DNA Shows Headless Skeleton Was Male

(AP) DNA test results released Wednesday show a headless, armless skeleton found along the Des Plaines River last week was from an unidentified male, ending speculation the badly decomposed body was one of two women whose disappearances have drawn national media attention.

Results of an autopsy performed last week on the remains were inconclusive. The person had been dead several months or more, but the rib cage, spinal column and partial left and right femur bones were not enough to determine an identity, race or gender of the corpse, authorities said.

Shreds of blue jeans and a small amount of U.S. currency were also found along with the remains near the town of Channahon.

An investigation into the corpse's identity was ongoing, Illinois State Police said Wednesday in a statement.

The location of the remains in Will County prompted speculation they were related to the high-profile missing person cases of Stacy Peterson or Lisa Stebic.

Stacy Peterson's husband Drew has pleaded not guilty to killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio. He contends Stacy, his fourth wife, left him for another man when she disappeared in October 2007 and is most likely living outside Illinois.

"We can take no joy or relief in the fact that it isn't (Stacy Peterson) because some family somewhere will be grieving," Drew Peterson's attorney, Reem Odeh. "But we hope this invigorates a global search for Stacy and brings attention to the fact that she is still missing."

Savio's death was originally ruled an accidental drowning. It was reclassified as a homicide after her body was exhumed and an autopsy conducted following Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

Drew Peterson is being held at the Will County Jail on $20 million bond.

Stebic, a mother of two, was last seen in Plainfield in April 2007. Authorities have named Stebic's husband Craig a "person of interest" in her disappearance but he is not charged with any crime. He has denied any involvement.

Remains Found Near Homes of Missing Women

(CNN) -- An autopsy was being conducted Thursday on remains found on the bank of a river less than 30 miles from the homes of two missing Illinois women.

The "partial skeletal remains" were found on the south bank of the Des Plaines River near Channahon, Illinois, said a recording on the Will County, Illinois, coroner's media line. They were found by a marine cleanup crew, the recording said. Authorities have not said whether the remains were thought to be those of a male or female.

Illinois State Police were on the scene Thursday conducting additional searches, spokesman Sgt. Tom Burek said.

Channahon is 20 miles from Bolingbrook, Illinois, where Stacy Peterson lived with her husband, former police officer Drew Peterson.
Watch police uncover skeletal remains »

Stacy Peterson disappeared in October 2007. Her husband has been named a suspect in her disappearance, but he has maintained his innocence, saying she left him for another man.

Stacy Peterson, 23 when she was last seen, was Drew Peterson's fourth wife. This month, Drew Peterson, 55, was indicted on murder charges in the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, while the two were in the midst of a nasty divorce. He has pleaded not guilty.

Savio's death was originally deemed an accident, but authorities took a second look at the case after Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

Channahon is also 15 miles from Plainfield, Illinois, where Lisa Stebic was last seen in April 2007.

On the day she went missing, she petitioned a court to have her husband, Craig, evicted from their Plainfield home. Craig Stebic told police he was working in the backyard when his 37-year-old wife left home about 6 p.m., taking her cell phone and purse.

Authorities have said they believe that Lisa Stebic was the victim of foul play and have named Craig Stebic a suspect.