In my last
blog post, I wrote about the new TNT show “Cold Justice” that debuts next
Tuesday night. The show features former
Texas prosecutor Kelly Siegler and Las Vegas CSI Yolanda McClary who travel
across America’s small towns taking a second look at some unsolved cold
homicide cases. I’m excited about the
show, mostly because I’m a fan of Siegler’s work as a prosecutor but also the
premise of the show seems different than many of the present formatted crime
shows. I believe they will be looking
for unsolved murders that happened in rural areas where law enforcement
resources were sparse. But wouldn’t it
be cool if they could get to the bottom of some of the more well known unsolved
homicide/missing person cases? At the
top of my personal wish list: the disappearance
of Stacy Peterson.
Most people
believe Stacy Peterson is not simply missing, she was killed. The prime suspect in the case has always been
her husband Drew Peterson. Stacy
Peterson met and married the much older Drew Peterson after meeting him while
he was on duty as a Bolingbrook police officer.
He was married to Kathleen Savio at the time, but the two quickly began
a romantic relationship and when she became pregnant with his child Peterson
and Savio began bitter divorce proceedings.
Savio was Peterson’s third wife, Stacy would be wife #4. After the divorce was final, Drew married
Stacy – the only thing remaining aside from the custodial arrangements of
Peterson and Savio’s children was the division of property and assets. Savio didn’t live to make it to court for the
decision on division of assets, she was found dead in her bathtub. Originally ruled an accident by the coroner,
many of Kathleen’s family and friends were convinced her abusive ex husband
killed her.
A little
more than 4 years after Stacy married Drew Peterson, she simply
disappeared. On October 29, 2007 she was
reported missing but not by her husband, she was reported missing by her sister
Cassandra Cales after Stacy failed to show up for plans they had and nobody
could reach her. The last time family or
friends heard from Stacy was on October 17, 2007 when she left a voicemail
message on her father’s answering machine – in the message, Stacy left a new
cellphone number for her family. Stacy’s
family knew there had been trouble in the marriage for some time, with Drew
becoming more and more controlling over Stacy – insisting on knowing where she
was at all times and who she was with.
Stacy wanted out of the marriage, but she feared Drew – and for good
reason. Stacy had been holding on to a
secret that more than likely got her killed.
She knew that her husband had left their home on the night of Kathleen
Savio’s death (murder). She woke up in
the middle of the night and he was not in bed.
She later found him in the laundry room, dressed in dark colored clothing
and putting women’s clothing as well as his own clothes in the washing
machine. This was of particular interest
because Drew never did his own laundry.
Where did the women’s clothing come from, and why did Drew have it? What
was he doing out in the middle of the night and why did he coach her on what to
tell police about that night during routine questioning after Kathleen’s
death? We know the answer to those
questions now. It took Stacy’s
disappearance for law enforcement to take a second look at the suspicious death
of Kathleen Savio.
Drew
Peterson was eventually arrested for the murder of Kathleen Savio. After her body was exhumed, a second autopsy
proved crucial in showing her death was not an accidental drowning. Drew Peterson was tried and convicted of
killing Kathleen Savio in 2012 after a trial that was as much of a media circus
as the Jodi Arias and Casey Anthony trials – although Peterson’s trial did not
have cameras in the courtroom, it was still widely covered and discussed
nightly on a national level. Peterson
was convicted in part due to a controversial new law enacted for this
case. Dubbed “Drew’s Law”, state
prosecutors were able to use statements Stacy Peterson made to her pastor Neil
Schori and divorce attorney Harry Smith at trial. Stacy went to the pastor and told him she
believed she helped her husband Drew get away with murdering his ex wife
Kathleen Savio. She feared the knowledge put her in danger, and she was
right. Peterson’s defense team made what
turned out to be a crucial mistake at trial by calling attorney Harry Smith to
the stand as a witness. The prosecution
pounced on the opportunity and elicited some very damaging testimony from Smith
regarding conversations he had with Stacy Peterson before her
disappearance. Smith told jurors that
Stacy Peterson asked him if she could use her knowledge of Drew’s involvement
in Kathleen’s death/murder as leverage against him in divorce proceedings. Can you say M-O-T-I-V-E???
There are a
few things Drew Peterson would not stand for from the women in his life. He WAS married four times, almost five
times. Drew sought to control his women. Whether it be what they wore, how much makeup
they applied, who they talked to on the phone, who they e-mailed and who they
saw. He had to know everything at all
times. Was the much older Drew not the
confident, self assured police officer he portrayed himself to be? Was he really an insecure, middle aged man
who feared the much younger and attractive Stacy would leave him and take half
of his assets? Drew Peterson’s ego could
not stand for any woman leaving him – and he made it known to more than one
person that he wouldn’t give half of his assets to any woman. That was HIS money. He didn’t believe in community property, and
there’s no way he was going to share his hard earned pension and other assets
with a young attractive woman who could have easily started a new life with someone
more age-appropriate and less controlling.
I think that thought just ate at him.
He avoided the division of property with wife #3 by killing her and
making it appear to be an accident. He bragged to Kathleen AND Stacy that he
had the knowledge to kill them and make it look like an accident, and he nearly
got away with it with Kathleen. His ego
unchecked, he has attempted to dispose of Stacy without having to part with his
assets and keeping his ego in tact.
Drew
Peterson is currently serving his 38 year sentence at the Menard Correctional
Center in Illinois. He will be 93 years
old at the earliest possible release date, barring any successful appeals he
will more than likely never see the light of day again. Does that mean this man should go unpunished
or untried for the murder of Stacy Peterson?
Will States Attorney James Glasgow pursue new charges against Drew Peterson
in connection with his missing and presumed dead 4th wife
Stacy? I think if there is any chance to
nail him, they will. Peterson isn’t
going anywhere anytime in the near future.
The problem is, much of what they know or suspect Peterson did is
circumstantial and with Stacy’s body never having been recovered, it’s notoriously
difficult to prosecute a no-body homicide.
Thankfully there is no statute of limitations on murder, however as time
ticks away, witnesses forget details or move away and in some cases they
die. Time is of essence if they hope to
try Peterson for the murder of Stacy.
What do police know, and how much of what they know have they shared
with the public? I don’t know very much
in the way of details, but it seems likely that the best evidence against Drew
comes in the form of statements made by his stepbrother Thomas Morphey. Morphey told police he helped Drew carry a
large and heavy 55 gallon blue drum/container from his bedroom to Peterson’s
SVU right after Stacy’s disappearance.
He allegedly has said the container was warm, and it was large enough to
hold Stacy’s body. Distraught after the
revelation that Stacy was missing, Morphey attempted to kill himself when he
realized that he may have inadvertently helped dispose of Stacy’s body. Morphey’s statements were downplayed by
Peterson’s defense attorneys, claiming his drug and alcohol problems make him
an unreliable witness who should not be believed. Peterson’s longtime friend Rick Mims
corroborated the blue container story in that he told police he was with Drew
when he purchased 3 such drums from a cable company the two had worked for part
time back in 2003.
That blue
container has never been recovered. I
remember years ago, a news story came on where the police were called to a
nearby lake or river after people fishing reported a large blue container
floating in the water. They retrieved
the container, but it did not contain Stacy’s body. The million dollar question is what did Drew
do with the container that may have concealed Stacy’s body? Did he bury it? Did he throw it in some body
of water? Seems to me that he must have
buried it or disposed of it in a body of water large enough to where it would
never be found. Drew had a small
airplane. Could he have loaded the
barrel in the plane and flown over water and tossed it over? Can Drew be prosecuted without Stacy’s body
being found? I certainly hope so. I hate to think that people are rewarded for
their skill at concealing a body. But
with a purely circumstantial case such as this, and double jeopardy in play,
the police are likely taking their time with this case. I don’t believe Stacy’s case has been
forgotten. I hope to someday see Stacy’s
killer standing trial for her murder.
Drew
Peterson is another high profile defendant who courted the media, and then
turned around and complained about the pre-trial publicity harming his
case. Drew is probably the only person I
can think of who could be compared to Jodi Arias in their hunger for media
attention before, during and after their trial.
While Stacy was missing, Drew Peterson appeared on Larry King Live and
publicly proclaimed his innocence and told viewers Stacy had up and left him
for another man, taking only her bikini with her. How ridiculous of a notion is
that? Stacy would never have left her
children behind, and especially not with Drew. Drew often toyed with the
numerous reporters who camped out in his front yard. He even pitched the idea of a contest “Win a
Date With Drew” to the media. While he
was being held in jail awaiting trial, he called radio personality Mancow
Muller from jail and suggested a new contest – “Win a Conjugal Visit With Drew”. How disgusting is this man? Peterson ALMOST snared another wife after
Stacy’s disappearance. In December of
2008, he announced his engagement to 23 year old Christina Raines in a
television interview. Raines at the time
believed in Drew’s innocence, but that would change months later when she
called off the engagement and moved out of the home he used to share with Stacy
in January 2009. Thankfully, Raines
family and friends convinced her that she was making a MONUMENTAL and dangerous
mistake in trusting Drew Peterson – a man who was married four times, of which
one wife died under suspicious circumstances and the other was “missing”. Game over Drew. I have the feeling we have not heard or seen
the last of Drew Peterson. He may have
disappeared from the spotlight at the insistence of his new attorney(s), but I
don’t think his personality will ever let him completely fade into the
background. I truly hope to see justice
for Stacy Peterson during my lifetime. Her family deserves to know where she is
and what happened to her. That’s the only card Drew has left to play.
