[IL] 18 domestic reports before cop's wife - Kathleen's - "accident"

Previous blog entry:
[IL] Stacy Peterson, wife of Police Sgt. Peterson, is missing

18 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COMPLAINTS MADE IN POLICE SGT. DREW PETERSON/3RD WIFE KATHLEEN SAVIO HOUSEHOLD BEFORE THEIR DIVORCE. AFTER THE DIVORCE SHE WAS FOUND BLOODY WITH OLD BRUISES ON HER BODY, IN HER DRY BATHTUB. HER DEATH WAS ATTRIBUTED TO AN ACCIDENTAL DROWNING. HER TOXICOLOGY RESULTS CAME BACK CLEAN.

BOLINGBROOK POLICE CHIEF RAYMOND MCGURY:
"...I CAN'T GET INTO TOO MUCH OF THIS. AT SOME POINT, I, HOPEFULLY, CAN RELEASE THESE TO YOU AND THE MEDIA. KATHLEEN ALLEGES THAT SHE WAS HELD AGAINST HER WILL..."

FOLKS FROM AROUND THE NATION ARE TRAVELING TO BOLINGBROOK TO HELP SEARCHERS FIND PETERSON'S 4TH WIFE - STACY PETERSON - WHO IS NOW MISSING. STACY'S FAMILY INSISTED ON POLICE FROM OUTSIDE OF BOLINGBROOK FROM THE TIME THEY MADE THE MISSING-PERSON REPORT, SO NOW KATHLEEN SAVIO'S DEATH IS ALSO BEING REINVESTIGATED.

BOTH WIVES FEARED DEATH BY HIS HAND, AND TOLD OTHERS.


EXCERPTS FROM GRETA AND CHIEF INTERVIEW
[Video here]

FOXNEWS.COM HOME > ON THE RECORD W/ GRETA
Bolingbrook Police Chief Goes 'On the Record'
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
This is a rush transcript from "On the Record ," November 5, 2007...
CHIEF RAYMOND MCGURY, BOLINGBROOK POLICE: ...having reviewed the [Peterson's 3rd wife, Kathleen Savio] autopsy report, as a police officer — not as a professional doctor, not as a pathologist, not as a coroner — yes, it has piqued my interest. And I would concur with you, Dr. Baden and your viewers, that there's some questions in this that need to be answered... I can tell that you Sergeant Peterson has been a police officer with us for 29 years. When I arrived here in 2005, he was a sergeant assigned to the patrol division. That's his assignment currently today. He's an officer in good standing, meaning, just like other officers, you know, he's a police officer employed by the village of Bolingbrook. I know that Sergeant Peterson has discussed a recent discipline that he got. And I can't go into specifics. I can tell you that I disciplined him for a policy violation back in September that has absolutely nothing to do with any type of allegations of domestic violence, domestic abuse. It is totally a policy violation. And as a supervisor, I hold supervisors to a higher standard, so he was given discipline based upon an error in judgment... To my knowledge, as I sit here today and speak to you, there's nothing in his record to my knowledge that indicate any type of domestic violence, excessive use of force. None of that exists. You know, again, I can't get into much detail, but I can tell you that with much certainty that none of that exists... I believe in 1985, he was fired by the police and fire commission. Shortly thereafter, a Will County judge reinstated him based upon, I believe — and again, I'm not positive of this, but I believe it was excessive discipline and evidence or lacking thereof evidence. So he was reinstated through the court system, not by the police and fire commission... Sergeant Peterson shows up for work, does his job and goes home. I mean, nothing more, nothing less. I mean, he fulfills his duties as a police officer here.
VAN SUSTEREN: Have you heard of any complaints that were ever filed by Kathleen, who was wife number three before she died, complaints directed at him?
MCGURY: There was a series of complaints. And as I was speaking with your producer, I noted 18 different reports that were placed on file beginning, I believe, somewhere in February of 2002. And the last one was somewhere like November, I believe, of 2003. And again, if I can clarify something — and I believe if you run this by Mark Fuhrman, he would concur. Most of these domestic-type disputes, when I would be on the street — and that was a long time ago, but when I was on the street, we would show up at a house. We would, you know, restore peace, and then we would leave. And there were no reports filed. It was basically peace restored and back in service. The chief at the time that was here in Bolingbrook made a wise decision, I believe, and said that any issues pertaining to Sergeant Peterson and Kathleen Savio are to be documented. And so that's why we have 18 separate reports. And of those 18 — I spent my weekend going through all of these meticulously — nine of those are visitation issues. You didn't drop the kids off on time. Call the police, document it, so can I use it in court. You didn't drop the kids off, or You're not giving me the kids. So 50 percent of those had to do with that type of thing. And I think you had insinuated that on one of your programs, that you know, oftentimes these things happen. The other ones that I went through were insinuations where both of them claimed to be victims of. Battery and one of the cases — and again, I can't get into too much of this. At some point, I, hopefully, can release these to you and the media. Kathleen alleges that she was held against her will. The issue with that is it appears from reading the report that it took two weeks for her to report that to us... And also what's critical, at least in that case, is immediately when that case was filed, the police officers on scene transferred a copy of that report immediately to the domestic violence advocate, which is called — I believe is called Ground Break (ph). And so domestic violence — a separate third party now had knowledge of this case, and that case was also faxed to the Will County state's attorney's office...