By David Lohr
December 6, 2007
BOLINGBROOK, IL. (Crime Library) — Five weeks ago, the family of 23-year-old Stacy Ann Peterson reported her missing and, to date, her disappearance remains a mystery. The prime suspect in the case is Stacy's husband, 53-year-old Drew Peterson, a man whose third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in her home in 2004. Her death, initially ruled accidental, is now being reinvestigated due to the circumstances surrounding Stacy's sudden and mysterious disappearance.
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Kathleen Savio |
On November 13, investigators exhumed Kathleen's remains and at the request of her family, they were examined by former New York chief medical examiner Michael Baden.
"It's my opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that it's a homicide, and that's what I would put down on the death certificate," Baden said during an interview with Fox News. "There were indications of multiple blunt force traumas, of being beaten up. One of the things we were able to look at today, those bruises were still there. And we could see from the naked eye that they were fresh."
In response to Baden's statements,Drew Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, said Baden's findings were premature.
"The results of Dr. Baden's autopsy on Ms. Savio do not surprise us, because Dr. Baden had indicated the conclusion before he conducted his autopsy that he believed Kathleen's death was not an accident," Brodsky said in a statement released to the media. "While Dr. Baden is a renowned pathologist, we do not know the motivation for donating his services or the nature of his relationship with the Fox Entertainment Group. All we wish to say is that Kathleen's death should not be a source of entertainment."
On the day before Kathleen's exhumation, Drew Peterson sent a formal letter of resignation to the Village of Bowling Brook Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. As a result, they would no longer be able to pursue an internal affairs investigation. After accepting Peterson's resignation, Police Chief Raymond McGury told reporters that Peterson had brought disgrace to the police department and said that he was sorry Peterson had quit because he had wanted to personally fire him.
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