Drew Peterson and his Antagonists

Bolingbrook, IL—The mystery of Stacy Peterson’s disappearance and the death of Kathleen Savio are no minor events that rocked this decent family community, Southwest of Chicago.

As a longtime cop and private investigator (40 years) I’ve learned of many amazing coincidences that have caused suspicion to scream at a suspect. Later I’d learn the real explanation and shake my head in disbelief.

They have one death, that of  Drew Peterson’s third wife Kathleen Savio that may or may not be a murder and the only evidence is a alleged hostility of her soon to be ex-husband, Drew Peterson.

To accuse Peterson you need to prove murder instead of an accident, and then you have to have evidence that it was Peterson who killed her. The friends and family of Kathleen Savio have been heartbroken and miss her terribly. Because she was in a somewhat nasty divorce sides are always taken and one family hates the other.

The truth is the friends and family of, Kathleen Savio don’t really care if it was an accident or murder or even if Drew Peterson has done anything evil at all. They simply hate Peterson and want him destroyed. That’s the simple law of human nature.

The same is true for Peterson’s fourth wife Stacy. But in this case there is no evidence of a murder. She has vanished and people want to assume she’s been murdered.

I’m not clairvoyant. I also know that Peterson knows enough about homicide and investigation to kill people and get away with it. But all the investigators in the world can only guess what happened to these two young women.

Hate has fueled these investigations and prosecution. That with a lot of political grandstanding by the, Will County State’s Attorney created a monster. Once journalists and other writers raised this case to a national news story cops, prosecutors and many others sought out their 15 minutes of fame.  Prosecutors have been leaking investigative tidbits like body searches and stuff taints judges and jurors along with public opinion.

Authors, journalists and bloggers like me love writing about this story and enjoy the attention or stories receive. Our criminal justice system is a hostage to publicity and that’s dead wrong.

Drew Peterson has been jailed on the most outrageously excessive bail in my memory at $20 million. They selectively prosecuted Peterson for the mere possession of the rifle he used as a member of the police SWAT team just because they could. They have changed the law to allow third party gossip as evidence despite the Bill of Rights so many have fought and died for.

If there was real and admissible evidence that Drew Peterson committed murder this story would not have grown legs. Peterson would have been arrested and convicted long ago. It’s really because there is little evidence and real mystery that keeps this tale of deceit, despair and doom in the spotlight.

Peterson deserves a fair trial and credit for a 30 year unblemished police career. Cops for the most part are lousy husbands. Too often our in-laws don’t like us just because our wives married a cop rather than a doctor or lawyer.

Too many of us are abysmal husbands but we don’t murder our wives just because we know how. Instead we try to move on when things don’t go well.

I will believe the evidence against Drew Peterson when I see it.