A Cop Under a Cloud

Meet Drew Peterson: family man, criminal suspect.

By Hilary Shenfeld | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Nov 16, 2007 | Updated: 5:06 p.m. ET Nov 16, 2007

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A veteran cop who knew how to turn on the charm, Drew Peterson was known to those around him for his lighthearted humor and, perhaps more than anything, his devotion to his children. "His kids were the center of his life," Lt. Ken Teppel, a fellow police officer in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, told NEWSWEEK. "He was always talking about them."

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Now it seems that everyone is talking about Peterson—and some are questioning if they really knew him at all.

In a dramatic turn, the 53-year-old sergeant has been named a suspect in the disappearance of his 23-year-old wife, Stacy Peterson, who has been missing since Oct. 28. Authorities say the case of Stacy, his fourth wife, is being considered a "possible homicide." But the questions about Peterson don't stop there.

Authorities are investigating whether Peterson played any role in the mysterious drowning death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2004. Bolingbrook police say they responded to 18 calls concerning domestic violence at the home of Peterson and Savio during their marriage.

As part of the renewed investigation into Savio's death, authorities on Tuesday exhumed the woman's body for an autopsy. When Savio was found dead in a bathtub, police say her hair was soaked in blood and she had a one-inch gash on the back of her head. A coroner's jury ruled her death accidental. Savio at one time had secured an order of protection against Peterson, and she said that he had threatened to kill her, according to her family members.

Peterson's second wife, Vicki Connolly, 48, has now come forward to describe Peterson, when they were together, as controlling and abusive. She said he threatened to kill her and make it look like an accident, according to a report published Friday in the Chicago Tribune.

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Posted By: Teadrinker @ 01/02/2008 11:55:08 PM

Look up the definition of a narcissist and a sociopath and you will find Drew Pearson. He is a despicable man. Drew Pearson decided to kill two innocent women so he doesn???t have to pay child support or alimony. This is not an unusual story. It happens a lot more in our culture than we are willing to admit.

Drew Pearson a loving father? That is such a ridiculous notion. Narcissists do not know how to love and they can pretend emotions. Wait until the children get older, he???ll lose interest because he will no longer be able to control them. His children should be taken away from him now. He has shown himself to be a very cold, calculating and dangerous man.

I hope he gets the death sentence and that something goes wrong while he is dying a painful death. Maybe he???ll think about what he did to these two poor unfortunate women who became his wives. After he dies I hope this is an afterlife so he can rot in hell for eternity.

I know a little about narcissist and sociopaths. I was married to one and was lucky to get out alive.

Teadrinker
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Posted By: John_Middleburg @ 11/20/2007 9:22:27 PM

How can people call him the family guy? He's nothing but an animal, which produced babies to control the women. Yeah, he spends time with kids, cause kids are fun...and make you feel good and powerful....nature designed kids to be cute and loveable and anyone can spend some time with them.....but hey, if you love your kids, really love them, you do not keep on just reproducing more and more with different women. That is not healthy for anyone at this age, in this set up, not the kids... not their mothers..only ok with a father..who can feel like a king.
The guy preyed on a helpless 17 year old working child and yeah married her,while she was still clueless and innocent.
Of course the next logical step, marry her, as soon as possible, so that he has a free house keeper, maid for his other 4 kids and yeah a slave for himself. Next have couple of more kids with her, so that she's helpless. I have seen some very strong women endure the worse, just for the kids..and that is why mother is a mother and no one can replace the love of a mother.
When she grew older and wiser, and was studying to become a nurse, he realized that he could trick her no longer. She also saw thru this evil old dirtbag. So she decided to leave him. And he brazenly kills her to save the alimony. He got away once, so will he get away the second time? A cop could nto figure out if hsi 3rd wife was killed or an accident? Are we all so dumb to believe this stupid animal in cop's clothing reasoning? Or does this dirt bag thinks that whole of America is one stupid place. No Sir, you are in America, the country with the brightest and most intelligent people of this world. No stupid cop can fool so many of Americans.

An appeal to the officals and especailly the Cops of Bolingbrook.

Cops are the most important pillors of society, without cops, society will simply perish..so appeal to cops, take out this dirt bag from the society and throw him in prision, before he taints your good name....society will go down if people loose confiendce in cops.
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Posted By: publicitychick @ 11/20/2007 9:13:01 PM

Collectively, the nation grieves for Drew Peterson - he lost another 10 pounds this week. Apparently showing no regard for recommendations from Weight Watchers and other reputable diet organizations, Peterson claims to be dropping pounds much above the two to two-and-a-half pound per week suggested range.

Peterson, you know, wants to avoid the media spotlight. But he was kind enough to throw the world a bone today by updating reporters on his body mass index and his health ailments. Then he was nice enough to take time out for a photo shoot with People Magazine. Drew's mom was right ??? he is a nice guy!

???Please leave me alone,??? Peterson says, with a smile and a laugh. Joking in front of his house with the media he despises, he tells a TV cameraman to lose some weight and lets a photographer know he needs a better camera. When asked about his dead third wife, he describes himself as "a victim in the relationship." Drew has told us before about his weakness for crazy women.

Then someone asks about Stacy.

Ugh. That whole pesky missing wife thing. Drew was kind of hoping the reporters would continue talking about him, and his long career as a police officer, and his motorcycle, and his health, and his house, and his favorite color, and how he was known as a practical joker throughout his life, and???

Um, Drew???about that missing wife? Anything you could tell us that might help law enforcement to find the mother of your children? Any insight into her as a person?

???When she was menstruating, hungry or tired, she would ask me about a divorce.???

Right, I think you mentioned that last week, Drew, when you were 10 pounds heavier and trying to avoid the media circus with Matt Lauer by your side.