Nov 13, 2007 11:04 pm US/Central
Expert Performs 2nd Autopsy On Kathleen Savio
Death Of Suspended Cop Drew Peterson's 3rd Wife Was Ruled Accidental, But Is Being Reexamined
BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ―
Crews Tuesday morning exhumed the body of suspended Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson's third wife. The coroner said the autopsy was completed Tuesday night and the cause of death was still ruled as drowning.
The expert pathologist brought in to do the autopsy has completed 9,000 in his career. No ruling has been made yet about the manner of death, but authorities expect a ruling will be made within a couple of weeks at which point it should be known whether Savio died by accident, homicide or an unknown reason.
Kathleen Savio's death was originally ruled an accident. The mysterious of disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, prompted authorities to re-open the Savio case.
Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing for more than two weeks, and officials consider him a suspect in her disappearance. Her case has been classified as a homicide.
Just after daybreak with the gates of Queen of Heaven Cemetery locked and police on guard cemetery workers began the solemn work of exhuming Kathleen Savio. After a back hoe and two men with shovels opened the grave, a crane was used to hoist Kathleen Savio's casket from a plot at the Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in west suburban Hillside. A little more than an hour later, the casket was placed in a van that took the body for a new autopsy at the Will County coroner's office.
The Will county coroner and state's attorney were present for the disinterment, along with Illinois State police investigators. Also present was the Rev. Chris Groh, who is chaplain of the Joliet Police Department. He came because Savio's family had requested a Roman Catholic priest, and led officials in a brief service.
Will County law enforcement did not want anyone in attendance other than investigation officials. That included Savio's family members, who expressed disappointment that they could not attend.
"We don't know if anything's in place, as far as whenever they're going to put her back," said Savio's nephew, Charlie Doman. "We'd like to have a little memorial service or something for her, but as of now we don't know nothing. We haven't been in touch with any of the officials or anything like that."
"It's possibly, most likely, going to be just as hard as when she died; when she died back in 2004," added Savio's niece, Melissa Doman.
But more important to family members than being at Tuesday's exhumation is an investigation that they believe will finally bring Drew Peterson to justice.
"I think he did it… but without proof we can't say he did it," Charlie Doman said.
That's why they're hoping the exhumation will reveal tell-tale clues.
"We hope maybe there's some trace evidence like hair samples or skin samples or something," Charlie Doman said.
Melissa Doman believes the evidence gathered during the autopsy will vindicate an aunt whose cries for help, she says, fell on deaf ears when she was alive.
"She was in the prime of her life… that was taken from her," Melissa Doman said.
Savio was found dead in a whirlpool-style bathtub in March 2004. At the time, a six-member coroner's jury ruled her death accidental, but just last week, the coroner said it should have been classified undetermined.
Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said evidence suggests that someone killed Savio and tried to make it look like an accident. He moved to exhume the body in the hopes of gathering more information.
Sgt. Peterson hasn't been declared a suspect in Savio's death, but he has been in the investigation of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. A police investigator was seen dropping off papers at the home Tuesday. They were taken inside by a relative after a quick exchange. Drew Peterson was nowhere to be seen.
CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman and Mike Puccinelli, the Naperville Sun's Jennifer Golz, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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