Crime Library: Criminal Minds and Methods

Drew Peterson: Wife Killer?

Trouble in Paradise

In 1985, the Bolingbrook Police Department fired Drew Peterson for official misconduct, according to The Chicago Tribune. Peterson's misconduct allegedly included disobedience of his superiors and failing to report a bribe while working a narcotics investigation. But after a legal battle that lasted into the next year, the department was forced to reinstate Peterson, when a county judge overruled the Bolingbrook Fire and Police Commission.

Although Victoria stood by her husband during his legal troubles, his behavior toward her didn't improve. "He put a microphone in our kitchen and taped our conversations," she told the Tribune. "He was cheating so much he wanted to make sure I wasn't."

By late 1991, Victoria was fed up with her husband, who was now involved with Kathleen Savio, whom he had met on a blind date set up by the wife of a fellow cop. On Valentine's Day 1992, Drew took Kathleen to Jamaica for a romantic holiday.

Four days later, on February 18, 1992, Drew and Victoria's decade-long marriage ended in a no-fault divorce, something she later described to the Tribune as "amicable."

"We had such a great life and he blew it," Victoria told the newspaper. "It wasn't good enough for him."

Less than three months later, Drew Peterson married his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Kathleen Savio
Kathleen Savio

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