Coroner says death ruling was wrong

The 2004 death of a Bolingbrook police sergeant's third wife should have been ruled "undetermined," the Will County coroner said Wednesday.

No charges were filed after Drew Peterson's former wife Kathleen Savio, 40, drowned in a bathtub in March 2004 and a coroner's jury ruled the death accidental. Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, has been missing for 11 days, prompting authorities to review Savio's death.

"Certain aspects of Kathleen Savio's death raised concerns for me as well. In my professional opinion ... at the very least, her death should have been ruled 'undetermined,' " Coroner Patrick O'Neil said in a statement. "The coroner's jury unfortunately ruled otherwise."

At the 2004 inquest, the coroner said Savio drowned, even though there was no water in the bathtub when she was found. Investigators have theorized that the water must have drained out of the tub.

Savio had obtained an order of protection in 2002, alleging a pattern of physical abuse and threats, according to court records. Drew Peterson has denied having anything to do with his ex-wife's death.

On Wednesday, searchers organized by the private group Texas EquuSearch combed areas looking for 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, who was reported missing Oct. 29. Illinois State Police say her disappearance is being investigated as a missing persons case.

Drew Peterson visited the Will County courthouse complex in Joliet for about two hours on Wednesday. The building houses the Will County state's attorney's offices, along with grand juries and other court services.

"This is an ongoing investigation," Peterson attorney Fred Morelli told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We have nothing to say."

Drew Peterson, 53, a sergeant in the Bolingbrook Police Department, has said his wife phoned him and told him she had left voluntarily for another man.