JOLIET, IL (AP) -A judge has sentenced Drew Peterson to 38 years in prison for murdering his third wife. Will County Judge Edward Burmila imposed the sentence Thursday. The 59-year-old Peterson faced a maximum 60-year prison term. Drew Peterson shocked a Joliet courtroom during his sentencing hearing, shouting "I did not kill Kathleen."
Someone in the court audience responded by shouting back, "Yes, you did." That person was then removed from the courtroom on Thursday afternoon. Jurors convicted Peterson in September in the 2004 death of Kathleen Savio. Neighbors found her body in a dry bathtub at her home with a gash on her head. Peterson is also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his 23-year-old fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, but hasn't been charged. Her disappearance is what led authorities to take another look at Savio's death and reclassify it from an accident to a homicide. Fascination nationwide with Peterson arose from speculation he sought to use his law enforcement expertise to get away with murder.
Drew Walter Peterson (born January 5, 1954) is a retired Bolingbrook, Illinois, police sergeant who first received national publicity in the United States in 2007, when his fourth wife Stacy disappeared. Stacy Peterson was never found, and Drew Peterson has not been charged in her case. In 2009, Drew Peterson was indicted for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio (who died in 2004), and he was convicted in 2012 and received his sentence of 38 years in 2013. He is currently being held at the Will County Adult Detention Center in Joliet, Illinois.
Peterson had a 30-year career as a police officer. He began working with the Bolingbrook Police Department in Illinois in 1977.[2] In 1978, he was assigned to the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad, and in 1979, he received a "Police Officer of the Year" award from the department.[1]
Peterson and Carol (Hamilton) Brown met in high school in Villa Park, Illinois, and together attended his senior prom.[2][3] They married in 1974, but divorced in 1980, after Brown learned about his infidelity.[4] Together they have sons Stephen Paul Peterson (1980) and Eric Drew Peterson.[5] Stephen was a police officer for Village of Oak Brook. Stephen is now divorced and has moved into his father's house and is raising his younger four siblings [6] with his daughter. [edit]Victoria Connolly
Peterson married his second wife, Victoria (Rutkiewicz) Connolly, in 1982.[3] Connolly has alleged a history of abuse during her 10-year marriage to Peterson,[7] as has her daughter, who lived in the household from the age of 8 to the age of 17. In 2007, Connolly stated that Peterson "was a legend in his own mind".[3] She divorced Peterson after he started dating Kathleen Savio.[3] Their divorce was finalized on February 18, 1992. Peterson married Savio two months later.[1] [edit]Kathleen Savio
Peterson married Kathleen Savio (born June 13, 1963) on May 3, 1992.[8] Together they have two sons Thomas (5 January 1992)[9][10] and Kristopher (8 August 1994).[11] Their divorce was finalized on October 10, 2003.[2] It was reported that between 2002 and 2004, police were called out to the Peterson house 18 times on domestic disturbance calls, including calls for returning children late after visitation.[12] On March 1, 2004,[13] Kathleen Savio's body was found in a waterless bathtub. Her death was initially ruled an accidental drowning by a coroner's jury that included a police officer who personally knew Peterson and assured the other jurors that Peterson was 'a good man who would never hurt his wife.'[14] However, following Stacy Peterson's later disappearance, Savio's body was exhumed and underwent forensic examination on November 16, 2007.[15]Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner who conducted the examination at the request of Savio's relatives and Fox News, concluded that she died of drowning following a struggle when her body was placed in the bathtub. The results of the official autopsy ordered by the county have yet to be released to the public.[16] Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow told the press that after examining evidence in the case, he believed that the death was a "homicide staged to look like an accident."[16][17] On February 21, 2008, Glasgow announced that a pathologist determined that Savio's death was a homicide,[18] adding that the death had been investigated as such reopening the case following the exhumation. Rev. Neil Schori, a pastor at Stacy Peterson's church, reported that Stacy had told him that Drew had killed Kathleen Savio and had made it look like an accident and that she was afraid of her husband.[19] Stacy had provided Drew's alibi for his whereabouts on the evening on which Kathleen Savio died. The trial of Drew Peterson, proceeding in July 2012, was jeopardized when prosecutors attempted to introduce evidence that was not allowed. The Chicago Tribune reported about 9 p.m. that the judge would rule on a mistrial on August 2, 2012.[20] On August 15, 2012, Peterson told a judge that he wanted to withdraw a request for a mistrial. His lawyers said that he wanted the current jury to decide if he killed his third wife.[21] On September 6, 2012, Peterson was convicted of killing Savio.[22]. On February 21st, 2013, Peterson was denied a mistrial and sentenced to 38 years in prison.[23] [edit]Stacy Ann Cales
Peterson married Stacy Ann Cales (born January 20, 1984) on October 18, 2003 and she subsequently took on the married name Stacy Peterson.[1] She disappeared on October 28, 2007. Stacy Peterson was officially reported missing in the early hours of October 29, 2007, after her sister, Cassandra Cales, failed to hear from her when expected. Drew Peterson claims that Stacy called him at 9 p.m. on Sunday to tell him that she had left him for another man and that she had left her car at Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport. The last known recorded words from Stacy Peterson were left on a voicemail on her father's answering machine on October 17 at 12:37 p.m., 11 days before she disappeared. The message said, "Hey dad! It's me, Stacy, I just wanted to call you and tell you I love you. I also wanted to give you my new phone number. Okay, love you."[24][25]
Several leads were followed in the investigation by Illinois State Police, with FBI involvement. Four search warrants were issued and carried out on Drew Peterson's property following Stacy's disappearance, including the seizure of his firearms and both his and Stacy's vehicles. Following the mysterious disappearance of Stacy on October 28, 2007, Peterson announced his plans to retire as a Bolingbrook police sergeant effective December 2007. On November 15, 2007, the Bolingbrook Police Pension Board voted to allow Peterson to collect his pension of $6,067.71 per month,[26] stating current law gave them no option, as Peterson had not been convicted of a crime.[7] Rick Mims, Peterson's long-time friend, admitted that Drew Peterson and Mims bought three blue containers from a cable company where they both worked part-time in 2003, and provided photos of these containers to police. Mims also sold his story to the tabloids for an undisclosed sum of money. Peterson's stepbrother, Thomas Morphey, who has a history of drug and alcohol addiction, attempted suicide two days after allegedly helping Drew carry a large blue plastic container from Peterson's Bolingbrook home to his sport utility vehicle, fearing he may have helped dispose of the body of Stacy Peterson. Neighbors reported seeing Peterson and another man hauling a 55-gallon barrel, large enough to hold a person, out of the house shortly after Stacy's disappearance. Cassandra Cales, Stacy's sister, said she wanted Drew Peterson to take a lie detector test about his knowledge of a blue barrel or container that she said she saw in their garage two days before Stacy disappeared. Joel Brodsky, Peterson's attorney, denied that any container was missing from Peterson's home. There were also reports of truckers referring to the containers, but their stories were treated as not credible after it was discovered that they had not been in the Bolingbrook area at the times they claimed
Verdict
On September 6, 2012, Drew Peterson was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Kathleen Savio.[22] Jurors admitted that the most compelling evidence was based on the hearsay statements allowed under "Drew's Law".[44] On February 21, 2013, Judge Edward Burmila refused to grant Peterson a new trial on grounds his former lead attorney messed up the case.[45] [edit]Sentencing
On February 21, 2013, Peterson was sentenced to 38 years in prison for the murder of his third wife. But will prosecutors at some point charge Drew Peterson for the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson?
Lifetime television movie
In June 2011, Lifetime television began filming Drew Peterson: Untouchable, depicting the events surrounding the death of Kathleen Savio and the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.Rob Lowe portrayed Drew Peterson in the film, and Kaley Cuoco portrayed Stacy Peterson. Peterson filed a cease-and-desist letter demanding that production on the movie be halted.[47] The film aired on January 21, 2012, May 23, 2012, September 2, 2012, and September 16, 2012.[48] to mixed critical reception
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Drew Peterson sentenced to 38 years for murder
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