Drew Peterson sued: Peterson faces lawsuit over death of Kathleen Savio
3rd wife's family frustrated by delays in investigation
By Erika Slife Tribune reporter
Saying they've waited long enough for a grand jury to act, attorneys for the family of Drew Peterson's third wife filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday against the former Bolingbrook police sergeant.
A special grand jury has been investigating the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, and the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, since November 2007, and followers of the saga have grown restless. Peterson has not been charged in either case.
"We felt that the current grand jury is going to bring forward an indictment, or they'll be dismissed and we can proceed with the civil case. We just felt now was the time to move forward," said John Q. Kelly, a high-powered New York attorney representing the Savio family. He also represented the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson in a successful civil suit against O.J. Simpson.
Kelly conceded it was unusual to file the suit before an impending decision by the grand jury. Filing a wrongful-death case invites subpoena power, meaning the defense has access to investigative evidence tied to the criminal proceedings, Savio family attorney Martin Glink acknowledged. The defense can ask for records and testimony from witnesses who appeared before the grand jury.
But the Savio family attorneys said they didn't think their case would interfere with the criminal investigation. Peterson's attorneys have 30 days to respond to the lawsuit. The grand jury is scheduled to expire in mid-May, and if it returns an indictment, the criminal case will likely supersede the civil suit, Kelly said.
Savio family members have been frustrated by delays in the investigation, and believe filing the suit might be their only chance for justice in the death of their beloved "Kitty," who was 40 when she was found dead in a dry bathtub of her Bolingbrook home in March 2004.
State police determined at the time there was nothing suspicious about her death, and a coroner's jury ruled it an accident largely based on a state police officer's testimony. The 15-page suit filed in Will County alleges one of the jurors in the inquest was a police officer from another agency who, during deliberations, assured the other jurors he personally knew Peterson and he would never harm Savio.
Savio was found dead about a month before a scheduled court date to approve a division of assets. When Savio died, her two sons, under Peterson's guardianship, received $1 million from a life-insurance payment. Peterson later received proceeds from other insurance policies and profits from the sale of a bar and from the sale of their home, all valued at more than $600,000, records showed.
The children, now teenagers, live with Peterson, along with two children he had with Stacy.
Authorities reopened Savio's case after the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, who was 23 when she was last seen in October 2007. A second autopsy determined Savio's death was a homicide.
Peterson, 55, said he was not surprised by the lawsuit.
The suit refers to a pastor in whom Stacy Peterson allegedly confided before she disappeared. It details an interview he gave to Fox News in which he said that on the night of Savio's death, Stacy woke up and found Peterson gone. In the morning, the pastor said, Stacy saw Peterson standing in front of the washing machine, dressed in black and holding a bag. Peterson washed the clothes he was wearing and women's clothes that were in the bag, the suit states. He then allegedly told Stacy he hit Savio in the back of the head, making her death look like an accident.
"Didn't happen," Peterson said. "Who knows why she said what she said—if she said it."
The suit claims that after Peterson and Savio separated, Peterson gained entry to Savio's house by using a garage door opener and, on one occasion, by cutting out a portion of wall that he crawled through.
Peterson said the wall-cutting incident happened before the couple filed for divorce. "Did I do it? Yeah. When I was voluntarily leaving the house, it was still my house, Kathleen changed the locks on me," he said. "So instead of breaking down a $400 door, I cut a hole in the wall and squeezed through."
It alleges that on the day of Savio's funeral, rather than attend a reception for family and friends, Peterson removed personal property that had not yet been inventoried.
Peterson said he took things for the children, such as beds and clothes.
The suit seeks in excess of $300,000.
State's Atty. James Glasgow has the option to convene another grand jury.
Though Kelly initially said the wrongful-death suit was filed in part to pressure the state's attorney's office, he later retracted the comment as a "bad statement."
Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for Glasgow, said the investigation is moving ahead. "Our investigation is independent of anything going on in the civil arena. Nothing that they're doing will put any pressure on this office. Our investigation is moving forward full tilt," he said.
Melissa Doman, Savio's niece, said they're "taking it one step at a time, one day at a time. My aunt will get justice eventually."
2 months ago
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