News

Cop admits missteps in Peterson's third wife's death

Posted January 22, 2010 10:00 pm

By Christy Gutowski

In the early days of the disappearance of Drew Peterson's fourth wife, neighbor Sharon Bychowski said he appeared on her Bolingbrook doorstep acting "kind of crazy," insisting she follow him back home.

A barefoot Bychowski complied.

"I said, 'Oh my God, Drew! Is there something wrong with Stacy?'" she testified Friday in a unique pretrial hearing to determine if certain hearsay statements are reliable enough for a jury to hear at trial. "He said, very dramatically, 'Well, she left me.'"

Bychowski told Will County Circuit Judge Stephen White she was immediately suspicious since she said Stacy, with whom she was close friends, would never leave her kids.

"She would leave him, but not without her kids," said Bychowski, who tearfully described Stacy as "the world's best mother."

Stacy Peterson, 23, hasn't been seen since October 2007. Her disappearance sparked a renewed investigation into the mysterious drowning death of her husband's third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40, found dead in her dry bathtub March 1, 2004, while the former couple battled over finances and custody of their two sons.

Authorities initially ruled Savio died in an accident when she slipped in her tub but, after her body was exhumed for a second autopsy, they deemed her death a homicide.

Drew Peterson, 56, is not charged in Stacy's disappearance, but the former Bolingbrook police sergeant was arrested May 7, 2009, in the Savio investigation.

In lengthy testimony Friday, retired Illinois State Police Sgt. Patrick Collins conceded missteps were made in the Savio investigation, including a lack of forensic testing of items inside the Bolingbrook home.

"If I had to do certain things over, yes, I would," said Collins, the lead investigator. "I'm not going to beat myself up right now. You can second-guess anything you do in life."

Collins said it was his first murder investigation, and he relied heavily on the opinion of the lead crime scene technician would considered Savio's death an accident.

There was no forced entry to the home, no obvious defensive injuries on her body and nothing appeared missing or out of order. Collins admitted he broke from normal police procedure in allowing Drew Peterson, a fellow police officer, to sit in on the interview with Stacy as she provided his alibi. Collins said Drew Peterson was never a suspect.

He said Stacy Peterson was very nervous and visibly shaking.

"Drew was sitting next to her, very close," Collins said, "guarding her. He was looking at her mouth, listening to the words she was repeating to us."

Police did not question Peterson's neighbors or double check his receipts and phone records to verify his whereabouts. They also didn't interview Savio's family, sons, or her attorney in the often volatile divorce.

Collins said it never occurred to him that the scene in the bathroom where Savio's body was found might be staged - as authorities now allege.

So far, 13 witnesses testified in the hearsay hearing. In earlier dramatic testimony, Drew Peterson's stepbrother described how he believed he might have helped him dispose of Stacy's body in a large blue barrel taken out of the couple's home. The stepbrother, Thomas Morphey, said Peterson suggested but never directly admitted killing Stacy and the two never talked about what was in the barrel.

Bychowski said Drew Peterson told her he last spoke with Stacy that Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007, when she returned his call to say she had left him for another man and took $25,000, some new clothes, as well as the titles to their house and a car.

"If she was going to leave, I would have known," Bychowski said.

The Will County hearing resumes Monday, with the defense's cross examination of Bychowski. Judge White said he won't rule until the hearing's conclusion, likely another two weeks.

Kathleen Savio Picasa 3.0

<h1>More Coverage</h1>

<h2>Photo Galleries</h2>

<li><a href="/story/?id=352113">Images of the missing and deceased in the Drew Peterson case </a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=352115">Images of the Drew Peterson Case </a></li>

</ul>

</div>

Timeline in Drew Peterson investigation

March 1, 2004: The body of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40, is discovered in a bathtub in her Bolingbrook home. Her death is initially ruled an accidental drowning.

Oct. 29, 2007: His fourth wife, Stacy, 23, is reported missing, a day after she fails to show up at a family member's home.

Nov. 9, 2007: Illinois State Police declare Drew Peterson a suspect in Stacy's disappearance and announce they've launched an investigation into Savio's drowning death. A Will County judge signs an order to exhume Savio's body.

Nov. 12, 2007: Drew Peterson resigns from the Bolingbrook Police Department, where he had been an officer for nearly three decades.

Nov. 13, 2007: Savio's body is exhumed for a second autopsy.

Nov. 16, 2007: Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden says Savio likely was murdered.

Nov. 21, 2007: A special Will County grand jury is convened to hear evidence in both cases involving Savio and Stacy Peterson.

Feb. 21, 2008: Kathleen Savio's death officially ruled a homicide.

May 21, 2008: Drew Peterson surrenders to police on a weapons charge unrelated to the disappearance of his fourth wife.

Nov. 20, 2008: Gun charges dropped against Peterson after Will County prosecutors refuse to hand over internal investigative documents.

May 7, 2009: Drew Peterson indicted on two counts of first-degree murder for Savio's death; peacefully surrenders during a traffic stop. Peterson remains jailed on $20 million bond.

Oct. 2, 2009: Will Circuit Judge Stephen White upholds new state law that allows Savio beyond-the-grave hearsay evidence at trial if later deemed reliable.

Jan. 19, 2010: A landmark hearsay court hearing is scheduled to begin in which prosecutors lay out their evidence against Peterson in Savio's death.

Source: Daily Herald archives

Article Comments

Article Categories
Counties DuPage County News