- A hearing on whether or not to allow hearsay statements in to the murder trial of Drew Peterson has been set for January 19.
- Speaking of Peterson, a tree and plaque honoring missing fourth wife Stacy was stolen.
- Separating fact from fiction on H1N1.
Stacy Peterson's sister, Cassandra Cales, is calling for volunteers to help in a new search for the missing fourth wife of Drew Peterson. Details as to where the search will take place will be handed out tomorrow morning at 10 am at the Ikea store in Bolingbrook. [WBBM]
There was no luck with an autopsy on the remains of a woman found Wednesday night in the Des Plaines river. Instead, DNA samples will now be sent off for testing to help ID the woman and the Will County Coroner says it could take up to two weeks for results. Meanwhile, residents await word to see if the body could be that of either of the area's two well-known missing women, Lisa Stebic or Stacy Peterson. A spokeswoman for Stacy's family told the Tribune, "We've been down this road before. Regrettably, it could be any woman at this point, and that's something I think we should all pay attention to."
It's been an interesting couple of days in the case of Stacy Peterson's disappearance. While D-Pete, who has never met a camera he doesn't love, showed up on national television again last week in the wake of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of deceased murdered third wife Kathleen Savio, there are some new happenings in the case of missing fourth wife Stacy. News came from NBC 5 yesterday that police and Coast Guard officials were searching a canal for possible evidence. D-Pete attorney Joel Brodsky dismissed the actions, saying, "They did it all last summer. They're doing it again, so I don't think it's of any significance." Pam Bosco, spokeswoman for Stacy's family, was more optimistic, saying, "I think what we can take from that is that they're still considering this a very important investigation, and that it's very active. We believe she can be found yet, and so we want to put all our efforts into doing our searches. Yet we believe that eventually we will find Stacy."
Sharon Bychowski, next door neighbor of Drew Peterson, is claiming that Peterson went around in the middle of the night with one of his kids and cut down purple and white ribbons Bychowski and other volunteers had put around all the trees on their street as a memorial to Peterson's missing wife, Stacy. Peterson first cut the ribbons off the trees in the parkway in front of his own house on Saturday afternoon, which neighbors replaced. This routine went on a couple of more times until Peterson placed a call to the Bolingbrook police, claiming the ribbons violate village ordinance (they don't).
Yesterday we shared the story of Drew Peterson's stepbrother, Thomas Morphey, who detailed to the Herald News his version of what happened in the fall of 2007 and how he believes he helped Peterson dispose of the body of missing wife Stacy. Like clockwork, Peterson's lawyer, Joel Brodsky, has responded to the allegations. Referencing Morphey's history of alcohol and drug abuse, as well as a suicide attempt, Brodsky said:
Thomas Morphey, step-brother of Drew Peterson, has finally gone public with his account of the events of October 28, 2007 in which he believes he helped Peterson dispose of the body of missing wife Stacy. Morphey was so troubled by what he did, he attempted suicide by overdosing on anti-anxiety and anti-depression pills; he survived. Now he's talked with the Herald News about his experience that October and why he believes Drew killed Stacy.
The Saga of Drew Peterson continues as "ex-fiancee" Christina Raines appeared before a Joliet grand jury on Thursday afternoon. The grand jury was formed in November 2007 to investigate the death of D-Pete Ex-Wife #3 Kathleen Savio and the disappearance of current wife Stacy Peterson. Last week, Peterson appeared on ABC's Nightline and the next day Raines moved out. Funny how that works. Not really sure what new insight will be gained from this, especially considering the source.
We thought we were going to make it through the week without anything cringe-inducing but unfortunately Drew Peterson had other plans. In an interview with WBBM's Steve Miller, Peterson described the extended family with fiance Christina Raines as "harmonious bliss." Peterson hasn't filed for divorce from dead missing wife Stacy yet so he hasn't set a wedding date for future ex-wife #5. When asked if Raines was confident Peterson was innocent of any wrongdoing in the death of ex-wife Kathleen Savio and the disappearance of current wife Stacy, Drew said no.
We thought nothing could shock us anymore after the Blagojevich scandal. And we were right. It comes as no surprise that Drew Peterson - still married to "missing" fourth wife Stacy Peterson - is engaged to a 23-year-old woman. Peterson confirmed the engagement with the eloquent, “I can't believe this is happening," he said. "How the f--- did this get out?" He also said the two had been dating for four months, which means she's not the 22-year-old who is not a hooker that Peterson was not getting physical with earlier this year. In case you're wondering, Peterson is still technically married to Stacy, though as we know, he's been working to remedy that (some might say since October 28, 2007).
Pop quiz: Let's say that your fourth wife goes missing. And let's say it happens under suspicious circumstances. And then let's say that after her disappearance, the police reclassify your third wife's death from "accident" to "homicide" which only fans the flames of speculation that you're involved in her death as well as said fourth wife's disappearance. Do you:
It's been one year since the disappearance of Bolingbrook's Stacy Peterson and her estranged husband, Drew Peterson, took to The Today Show to maintain his innocence and to ask Stacy to, "Show yourself. Put an end to this nightmare." Of course, he doesn't expect her to reappear, as he told the AP: “If I was a little girl and the focus of all this media attention, I wouldn't be coming back. Why would a little girl come back to that?” While Drew makes media appearances, Stacy's family will be marking the anniversary with a candlelight vigil. After Stacy's disappearance, police went back and, after further investigation, reclassified the death of Kathleen Savio, Peterson's third wife, from accidental drowning to murder, adding to the intense scrutiny on Peterson. Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow announced last week that he expected, "a resolution in at least one of these investigations in the near future," a charge Peterson and his lawyer have dismissed as a mere play for votes in next week's election.
Another week, another chapter in the ongoing saga of Bolingbrook's most notorious ex-husband. Peterson's "friends" Len Wawczak and Paula Stark, those of the "secret gun claim," now say they wore wires in cooperation with State Police during meetings with Peterson after the disappearance of wife number 4, the still-missing Stacy. Among the nuggets the couple claims Peterson dropped that the tapes didn't catch: Stark alleges Peterson asked her to model Stacy's bikinis and also run off with him; when discussing Kathleen Savio, wife number 3, Peterson said, "She was in a dry bathtub, what a bunch of f------ idiots.” (in reference to the police claim Savio drowned); and “I should have had that bitch cremated. It would have cost me less and I wouldn’t be going through this trouble." (in reference to Savio's body being exhumed following Stacy's disappearance).
A volunteer group, "Friends of Stacy Peterson", is resuming their search for Stacy, who -- in case you've been living in a cave -- has been missing since last October and is now considered a "potential homicide" due to the length of her absence. Her husband Drew Peterson is the prime suspect.
Here's what our local ne'erdowells have been up to while waiting in eager anticipation for tonight's Oscars:
It’s official now, the frozen woman found yesterday is not the body of Lisa Stebic or Stacy Peterson. The identity of the woman has not been released, but those two have been eliminated as possible victims.
UPDATE: It's not Stacy Peterson or Lisa Stebic.
Eager to join everyone(in the media)'s search for the truth about Stacy Peterson, a celebrity mentalist has offered to lend his thought-reading abilities to the case.
An 8-year-old boy was mauled by a pit bull on the far South Side today. Police say he's in very serious condition. The Stacy Peterson madness continues. Illinois state police served Drew Peterson with a new warrant so they can keep his cars and the eight guns they seized as part of the investigation for longer. And divers searched Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in Romeoville and Lockport today for any clues to Stacy's disappearance....
"Warm to the touch." We can't get that phrase out of our heads after reading that a relative of Drew Peterson helped him move a blue barrel that was warm to the touch on Oct. 28, the day before Stacy Peterson was reported missing. The relative — not named by the Trib but identified as Thomas Morphey, a step-brother, by the Sun-Times — then went home and told a friend that he was afraid he...
It's all Peterson, all the time these days. Drew Peterson was on the Today show again this morning, this time with his lawyer, who effectively prevented Peterson from saying anything of substance (couldn't prevent him from looking creepy, though). Last night, Peterson invited ABC 7 reporter Sarah Schulte into his house, and Wife #1 was on Good Morning America today, too. Really taking the cake, though, is the Sun-Times. They've rolled out a whole Stacy...
We were initially trying to believe Drew Peterson could somehow be innocent of any wrongdoing in his wife's disappearance, yet it's becoming increasingly difficult to think anything good about the Bolingbrook policeman. At best, he's a chronic philanderer, a domestic abuser, and a bad cop. At worst... the man's been married four times, and wife #3, Kathleen Savio, turned up dead, wife #4, Stacy Peterson, is missing, and wife #2, Vicki Connolly, has finally spoken...
Drew Peterson was on the Today Show this morning, chatting with Matt Lauer about his wife Stacy's disappearance and his former wife Kathleen Savio's exhumation. (Anyone know how to embed that video?) "I can look you right in the eye and tell you I had nothing to do with either of those instances. I’m not afraid of law enforcement. I’m afraid of the media," he said. Maybe because he works in law enforcement, and Savio's...
Things were jumping at the Will County Court House. Lisa Stebic's children testified in front of a grand jury yesterday about their mother's disappearance six months ago. Craig Stebic, Lisa's estranged husband and person of interest in the case, hasn't allowed the police to interview his kids, even though they're two of the last people to see her. Lisa's family says they wanted the kids to be interviewed at a child advocacy center instead,...
A stand-off with an armed man in a Deerfield motel room ended peacefully this afternoon, after police used tear gas to get the guy to come out. Keep your eyes peeled for a comet on the Northeast horizon. The Salvation Army unveiled a plan today for a community center and athletic facility on West 119th Street. Architect Helmut Jahn designed the center, which will cost $160 million to build and endow. Volunteer searchers looking...
Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old Bolingbrook woman, has now been missing for five days. Though police are still calling their investigation a missing person search (and not a homicide investigation,) it can't be good that they are searching a nearby pond. Today's news has three main parts: The actual investigation: Two days before she disappeared, Stacy Peterson told husband Drew Peterson that she wanted a divorce, according to her aunt, Suzan Robison. The next day, Peterson...