Newspaper Articles

[Lorie Taylor]

www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/11/26/missing_womans_mom_disappeared_years_ago/3709/

Missing woman's mom disappeared years ago

Published: Nov. 26, 2007 at 11:59 AM

CHICAGO, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Similarities exist in the disappearances of Bolingbrook, Ill., resident Stacy Peterson Oct. 8 and her mother, Christie Cales nine years ago.

Peterson and Cales both suffered from depression and each complained of trouble in her marriage before disappearing, The Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday.

But the family of Peterson says despite the similarities Stacy Peterson loved being a mother and would never have left her children voluntarily.

Her mother disappeared at the age of 40 after a troubled life marked by depression attributed to the accidental deaths of two of her children in less than four years.

Cales spent time in a psychiatric hospital and was convicted on a variety of charges ranging from drunk driving to shoplifting and criminal damage to property.

Her family saw her for the last time in 1998 when she left to go to a church in Blue Island, Ill.

[Lorie Taylor]

Like mother, like daughter?
PETERSON CASE | Stacy's troubled mom also married young and vanished

November 26, 2007
BY KARA SPAK Staff Reporter

If Stacy Peterson left her family for another man, as her husband, Drew Peterson, claims, is this a case of history repeating itself?

Nine years ago, Stacy's mother, Christie Cales, disappeared, abandoning her family after the accidental deaths of two of her children in less than four years.

Both women suffered from depression. Both women married young, Stacy at 19 with an infant son and Christie at 21 and pregnant.

Both complained of troubled marriages.

But Stacy Peterson's family says that despite any similarities, there's one crucial difference between her and her mother: Stacy Peterson loved being a mother and would never have left her kids -- voluntarily.

Her family fears she's dead. Police have called her husband, a former Bolingbrook cop, a suspect.

Stacy Peterson knew firsthand the turmoil of a fractured family and the pain that comes when a mother leaves the family, according to details revealed in court records.

Toddler dies in fire
The records show Christie Cales was a deeply troubled woman who spent time in a psychiatric hospital, admitted to drinking a case of beer a day and drew convictions for many criminal charges, including contributing to the neglect of a child for letting son Yelton, when he was 7 years old, outside in bad weather when not properly dressed.

In 1990, Christie Cales initially challenged papers filed by Anthony Cales to divorce her and take custody of their living children -- Yelton, 10; Stacy, 6; Cassandra, 5, and Tina, Christie Cales' 14-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. After Christie repeatedly failed to show up for divorce hearings in court, his request for divorce was granted.

Not showing up for court was typical behavior, according to DuPage County warrants issued for her on charges including criminal damage to property, battery and drunken driving.

Christie and Anthony Cales married on May 26, 1979, two months before Yelton was born. Four years later, Christie Cales took out an order of protection against Anthony, saying he threatened her with a .357-caliber pistol. He was charged with aggravated assault, but the charges were dropped after she refused to testify against him.

Five months later, the couple purchased a ranch home in Downers Grove. In December 1983, the home burned down, and their daughter Jessica, 2, died in her bed of burns and smoke inhalation.

Mom arrested, hospitalized
The death of this child, family members said, marked when Christie Cales' life started to unravel. Eight months pregnant with Stacy, she escaped from the fire through a window, barefoot and in her pajamas, unable to save her child. Anthony Cales was not home at the time.

Six weeks later, Stacy was born. Her sister Cassandra followed the next year. The Cales' youngest child, Lacy, died Oct. 17, 1987, from sudden infant death syndrome.

Family members said Cales came undone after Lacy's death. In 1987, she started drinking heavily -- up to a case of beer a day, according to court records.

In November 1989, she pleaded guilty to shoplifting a bottle of vodka and three packs of cigarettes from an Osco in Woodridge. The day after Christmas 1989, she was arrested for stealing two cases of Old Style, a bottle of Bailey's and more cigarettes from a Cub Foods in Downers Grove.

In 1990, after a drunken driving arrest, she was hospitalized for alcoholism and depression. During her hospitalization, Anthony Cales filed for divorce and an order of protection, claiming she torched his clothes, broke the car windshield and neglected the children.

Months later, she responded by saying she was being treated for depression with Prozac and that her heavy drinking started after Lacy's death. She claimed after Jessica died that Anthony Cales, who also had a problem with alcohol, yelled at her, "You bitch, you burned my baby."

After the divorce, the Cales family, minus Christie Cales, moved to Florida, then to Louisiana, before returning to the west suburbs, where Stacy and Cassandra graduated from high school.

Christie Cales moved to the south suburbs to live with family members. She would see her children periodically. In 1998, her family saw her for the last time, when 40-year-old Cales disappeared after telling her family she was on her way to a Blue Island church.

Her family filed a missing person report, just like they did for Stacy. Christie's report never produced any solid leads. Her family fears she, too, is dead.

www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/6670...brook26.article

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/667052...-roep26.article

Is Drew trying to act, sound like a suspect?
People magazine interview does nothing to help his case

November 26, 2007
BY RICHARD ROEPER Sun-Times Columnist

There aren't too many ways a retired Bolingbrook cop finds himself on the cover of People magazine, his photo larger than those of celebrities such as Carrie Underwood and Celine Dion.

Either the guy's dating Jennifer Aniston, or he's at the center of a mystery that has the whole country talking.

Chalk it up to unfortunate coincidence that the photos of Peterson and his third and fourth wives, under the headline, "DID HE KILL TWO WIVES?" are next to a photo of Ms. Underwood with the headline, "Carrie Underwood: On Her Bad Luck with Guys."

We already knew the People story would include a shot of Peterson in a double-breasted suit, posing on the deck outside his home, because our local news teams shot footage of Peterson posing for People's photographer.

We're also not surprised Peterson "gave People a wide-ranging, two-hour interview," because he's been dancing with the media for the last month.

Profile of a suspect
Not that the People story helps Peterson's cause. You read about Peterson's broken marriages to Carol Brown and Vicki Connolly; about the 18 calls made to police as the third marriage deteriorated; about the discovery of Kathleen's body; about the circumstances of Stacy's disappearance. You read all that and more, and you digest Peterson's comments ("I'm not a perfect man by any means, but nobody is ... you're only seeing my dirty laundry.") and you think, why is this guy talking to the media?

It might be close to impossible to put yourself in Peterson's shoes. But let's say you had all those troubled marriages, and you were truly and totally innocent of any crimes. Would you put on the suit and pose for People magazine? Would you chat it up with Matt Lauer? Or would you be so consumed by your worries over your missing wife, your interest in caring for your children, your horror over being named a suspect, that you wouldn't even think of talking to the media?

It'd be one thing if Peterson came across as a shocked, grieving husband hoping desperately for some sign his wife is alive -- or even a pissed-off husband who's sure his wife left him and resents the hell out of her for leaving her children, for putting her family through the hell of believing she's been harmed, and for turning him into a suspect.

But in the People interview, Peterson comes across as a guy who makes excuses and rips his former wives:

"I expected all of my wives to be like my mom, meticulous housekeepers, and they weren't."

"[Vicki] became repeatedly violent ... she would say I was violent after chasing me around the house, swinging at me. ... We tried five marriage counselors ..."

"[Stacy] would be snapping at the kids one minute and loving them the next, just like with me. ... If she was PMSing, hungry or tired, her emotions were high."

Poor guy. Look at what he's had to put up with over the years.

Also sighted: Jimmy Hoffa, Elvis
Here's another scenario for you. Let's say you're at the local supermarket when you spot someone who looks an awful lot like Stacy Peterson. It might be her!

Do you:

A. Attempt to engage the young woman in conversation.

B. Make a quick and quiet call to authorities and tell them you've just seen a missing person.

C. Casually call out, "Hi Stacy!" to see if she responds.

D. See if there's a security person on duty who can quietly approach the woman and see if she is indeed Stacy.

E. Go home, write an unsigned letter and send it to Drew Peterson.

Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky says Peterson received just such a letter (with a Peoria postmark) last week from an anonymous individual who claimed to have encountered Stacy on Nov. 12 in a Kroger grocery store.

According to the letter's author, Stacy wasn't shopping -- she was in the dairy section, looking at the letter-writer.

Right. Because if you've been missing for the better part of a month and your disappearance has become a national story, if your family is desperately praying for some sign you're alive, you wouldn't come forward, and you wouldn't be a thousand miles away.

You'd be in the dairy section of Kroger, waiting for that special letter-writer person to find you.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21973225/

Ex-fiancee says she didnt fear Drew Peterson
Kyle Piry now thinks the young cop she almost married is capable of murder

By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 8:34 a.m. CT, Mon., Nov. 26, 2007

Kyle Piry was just 20 when she broke off her engagement to a handsome and charming Chicago-area cop named Drew Peterson. She says it was just a lot of little things he did that made her uncomfortable.

But 26 years later, as police look for that mans fourth wife and take a new look at the untimely demise of his third bride, Piry tells TODAY she probably should have been more afraid of Drew Peterson than she was when they dated.

I look back, no, I wasnt afraid probably naively, Piry told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira on Monday of her experience with Peterson.

Asked to describe her reaction to news stories that Peterson is being investigated in connection with the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, Piry said initially she was in disbelief.

I was shocked, Piry said.

Peterson has not been charged with any crimes, but has said he expects to be arrested. He has been described by relatives and friends of both women as being possessive and controlling. Both women reportedly told friends and family that Peterson was capable of killing them.

Piry told Vieira that the man she knew showed some signs of the behavior his third and fourth wives described, but she never thought he was dangerous.

To look back, I dont think at that time I would have thought he was capable of it, she said. But after Ive heard the stories and things that have occurred with previous wives, theyre just very, very similar to the things that occurred with me. It seemed like it started with me. I heard his first wife said there was no abuse of any sort and maybe snowballed with each woman got a little worse.

Piry is 46 now and married with a family of her own. She had met Peterson while she was working at a gas station and Peterson, seven years her senior, had come to investigate a crime.

He was attractive. He was funny. He had a good wit about him, she told Vieira. He was complimentary and that sort of thing. He was charming.

Peterson had already been married once and divorced and had children by that marriage. But Piry was smitten and soon accepted his proposal to marry.

We hadnt set dates or that sort of thing, but we were engaged for about four months before I decided there were too many things that just made me really uncomfortable, Piry said.

None of the things that troubled her were major issues, she said. Rather, it was a cumulative feeling that gave her a gut sense that this was a future she did not want for herself.

There wasnt anything great happening or flashing red lights, she said. There were little things that just made you think, Hmmm, somethings wrong here. If I wanted to go out with my friends on the weekend, he didnt like that, he was upset with that. As the relationship went on, it got to be worse and worse.

Jealous and possessive
He grilled her about places she went and people she saw, and, she discovered, he sometimes followed her when she went out. When he got angry, he called her names and was verbally abusive, but he never threatened her physically until she had broken up with him and went back to his house to pick up some of her things.

It turned into an argument, she said. He pushed me over the cocktail table, got me on the ground, straddled me with his arms put my arms against the ground with his legs. That upset me. I had never had anyone treat me like that before.

Piry even filed domestic abuse charges with the Bolingbrook police, but, she said, his friends on the force encouraged her not to pursue them. I cant say they were covering up, she said. They just wanted it to go away.

For a time, she continued, Peterson continued to harass her, following her when she went out on weekends and pulling her over to write what she called frivolous traffic tickets for such violations as having bald tires.

But Piry said she didnt think of Peterson as dangerous. Hearing all the details now, its a different person than I knew, she said.

Piry is a private person and when the news of Stacy Petersons disappearance first broke, she didnt feel it was important for her to speak out. I didnt think it would help find Stacy or help with Kathleen, she told Vieira.

But she came forward because she believes there is a lesson for other young women in her own experience. She followed her gut instinct to break off an engagement that many others might have gone through with, she said.

I just think it really is important that girls pay attention to the little signs, she said. There was no big flashing red lights, but there was all these little things that in a different circumstance I could have ignored, but I didnt because something didnt feel right.

If she hadnt listened to her gut, she said, she realizes now as she watches the continuing coverage of the case, That could have been me.

Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing since Oct. 23.

This weekend, the FBI joined the search, agreeing to provide technical assistance to the Illinois State Police. The results of a second autopsy performed on the recently exhumed body of Kathleen Savio have not yet been released

[Lorie Taylor]

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312886,00.html

Volunteer Searches for Missing Mom Stacy Peterson Being Scaled Back

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. Family and friends of missing mom Stacy Peterson are scaling back on volunteer searches during the week, a family spokeswoman said.

Family friend Pam Bosco said the full search for the missing fourth wife of former Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson will resume next Saturday. Peterson is a suspect in his wife's disappearance and denies any invovlement.

While volunteers will hold off until the weekend, the Illinois State Police will continue searching for the missing 23-year-old during the week, Bosco said.

The FBI is expected to join the search for the Bolingbrook mother of two, opening the possibility of technical assistance of the U.S. Navy if needed.

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 the 23-year-old Bolingbrook mother's disappearance to come forward.

Both vehicles were impounded by police on Nov. 1., and are still in police possession because of search warrant seizures.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.bnd.com/326/story/188521.html

Lawyer for Drew Peterson hails FBI joining in search for missing woman

The Associated Press

CHICAGO --The lawyer for Drew Peterson is hailing the joining of the FBI in the search for the man's missing wife.

Attorney Joel Brodsky says he hopes the arrival of the federal agents will end the "witch hunt" against his client. Brodsky would not identify who he believed was leading the witch hunt, saying only that "people can draw their own conclusions."

Authorities are investigating the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, and the 2004 drowning of his third wife.

Peterson has not been called a suspect in Kathleen Savio's death, but authorities have said they suspect him in Stacy Peterson's disappearance. He denies any wrongdoing and has proclaimed his innocence .

Illinois State Police have assigned more than five dozen investigators to work both cases, calling it the agency's top investigative priority.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,313212,00.html

Police Identify Person Believed to Have Helped Ex-Cop Drew Peterson Move Large Barrel

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

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.

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.

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.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.nbc5.com/news/14710779/detail.html

Report: Drew Peterson's Relative Attempted Suicide
Sun-Times Reports Relative Overdosed On Sleeping Pills

POSTED: 10:22 pm CST November 27, 2007
UPDATED: 10:48 pm CST November 27, 2007

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. -- According to published reports, one of the relatives of a former Bolingbrook police sergeant whose wife has been missing for almost a month overdosed on sleeping pills after helping the former sergeant load a large barrel into his SUV the day his wife vanished.

The Chicago Sun-Times' Web site reported that the relative of Drew Peterson was hospitalized, but survived what the sourced described as a suicide attempt. The relative was not identified.

Stacy Peterson has been missing since Oct. 28.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=7418822&nav=1sW7

Police told searchers to look for barrel in search for Stacy Peterson

Associated Press - November 28, 2007 12:14 AM ET

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP) - Searchers looking for a former police officer's missing wife say state police told them to look for a blue plastic barrel large enough to fit the woman's body in.

The founder of the private search group, Texas EquuSearch, says police also told those looking for Stacy Peterson to focus on areas of water for any barrel.

EquuSearch's Tim Miller tells the Associated Press tonight that police even gave him a picture of the kind of barrel they might be looking for. He says it was large enough to put a body in.

Stacy Peterson weighed only about a hundred pounds.

The 23-year-old woman was last seen on October 28th.

Authorities have said her husband, Drew Peterson, is a suspect in her disappearance. And they have called her case a possible homicide.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suntimes.com/news/669960,boling112707.article

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.

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

[Lorie Taylor]

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,313401,00.html

Report: Drew Peterson Called In Sick on Night of Wife's Disappearance

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

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.

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.

Drew Peterson Speaks Out Search Continues for Missing Chicago Mom STACY PETERSON: MISSING MOM 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 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.

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 tip line 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.

[Lorie Taylor]

abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3924896&page=1

Drew Peterson Says He's Under Seige
Peterson Gives ABC News an Exclusive Look Inside His Home

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.

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.

Drew 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.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009295057

Relative Tells Police He Fears He Helped Drew Peterson Dispose Of Wife's Body

November 28, 2007 1:03 p.m. EST

Bolingbrook, IL (AHN)-A relative of former policeman and murder suspect Drew Peterson says he may have inadvertently helped Peterson dispose of the body, a new report revealed on Wednesday. The 53-year-old Illinois policeman is considered a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, who was reported missing by her sister on October 29.

According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, a male relative of Drew Peterson told a friend on October 28 that he helped Peterson haul a large, blue barrel "big enough to put someone in" from a bedroom in the Peterson house to the former cop's SUV.

After learning of Stacy's disappearance, Peterson's step brother-in-law apparently became so distraught over his possible involvement that he tried to commit suicide. Police are now focusing their search for the blue barrel on areas of water, aided by the Texas-based search group EquuSearch.

It is also being reported that Drew Peterson did not did not show up to work on the night that his 23-year-old wife disappeared, casting additional suspicion on the former cop.

Peterson's third ex-wife, 40-year-old Kathleen Savio's body was exhumed recently for a second autopsy after authorities feared the initial cause of death ruling was wrong, and that her death was not an accident but staged to conceal a homicide

[Lorie Taylor]

www.wandtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7421958

Friend: Peterson confronted stepbrother about spreading story

Associated Press - November 28, 2007 3:14 PM ET

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP) - Media reports say a stepbrother of former police officer Drew Peterson helped move a large container out of his suburban Chicago home the day his wife vanished.

But a friend says Peterson knows nothing about it.

Peterson's friend, Steve Carcerano (kahr-sur-AH'-noh), also says Peterson told him he phoned the stepbrother and confronted him about why he was spreading the false story.

Several media outlets are reporting the stepbrother's alleged involvement, citing anonymous sources close to the investigation into Stacy Peterson's disappearance a month ago.

The news reports say the stepbrother, Thomas Morphey, became distraught after learning that Stacy Peterson was missing and tried to kill himself, thinking he'd unwittingly helped dispose of her body.

[Lorie Taylor]

ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g9LSLrzFQGStXb1io5FdErAtFFKgD8T6U0H80

Reports: Former Officer Moved Container

By DON BABWIN 3 hours ago

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP) A relative of former police officer Drew Peterson reportedly helped him move a large, heavy container out of his suburban home the day his wife vanished, an allegation that sparked a furious denial from Peterson's attorney.

Peterson and his stepbrother removed the container from an upstairs bedroom and put it in his sport-utility vehicle, according to media reports that cited anonymous sources close to the investigation into Stacy Peterson's disappearance last month.

The stepbrother, Thomas Morphey, later became distraught after learning that Stacy Peterson was missing and tried to kill himself, the Chicago Tribune and The (Joliet) Herald News reported Wednesday.

Authorities say Drew Peterson is a suspect in his fourth wife's disappearance and have called her case a possible homicide. Investigators are also re-examining the 2004 death of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio. Police have said her death may have been a homicide staged to look like an accidental bathtub drowning.

Peterson, 53, has denied any wrongdoing and said he believes his 23-year-old wife left him for another man and is alive.

Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, denied anyone helped Peterson move any container from the home and claimed the stepbrother has a history of mental problems.

"I don't know what world Thomas Morphey is living in, our world, his world or if he's veering back and forth between the real world and whatever fantasy world he's living in," Brodsky told The Associated Press.

Steve Carcerano, a friend of Drew Peterson's, said Peterson told him he had called Morphey to confront him.

"He called him and said 'Why are you saying this stuff?'" Carcerano told the AP.

A spokesman for Will County prosecutors declined to comment on the media reports, and Illinois State Police did not return messages. There was no answer Wednesday when a reporter knocked on the door of Morphey's home.

Peterson took a day off from the Bolingbrook Police Department on Oct. 28, the day Stacy Peterson was last seen by her relatives. He had been scheduled to work at 5 p.m. that day, but called in saying his wife was missing and he had to watch the kids, according to police.

Peterson has since resigned from the police force.

According to the Tribune, Peterson picked up his stepbrother about 7 p.m. that day and took him to a coffee shop. Peterson reportedly told the man he had to go somewhere and left him with a cell phone, instructing him not to answer it.

The phone did ring while Peterson was gone, the Tribune reported. The caller ID said "Stacy."

Peterson came back to the coffee shop and drove Morphey to Peterson's home. Peterson reportedly asked the man to help him move something from the house. After moving the plastic container to the SUV, the two left and Peterson dropped the man off at his own home, according to the Tribune.

Sharon Bychowski, Peterson's next-door neighbor, said she baby-sat Drew Peterson's children three days later, on the morning of Oct. 31, for 90 minutes. She said Peterson told her he had to visit a relative in the hospital who had tried to commit suicide.

When Peterson returned to pick up his children, she asked how the relative was doing. "He said, 'Lost his job, lost his family,'" Bychowski told the AP.

Police Lt. Ken Teppel said Bolingbrook Fire Department logs show a report of a drug overdose involving sleeping pills for Morphey around 11 p.m. on Oct. 29. He was stabilized and taken to a hospital. The logs indicate Morphey never talked to a police officer, and the Tribune reported that it was a friend of Morphey's who contacted police.

A volunteer who has helped look for Stacy Peterson said searchers were told by police to watch for a large blue plastic barrel.

"They actually even gave me a picture of what we might be looking for," said Tim Miller, founder and director of Texas EquuSearch. "It was certainly large enough to put her body in. She only weighed about a hundred pounds."

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suntimes.com/news/peterson/672255,stacy112807.article

Sources: Rossetto being framed in Stacy's disappearance

November 28, 2007
BY JOE HOSEY AND JANET LUNDQUIST Herald News

Drew Petersons step-brother, whose name has surfaced in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, may have been used to try and frame a Shorewood man for her killing, police sources said.

Investigators suspect that Drew Peterson had his step-brother, Thomas Morphey, help him dispose of his wifes body and also used Morphey in a plot to make it look as though her killer was Scott Rossetto, a man they suspect was Stacys boyfriend, sources said.

Although theyve found nothing concrete, investigators speculate that Stacy Petersons body may have been dumped near Rossettos Shorewood town house, sources say.

Sources told the Sun-Times News Group Tuesday that Morphey helped Peterson load a large blue barrel into Petersons SUV the day Stacy Peterson vanished.

Earlier that day, Peterson may have used Morphey to try to frame Rossetto, sources said. As part of the plan, they said, Peterson drove Morphey to a Starbucks in Bolingbrook. At some point, Peterson left the shop, handing Morphey his cell phone, the sources said. Peterson told Morphey he would return and said that if the cell phone rang, Morphey should not answer it. While Peterson was gone, the phone rang and the caller identification showed the call was coming from Stacy Petersons cell phone, according to the sources.

Peterson, 53, then returned to the Starbucks, picked up Morphey and the pair drove to Petersons home, where they loaded the blue barrel into the Bolingbrook police sergeants SUV, sources said.

The next day, Morphey overdosed on pills, perhaps realizing that he may have unknowingly helped dispose of Stacy Petersons body, sources said.

To date, the investigation has shown that one of Stacy Petersons last known cell phone calls was made in the Shorewood area, sources say. Investigators speculate that Drew Peterson actually made that phone call from Shorewood in an attempt to frame Rossetto as the killer.

Rossetto, a 35-year-old registered nurse, has told reporters he traded racy e-mails with Stacy Peterson, 23, in the weeks before she disappeared, but denies any romantic involvement with her. But Rossetto, who has been called to testify before the grand jury examining the Stacy Peterson case, said Its possible Drew Peterson could have misconstrued the messages if hed seen them.

Drew Peterson has denied any involvement in his wifes disappearance, and on Tuesday, he refused to answer a reporters questions about the blue barrel.

Stacy Peterson was reported missing Oct. 29. One law enforcement source said Illinois State Police called Shorewood police that same day, asking them to post an unmarked police car outside Rossettos home. Shorewood police have also been shown a photograph of a barrel similar to the one loaded into Drew Petersons SUV the day Stacy Peterson vanished.

State Police also have sought video surveillance tape from businesses on Illinois Route 59 just north of Plainfield and south to Shorewood, one source said.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/673072,CST-NWS-SNEED29.article

Stacy told clergyman Drew killed ex

November 29, 2007

Sneed hears Stacy Peterson told a clergyman in August that her husband had claimed to have killed his former wife Kathleen Savio and made it look like an accident.

A source close to the investigation tells Sneed the 23-year-old, who had been pregnant and living with Peterson when Savio was found dead in an empty bathtub in 2004, also told two other people close to her about her husband's statements regarding Savio's demise.

On Sunday, Oct. 28, the day Stacy disappeared, she told Peterson she was leaving him and issued this ultimatum: She was going to begin divorce proceedings, and she wanted him out of the house by Wednesday, according to the source.

The source believes it was the day of Stacy's ultimatum that her life may have ended. Stacy had told friends recently that if she disappeared, it wouldn't be her doing.

Savio, Peterson's third wife, was found dead shortly before their divorce settlement was concluded.

Peterson has been declared a suspect in Stacy's disappearance. The case has been labeled a "potential homicide" and appears to be moving swiftly toward a homicide investigation.

"All we need now is the body," the source said.

FBI search specialists, called in by State Police, were in Lockport on Wednesday assessing the Cal-Sag Channel, where they think Stacy's body may have been dumped. Investigators selected that location because of certain cell phone calls placed in that area.

Police are discussing salvage operations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in hopes they will bring in heavy equipment to dredge the area. "The police have already put down underwater cameras, which show it's cluttered with cars and truck trailers . . . and it needs to be cleared for divers," a source said.

The source offered this timeline for the day Stacy issued her ultimatum:

At 5 p.m. on Oct. 28, Peterson, a Bolingbrook cop, called in to take the day off.

At 7 p.m., Peterson met his stepbrother, Tom Morphey, at a local Starbucks and discussed "the problems he was having with Stacy and how to dispose of the problem," the source said.

Peterson reportedly excused himself and left Morphey in the coffee shop with Peterson's cell phone, which he told Morphey NOT to answer if it rang. The phone did ring after Peterson's departure, and the name "Stacy" appeared on the caller ID.

The source tells Sneed the call was made near the home of her friend Scott Rossetto, a man Stacy was communicating with via cell phone text messages.

The source believes this was an attempt by Peterson to place the focus of the police investigation on Stacy's friend.

Later that evening, Morphey was again summoned by Peterson -- only this time to his home, where he was reportedly asked to help Peterson remove a plastic blue barrel, which he described to police as feeling warm, and load it into a sport-utility vehicle, sources said.

The next day, Stacy was reported missing and one day later, Morphey apparently attempted suicide. While being treated at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Morphey was visited by Peterson on Oct. 30, the source said.

Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, claimed Morphey's story makes no sense and described him as a man with psychological issues.

"There never was a blue barrel; there never was any carrying objects out," Brodsky said.

Meanwhile, the police are awaiting the results of an autopsy on the body of Savio, which was exhumed Nov. 13.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow recently stated Savio's death appeared to have been staged as an accident.

An independent autopsy conducted by former New York City chief medical examiner Michael Baden, at the request of Savio's family, concluded Savio died after a struggle, and her body was placed in the bathtub.

And the story, which has garnered national headlines and has talking TV mouths salivating, has now moved into a new chapter.

[Lorie Taylor]

cbs2chicago.com/westsuburbanbureau/peterson.missing.barrel.2.599133.html
Stacy Peterson's Sister Angry Over Barrel Mystery
Cassandra Cales Challenges Drew Peterson To Take Lie Detector Test

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― The sister of missing Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson on Thursday threw down an angry challenge to Stacy's husband, Drew Peterson, over a mysterious blue barrel that has been investigated in connection with Stacy's disappearance.

As CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli reports, in the past 72 hours, Cassandra Cales has been getting angrier and angrier over Drew Peterson's attorney's claims that she started an idle rumor about the blue barrel. She believes attorney Joel Brodsky is blitzing the airwaves trying to turn fact into fiction.

"There never was a drum," Brodsky said. "The whole thing seems like a never-ending rumor that started with comments that Stacy's sister made and seems to have been growing ever since."

But Cales says she saw what appeared to be a 35-gallon container in Drew and Stacy's garage two days before her sister disappeared. She said Stacy told her it was filled with chlorine needed to clean the family pool. Cales says she'll swear to that in court, and she issued a direct challenge to Drew.

"He says there was no barrel. There was a barrel I saw it with my own eyes," Cales said. "I'll take a lie detector test. I feel Drew should take a lie detectors test also."

CBS 2 has also confirmed that Stacy did confide with a minister at a church that she believed Drew had killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in a bathtub three and a half years ago.

Cales says she asked Stacy what she thought about Savio's death. It was one of the last subjects the two sisters talked about.

"I said 'It's kind of weird that Kathleen Savio slipped and fell in a bathtub.' I said 'What do you think?'" Cales said. "She had this pale look on her face like she was scared. And that's when she leaned over and whispered in my ear, 'I'm scared for my life. If anything happens to me or I disappear I want you to find me.'"

[Lorie Taylor]

www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5075425&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.3.1

Exclusive: Friend of Drew Peterson's Step-Brother Speaks

Last Edited: Thursday, 29 Nov 2007, 1:58 PM MST
Created: Thursday, 29 Nov 2007, 11:15 AM MST

"He had told me that he thinks he may have helped Drew dispose of the body."

That's something Walter Martinek hasn't told anyone other than State Police Investigators -- until now.

Martinek is quoting his good friend Thomas Morphey -- Morphey is Drew Peterson's step-brother.

Martinek says Morphey told him everything he knows about the events of October 28th, the day Stacy disappeared.

That's the same day Morphey went to help Drew Peterson.

"He goes I don't know what to do. He put his hands on my shoulder, said you can't tell anyone"

Martinek says Morphey was visibly shaken, and white as a ghost, telling him Drew Peterson had asked for help in moving a large container.

"Drew had taken him back to his house and asked him hey, can you help me move something. And Tom unwittingly said yea, okay I'll help ya. And he had gone upstairs to the master bedroom and brought a tote down a blue tote..a sealed blue tote and that's when he got really shaken up , he said i knew she was in there. I go what do you mean you know she was in there?

Martinek says he went to the Police after he learned his friend Thomas Morphey had tried to kill himself.

As of now, Martinek has not been called to testify for the grand jury reviewing the evidence in Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

[Lorie Taylor]

ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g9LSLrzFQGStXb1io5FdErAtFFKgD8T7IRFG1

Police Accused of Protecting Their Own

By DON BABWIN 4 hours ago

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP) Eighteen times in two years, Bolingbrook police were called to fellow officer Drew Peterson's home because of trouble between husband and wife. But Peterson's wife could never get authorities to arrest him. In fact, she was the only one ever charged.

Now residents of this Chicago suburb are wondering whether police were protecting one of their own and whether they bear some responsibility for what happened next.

Peterson's wife at the time of the domestic disturbance calls, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in 2004 under mysterious circumstances. And now his current wife, Stacy, is missing and feared slain.

The way police dealt with Peterson "makes it kind of hard to trust cops," said Pablo Delira, a 59-year-old construction worker. He said he has no doubt he would have been led away in handcuffs if police had been called to his house 18 times.

Kim Camplin, who works in the clothing business, said the two women might be alive today if Bolingbrook police had taken the domestic disturbance calls more seriously.

"It doesn't matter if it's a fireman, a policeman or a clergyman all it should take is one call and it should be taken seriously," she said. "What faith can we have in the system?"

Peterson, 53, was a police sergeant and 29-year veteran of the force, resigning earlier this month after he came under suspicion in his current wife's disappearance in October.

In a roughly two-year period beginning in 2002, police responded to 18 domestic disturbance calls at Peterson's house. Savio accused Peterson of beating her and threatening to kill her, but no charges were ever brought against him.

Instead, Peterson twice persuaded prosecutors to charge Savio with domestic battery. She was acquitted both times.

Police Lt. Ken Teppel said that in all 18 instances, police conducted a thorough investigation. He said a department inquiry found no indication officers did anything wrong or violated procedure.

But Teppel acknowledged the case has damaged the department's reputation.

"There is a distrust ... that this is going to be covered up," he said. "It's so hard to get over that."

Savio was found dead in her bathtub in 2004, and a coroner's jury ruled it an accidental drowning. But since Stacy Peterson's disappearance, investigators have re-examined Savio's death and exhumed her body, and said they now believe it was a homicide made to look like an accident.

Peterson has not been named a suspect in Savio's death. But authorities said he is suspected in Stacy Peterson's disappearance. Peterson has denied any wrongdoing in either case and said he believes his current wife left him for another man and is still alive.

The Bolingbrook department has handed the investigation over to the Illinois State Police standard practice in criminal cases involving a member of the force.

Not everyone in the community of about 70,000 blames the department.

"I haven't lost one iota of trust in the police department," said Stephen DeFreeuw, a 16-year resident. "One rogue cop."

Teppel said street cops in the 122-member department are being reminded about the proper way to handle domestic calls and are being told they are expected to adhere to the rules, no matter who answers when they knock on the door.

Teppel said Police Chief Ray McGrury has made it clear: "There are no favorites."

Savio and Stacy Peterson were Peterson's third and fourth wives. He and wives No. 1 and 2 divorced.

Vicki Connolly, Peterson's second wife, has said that during their marriage, an increasingly controlling Peterson hit her and told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident.

Connolly said police sometimes came to the house when the couple were having problems, but she said the officers were friends of theirs and no reports ever were filed.