Thursday , May 07, 2009
Drew Peterson was arrested Thursday on charges he murdered his third wife, the biggest development yet in the case against the former Chicago-area police sergeant — who shot into the national spotlight after the suspicious disappearance in October 2007 of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.
Illinois police and prosecutors are scheduled to hold a news conference at 8:30 p.m. CDT Thursday about the murder indictment. Peterson is accused of killing Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in a dry bathtub in her home on March 1, 2004.
“I guess I should have returned those library books,” Peterson said as he was being taken into state police headquarters, the Herald News reported.
MyFOXChicago.com reported that Peterson was arrested at 5:35 p.m. Thursday after state police surrounded his car at an intersection. Peterson was alone in his car at the time.
State police later searched Peterson's home, MyFOXChicago.com reported.
Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, told the Chicago Tribune he was unaware of the arrest.
"You know more than I do. I'm on a plane it's taking off in 5 minutes to go to NYC. I guess they'll have a bond hearing Monday," Brodsky said.
Andrew Abood, another attorney representing Peterson, released a statement Thursday evening, the Tribune reported.
"Drew has steadfastly maintain (sic) his innocence regarding the rumor and innuendo that has circulated regarding the unfortunate death of Kathleen. Although he is disappointed with the decision of the state, he looks forward to the opportunity to once and for all prove his innocence in a court of law," he said.
Peterson has been a suspect in the disappearance of his 23-year-old wife Stacy Peterson, who vanished on Oct. 28, 2007, from her Bolingbrook, Ill., home.
In the months following Stacy Peterson's disappearance, Savio's body was exhumed and her 2004 bathtub drowning death was re-classified as a homicide.
Nick Savio, Kathleen's brother, told ABC 7 state police informed his sister Susan that Peterson was arrested on Thursday.
"My sister gave me a call, I just got out of work. She gave me a call and said, you know what, Nick? They are arresting Drew. We didn't know what for. The state police had been telling us the day was coming. We kept hearing it for about eight months. I'm almost in tears here. It's been so hard for our family," he said.
Pam Bosco, spokesperson for Stacy Peterson's family, told ABC 7 that the arrest was long anticipated by the family.
"We have dreamed about it. We have been patient over it. Now that it's here, it's almost a little bit calm," Bosco said.
Martin Glink, the Savio family's attorney, said the family hoped Peterson would be charged.
"We're very happy that the wheels of justice have continued to move and they are pointing in his direction," Glink told ABC 7.
Savio's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit last month, alleging Peterson downed her in the bathtub.
Kathleen Savio's family has long voiced suspicions about the circumstances surrounding her 2004 death, especially following the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy.
For more than a year, Peterson's attorney has said he anticipated the family would file a lawsuit and suggested it was imminent after an appellate court this year upheld a lower court's decision to take control of Savio's estate away from Peterson and give it her father Henry Savio and her sister, Anna Doman.
The lawsuit seeks more than $100,000 and alleges Peterson killed Savio before a scheduled trial over the divorced couple's property.
Many of the allegations made in the lawsuit have been reported in the media ever since Stacy Peterson disappeared in October 2007.
The lawsuit alleges Peterson went to Savio's house on Feb. 28, 2004, to "brutally ... stalk, attack, repeatedly beat, then drown, decedent Kathleen Savio."
Savio survived the attack for an unknown period of time before drowning, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit covers a lot of familiar ground, starting with how Savio's death, initially classified as an accidental drowning, was reclassified as a homicide after her body was exhumed and another autopsy conducted following Stacy Peterson's disappearance.
It also alleges that a few months before Stacy Peterson disappeared she told a pastor in October 2007 that she knew her husband killed Savio, an allegation reported in the media two months later.
Click here for more on this story from MyFOXChicago.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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