Newspaper Articles

[Lorie Taylor]

CNN radio had an interview with Pam Bosco, who confirmed that Drew Peterson had nothing to do with the forum being shut down.

She said that forum took too much time to manage and it was becoming too much for the volunteer staff. She repeatedly stated that it was a decision made by the family that had nothing to do with any complaints Drew may have made or any legal pressure by anyone. She said that the family had been talking about doing this for awhile and finally decided it was time.

It has a new look too.
www.findstacypeterson.com/

[Lorie Taylor]

Blog Dropped From Stacy Peterson Website

Last Edited: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 1:08 PM CDT
Created: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 12:58 PM CDT

Bolingbrook, IL. -- After southwest suburban housewife Stacy Peterson disappeared, the FindStacyPeterson.com blog became a hub for information for family, friends and community members.
But in the months since, Drew Peterson, her husband and a suspect in her disappearance, complained that the site has done little to find his wife, and instead become a vehicle to spy on him, discuss plans to harass him, and to reveal his personal comings and goings, according to a release from Peterson’s attorney.

The site intruded on his personal life, Peterson said, and so he filed two complaints -- one with the FBI and one with local authorities. While the information Web site is still online, the blog has been taken down. A message on the site reads: “We are restructuring our site to become an information-based-only site. Thank you to all who have have contributed to the forum.”

"I'm not certain if the complaints we made caused the authorities to take the blog down or if it was something else," Joel Brodsky, Peterson's attorney, said in the release, "but they crossed the line with the site there's no doubt about it."

Peterson says he's pleased the blog has been dropped and he hopes the focus can shift back to finding Stacy. "I hope people start focusing on finding Stacy instead of my personal life," he said in the release.

Peterson says Stacy spoke with him before she disappeared and told him she was leaving with another man. He says he too can't understand why she has not been located when so many people are looking for her.

And Peterson says he is growing increasingly worried and fears someone, perhaps the man she ran off with, has harmed her or is preventing her from making contact. "I wasn't that worried for a long time," he said in the release. "But now I am."

Peterson said he hoped a $25,000 rewardhe offered last month for information leading to Stacy's safe return would've produced some productive leads. It hasn't.

"My children miss their mother," he said in the release. "Yes I'm mad that she left me for another man and caused the world to suspect me in her disappearance. But I am now also very concerned."

He says he hopes that with the findstacypeterson.com blog dismantled, the focus will shift back to finding Stacy rather than “wasting time” watching him.

www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6584790&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1

[Lorie Taylor]

Drew Peterson's son to get most of his guns
10 of 11 weapons seized Nov. 1 in probe of wife's disappearance to be transferred
By Matthew Walberg and Erika Slife | Tribune reporters
4:40 PM CDT, May 22, 2008

A Will County judge Thursday ordered the state police to turn over 10 of Drew Peterson's guns to his son, a day after Peterson was arrested on a charge of felony unlawful use of a weapon.

Judge Richard Schoenstedt said the state should hand over the weapons within the next two weeks. Peterson's son Steven, an Oak Brook police officer, will maintain ownership of the guns.

Drew Peterson, 54, was arrested and charged with a felony weapons violation Wednesday after one of 11 firearms seized by police during the execution of a search warrant in November was found to be nearly 5 inches shorter than required by law, officials said. That gun will remain in possession of state police.

Schoenstedt said that Wednesday's arrest had "no direct bearing on the decision of this court."

Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, has been named a suspect in the Oct. 28 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy. Police are also conducting a murder investigation into the 2004 drowning of his previous wife, Kathleen Savio.

He has not been charged in either of those investigations and has been fighting for months to force state police to return his weapons, saying they had plenty of time to analyze them.

On Feb. 27, Schoenstedt ordered that police return the guns—along with Peterson's vehicles and other items seized—provided that Peterson possessed a valid firearm owner's identification card. That same day, state police revoked the card at the request of Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow.

Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for Glasgow's office, said authorities were disappointed with the judge's decision but understand the reasons he gave on the need to balance the rights of the state with the rights of Drew Peterson.

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www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-drew-peterson-23-webmay23,0,1197173.story

[Lorie Taylor]

Majority of guns being given back
May 22, 2008

Drew Peterson’s son will receive eight of 11 guns seized from his father’s house Nov. 1.

A Will County judge ordered Thursday for State Police to return the weapons seized as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Peterson’s fourth wife and the death of his third wife.

The two guns not being returned include Peterson’s Bolingbrook Police Department service weapon — already in the hands of Bolingbrook police officials — and a rifle that Peterson faces weapons charges on. That gun will be retained by State Police in the ongoing investigation of whether Peterson possessed an illegal firearm.

A preliminary court hearing on the felony weapons charge is scheduled for May 30.

Will County States Attorney’s spokesman Charles Pelkie said they are disappointed in the judge’s decision.

“We’re disappointed in the ruling,” said Charles Pelkie. “(Judge Richards Schoenstedt) is a very thoughtful and deliberate judge and we’ll comply with his order.”

Schoenstedt ordered police to make the weapons available within 14 days

petersonstory.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/majority-of-guns-being-given-back/

[Lorie Taylor]

May 22, 2008

Drew Peterson's son Stephen will be coming into a small arsenal in the next couple of weeks courtesy of his father, who can't own the guns anymore.

Peterson on Thursday succeeded in prying loose eight of the 11 firearms seized by the state police and held for the last seven months as evidence in their investigation of his missing wife, Stacy.

Peterson was poised to get the guns back in February, but state police revoked his firearm owner's identification card. His attorney, Joel Brodsky, maneuvered to have the guns transferred to Peterson¹s son Stephen, an Oak Brook police officer. Stephen Peterson can collect eight of the guns within the next 14 days, Judge Richard Schoenstedt ruled Thursday.

Drew Peterson (right) and his attorney, Joel Brodsky (center), were able Thursday to convince a Will County judge to authorize the release of Drew's guns that were being held by police.

"We're disappointed in the judge¹s ruling but we understand where he's coming from and we¹ll comply with the order," said Charles B. Pelkie, the spokesman for State's Attorney James Glasgow.

Machine pistol
Schoenstedt held back from ordering the return of an allegedly illegal Colt AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle, a machine pistol and a weapon Brodsky said "belonged to someone else."

The machine pistol was the property of the Bolingbrook Police Department, Brodsky said. The semi-automatic assault rifle is being held because Peterson faces a felony weapons charge for owning it.

Peterson was arrested Wednesday for owning the Colt AR-15 assault rifle which allegedly lacks the minimum 16-inch barrel required under state law.

He bonded out soon after he was taken into custody, posting $7,500 for his release.

Brodsky said the weapon was exempt from the state law because Peterson used it in his SWAT duties. He said he would subpoena records showing the department knew Peterson had the gun.

"We're going to show that to the state's attorney," Brodsky said. "We hope he will take a second look at this case and drop it."

Bolingbrook Police Chief Ray McGury said Peterson never requested permission to use the AR-15 while on duty, though department files show Peterson sought approval to carry several other firearms.

"There's nothing to reflect that gun ever came to this department and was approved," McGury said, adding he checked records dating back to 1981.

"This one did not appear in any way, shape or form," McGury said. "He never asked for permission to carry that weapon and permission was never given."

Even as a police officer, Peterson would have to follow state and federal gun laws, including the state law mandating a minimum 16-inch barrel length for the assault-style rifle.

"It's kind of like being pregnant or not pregnant," McGury said. "It's either too short or it's not.'

www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/966046,JO22_PETERSON_WEB.article

[Lorie Taylor]

For the seven months Stacy Peterson has been missing, friends and family of the missing Bolingbrook mom have searched tirelessly for clues to her whereabouts.

The scenery always changes, but whether they are fielding tips, scouring fields, or trolling in waterways, the goal of those close to the missing woman remains the same; to find their loved one and find closure.


“We want to bring her home so we can give her a proper burial and bury her with the dignity and respect she deserves,” Peterson’s friend Sharon Bychowski said last month.

The group’s latest challenge has come in the form of the Des Plaines River, which is filled with barrels of all shapes, sizes and colors, including blue ones similar to one described by a relative of Peterson’s husband, who is a suspect in her disappearance.

Last weekend, several searchers, with the help of a new boat purchased with fundraiser money, rode along 10 miles of the river, checking each barrel for possible evidence and then pulling it out of water for recycling later.

“That one over there is freaking me out,” Taylor said Sunday, May 18, as a dark blue, 35-gallon barrel emerged.

The barrel fit the description provided by Tom Morphey, the step-brother of Peterson’s husband Drew. Shortly after Peterson disappeared on Oct. 28 at the age of 23, Morphey’s friend Walter Martineck told police that Morphey came to his home the night of the disappearance claiming he had just helped his step-brother dispose of Peterson’s body in a blue barrel.

Since news of the report broke, Taylor said the family’s tipline has gotten dozens of E-mails from people saying they spotted a blue barrel in the Des Plaines River. Searchers had been checking and marking the barrels but the tips kept coming in about the same barrels.

Rather than waste time, energy and resources going out to check on the tips, searchers decided to clear the river of them entirely. Taylor said the group has found a company willing to donate a small amount money for each pound of plastic brought in for recycling.

“I wish I’d find Stacy,” Taylor said. “But we’re doing a good thing by clearing all these barrels out of here. It’s a win-win.”

Last weekend, Taylor and several volunteers cleared more than two dozen barrels out of 10 miles on one side of the river.

“There’s only a few that matched similar to the barrel we’re looking for but all it takes is one to find her,” Taylor said.

Taylor hopes to eventually clear 140 miles on each side of the river. On Saturday, that goal will become more attainable when the group equips the boat with high-tech sonar equipment on loan from Dennis and Tammy Watters, an Alton-based husband and wife duo who have spent countless hours using their sonar skills to help find missing persons.

Their sonar equipment will allow search teams to scan the river for any evidence that may be underwater, making the search process quicker and more efficient.

“If she’s in this river we’ll find her,” Taylor said confidently. “I’ve got the means now. There’s no stopping me now”

But before the volunteers continue the search, the group will hold an event Saturday to officially unveil the “Stacy Ann,” the 14-foot flat-bottom boat the searchers have been using for the grim task of checking every barrel found in the Des Plaines River. After the unveiling the Watters will hold a sonar demonstration. The event will be held at noon Saturday at Mugz’s Hideout, 24045 W. Front St., in Channahon.

Employees at Mugz’s Hideout agreed to host the event after searchers docked at the location during a search last weekend. Mugz’s employee Cathy McGurk said she was happy the establishment could help the search for Peterson.

“As soon as [Taylor] came and asked if it was O.K. [to use the dock], I said, ‘Well yeah,’” McGurk said. “Maybe it’ll inspire others to come out here and help. He just made me more aware. You cannot forget.”

[Lorie Taylor]

By Erika Slife | Tribune reporter
1:08 PM CDT, May 26, 2008
Searchers continued their efforts Monday in the hunt for missing Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson.

Approximately 10 people searched by land and water near 135th Street and the Illinois & Michigan Canal in Romeoville for evidence related to the Peterson's disappearance.

Peterson was 23 when she vanished Oct. 28. Police have named her husband, Drew, 54, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, a suspect in the case. He has not been charged in the case and denies any wrongdoing.

"It's been a long couple of weekends," said Roy Taylor, one of the lead organizers of the searches. "We do feel we will find her. We still feel that."


Volunteers on Saturday unveiled a new boat called the "Stacy Ann" bought by money raised through fundraisers dedicated to the missing woman. The boat will be used on local waterways to search for possible evidence and to clear out the scores of barrels dumped in the water.

Already, searches have removed more than 40 barrels, Taylor said.

Searchers have been looking for a blue plastic barrel and similar containers after a non-profit search group told them to do so at the behest of state police.

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_web_27may27,0,6304348.story

[Lorie Taylor]

Searchers use new boat to look for missing Bolingbrook woman

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (Map, News) - Searchers looking for missing Bolingbrook woman Stacy Peterson are learning sonar techniques and focusing efforts on waterways.

Stacy Peterson, the wife of former Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson, disappeared last October.

Since then, hundreds of searchers have gathered in and around the Chicago suburb combing land and water for any sign of the missing mother.

They recently purchased a 14-foot boat and named it Stacy Ann. On Saturday, searchers learned sonar techniques.

Search organizer Roy Taylor says efforts are focused on locating barrels. So far, more than 34 have been found in canals and streams.

Searchers have said police have asked them to look for a blue plastic barrel.

Drew Peterson has been named a suspect, but he hasn't been charged in the disappearance and has denied any wrong doing.
www.examiner.com/a-1408072~Searchers_use_new_boat_to_look_for_missing_Bolingbrook_woman.html?cid=rss-Illinois_Headlines

[Lorie Taylor]

www.wbbm780.com/Could-Drew-Peterson-Go-Free-/5344656

Posted: Thursday, 01 October 2009 3:08PM

Could Drew Peterson Go Free?
Steve Miller Reporting

CHICAGO (WBBM) -- The attorney for Drew Peterson says Peterson could be a free man again as soon as next week - depending on what happens in court tomorrow.

Drew Peterson will be in Will County court in connection with charges that he murdered his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

The judge is expected to rule on a defense motion for a change of venue, and the judge is expected to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the so-called "Drew's Law," hearsay testimony that would allow statements by the missing fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, into evidence.

Peterson's lawyer Joel Brodsky says odds that the judge will rule in Peterson's favor - and not allow the hearsay testimony - are better than even.

And Brodsky says he expects prosecutors would appeal.

"And if they do appeal, under Illinois State Supreme Court rules, Drew Peterson will get out of jail. And that could happen - if everything goes in our favor - it could happen as early as next week."

A spokesman for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow says Glasgow is confident the hearsay law will pass constitutional muster.

[Lorie Taylor]

Ex-Cop Drew Peterson Prepares for Possible Arrest, Blames Media for 'Sinister' Portrayal

Monday , March 24, 2008

AP
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BOLINGBROOK, Ill. —
Jobless and with no prospects, Drew Peterson spends his days taking care of his four children: cooking meals, washing clothes, helping with homework. All the while, he does so knowing that most of the world believes he killed his last two wives.

Nearly five months have passed since Stacy Peterson vanished from the couple's home in this Chicago suburb. Peterson is a suspect in her disappearance, and authorities are also trying to determine if he had any role in the 2004 death of his ex-wife.

The 54-year-old former police officer knows that he could be locked up anytime, and that is part of why he allowed The Associated Press into his home for an exclusive interview.

"I am now dealing with the court of public opinion, which is filled with my jury pool," explained Peterson, who conducted the interview last week with his attorney's blessing.

Peterson's image has taken a beating. He has repeatedly come off as boorish and callous, after making wisecracks about his wife's menstrual cycles and enthusiastically agreeing on a radio show to take part in a "Win a Date With Drew" contest.

Peterson acknowledges that his behavior might be seen as peculiar and his jokes inappropriate, although he blames the news media for portraying him as a "sinister character lurking around underneath rocks."

"Humor's kind of a defense mechanism for me, so I joke about everything," he said. "Even though I may be scared to death, I'm smiling and laughing."

Pamela Bosco, a friend of Stacy Peterson, said Drew Peterson changes his demeanor whenever it will help his case.

"They keep trying to change the look that fits," she said. "Drew is a chameleon."

For two hours at his home, Peterson was subdued. He's 30 pounds lighter than when his wife disappeared. There are bags under his eyes, and he appears pale. When he speaks, there are still some jokes, but he is careful.

Peterson's home life is centered on raising his children from the two marriages: two teenage boys, ages 13 and 15, plus a 3-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son.

Stacy, who was 23 when she vanished, is everywhere in photographs displayed throughout the family's house. Many of them are in frames with phrases like "Home Sweet Home" and "Live, Laugh, Love."

"I can't even bring myself to put her clothes away," Peterson said. "They're hung up like they were the day she left."

Much of the home remains as she decorated it, with silk flowers filling the living room and artificial vines hanging from lattice on the kitchen walls, an effort by Stacy to give the room an Italian feel.

Among the couple's knickknacks is a figurine of a police officer holding a little girl's hand. Peterson joked that it shows him and his wife in 1988, referring to their 30-year age difference.

"I thought we had a lot of fun together when we just did everyday things," he said.

Throughout the tour, Peterson complimented his wife. She was a great mother, he said, and a funny and caring wife.

"It's very lonely without her," he said. "She created a real nice environment, home environment, for the kids and I."

His theory of his wife's disappearance has never changed. He says she left him for another man and is still alive.

"I'm very angry," he said. He said he's hired private investigators to look for her, but he won't elaborate.

Peterson would not discuss details of the police investigation into his wife's disappearance, nor would he talk about the grand jury looking into both her disappearance and the death of his ex-wife, Kathleen Savio. The panel just this month heard testimony from his mother and stepfather.

He did talk about reports that he asked truckers to carry a mysterious package for him, but only to make the point that subsequent reports debunking the claim did not get much attention.

Peterson has heard people hurl obscenities at him, and he has received death threats. Since he retired shortly after his wife disappeared, he has not heard from a single member of the Bolingbrook Police Department, where he worked for 32 years. He said he cannot think of anyone there he calls a friend.

He's a celebrity now, he said, in the same way Scott Peterson was before his arrest in the death of his pregnant wife, Laci, and the way people still wonder about O.J. Simpson. Camera crews sometimes follow him when he's out in public.

"I'll walk into a restaurant and you'll hear this hum go through this restaurant, 'There's Drew Peterson. There's Drew Peterson,"' he said.

The displays of hostility don't happen as much when he's with his children. But, he said, the children have been confronted with the rumors and speculation swirling around their father, such as the time someone told his 13-year-old son that Peterson tossed his wife out of a helicopter.

One neighbor has taped "Where is Stacy?" posters in the windows that face Peterson's house. Another put an even larger one in the front yard.

"I want my kids to be kids and they can't," he said. "They drive by on their little tricycles and bicycles, and they see that."

The neighbor, Sharon Bychowski, said the signs "are in support of Stacy Peterson," not about her husband.

Whatever they are about, Peterson said he wants to move.

"I've got to get away from this environment and the kids (have) got to get away from this environment," he said. The problem is that the house is in his wife's name. To sell it, he needs his wife's signature or a court order.

So he stays, talking about possibly moving to a warmer climate and starting his own business. In the meantime, he's arranged for relatives to take care of the children if he is arrested.

"I'm sure when all this clears up," he said, "I'll get some apologies from some people."

[Lorie Taylor]

www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-11E6BD5796AF1160.html


Did Drew Peterson break the law when he notarized a signature of his estranged wife, Kathleen Savio, on a legal form that allowed him to buy a house for himself and his 18-year-old girlfriend in 2002?

The Illinois Notary Act leaves open that possibility. But authorities on Friday still weren't commenting about the document, which includes a Savio signature that's markedly different from others she had penned.

Peterson needed a notarized "power of attorney" from Savio so he could get a mortgage for his house in Bolingbrook as the two were divorcing. According to state law, "a notary public shall not acknowledge any instrument in which the notary's name appears as a party to the transaction."