Introduction
You may wonder how someone sworn to uphold the law can use that very power to inflict harm at home. When a police officer commits domestic abuse, the badge often shields the perpetrator from immediate accountability. You face a system that struggles to investigate its own when a high-ranking official stands accused of murder.
A thorough examination of the disappearance of Stacy Peterson and the reinvestigation of Kathleen Savio's death exposes the dark realities of domestic abuse within law enforcement.
Joseph Hosey traces the chilling events surrounding missing women in Will County. You will explore how one disappearance forced authorities to look back at an earlier closed case. The book follows the police investigation, the media circus created by the suspect, and the legal hurdles of building a circumstantial murder case without a body.
- How did Drew Peterson manipulate those around him to cover his tracks?
- What forced the authorities to exhume Kathleen Savio and change her cause of death?
- How does a local police department handle a murder investigation involving one of its own sergeants?
1. The Disappearance of Stacy Peterson
Tom Morphey was manipulated by his stepbrother Drew Peterson into participating in an unusual late-night task on the day Stacy Peterson disappeared.
Stacy's Early Life
Stacy Cales endured a severely dysfunctional and tragic childhood marked by parental abandonment, alcoholism, and devastating family losses. Stacy's mother Christie suffered from severe depression, alcoholism, and criminal run-ins. She frequently vanished for weeks before leaving permanently when Stacy was fourteen. The family also suffered the tragic loss of two young children, Jessica and Lacy.
Stacy's aunt Candace Aikin recounted that after baby Lacy died of SIDS in October 1987, Christie Cales's life spiraled out of control. Later, Stacy and her siblings were left alone by their father for three weeks while attending school without telling anyone to avoid foster care separation.
The Affair at SpringHill Suites
Drew Peterson began his relationship with nineteen-year-old Stacy Cales while working as an older police officer and while still married to his third wife. Drew Peterson met seventeen-year-old hotel desk clerk Stacy Cales at the SpringHill Suites in Bolingbrook while patrolling the overnight shift. He eventually showered her with gifts, rented an apartment for her, and married her shortly after his divorce from Kathleen Savio.
Peterson claimed he initially visited the hotel because his police partner liked another coworker, but he soon began pursuing Stacy, who was working the overnight shift.
On October 28, 2007, Tom Morphey helped carry a sealed, warm plastic barrel containing what Drew claimed was chlorine out to his GMC Denali late at night, shortly before Stacy was reported missing. Drew Peterson summoned his unemployed stepbrother Tom Morphey to a Starbucks, had him hold a cell phone without answering it while Stacy called, and later had him help move a heavy, warm plastic barrel from Peterson's bedroom down to his SUV.
2. The Death and Exhumation of Kathleen Savio
The disappearance of Stacy Peterson prompted authorities to reopen and re-evaluate the suspicious death of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio.
Abuse Allegations and Divorce
Drew Peterson's divorce from his third wife, Kathleen Savio, was exceptionally contentious and marked by dozens of police interventions regarding visitation and harassment. After Kathleen discovered Peterson's affair with teenager Stacy Cales via an anonymous note, she ordered him out of the house. The resulting split led to 17 domestic incident police reports involving Peterson, Kathleen, and Stacy, alongside mutual accusations of physical abuse and interference.
Kathleen filed for an order of protection alleging Peterson threatened to burn the house down and choked her with a poker, though she later dropped it after Peterson claimed it prevented him from carrying his police firearm. Bolingbrook police handled 17 domestic incidents involving Peterson and Kathleen or Stacy, contributing to 18 total occasions police were summoned to mediate the couple's disputes. The temporary restraining order permitted only 2 brief weekly visits to Peterson.
Kathleen wrote detailed letters to the state's attorney alleging severe domestic abuse, stalking, and an incident where Peterson broke into her home and held a knife to her neck. Unsatisfied with the local Bolingbrook police department, Kathleen appealed directly to the Will County state's attorney's office, detailing multiple violent episodes, break-ins using a programmed garage door opener, and harassment by Peterson and Stacy.
Kathleen described how Peterson entered her home on July 5, 2002, while wearing his SWAT uniform, pushed her down the stairs, and held a knife to her neck because he was angry about paying child support. Peterson also left 2000.00 dollars in bills for Kathleen, an 11000.00 dollars income tax bill for Kathleen and her sons, and a 6800.00 dollars property tax bill for Kathleen and her sons.
The New Autopsy Findings
Initially concluded to be an accidental drowning after Savio was found in a dry bathtub during contentious divorce proceedings, her death was classified as a homicide after her body was exhumed following Stacy's disappearance. Kathleen Savio was found dead in a dry bathtub 3.5 years before Stacy vanished, and her case was swiftly closed as an accident until the state police and state's attorney reopened the investigation. The initial inquiry into Savio's death had lasted only 2.5 months.
After Stacy Peterson disappeared in 2007, authorities exhumed Kathleen Savio's body, and independent pathologists concluded her death was a homicide. Prompted by Stacy's disappearance, State's Attorney James Glasgow obtained an order to exhume Kathleen's body in November 2007. Subsequent autopsies by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Larry Blum concluded the death was a homicide caused by drowning resulting from foul play, directly contradicting the 2004 accident ruling.
Dr. Michael Baden announced on television that Kathleen's bruises were fresh and clearly indicated multiple blunt-force traumas from a beating rather than an accident. The disinterment petition was granted on November 9, 2007, and the state's attorney announced Blum's homicide findings on February 21, 2008.
3. Will County Justice System and Cold Cases
Will County developed a reputation for unsolved missing-wife cases and botched investigations involving law enforcement figures.
Stateville Correctional Center spans 2,264 acres. A thirty-three-foot concrete wall surrounds the prison, featuring ten towers. Richard Speck killed student nurses there in 1966 and died in 1991. John Wayne Gacy, known as the clown killer, was executed in 1994.
Several cases of missing or murdered wives in Will County, including Stacy Peterson, Lisa Stebic, Joan Bernal, Jeri Lynn Duvall, and Inge Strama, faced long delays, mishandled evidence, or total lack of arrests despite husbands being primary suspects. Drew Peterson lost fifty percent of his wives under mysterious circumstances. Thirty-seven-year-old Lisa Stebic and thirty-nine-year-old Jeri Lynn Duvall vanished in 1990. Inge Strama’s decomposed body was found in an empty lot four years after she disappeared. Nineteen-year-old David Bucholz vanished in July 2001, and thirteen-year-old Rachel Mellon vanished in January 1996.
Gilbert Bernal was charged with murdering his wife Joan without a body based on witness testimony about a barrel, but prosecutors freed him before trial when no body was found.
Police Missteps
Police can mistakenly zero in on the wrong suspect at a crime scene due to flawed initial forensic assumptions and poor investigator judgment.
Barry McCarthy was wrongfully arrested and charged with the murder of his girlfriend Juliet Chinn based on flawed blood-spatter analysis claiming she aspirated blood onto him, which was later debunked by another expert before a real killer confessed years later. The village of Frankfort had a 128-year history when its first murder occurred in May 1998. Forty-three-year-old Juliet Chinn was the victim, and Barry McCarthy was interrogated by state police for twenty-four hours. McCarthy dropped one hundred thousand dollars in legal fees.
Anthony Brescia confessed to killing Juliet Chinn during a botched daytime robbery in May 1998, which completely exonerated Barry McCarthy after he had spent years suffering financial and reputational ruin. Fifty-two-year-old Anthony Brescia confessed seven years after McCarthy's exoneration. Brescia committed another murder thirteen miles north of Frankfort.
Prolonged psychological interrogation under duress can break an innocent person down to falsely confess to a horrific crime they did not commit.
Kevin Fox confessed to killing his three-year-old daughter Riley after a fourteen-hour interrogation without a lawyer, fueled by grief, false claims of failed polygraphs, and promises of leniency. Kevin Fox spent eight months in jail.
Kevin Fox was awarded a record $15.5 million in a police-misconduct lawsuit after DNA testing cleared him and true evidence pointed elsewhere, though the couple was originally seeking $44 million.
Marital Deterioration
Marital dynamics can deteriorate rapidly under intense jealousy, physical altercations, and emotional trauma, driving a spouse toward divorce.
Following Kathleen Savio's death and the grief over her half sister's death, Stacy Peterson experienced intense marital friction with Drew Peterson, marked by constant surveillance, arguments, and fears for her safety. Stacy navigated an emotional roller coaster while surrounded by a shrine to the past. Tina Ryan succumbed to colon cancer at the age of thirty-one in September 2006.
Stacy told her neighbor Sharon Bychowski that if she ever went missing, it was no accident and Drew had killed her. Sharon Bychowski experienced a twenty-six-year difference in age from Stacy, and the two were neighbors for three and a half years.
4. The Investigation and Media Circus
Drew Peterson actively courted media attention through outrageous public appearances, interviews, and stunts while maintaining his innocence.
Confessions to Ministers
Months before her disappearance, Stacy met with minister Neil Schori at a coffee shop. She stated that Drew Peterson killed Kathleen Savio, providing specific information about his absence from the house on the night of the death.
Minister Neil Schori recounted on television how Stacy told him "He killed Kathleen" when asked about the suspicious death of Peterson's third wife.
Public Antics
Despite initial apprehension, Peterson quickly invited reporters into his home and gave television interviews. He wore an American flag bandanna to draw attention and launched a DefendDrew website to fund his legal defense.
Peterson wore an NYPD cap, sunglasses, and an American flag bandanna when stepping out of his neighbor Sharon Bychowski's home to face the press.
Traditional defense strategy dictates that a suspect should maintain strict silence, whereas aggressive public posturing often alienates the public and motivates investigators. Experienced defense attorneys advise clients never to speak to the police or media without counsel because statements are typically distorted, and defiant public clowning only drives law enforcement to dig deeper.
Drew Peterson ignored standard legal advice by making frequent, cocky media appearances and joking about dating games, which infuriated investigators and galvanized public hostility.
- Tell clients not to say anything to anyone without their attorney present
- Keep clients from speaking to the press or making public statements
- Portray the client as a loving, concerned spouse or good father through legal representatives
- Sit back, stay out of the limelight, and let the investigation take its course
A defense attorney can effectively challenge a belated homicide re-examination of an exhumed body by attacking the credibility of the initial accident finding and the state's experts. If representing a suspect years after a death was initially ruled accidental, a defense attorney would parade the original investigators in front of the jury to highlight their missed signs and hire independent experts to contradict the new autopsy findings on a decomposed body.
In Drew Peterson's case regarding Kathleen Savio, defense attorneys planned to aggressively question why the initial autopsy and first forensic pathologist missed homicide signs in 2004, after three and a half years had passed while Kathleen Savio's body spent rotting in a grave before the second autopsy.
- Bring everyone involved in the initial accidental death determination to testify in front of the jury
- Pork holes in the credibility of the autopsy performed on a body after years in a grave
- Hire an independent expert to contradict the findings of the state's experts
Conclusion
The tragic fates of Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson demonstrate how domestic control, intimidation, and institutional power can intertwine to conceal violent crimes. When abusers wear badges, the systems designed to protect you often fail to recognize or challenge their authority. Tenacious investigations, public scrutiny, and the courage of witnesses ultimately prove essential in dismantling decades of secrecy and police misconduct.
You can apply the lessons of this case to protect yourself and others from similar dangers by following these practical rules:
- Recognize the subtle signs of emotional isolation, financial control, and intimidation before physical violence begins.
- Document every threat, injury, or suspicious circumstance thoroughly and store the records outside your home.
- Seek support from independent domestic violence advocacy groups rather than relying solely on local authorities if the abuser holds law enforcement ties.
- Encourage open communication with friends and family to prevent abusers from cutting off your external support systems.
- Demand accountability from the legal system when institutional negligence threatens public safety and justice.
10 Key Ideas
- When a police officer commits domestic abuse, the badge often shields the perpetrator from immediate accountability within a system that struggles to investigate its own.
- Tom Morphey was manipulated by his stepbrother Drew Peterson into participating in an unusual late-night task on the day Stacy Peterson disappeared.
- Stacy Cales endured a severely dysfunctional and tragic childhood marked by parental abandonment, alcoholism, and devastating family losses before beginning an affair with the older police officer Drew Peterson.
- Drew Peterson's divorce from his third wife, Kathleen Savio, was exceptionally contentious and marked by dozens of police interventions regarding domestic abuse, harassment, and visitation.
- Initially concluded to be an accidental drowning after Savio was found in a dry bathtub, her death was classified as a homicide after her body was exhumed following Stacy's disappearance.
- Will County developed a reputation for unsolved missing-wife cases and botched investigations involving law enforcement figures.
- Police can mistakenly zero in on the wrong suspect at a crime scene due to flawed initial forensic assumptions and poor investigator judgment.
- Marital dynamics can deteriorate rapidly under intense jealousy, physical altercations, and emotional trauma, driving a spouse toward divorce.
- Months before her disappearance, Stacy met with minister Neil Schori and stated that Drew Peterson killed Kathleen Savio.
- Drew Peterson actively courted media attention through outrageous public appearances, interviews, and stunts while maintaining his innocence.