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In 2012, Drew Peterson, a retired police officer from Illinois, stood trial for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in a waterless bathtub in her home in March 2004. Authorities believed Peterson murdered Savio and placed her body in the tub, making it seem like an accident. He was found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to 38 years in prison.
Savio's death was initially ruled to be accidental drowning. It was only declared a homicide after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, mysteriously disappeared in 2007, and the deceased's body was exhumed and re-examined under suspicion. The medical examiner revealed that that she died of drowning after a struggle. In addition, she was found with odd bruises on her body and a large gash on her head.
An upcoming episode of Oxygen's Snapped, titled Notorious: Drew Peterson, will revisit the case against the retired Illinois police officer. The episode airs on the channel this Monday, May 8, 2023, at 8 pm ET.
Here's what the official synopsis says:
"The life and crimes of master manipulator, Drew Peterson."
Drew Peterson was convicted in ex-wife Kathleen Savio's murder years after her body was found in her bathtub
On September 6, 2012, Drew Peterson, a retired police sergeant from Bolingbrook, Illinois, was found guilty of murder in the 2004 death of his ex-wife Kathleen Savio. She was found dead on March 1, 2004, in her dry, clean bathtub. The defense argued that Savio fell, struck her head, and drowned, contrary to the prosecution's contention that Peterson killed his third wife.
The case that made headlines didn't surface until Stacy, Peterson's fourth wife, disappeared in October 2007. Following this, investigators were prompted to exhume Savio's body and re-examine her strange death, which had previously been classified as an accidental drowning. As the search for Stacy continued, a medical examiner revealed that Savio died of drowning after a struggle.
Following this, authorities modified their findings in February 2008 and declared Savio's death to be a homicide.
Drew Peterson and Kathleen Savio married in 1992. They were together for nearly 11 years until their divorce in October 2003 after he started having an affair with Stacy Cales, who would eventually become his fourth wife. The couple separated in 2001, and over the following years, the estranged couple disputed over multiple things, including custody of their children and finances.
Reports state that police in Bolingbrook were dispatched to Savio's house 18 times between 2002 and 2004 to settle domestic disputes. Moreover, at the time of her death, a court was considering how to divide the couple's assets, and Savio was to reportedly receive a portion of Peterson's pension as well as additional support. The latter even threatened her for months.
Drew Peterson was initially charged with first-degree murder but was convicted of premeditated murder and was sentenced to 38 years prison. In 2017, he was again found guilty of solicitation of murder and solicitation of murder for hired after receiving a tip from an inmate for trying to have a state attorney assassinated. He was given additional 40 years. His fourth wife Stacy remains missing to date.
Learn more about the case against Drew Peterson in an upcoming episode of Snapped on Oxygen this Monday.
