Dec 11, 2007 10:30 pm US/Central
Source: Investigation Of Shooting At Peterson Home
Reported Shooting Occurred Prior To Stacy Peterson's Disappeance
(CBS)
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Former police Sgt. Drew Peterson stands in front of the garage of his home in Bolingbrook, Ill., on Nov. 17, 2007. He is a suspect in his wife's disappearance.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Investigators in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson case might be looking for a bullet hole in Peterson's Bolingbrook home, CBS 2 learned Tuesday night. The news comes as the former police officer makes a public plea for money.
It has been more than 40 days since Stacy Peterson disappeared and a source revealed for the first time that Stacy Peterson was nearly shot.
As CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinell reports, police investigators have been looking into a shooting that sources say occurred inside the Peterson home several months before Stacy Peterson disappeared.
At the time, sources say, Stacy Peterson was in the garage getting a soda at the request of her husband. Drew Peterson was in the master bedroom above the garage when his gun fired. The bullet reportedly went through the floor and slammed into the concrete garage floor about a foot behind where the young mother was standing.
A source says Drew Peterson claimed it was an accident involving his police-issued weapon. The source also says then-Sergeant Peterson never reported the shooting to authorities. It's not clear if the hole through the floor of the master bedroom was ever repaired.
CBS 2 has also learned that investigators are looking into reports that Peterson may have blown off a police-issued flash bang grenade on the Fourth of July two years ago.
It's all part of an investigation of what's been called a potential homicide case, a case with one declared suspect -- Drew Peterson.
"This is the biggest law enforcement effort in the country that's been launched against me," Drew Peterson said in Bolingbrook Tuesday evening. "Yeah, I'm under siege."
Meanwhile, in order to fight back against that "siege", Peterson has a new Web site aimed at helping raise money for his legal defense and to hire a private investigator to search for Stacy Peterson. Any remaining money will be put into a trust for Peterson's children.
The site was suspended Tuesday evening, possibly due to overwhelming traffic.
The site blames "media sensationalism" for creating hardship for Drew Peterson and his family.
Drew Peterson would not talk on-camera Tuesday about DefendDrew.com. But he did make a statement off-camera saying, "I worked hard all my life to earn the little I have. Defending myself has the potential to take all of that away from me and my family. I'm just trying to get some help from the American people."
And he's hoping that help will come in the form of cash. Suggested donations start at $5 and go all the way up to $250.
But Drew Peterson's attorney says his client is innocent until proven guilty and that's why he's asking the public to help level the playing field for Peterson in the face of what he says is an unprecedented law enforcement onslaught.
Attorney Joel Brodsky also says any money collected on DefendDrew.com will go into a trust account over which Peterson will have no control.
"If he would try foot the bill himself, he would be impoverished," Brodsky said. "He would lose his house, he would lose his cars. Him and his four minor children, the ones that he's supporting, would be homeless."
But Peterson neighbor Sharon Bychowski says her next door neighbor is a lot better off than most people.
"I think it's almost ludicrous at this point to think that people should send money to a man that's sitting in a home that's all paid for when we still need to find Stacy," Bychowski said.
Peterson has denied involvement in his wife's disappearance and has said she left him for another man.
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Pastor: Stacy Said Drew Peterson Admitted Killing 3rd Wife
A former police officer's missing wife once confided in a pastor that her husband admitted killing his third wife, according to a published report.
Former Westbrook Christian Church pastor Neil Schori told Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren that he was "reeling inside" after his conversation with Stacy Peterson.
Schori said he asked Peterson when they met in August at a coffee shop to clarify what she had said about her husband, Drew Peterson, and she responded, "'He killed Kathleen (Savio)."'
"And I was really blown away," Schori said in the interview broadcast Monday. "I was reeling inside."
Savio's body was found in her bathtub in 2004 and her death initially was ruled an accidental drowning. After Stacy Peterson disappeared in October, prosecutors opened another investigation into the Savio case and have said it appears her death was a homicide staged to look like an accident.
Stacy Peterson offered enough detail to be credible, said Schori, who declined to discuss those details in the interview.
"But it was very clear that this was not just speculation," he said. "She was not jumping to conclusions."
Joel Brodsky, Peterson's attorney, did not immediately respond to a telephone call after business hours from The Associated Press. But he said on the Fox program that "I'd love to get to cross-examine (Schori) because there are a lot of problems with his story."
Schori said he thought Stacy Peterson never shared the information about Savio with police. Asked why Stacy Peterson chose to stay with her husband after learning about his former wife's death, Schori said, "My guess would be out of fear."
Although he has not been arrested or charged, Drew Peterson, 53, has been named a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance by Illinois State Police, who have labeled the case a possible homicide.
Stacy Peterson was last seen Oct. 28 and reported missing by her family the next day. Drew Peterson, a longtime member of the Bolingbrook Police Department until he quit after his wife went missing, has denied any involvement in her disappearance. He has said he believes his wife left him for another man and is alive.
Last month, the Westbrook Christian Church's pastor of spiritual formation told The Associated Press that Stacy Peterson requested an August meeting with a member of their pastoral staff when the church made a routine call to see why she and Drew Peterson had not attended services in recent months.
The church official made a "judgment call" not to alert authorities and did not consult with other church staff, Rob Daniels said.
At the time he spoke to the AP, Daniels would not identify the clergy member who met with Stacy Peterson or say where the meeting took place.
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli in Bolingbrook and the Associated Press in Chicago contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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