in the Upper Peninsula. He has been identified by police as a person of interest in the case, but he has denied any involvement.

Melanie Greenberg, Lisa Stebic's cousin, said family members plan to distribute 300 hand warmers with Lisa's picture and police contact information at a breakfast held each year in Crystal Falls, Mich., to kick off firearm deer hunting season.

"Everyone tells you when you are looking for a missing person that you need to look at the places where they spent the most time," Greenberg said. "Lisa spent a lot of time up there."

Greenberg said she hopes the hunters, who usually cover a wide area, might stumble across information that will help police find Lisa Stebic.

"They're going places people haven't been all summer and, with the change of seasons . . . things that may have been overgrown could be more revealed now," Greenberg said.

Greenberg said she has had no contact with Craig Stebic but he has complained about tfliers and billboards bearing Lisa Stebic's picture—in the Chicago area and in the Upper Peninsula. He has said they upset the couple's two children

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-stebic_13nov13,0,6582334.story?coll=chi_tab01_layo ut

[Pauli]

Autopsy planned on Savio's exhumed body

November 13, 2007 - An afternoon autopsy is planned on the exhumed body of the ex-wife of a suburban Chicago police officer whose cu

Bolingbrook Police Sergeant Drew Peterson is a suspect in the disappearance of his current wife, Stacy. Now, investigators are taking another look to see if his ex-wife's death was suspicious.

Kathleen Savio's remains arrived at the Will County Coroner's Office Monday morning for forensic testing. Investigators hope the second autopsy will reveal new information as to how she died.

At the request of Savio's family, Will County officials held a brief service before her body was removed from the grave. The Joliet Police Department chaplain led the small group in prayer. Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow was there along with representatives from Illinois State Police and the coroner's office.

Around 6 a.m., police arrived at the entrance of the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside. The exhumation started around 6:30 a.m. and only lasted about an hour. The remains were taken away out the back entrance in a blue county van.

http://a.abclocal.go.com/images/wls/cms_exf_2005/news/local/wls_110807_savio_peterson.jpg
Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson, Sgt. Drew Peterson's third wife and fourth wife, respectively. Savio died in 2004 and Peterson disappeared on October 28, 2007.

Kathleen Savio, the third wife of Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, was found dead in her bathtub in 2004. Her death was originally ruled accidental -- but last week, the Will County coroner said it should have been classified as undetermined. Savio was in the midst of a divorce with Drew Peterson when she died. Her friends and family say she feared for her life. In a letter she wrote to the state's attorney two years before her death -- Savio wrote that Peterson would kill her.

"There are strong indications that it was a homicide, and again, that's why we're doing the exhumation because there are tests that need to be done that weren't done during the first autopsy," said James Glasgow, Will

County State's Attorney.
Sgt. Peterson, who was relived of his duties with the Bolingbrook Police Department last week, has been named suspect in his wife's disappearance. Stacy's disappearance is now being called a 'potential homicide' by police. Relatives of Stacy Peterson hope the Savio case strengthens their efforts to find her.

"I'm happy for that family that maybe they will have closure, what they thought happened all along. The truth might finally come out. And it will, you know, possibly help our case as well" said Carrie Simmons, Stacy Peterson's relative.

Peterson maintains his innocence in both the Savio and Stacy Peterson case. Results of Savio's autopsy may take days to be returned, and Will County officials say they won't be public.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5758346

[Pauli]

The Illinois State Patrol Is Asking The St. Louis County Search Squad For Help


http://media.northlandsnewscenter.com/images/squad2.jpg
Story Published: Nov 13, 2007 at 7:18 PM EST

Story Updated: Nov 13, 2007 at 7:18 PM EST

The St. Louis County search and rescue squad has been called to assist in one of the most talked about cases in the country today.
23–year–old Stacy Peterson of Illinois has been missing for over two weeks.

The Illinois State Patrol contacted the St. Louis County Rescue Squad due to its expertise and advanced equipment.

"We've been very successful in search efforts here in St. Louis County and in Northeastern MN and I think the authorities in Illinois are aware of our track record," said St. Louis County Sheriff Ross Litman.

Stacy Peterson's sister has said she believes Stacy was stalked by her husband Drew Peterson who is a sergeant in the Bolingbrook, Illinois police department.

Stacy was last seen on October 28th.

Her car was found near a pond in Bollingbrook. Authorities believe her body may be in that pond.

Suspicion was cast on Drew Peterson who was in the process of a divorce from Stacy.

Drew has been married three times. One of his former wives was found dead in a bathtub in 2004.

That death was initially ruled accidental but Stacy's disappearance has re–opened the case.

Saint Louis County's expertise is in underwater searches.

The squad has both a remotely operated underwater vehicle and a sonar scanner and has become proficient in dangerous underwater searches.

"Any time you put a dive team under water or ice you are taking a risk. Diving is dangerous," said St. Louis County Sheriff Ross Litman.

The squad plans to stay in Illinois for the remainder of the week.

In the wake of Stacy's disappearance, Peterson's first wife's body was exhumed today for further investigation.

http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/11252616.html

[Pauli]

Expert Performs 2nd Autopsy On Kathleen Savio

Death Of Suspended Cop Drew Peterson's 3rd Wife Was Ruled Accidental, But Is Being Reexamined

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Crews Tuesday morning exhumed the body of suspended Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson's third wife. The coroner said the autopsy was completed Tuesday night and the cause of death was still ruled as drowning.

The expert pathologist brought in to do the autopsy has completed 9,000 in his career. No ruling has been made yet about the manner of death, but authorities expect a ruling will be made within a couple of weeks at which point it should be known whether Savio died by accident, homicide or an unknown reason.

Kathleen Savio's death was originally ruled an accident. The mysterious of disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, prompted authorities to re-open the Savio case.

Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing for more than two weeks, and officials consider him a suspect in her disappearance. Her case has been classified as a homicide.

Just after daybreak with the gates of Queen of Heaven Cemetery locked and police on guard cemetery workers began the solemn work of exhuming Kathleen Savio. After a back hoe and two men with shovels opened the grave, a crane was used to hoist Kathleen Savio's casket from a plot at the Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in west suburban Hillside. A little more than an hour later, the casket was placed in a van that took the body for a new autopsy at the Will County coroner's office.

The Will county coroner and state's attorney were present for the disinterment, along with Illinois State police investigators. Also present was the Rev. Chris Groh, who is chaplain of the Joliet Police Department. He came because Savio's family had requested a Roman Catholic priest, and led officials in a brief service.

Will County law enforcement did not want anyone in attendance other than investigation officials. That included Savio's family members, who expressed disappointment that they could not attend.

"We don't know if anything's in place, as far as whenever they're going to put her back," said Savio's nephew, Charlie Doman. "We'd like to have a little memorial service or something for her, but as of now we don't know nothing. We haven't been in touch with any of the officials or anything like that."

"It's possibly, most likely, going to be just as hard as when she died; when she died back in 2004," added Savio's niece, Melissa Doman.

But more important to family members than being at Tuesday's exhumation is an investigation that they believe will finally bring Drew Peterson to justice.

"I think he did it… but without proof we can't say he did it," Charlie Doman said.

That's why they're hoping the exhumation will reveal tell-tale clues.

"We hope maybe there's some trace evidence like hair samples or skin samples or something," Charlie Doman said.

Melissa Doman believes the evidence gathered during the autopsy will vindicate an aunt whose cries for help, she says, fell on deaf ears when she was alive.

"She was in the prime of her life… that was taken from her," Melissa Doman said.

Savio was found dead in a whirlpool-style bathtub in March 2004. At the time, a six-member coroner's jury ruled her death accidental, but just last week, the coroner said it should have been classified undetermined.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said evidence suggests that someone killed Savio and tried to make it look like an accident. He moved to exhume the body in the hopes of gathering more information.

Sgt. Peterson hasn't been declared a suspect in Savio's death, but he has been in the investigation of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. A police investigator was seen dropping off papers at the home Tuesday. They were taken inside by a relative after a quick exchange. Drew Peterson was nowhere to be seen.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/kathleen.savio.exhumation.2.566281.html

[Pauli]

Two called to testify about Drew Peterson


Bolingbrook officer pleads with missing wife to come home

November 14, 2007 - A grand jury investigating the death of Drew Peterson's third wife and the disappearance of his current spouse will hear testimony from two men today. One of them is the Bolingbrook police sergeant's brother.

State police served a subpoena to the brother of Drew Peterson, calling him to testify before a Will County grand jury today. The grand jury will also hear testimony from his ex-wife Kathleen Savio's neighbor. He was the first person to discover her body.

Today, the Bolingbrook police officer pleaded for with his wife, Stacy, to come home and maintained that she left him for another man. Drew Peterson appeared on NBC's "Today" show. When asked to send a message to his wife, Stacy, he said: "Come home. Tell people where you are,"

Stacy Peterson was last seen October 28th. Authorities say the case is a potential homicide investigation and have identified her husband as a suspect.

Drew Peterson denied that he harmed his wife or that he had anything to do with her disappearance. He says she told him that "she found somebody else."

The interview aired a day after the body of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was exhumed for another autopsy. Peterson says he thought it was "a shame her rest in peace has to be disturbed."

Prosecutors called the 2004 accidental drowning of Savio a possible homicide.

Savio's family hopes the investigation will put to rest the open question they have had about her death.

"I have strong faith that they will do a thorough investigation, and I really think that they are going to find a lot more than they think they will," said Charlie Doman, Kathleen Savio's Nephew.

Savio's body was exhumed from a Hillside Cemetery Tuesday morning. A catholic priest led a brief prayer service before workers unearthed her casket. Savio's family had hoped the entire process would have been a private affair.

"We weren't against her being exhumed. We were just against it being public like that," said Melissa Doman, Kathleen Savio's Niece. When the autopsy results are complete, they will only be made available to law enforcement officials and not to the public.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5760794

[Pauli]

Neighbor who found 3rd wife's body to appear before grand jury

By Matthew Walberg and Gerry Smith | Tribune staff reporters 2:58 PM CST, November 14, 2007 A neighbor who discovered the body of Drew Peterson's ex-wife in her Bolingbrook bathtub in 2004 was testifying before a grand jury this afternoon, convened after authorities reopened the investigation into her death since the disappearance of Peterson's current wife.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m., Steve Carcerano, 39, the neighbor who discovered Kathleen Savio's body, walked into the Will County Court annex in Joliet, across the street from the courthouse. When asked if he was there to testify before the grand jury he replied: "Yes, sir. Yes, I am." Minutes later, the grand jury entered the building, accompanied by prosecutors.

On Tuesday, investigators also issued a grand jury subpoena to Peterson's brother, even as police continued their search for the officer's fourth wife, missing since late October. Authorities also exhumed the body of Savio, the third wife of suspended police Sgt. Drew Peterson, and a second autopsy started Tuesday in an emotional day for her family members.

Kathleen Savio's casket was removed from Queen of Heaven Cemetery in west suburban Hillside early Tuesday and taken to the Will County morgue. Officials said final results of the second autopsy, ordered by a Will County judge last week, would not be available for days.

Savio, 40, was found dead in the bathtub of her Bolingbrook home March 1, 2004. She and her ex-husband, Peterson, 53, were divorced, but the financial settlement was pending. An autopsy noted her hair was covered in blood and she had suffered a 1-inch gash on the back of her head. But the cause of death was determined to be drowning and a coroner's jury later ruled it accidental.

The Oct. 28 disappearance of Peterson's wife, Stacy Peterson, 23, raised new questions about Savio's death. Last week, after obtaining an order for exhumation, Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow announced a formal reinvestigation into Savio's death.

On the same day, Illinois State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich said Drew Peterson was considered a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance and that the case had moved from a missing person's search to a "potential homicide."

On Tuesday, an investigator went to the Petersons' home on Pheasant Chase Court and served a grand jury subpoena on Drew Peterson's brother, Paul, Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez said.

Savio's relatives, who have long maintained her death was not accidental, welcomed the reopening of the case. Though they gave authorities permission to exhume her body, they expressed surprise at how swiftly the order was carried out.

Savio's niece, Melissa Doman, said she didn't know the exhumation was under way until she saw the coffin dangling from a crane on TV Tuesday morning. One family member was notified by the cemetery about the exhumation less than an hour before it began, preventing relatives from arriving in time, she said.

"My brother and I wanted to be there but for whatever reason they didn't want us being there," Doman said. "It would have been nice if we'd known much earlier."

Authorities suspect Savio was rendered unconscious then placed in the bathtub. Glasgow said the head wound was not sufficient to knock her out and that the scene appeared to have been staged to conceal a homicide.

Mike Nichols, past president of the Illinois Coroners and Medical Examiners Association, said that if a body is properly embalmed, bruising still would be visible, even after three years in the grave. He said although it would be impossible to determine whether Savio was rendered unconscious from a sleeper hold, such as is used in wrestling, that there would be telltale signs if she was choked.

"But that should have been detected in the first autopsy if it was done properly," Nichols said. "I'm not so sure that they're going to find anything else conclusive at this point."

Dr. Michael Baden, former chief medical examiner for New York, reviewed the Savio autopsy report and concluded her death appeared more likely to be a homicide than an accident. An autopsy after exhumation often reveals additional information about how a person died, he said, including turning up trauma not previously noted, and evidence of poisoning through more toxicology tests. "You don't lose anything [with an exhumation], and you could gain something," Baden said.

Doman said her relatives hope the exhumation provides answers to questions that have plagued them for years, but that the process has exacted an emotional toll.

"We had to put her in the ground once, now we have to pull her out and put her back in again," she said. "It's almost worse than when she died."

Meanwhile, police and volunteers spent another fruitless day searching for Stacy Peterson, and after days of optimism, the missing woman's family felt unnerved at the perceived lack of coordination with authorities.

"There is some frustration because we're not getting 100 percent cooperation from Illinois State Police," said Pam Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family, who asked police to share leads that may help direct the search.

"We have people with equipment here on their own time, and it can't be used effectively until they have some place to use it."

Drew Peterson has said he last spoke with his wife on Oct. 28, when she called on her cell phone to say she was leaving him. He repeatedly has said he believes she left him for someone else.

State police and a private group, Texas EquuSearch, have been combing Will County and portions of Grundy County.

A source familiar with the cases said Drew Peterson, who was suspended without pay last week, turned in a resignation letter Monday to the Bolingbrook Police Department. The source would not say whether the 29-year veteran's resignation was accepted.

Police spokesman Lt. Ken Teppel would not confirm the letter was received but said "more information would be made available tomorrow." Drew Peterson is facing an internal investigation in connection with the Savio and Stacy Peterson cases, he said.

The internal affairs case is not complete, Teppel said, but once it is, a report will be turned over to the Fire and Police Commission of Bolingbrook, which will decide whether to pursue termination proceedings against Drew Peterson.

Messages left for Drew Peterson's first wife have not been returned, and family members of his second wife have declined to comment.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_14nov14,0,7393028.story?coll=chi_tab01_la yout

[Pauli]

‘I believe she is with someone else right now’

Police sergeant says wife No. 4 likely ran off, denies killing wife No. 3

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/071114/tdy_lauer_peterson_071114.300w.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:msnvDwd('00','98456f87-5fda-422e-a4c2-285b8e94a648','us','News_Editors Picks','','msnbc','','21785248','Exclusive: Peterson talks to TODAY'))
Nov. 14: In an exclusive interview, Drew Peterson talks with TODAY's Matt Lauer about the investigation into the disappearance of his wife.
Today show



http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/071114/tdy_tibbles_exhumation_071114.vsmall.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:msnvDwd('00','80f9c793-ef5e-43e9-a944-744c609f3b6f','us','News_Editors Picks','','msnbc','','21786172','Body of Chicago cop\u2018s wife exhumed'))
Nov. 14: The body of a Chicago policeman's former wife is exhumed amid an investigation into the disappearance of the officer's current wife. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.
Today show

By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 10:40 a.m. CT, Wed., Nov. 14, 2007

As police re-examine the suspicious death of his third wife, Illinois police sergeant Drew Peterson tells TODAY his missing fourth wife told him she met someone and probably ran away with him.

Peterson, 53, appeared calm and determined Wednesday as he discussed reports that he is a suspect in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose body was exhumed Tuesday. He told host Matt Lauer that he is not concerned about the police investigation into both cases, but is angry that the media is camped out in front of his house and has all but convicted him.

“I can look you right in the eye and tell you I had nothing to do with either of those instances,” he said, adding, “I’m not afraid of law enforcement. I’m afraid of the media.”

Peterson was still married to Kathleen Savio when he began dating Stacy, when she was 17 and much younger than him. After Savio told him she wanted a divorce and complained to relatives of alleged abuse, she was found dead in a bathtub of the couple’s Bolingbrook, Ill., home. Her death, now being re-examined, was listed as accidental drowning.

Peterson married Stacy, and the couple have two young children. Peterson said his missing wife, now 23, told him she had met another man before she disappeared on Sunday, Oct. 28. She was supposed to help family members paint a home, but never showed up.

Peterson told Lauer he understands why Illinois State Police have reopened the investigation into the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, because police often suspect spouses in untimely deaths.

“It’s a shame that her rest-in-peace has to be disturbed for something like this,” Peterson said.

Impeccably groomed and completely calm, Peterson said that he has not told his two young children by Stacy Peterson, Anthony, 4, and Lacy, 2, that their mother is missing and may be dead. When news reports about her come on the television, he said, “We usher them to another room.” Asked what he has told them, he replied, “Basically, ‘Mom’s gone on vacation.’ ”

He said the scrutiny he’s been under has been much harder on his two teenage sons by Savio.

Lauer asked Peterson whether Stacy told him she was seeing another man before she disappeared.

“She never told me she was seeing another man,” he said, but then changed that to: “Maybe she did. ‘She found somebody else,’ ” he added. “Those were her exact words.”


http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/071114/071114_stacypeterson_vmed_5a.standard.jpg
This undated photo provided by her family shows Stacy Peterson, 23, of Bolingbrook, Ill., and her husband, Drew Peterson, 53, a police officer with the Bolingbrook Police Department.
He said that his relationships with both Stacy Peterson and Savio were roller-coaster rides and characterized both women as emotionally unstable.

Stacy Peterson, he said, was on drugs for mood swings and had been unpredictable since the death of her sister by cancer. Other than playfully trying to throw her in the swimming pool at a gathering, he said he never hit her or abused her, contrary to claims by her family and friends.

“One time she hit me in the head with a frozen steak. I never hit her, never raised a hand to her,” he told Lauer.

When confronted with an e-mail to a family member in which she said she was in an abusive relationship, Peterson said, “I don’t think those are her words. I think that’s a made-up e-mail.”

As a policeman, he understands why he is being investigated.

“I think they’ve always considered me a suspect,” he said. “The husband always is.”

Peterson’s statements contradicted almost everything Stacy Peterson’s family told TODAY one week ago. On Nov. 7, her half sister said that the 23-year-old housewife and mother wanted out of her marriage and said she would not have left her suburban Chicago home without her kids.

“I don’t believe she would ever leave her children,” Kerry Simmons told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira. “She loved those kids to death.”

http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/071114/071114_peterson_hmed_515a.standard.jpg

Peterson and his third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose death is being re-investigated.

Stacy Peterson’s family say she took up with Peterson when she was just 17. She got pregnant by him when she was 19, which is when Kathleen Savio found out about the affair and left Peterson. Shortly thereafter, she was found dead in her bathtub. Originally ruled an accidental drowning, police now think the death may have been a homicide that had been staged to look accidental. Her body has been exhumed by police for a second autopsy.

Stacy Peterson disappeared just days after asking her husband for a divorce. Police initially treated it as a missing person’s case, not searching the couple’s home until last Thursday. Her family and friends, though, are convinced that the young woman is dead and that her husband is responsible.

“She told many [people] that if anything happened to her, it was not an accident,” one relative told NBC News.

'A frightening thing'
Lauer reminded Peterson, who appealed for help for the legal bills he’s facing, that he faces life in prison or the death penalty if indicted and convicted in either or both cases. Peterson said he’s very aware of that possibility.

“It’s a frightening thing,” he said “But my family’s provided for, my kids will be okay, and I can go in peace if that happens.

He then turned to the camera, as if to address the audience, and said:

“What they’re seeing is not me. I’ve been a jokester all my life. Now they’re seeing this serious person in deep trouble, this isn’t me. Me is a guy playing jokes on people and kidding around and trying to have fun with life and living.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21784901/ (videos can be seen at link)

[Pauli]

QUIET ON PETERSON’S STREET FOR THE MEANTIME...

Posted: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 1:22 PM


By NBC News' Alison Kartevold

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. – As Drew Peterson took his case to the court of public opinion on the Today Show on Wednesday, he maintained his innocence, but was ready to convict the media for what he sees as excessive attention to the case (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21784901/).

Police are re-examining the suspicious death of Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose body was exhumed Tuesday, and questions have been raised about the mysterious disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy, but he denied involvement in either case.

The Illinois police sergeant told host Matt Lauer that he is not concerned about the police investigation into both cases, but is angry that the media is camped out in front of his house and has all but convicted him.

"I can look you right in the eye and tell you I had nothing to do with either of those instances," he said, adding, "I’m not afraid of law enforcement. I’m afraid of the media." (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21784901/)

When Lauer asked Peterson why he agreed to appear on the show when he is the subject of an investigation, he said he did so in an effort to "get the media off my back."

Peterson said he was, "here today, in attempt to basically let them see my face, here I am. Please get away from my house and leave my family alone."

However the scene in Peterson’s neighborhood on Wednesday was relatively quiet, but relative being the key word.

Quiet along Pheasant Chase Lane
On Wednesday morning, there were only two microwave trucks and our small Suburban-sized satellite truck parked along the cul-de-sac street in front of the Peterson home.

The only other thing visibly out of place in this otherwise picturesque Chicago suburb were the "Keep Out" and "No Trespassing" signs posted every six feet around a neighbor's yard in an effort to keep the media invasion off his grass.

I have been here for more than a week now and sympathize with the neighbors along Pheasant Chase Lane. This is the quietest this street has been since Stacy Peterson's disappearance made national headlines.

On a street where two cars parked side by side can cause a traffic jam, you can imagine how besieged residences feel when large dual-wheeled trucks with giant dishes set up shop at the end of their driveway and crank up generators that drone on endlessly.

There is no getting around it, this much media attention is invasive, but Peterson didn't help himself or his neighbors out with his actions. His evasive behavior, especially early on in the investigation, only made things worse. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21773405/)

And in all truthfulness, as large and imposing as drew Peterson thinks the media's presence has been outside his house the last two weeks, it's been nothing compared to what it could be.

I've covered many stories where there have been far more camera's crews and trucks present. However, this is my job, not my neighborhood. So I guess perception is all relative…

http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/14/466481.aspx

[Pauli]

November 14th, 2007 3:42 PM Eastern
Another Update on Sgt. Peterson’s Resignation - and A Disappointed Police Chief
by Greta Van Susteren

All day long I have been blogging about the acceptance of Sgt. Peterson’s resignation from the police department — the acceptance of the resignation opposed by the Chief of Police. The Chief wants to conduct a full investigation of Sgt. Peterson and can’t do it if Peterson is allowed to resign and is no longer on the police force.

I now have a copy of the letter that Chief Raymond J. McGury sent the Members of the Board of Fire and Police Commission — who overruled the Chief thus making way for the resignation of Sgt. Peterson.

Here is a quote from the Chief’s letter -

“[a]s the Chief of the Department, I deserve the opportunity to do the right thing. For these reasons, I will not accept Sgt. Peterson’s resignation. You may choose to do so. I will await your decision.”

And, as noted above, he was overruled and Sgt. Peterson resigned and there will be no internal investigation of Sgt. Peterson.

A copy of the letter was sent to Mayor Roger Claar, Village Attorney James Boan, and BPD Command Staff.

[Pauli]

Peterson Defends Himself On National TV

Wife's Family Lashes Out At Former Cop, Analyst Calls His Appearance A Mistake

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Former Bolingbrook Police Sergeant Drew Peterson went on national television Wednesday to proclaim his innocence in the disappearance of his fourth wife and the death of his third wife.

Peterson told NBC's "Today" that Stacy Peterson, his fourth wife, had asked him for a divorce, but he thought it was due to hormones.

"I'm not trying to be funny, but Stacy would ask me for a divorce after her sister died on a regular basis," Peterson said. "It was based on her menstrual cycle."

"For a man to declare that any kind of relationship issues are based on PMS or menstrual cycle, I think half the men out there would have missing wives," Pamela Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family, said after the interview aired.

Stacy Peterson, 23, was last seen Oct. 28. Authorities say the case is a potential homicide investigation and have identified her 53-year-old husband as a suspect.

Drew Peterson was a sergeant in southwest suburban Bolingbrook until this week, when the department said he submitted a resignation letter, effective immediately.

Peterson said that his wife fell into a deep depression after her sister died of cancer, and had been taking medication. They often had fights after that, he said. In one instance, he said, she hit him in the head with a frozen steak. But he said he never hit her. Stacy Peterson's loved ones said that's a lie.

"I've heard his kids say they have seen him hit her. And there were other family member witnesses there as well," Kerry Simmons, Stacy Peterson's stepsister, said.

Peterson believes his wife has left him for another man. He has not participated in any of the organized searches for her and said he has no plans to look for her because he thinks she left willfully.

"Why would I look for somebody who I don't believe is missing? She's just gone. She's where she wants to be," Peterson told NBC.

"If you really think that she left you, why haven't you asked anybody if she's heard from, if we have heard from her. He has not ever asked any of us," Sharon Bychowski, Stacy Peterson's best friend, said. "I think he knows exactly where she is."

The interview aired a day after the body of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was exhumed in Illinois as authorities look for clues about how she died.

Savio was found dead in her bathtub in 2004, her hair soaked in blood from a head wound, just before the couple's divorce settlement was finalized. The death was ruled an accidental drowning, but investigators now say evidence suggests that someone killed Savio and tried to make it look like an accident.

Peterson downplayed any similarities between the two cases, but said his relationships with both women were troubled. Both suffered from emotional problems, he said, but were beautiful and exciting when he first met them. He denied he had anything to do with the two cases.

"I can look right in your eye and say I had nothing to do with either of those incidents," he said.

Peterson acknowledged that there were mysterious circumstances surrounding Savio's death, but said he didn't know what, if anything, the exhumation would accomplish.

"It's a shame her rest in peace has to be disturbed for something like this," he told NBC.

Stacy Peterson's family has said she feared her husband, was making plans to divorce him and would not have willingly left her two young children. Savio's relatives have long suspected she didn't drown accidentally.

Peterson, who had been suspended without before resigning, said he agreed to the interview because he believed both women's families and the media were targeting him.

"I think my silence has basically painted me guilty in the media," he said.

Peterson has told his two youngest children -- aged two and four -- that "basically, mom has gone on a vacation." The two teenage sons he fathered with Savio also live with him.

He also pleaded with his wife to return: "Come home," he said. "Tell people where you are."

Drew Peterson said he expects his legal defense in each case could cost as much as $250,000. "If anybody would like to take my case and help me out here, please call," he said.

That drew criticism from Stacy Peterson's stepsister. "It was like he had no feeling whatsoever... He was just trying to get a lawyer to take his case," Simmons said.

Theresa Zagnoli is a communications expert in business in legal affairs. She watched the interview and said Peterson acted "like it's a big joke, it's all about him." She said Peterson's body language betrayed him. "He was stiff and unmoving," she said.

"He brought that cop role with him to the screen, to the television and he played it. I would not have advised him to do that… he's not even showing verbally or non-verbally that he's even interested in where his wife is," Zagnoli said.

CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller said Peterson did not damage himself legally. "The more he exposes himself to the public, the better off he is. The more that he's secretive, the more that he hides behind the bandana, the more that he stonewalls people, people perceive that he's guilty," Miller said.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/drew.peterson.today.2.567280.html

[Pauli]

Drew Peterson On 'Today:' 'Leave My Family Alone'

Stacy Peterson's Family Outraged At Peterson's TV Interview


POSTED: 5:53 pm CST November 14, 2007
UPDATED: 6:04 pm CST November 14, 2007

CHICAGO -- Friends and family of missing woman Stacy Peterson on Wednesday are more outraged than ever after watching her former policeman husband declare his innocence on a national stage with NBC's Matt Lauer on the Today Show.

They said it's the first time Drew Peterson -- who resigned from the police force following the highly-publicized case -- has been forthcoming about his wife's disappearance. But her friends and family said his appearance on national television was self-serving

"I think his purpose this morning was to find himself a free lawyer. He also wanted to meet Matt Lauer," said Stacy's friend, Sharon Bychowski. "It's disgusting."

Stacy's friends also accused Peterson of changing his story about where he thought his wife was.

"She never told me she was with another man --or maybe she did. She found somebody else," Peterson told Lauer.

"Did she leave with a man or find someone? He changed his whole position on that last night. Be consistent," said Stacy Peterson's family spokesperson, Pamela Bosco, after the interview.

Peterson described his third and fourth wives as beautiful, exciting people but also said they came from troubled homes and were prone to mood swings. Peterson said Stacy was so moody, she often threatened to leave.

"Stacy would ask me for a divorce based on her menstrual cycle," Peterson said.

Bosco was appalled to hear that statement, saying, "If that was the case, half of the men in this country would have missing wives."

As for the email Stacy reportedly sent saying,"I'm finding that the relationship I am in is controlling, manipulative and somewhat abusive," Peterson said he "doesn't think those are her words."

Peterson described Stacy as a very good mother, which begs the question everyone is asking and no one can answer: why would such a good mother leave her kids?

"I can look you straight in the eye and tell you I had nothing to do with either of those incidences," Peterson insisted.

But Peterson was much more subdued when he talked about the death of his third wife, Kathy Savio. He described finding her body in the bathtub during their divorce.

"I didn't know if she was dead or alive, so I took her pulse and then backed off," said Peterson. "As a police officer, I didn't want to disturb anything."

And what about reports of a million-dollar insurance policy on Savio's life, Lauer asked.

"It's for my kids in an account to benefit them when they are older," Peterson answered.

When Lauer asked Peterson his purpose for coming on TV, Peterson was very clear: To get the media off his back.

"I'm not afraid of law enforcement, I'm afraid of the media," Peterson said. "My God -- get the media off my back and off my family's back. I'm here today in an attempt for them to see my face. Please get away from my house and leave my family alone."

Bosco said it isn't any wonder Peterson is afraid of the media.

"My position on that is because he's slipped by law enforcement so many times in the past, he's not slipping by the public," Bosco said.

Lauer asked Peterson if he could understand why so many people think he's guilty of the two women's deaths.

"I think my silence has painted me guilty. Based on the media coverage," Peterson said. "I'm as guilty as they come."

http://www.nbc5.com/news/14598988/detail.html?dl=mainclick

[Pauli]

Neighbor who found 3rd wife's body to appear before grand jury

By Matthew Walberg and Gerry Smith | Tribune staff reporters 2:58 PM CST, November 14, 2007 A neighbor who discovered the body of Drew Peterson's ex-wife in her Bolingbrook bathtub in 2004 was testifying before a grand jury this afternoon, convened after authorities reopened the investigation into her death since the disappearance of Peterson's current wife.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m., Steve Carcerano, 39, the neighbor who discovered Kathleen Savio's body, walked into the Will County Court annex in Joliet, across the street from the courthouse. When asked if he was there to testify before the grand jury he replied: "Yes, sir. Yes, I am." Minutes later, the grand jury entered the building, accompanied by prosecutors.

On Tuesday, investigators also issued a grand jury subpoena to Peterson's brother, even as police continued their search for the officer's fourth wife, missing since late October. Authorities also exhumed the body of Savio, the third wife of suspended police Sgt. Drew Peterson, and a second autopsy started Tuesday in an emotional day for her family

Kathleen Savio's casket was removed from Queen of Heaven Cemetery in west suburban Hillside early Tuesday and taken to the Will County morgue. Officials said final results of the second autopsy, ordered by a Will County judge last week, would not be available for days.

Savio, 40, was found dead in the bathtub of her Bolingbrook home March 1, 2004. She and her ex-husband, Peterson, 53, were divorced, but the financial settlement was pending. An autopsy noted her hair was covered in blood and she had suffered a 1-inch gash on the back of her head. But the cause of death was determined to be drowning and a coroner's jury later ruled it accidental.

The Oct. 28 disappearance of Peterson's wife, Stacy Peterson, 23, raised new questions about Savio's death. Last week, after obtaining an order for exhumation, Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow announced a formal reinvestigation into Savio's death.

On the same day, Illinois State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich said Drew Peterson was considered a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance and that the case had moved from a missing person's search to a "potential homicide."

On Tuesday, an investigator went to the Petersons' home on Pheasant Chase Court and served a grand jury subpoena on Drew Peterson's brother, Paul, Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez said.

Savio's relatives, who have long maintained her death was not accidental, welcomed the reopening of the case. Though they gave authorities permission to exhume her body, they expressed surprise at how swiftly the order was carried out.

Savio's niece, Melissa Doman, said she didn't know the exhumation was under way until she saw the coffin dangling from a crane on TV Tuesday morning. One family member was notified by the cemetery about the exhumation less than an hour before it began, preventing relatives from arriving in time, she said.

"My brother and I wanted to be there but for whatever reason they didn't want us being there," Doman said. "It would have been nice if we'd known much earlier."

Authorities suspect Savio was rendered unconscious then placed in the bathtub. Glasgow said the head wound was not sufficient to knock her out and that the scene appeared to have been staged to conceal a homicide.

Mike Nichols, past president of the Illinois Coroners and Medical Examiners Association, said that if a body is properly embalmed, bruising still would be visible, even after three years in the grave. He said although it would be impossible to determine whether Savio was rendered unconscious from a sleeper hold, such as is used in wrestling, that there would be telltale signs if she was choked.

"But that should have been detected in the first autopsy if it was done properly," Nichols said. "I'm not so sure that they're going to find anything else conclusive at this point."

Dr. Michael Baden, former chief medical examiner for New York, reviewed the Savio autopsy report and concluded her death appeared more likely to be a homicide than an accident. An autopsy after exhumation often reveals additional information about how a person died, he said, including turning up trauma not previously noted, and evidence of poisoning through more toxicology tests. "You don't lose anything [with an exhumation], and you could gain something," Baden said.

Doman said her relatives hope the exhumation provides answers to questions that have plagued them for years, but that the process has exacted an emotional toll.

"We had to put her in the ground once, now we have to pull her out and put her back in again," she said. "It's almost worse than when she died."

Meanwhile, police and volunteers spent another fruitless day searching for Stacy Peterson, and after days of optimism, the missing woman's family felt unnerved at the perceived lack of coordination with authorities.

"There is some frustration because we're not getting 100 percent cooperation from Illinois State Police," said Pam Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family, who asked police to share leads that may help direct the search.

"We have people with equipment here on their own time, and it can't be used effectively until they have some place to use it."

Drew Peterson has said he last spoke with his wife on Oct. 28, when she called on her cell phone to say she was leaving him. He repeatedly has said he believes she left him for someone else.

State police and a private group, Texas EquuSearch, have been combing Will County and portions of Grundy County.

A source familiar with the cases said Drew Peterson, who was suspended without pay last week, turned in a resignation letter Monday to the Bolingbrook Police Department. The source would not say whether the 29-year veteran's resignation was accepted.

Police spokesman Lt. Ken Teppel would not confirm the letter was received but said "more information would be made available tomorrow." Drew Peterson is facing an internal investigation in connection with the Savio and Stacy Peterson cases, he said.

The internal affairs case is not complete, Teppel said, but once it is, a report will be turned over to the Fire and Police Commission of Bolingbrook, which will decide whether to pursue termination proceedings against Drew Peterson.

Messages left for Drew Peterson's first wife have not been returned, and family members of his second wife have declined to comment.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_14nov14,0,7393028.story?coll=chi_tab01_la yout

[Pauli]

Drew Peterson resigns from Bolingbrook Police Department


Former officer pleads with missing wife to come home

November 14, 2007 - Drew Peterson, a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, has resigned from the Bolingbrook Police Department. He pleaded with Stacy Peterson to come home during an on-camera interview today.


On Monday, the Bolingbrook Police Department received a letter from Drew Peterson, expressing his intent to resign as sergeant.

On Wednesday morning, Drew Peterson appeared on NBC's "Today" show. When asked to send a message to his wife, Stacy, he said: "Come home. Tell people where you are."

Stacy Peterson, 23, was last seen October 28th. Authorities say the case is a potential homicide investigation and have identified her husband as a suspect.

Drew Peterson denied that he harmed his wife or that he had anything to do with her disappearance. He does not think she is dead. He says she told him that "she found somebody else."

"I believe she is with someone else right now. She found someone else - that was her exact words," said Peterson.

Drew Peterson says that is why he hasn't joined the hundreds of volunteers who have been searching for her.

During his 20-minute interview in New York, Peterson called both Kathleen and Stacy emotionally unstable.

"I can look right in your eye and say I had nothing to do with either of those instances," said Peterson.

"She never told me she was seeing another man. She -- maybe she did. But I believe she is with somebody else right now," he said.

Stacy's family says Peterson's statements about his wife's disappearance have been inconsistent from the very beginning.

"He said originally that she left with someone to the Bahamas, and now he said he thought she found someone new. So again, stay consistent," said friend Pamela Bosco.

Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio's, death in a bathtub came just after the couple divorced. Stacy went missing right after her family says she told Drew she wanted to end their marriage. Peterson described both his wives as emotionally unstable. He blamed it all on hormones, a statement that disgusted Stacy's family and friends.

"I also think that every woman in America should be appalled that that was his direction. That while she had a PMS issue, she wanted a divorce. I think he should be ashamed of himself," said family riend Sharon Bychowski.

Stacy Peterson's best friend said she believes the real motive for Drew Peterson to go on national television was to meet Matt Lauer and also to look for a national criminal defense attorney. Drew Peterson did plead for someone out there to take his case.

The former officer admitted he and Stacy had a very difficult relationship. He says they had heated arguments - but he never physically abused her.

"There were a few incidents in which Stacy and I would have verbal confrontations and I would be in her face. I never raised a hand to her," said Peterson.

The interview aired a day after the body of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was exhumed for another autopsy. Peterson says he thought it was "a shame her rest in peace has to be disturbed."

"I think my silence has basically painted me guilty in the media," said Peterson.

Prosecutors called the 2004 accidental drowning of Savio a possible homicide. When the autopsy results are complete, they will only be made available to law enforcement officials and not to the public.
State police served a subpoena to the brother of Drew Peterson, calling him to testify before a Will County grand jury. He testified Wednesday afternoon. The grand jury will also hear testimony from Savio's neighbor, the first person to discover Savio's body.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5761304

[Pauli]

Probe of missing woman triggers new look at death of husband's ex-wife
By DON BABWIN


ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Three years after her lifeless body was found in a bathtub, authorities finally are paying attention to Kathleen Savio.

Nobody listened when she said she was afraid of her husband, a police officer in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook. After her death in 2004, a coroner's jury ruled Savio's death an accidental drowning even though one of her sisters told them that Savio had warned that if she died, it would look like an accident.

Now they suspect she was killed. But the theory didn't dawn on them until her ex-husband came under suspicion in the recent disappearance and possible murder of his new wife.

Drew Peterson, a former police office in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, denies any role in his wife's disappearance, saying she told him she was leaving him for another man.

Stacy Peterson, 23, was reported missing Oct. 29, the day after failing to show up to help her sister paint a house. She was 17 when she began dating Peterson. He was 47 and still married to Savio.

Peterson believes his wife has left him for another man, and said he has no plans to look for her because he thinks she left willfully.

"Why would I look for somebody who I don't believe is missing? She's just gone. She's where she wants to be," Peterson told NBC's "Today" show.

Peterson's troubles began during his marriage to Savio, who died in 2004.

She left behind a trail of clues about the couple's stormy marriage, including an order of protection she filed in 2002 after Peterson allegedly knocked her down, ripped a necklace off her, and left marks on her body. Savio wrote in the order that she feared Peterson could kill her.

"He wants me dead and if he has to he will burn the house down just to shut me up," she wrote.

A coroner's report includes testimony from Savio's sister, Susan, who said Savio told family members that, "if she would die, it may look like an accident, but it wasn't."

Authorities have not said Peterson, now 53, is a suspect in Savio's death. But they have reviewed autopsy photos, police reports, court documents and notes from emergency room visits _ even exhumed her body _ as they point the finger at Peterson in Stacy Peterson's disappearance and possible murder.

"I would say that right now Drew Peterson has gone from being a person of interest to clearly being a suspect," in his fourth wife's disappearance, said Illinois State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich at a news conference last week.

Peterson downplayed any similarities between the two cases, but said his relationships with both women were troubled. Both suffered from emotional problems, he said. He denied having anything to do with the two cases.

"I can look right in your eye and say I had nothing to do with either of those incidences," he told NBC.

Peterson's first and second wives have not spoken about their marriages to Peterson.

Dave Brown, the husband of Peterson's first wife, told WGN-TV Wednesday that his wife hasn't talked to Peterson in more than ten years. But he said his wife has never mentioned Peterson being violent or threatening during the marriage.

"She didn't have any of that kind of problem with him that long ago," Brown said. "There's nothing that we can add. It's up to the courts. This is America, people are innocent until they're proven guilty."

Authorities have been tightlipped about specifics of their investigation regarding Savio, including what they hope to learn from examining her body.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, who was not prosecutor at the time, said some tests that should have been conducted on Savio's remains never were.

Near the end of her marriage, Savio traded battery allegations with her husband, whose job put him at the center of the criminal justice system.

Drew Peterson twice convinced the state's attorney's office to bring battery charges against his wife, but she was acquitted both times. Peterson never was charged, although Bolingbrook police have said officers investigated 18 domestic calls involving the couple.

Savio's family suspects police were trying to protect one of their own.

"She called it the 'good old boys club,'" said Charlie Doman, Savio's nephew. "Cops taking care of cops is what it was."

Among the documents Savio's family has kept for years is a copy of a letter they say she sent to an assistant state's attorney in Will County, claiming Peterson had beaten her several times, but police declined to file reports.

They also have a report from a suburban Chicago hospital that Savio visited in 2002 for treatment of a sprained wrist after what she said was a confrontation with Peterson. The report includes a notation by someone, possibly her doctor, that Savio said her husband was a Bolingbrook police officer and that the police would not take a report on the incident.

Documents relating to Savio's domestic battery arrests are gone. According to her family, she had the arrests expunged from her record. A spokesman for the Will County state's attorney's office said authorities have found little paperwork on the arrests, and it is unclear who Savio was accused of attacking.

But Savio's family said that, in one of the cases, the alleged victim was Stacy Peterson. Savio's nephew Charlie Doman said Stacy Peterson became pregnant while Drew Peterson was still married to Savio.

An emergency room report provided to The Associated Press by the family contains a notation that Savio was injured during a confrontation involving someone named Stacy. Savio, her family said, was arrested after the two women argued.

"He staged it to make it look like a battery," said Pamela Bosco, a close friend of Stacy Peterson's family.

Savio's family says their long-held suspicions are exactly why they held onto the documents.

"Finally, they're paying attention," said Doman. "They're looking at everything that they had there already."

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2007/11/14/ap-state-il/d8stssig0.txt

[Pauli]

Is Drew in denial - or hiding something?


November 15, 2007
By Jennifer Golz Staff writer

Drew Peterson appeared on NBC's "Today" show to clarify misconceptions about himself he believes the media has created.
But Naperville-based psychologist Laura Faynor-Ciha says the interview left her with more questions than answers.

http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/multimedia/na15_peterson_p1a_scn_feed_20071115_00_36_59_2038-113-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/652085,na15_peterson_p1a.fullimage%27,%20%27fullim age%27,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no ,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,w idth=650,height=650%27%29) Drew Peterson interviews with Matt Lauer on NBC’s “Today” show Wednesday in New York. He told Lauer that his missing fourth wife, Stacy, 23, had asked him for a divorce – but he thought it was due to hormones.

http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/multimedia/NA15_PETERSON_P2_scn_feed_20071114_23_12_09_2024-103-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/652019,NA15_PETERSON_P2.fullimage%27,%20%27fullima ge%27,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no, status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,wi dth=650,height=650%27%29) Drew Peterson shields his face from the media with a bandana as he walks out of a neighbor's house Nov. 1 in Bolingbrook. In a "Today" show interview Wednesday with Matt Lauer, he asked that the "media get off my back."
Herald News file

"He sounded disconnected from the situation in an overall sort of way, and what does that mean?" she said. "Is he separating himself from the pain and loss of family or from something he did wrong?

"The interview didn't clarify that for me."

Peterson granted his first national on-camera interview to Matt Lauer on Wednesday in New York. He spoke about his marriages to his third and fourth wives: the deceased Kathleen Savio, and missing Stacy Peterson, whose disappearance is as mysterious as the death of her predecessor.

Peterson, 53, has been named a suspect in the Illinois State Police's investigation into the possible homicide of the 23-year-old Bolingbrook mother of two, who was last seen Oct. 28, two days after she reportedly told her cop husband she wanted a divorce.

"Stacy would ask me for a divorce after her sister died on a regular basis...it was based on her menstrual cycle," Peterson said told Lauer.

"He certainly seems to give women's hormones a lot of power," said Susan Ahmari, a psychiatrist with Linden Oaks Hospital at Edward. "But I'm not sure hormones are so erratic for women so frequently.

"I think it's something people joke about," she said. "Even women joke about PMS affecting their moods if they're irritable, but for it really to affect women's behavior in a significant way is very uncommon."

Assuming Peterson was correct in his testament to Stacy's mood swings, it would have been even more uncommon for him to have married two women affected by the hormones so much that it resulted in the demise of each marriage.

Peterson's third wife, Savio, 40, was found dead March 1, 2004, in a waterless bathtub of the Bolingbrook home she once shared with her then ex-husband. Although the death was ruled an accidental drowning at the time, the case has been re-opened by the Will County state's attorney and her body was exhumed earlier this week for further forensic testing.

During the interview, Peterson described his relationship with both Savio and Stacy in similar manners.

"In the beginning it was very romantic," he said of both wives, but later went on to call each relationship "an emotional roller coaster."

"At first it was very romantic, until she had children," Peterson said of Savio. "Hormones kicked in and again it was an emotional roller coaster."
Faynor-Ciha said Peterson is not the first and won't be the last husband to complain about his wife's hormones.

"But not every man who complains about his wife's hormones has a wife who goes missing or who is mysteriously found dead in the bathtub," she said.

She said Peterson is distancing himself from his relationship with both women, so much that he's also distancing himself from the children he fathered with each.

"It's when our children were born, not 'her children'" she said. "It sounds like the children and hormones have gotten in the way of him staying connected in those relationships."

Peterson told Lauer he hasn't told the children he shares with Stacy that their mother is missing, instead saying she's "on vacation."
Both mental health professionals noted Peterson's detachment and lack of emotions during the interview.

"I think the overall tone of his interview is generally way removed - removed from responsibility about what could have happened to her (Stacy)," Faynor-Ciha said.

The denial could be a coping mechanism, or it could be something else.

"We don't know if the source of denial is that he has done something wrong and he's covering it up, or is he not wanting to deal with the fact that he over-reacted and pushed things too far in the relationship," Faynor-Ciha said.

When confronted with the e-mail Stacy wrote to a friend that described her relationship with her husband as "abusive," Peterson denied they were written by his wife and insisted they were fabricated.

Peterson seemed to fumble when asked by the morning news anchor about his claims of Stacy having run off with another man.

"She never told me she was seeing another man," Peterson told Lauer, and then just as quickly changed his response to, "Well maybe she did. She 'found somebody else,' that was her exact words."

Even if Stacy was depressed, it's not enough cause for Ahmari to believe she would run off without another word to family and friends.

"Just because you're depressed doesn't mean you would be completely irrational and impulsive," she said.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/652002,6_1_NA15_PETERSON_S1.article

[Pauli]

Stacy's sweetheart speaks out

3-YEAR ROMANCE | 'She was so heartfelt with everything. She was really concerned'

November 15, 2007
BY KARA SPAK Staff Reporter/kspak@suntimes.com
Stacy Peterson wasn't the type to date around.

With the exception of her husband, whom she met when she was 17 and married when she was the 19-year-old mother of his fifth child, she only had one serious boyfriend as a Romeoville High School student.

http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/111507boyfriend_cst_feed_20071114_19_29_48_1881-116-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/651393,111507boyfriend.fullimage%27,%20%27fullimag e%27,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,s tatus=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,wid th=650,height=650%27%29) 2001 prom picture of Stacy Peterson (left) and former boyfriend Ralph Chira.
That boyfriend, Ralph Chira, talked about her Wednesday. He discussed his surprise when she started dating Drew Peterson, a man 30 years her senior, how Peterson proposed to Stacy two years before they married, and how Chira's experiences with Stacy don't jibe with Drew Peterson's statements on the "Today" show.

Drew Peterson reiterated Wednesday his wife left him for another man. State Police are calling Drew Peterson a suspect in a possible homicide investigation.

A high school psychology teacher paired Chira with Stacy for a class assignment that involved her walking him around the school blindfolded. He bumped into a railing on a second-floor balcony. She grabbed his arm, nervous he would fall.

"She was about to cry," said Chira, now 26 and the manager of a Meijer meat department. "She was so heartfelt with everything she does. She was just really concerned."

The chance encounter spurred a three-year romance that included two proms, dinners out and the first serious romantic relationship for both.

Chira said while he knew he wouldn't go to college, Stacy started at Joliet Junior College right after graduating from high school. She was studying nursing there before disappearing Oct. 28.

Though he said they were both falling in love for the first time, the pair never discussed starting a family. The only discussions involving children were how not to have them, he said.

In 2001, Chira and Stacy broke up after he said he started spending more time with his friends. Weeks later, she told him she met Drew Peterson.

"She told me he was older, a Bolingbrook police officer," Chira said. "She worked overnight [at a hotel], and I guess he would come in there and make her feel safe."

Soon thereafter, Chira said she told him Drew Peterson had asked her to marry him, though he was married to Kathleen Savio. Stacy told Chira she said yes. She never mentioned Savio, who divorced Peterson in 2003 and was found dead in a bathtub in 2004. Stacy and Drew Peterson married after his divorce in 2003 and the birth of their son.

Chira said he saw Stacy frequently shopping at Meijer. He said he saw no outward signs of the depression or moodiness Drew Peterson spoke of on "Today." Nor did he remember any unusual behavior associated with her menstrual cycle. Peterson claimed Wednesday she would ask him for a divorce when she got her period.

"She seemed happy," Chira said of the last time he saw her, about six weeks ago. Unlike Drew Peterson, he has participated in searches for her.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/651815,CST-NWS-boyfriend15.article

[Pauli]

Drew Peterson's second wife tells her story

She recalls he threatened to kill her, make it look like an accident


By Erika Slife | Tribune staff reporter November 16, 2007 For the last two weeks, Vicki Connolly has watched in disbelief and with conflicting emotions as controversy swirls around her ex-husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson.

She doesn't know whether he had anything to do with the disappearance of his current wife, Stacy Peterson, who has been missing since Oct. 28, or the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, who died mysteriously in 2004.

But in the first interview granted by one of his ex-wives since Stacy's disappearance, Connolly, 48, said Thursday that during their marriage an increasingly controlling Peterson told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident. While she couldn't believe he would ever do it, something prompted her to confide in Bolingbrook police officers who she considered friends. "So they would know he said these things to me," she said.

She said Peterson would hit her but not hard enough to go to the hospital, and not often enough for her to expect it. It made it worse, she said, that she never knew it was coming. "It was mind games; it was head games," she said.

Peterson, who did not return phone calls Thursday, has denied being abusive to Savio or Stacy Peterson.

Police have described Peterson, 53, as a suspect in 23-year-old Stacy's disappearance and are reinvestigating Savio's death. Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow said her death appeared to have been staged as an accident. Savio's body was exhumed Tuesday.

Peterson, who is not charged with any crimes, has denied involvement in both cases.

"He has the experience, the knowledge, the means, and the mind to do that," she said, her voice trailing off. "That's all I've thought about. ... I'm still working through it. I'll be honest."

This much Connolly knows: She was married to Peterson for 10 years, beginning in 1982. They raised each other's children from previous marriages. They operated a bar together. She stuck by him through his infidelities and during legal problems in the 1980s -- until she finally "caught him cheating on me with someone with my own eyeballs."

"The thing with Drew Peterson, and I'm sure if [Savio and Stacy Peterson] were here to comment they would say the same thing, when it was good, it was wonderful, it was great," Connolly said. "But when it was bad, it was really bad."

She met Peterson in a Bolingbrook bar in the early 1980s. She was there with her friends to see a favorite band.

"This man, just oozing of confidence, he wanted to dance with me and buy my girlfriends drinks," she recalled. "And he set his eyes on me and it was like he was going to get me. He couldn't get me to move in with him fast enough."

At the time, she was married, a relationship that was already ending. She said it was only three or four months after her divorce that she moved in with Peterson. He was so persistent, she said.

"He thought he took me away to a better life. He definitely felt that way. It's ironic," she said. "In his eyes, he did believe that."

It's a pattern Peterson continued in his next two relationships, she said.

Several days after his wife's disappearance, Peterson told the Tribune that when he met Stacy, he had an "uncontrollable need to take care of her." On Wednesday, Peterson told the "Today" show that both Stacy and Kathleen came from troubled homes.

Henry Savio, Kathleen's older brother, disputed that assertion. "No, we're OK," he said. "She was a very strong woman." He added that Kathleen owned her own condo and worked as an accountant.

Connolly said she also was well off when she met Peterson. She had a steady job at a bank and drove a new car. But she thought it was romantic that he wanted to save her.

In hindsight, his motive is now clear, she said.

"I believe that man had a disease to his ego. He's a legend in his own mind," she said.

The couple's honeymoon ended about two years after they were married. He worked with the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad as an undercover narcotics officer. He was a talented officer, she said, and his success poisoned his outlook.

"He really led a double life. But what fed his ego was his line of work, how he could deceive people," she said. "When he'd come home, he'd be the exact opposite. He could do it and he could do it with no problems."

His zeal for his job, though, led to a brief downfall. According to court documents, Peterson was fired in 1985 after the Bolingbrook Fire and Police Commission found him guilty of official misconduct, disobedience, failure to report a bribe and self-assigned police action. At the time, he was working on a case against a reputed drug dealer.

Connolly declined to comment on the case, but she said it was during this time she learned of his first of many affairs. But she forgave him.

In 1986, Peterson was reinstated after a Will County judge overruled the commission's decision. And his controlling behavior intensified, she said.

"We had bugs in our house. He put a microphone in our kitchen and taped our conversations. He was cheating so much he wanted to make sure I wasn't," she said. "His whole thing with us is that, 'I need to know my family is safe at home and you're not going to be doing anything you shouldn't be doing' -- and that enabled him to do whatever he wanted."

When tensions would boil over, the police came to the house a few times, she said, but added, "the police were our friends," and no reports were filed.

Finally, about 1992, she had enough. By this time, he was already having an affair with Savio, she said, and it was easy for them to divorce. She called it amicable.

Now, although remarried and living on a farm Downstate, she still feels resentment when looking back on her life with Peterson.

"We had such a great life and he blew it. It wasn't good enough for him. He had four great wives who did everything for him. And it was never enough for Drew Peterson."

Earlier Thursday, the Bolingbrook Police Pension Board voted unanimously to give Peterson his pension, saying the law prohibited it from taking any other action, even though one board trustee expressed apprehension.

"While I understand the pension statutes, I'm not comfortable with the decision we have to make today," Trustee Alyssia Lee said, reading a prepared statement. "I am aware that if I am the only no vote, Sgt. Peterson will receive his pension. Therefore my decision is based solely on the statute."

Attorney Richard Reimer issued a news release explaining the board had no alternative but to grant Peterson's request for retirement and give him his $6,067.71 monthly pension.

"While the trustees ... are sensitive to the intense scrutiny placed on Sgt. Peterson and, unfortunately, the Village of Bolingbrook, the Board is required to grant Sgt. Peterson's benefits without delay, as to do otherwise would expose the trustees to liability for breach of their fiduciary duties ...," the release stated.

A grand jury has subpoenaed witnesses in the Savio and Stacy Peterson investigations. A source familiar with the cases said Drew Peterson exercised his 5th Amendment rights when he appeared last week.

State police searched a water-filled quarry Thursday and coordinated a ground search with about two dozen of Stacy Peterson's friends and relatives, finding nothing.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_16_nov16,1,5731711.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true

[Pauli]

Why it makes sense to suspect Drew Peterson
Van Zandt: Threats, mysterious death of third wife make cop likely suspect

“If I tried to leave him, he said he’d kill me.” Those were the words allegedly spoken by 23-year-old missing mother of two, Stacy Peterson, to a friend and neighbor about a threat her 53-year-old husband Drew Peterson made. On Oct. 26, Stacy told Drew she wanted a divorce. Two days later she was gone. Her policeman husband suggests that she has left for personal reasons in the past, and that he suspects she has either run off on her own or run away with an unnamed man. No evidence of either scenario has yet been discovered.

What is it, though, in Sgt. Peterson’s background that would make him any more of a person of interest in his wife’s disappearance than the statistical probability ascribed to any other spouse or partner of a missing person? Common sense would support her husband knowing something more about her disappearance than is publicly known. Consider the following:

Sgt. Peterson is 30 years his wife’s senior, having met and allegedly dated her when she was 17 and while he was still married to his then 40-year-old wife, Kathleen Savio. Stacy Peterson is Sgt. Peterson’s fourth wife and he has a total of eight children.

A history of deceit: Sgt. Peterson allegedly told Stacy he was single when he was still married to his third wife. Other wife-killers have told similar lies concerning their marital status, like Scott Peterson who told Amber Frey he was a widower.
Sgt. Peterson allegedly threatened and beat his third wife, Kathleen, who he married less than three months after his second divorce. Of the 18 individual reports of domestic abuse from their household, at least half were related to allegations of physical abuse by one or both parties to the marriage.

After his divorce from Kathleen, who once had a domestic protection order against him, Sgt. Peterson attempted to have his $2,000-per-month child support payment reduced, to no avail. Kathleen continued to live in the house in which she, Sgt. Peterson and their two children resided at the time of her untimely death. At this point, she was in legal action to receive part of Sgt. Peterson’s anticipated retirement pension.
Kathleen Savio's death

On the weekend of her 2004 death, Kathleen is believed to have turned over her two children to Sgt. Peterson. When he later returned the children to his former residence, he was unable to get into the house. So he, an experienced police officer, went to a neighbor’s residence for help. The neighbor called a locksmith who responded and unlocked the door to the residence.

The neighbor entered the house and found Kathleen dead in an empty whirlpool-style bath tub. Her head reportedly showed signs of trauma and there was blood in her wet hair. Because her hair was wet and her fingers were wrinkled, the local medical examiner ruled her tragic death to be accidental, saying the water had probably slowly leaked away from the tub. Kathleen had made notes concerning her fights with her former husband — just in case, according to her sister, something happened to her.

A pattern of behavior?
Stacy Peterson told relatives she was afraid of her husband. Sgt. Peterson had allegedly monitored and limited his current wife’s telephone and social contacts, “watching her every move,” even to the extent of allegedly following her as she went to class at a local college. He previously refused to allow her to visit her sister in a nearby community and had allegedly threatened her on more than one occasion. Stacy had told a number of friends that if anything happened to her it was not an accident; her husband, who had allegedly beaten her in the past, would kill her.

Stacy Peterson was said to be a good mother to her two children with Sgt. Peterson and the two children she was raising from his previous marriage to Kathleen. Family and friends say she would never run off and leave her children. She was, however, according to friends and relatives, depressed concerning the deaths of two of her sisters, one by SIDS and one in a fire.

Sgt. Peterson acknowledges a telephone call from Stacy on the day of her disappearance in which she allegedly indicates that she was leaving him. It is unknown if this call has been verified by independent investigation. In an e-mail to a friend, Stacy described her husband as “controlling, manipulative and somewhat abusive,” asking her friend to pray for her for wisdom, protection and strength.

Some believe that had Drew Peterson not been a police officer, the alleged domestic abuse and subsequent death of his third wife, and his alleged abuse of his current wife, would have brought him to the attention of the criminal justice system. In many police departments, allegations of domestic abuse and the issuance of a restraining order would have caused the officer to have his firearm taken away. His supervisors would have placed him on some kind of administrative duty until the allegations were resolved (the so-called “rubber gun squad.”)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21773405/ (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21773405/)

[Pauli]

Private autopsy on Savio: 'It's a homicide'


November 17, 2007
BY JOE HOSEY Herald News
A renowned forensic pathologist who performed a private autopsy on Drew Peterson's third wife concluded her 2004 drowning was a homicide, not an accident, as previously believed.

Dr. Michael Baden, a former medical examiner, author and frequent television news guest, came to his conclusion Friday after conducting the third post-mortem on the body of Kathleen Savio, 40, found dead in her bathtub in March 2004.

"It's my opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, it's a homicide, and that's what I would put down on the death certificate," Baden said during a interview on Fox News.

The results of the official autopsy that will impact the case have not been released. A coroner's jury ruled her death an accidental drowning in 2004, but Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow reopened the case after Drew Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, vanished Oct. 28.

Drew Peterson was a sergeant with the Bolingbrook police department until this week. State Police have named him a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

Baden agreed that Savio died by drowning. But he said there was enough evidence, even in 2004, to rule it a homicide.

"There were indications then of multiple blunt force traumas, of being beaten up," Baden said. "One of the things we were able to look at today, those bruises were still there. And we could see from the naked eye they were fresh."

Glasgow had Savio's body exhumed from Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside on Tuesday and re-examined by forensic pathologist Larry Blum. Savio's family then secured a court order to have an autopsy of their own performed, said Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil. The family then brought in Baden.

A police source said Savio was buried in a "cheap casket" that leaked water and led to the body decomposing at an accelerated rate.

"There's a whole lot of damage to the body," the source said.

But O'Neil said the remains were in good enough shape for Blum to get his job done. "The preservation was good enough for Dr. Blum to issue a valid report," O'Neil said.

Baden, who said he has performed 20,000 autopsies, agreed that the casket did leak, causing soft tissue to decompose, but he was still able to find the fresh bruising to her hands, chest and abdomen. There were no bruises on her arms, he said.

Savio's body will be returned to its resting place in the coming days, O'Neil said.

Henry Savio told Fox News he always thought his daughter's death was a homicide. "I never believed anything else that happened to her," Henry Savio said. "It makes me a lot more happier that I found out something that I should have found out years back."

Savio's niece Melissa Doman said her family pushed for a third autopsy because investigators have refused to divulge how her aunt died. She said Baden donated his services.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/655107,CST-NWS-baden17.article

[Pauli]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/alternatethumbnails/storylink/2007-11/33835772-17064550.jpg (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-petersons-bulldog-link,0,7008184.storylink?coll=chi_tab01_layout)

Need for control drove Peterson, families say

By Erika Slife, Josh Noel and Gerry Smith |Tribune staff reporters November 18, 2007 Whether Drew Peterson was sitting in his squad car watching her as she left the mall or calling her eight times while she got a haircut, Stacy Peterson was accustomed to being the main object of her husband's attention, her family and friends say.

Ultimately, though, Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, had a need to control his wife that got to be too much, they said. Last year, while her sister Tina was dying of cancer, Stacy would stay at her home, sometimes for long stretches. One day, Drew showed up unannounced to see if she was cheating on him, her sister Cassandra Cales said.

"That's when she said, 'You know, I can't do this anymore,' " Cales said.

Stacy, 23, told her husband she wanted a divorce days before she disappeared Oct. 28, her loved ones say. Peterson, 53, says she ran away with another man. He has not been charged with a crime, but police labeled him a suspect in the "potential homicide investigation."

The disappearance led authorities to re-examine the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40, who was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004. A coroner's jury ruled the death accidental, but officials—and an expert brought in by the Savio family—now suspect it may have been staged as an accident. Her body was exhumed Tuesday.

Peterson has denied involvement in the death of Kathleen and the disappearance of Stacy.

The portrait of Drew Peterson that has emerged from scores of interviews is of a charming man who stops at nothing to win the hearts of the women he desires. In an interview published in the Tribune on Friday, his second wife, Vicki Connolly, spoke of the extremes she experienced with Peterson: wonderful at times, and "really bad" at others, including threats on her life.

As each marriage wore on, Peterson became increasingly controlling and suspicious—even though he was the one who was already onto his next affair, according to relatives and his second wife. And as Peterson got older, the age gap between he and his wives grew.

His first wife was just three years younger than Peterson. When he was a senior at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Peterson began dating a freshman, Carol Hamilton. Three years later, the two married and moved to Falls Church, Va., where he was stationed in the Army.

Now remarried, she declined to be interviewed, but her husband, David Brown, said Peterson never threatened her physically during their four-year marriage. He was, however, "very controlling."

"If she wanted to go out on her own, he wouldn't like that," said Brown, who has known Drew since they were kids.

The couple moved to Bolingbrook, where Brown would see Peterson at a bar. Peterson, he said, had hair down to the middle of his back and told people he was working undercover.

While Carol was pregnant with their second child, she discovered he was cheating on her.

"When she found out he had a girlfriend and confronted him with it, he didn't want to get rid of the girlfriend," Brown said. "There were some problems before they had kids, but once they had kids is when things really went downhill."

The couple divorced amicably in 1978.

In 1982, Peterson married second wife Victoria O'Neil, who was 23 at the time. He was 28. They met at a Bolingbrook bar.

Vicki had a daughter, Lisa, from a previous relationship, and she said Peterson's desire to have Lisa call him "Dad" was nearly obsessive. Lisa's real father was not welcome in the home, Vicki said.

"[Lisa's father] didn't fit into our little realm," Vicki said. "It took a lot of years for me to see that. In Drew's eyes, I was in his world and he didn't want any interference."

He said he preferred Vicki and Lisa remain at home, where he knew they were safe, she said. That left time for his career—and multiple affairs, she later learned.

Peterson performed his job with fervor, but landed in trouble in 1985. The police commission found him guilty of official misconduct, disobedience, failure to report a bribe and self-assigned police action. The trouble forced the couple to sell their home and move in with his parents, Vicki said. But in 1986, he was reinstated after a judge overruled the commission.

Vicki decided to leave Drew, mostly because of his affairs.The divorce was amicable, Vicki recalled, because Drew was already involved with the woman who would become his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Kathleen didn't know Peterson was still married when she started dating him, her brother, Henry Savio, said. "He told my sister that he wasn't married and that he didn't have any kids when he met her," he said.

Kathleen, or Kitty as she was known to relatives, was around 28 at the time, working as an accountant and looking to get married, her brother said. They met through a friend, and Savio said Peterson, about 10 years older than his sister, swept her off her feet.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-drew_bd_18nov18,1,2715802.story

[Pauli]

The man Stacy went to in trying time


November 17, 2007
BY JOE HOSEY AND JANET LUNDQUIST Herald News
Investigators in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson have turned an eye to a Shorewood man from her past she reached out to just three weeks before she vanished.

Searches have been conducted in the area around the home of 35-year-old Scott Rossetto, and authorities have called him before a grand jury this week, he said.

A police source, however, said investigators do not count him as a suspect in Peterson's disappearance. Instead, the source said investigators have speculated that Peterson's body may have been dumped near Rossetto's home in an effort to frame him as the killer.

A police source said Rossetto and Peterson, 23, were romantically involved, but Rossetto insisted they were not. He said he only knew her because his brother and a friend had dated Peterson years ago, before she married former Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson.

Rossetto said he had not heard from Stacy Peterson in years when she called him last month.

"All of a sudden she called me once out of the blue about three weeks before she disappeared," Rossetto said. "That was the first contact in six years I had with her. She said she was just going through some stuff and just found my phone number."

Rossetto declined to discuss his recent conversation with Stacy Peterson, saying, "I can't tell you anything." He also refused to say whether she spoke of any trouble in her life.

The two exchanged messages, but never made plans to meet, he said. "We were friends," Rossetto said. "We talked every once in a while. But that's it." Police tracked down Rossetto through phone and text messages.

State Police have branded Drew Peterson a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, his fourth wife. And authorities exhumed the body of his third wife last week to see if she really drowned in her bathtub as initially believed.

The suspicions swirling around Drew Peterson, 53, have not frightened Rossetto.

"Let him [try to get me]. I don't give a crap," Rossetto said. "Why would I be afraid of Drew? What is he going to possibly do to me? He's more than welcome to try busting into my house."

Rossetto said he was not tempted to indulge in an affair with Stacy Peterson.

"No. I didn't want any baggage," he said. "Sorry, she had a lot. She was married to a Bolingbrook cop and could've made my life miserable. I wasn't risking it. And I knew Drew well enough to know to stay away from her."

Rossetto said he didn't know that police are looking at him as a lover of Stacy Peterson's.

"I'm sure Drew probably thinks that, but I could care less about what Drew thinks," he said.

Drew Peterson said Friday he knows little about Rossetto -- but he knows of him.

"I heard of him," Drew Peterson said, but added that he had "no idea" how long the Shorewood man may have been involved with his wife.

"The police are looking into it," Drew Peterson said of the connection between Stacy Peterson and Rossetto, although he would not elaborate. He said police have not approached him about Rossetto.

Rossetto said he met Drew Peterson only once. Asked if Stacy Peterson was afraid of her husband, Rossetto said, "I'm not confirming that."

Rossetto said his brother dated Stacy Peterson for about two months years ago and they broke up when he left for the Army. "When my brother left for the military she started dating Drew and we haven't seen her since because he cut off all ties with us," he said.

Drew Peterson has repeatedly said he feels Stacy Peterson abandoned their family and likely ran off with another man. He recently appeared before a grand jury, as did his brother, Paul Peterson.

Drew Peterson, who in the last week traveled to New York City to appear on a national talk show, said the daily grind of police and media scrutiny is wearing on him.

"I'm just tired," Drew Peterson said. "It wears on you, you know?"

http://www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/655554,CST-NWS-boling18.article

[Pauli]

Attorney: Don't Make Savio's Death 'Entertainment'

Independent M.E. Calls Death Of Kathleen Savio, 3rd Wife Of Drew Peterson, A Homicide

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CBS) ― In response to a conclusion by an independent pathologist that Drew Peterson's third wife died in a homicide, Peterson's attorneys said her death "should not be a source of entertainment."

As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, nationally renowned pathologist and former New York City chief medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden concluded that Kathleen Savio died in a homicide. He said it was evident that she had been the victim of foul play after just taking a first look at Savio's body, which was exhumed earlier this week.

"My experience has been normal, healthy adults don't die accidentally in bathtubs, period," Baden said.

Savio died on March 1, 2004, and her body was found in a whirlpool-style bathtub. At the time, the Will County coroner's office ruled that she had died in an accidental drowning, but Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said in light of the disappearance of Drew Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, an exhumation and new autopsy were warranted.

Baden said the first red flag that indicated foul play was that the body had about a dozen bruises, including a laceration on her head.

"You don't get that drowning in a bathtub," Baden said.

Baden announced his conclusion on Greta van Susteren's program Fox News Channel. Attorney Joel Brodsky of the firm Brodsky & Odeh said Baden had indicated the conclusion before he conducted the autopsy, and emphasized Fox News Channel to be "part of the Fox Entertainment Group.

"The results of Dr. Baden's autopsy on Ms. Savio do not surprise us, not because we believe they are accurate, but only because Dr. Baden had indicated to Ms. Susteren a week before he had performed the autopsy that he believed Kathleen's death was not an accident," Brodsky said in a news release. "While Dr. Baden is a renowned pathologist, we do not know the motivation for donating his services, and the nature of his arrangement with the Fox Entertainment Group. All we wish to say is that Kathleen's death should not be a source of entertainment."

Brodsky also questioned Baden's statement that someone normal and healthy would not die accidentally in a bathtub.

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that in 2006 there were 126,563 bathtub/shower related injuries in the U.S. based on 3,147 reported incidents, including four reported deaths, for people between the ages of 21 and 65" Brodsky said in the statement. "A great many of these reported injuries included lacerations, contusions and abrasions from falls in bathtubs."

In addition, Brodsky claimed the Consumer Product Safety Commission said two of the six shower and bathtub-related deaths last year were by drowning.

Further information was unavailable on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site.

Baden said that Fox News paid for his flight to Chicago so he could examine the remains Friday in suburban Will County with the family's consent.

Baden insisted that he first give his opinions to Savio's family and let them decide whether he could then talk to the news media, including Fox, he said.

"The agreement that I made with Fox was, if I'm doing this at the request of the family, the first people I talk to (about the findings) is the family and it would be up to the family whether I spoke to anybody else," he said.

Baden said he met with about 10 Savio family members on Friday. First, the family disagreed about whether Baden should be allowed to talk to the news media, but later agreed he should, Baden said.

He said the family is "united in their love and search for justice" for Savio.

Savio's own family members say they have believed all along that she died in a homicide.

"It wasn't a surprise when we heard," said Savio's sister, Sue Savio-Doman.

Savio's relatives said they are relieved the truth is finally being revealed, but cannot understand why it took so long.

"It took another person. That is not right," Savio-Doman said. "It took another person to be missing to realize my sister was murdered?"

The official Will County autopsy conducted after Savio's exhumation this week found that she died of drowning, but did not determine a manner of death, such as accident or homicide. It is expected to take a few more days before a ruling is made on the manner of death.

Baden said his findings should not intimidate authorities or influence their findings. He said he received good cooperation from local authorities.

"It does put prosecutors on notice that if there is a difference of opinion that might come out in a trial, that everybody should look carefully at why there is a difference in opinion and have all the bases covered," Baden said.
A grand jury is also investigating the case.

Meanwhile, volunteers and organizers say a new search will be conducted for Stacy Peterson every day until she or her body is found. They began their search Saturday at the Country Inn and Suites in Romeoville.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/kathleen.savio.homicide.2.570332.html

[Pauli]

Peterson's 1st wife describes doting husband


By Gerry Smith |Tribune staff reporter10:07 PM CST, November 17, 2007 Carol Brown was five months pregnant with Drew Peterson's first child when she had a miscarriage. She had been bed-ridden in the weeks before, and Peterson was by her side, bringing her food and "always being very supportive of me," she said.

It would have been the couple's first child, and Peterson was devastated, she said. Speaking publicly for the first time since the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, Peterson's fourth wife, Brown, 50, described her ex-husband's support during the traumatic pregnancy and painted a more nuanced portrait than the increasingly controlling and suspicious husband described by his second wife and relatives of other wives.

In an interview published in the Tribune on Friday, Drew Peterson's second wife, Vicki Connolly, spoke of the extremes she experienced with him: wonderful at times, and "really bad" at others, including threats on her life.

Brown said Drew Peterson never threatened her or abused her during their six-year marriage between 1974 and 1980. She acknowledged, however, that he was a study in contrasts, a charming teenager and doting young husband who also could be controlling and, eventually, unfaithful.

Police have described Drew Peterson, 53, as a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson and are reinvestigating the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose body was discovered in a bathtub in 2004.

Asked if she thought Drew Peterson was involved in either case, Brown said, "I can't answer that."

Brown has declined numerous requests for interviews, allowing her current husband of 26 years, David Brown, to speak for her.

Meanwhile, she has watched media reports on the Peterson case in disbelief, never considering that the lanky teenager she met her freshman year of high school could be capable of murder.

At Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Carol Brown and Drew Peterson met through a friend of Peterson's, who was a senior at the time. Back then, Brown said, she was drawn to his charismatic and outspoken personality.

"He was very outgoing, always told a lot of jokes," she said. "He was very confident."

The couple went on dates, with Peterson bringing her flowers, taking her to movies and his senior prom.

Three years later, in 1974, they married. After Peterson briefly attended the College of DuPage, the couple moved to Falls Church, Va., where he trained as a military police officer.

"That was always his ambition to be a police officer," she said.

They later moved to Bolingbrook, where they went out to dinner with other police couples. She rarely went out on her own, she said.

"He didn't really like me going out at night with friends," Brown said. "But he wouldn't hold me hostage and say, 'No you can't go out.' "

Peterson, by contrast, was out almost every night as an undercover police officer, she said. Then, when she was pregnant with their second child, she discovered that Peterson had been cheating on her.

"I thought he always had respect for me, but I guess when you stray in a relationship, you don't have respect for the person that you were doing that to."

In 1980, Peterson filed for divorce and appointed an attorney. Brown, who was not working at the time, could not afford a lawyer, so Peterson's attorney oversaw the divorce proceedings.

"That would be the controlling-type thing that he would do," she said. "He'd want things his way, and I'd want things my way and I think that's normal in any divorce relationship."

As for Peterson hiring an attorney to mediate the divorce, Brown said, "What kind of ethics did that lawyer have that he would represent both of us?"

Still, Brown was given full custody of their two children, and in 1981, she married David Brown, who was in Peterson's class at Willowbrook High School.

Though she received only $250 per month in child support, "if the kids ever needed anything extra, whether it was sports equipment or extra fees in school, I would ask him and he would pay it," she said. "There was no argument ever."

Peterson rarely attended his sons' sporting events, but Brown and her husband would be joined by Peterson's second wife, Vicki Connolly.

In August, Brown saw Peterson for the first time in years at their son Steve's wedding. By then, Peterson was married to Stacy Peterson, but he arrived at the wedding alone.

"I didn't feel like I needed to have much contact with him," Brown said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-brown_18_webnov18,0,7591973.story

[Pauli]

Vigil for missing mom steps up pressure on husband


BOLINGBROOK, Illinois (AP) -- Armed with anger, hope and candles, participants in a vigil for a former police officer's missing fourth wife left a pink placard reading "Where's our sister Stacy?" -- along with several other signs -- on the man's porch Saturday. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/US/law/11/17/cop.wife.ap/art.vigil.gi.jpg
Friends and family of Stacy Peterson leave signs on the portch of the home she shared with her husband.

Former Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson rumbled away on his motorcycle before the vigil participants arrived but told reporters afterward that the ordeal has been hard on his children.

The group of about 30 people, led by relatives of Peterson's third wife -- whose death has come under renewed scrutiny since Stacy Peterson's disappearance -- stood in front of his home anyway in this middle-class Chicago suburb, clutching candles and demanding answers.

"I miss Stacy, and I'm not giving up," said the missing woman's younger sister Cassandra Cales, choking back tears.

Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old mother of two, has been missing since October 28, and police have named Drew Peterson (http://topics.cnn.com/topics/drew_peterson) as a suspect in her disappearance.

The vigil came the same day an independent pathologist concluded that the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was a homicide.

Savio was found dead in 2004 in a bathtub in her home, just a few minutes' walk from the house Drew Peterson shared with Stacy.

Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner, said he analyzed Savio's remains Friday at the request of her relatives. He concluded that she died after a struggle and that her body was placed in the tub.

Officials are now re-examining the circumstances of her death. Results of a separate, official autopsy will not be available for several days, authorities said.

Peterson, 53, who resigned Monday, has not been named a suspect in Savio's death. He has denied any involvement in either case and said he believes his wife left him for another man and is alive.

After the vigil, Drew Peterson -- who has two children, ages 2 and 4, with Stacy Peterson and two teenage sons from his marriage to Savio -- returned home and briefly looked over each of the signs on his porch.

He told reporters that his wife's disappearance has been hardest on his oldest children, who have to face questions at school.

"They're at that age where people like to tease and talk to them," Peterson said.

Asked what he planned to do for the next few days, Peterson answered, "Live my life."

Henry Savio, Kathleen's brother, said at the vigil that when his sister died, Bolingbrook police refused to accept that one of their fellow officers could have been responsible. But Stacy Peterson's disappearance changed that, he said.

"They said he didn't have any skeletons in his closet," he said. "Well, now he does."

Savio's body was exhumed Tuesday at the request of Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, who has said after examining evidence he believes her death was a homicide staged to look like an accident.

The state's attorney's office allowed Baden to use the county morgue for his work, and a state's attorney's investigator attended the autopsy, spokesman Charles Pelkie said.

The color of bruises on Savio's body, much of which was preserved because of clothing, indicate "blunt force" injuries shortly before death, Baden said.
"It was consistent with a beating," he said.

Documents released by Savio's family indicate she believed, at least briefly, that Drew Peterson would kill her: "He pulled out his knife that he kept around his leg and brought it to my neck," she wrote in a letter the family says was sent to prosecutors.

Pelkie said it remains unclear whether that letter ever was sent to the office.

Attorney Fred Morelli, who once represented Peterson, said he never heard the claims made in the letter about his former client.

"That's the first I've heard of that," Morelli said. "That's crazy. ... (Peterson) was a very pleasant, personable fellow. Other than that, I don't know."

Baden is a regular contributor to "On The Record with Greta Van Susteren," Fox News spokeswoman Diana Rocco said. Fox News paid for his trip to Chicago in order for Baden to appear as a guest on the show that evening, she said.

Baden said he met with about 10 Savio family members on Friday. The family initially disagreed about whether Baden should talk to the news media but later agreed he should, Baden said.
The family is "united in their love and search for justice" for Savio, he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/11/17/cop.wife.ap/index.html

[Pauli]

Peterson Search Goes On Amid Savio Developments

Independent M.E. Calls Death Of Kathleen Savio, 3rd Wife Of Drew Peterson, A Homicide

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CBS) ― Drew Peterson is defending himself and talking to reporters Saturday about a pathologist's conclusion thathis third wife didn't die by accident.

Peterson says he's gotten used to the commotion, but referred any further questions to his attorney.

"Well you're just intimidating my family. Everyone's grown used to it, althought it's grown nuisancey," Peterson said Saturday about the media attention regarding his last two wives. "I'm just ready for anything that may come."

Peterson is responding to a conclusion by an independent pathologist that Drew Peterson's third wife died in a homicide, Peterson's attorneys said her death "should not be a source of entertainment."

Nationally renowned pathologist and former New York City chief medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden concluded that Kathleen Savio died in a homicide. He said it was evident that she had been the victim of foul play after just taking a first look at Savio's body, which was exhumed earlier this week.

"My experience has been normal, healthy adults don't die accidentally in bathtubs, period," Baden said.

Savio died on March 1, 2004, and her body was found in a whirlpool-style bathtub. At the time, the Will County coroner's office ruled that she had died in an accidental drowning, but Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said in light of the disappearance of Drew Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, an exhumation and new autopsy were warranted.

Baden said the first red flag that indicated foul play was that the body had about a dozen bruises, including a laceration on her head. Baden said the purplish color of bruises on Savio's right breast, abdominal area and thighs indicate "blunt force injuries" sustained shortly before death. The legs and arms of the exhumed body were too decomposed to see good evidence of bruising, he said, but clothing had preserved the condition of the chest and trunk.

"It was consistent with a beating. You don't get that drowning in a bathtub," Baden said.

Baden announced his conclusion on Greta van Susteren's program Fox News Channel. Attorney Joel Brodsky of the firm Brodsky & Odeh said Baden had indicated the conclusion before he conducted the autopsy, and emphasized Fox News Channel to be "part of the Fox Entertainment Group.

"The results of Dr. Baden's autopsy on Ms. Savio do not surprise us, not because we believe they are accurate, but only because Dr. Baden had indicated to Ms. Susteren a week before he had performed the autopsy that he believed Kathleen's death was not an accident," Brodsky said in a news release. "While Dr. Baden is a renowned pathologist, we do not know the motivation for donating his services, and the nature of his arrangement with the Fox Entertainment Group. All we wish to say is that Kathleen's death should not be a source of entertainment."

Brodsky also questioned Baden's statement that someone normal and healthy would not die accidentally in a bathtub.

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that in 2006 there were 126,563 bathtub/shower related injuries in the U.S. based on 3,147 reported incidents, including four reported deaths, for people between the ages of 21 and 65" Brodsky said in the statement. "A great many of these reported injuries included lacerations, contusions and abrasions from falls in bathtubs."

In addition, Brodsky claimed the Consumer Product Safety Commission said two of the six shower and bathtub-related deaths last year were by drowning.

Further information was unavailable on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site.

Baden said that Fox News paid for his flight to Chicago so he could examine the remains Friday in suburban Will County with the family's consent.
Baden insisted that he first give his opinions to Savio's family and let them decide whether he could then talk to the news media, including Fox, he said.
"The agreement that I made with Fox was, if I'm doing this at the request of the family, the first people I talk to (about the findings) is the family and it would be up to the family whether I spoke to anybody else," he said.
Baden said he met with about 10 Savio family members on Friday. First, the family disagreed about whether Baden should be allowed to talk to the news media, but later agreed he should, Baden said.
He said the family is "united in their love and search for justice" for Savio.
Savio's own family members say they have believed all along that she died in a homicide.

"It wasn't a surprise when we heard," said Savio's sister, Sue Savio-Doman.

Savio's relatives said they are relieved the truth is finally being revealed, but cannot understand why it took so long.

"It took another person. That is not right," Savio-Doman said. "It took another person to be missing to realize my sister was murdered?"

The official Will County autopsy conducted after Savio's exhumation this week found that she died of drowning, but did not determine a manner of death, such as accident or homicide. It is expected to take a few more days before a ruling is made on the manner of death.

Baden said his findings should not intimidate authorities or influence their findings. Baden said he received good cooperation from local authorities.

"It does put prosecutors on notice that if there is a difference of opinion that might come out in a trial, that everybody should look carefully at why there is a difference in opinion and have all the bases covered," Baden said.
A grand jury is also investigating the case. Meanwhile, Peterson says the entire incident has been hardest on his older children. Peterson spoke to reporters outside his home Saturday. He and his missing wife, Stacy, have two children, ages 4 and 2. He has two teenage sons from his marriage to Kathleen Savio. Drew Peterson says his older children are at the age where people tease and talk to them at school.

But amid all of the media attention, volunteers and organizers say a new search will be conducted for Stacy Peterson every day until she or her body is found. They began their search Saturday at the Country Inn and Suites in Romeoville. With the words, 'let's do it,' more than a hundred people walked from the house where Kathleen Savio was found dead to the house where Stacy Peterson was last seen three weeks ago.

Cassandra Cales led the march and made a promise to her missing sister.

"I miss you Stacy. And I'm not giving up," Cales said. "I'm gonna bring you home. I'm not giving up."

Those in attendance seemed resolved to help Cales make good on that promise. Many of those walking the streets spent Saturday morning walking the fields in search of the missing mother of two. But once again there was no sign of Stacy. So Saturday evening, they carried signs honoring the 23-year-old and lashing out at her husband -- the ex-lawman who they believe acts as if he's above the law. And Kathleen Savio's family says Drew Peterson was.

"If you hit somebody, you get arrested," said Melissa Doman, Savio's niece.

But they say Drew never did despite more than a dozen complaints from Kathleen to Bolingbrook police. And they say even after she died no one would take their claims that she was murdered seriously.

"They just thought we were a bunch of crazy people; nobody would listen," said Anna Doman, Savio's sister.

But now the world is listening as two families unite in grief.

"You can say we have closure. But in my heart we'll never have closure until I know who did this to her," said Savio's brother, Henry.

Savio said when his sister died, Bolingbrook police refused to accept that one of their fellow officers could have been responsible. But he said Stacy Peterson's disappearance changed that.

"They said he didn't have any skeletons in his closet," he said. "Well, now he does."

And it was clear Saturday as marchers laid their signs on Drew Peterson's doorstep that many believe they know who's responsible for Kathleen's death and Stacy's disappearance. If Drew Peterson chose not to read the written messages, Kathleen's brother wanted to make sure he heard this.

"I just hope the person who did this does come forward," Henry Savio said. "He knows who he is. And we know who he is. He knew me for years. He knows it."

Peterson, 53, who resigned Monday as a Bolingbrook police sergeant, has not been named a suspect in Savio's death.

He has denied any involvement in either case and said he believes his wife left him for another man and is alive.

Documents released by Savio's family indicate she believed, at least briefly, that Drew Peterson would kill her: "He pulled out his knife that he kept around his leg and brought it to my neck," she wrote in a letter the family says was sent to prosecutors.

Attorney Fred Morelli, who once represented Peterson, said he never heard the knife claims about his former client.

"That's the first I've heard of that," Morelli said. "That's crazy. ... (Peterson) was a very pleasant, personable fellow. Other than that, I don't know."

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/kathleen.savio.homicide.2.570332.html

[Pauli]

Shorewood man asked to testify in Stacy Peterson case

Associated Press - November 18, 2007 8:04 AM ET

SHOREWOOD, Ill. (AP) - According to a published report, investigators in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson are looking at a man from her past she reportedly began calling just three weeks before she vanished.

The Joliet Herald-News reports this morning that searches and canvasses have been conducted in the area around the Shorewood home of 35-year-old Scott Rossetto, who says he has been called to appear before a grand jury next week.

But newspaper reports that a police source says investigators do not count Rosetto as a suspect in Peterson's disappearance. Instead, the source says, investigators have speculated that Peterson's body may have been dumped near Rossetto's home in an effort to frame him as the killer.

Peterson's husband, former Bolingbrook Police Sergeant Drew Peterson, has been labeled a suspect in her disappearance.

http://www.wandtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7377732

[Pauli]

Drew Peterson disputes autopsy results

Former Bolingbrook police officer Drew Peterson, named as a suspect in his fourth wife's disappearance, this morning disputed the findings of an independent pathologist that his third wife was murdered.

Or rather, his lawyer did.

In his second interview within five days on NBC's "Today" show, Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, did most of the talking, clearly frustrating interviewer Matt Lauer.
When Lauer asked Peterson to react to the findings of independent pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, former New York City chief medical examiner, that the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40 was not accidental but staged to look like an accident, Brodsky interrupted and answered.

Baden, Brodsky said, had "a pre-existing opinion" as to the cause of Savio's death and his findings were a "self-fulfilling prophecy," he said. He also noted that Baden was "a paid commentator for Fox."

"We do disagree with his findings," Brodsky said. "The first autopsy, from what I understand, was very thorough."

Peterson said very little during the interview. He did not show emotion.

When Lauer asked Peterson to comment on perceptions that during his previous interview that he did not appear concerned about Stacy Peterson's disappearance, Peterson said: "Of course, your wife leaves you and I have kids at home. You're very much worried about her."

When Lauer asked Peterson if he was angered by a statement published in the Tribune in which Peterson's second wife, Vicki Connolly, said he had threatened her and said he could make her death look like an accident, Brodsky once again refused to let Peterson answer and said the comments were the product of their divorce.

Nor would he let Peterson answer a question about whether he was angered when Stacy told him she had found another man and wanted a divorce.

"Are you worried she may never come back?" Lauer asked about Stacy Peterson.

"I don't know, I have no idea," Peterson responded, then added: "Yes I am, my kids need a mom."

Peterson concluded the interview by once again asking Stacy to return. "Basically, I'd like to have her publicly show herself so we can clear this up," he said.

Peterson, who was a 29-year veteran of the Bolingbrook Police Department, has been named by investigators as a suspect in the disappearance of his 23-year-old wife. He has not been charged in connection with the cases involving either of his two wives.

In a separate interview this morning on "Good Morning America," Peterson's first wife, Carol Brown, said that Peterson wasn't abusive when they were married.

She said they divorced because they "somewhat grew apart" and she found he was having an affair.

In an exclusive interview (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-drew_bd_18nov18,1,7359530.story) with the Tribune on Saturday, Brown described her ex-husband as a charming teenager and doting young husband who also could be controlling and eventually unfaithful. But she said he never threatened her or abused her during their six-year marriage from 1974 to 1980.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-peterson_webnov19,1,5314260.story?ctrack=4&cset=true

[Pauli]

Peterson's Lawyer: We Don't Expect To Be Charged

Drew Peterson's Attorney Lashes Out At Media Coverage Of Stacy Peterson And Kathleen Savio Cases

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP) ― A lawyer representing a former police officer suspected in the disappearance of his wife said Monday he does not believe his client will face charges stemming from the investigation.


Speaking on NBC's "Today" show, lawyer Joel Brodsky also criticized the media for their coverage of Drew Peterson, who resigned as a Bolingbrook police sergeant after his 23-year-old fourth wife, Stacy, vanished three weeks ago.


Police have named the 53-year-old Peterson as a suspect in her disappearance, and authorities have called the case a possible homicide. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.


"We do not expect to be charged in these cases," Brodsky said. "This is out of control. It's a rush to judgment fueled by people, by entertainment and people seem to want to be entertained by what's going on."


Brodsky, who began representing Peterson on Friday, declined to let his client respond to most questions during Monday's short interview.


Peterson, whose children with Stacy Peterson are 2 and 4, answered "yes" when asked if he was worried she may never return home. "Kids need a mom," he said.
Asked if he was worried about his wife, he said: "Of course. Your wife leaves you and I have kids at home, you're very much worried about her."
Peterson reiterated that he thinks his wife left him for another man. "I'd like to have her publicly show herself so we can clear all this up," said Peterson, who has older children from an earlier marriage.


Stacy Peterson, who was studying nursing at a junior college, disappeared from the couple's suburban Chicago home Oct. 28. Volunteers have been canvassing fields, lakes and construction sites near the family's Bolingbrook house, but have found no traces of the woman.


Still, the investigation into her disappearance caused prosecutors to reopen the investigation into the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose body was found in a bathtub in 2004.


At the time, authorities ruled her death an accidental drowning, but investigators exhumed her body last week at the request of a prosecutor, who has said after examining evidence he believes her death was a homicide staged to look like an accident.


A pathologist who conducted another autopsy on Savio's body for her family said last week he believes the woman was murdered.


Peterson also has denied any role in Savio's death. He was asked Monday for his reaction to speculation that Savio was murdered. "Yes, I'm upset to hear something like that said. Very much so," he said.

http://cbs2chicago.com/westsuburbanbureau/drew.peterson.attorney.2.571154.html

[Pauli]

Looks like Drew beat the odds


November 19, 2007
BY JENNIFER GOTZ Staff Writer
You have a better chance of winning the lottery than having one wife who drowns and another who goes missing.
Unless you're Drew Peterson, who beat the 1 in 1.8 billion odds.

http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/multimedia/na09_petersmontage_p1.jpg_20071119_11_23_53_15-110-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/657588,na19_petersoncombo_p1.fullimage%27,%20%27fu llimage%27,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directorie s=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable= no,width=650,height=650%27%29) Drew Peterson, right, beat some long odds. The death of his third wife, left, was ruled an accidental drowning, and his fourth wife has been missing for three weeks.
(STNG file photos)

WHAT ARE THE ODDS? • 1 in 700,000 chance of being struck by lightening
• 1 in 146 million chance of winning the grand prize in a lottery drawing
• 1 in 241,885 chance of having quintuplets
• 1 in 20.9 million chance of dying from a venomous spider bite
• 1 in 1.8 billion chance of having one of your wives drown and another go missing
Sources: National Weather Service; Powerball; Centers for Disease Control and National Safety Council; Jeremy Nadolski of Benedictine University

The former Bolingbrook cop's fourth wife, 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, has been missing for three weeks.

Her disappearance is as mysterious as the death of her predecessor, Kathleen Savio, 40, whose death was ruled an accidental drowning despite a laceration to the head and lack of water in the bathtub of which she was found.

Divorced three times, with one wife dead and another missing - does Drew Peterson have bad luck?

In 2004, the same year Savio died, women had a 1 in 157,686 chance of drowning, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There are 1,556 active cases of women ages 21 to 29 who are missing under circumstances indicating that they may be in physical danger, according to the National Crime Information Center's Missing Person File. Stacy Peterson is one of them.

When applying those cases to current U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, women of the same age range have a 1 in 11,757 chance of going missing when it is believed that they may be in danger.

But what is the probability that this would happen to two of wives of same man?

That's a 1 in 1.8 billion chance.

If the world's population is 6.6 billion, "You'd have to go through a quarter of that to have this happen to someone - so roughly four people in the world," said Jeremy Nadolski, assistant professor of mathematics at Benedictine University.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/657262,6_1_NA19_PETERSON_S2.article

[Pauli]

Lawyer: Savio's death shouldn't be 'a source of entertainment'

Drew's defense questions doc's autopsy findings

November 19, 2007
By Frank Main and Maureen O'Donnell Chicago Sun-Times
Drew Peterson's lawyer is questioning a private autopsy last week that concluded the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was a homicide.

But Savio's family stood by Dr. Michael Baden, the former New York City chief medical examiner, who conducted the autopsy Friday.
http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/multimedia/NA19_PETERSON_P1_scn_feed_20071118_23_13_24_1334-130-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/657254,NA19_PETERSON_P1.fullimage%27,%20%27fullima ge%27,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no, status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,wi dth=650,height=650%27%29) Pamela Bosco, left, Stacy Peterson's adoptive stepmother, and Stacy's sister Cassandra Cales, right, lead a candlelight vigil down Pheasant Chase Court in Bolingbrook on Saturday evening in honor of the 23-year-old missing mother of two.
Terence Guider-Shaw / Herald News

TIP LINE The Illinois State Police has asked that anyone with information about Stacy Peterson's whereabouts can call their tip line at 815-740-0678.

"Dr. Baden is the best in the world," said Savio's stepmother, Marcia Savio. "He is a top pathologist. ... That man did this for Kathleen to bring her justice. He wanted to make sure the world knows that Kathleen did not have to die."

Savio was found dead in a bathtub in 2004 after she divorced Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant. Police have named Peterson a suspect in last month's disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

Sunday, Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, blasted the autopsy results and questioned Baden's ties with Fox News, the TV network Baden selected to reveal his findings.

"The results of Dr. Baden's autopsy on Ms. Savio do not surprise us ... because Dr. Baden had indicated the conclusion before he conducted his autopsy that he believed Kathleen's death was not an accident," Brodsky said.

"While Dr. Baden is a renowned pathologist, we do not know the motivation for donating his services and the nature of his relationship with the Fox Entertainment Group. All we wish to say is that Kathleen's death should not be a source of entertainment," Brodsky said in a statement.

Savio was 40 when she died. She was exhumed last week, and the Will County coroner conducted an official autopsy. The results are pending.

Will County authorities then allowed Baden to conduct a private autopsy in the county morgue Friday. Baden's exam will have no bearing on the official investigation.

After the private autopsy, Baden briefed the Savio family before going on Greta Van Susteren's show on Fox News to announce he found her death a homicide. In 2004, a coroner's jury ruled Savio's death was accidental.

"There were indications then of multiple blunt force traumas, of being beaten up," Baden said on Van Susteren's show Friday.

Earlier, Baden told Van Susteren that Savio's family wanted a private autopsy to "give them some sort of comfort that they're getting the story as independent as possible on what the findings are."

On Nov. 9, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow announced Savio's death appeared to have been staged to cover up a murder. He formally launched a re-investigation of her death.

Drew Peterson denies he was involved in Savio's death or the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.

'On equal footing'
The controlling behavior that Stacy Peterson's family and friends say her husband exhibited toward her wasn't evident toward his first wife, Carol - perhaps because they were on an equal footing, Carol's husband, Dave Brown, said Sunday.

Carol and Drew Peterson were close in age when they married and had common friends. They attended Willowbrook High School and were from "suburban, middle-class backgrounds," Dave Brown said.

In contrast, Stacy Peterson was from a "broken home," Brown said. Stacy Peterson's relatives and friends have described a chaotic upbringing that helped Drew Peterson sweep her off her feet.

Peterson was attentive when he and Carol experienced a miscarriage during their marriage, Brown said.

"He always treated her with respect, even when we saw him lately," he said.

Peterson "was a good father" to the two sons he had with Carol, Brown said. Peterson and Carol divorced because he cheated on her, Brown said.

Police are speaking with a Shorewood man from Stacy Peterson's past, 35-year-old Scott Rossetto, and authorities have called him before a grand jury this week.

A police source said Rossetto and Peterson, 23, were romantically involved, but Rossetto insisted they were not. He said he only knew her because his brother and a friend had dated Peterson years ago, before she married Drew Peterson.

"We talked every once in a while. But that's it," Rosetto said. Police tracked down Rossetto through phone and text messages.

Rossetto said he was not tempted to indulge in an affair with Stacy Peterson.

"No. I didn't want any baggage," he said. "Sorry, she had a lot. She was married to a Bolingbrook cop and could've made my life miserable. I wasn't risking it. And I knew Drew well enough to know to stay away from her."

Drew Peterson said Friday he knows little about Rossetto - but he knows of him.

"I heard of him," Drew Peterson said, but added that he had "no idea" how long the Shorewood man may have been involved with his wife.

Rossetto said he didn't know that police are looking at him as a lover of Stacy Peterson's.

"I'm sure Drew probably thinks that, but I could care less about what Drew thinks," he said.

Rossetto said his brother dated Stacy Peterson for about two months years ago and they broke up when he left for the Army. "When my brother left for the military she started dating Drew and we haven't seen her since because he cut off all ties with us," he said.

His brother, Keith, declined to comment on the case Saturday, saying he would first need to check with prosecutors.

"I'm not allowed to discuss the case," he said. "I don't know what I can discuss. I don't know what I can't discuss."

Drew Peterson has repeatedly said he feels Stacy Peterson abandoned their family and likely ran off with another man. He recently appeared before a grand jury, as did his brother, Paul Peterson.

Drew Peterson, who in the last week traveled to New York City to appear on a national talk show, said the daily grind of police and media scrutiny is wearing on him.

"I'm just tired," Drew Peterson said. "It wears on you, you know?"

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/657256,6_1_NA19_PETERSON_S1.article

[Pauli]

Fox TV Puts More Focus On Peterson Case

WBBM Reporting
BOLINGBROOK (CBS) ― There are new comments from Drew Peterson Sunday. And police have spoken to someone reputed to be linked to his missing wife, Stacy.

Drew Peterson had defended himself and talking to reporters Saturday night bout a pathologist's conclusion his third wife didn't die by accident. On Sunday, he said, "I'm just ready for anything that may come," he said. "So I'm just working through the days. I'm doing fine. I'm just, uh, I lost 30 pounds. Jenny Craig has got nothing on me 'cause I lost 30 pounds through this ordeal, you know, it's very nerve-wracking."

Peterson says he's gotten used to the commotion, but referred any further questions to his attorney.
"Well you're just intimidating my family. Everyone's grown used to it, althought it's grown nuisancey," Peterson said about the media attention regarding his last two wives.

•The Joliet Herald News reports police are talking to Scott Rosetto, a Shorewood man who police say might have been romantically involved with Stacy Peterson.
Neighbors in Shorewood say Rosetto is not involved with Stacy Peterson and that they have never seen her in the area.

They have seen Illinois State Police looking for Stacy. Neighbors tell CBS 2 officers were in Shorewood asking about Stacy and asking if they had ever seen a GMC Yukon in Rosetto's driveway.

Rosetto, 35, denied being involved with her saying: "She was married to a Bolingbrook cop and could've made my life miserable. I wasn't risking it. And I knew Drew well enough to know to stay away from her."

He did say she called him right before she vanished.

Rosetto’s brother and a friend dated Peterson before she was married. He said the latest call was the first time he had heard from her in years.

Rosetto is being bombarded by media and his neighbors say they're hearing from detectives.

Elizabeth Lopez, Scott Rosetto's neighbor, said authorities left a yellow legal piece of paper with her that has a number of who to get a hold of. She said police asked if she had seen Stacy Peterson.

"Yes, in the neighborhood in the area or anything," she said.

•Peterson and his lawayers responded to a conclusion by an independent pathologist that Drew Peterson's third wife died in a homicide, Peterson's attorneys said her death "should not be a source of entertainment."

Wolrd-renowned pathologist and former New York City chief medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden concludes Kathleen Savio died in a homicide. He said it was evident that she had been the victim of foul play after just taking a first look at Savio's body, which was exhumed earlier this week.

"My experience has been normal, healthy adults don't die accidentally in bathtubs, period," Baden said.

Savio died on March 1, 2004, and her body was found in a whirlpool-style bathtub. At the time, the Will County coroner's office ruled that she had died in an accidental drowning. The latest Will County State's Attorney, James Glasgow, said, in light of the disappearance of Drew Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, an exhumation and new autopsy were warranted.

Baden said the first red flag that indicated foul play was that the body had about a dozen bruises, including a laceration on her head. Baden said the purplish color of bruises on Savio's right breast, abdominal area and thighs indicate "blunt force injuries" sustained shortly before death. The legs and arms of the exhumed body were too decomposed to see good evidence of bruising, he said, but clothing had preserved the condition of the chest and trunk.

"It was consistent with a beating. You don't get that drowning in a bathtub," Baden said.

Baden announced his conclusion on Greta van Susteren's program Fox News Channel. Attorney Joel Brodsky of the firm Brodsky & Odeh said Baden had indicated the conclusion before he conducted the autopsy, and emphasized Fox News Channel to be "part of the Fox Entertainment Group." It also covered Baden's expenses to come to Chicago and retains him as a paid consultant and commentator.

"The results of Dr. Baden's autopsy on Ms. Savio do not surprise us, not because we believe they are accurate, but only because Dr. Baden had indicated to Ms. Susteren a week before he had performed the autopsy that he believed Kathleen's death was not an accident," Brodsky said.

"While Dr. Baden is a renowned pathologist, we do not know the motivation for donating his services, and the nature of his arrangement with the Fox Entertainment Group. All we wish to say is that Kathleen's death should not be a source of entertainment."

Brodsky also questioned Baden's statement that someone normal and healthy would not die accidentally in a bathtub.

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that in 2006 there were 126,563 bathtub/shower related injuries in the U.S. based on 3,147 reported incidents, including four reported deaths, for people between the ages of 21 and 65" Brodsky said in the statement. "A great many of these reported injuries included lacerations, contusions and abrasions from falls in bathtubs."

In addition, Brodsky claimed the Consumer Product Safety Commission said two of the six shower and bathtub-related deaths last year were by drowning.

Further information was unavailable on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site.

Baden said that Fox News paid for his flight to Chicago so he could examine the remains Friday in suburban Will County with the family's consent.

Baden insisted that he first give his opinions to Savio's family and let them decide whether he could then talk to the news media, including Fox, he said.

"The agreement that I made with Fox was, if I'm doing this at the request of the family, the first people I talk to (about the findings) is the family and it would be up to the family whether I spoke to anybody else," he said.

Baden said he met with about 10 Savio family members on Friday. First, the family disagreed about whether Baden should be allowed to talk to the news media, but later agreed he should, Baden said.

He said the family is "united in their love and search for justice" for Savio.
•Savio's family members have believed all along she died in a homicide.
"It wasn't a surprise when we heard," said Savio's sister, Sue Savio-Doman.

Savio's relatives said they are relieved the truth is finally being revealed, but cannot understand why it took so long.

"It took another person. That is not right," Savio-Doman said. "It took another person to be missing to realize my sister was murdered?"

The official Will County autopsy conducted after Savio's exhumation this week found that she died of drowning, but did not determine a manner of death, such as accident or homicide. It is expected to take a few more days before a ruling is made on the manner of death.

Baden said his findings should not intimidate authorities or influence their findings. Baden said he received good cooperation from local authorities.

"It does put prosecutors on notice that if there is a difference of opinion that might come out in a trial, that everybody should look carefully at why there is a difference in opinion and have all the bases covered," Baden said.

A grand jury is also investigating the case.

•Drew Peterson says the entire incident has been hardest on his older children. Peterson spoke to reporters outside his home Saturday. He and his missing wife, Stacy, have two children, ages 4 and 2. He has two teenage sons from his marriage to Kathleen Savio. Drew Peterson says his older children are at the age where people tease and talk to them at school.
•Amid all of the media attention, volunteers and organizers say a new search will be conducted for Stacy Peterson every day until she or her body is found. They began their search Saturday at the Country Inn and Suites in Romeoville. With the words, 'Let's do it,' more than a hundred people walked from the house where Kathleen Savio was found dead to the house where Stacy Peterson was last seen three weeks ago.

Cassandra Cales led the march and made a promise to her missing sister.
"I miss you Stacy. And I'm not giving up," Cales said. "I'm gonna bring you home. I'm not giving up."

Those in attendance seemed resolved to help Cales make good on that promise. Many of those walking the streets spent Saturday morning walking the fields in search of the missing mother of two. But once again there was no sign of Stacy. So Saturday evening, they carried signs (pictured) honoring the 23-year-old and lashing out at her husband -- the ex-lawman who they believe acts as if he's above the law. And Kathleen Savio's family says that is Drew Peterson.

"If you hit somebody, you get arrested," said Melissa Doman, Savio's niece.
But they say Drew never did despite more than a dozen complaints from Kathleen to Bolingbrook police. And they say even after she died no one would take their claims that she was murdered seriously.

"They just thought we were a bunch of crazy people; nobody would listen," said Anna Doman, Savio's sister.

But now the world is listening as two families unite in grief.

"You can say we have closure. But in my heart we'll never have closure until I know who did this to her," said Savio's brother, Henry.

Savio said when his sister died, Bolingbrook police refused to accept that one of their fellow officers could have been responsible. But he said Stacy Peterson's disappearance changed that.

"They said he didn't have any skeletons in his closet," he said. "Well, now he does."

It was clear Saturday as marchers laid their signs on Drew Peterson's doorstep that many believe they know who's responsible for Kathleen's death and Stacy's disappearance. If Drew Peterson chose not to read the written messages, Kathleen's brother wanted to make sure he heard this.

"I just hope the person who did this does come forward," Henry Savio said. "He knows who he is. And we know who he is. He knew me for years. He knows it."
•Peterson, 53, resigned Monday as a Bolingbrook police sergeant. He has not been named a suspect in Savio's death.

He has denied any involvement in either case and said, once again, he believes Stacy left him for another man and is alive.

Documents released by Savio's family indicate she believed, at least briefly, that Drew Peterson would kill her: "He pulled out his knife that he kept around his leg and brought it to my neck," she wrote in a letter the family says was sent to prosecutors.

Attorney Fred Morelli, who once represented Peterson, said he never heard the knife claims about his former client.

"That's the first I've heard of that," Morelli said. "That's crazy. ... (Peterson) was a very pleasant, personable fellow. Other than that, I don't know."

In response to a conclusion by an independent pathologist that Drew Peterson's third wife died in a homicide, Peterson's attorneys said her death "should not be a source of entertainment."

World-famous forensic specialist Dr. Michael Baden performed an autopsy Friday on the body of Kathleen Savio, 3 1/2 years after she died. Dr. Baden concluded Kathleen Savio died in a homicide. He said it was evident that she had been the victim of foul play after just taking a first look at Savio's body, which was exhumed earlier this week.

"My experience has been normal, healthy adults don't die accidentally in bathtubs, period," Baden said.

Savio died on March 1, 2004. Her body was found in a whirlpool-style bathtub. At the time, the Will County coroner's office ruled that she had died in an accidental drowning. The next Will County State's Attorney, James Glasgow, said in light of the disappearance of Drew Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, an exhumation and new autopsy were warranted.

Baden said the first red flag that indicated foul play was that the body had about a dozen bruises, including a laceration on her head.

"You don't get that drowning in a bathtub," Baden said.

Baden announced his conclusion on Greta van Susteren's program Fox News Channel, which partially paid Baden's expenses. He is also a compensated commentator on her show.

Attorney Joel Brodsky of the firm Brodsky & Odeh said Baden had indicated the conclusion before he conducted the autopsy, and emphasized Fox News Channel to be "part of the Fox Entertainment Group.

"The results of Dr. Baden's autopsy on Ms. Savio do not surprise us, not because we believe they are accurate, but only because Dr. Baden had indicated to Ms. Susteren a week before he had performed the autopsy that he believed Kathleen's death was not an accident," Brodsky said in a news release. "While Dr. Baden is a renowned pathologist, we do not know the motivation for donating his services, and the nature of his arrangement with the Fox Entertainment Group. All we wish to say is that Kathleen's death should not be a source of entertainment."

Brodsky also questioned Baden's statement that someone normal and healthy would not die accidentally in a bathtub.

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that in 2006 there were 126,563 bathtub/shower related injuries in the U.S. based on 3,147 reported incidents, including four reported deaths, for people between the ages of 21 and 65" Brodsky said in the statement. "A great many of these reported injuries included lacerations, contusions and abrasions from falls in bathtubs."

In addition, Brodsky claimed the Consumer Product Safety Commission said two of the six shower and bathtub-related deaths last year were by drowning.

Further information was unavailable on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site.

Baden said that Fox News paid for his flight to Chicago so he could examine the remains Friday in suburban Will County with the family's consent.

Baden insisted that he first give his opinions to Savio's family and let them decide whether he could then talk to the news media, including Fox, he said.

"The agreement that I made with Fox was, if I'm doing this at the request of the family, the first people I talk to (about the findings) is the family and it would be up to the family whether I spoke to anybody else," he said.

Baden said he met with about 10 Savio family members on Friday. First, the family disagreed about whether Baden should be allowed to talk to the news media, but later agreed he should, Baden said.

He said the family is "united in their love and search for justice" for Savio.
Savio's own family members say they have believed all along that she died in a homicide.

"It wasn't a surprise when we heard," said Savio's sister, Sue Savio-Doman.
Savio's relatives said they are relieved the truth is finally being revealed, but cannot understand why it took so long.

"It took another person. That is not right," Savio-Doman said. "It took another person to be missing to realize my sister was murdered?"

The official Will County autopsy conducted after Savio's exhumation this week found that she died of drowning, but did not determine a manner of death, such as accident or homicide. It is expected to take a few more days before a ruling is made on the manner of death.

Baden said his findings should not intimidate authorities or influence their findings. He said he received good cooperation from local authorities.

"It does put prosecutors on notice that if there is a difference of opinion that might come out in a trial, that everybody should look carefully at why there is a difference in opinion and have all the bases covered," Baden said.

A grand jury is also investigating the case.

•Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing since Oct. 28. Drew Peterson has said repeatedly that Stacy left him for someone else, and in a recent national television interview said he was not assisting in the search for her because she was not missing.

But Stacy's family has said she would never abandon her children. Illinois State Police have named Drew Peterson a suspect in her disappearance, and have said she likely died in a homicide.

Meanwhile, volunteers and organizers say a new search will be conducted for Stacy Peterson every day until she or her body is found. They began their search Saturday at the Country Inn and Suites in Romeoville.

•Also Friday, the daughter of Drew Peterson's second wife spoke out about what it was like to live with the former cop who is now a suspect in his fourth wife's disappearance.

That second wife and her daughter now live in the small Illinois town of Paxton, about 110 miles south of Chicago.

Lisa Ward's mother, Vicky Connolly, was Peterson's second wife. Connolly has lived in Paxton for about a year. She has gone into seclusion now, but Ward spoke about their years living with Drew Peterson.

It's a relationship she's been thinking a lot about since the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.

Asked if she felt lucky her mother got out of the relationship alive, given the death of Peterson's third wife and disappearance of his fourth wife, Ward said, "Of course. My mom is a very strong woman for being able to."

That's because Ward knows the woman who Drew Peterson left her mother for, Kathleen Savio, was later found dead in a bathtub. She also knows that his fourth wife Stacy Peterson is now missing and feared dead and that her former stepfather has been named as a suspect in what's been called a potential homicide case.

Asked if she thinks Stacy will be found alive, Ward said, "I hope she is. I hope she is and her children have their mom back … I hope she comes back."

In Friday's Chicago Tribune, Ward's mom, Drew Peterson's second wife, is quoted as saying that while she was married to Drew Peterson, he told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident.

Lisa wasn't talking about whether she thinks Drew Peterson could kill someone and make it look like an accident, or Kathleen Savio's death specifically. But prosecutors exhumed her body this week because they believe her death was a homicide staged to look like an accident.

It's something Connolly told the Tribune she's been thinking about, saying: "He has the experience, the knowledge the means and the mind to do that."
Connolly also told a Tribune reporter that Peterson had a controlling personality.

He put a microphone in our kitchen and taped our conversations," Connolly said. "He was cheating so much, he wanted to make sure I wasn't."

Ward was a child when she lived with Drew Peterson. She says the past few weeks have opened a wellspring of inner pain. "I don't want to relive my memories … just let my family, let us live our lives and what we have right now."

http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/1222102.php?

[Pauli]

Peterson responds to suspicions, but just barely

Suspect in missing wife’s disappearance urges her to ‘publicly show herself’

http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/071119/tdy_lauer_peterson_071119.300w.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:msnvDwd%28%2700%27,%27a9b3497d-00c5-4529-99eb-b67547eec529%27,%27us%27,%27News_Editors%20Picks%2 7,%27%27,%27msnbc%27,%27%27,%2721880073%27,%27Excl usive:%20Peterson%20talks%20again%27%29)By John Springer
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 8:01 a.m. CT, Mon., Nov. 19, 2007

Nearly a month after his fourth wife went missing and a week after the body of his third wife was exhumed, former Illinois police sergeant Drew Peterson is finally doing what many legal experts said he should have been doing from the start.

Peterson is “lawyering up.”

In contrast to his exclusive appearance last week on TODAY, Peterson, 53, left most of the talking to attorney Joel Brodsky during a second live interview on Monday. TODAY co-host Matt Lauer spent much of the interview trying to get Brodsky to let Peterson answer questions about his reaction to pathologist Michael Baden’s opinion that the 2004 death of Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, was a homicide staged to look like an accidental drowning in a bathtub.

Brodsky answered for Peterson, whom police have named a suspect in both the death of Savio and the Oct. 23 disappearance of the woman Peterson married soon after Savio died, 23-year-old Stacy Peterson. Brodsky said that Baden, who conducted a second autopsy last week at the request of Savio’s family, had made up his mind that the third Mrs. Peterson was murdered before he examined her remains on Friday.

“Dr. Baden, with all due respect to him, is a renowned pathologist, but he had a pre-existing opinion before he did the autopsy,” Brodsky said, pointing to interviews Baden granted a cable news network. “His conclusion was a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

After a back-and-forth with Brodsky about what Peterson would and would not be allowed to comment on, Lauer finally got to ask Peterson a question.
“Mr. Peterson, are you upset to learn that she may have been murdered?” he asked.

“Yes, I am upset to hear something like that. Very much so,” Peterson said.
Brodsky took issue with Baden’s statement on another program that people rarely die in bathtub accidents, saying statistically it is quite common.

“We do disagree with his finding. The first autopsy, from what I understand, was very thorough. They concluded it was an accident,” Brodsky said.

‘Walking a fine line’
Noting that Brodsky was continuously blocking questions intended for Peterson, Lauer appeared a bit frustrated but was determined to get answers from him.

“It appears now that I’m going to be walking a fine line between what you want to tell me, Mr. Brodsky, and what Mr. Peterson is allowed to tell me,” Lauer said.

Peterson did say that there is clearly animosity between himself and his second wife, Vicki Connelly, but he was not aware of it until she spoke to the “Chicago Tribune.” Connelly said Peterson, who resigned last week from the Bolingbrook, Ill., police department, told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident.

“He has the experience, the knowledge, the means and the mind to do that,” Connelly told the newspaper.

Asked about the comment, Peterson said only, “I thought we were friends.”
Brodsky would not allow Peterson to confirm or deny the comment.

“People that are divorced are always making accusations and comments about each other. This is simply a comment by someone who went through a divorce with Mr. Peterson,” the lawyer said.

‘Kids need a mom’
Peterson, who is not charged with any crime, repeated his public plea last week for Stacy Peterson to return home to care for the couple’s two young children. He continues to believe that she ran off with another man, leaving him to answer questions about her strange and sudden disappearance.

“Are you worried about her, Mr. Peterson?” Lauer asked.

“Of course,” he replied. “Your wife leaves and I have kids at home, you are very much worried about her.”

“Although you think she is with another man, are you worried that she may never come back to be a mother to these children?” Lauer pressed, after wrestling with Peterson’s lawyer again to find a question he could answer.

“Yes, I am,” Peterson said.

“Kids need a mom … Basically, I’d like to have her publicly show herself now and clear all of this up.”

A county coroner’s report on the second autopsy of Kathleen Savio’s body is expected to be finalized in late December. Baden, the former chief medical examiner for New York City, has said publicly that his examination of Savio’s body on Friday leads him to conclude that she struggled with her killer and that the scene was staged to look like an accidental drowning.

“I’m convinced she was the victim of a murder. ‘Who done it’ is up to the police to resolve,” Baden told the Associated Press.

Attorneys, as a rule, do not like targets of criminal investigations to give interviews at all. Peterson, however, has said that he has been speaking to NBC News, in part, to get the media to stop camping outside of his home.
But he does so at his own peril.

If he is charged, his public statements about the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, Savio’s death and his rocky relationship with both women could be used to impeach his credibility if he were to testify differently at a trial.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21879476/

[Pauli]

Peterson search enters fourth week

http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/batavia/content/sites/woc_bolingbrook/findstacypeterson2xxxxwsd/0/g1101a80adc303a78940dedd4a2f45378ee6e0f7518e985.jp g (http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/batavia/content/sites/woc_bolingbrook/findstacypeterson2xxxxwsd/0/g258258b150bd94199ca817e43632316c76a45895b28c38.jp g) Photo by findstacypeterson.com
The search efforts, organized by Texas EquuSearch, for Bolingbrook resident Stacy Peterson are postponed until after Thuanskgiving.

By Don Grigas, dgrigas@mysuburbanlife.com
GateHouse News Service
Mon Nov 19, 2007, 01:23 PM CST

Bolingbrook, IL - The search for Stacy Peterson enters its fourth week, and amidst national television appearances by her husband, Drew Peterson, who denies any wrong doing, and administrative actions related to his resignation Nov. 12, the case appears to be in a holding pattern.

Volunteer searchers organized by Texas EquuSearch announced on Sunday that search efforts would be postponed until after Thursday, and an opinion on a second autopsy of Kathleen Savio’s body — Drew Peterson’s third wife — is not expected for several weeks from the Will County State's Attorney's Office.

Still, when the Bolingbrook Fire and Police Board meet at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 20, the case could assume a new direction, authorities say.

The board, which recommends disciplinary action for Fire Department and Police Department personnel, is expected to acknowledge Drew Peterson’s resignation and review charges being forwarded by the police department related to Peterson’s employment history with the department.

Peterson tendered his resignation Nov. 12, about one month shy of the 30th anniversary of his employment as a Bolingbrook police officer.

“I don’t think we can not accept a resignation, the board would simply acknowledge it,” said Kathleen Elliot, attorney for the board.

What, if any, effect the timing of Drew Peterson’s resignation will have on any potential board action has yet to be determined, and likely won’t be until the board convenes Tuesday night.

In the past the Fire and Police Board has recommended such options as terminating employment, suspending officers and doing nothing.

The board acts on information supplied by the police department, which in this case has been reviewing potential charges against Peterson for more than a week, according to Lt. Ken Teppel, spokesman for the Bolingbrook Police Department.

“The investigation began before Sgt. Peterson resigned, so the investigation continued regardless of the resignation,” Teppel said.

“If the board acts to first accept Drew Peterson’s resignation, does that (nullify) the next action?” Teppel said. “That seems to be the million dollar question on everybody’s mind.”

Teppel said the department began an investigation into potential official misconduct by Drew Peterson about a week prior to his resignation.

“(Police Chief Ray McGury) wants to make sure Peterson’s resignation does not invalidate the investigation simply because he resigned before the board was able to officially review the charges,” Teppel said.

Teppel did not reveal the nature of the charges expected to be filed on Tuesday except to say, “They are administrative in nature, and came up during the recent investigation into Stacy Peterson’s disappearance,” Teppel said.

Drew Peterson, who on Monday morning made his second appearance on "The Today Show," last week was named as a suspect in both the disappearance of Stacy Peterson — his fourth wife — and the death of Kathleen Savio, his third wife.

Kathleen Savio died March 1, 2004 and was discovered in her empty bathtub with a laceration to the back of her skull. A six-person Will County Coroner’s jury ruled the death an accidental drowning in March, 2004.

Following Stacy Peterson’s disappearance, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced the Kathleen Savio case was under review because of the “unique circumstances” surrounding her death.

At the time of her death Savio had been divorced from Drew Peterson for several months, but the courts had not divided the marital assets. At the time of her death, Savio lived in her home at 392 Pheasant Chase Drive, a few blocks from where Drew Peterson and Stacy Peterson lived at 6 Pheasant Chase Court.

During testimony at a Will County Coroner’s inquest following Savio’s death, Illinois State Police Special Agent Herbert B. Hardy said Drew Peterson was with his children that weekend and “his whereabouts were totally accounted for that whole weekend,” according to a transcript of the inquest.

Recently, Glasgow and state police announced Drew Peterson is a suspect in both Stacy Peterson’s disappearance and Savio’s death.

Savio’s body was exhumed from Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside on Nov. 13 and an autopsy performed by Dr. Larry Blum.

Tuesday night, the Will County Coroner’s Office issued a release stating the second autopsy revealed “nothing to contradict a change relative to drowning as the cause of Kathleen Savio’s death."

The release, however, did not address the issue of whether or not the drowning was accidental, as stated in the initial autopsy.

At the request of Savio’s family, noted forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden also performed an independent autopsy and publicly stated the death was a homicide.

Blum is expected to render his opinion on the case once all the facts surrounding the case — including a review of case photographs, toxicology, investigative reports, radiologic evidence and microscopic examination of tissues — have been reviewed.

The coroner’s office release said that “may take several weeks” to complete.

Last week the Bolingbrook Police Pension Board approved Drew Peterson’s $6,000-a-month pension following his resignation.

http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/batavia/homepage/x187558353

[Pauli]

Drew Peterson Returns To National TV

Former Cop's Attorney Lashes Out At Media Coverage Of Stacy Peterson And Kathleen Savio Cases

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Former Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson stepped up his national media campaign Monday with another network television appearance and a photo shoot for national magazine.

Peterson, who is suspected in the disappearance of his wife, appeared via satellite on NBC's "Today" show along with his lawyer, Joel Brodsky.

Brodsky said he does not believe his client will face charges stemming from the investigation.

He also criticized the media for their coverage of Peterson, who resigned as a Bolingbrook police sergeant after his fourth wife, Stacy, 23, vanished three weeks ago.

Police have named Peterson, 53, as a suspect in her disappearance, and authorities have called the case a possible homicide. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.

"We do not expect to be charged in these cases," Brodsky said. "This is out of control. It's a rush to judgment fueled by people, by entertainment and people seem to want to be entertained by what's going on."

Brodsky, who began representing Peterson on Friday, declined to let his client respond to most questions during Monday's short interview.

Peterson, whose children with Stacy Peterson are 2 and 4, answered "yes" when asked if he was worried she may never return home. "Kids need a mom," he said.

Asked if he was worried about his wife, he said: "Of course. Your wife leaves you and I have kids at home, you're very much worried about her."

Peterson reiterated that he thinks his wife left him for another man. "I'd like to have her publicly show herself so we can clear all this up," said Peterson, who has older children from an earlier marriage.

After returning from a hotel where he appeared for the satellite interview, Peterson stopped and talked to reporters in the driveway of his Bolingbrook home. He called the attention paid to his life "mind-boggling."

"People are looking at me under a magnifying glass. It's very upsetting. You know, I mean, what I had for breakfast is newsworthy. So it's crazy. Look at these people," he said, gesturing to the media. "This is hilarious. It's just not how I want to be spending my retirement."

Peterson later participated in a photo shoot for People magazine in his backyard.

Also Monday morning, Peterson's first wife, Carol Brown appeared for an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." She was married to him in the 1970s and said the marriage ended in 1980 after she discovered he was having an affair. But she said Peterson did not abuse her.

"In the beginning we just had a normal relationship, did things together. I'd say the most controlling part was, and it was very minimal, he just didn't like me to go out maybe in the evenings like to go to a bar," she said.

When asked if she thought Drew Peterson was capable of murder, Brown said, "The Drew that I knew, I would never expect that."

Stacy Peterson, who was studying nursing at a junior college, disappeared from the couple's suburban Chicago home Oct. 28. Volunteers have been canvassing fields, lakes and construction sites near the family's house, but have found no traces of the woman.

Still, the investigation into her disappearance caused prosecutors to reopen the investigation into the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose body was found in a bathtub in 2004.

At the time, authorities ruled her death an accidental drowning, but investigators exhumed her body last week at the request of a prosecutor, who has said after examining evidence he believes her death was a homicide staged to look like an accident.

A pathologist who conducted another autopsy on Savio's body for her family said last week he believes the woman was murdered.

Monday, Savio's body was returned to her grave at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside.

Peterson also has denied any role in Savio's death. He was asked Monday for his reaction to speculation that Savio was murdered. "Yes, I'm upset to hear something like that said. Very much so," he said on the "Today" show.

Later, he denied claims made by his second wife, Vicki Connolly, that Peterson told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident. Connolly said that while she didn't believe he ever would kill her, she confided in Bolingbrook police officers she considered friends.

"I've never said anything like that, or even thought anything like that," Peterson said. "I don't know what's going through her head. I thought her and I had a good relationship. I thought we were friends. For her to say something like that, I don't know if it was driven by the media or whatever. Who knows?"

Tuesday, the Bolingbrook village police and fire commission will decide whether to accept Drew Peterson's resignation, or they could terminate him. He was awarded his full pension last week.

http://cbs2chicago.com/westsuburbanbureau/drew.peterson.attorney.2.571154.html

[Pauli]

NBC 5 Exclusive: Peterson Says Public Ill Informed

Former Sergeant's Attorney: 'They're Not Going To Find Her In Bushes'


POSTED: 5:54 pm CST November 19, 2007
UPDATED: 7:23 pm CST November 19, 2007

CHICAGO -- In an exclusive interview with NBC 5's Alex Perez, Drew Peterson said he feels like a victim of scrutiny and uninformed public opinion.

But Peterson now lets his attorney -- whom he found after putting out a call on the "Today Show" -- handle the tough questions.

It has been three weeks since Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, has vanished, and Peterson insists she left him for another man.

Criminal defense attorney Joel Brodsky said he is not surprised volunteer searchers have found no trace of the 23-year-old woman and doesn't believe there will be enough evidence to charge his client.

"They're not going to find her in the bushes," said Brodsky. "Maybe they'll find her -- God only knows where -- with her other friend."

Volunteer searches have been called off until after the Thanksgiving holiday, and several loved ones said they are turning to psychics in hopes of finding any trace of Stacy.

Drew Peterson, who recently resigned as Bolingbrook police sergeant, said he feels like he's being forced to enter a not-guilty plea, even though he hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing.

"It's the middle of the night and I'm laying in bed and (people) in cars are driving by yelling, 'Murderer!'" Peterson told Perez.

He said the toughest moment came when his 11- and 13-year old watched coverage of their deceased mother, Kathleen Savio, being exhumed.

"They hear about their mother being dug up and cut up," he said. "For a young kid it's a devastating time in their life."

Savio's body was exhumed so officials can revisit whether her death in a bathtub was by accident or homicide.

Peterson's attorney is questioning the findings of the independent medical examiner who performed an autopsy on Savio, whose body was re-buried Monday.

Savio's family laid her to rest again at the Queen Of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside.

The official autopsy results on Savio have not been released.

Dr. Michael Baden said Savio's mysterious death was a murder, not an accidental death, as initially ruled when she died three years ago. Baden's travel expenses were paid for by the FOX Entertainment Group, and he is a commentator for that network.

"We know what happened to her, but we want to fight for justice," said Sue Doman, Savio's sister. "(Peterson) makes me sick. He's a liar."

Meanwhile, as some of them criticize him, Peterson criticized his ex-wives, who have recently talked about his infidelity.

Peterson's second wife, Vicki Connolly, has said that he threatened to kill her.

"All these women are saying negative things about me, but at one time, I was good enough to marry," he said.

But Peterson's first wife has a different perspective.

Carol Brown went on national television Monday morning, talking about their relationship, which she described as quite normal.

She said she didn't find Peterson to be controlling, and when asked if he is capable of murder, Brown said, "I would never, never, never expect that."

Brown said their marriage ended when she found out he was having an affair.

Meanwhile, sources said Peterson's friend, Rick Mims, who initially supported Peterson but later questioned him, is considering an offer to write a book about this case.

http://www.nbc5.com/news/14643552/detail.html?dl=mainclick

[Pauli]

Peterson says he loves, misses missing fourth wife


First wife talks, third wife reburied

November 19, 2007 - Drew Peterson, a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, said Monday night, "I'm still in love with Stacy, and I miss her."

It was a rare public show of emotion for the former Bolingbrook police sergeant after a day of national television interviews and a backyard photo shoot with People magazine.

When asked what message he is trying to send via all this media attention, Peterson replied, "Leave me alone."

During the first two weeks after his wife, Stacy, disappeared, Drew Peterson maintained a low profile -- often covering up his face as he arrived and left his house. Now it appears he is opening up to the media.

Sunday night, he even invited ABC7 reporter Sarah Shulte into his Bollingbrook home for a few minutes. He didn't allow cameras inside, but showed her what life has been like inside the home.

The two young children -- the ones he had with his wife Stacy -- appear to coping well despite their mother's disappearance.

Monday morning on NBC's Today Show, Drew Peterson's lawyer did most of the talking. Peterson maintained his innocence.

"Basically, I would like her to publicly show herself so we can clear this up. Your wife leaves you, you have kids at home, you're very much worried about her," said Drew Peterson.

Peterson and his attorney did the national interviews at the Holiday Inn in Bolingbrook. They declined to comment afterwards.

Earlier Monday, Peterson's first wife, Carol Brown, talked to Good Morning America Monday morning. She was married to Peterson from 1974 to 1980. But their marriage ended in divorce after she learned about his infidelity.

"We somewhat grew apart. And then I did discover that he was having an affair. That was -- you know, that was the beginning of when we started to be separated," said Brown

Over the weekend, investigators reportedly contacted one of Stacy Peterson's acquaintances. The Sun-Times is reporting that police spoke with 35-year-old Scott Rossetto - who had talked to Stacy about three weeks before her disappearance.

Peterson's first wife, Carol Brown, says she is thinking about the families of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, and his current spouse, Stacy.
"I knew both of them. Not real well, but I did know them. It's very heart breaking to think for their children," said Brown.

Drew Peterson remains a suspect in the disappearance of his current wife, Stacy. She has been missing since October 28. Officials continue to search for the mother of two.

Peterson's lawyer believes he will not be charged.

Savio's body was reburied Monday around 3 p.m. after being exhumed last week. The Will County coroner performed another autopsy three years after Savio's death, concerned that Savio's drowning in a bath tub, ruled accidnetal in 2004, may have been homicide. A pathologist hired by the family ruled indepently that he believed Savio was murdered. The county's coroner has not released the results of his autopsy.

"I think it's just a really tough day for our family, to go through this again, it's just like going through another funeral again. It's replaying in all of our heads," said Nick Savio. "It's too bad it had to take Stacy Peterson disappearing to open our case. We never want to see that happen."

"It's bringing us closer to closure. We know now that she was murdered. It's not a good thought but it brings us closer. Now we know what really happened to her," said sister Sue Doman. "We have to bury her again. I don't know of anyone that has had to go through this."

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5769607

[Pauli]

Drew Peterson case: Bright lights, big hassle for neighbors

While Drew Peterson seemingly adjusts to the media attention, most nearby residents say they are tired of living under the spotlight


By Josh Noel and Matthew Walberg, Tribune staff reporters November 20, 2007Of all the recent odd sights at the end of Bolingbrook's Pheasant Chase Court, one of the most surprising arrived in a shiny black jacket last week.

Greta Van Susteren.

The woman who attracts 1.4million viewers nightly as host of Fox News' "On the Record" was hunched in Sharon Bychowski's kitchen, scratching a brown dachshund, Tootsie.As a friend and next-door neighbor of Stacy Peterson -- the mother of two whose disappearance has become the focus of massive searches and media coverage -- Bychowski already had several brushes with fame, as evidenced by the Fox News salt and pepper shakers on her table and the navy blue "Good Morning America" baseball cap and T-shirt ensemble that lay on a nearby counter.

In a quiet cul-de-sac where residents more commonly see kids on bicycles than TV personalities, Van Susteren's arrival was just the latest entry into the chaos that has enveloped the tiny strip of Bolingbrook where Stacy's husband, Drew Peterson, is holed up as the primary suspect in her disappearance.

The case has become the Illinois State Police's top priority and has been infused with additional officers, a source close to the investigation said.

In a media age where the competition to break news is fierce and public hunger for instant information seems insatiable, some cases have blown up into celebrity stories: Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, Natalee Holloway, and now, Stacy Peterson. Most of the stories have common themes, including attractive victims who were at first missing persons, but the Bolingbrook case offers extra curiosities: Thirty years separate Stacy Peterson, 23, and her cop husband, 53, whose third wife died under mysterious circumstances.

"We like to believe we select stories based on their merits," said Steve Katz, supervising producer of "America's Most Wanted," which is preparing a lengthy segment on the case this week. "But we're human beings and all kinds of value judgments come into play."

During the last three weeks, TV crews have arrived on the Petersons' street most days about 4:30 a.m. and left about 11p.m. By midday, the street grows crowded with reporters, including those from the Tribune and other newspapers.

Carol Shelton, 65, who lives next door to the Petersons, has been keeping track of TV reporters she recognizes. She's up to 19. But as her parkway grass turns yellow beneath journalists' shoes, she said, the demands are getting ridiculous. Sure, she let the 5-month pregnant TV reporter use her bathroom, but there was no way she or her husband would let the guy from CBS use her computer even though he had forgotten his laptop.

The bright lights, the idling trucks, the exhaust -- she's ready for it all to go away.

"I've just had enough," Shelton said.

"My question is, what are you people waiting for? I know it's your job, but I'm just frustrated."

Part of the interest is undoubtedly the result of Drew Peterson himself, whose public persona has been morphing by the week as questions swirl about Stacy Peterson and his ex-wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead shortly after their divorce.

At first, when only local media were at his door, Drew Peterson, a Bolingbrook police sergeant, lamented in a few solemn, off-camera interviews that Stacy Peterson had run off with another man.

As the spotlight intensified and media began camping outside his two-story home, Drew Peterson went into hiding. He appeared infrequently and only with his face obscured, once by a bandanna and another time by a hoodie, when he offered a nonsensical blurb that was replayed incessantly on TV: "What do you get when you cross the media with a pig? ... You get nothing, because there's some things a pig won't do."

But now Drew Peterson seems less put off by the attention, appearing twice on the "Today" show in a week, posing for a People magazine photo spread in his back yard Monday and increasingly hamming it up for reporters.

In a loose 15-minute exchange Monday morning, he advised a TV camera operator to lose weight and told a Tribune photographer he needed a better camera.

Meanwhile, the media seems to become an ever-greater player in the case; more TV programs and publications are taking on the story and, some would argue, inserting themselves into it.

Fox News, for instance, flew a noted pathologist to Chicago last week who conducted an autopsy on Savio, Drew Peterson's third wife, whose 2004 death initially was ruled an accident. Savio's body was exhumed last week for a second autopsy by Will County authorities, but before it was reburied Monday, Michael Baden, a former New York chief medical examiner, conducted a private autopsy.

Baden announced the results -- the death was a homicide, he concluded -- on Van Susteren's show last week; the Will County coroner's office has not yet announced its results.

Baden confirmed that Fox asked him to conduct the autopsy on behalf of Savio's family and paid for his flight.

"They paid for my transportation," Baden said. "I didn't charge anything for the autopsy."

Chicago attorney Joel Brodsky, who began representing Drew Peterson after seeing him on the "Today" show last week, questioned the value of Baden's conclusions, despite his reputation.

"Baden said it's a homicide, but he's a paid commentator," Brodsky said. "When he was the independent pathologist for the City of New York, he was wearing one hat. Now he's a TV personality, and he's wearing another hat. That doesn't make him a shill, doesn't make him corrupt -- it's just different jobs."

Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming for Fox News, said Baden was simply flown out to be a guest on the show.

"Greta was going to be out there to do a show, and we wanted Dr. Baden to be a guest on the show," he said. "I disagree with the idea that we paid to fly him out there to do the autopsy. We paid for him, like we do many other times, to go to location and appear as a guest."

The competition to advance the story with new insights has been fierce. Drew Peterson's first wife, Carol Brown, told the Tribune that the media attention has been "unimaginable." Several TV shows, including "Dateline" and "Good Morning America," on which she appeared Monday morning, have sent her flowers, and business cards -- including some from the Tribune -- have been stuck in her door.

"The stress of all the media, that's the worst," Carol Brown said.

Others, including Stacy Peterson's friend Sharon Bychowski, rarely refuse the media. She opens her door to reporters and producers most days for bathroom breaks and hours of conversation around her kitchen table. When Van Susteren arrived last week, Bychowski let the TV star and a producer hold a 30-minute conference call in her basement home office.

"Three weeks ago I was sitting home and watching TV," Bychowski said. "Now I am the TV."

Tribune staff reporters Bonnie Miller Rubin, Gerry Smith and Hal Dardick contributed to this report.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-circus_20nov20,0,1990224.story?page=2&coll=chi_tab01_layout

[Pauli]

Bolingbrook police chief says Peterson brings shame to department

November 20, 2007 (CHICAGO) - Drew Peterson may have some legal problems related to his old job. Bolingbrook's police chief has said Peterson brought shame to everyone wearing a badge.

As soon as Wednesday, the chief said he will meet with prosecutors to review a series of department violations that the chief says may rise to a level of criminal conduct.

Bolingbrook's top cop, Raymond McGury, says Drew Peterson, 53, has brought disgrace and disdain on his department while soaking up the national spotlight as a suspect in his 23-year-old wife Stacy's disappearance. McGury says his former sergeant has demonstrated conduct unbecoming an officer.

"It's the actions of one person, and I understand it and the perceptions, but I don't have to like it," said McGury.

The Bolingbrook Police and Fire Commission said it had no choice but to accept Peterson's resignation, which makes him eligible to begin receiving a $72,000 a year pension.

Behind closed doors, McGury talked about serious internal violations by Peterson over the last year. They do not include anything involving the death or disappearance of Peterson's wives. He was suspended in September for serious lack of judgment involving a police pursuit. The chief says it is a pursuit that never should have happened and taht he felt an internal investigation might have been serious enough to bring Peterson's termination.

McGury was not in his position at the time of the death of Kathleen Savio, Peterson's third wife.

Peterson declined to comment on his old boss' claims. Peterson said he has received eight death threats from all over the country from people who blame him for all of the negative attention brought upon Bolingbrook.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5777049

[Pauli]

Police Dept. Accepts Drew Peterson's Resignation

Former Police Sergeant And His Mother Speak Seperately To Media Claiming He Is Victim Of Unfair Treatment

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Bolingbrook's chief of police lashed out Tuesday evening against former police sergeant Drew Peterson in a meeting to determine Peterson's future with the force. As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, it became official Tuesday – Peterson is off the force after his resignation was accepted.

The attorney for Bolingbrook's fire and police board said the board had no choice but to acknowledge Peterson's letter of resignation because state law does not allow them to not accept it. Peterson's former boss, however, was hoping the board would not accept Peterson's resignation because, in the chief's words, he wanted him fired.

"In my mind he has brought shame to this department," Bolingbrook Police Chief Raymond McGury said.

McGury wanted Peterson to face disciplinary action for alleged violations of departmental policies and procedures, instead of being allowed to retire.

"Throughout the course of this investigation, certain issues have been developed and raised that concern me enough to bring this forward to the board of police and fire commission to see his termination," McGury said.

He wouldn't say exactly what the violations Peterson is accused of are, but he did say they came to light as a result of the state's ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Peterson's wife, Stacy Peterson. Peterson has been named a suspect in her disappearance.

McGury also said the incidents occurred over the past 12 months and were "severe internal violations of general orders."

McGury feels so strongly about the violations, he plans to present his findings to Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow for possible criminal prosecution.

While he made no effort to hide his anger for the shame he feels Peterson has brought to the Bolingbrook Police Department, McGury wanted to make clear the distinction between his personal and professional feelings about Peterson.

"Let me be clear on this, he's not been charged with anything, and I respect that, and I don't want to cast the inference that this man is guilty of anything because he's not been charged with anything," McGury said.

McGury says in the past three weeks, he and the officers in his department have received a number of death threats and e-mails accusing them of being dirty cops and protecting one of their own. He points out that Illinois state police, not Bolingbrook police, are handling the Stacy Peterson investigation.

Drew Peterson's Mother Defends Him In Media

Meanwhile, Peterson's mother is speaking out to defend her son. She tells the Chicago Sun-Times she believes her daughter-in-law, Stacy Peterson, left her family to be with another man.

Betty Morphey spoke to the Sun-Times Monday and the newspaper's headline on Tuesday read: "Drew's Mom's Message To Stacy: 'I'm ashamed of her for putting her family through this.'"

Morphey, also said, "I could swear on a bible that he would never hurt anyone at any time."

For his own part, when Peterson was asked by reporters on Monday "What's the hurt and pain," he laughed and said "The hurt and pain is all the media in front of my house, that's the hurt and pain."

Not that his wife is missing? "Yeah, it is the wife is missing, but right now, look at what's going on here."

The disappearance of Stacy Peterson more than three weeks ago put Drew Peterson in the center of a media storm, one he says he's trying to help his children weather.

"Sometimes I have heart-to-hearts with them individually and try to explain it to them the best I can, but that's the best I can do," Drew Peterson said.

In addition to his wife's disappearance, Peterson is also getting plenty of attention for the re-investigation of the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Officials returned her body to its grave Monday after exhuming it for further autopsy work.

A forensic pathologist hired by the family has said he believes Savio's death was actually homicide.

A Will County Coroner's jury originally ruled it accidental. Their second autopsy confirmed it was a drowning, but has yet to rule on whether the death was accidental or murder.

http://cbs2chicago.com/westsuburbanbureau/drew.peterson.mother.2.591663.html

[Pauli]

Panel approves Peterson departure

Board had no choice in his resignation


By Matthew Walberg, Jo Napolitano and Josh Noel, Tribune staff reporters November 21, 2007 http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/trb.chicagotribune/news/local;tk=11587;ptype=s;slug=chi-peterson_21nov21;rg=ur;ref=courttvcom;pos=1;sz=88x 31;tile=2;ord=65512196? (http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/trb.chicagotribune/news/local;tk=11587;ptype=s;slug=chi-peterson_21nov21;rg=ur;ref=courttvcom;pos=1;sz=88x 31;tile=2;ord=65512196?)

Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson "brought shame" to his department, his chief said Tuesday after the village's Police Board, which had no choice, accepted Peterson's resignation.

Chief Ray McGury filed a complaint with the Bolingbrook Fire and Police Commission Nov. 14 seeking disciplinary action against Peterson, who had been suspended without pay pending an internal investigation.

Peterson turned in a resignation letter Nov. 12, but McGury refused to accept it, wanting him held accountable for the internal investigation's findings.

"The board recognizes the seriousness of the charges presented by the chief," commission attorney Kathleen Elliott said, reading a statement. "Unfortunately, the board is without jurisdiction. ... Peterson's resignation was effective immediately when tendered, and therefore he is no longer a member of the Police Department and no longer subject to the jurisdiction of the board."

McGury said he would have "cherished the opportunity" to discuss the internal investigation with board members. He would not discuss the alleged violations, but said they occurred over a year and were serious enough to warrant termination.

Peterson, 53, has been at the center of law-enforcement and media attention since the Oct. 28 disappearance of his wife, Stacy Peterson, 23.

"The criminal justice system now has jurisdiction over this matter," Elliott said in a statement. "The board wishes to express its deep concern for Stacy Peterson, her family and friends, and awaits the results of the criminal investigation."

McGury said he will meet with State's Atty. James Glasgow to discuss the internal investigation. The department charges previously had been described as non-criminal, but the chief said Tuesday that some information in the report may warrant prosecution.

He also said without elaborating that investigators may want to review some cases Peterson handled.

Peterson did not attend the commission meeting Tuesday night, nor did anyone representing him. He has not been charged with any crimes and has denied any wrongdoing.

McGury said Drew Peterson's behavior has tainted the department, prompting numerous death threats toward the chief and accusations he is running a corrupt agency.

"In my mind, he's absolutely brought shame to this department," McGury said. "I wanted him fired."

Drew Peterson was suspended in September for a "serious lack of judgment" in a police pursuit, McGury said. Asked if Peterson was a good officer, McGury said: "Drew Peterson came to work, did his job and went home. Drew Peterson left the department not in good standing."

Last week, the Police Pension Board voted to give the 29-year veteran his $6,068 monthly pension, saying that Peterson met requirements and that state law prohibited the board from withholding the money.

Information learned in the state police search for Stacy Peterson has led Glasgow to reopen the investigation into the 2004 death of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, who drowned in her bathtub weeks before the financial terms of their divorce settlement were to be finalized.

Savio was found in her dry tub, her hair soaked with blood from a gash on her head. An autopsy determined the cause of death was drowning, and a coroner's jury ruled it an accident. But authorities now suspect she may have been knocked out elsewhere and placed in the tub. Savio's body was exhumed Nov. 13 for another autopsy.

State police have named Drew Peterson a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance, and on Nov. 7 he exercised his 5th Amendment rights when he declined to testify before a grand jury investigating both cases, which also has subpoenaed friends, neighbors, family, records and co-workers.

On Tuesday, the Tribune learned that Harvey police officer Marcus Patterson also appeared before that grand jury Nov. 7. Patterson, 34, was a Bolingbrook police officer from October 1999 to April 2002 and worked on the department's Gang Suppression Unit, headed by Drew Peterson, Lt. Ken Teppel said.

Patterson declined to comment on what he told the grand jury.

State police did not search for Stacy Peterson Tuesday because of weather, and spokesman Luis Gutierrez said he did not know whether searches would resume Wednesday. Investigators will work the case on Thanksgiving, he said.

Meanwhile, her friends and relatives "are just trying to get through the holiday," said family spokeswoman Pam Bosco.

Stacy Peterson traditionally played host to a large Thanksgiving meal that included her sister Cassandra Cales, her father, Drew Peterson's family and friends.

Bosco said she's trying to persuade Cales to come to her house for the holiday. "She doesn't want to do anything. I can't stand to see her this way."

Members of Texas EquuSearch, which has led the volunteer searches, have gone home and made no plans to return.

"They were a great team. I didn't know how long they could stay," Bosco said. "They did bring a lot of energy and resources, so I'd never have anything negative to say about them. We have to work within our means and so did they."

Bosco said she was interviewed at length by investigators for the first time Monday.

"We want to find Stacy, but we have to be realistic," Bosco said.

She found Drew Peterson's growing media presence distasteful.

"This man doesn't take it seriously," she said. "The public is seeing that he is not a man concerned about his third wife being declared the victim of a homicide or that Stacy has disappeared. As long as he keeps showing this side, it's fine. Let him be a joke in front of the media."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_21nov21,0,6606592.story?page=2&coll=chi_tab01_layout

[Pauli]

The woman who told Drew no

PETERSON CASE | 'A voice inside of me ... said there's something wrong'


November 21, 2007
BY STEFANO ESPOSITO (sesposito@suntimes.com) Staff Reporter/sesposito@suntimes.com
Drew Peterson gave her an engagement ring.
Together, they picked out a china pattern.

http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/112107boling.jpg_20071120_21_33_01_71-116-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/660261,112107boling.fullimage%27,%20%27fullimage%2 7,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,stat us=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width= 650,height=650%27%29)
Kyle Piry met Drew Peterson in the early '80s when he showed up at the gas station where she worked to investigate a gas theft.
(Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)

In the end, though, Kyle Piry resisted the mature charms of a man who has persuaded four other women to become Mrs. Peterson. But rebuffing the Bolingbrook police officer in the early 1980s came with a price, Piry, 46, told the Chicago Sun-Times this week.

"He would follow me and stalk me after I broke up with him," Piry said. "He would pull me over on a Friday or Saturday night and give me tickets for stupid stuff, like bald tires. They were ridiculous things."

At one point, Peterson came to the Bolingbrook hair salon where Piry worked and arrested her for accumulating too many parking tickets -- a trumped-up charge, Piry says.

Piry said she had to talk to some of Peterson's cop friends to persuade her ex-fiance to drop the charges.

Drew Peterson refused to discuss his relationship with Piry.
"You guys are reaching," he told the Sun-Times late Tuesday. "I remember her. I was engaged to her."

Peterson has been named a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, who vanished Oct. 28. Authorities are re-examining the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Peterson has said he has done nothing wrong and believes Stacy Peterson left him, possibly for another man.

Piry was in her early 20s when she first encountered the handsome, mustachioed police officer. She worked part-time at a Bolingbrook gas station while attending beauty school. Peterson arrived in uniform to investigate a gas theft. The police officer -- seven years her senior -- wasted no time in showing interest.

"He asked if I would be available to date," Piry said.

Peterson was bold, charming and liked to linger in front of the mirror, Piry recalled. He asked her to marry him after only four months of dating. Piry accepted because she was young and smitten.

But four months later, Piry called it off because she wasn't ready to become step-mother to Peterson's two young children from his first wife. And, "There was a voice inside of me that said there's something wrong here," Piry said.

Peterson appeared devastated, Piry said. She took pity on him, and ended up at his house one night about a week after the break-up. Piry said she found "long black hairs" in Peterson's bed.

"I'm thinking, 'you're so distraught, but you've had someone else in your bed in a week,' " Piry said.

In the weeks that followed, Piry said, Peterson began to watch her -- sometimes from afar, but sometimes he'd pull up behind her and write her a ticket.

"He was sarcastic, and he'd get that sort of smirky smile," Piry said.
About a year after the break-up, Drew Peterson refused to leave her alone, she said.

In 1983 -- by this time Peterson was already married to his second wife -- Peterson and another officer arrested Piry as she arrived at work, Piry said.

The officers said Piry had amassed too many parking tickets, Piry said.

She was ordered into Peterson's cruiser and fingerprinted at the Bolingbrook police station, Piry said.

Bolingbrook police Tuesday confirmed Piry's 1983 arrest, but did not release further details.

Piry says Peterson stopped following her shortly after the arrest, and she didn't get any more parking tickets from him.

Now married and working as a travel agent, Piry is following news reports about Peterson and the women in his life. And she's struck by something he once told her.

"He said I need somebody to love or care for," Piry said. "He never said I want you or I need you."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/660449,CST-NWS-boling21.article

[Pauli]

CHIEF: PROSECUTE DREW PETERSON

WITH THE POLICE AND FIRE BOARD REFUSING TO HEAR THE RESULTS OF AN INTERNAL AFFAIRS PROBE, BOLINGBROOK'S TOP COP SAYS HE WILL TAKE HIS CASE TO STATE'S ATTORNEY JAMES GLASGOW.


November 21, 2007
By JOE HOSEY Staff writer
BOLINGBROOK -- Police Chief Ray McGury can't fire Drew Peterson, so now he's trying to get him arrested.

The village's fire and police commission refused on Tuesday to hear McGury present the results of an internal investigation of Peterson, a former sergeant under suspicion for the disappearance of his fourth wife and the object of public scrutiny for the mysterious bathtub drowning of wife No. 3.
http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/multimedia/jo20_peterson-4.jpg_20071120_23_22_41_89-119-165.imageContent (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:dc_popup_win%28%27http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/660700,JO21_PETERSON_P1.fullimage%27,%20%27fullima ge%27,%20%27toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no, status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,wi dth=650,height=650%27%29)
The police department launched the internal investigation of Drew Peterson, shown here outside his Bolingbrook home, sometime after fourth wife Stacy Peterson was reported missing.

"I wanted him fired," the chief said.

So McGury plans to take his case to Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, and if he has his way, it will happen today.

The police department launched the internal affairs investigation of Peterson sometime after the fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, was reported missing, and before he was suspended without pay Nov. 9, said Lt. Ken Teppel.

Internal violations
It was Peterson's second suspension in less than three months. The first was for "exercising a serious lack of judgment regarding a police pursuit that should never have occurred," McGury said.

Information developed by state police during the investigation of Stacy's disappearance was handed off to the Bolingbrook department, prompting the internal affairs probe, Teppel said. But the internal investigation was unrelated to the search for Stacy, which state detectives have now classified as a "potential homicide" case.

"This is more severe internal violations of general orders," McGury said of Peterson's alleged misdeeds. He said they were committed over the past 12 months, and he plans to try to persuade Glasgow to file criminal charges over the undisclosed transgressions.

Sergeant resigns
Drew Peterson dodged his termination by resigning from the force Nov. 12, the day before he was to appear before internal affairs investigators, Teppel said. Someone "purporting to be his brother" tendered the resignation letter, McGury said.

The police pension board last week awarded Drew Peterson a monthly stipend of $6,067.71, effectively allowing his retirement despite McGury's refusal to accept his resignation. The 29-year veteran of the department will receive three quarters of his salary for the rest of his life.

Peterson answered his door of his Pheasant Chase Court home late Tuesday. He blamed his predicament on others and referred further questions to his attorney.

Homicide investigation
Besides the internal investigation yielding information on allegedly unseemly on-the-job behavior, state police have named Drew Peterson a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, a case they are calling a "potential homicide." Also, state police are investigating the March 2004 death of the previous wife, Kathleen Savio.

Savio's body was exhumed from its grave and a pair of autopsies -- one private and one state -sanctioned -- were performed. The forensic pathologist conducting the private autopsy, Michael Baden, concluded Savio was the victim of a homicide.

Chief's disgust
And on top of this, McGury expressed his disgust with his former sergeant's behavior in the wake of his wife's disappearance.

"I certainly was taken aback by his being masked and having a baseball cap on," McGury said, referring to a stroll Peterson took before assembled media while wearing an American flag bandanna over his face, an NYPD cap low over his eyes and dark sunglasses.

"I certainly was disappointed in the way he acted," the chief said, later adding, "In my mind, he has brought shame on the department."
Peterson's antics also have brought death threats to the chief.
"The overall inference, I think, is, 'You're all a bunch of corrupt cops,'" McGury said.

"My resignation's been called for. A petition has been circulated for me to step down," he said. "I'm not going to do that."

Investigation continues
The investigation of Stacy's Peterson's disappearance and suspected demise, as well as the death of Savio continued Tuesday with no further information proffered by state police. A grand jury reportedly will reconvene today with one of Peterson's neighbors, Steve Carcerano, expected to testify.

Carcerano has claimed he was the first to find Savio's body after a locksmith gained entry to the locked home in 2004.

'Full cooperation'
While McGury said the undisclosed internal violations would not "tip this over to an indictment in either Stacy Peterson or Kathleen Savio," Teppel said he did not know enough about the state police investigation to comment on whether Peterson's behavior could have impeded the current cases.

In the event Peterson's alleged transgressions have tainted unrelated cases, McGury said he would apprise Glasgow.

If there's certain cases that now come up that are now more suspicious," he said, óíºhe's certainly got my full cooperation."

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/660364,4_1_JO21_PETERSON_S1.article

[Pauli]

Peterson: Sociopath or Desperate House Husband?


Forensic Psychologists Call Drew Peterson's Reaction to His Missing Wife 'Atypical'


http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ap_peterson_071120_ms.jpg
This undated photo provided by the Stacy Peterson family shows Peterson's husband, Drew Peterson, 53, a Bolingbrook, Ill., police officer. Stacy Peterson was reported missing on Oct. 29, and authorities on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007, still classified the case as a missing person _ not criminal _ investigation. (Family of Stacy Peterson/ AP Photo )

By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
Nov. 21, 2007


In interview after interview with the media, Drew Peterson has done virtually everything but express the worry, sadness and anger one would expect in a person whose spouse vanished without a trace three weeks ago, psychologists told ABC News.

ince Stacy Peterson, 24, went missing on Oct. 28, her husband Drew, a 53-year-old police sergeant has become the prime suspect in an investigation and the center of a media storm.

In a recent interview with ABC News, Peterson, of Bolingbrook, Ill., called the search for his fourth wife a "waste of time," and in two interviews with NBC's Today Show and elsewhere Peterson has alleged his wife's PMS led her to run off with another man.

"Why would I go search for someone who I don't believe is there? Why would I go beat the weeds in the cold? It's a waste of time," he told ABC News.

Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists consulted by ABC News said people respond to the trauma of a missing spouse in different ways, but called Peterson's reaction "atypical" and his attitude "blase" and "surprisingly indifferent." None of the experts have personally evaluated Peterson.

"My knee-jerk reaction is what you hear everyone say," said forensic psychologist N.G. Berrill. "If my wife went missing and I loved her, I'd be hysterical. I'm always cautious about attempting to asses someone's emotions, but I don't want to say common sense here is wrong… He comes across as extremely glib and relaxed."

When contacted by ABC News, Peterson, who has not been accused of any crime, said he was "surprised by the media attention."

"I got caught in a media lull and it snowballed. There are more important things than this, like a little girl missing in Chicago," he said.

When asked about his concerns for his two young children, ages 2 and 4, Peterson said, "sure their mom's missing and they're upset but there are more important things to worry about."

Despite routinely speaking to the media for weeks, Peterson referred other questions to his lawyer Joel Brodsky.

People are calling him guilty already just because he's not acting the certain way they want," Brodsky said.

"He has made some wacky statements and he has acted kind of wacky, but he's just acting like Drew. People would rather he put on an act and be dishonest… There are 6 billion people in the world and if faced with a horrible situation you'd probably get 6 billion different reactions. People seem to feel there is a uniform way to act," he said.

People do react in different ways to trauma, experts said, but generally those reactions are consistently sad.

"When someone undergoes a trauma or loss like a spouse who suddenly disappears, people's coping mechanisms tend to be magnified. People who get sad, get really sad, people who throw themselves into their work, really throw themselves into their work," said Dr. Joe Scroppo, director of the forensic psychiatry program at North Shore University Hospital in Manhassett, New York.

"When people undergo a tragedy or loss, usually there is some guilt about what has occurred even if they're not directly responsible… You'd expect someone to feel some of that when losing a spouse even if he had mixed feelings about her… Among police officers that sense is even more heightened," he said.

"His is not a typical response… Usually, there is a mix of negative feelings, self blame…A sense of sadness or depression, these kinds of feelings, tend to be part of the mix… One would expect that kind of reaction in someone similar to Peterson… Even if he had an ambivalent relationship with his wife – which, he does by his own account – I think he would be concerned about the effect on his children. Even if he doesn't care about her, one would expect him to be concerned about his kids."

Experts speculated that if Peterson is indeed guilty, his experience as a police officer could afford him the confidence to act so nonchalantly.
"If he is guilty of this crime, he must believe no one is ever going to find the body… If he truly knows why his wife went missing, he knows the body won't be found," said Berrill. "As a cop he's fully aware that a spouse is first person cops look at in an investigation."

Since Stacy went missing, investigators have exhumed the body of Peterson's third wife Kathleen Savio who died in a mysterious bathtub drowning. A new autopsy revealed she may have been murdered.

"If in fact he is a cold-blooded killer -- that is to say if he is a psychopath -- he managed to get away with murder once before," Berrill said. "The irony of the whole tale is that police may never find the body of the present wife, but the remains of the third wife might lead to a murder conviction."


http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=3894833&page=1

[Pauli]

Stacy Peterson's Friend Testifies In Investigation

Scott Rossetto Said He And Stacy Flirted, But Never Dated

JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) ― An old friend of missing Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson's admits he flirted with her in the weeks before Stacy disappeared.

Scott Rossetto testified Wednesday before a grand jury investigating the case. As CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli reports, it was the third time Rossetto was called before a grand jury to testify about what he knows about Stacy's disappearance more than three weeks ago. The first two times he did not take the stand, but this time he did.

"They asked what kind of contact we had, conversations that she maybe had initiated," Rossetto sad. "Did she look afraid…Just generalized conversation."

Rossetto's brother dated Stacy Peterson six years ago, before she met and married Drew Peterson. Three and a half weeks before she disappeared, Stacy contacted Rossetto and they began communicating regularly. But Rossetto says he was not romantically linked with Stacy.

"I never dated her. She dated my brother, and she dated my best friend," Rossetto said. "I don't date friends."

But he said Drew Peterson apparently suspected otherwise. At least that's what the Bolingbrook cop said when he confronted the two while having dinner at a restaurant.

"He asked me how I would feel if my wife went off with another guy, and I told him honestly I would trust her until she gave me a reason not to," Rossetto said.

When asked if he feared that Drew Peterson might have hurt Stacy Peterson, Rossetto said he could not say, but also admitted that his gut says something is wrong.

"To tell you the truth I don't even know if I should refer to her to her in the past and present tense. It's kind of aggravating," Rossetto said. "I really, really hope she's OK. But common sense says she's not."

The man who found Kathleen Savio's body in a bathtub 3 1/2 years ago also testified Wednesday. Steve Carcerano has remained supportive of Drew Peterson over the years. He says that support has had a price recently.

"I have received some death threats," Carcerano said.

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/peterson.grand.jury.2.593585.html

[Grande]

Police Identify Person Believed to Have Helped Ex-Cop Drew Peterson Move Large Barrel

Illinois State police have identified the person they think may have helped former police sergeant Drew Peterson move a large blue barrel from his bedroom to his vehicle the day after his 23-year-old wife was reported missing.

A law enforcement source tells WFLD FOX Chicago that the man who helped load a barrel into Peterson's SUV tried to commit suicide the next day.

Stacy Peterson, a mother of two and Peterson's fourth wife, was reported missing Oct. 29 by her family after she failed to show up to a friend's house. Drew Peterson is a suspect in her disappearance.

Volunteers searching for any signs of Stacy are looking for the barrel. Neighbors say Peterson had a blue barrel in his backyard.

On Monday, 64 special agents with the FBI joined the search for Stacy to help state authorities in their investigation.

"I'm not saying that we're going to be able to solve the case," said FBI agent Ross Rice. "I'm certainly not going to predict if or when it will ever be solved but having additional resources certainly can't hurt."

Meanwhile, Will County prosecutors reopened the investigation into the death of Peterson's third ex-wife, Kathleen Savio. Savio, 40, died in a bathtub in March 2004. Prosecutors say the death appeared to be staged to conceal a homicide and recently exhumed her body for a second autopsy.

Illinois State Police told FOX News on Sunday that "new information" prompted its appeal for more information about possible sightings of the cars that belong to Stacy Peterson or her husband, Drew, around the time that the woman vanished.

Investigators are asking anyone who may have seen the vehicles on Oct. 28 or 29 — the time of the 23-year-old Bolingbrook mother's disappearance — to come forward.

Police have released photos of the vehicles: A dark Blue 2005 GMC Yukon Denali belonging to Drew and the second a purple 2002 Pontiac Grand Am, belonging to Stacy, and asked the public to call its tipline at 815-740-0678 or "America's Most Wanted" at 800-274-6388.

Both vehicles were impounded by police on Nov. 1, and are still in police possession because of search warrant seizures.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,313212,00.html

[Pauli]

Search for Stacy Peterson being limited

Tribune staff report November 26, 2007 BOLINGBROOK - Family and friends of Stacy Peterson are scaling back on volunteer searches during the week and will resume Saturday, a family spokeswoman said Sunday.

While volunteers will hold off until the weekend, the Illinois State Police will continue searching for the missing 23-year-old during the week, said Pam Bosco, a family friend. The FBI is expected to join the search for the Bolingbrook mother of two early this week, opening the possibility of "technical assistance of the U.S. Navy" if needed, officials said Friday.

It's becoming harder to amass large groups of volunteers during the week because of work schedules, Bosco said, and the family would prefer to organize large-scale searches on the weekend, when more volunteers are more likely to turn out, she said.

About 20 people searched Sunday, but they found nothing, she said.

Peterson disappeared Oct. 28.

Her husband, former Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, has been named a suspect. Peterson, 53, has denied any involvement.

Bosco said family will post any search updates to the following Web site: http://www.findstacypeterson.com (http://www.findstacypeterson.com)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson26_bothnov26,1,7795644.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true

[Pauli]

Drew's relative attempted suicide, source says

Drew Peterson's relative said to be distraught over Stacy's disappearance


November 27, 2007
BY JOE HOSEY Herald News
One of Drew Peterson's relatives overdosed on pills after helping the former Bolingbrook police sergeant load a large barrel into Peterson's SUV the day Stacy Peterson vanished, a police source said Tuesday.

Thomas Morphey, a step-brother, was hospitalized but survived what the source described as a suicide attempt. Morphey's wife called police, saying her husband heard of the disappearance, became distraught and feared he might have unwittingly helped dispose of Drew Peterson's wife's body, the source said.

Prosecutors have not called Morphey to testify before a grand jury examining the 23-year-old woman's disappearance because he has "memory lapses" about loading the barrel into Peterson's GMC Yukon Denali, the source said.

Drew Peterson visited Morphey in the hospital, the source said.
Last Friday, the Sun-Times reported that a neighbor told police he saw Drew Peterson and another man loading the barrel into the SUV.

Illinois State Police have seized the Denali among other property taken from the Petersons' Bolingbrook home. Tests conducted on the vehicle at the State Police laboratory had not been completed, a source said late last week. But another source said police located pieces of blue plastic on the back end of the Denali.

State investigators have also released photographs of the SUV and Stacy Peterson's vehicle, a purple Pontiac Grand Am, hoping someone might have seen one or both of the vehicles in the hours after the young wife vanished.

Stacy Peterson's family members say they last heard from her the morning of Oct. 28. The mother of two was expected to help paint a house in Yorkville later that day, but she never showed up, her relatives say.

Police and scores of volunteers have scoured the countryside searching for Stacy Peterson. Drew Peterson has not participated in those searches.

Police have identified Drew Peterson as a suspect in his wife's disappearance.

The investigation has prompted Will County prosecutors to take another look at the 2004 death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio. Savio's death was originally ruled an accidental drowning, but authorities now believe it may have been a homicide.

Drew Peterson has denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance or his ex-wife's death. He maintains that Stacy Peterson left him, possibly for another man.

On Tuesday, he refused to answer a reporter's questions about moving a barrel from his home.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/669960,boling112707.article

[Pauli]

Police investigate letter describing Peterson sighting

November 27, 2007 - The search for clues in the case of Stacy Peterson has led state police to a grocery store in Peoria. Investigators are checking out surveillance video from a store where a possible sighting of Peterson was reported.

Husband Drew Peterson is a suspect in her disappearance.


Illinois state police are reviewing surveillance tape from a Peoria grocery store. The person who sent an unsigned letter to Drew Peterson claims she spotted Stacy and another man there.

"She just stood in the aisle and stared at me with those big beautiful brown eyes," the letter said. "Drew, is there any chance that she could be pregnant? She has a little pudge."

"It could be very credible. That's why they need to be followed up on and looked at," said Drew Peterson.

He denied reports Tuesday that a relative fears he actually helped get rid of Stacy's body when he and Peterson moved a blue barrel shortly after Stacy disappeared.

Drew Peterson said he's never owned a blue barrel, and he's also complaining about all the media coverage of the case.

Drew Peterson calls himself a prisoner in his own home, and he was turning the tables on the media and railing against his former police department.

On Tuesday afternoon, Drew Peterson ignited another media scrum. This time, it was intentional.

"So what's it like to be Drew Peterson?" he says from behind a handheld camera. "Having this guy in my face like this, this lady having a microphone in my face like this.

"Being in law enforcement my entire adult life, being on the other side of things is very scary," Peterson said.

ABC News provided Peterson with a home video camera that he uses to show how he's had to cover windows with newspaper and blinds to protect his privacy. Peterson said his former department has turned its back on him, ignoring his calls to 911 asking for police to use parking and loitering laws to evict the media from his block. Bolingbrook police say as long as traffic flows and the press isn't on private property, the media can stay.

From the letter, to Drew's early disguise to hide his face from the media, to Drew TV, Stacy Peterson's family says they don't get it.

"I'm shocked that he's actually doing it. I don't understand him. I've never understood him throughout this whole situation. But again, just another thing that is Drew at this point," said Pamela Bosco, family friend.

Drew Peterson says that he believes the local and national media attention is now driving the case against him. Even though Peterson is granting interviews, he's refusing to talk about any of the specifics of the case.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5788753

[Pauli]

Relative's help is alleged

Man reportedly said he may have carried bin with wife's body

By Matthew Walberg | Tribune staff reporter 11:32 PM CST, November 27, 2007 After allegedly helping Drew Peterson haul a large container that was warm to the touch from a bedroom, a male relative of the former Bolingbrook police sergeant told a friend Oct. 28 that he was afraid he had just helped Peterson dispose of the body of his wife, Stacy Peterson, a source close to the investigation said.

The relative was so distraught that he was hospitalized two days later after an apparent suicide attempt, two sources close to the case said. The relative's name is being withheld by the Tribune; he has not been charged with a crime nor named as a suspect.

Stacy Peterson, 23, was reported missing by her sister, Cassandra Cales, about 4 a.m. Oct. 29, after she failed to show up to help Cales paint a home the previous day.

Drew Peterson later said his wife called him about 9 p.m. Oct.28 and told him that she had left him for someone else. He has steadfastly denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance. In a Nov. 7 appearance before a Will County grand jury investigating the case, he exercised his 5th Amendment right.

Illinois State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich identified Drew Peterson as a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance, and though it is still classified as a missing person case, authorities say it is moving toward a homicide investigation.

On Tuesday, sources close to the investigation revealed a detailed account of the alleged activities of Drew Peterson and his relative on the day of Stacy Peterson's disappearance. Drew Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, dismissed the information as nothing more than rumors.

Drew Peterson was scheduled to work at 5 p.m. Oct. 28 but called in to take a personal or sick day, said Bolingbrook police Lt. Ken Teppel.

A source familiar with the investigation said that at about 7 p.m., Drew Peterson picked up his relative from a park and the two went to a local coffee shop.

After a short time, Drew Peterson told the relative he had to go somewhere and left the man at the coffee shop with a cell phone, along with instructions that the relative should not answer if it should ring, the source said. The relative waited for some time, and the phone rang, showing the name "Stacy" on the caller ID, the source said.

A brief time later, Drew Peterson returned to the coffee shop, the source said. Drew Peterson and the relative then drove to the Petersons' home on Pheasant Chase Court, the source said. Drew Peterson asked the relative to help him move something from the home into the Petersons' sport-utility vehicle, the source said.

The two men went to an upstairs bedroom and removed a large covered and sealed 4-foot-long rectangular plastic container and placed it in the SUV, the sources familiar with the case said.

They left the home about 10p.m., and Drew Peterson then dropped the relative off at his home, at which point the distraught man contacted a friend, saying words to the effect of, "I think I just helped Drew dispose of Stacy," the source said.

The relative allegedly told the friend the plastic container was warm to the touch and may have weighed about 120 pounds, a source said.

Two days later, the relative was treated at Edward Hospital in Naperville after an apparent suicide attempt, sources said.

Drew Peterson allegedly visited his relative at the hospital Oct. 30, and later that day, state police investigators--who were informed of the relative's statements by the man's friend--contacted the relative at the hospital, one source said.

On Nov. 7, the relative was contacted outside his home by a Tribune reporter. He confirmed he was interviewed by authorities regarding Stacy Peterson's disappearance but then declined further comment. Less than 30 seconds later, state police investigators in the relative's driveway ordered the reporter to leave.

On Tuesday, the Will County state's attorney's office declined to comment on the relative's alleged involvement with Drew Peterson, saying it would not discuss any aspect of the investigation.

"Nobody helped me with anything in such a manner," Drew Peterson told WGN-TV Tuesday night. In response to other questions, he said, "Talk to my lawyer."

"There's no container--no blue barrel," said Brodsky, in reference to reports in other media that a neighbor saw a man help load a blue plastic barrel into the back of the Petersons' SUV. "That's all part of the growing swirl of rumors that seem to have engulfed this case."

Referring to the relative, Brodsky said, "This man, from what I'm hearing, has some serious psychological issues. Once again, I don't even know if he said it. This could be one of a growing number of rumors swirling around this case."

Another source familiar with the investigation said that on Wednesday, Drew Peterson's 14-year-old son is expected to appear before a special grand jury looking into not only Stacy Peterson's disappearance, but the 2004 death of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub. Her death originally was classified as an accident, but authorities have reopened the case, saying the circumstances of her death appear to have been arranged to conceal a homicide.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-071128peterson,1,4934753.story?track=rss&ctrack=2&cset=true

[rockford2]

I'm wondering what this means...

"After a short time, Drew Peterson told the relative he had to go somewhere and left the man at the coffee shop with a cell phone, along with instructions that the relative should not answer if it should ring, the source said. The relative waited for some time, and the phone rang, showing the name "Stacy" on the caller ID, the source said."

Did she try to call this relative for help? Was Drew Peterson 'testing' this relative to see if he would answer the phone? :z0tdntknw:

[Pauli]

Portions of the Anonymous Letter Sent to DP

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/nancy.grace/ (http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/nancy.grace/)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re also learning more now about this anonymous letter that came to light last week, and now we`re hearing it was specific in the sighting, which the author of this letter claims to have seen Stacy Peterson, what she was wearing, the aisle she was in in the grocery store. Now, adding to all of these shocking developments, there is a letter that Drew Peterson says he got, an anonymous letter, and it is a humdinger. Let me read it to you, and then we`re going to get reaction from our panel.

PART OF THE LETTER:
"Dear Drew Peterson: Hello. I am writing to you and I am taking a wild chance communicating with you, but I do not care. I just want you to know that I believe I saw your wife, Stacy. I saw her at a local grocery store in Peoria. I ran into her on Monday night, November 12, 2007. She is alive!" Three exclamation points.
"She was wearing a black coat, black pants and wearing white athletic shoes. I did not speak to her. I do not want to be identified. I saw her, though. She did not even have a grocery cart. She just stood in the aisle and stared at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes. Drew, is there any chance that she could be pregnant? She has a little pudge. Maybe that is why she is dressed in black."


VELEZ-MITCHELL: But as we continue to read, you could tell us, does it sound like something that maybe -- and I have no knowledge or proof of this at all, this is just hypothetical -- might have been written by the person who received it?
LAWLESS: I don`t think he`d write anything that sounded that crazy. If he was trying to write a letter that sounded legit, he surely is sophisticated enough...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK, let`s get to the second part of this letter because it`s hilarious. "I am very upset with Dr. Michael Baden. I hope that your lawyers will be able to get rid of him. I do not believe in anything he says. He needs to retire. He got paid pretty well for that. I am not fooled."
JVM: All right, let`s go to Dr. Jake Deutsch, doctor of emergency medicine. Why is Dr. Baden a bad guy? Why does this letter help Drew Peterson, in that sense?
DR. JAKE DEUTSCH, DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE: Well, I don`t think that Baden is a bag guy at all. I think that the facts that he`s reporting are a conflict of what Peterson wants us to believe. So...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What did he -- what did Baden say?
DEUTSCH: Well, he said that it`s unlikely that she died from an accidental cause, that the injuries, including the head laceration, are probably not accidental and probably cause for, actually, drowning. So it contradicted what they had anticipated for us to believe. And therefore, it makes him, you know, scared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was that letter that was left with Drew Peterson. And then also, we got a tip here at "America`s Most Wanted" to look at another grocery store in Peoria, as well, where somebody believed they saw Stacy. Bottom line is this. The surveillance video from one of those grocery stores is in the hands of cops right now. They`re combing through it. They`re trying to see if that is indeed Stacy. But I`ll tell you, there will be a lot of very surprised investigators if, indeed, that is Stacy Peterson on that surveillance tape.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, in for Nancy Grace. Would Stacy Peterson, mother of two young children, just disappear and walk out of her family`s life for a mysterious other man, as her husband, Drew, claims she did? That`s the question the world wants answered, which brings us back to this letter that Drew Peterson said he got. And let me read another portion for you because it`s pretty amazing.

PART OF THE LETTER:
"I saw this guy outside the grocery store, and he was pacing real bad in front of me. I could tell he wanted to talk to me. He had dark skin, straight black hair. I feel that he is connected to her. He looked like his nationality was from India."

LAWLESS: ... to the beginning of the letter, Jane. I think that you may be on to something. If we can use our imaginations and say that he was the one that was responsible for this letter. You can take out certain phrases like, I am taking a chance," "I do not care," "She just stood there and stared at me with those big, beautiful eyes," "I am very upset"...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What`s the significance?
LAWLESS: OK, it sounds like a confession, if we want to use our imaginations on this thing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, boy, I got to bring in the clinical psychologist on that one. Patricia Saunders?
SAUNDERS: I don`t think it`s a confession, Jane, but I think we`re laughing because it`s inappropriately personal. And there`s -- maybe the person that`s identifying with their fantasy of Drew Peterson. There are a couple of statements, though, and the point is well taken, where the person says, That will be up to her, if she decides to go back. That`s a little suspicious. So I think this guy is very deceptively complex. This is no simple man, this Drew Peterson. And it is possible that he faked this letter.

[Pauli]

Letter claims Stacy Peterson sighting VIDEO (10:36 minutes)
Nov. 27: An anonymous letter-writer claims to have spotted Stacy Peterson in Illinois. Dan Abrams offers an exclusive look at the letter and speaks with Drew Peterson’s neighbor, psychologist Dorree Lynn, attorney Monica Lindstrom and ex-detective Michael Gaynor.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19599749/ (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19599749/)
Go to this site and look for the link to the video titled above.

[Pauli]

A neighbor told CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli that she had a conversation with Drew Peterson about that relative.

"He needed me to watch the kids if I could for about an hour and a half; he was going to go visit a relative that had tried to commit suicide," said the neighbor, Sharon Bychowski.

Bychowski says she asked Drew about that relative's wellbeing when he returned from the hospital later.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/drew.p...l.2.597507.html (http://cbs2chicago.com/local/drew.peterson.barrel.2.597507.html)

[Pauli]

"The lawyer for Drew Peterson is denying media reports that a family member helped his client move a large container out of his home the day Stacy Peterson vanished.

Attorney Joel Brodsky says the Peterson family member in question has a history of mental problems, alcoholism and suicide attempts. And Brodsky says he may be seeking attention or living in "a fantasy world."


http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=7420327&nav=1sW7 (http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=7420327&nav=1sW7)

[Pauli]

Drew Peterson Says He's Under Seige


Peterson Gives ABC News an Exclusive Look Inside His Home


http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/abc_gma_lju_peterson_071128_ms.jpg
Drew Peterson calls himself America's No. 1 suspect and says he and his four children can't leave the house because of constant media attention. (ABCNEWS.com)

Nov. 28, 2007

Former police Sgt. Drew Peterson calls himself America's No. 1 suspect.
Peterson has not been charged in connection with the Oct. 28 disappearance of his wife, Stacy, although police are calling it a possible homicide. But for the last month Peterson says he and his four children have been under siege, with the media and curiosity seekers surrounding his house almost all hours of the day and night.

Peterson says he wakes up every morning wondering what the next allegation against him will be. The Chicago Tribune reported today that a male relative, who was unnamed, had helped Peterson dispose of something heavy inside a blue plastic barrel just after Stacy's disappearance.

The relative was so distraught that he was hospitalized two days later after an apparent suicide attempt, according to the Tribune.
Peterson says that there was never a blue barrel in his house or garage, and that no one helped him move anything like that.

Bringing Attention on Himself

Peterson gave ABC News senior legal correspondent Jim Avila an exclusive look inside the family home to get a glimpse of how he lives — behind pulled blinds and papered windows that block out prying eyes and camera lenses.
Peterson, who retired from the Bolingbrook, Ill., police force before undisclosed and unrelated misconduct charges were to be filed against him, says he now spends his days playing pool with his kids and hosting tea parties for his young daughter.

"You can't even breathe without the media making a story out of it," Peterson told Avila. "So the kids can't come and go like they should. My little ones can't play in the yard or play on their bicycles or do anything that they would normally do because the media's out there."

Police took all of the family computers, including the kids' iPods, the bedding from his master bedroom and a carpet cleaner during two searches of the house, Peterson said.

Peterson says he has even called the precinct where he used to work for help.

"We have called the police on many occasions and all I get from the command staff at the Bolingbrook Police Department is they [the media] have their First Amendment rights and they can do what they want to do," Peterson said.

Meanwhile, Stacy's family says Peterson brought the scrutiny upon himself by granting interviews when his wife first disappeared.

"I don't understand, I've never understood him in this whole situation," said Pamela Bosco, who is serving as a spokeswoman for Stacy's family.
The Bolingbrook Police Department told ABC News it has responded to Peterson's calls repeatedly and asked the media to stay on the sidewalk, but there is little else it can do.

Reem Odeh, one of Peterson's lawyers, said he doesn't believe police are using all the resources they have to help Peterson.

For Peterson, being on the other side of the law is unsettling.
"Well, being in law enforcement my entire adult life, being on the other side of things is very scary," he told Avila. "And going through the store, you get dirty looks from people and all of a sudden people recognize you in a restaurant and you see them whispering and going around, and next thing you know I am not just enjoying a meal because of all the media attention. The focus is on me again and I'm just trying to have a meal with my family."

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3924896&page=1

[Pauli]

Relative's help alleged in Peterson case

Man reportedly said he may have carried bin with wife's body

By Matthew Walberg, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporters Erika Slife and Hal Dardick contributed to this report 6:41 PM CST, November 28, 2007 After allegedly helping Drew Peterson haul a large container that was warm to the touch from a bedroom, a male relative of the former Bolingbrook police sergeant told a friend Oct. 28 that he was afraid he had just helped Peterson dispose of the body of his wife, Stacy Peterson, a source close to the investigation said.

The relative was so distraught that he was hospitalized two days later after an apparent suicide attempt, two sources close to the case said. The relative's name is being withheld by the Tribune; he has not been charged with a crime nor named as a suspect.

Stacy Peterson, 23, was reported missing by her sister, Cassandra Cales, about 4 a.m. Oct. 29, after she failed to show up to help Cales paint a home the previous day.

Drew Peterson later said his wife called him about 9 p.m. Oct.28 and told him that she had left him for someone else. He has steadfastly denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance. In a Nov. 7 appearance before a Will County grand jury investigating the case, he exercised his 5th Amendment right.

Illinois State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich identified Drew Peterson as a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance, and though it is still classified as a missing person case, authorities say it is moving toward a homicide investigation.

On Tuesday, sources close to the investigation revealed a detailed account of the alleged activities of Drew Peterson and his relative on the day of Stacy Peterson's disappearance. Drew Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, dismissed the information as nothing more than rumors.

Drew Peterson was scheduled to work at 5 p.m. Oct. 28 but called in to take a personal or sick day, said Bolingbrook police Lt. Ken Teppel.

A source familiar with the investigation said that at about 7 p.m., Drew Peterson picked up his relative from a park and the two went to a local coffee shop.

After a short time, Drew Peterson told the relative he had to go somewhere and left the man at the coffee shop with a cell phone, along with instructions that the relative should not answer if it should ring, the source said. The relative waited for some time, and the phone rang, showing the name "Stacy" on the caller ID, the source said.

A brief time later, Drew Peterson returned to the coffee shop, the source said. Drew Peterson and the relative then drove to the Petersons' home on Pheasant Chase Court, the source said. Drew Peterson asked the relative to help him move something from the home into the Petersons' sport-utility vehicle, the source said.

The two men went to an upstairs bedroom and removed a large covered and sealed 4-foot-long rectangular plastic container and placed it in the SUV, the sources familiar with the case said.

They left the home about 10 p.m., and Drew Peterson then dropped the relative off at his home, at which point the distraught man contacted a friend, saying words to the effect of, "I think I just helped Drew dispose of Stacy," the source said.

The relative allegedly told the friend the plastic container was warm to the touch and may have weighed about 120 pounds, a source said.

Two days later, the relative was treated at Edward Hospital in Naperville after an apparent suicide attempt, sources said.

Drew Peterson allegedly visited his relative at the hospital Oct. 30, and later that day, state police investigators -- who were informed of the relative's statements by the man's friend -- contacted the relative at the hospital, one source said.

On Nov. 7, the relative was contacted outside his home by a Tribune reporter. He confirmed he was interviewed by authorities regarding Stacy Peterson's disappearance but then declined further comment. Less than 30 seconds later, state police investigators got out of a car in the relative's driveway and ordered the reporter to leave.

On Tuesday, the Will County state's attorney's office declined to comment on the relative's alleged involvement with Drew Peterson, saying it would not discuss any aspect of the investigation.

"Nobody helped me with anything in such a manner," Drew Peterson told WGN-TV Tuesday.

"There's no container -- no blue barrel," said Brodsky, in reference to reports in other media that a neighbor saw a man help load a blue barrel into the back of the Petersons' SUV. "That's all part of the growing swirl of rumors that seem to have engulfed this case."

Referring to the relative, Brodsky said, "This man, from what I'm hearing, has some serious psychological issues. Once again, I don't even know if he said it. This could be one of a growing number of rumors swirling around this case."

Brodsky declined to say whether Drew Peterson has provided him with a complete timeline about his whereabouts on the day of his wife's disappearance, citing attorney-client privilege.

He did say Drew Peterson has given statements to the Illinois State Police, "which I guarantee did account for his whereabouts for that day."

Another source familiar with the investigation said that on Wednesday, Drew Peterson's 14-year-old son is expected to appear before a special grand jury looking into not only Stacy Peterson's disappearance, but the 2004 death of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_28nov28,0,1817877.story?coll=chi_tab01_la yout

[Pauli]

November 28th, 2007 11:09 AM Eastern
by Greta Van Susteren
http://gretawire.foxnews.com/2007/1...elow/#more-2315 (http://gretawire.foxnews.com/2007/11/28/read-this-article-below/#more-2315)

Report: Drew Peterson Called In Sick on Night of Wife’s Disappearance

The husband of Stacy Peterson did not show up to work on the night that the 23-year-old woman disappeared, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday. Stacy Peterson, a mother of two and Drew Peterson’s fourth wife, was reported missing Oct. 29 by her family after she failed to show up to a friend’s house. Drew Peterson, who recently resigned as an officer from the Bolingbrook police department, was scheduled to work at 5 p.m. Oct. 28 but called in to take a personal or sick day, Bolingbrook police Lt. Ken Teppel told the Tribune.

NOTE FROM ME: THE FIRST DAY I WAS IN BOLINGBROOK, I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH SGT. PETERSON WHICH WAS NOT OFF THE RECORD. WHILE SITTING IN HIS HOME, HE TOLD MY PRODUCER AND ME THAT HE HAD CALLED IN SICK THAT SUNDAY NIGHT BECAUSE HE ONLY OWED THE POLICE DEPARTMENT 9 MORE DAYS UNTIL HIS RETIREMENT. HE TOLD US THAT HE HAD SOME DATE IN DECEMBER THAT WAS HIS OFFICIAL RETIREMENT (I HAVE FORGOTTEN IT NOW) AND THAT HE WAS USING UP HIS SICK LEAVE ….THAT HE WAS JUST ESSENTIALLY CALLING IN SICK DAYS ….SO HERE IS THE QUESTION: HAD HE DONE THIS BEFORE AS HE LED UP TO HIS RETIREMENT DAY? IF I WERE THE POLICE, I WOULD CHECK THIS OUT…OF COURSE THIS IS NOT A KEY CLUE BUT MIGHT BE A SMALL PIECE OF INFORMATION…

In addition, the Tribune reported, a key witness has told a friend he might have helped transport the body of Peterson’s wife. That witness — a relative to Drew Peterson — allegedly helped move a barrel that was warm to the touch from Peterson’s bedroom to an SUV. A source close to the investigation says that witness told a friend about his involvement. Two days later, the distressed relative, who has not been identified, was hospitalized after an alleged suicide attempt, the Tribune reported.

Volunteers searching for any signs of Stacy are looking for the barrel. Neighbors say Peterson had a blue barrel in his backyard. Peterson’s neighbor told police last week that he saw Peterson and the man load a barrel “big enough to put someone in” into the former police officer’s SUV, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.

Meanwhile, Will County prosecutors reopened the investigation into the death of Peterson’s third ex-wife, Kathleen Savio. Savio, 40, died in a bathtub in March 2004. Prosecutors say the death appeared to be staged to conceal a homicide and recently exhumed her body for a second autopsy.

Illinois State Police told FOX News on Sunday that “new in