Kathleen

Some marriages take “Til death do us part” too seriously. And if death doesn’t come fast enough some spouses choose to help it along.

We grow up thinking that the police are the good guys. Playing cops and robbers when you are a kid, you always wanted to be the cop. When you get lost, you find a police officer to help you. But what happens when the police are not the good guys? What if the bad guy police officer is your spouse? What if you disappear and aren’t seen again?

This scenario was the reality that Kathleen Savio faced while married to Drew Peterson, a Chicago area police sergeant and undercover officer on the drug unit. Drew Peterson, is a retired police officer from Illinois, USA. He was born in 1954 in Bolingbrook, IL, and served in the US Army before he began his 30 year career as a police officer in Bolingbrook, a southern suburb of Chicago.

Drew had been married to his first wife while he worked undercover, but that didn’t stop him from having an affair, causing his wife, Carol Brown, to file for divorce. They had been married for six years and had two sons together.

In 1982, Drew married his second wife, Victoria Connolly. Victoria stated after they had divorced that their entire 10 year marriage was filled with domestic violence and Drew had threatened to kill her and make it look like an accident.

Drew Peterson married his third wife, Kathleen Savio, two months after his divorce was final from his second. They divorced in 2003, and had two sons together as well. From the years of 2002 to 2004, police were called out to the home 18 times, on domestic disturbance calls. In 2004 Kathleen’s body was found in a waterless bathtub, her death was initially ruled accidental drowning. Those who knew Kathleen had already started to suspect Drew.

Drew’s alibi was from his fourth wife, Stacy Cales, who he wed in 2003, a week after his divorce was final from Kathleen. Stacy was 19 when they married, 30 years younger than Drew. Together they also had two children, a boy and a girl. Stacy legally adopted Kathleen’s children and treated them as her own. In October 2007, Stacy was reported missing by her sister, when she failed to hear from her as expected. Stacy is still considered a missing person, her family has launched a website to help find her.

However the disappearance of Stacy, prompted authorities to exhume Kathleen’s body and undergo forensic examinations. The doctor who was not familiar with the previous circumstances and Drew Peterson, ruled her death a homicide. It was discovered during the autopsy that bruises and abrasions on the front and back of Kathleen’s body were inflicted within an hour of her death. The back of her head also bore an inch deep wound resulting from a blow hard enough to split her scalp.

In 2009 Drew Peterson was indicted for killing Kathleen Savio. His trial lasted 10 days, and in September of 2012 when he was found guilty of premeditated murder, he was then sentenced to 38 years in prison for the murder of his third wife. For his safety his location in the prison system is not known.

Be ever alert, make good choices, stay safe