Nov 16, 2007 5:30 am US/Central
Illinois Cop's 2nd Wife Says He Threatened Her
Claims Drew Peterson Said He Could Kill Her, Make It Look Like An Accident
BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ―
As the search for Stacy Peterson continues, one of her husband's ex-wives has claimed that he threatened and hit her during their marriage.
As CBS station WBBM-TV reports, Vicki Connelly made her remarks about Drew Peterson in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.
Connelly is Peterson's second wife. She said he told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident. She said Peterson has the experience, means, and mind to do so.
Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing since Oct. 28. Drew Peterson has said repeatedly that Stacy left him for someone else, and in a recent national television interview said he was not assisting in the search for her because she was not missing.
But Stacy's own family has said she would never abandon her children. Illinois State Police have named Drew Peterson a suspect in her disappearance, and have said she likely died in a homicide.
Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in a whirlpool-style bathtub on March 1, 2004. At the time, the Will County coroner's office ruled her death an accident, but the county state's attorney's office this week had her body exhumed for a new autopsy. A new ruling on whether she died in an accident, homicide or another manner is pending.
On Thursday, a five-member board ruled to grant Peterson his pension of nearly $6,000 per month. He submitted his resignation from the Bolingbrook Police Department on Monday, but the chief refused to accept his resignation, saying he wants the former sergeant to be part of an internal investigation.
Members of the Bolingbrook pension board said they were obligated to provide Peterson's pension.
"We don't want there to be any appearance of impropriety, and quite frankly on a case like this, I'm sure that we'll be subjected to some type of criticism," said Bolingbrook pension board attorney Richard Reimer.
The Bolingbrook Police Department pension board agreed, Peterson is entitled to his pension. He meets the requirements of being more than 50 years old and having served more than 20 years on the force.
What the board could not take into consideration is the fact police have named Peterson a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Stacy. Authorities have also exhumed the remains of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, saying her drowning appeared to have been staged to look like an accidental death.
"I'm not comfortable, obviously, with everything that has happened, but again, as our attorney has stated, our hands are pretty much tied," said pension board trustee Alyssia Lee. "So even if I abstained, it still would not make a difference in this hearing."
CBS legal analyst Irv Miller says Peterson is innocent until proven guilty and is entitled to his pension.
"If there's a conviction, the pension board can reconsider this pension, and they could say a policeman is a policeman 24/7, and if he committed a crime, if he committed a murder while he was a policeman, even off-duty, that should disqualify him for a pension," Miller said. "But we're nowhere near that point right now."
Miller says the only way Peterson would be denied his pension now is if he's convicted of a felony.
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