Meet The 4 Wives Of Convicted Killer Drew Peterson
Drew Peterson, 2015 mug shot [Illinois Department of Corrections]
Ex-cop turned convicted murderer Drew Peterson is one of the most notorious figures in contemporary true crime culture.
At his least offensive, Peterson is an obnoxious blowhard and, from there, his status drops all the way from chronic domestic abuser to cold-blooded wife-killer and homicidal conspiracy mastermind.
The one-time “Police Officer of the Year” (who was later thrown off the force and then rehired) is presently serving a combined total of 78 years for the premeditated murder of Kathleen Savio, his third spouse, and for then attempting to hire a hitman to whack the prosecutor who put him behind bars.
In addition, Drew Peterson remains the prime suspect in the still-unsolved disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.
Chicago Sun-Times, November 17, 2007 [front cover image]
Given that Drew had taken four brides prior to being locked up, one perhaps distasteful question does arise: Who could marry this monster? Here, now, are the women who have provided that answer — four times.
1. CAROL BROWN
Occupation: Homemaker
Married to Drew: 1974–1980
Ended: Divorce
Carol Brown and Drew Peterson were high school sweethearts who married a couple of years after graduation. They have two sons: Stephen Paul Peterson and Eric Drew Peterson (in 2017, Stephen told the press his father “probably” killed two of his other wives).
As would happen repeatedly with Drew, Carol ended the marriage after she discovered he was having an affair.
2. VICKI CONNOLLY
Occupation: Bar Owner
Married to Drew: 1982–1992
Ended: Divorce
Vicki Connolly owned and operated a bar with Drew Peterson in the Chicago suburb of Romeoville. She has stated repeatedly that theirs was not a happy union.
Coming forward in the wake, Connolly alleged that Peterson hit her, but never hard enough to leave evidence — just enough to enact “mind games” on her. Connolly further claimed that Peterson “bugged” their house with recording devices and taped conversations to make sure she wasn’t doing anything he deemed she “shouldn’t be doing.”
In addition, Lisa Ward, Connolly’s daughter, alleges she suffered 10 years of “physical and mental abuse” from Peterson throughout her mother’s marriage to him (Peterson denies it all).
Connolly further claims that Peterson repeatedly said he knew exactly how to kill her and how to make it look like an accident. The marriage ended in 1992, shortly after Peterson began cheating with Kathleen Savio. In 2004 — perhaps not coincidentally — Peterson murdered Savio and covered it up to look like an accident.
3. KATHLEEN SAVIO
Occupation: Accountant
Married to Drew: 1992–2003
Ended: Divorce, followed by murder
Kathleen married Drew, with whom she’d been having an affair, almost immediately after he split from his previous wife. The couple produced two sons: Thomas Peterson and Kristopher Peterson.
Over the course of Kathleen and Drew’s 11-year union, police came to the couple’s home 18 times to deal with domestic disturbances. One year after they divorced, Kathleen turned up dead in an empty bathtub. A coroner’s jury, which included a close friend of Peterson’s, concluded it was an “accidental drowning.”
That verdict stood until 2007. After Peterson’s fourth wife mysteriously disappeared, authorities exhumed Kathleen’s remains for reexamination. Doctors noted bruises and scrapes all over her body, along with a massive stab wound in the scalp. This time, the coroner deduced that Kathleen had drowned during a struggle and that her death was a homicide.
In 2012, Peterson stood trial and was found guilty of murdering Kathleen. He was sentenced to 38 years in prison. Three years later, Peterson got an additional 40 years for plotting to have his prosecutor murdered.
4. STACY PETERSON
Occupation: Hotel receptionist, nursing student
Married to Drew: 2003–2007
Ended: Disappeared, still missing
Officially, Stacy Peterson remains a missing person. At 19, she married the 49-year-old Drew Peterson and had two children with him: Anthony Peterson and Lacy Peterson (yes, it’s an uncanny coincidence). She also adopted Drew’s two children from his previous marriage.
On October 28, 2007, Stacy vanished. Drew claimed that she called him that night at 9 P.M. to announce she was abandoning their family to take off with another man, and that he could pick up her car at a nearby airport. Stacy has not been seen nor heard from since then. Suffice to say, questions have arisen regarding his version of the events.
During Drew’s murder trial, Reverend Neil Schori, Stacy’s pastor, testified for the prosecution. He said that Stacy told him that Drew murdered Kathleen Savio and made it look like an accident, and that she supplied him with an alibi for the night it happened.
Much mystery surrounds a large blue container that may have been used to transport Stacy’s body out of her home. Cassandra Cales, Stacy’s sister, said she saw the container in the Petersons’ garage two days before the disappearance. Two separate but unreliable men claim to have assisted Drew in getting rid of the container. In addition, multiple witnesses say they saw Drew and another man carrying a 55-gallon barrel, large enough to hold a human body, away from the house shortly after.
As a result, authorities have searched relentlessly for Stacy’s whereabouts and worked to build a case against Drew. So far, though, nobody has been able to pin this one on him.
Watch Investigation Discovery’s Drew Peterson: An American Murder Mystery on ID GO now!
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Read more: Fox News, Radar Online, Chicago Tribune, Bolingbrook Patch, In Touch
