Post by Lorie Taylor on Jun 5, 2008 9:40:49 GMT -6
www.suntimes.com/news/metro/627832,CST-NWS-boling31.article
One dead, one gone
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.
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 lives or dies, 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.
One dead, one gone
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.
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 lives or dies, 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.
why killer murdered of Kathleen and Stacey An Cales Peterson