Attorney: Letter writer says he talked to Stacy Peterson in November

A former Bolingbrook police officer suspected in his wife's October disappearance has received a letter from a person claiming to have spoken to the missing woman outside a Kentucky mall in November, his attorney said.

Former Bolingbrook police officer Drew Peterson opened the letter Sunday after returning home from vacation, said attorney Joel Brodsky. The letter was postmarked from Cincinnati on Dec. 29, when Drew Peterson was in Florida, Brodsky said.

The letter's anonymous author claims to have seen Stacy Peterson and another man in a mall parking lot in Florence, Ky., on Nov. 18.

Pamela Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family, dismissed the letter, saying it's "exasperating" that Brodsky and Drew Peterson feel the need to come forward with anonymous claims.

"Why is everything that comes in from Drew and Brodsky anonymous?" she said. "It's just frustrating. It shows you the character of these two men that they're playing the public like that."

Bosco added that, "To date, Drew is still the prime suspect in this case."

The unsigned author's letter is addressed to "Mr. Joel Peterson" at Drew Peterson's address. The letter claims that when the writer saw Stacy Peterson, they "happened to have a news article" about her disappearance with them that included a photo.

The letter claims that when the writer approached the woman with the picture, she said, "Please don't ruin my life please, I just want to be left alone, please" and fled on foot. Before she ran away, the writer said he snapped a photograph of her using a cell phone; Brodsky said the letter to Peterson did not include any photograph.

The writer says fear of the media keeps him or her from coming forward.

This marks the second time Drew Peterson has revealed correspondence from someone claiming to have seen Stacy Peterson since she disappeared in late October. Brodsky said what makes this time unique is that the person claims to have actually spoken to Stacy Peterson.

Brodsky said Peterson immediately notified his attorneys after receiving the letter. He said they planned to turn it over to Illinois State Police on Monday.

A message left for state police spokesman Trooper Mark Dorencz was not immediately returned Sunday.