Stacy Peterson’s sister: Stacy was found

“I am Cassandra Cales and on October 28th, 2007 my life changed forever when I couldn’t get a hold of my sister, Stacy Peterson, and my gut instinct told me that Drew had murdered her. She would never abandon her children or me. I have yet to stop searching. Through the years I have met a handful of great people and on the other hand I have met way too many shady glory-seekers wanting to gain something.”

“That being said, I have fought this fight for my sister alone as I trust very few. Law Enforcement has never worked with me or kept me apprised of their so-called “ongoing” investigation. I have to find out my information through a back channel of contacts and my own personal investigating. In all these years I have yet to have a vacation. I use my vacation and sick days from work to conduct searches. When those days run out, I still carry on my search at a financial hinderance. All monies I earn after each pay period I pay my bills and the rest goes to my search efforts. Any additional income, whether it be bonuses, tax returns, or selling my personal stuff, all goes to bringing my sister home. I will sell everything I own, if I have to, even my soul if I could, for my sister’s remains to be recovered. In all of my research and investigating and figuring out Drew’s timeline, travel, and whereabouts; I know the truth. It has come time for me to share with the world what I know, as I will no longer bite my tongue and wait.”

“Why am I coming forward with this now? What is the rush? It is because the Will County State’s Attorney and Illinois State Police are moving forward to charge Drew, in the near future and without her body, for the murder of my sister. That is not justice for me, not justice for her, and definitely not justice for her children. There are numerous people doing TV shows, documentaries, interviews, etc. and getting money, profiting off of my sister’s murder. It makes me sick and heartbroken that people would do this and it’s a story to everyone. It’s not a story to me; this is my life. So instead of all of these money-hungry people telling you, I feel like it should come from me as a victim, from my own heart and mouth.”

“Drew Peterson disposed of my sister’s body on the evening of October 28th, 2007, in the Sanitary and Shipping Canal, after having dropped off his step-brother. I have sonar images of her lifeless body on the bottom of the riverbed, which I will never release. That is not how I want the world to remember my beautiful sister. These images have already made it into the wrong hands of some of my past “searchers” back when I trusted people and thought they were trying to help. Law Enforcement messed up in 2007 and never sent divers down to recover her body.

They spent all of their time pulling cars out of the shipping channel (at night, so the media didn’t know) and didn’t care about doing the one thing they were supposed to be doing which was to get my sister out. I made the calls to see what they were doing, and they claimed that her body “could be wedged against one of the vehicles” even though the cars were in completely different areas than her body was at the time. If law enforcement would have done their job, I would have had my sisters body home, in the flesh, 22 days after Drew murdered her. I would not be where I am at today spending everything I have to retrieve her skeletal remains. I have pulled all of the money out of my 401k, maxed out all of my credit cards, and have hired the best of the best people and top notch sonar equipment to continue to track her remains down. Just last week I hired a dive team to go down to check some Sonar Targets for me, which personally cost me thousands.”

“When I go out, I go out and get things done. I do not need television people or camera crews following me. Just because you don’t see me out there or on the news doesn’t mean that I’m not out there still fighting to bring Stacy home. Believe me, I will not give up and I will never stop my search. I will continue my search alone and keep sonaring and hiring professional teams to come in.”

“Please share this post so that the world knows what happened and is still happening.”

Cassandra and Stacy

“I wish I could trade places with my sister. This was so unfair to her and her children. I lost my sister, who was a mother to me as I grew up, but also my best friend. I also lost her children, as I’m not allowed to see them. They continue to be kept away from me, for the stupidest reasons, and they continue to live in the murderer’s house with the murderer’s side of the family.”

“Stacy was the most amazing person anyone could have met. My love for my sister and my cherished memories of her are what keep me moving forward. She did not run off; she was murdered by her evil husband.”

“I already have future areas to dive on and the plans and permissions are in the works.”

“If you want to contact me personally, please email me at FindStacyPeterson@gmail.com or visit my website SearchingForStacyPeterson.com where you will also find a button to donate via paypal if you want to help.”

Has Stephen Peterson come to accept that his father is a murderer?

Yesterday the Lifetime Movie Network aired the season 2 premiere of their show, Monster in My Family, with Drew Peterson as the subject.

The somewhat exploitative show features the family members of convicted murderers telling of the struggles they face due to the nefarious actions of their loved ones and meeting with the families of victims to ask for forgiveness.

Kathleen Savio’s sister, Sue Doman (Savio), appeared in this episode as did Drew Peterson’s adult son Stephen Peterson.

It was surprising to see Stephen Peterson taking part in the show since he has eschewed interviews during the nine years or so since Stacy Peterson disappeared and his father became a household name.

It was more surprising, yet, that LMN promoted the show by saying that Stephen has now accepted that his father is a killer and that he had sat down with Kathleen’s sister in an attempt at reconciliation between the two estranged families.

Surprising, because Stephen has been taking care of Drew Peterson’s children since his father was arrested for murder in 2009, and lost his job on the Oak Brook police force when it was determined that he had interfered with an investigation when accepting guns and money from Drew in the days after Stacy’s disappearance.

Although Stephen has shied away from the publicity that his father eagerly courted and never publicly stated his stance, it has long been assumed that he supported Drew and was at best ignorant of his father’s crimes – at worst aided and abbetted them.

For years Stacy’s sister, Cassandra Cales, has stated publicly that she is not allowed to visit with her young niece and nephew because Drew has told Stephen not to allow it.

I watched the show with some interest but came away with more questions than answers about Stephen Peterson and his relationship to his father, and to the Savio and Cales families.

The show’s host, Melissa Moore, daughter of Keith Hunter Jesperson, known in the media as the “Happy Face Killer”, first interviewed Stephen asking, “Do you think your dad killed Kathleen?”

“I’d probably say so…That’s probably the first time I ever said out loud that I think he probably did it.” He replied. He expressed disappointment in his father that he says grew over time. “I don’t think he realizes what he’s done to Stacy’s family, Kathy’s family, our friends the kids – everybody.”

He said he didn’t agree with Stacy adopting Tom and Kris after Kathleen’s death because it erased Kathy from her sons’ birth certificates, but Drew did it anyway. Stephen thought it was done as a ploy to keep Stacy from leaving.

As for agreeing to meet with Sue Doman in a sort of Catfish type of set up, Stephen said he was willing to do it so that she and everyone else would see that he is not his father. “I would love some sort of closure for her or the kids but you know it won’t come from him (Drew).”

At the meeting Sue told Stephen that she hated Drew and had hated Stephen as well, believing him to possibly have been involved in her sister’s death. He told her that he was not and that he had thought Drew was innocent at the time of the murder.

There was discussion about the rift between the two families and the fact that the Savios had been cut out of the lives of Kathleen’s sons. Stephen said he hoped that would change.

This part of the discussion struck me as odd since Thomas and Kris are now adults and living independently. They are free to now see whoever they wish and I know that Sue and Tom have been in contact on Facebook, so this isn’t really an issue that Stephen has any control over.

On the other hand Stacy’s children are still minors and living with Stephen at Drew’s home, yet there was no mention of attempting to reconcile with the Cales family or grant Cassandra the visitation that she has long been asking for.

If Stephen has truly had a change of heart and wants to do right by his father’s victims, why on earth wasn’t this addressed during the show?

I try not to be cynical but I am fearful that Stephen Peterson isn’t sincere about the change to his attitude and beliefs.

I find it interesting that the turnabout has come only after another 40-year sentence has been tacked on to Drew’s prison time, essentially convicting him for life, and after Drew finally lost his pension – the pension that Stephen was receiving to help raise Stacy’s two children.

Somehow, I can’t help but believe that this late game change of heart has come about either at the behest of or with the blessings of Drew Peterson, in hopes that public opinion of Stephen Peterson will be swayed and with it, the return of Drew’s pension.

I do think it’s wrong to punish the child for the crimes of the father but I’ll have an easier time believing in Stephen Peterson when his transformation is complete and publicly includes both the Savio and the Cales families.

Drew Peterson takes murder conviction appeal to Illinois Supreme Court. Murder-for-hire trial set for next month.

Drew Peterson’s new mug shots for 2016

UPDATE 1/27/16: Despite having denied a motion to delay the beginning of the trial just last week, after a conference call between Judge Brown and attorneys Walker and Liefer, the judge agreed to continue Drew Peterson’s upcoming murder-for-hire trial in order to give both sides more time to prepare. The trial was originally set to begin the end of next month. The new trial date is May 6.

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Two months after his appeal was denied by the Illinois appellate court, Drew Peterson’s attorneys have taken his case to the state Supreme Court in hopes of overturning his 2012 conviction for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Case No. 120331

People v. Peterson, Defense leave to appeal granted 3/30/16 from 2015 IL App (3d) 130157

Whether the Appellate Court erred by finding that a decision in a prior appeal precluded it from considering whether evidence was properly admitted under the forfeiture by wrongdoing doctrine, where the prior appeal concerned only a different aspect of the doctrine – the possible application of a new statute. (§2-6(a))

Defense counsel: Stephen Greenberg, Chicago

Penned by attorneys Steve Greenberg and Harold Krent, the petition to appeal covers familiar ground, alleging that the admission of hearsay and “former bad acts” evidence to his the trial should not have taken place and resulted in the erroneous conviction of Drew Peterson.

The Illinois Appellate Court is also called out for having not seriously considered all of the arguments raised in the earlier appeal.

The appeal also, once again points the finger at Peterson’s former counsel and friend, Joel Brodsky, who they insist created a conflict of interest when he wrote a contract with Peterson that gave him a percentage of any money earned by media appearances. They also maintain that he erred when calling lawyer Harry Smith to the stand to testify that Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy, had asked him if she could get more money from a divorce arrangement if she threatened to tell how he had killed Kathleen Savio.

Interestingly, last week, a former client of Steve Greenberg’s, Albert Domagala, had his sentence overturned and was granted a new trial after a judge agreed that he had been granted ineffective assistance by Greenberg at his 2005 murder trial.

Joel Brodsky, naturally, took to Facebook and called it a case of “the pot calling the kettle black”.

In Peterson’s case, the filing does not ensure that the Supreme Court will hear the new appeal. The Chicago Tribune points out that the higher court “typically hears a small percentage of such petitions. For example, justices agreed to hear arguments in less than 5 percent of the nearly 1,500 petitions filed in fiscal 2014.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Randolph County Circuit Court Judge Richard A. Brown denied Peterson’s request to delay his trial in the solicitation of murder case.

Peterson’s attorney, Lucas Liefer told the judge that the defense and prosecution were still exchanging discovery in the case, “I don’t think we need a lot of time, but I don’t think it is realistic to say we will be ready to go to trial in a month,” he said.

Judge Brown replied that the calendar for March was already full, telling Leifer, “if you have to move cases aside to get ready for this, then do so.”

At least forty-six witnesses have been subpoenaed in the case, including experts in finger-print and audio recording evidence.

Jury selection for the trial will take place on February 26 and his trial will begin on February 29th in Chester, Illinois where he is incarcerated.

Drew’s prison correspondence continues to be of interest. Joel Brodsky took to Twitter to share his taunting of his former client via the postal service.

A man (with his own notorious past) who claims to be distantly related to Staacy Peterson, also wrote to Peterson in prison, and claims to have received an acerbic reply.

Stacy’s sister, Cassandra Cales, continues to search for her sister and to consult those claiming to be psychics for help in locating Stacy Peterson’s remains.

Most recently Stacy’s family has turned to a woman named Sharon Pugh, who calls herself the “Southern Style Medium”. Hugh was provided with items belonging to to Drew and Stacy Peterson, and by holding the items she says that Stacy joined them and told her that she had been wearing a heart shaped necklace when she died, which was removed before the disposal of her body. She hopes to have more sessions with the family.

Drew Peterson’s watches

Stacy Peterson’s cap

Today is Stacy Peterson’s birthday. She would have been 32.

 

Her youngest child turned 11 this month and celebrated with a trip to an indoor rock climbing facility and a lobster dinner.

Stacy with the children: Kris, Lacy, Anthony and Tom

Drew Peterson pleads Not Guilty to murder-for-hire charges

Artist’s drawing shows Peterson in court today with his attorney Lucas Leifer

This morning at a court appearance in Chester, Illinois, Drew Peterson waived a preliminary hearing and pleaded not guilty to having attempted to arrange the murder of State’s Attorney, James Glasgow.

Peterson appeared in court in a white dress shirt, black pants, dress shoes and leg shackles. He attempted to nod at reporters and joked with sketch artists, asking them to draw him smiling. When admonished by Judge Richard A. Brown he replied, “I understand.”

Two subpoenaed FBI agents (I believe their names to be Brian Clark and Chris Straub) did not testify today since the hearing was waived.

View this document on Scribd

Steve Nate from the Attorney General’s Office argued a motion for an order prohibiting Peterson’s attorneys and prosecutors from disclosing to the public any evidence in the case, which was granted. This was most likely filed to protect the identity of the jailhouse “snitch”, who is reported to have been a fellow inmate of Peterson’s, and outed in letters from another inmate as Antonio Smith. Last month, Peterson’s former attorney, Joel Brodsky, released those letters from inmate Adrian Gabriel, who claimed to have hatched a plan with Smith to set up Peterson with the solicitation charges. Brodsky says that Smith is presently under witness protection and living in Florida under an assumed name.

The state also filed a notice disclosing that Peterson’s case twice involved use of eavesdropping devices.

Peterson is next expected in court on April 14 for a case management conference and the case has also been placed on the July 2015 jury docket in Randolph County.

Stacy Peterson’s sister, Cassandra Cales, was in attendance.

Peterson’s new attorney, Lucas Leifer, says that he and his client do not want to try this case in public.

Sources:
Jon Seidel
Stacy St. Clair
Judici

Seven Years Later: Where is Stacy Peterson?

Stacy Peterson with her children and those of Kathleen Savio.

Stacy Peterson was last heard from seven years ago, today. At 10:15 on a lazy Sunday morning she texted a friend that she wasn’t ready to get out of bed to go help with some painting and then…silence. No more texts, no phone calls, no email, no sightings of her since that moment.

Her sister, Cassandra Cales, hung out with her the night before and was already nervous about Stacy’s well-being. She knew that Stacy wanted to divorce her police officer husband, Drew, but also that she was afraid he wouldn’t let her go. Stacy  warned her sister that night that if something were to happen to her “he did it.” Her neighbor, Sharon Bychowski, saw her sitting on the curb and crying in the days prior to her disappearance and Stacy told her then that she had lost hope of making it out of the marriage alive.

Stacy had confided a terrible secret to at least three people in the weeks prior to her disappearance – her husband had killed his third wife and had staged her death to look like an accident. She hoped that this dangerous information might buy her and her children an escape from Drew, but it probably cost her her life instead.

The night of October 28, 2007, Drew Peterson’s step-brother visited a friend and told him that he needed to unburden himself. He thought that he had just helped move a plastic container that held the body of Stacy Peterson from her house to Drew’s SUV. He had been given some money and he wanted to give some of it to his friend. The next day he attempted to take his own life with an overdose of Paxil, Xanax and alcohol.

Drew Peterson was eventually charged, tried and convicted for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, but he has maintained to this day that Stacy Peterson simply left him and her children on that Sunday, seven years ago. Numerous land and water searches have failed to turn up any evidence of her remains. Her sister, Cassandra, still searches for her with the assistance of volunteers.

If you have any information that can help this ongoing investigation, please contact the Illinois State Police who released a statement today:

“The Peterson case has always remained active and continues to be very active. While agents may not always be in contact with the family with every lead, they are still actively investigating the case. In fact, we have been following up on several leads – which we are not at liberty to make public or discuss at this time.”

Reporter Craig Wall tweeted this photo of his notes from Drew Peterson’s 2012 trial ready for recycling.

Some anniversary updates:

• Drew Peterson filed an appeal of his murder conviction in January of this year but is still awaiting a date in court for oral arguments.
• In March, The Bolingbrook Police Pension Board voted to hold hearings to determine whether Drew Peterson should lose his retirement pension (but no vote has happened yet).
• Also in March, the Illinois Supreme Court denied Stephen Peterson’s request to appeal the Appellate Court decision that upheld the Village of Oak Brook’s decision to terminate him from his position with the Police Department.
• In April, Walter Martinek, the friend who heard Tom Morphey’s confession about helping to move Stacy’s body, was killed in an auto accident.
• The Savio’s wrongful death suit against Drew was continued until January, 2015.
• In May, Stacy’s brother, Yelton, completed a prison sentence and was released.
• Cassandra stated that her visit with the Long Island Medium, Teresa Caputo, was a bust saying, “I think she was a fake, phony…”
• In July, Cassandra made public her intention to file paperwork to get Stacy legally declared dead, but today family spokesperson said they have changed their minds as they don’t want to risk Drew Peterson being able to collect on Stacy’s life insurance policy.
• As of today Cassandra is still searching for her sister.

“I’m not going to stop until she’s found. I will leave no stone unturned until I bring my sister home.”

Stacy’s Aunt Candace wrote a poem to commemorate the anniversary of the disappearance (used with her permission).

SEVEN YEARS!!!!

Seven Years and so many tears,
And still no answer to our fears!
Stacy Ann I love and miss you so much,
And your special endearing touch!
You left a big hole upon my heart,
Its hard to know where to pick up and restart!
It feels like life is empty space,
because not one can take your place!
It’s still so hard without you here,
You were so precious and so dear!
I miss you running all around,
And your voice I love the sound!
I still have your # in my cell,
How many times I call you, I never tell!
It feels like you’ll call me again someday,
But then, it’s only your message I can play!
You’re in my heart forever, you know,
And to your house, I love to go!
But for now I keep you here,
In my heart, you’re always near!
I know I’ll see your face again,
Although I don’t know exactly when!
I just know it will be a wonderful day,
Because God has ordained it that way!!!!
I love and miss you Stacy Ann!!!

Aunt candy

Thoughts on Stacy Peterson: Six years gone

Stacy Peterson, missing since 2007

Today is the anniversary of Stacy Peterson’s disappearance. In observance I am re-running a blog post from a year ago. Stacy Peterson is still much in the thoughts of those who knew her and they are still seeking answers about her whereabouts. If you have any information that can help this ongoing investigation, please contact the Illinois State Police.

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Stacy Peterson was last heard from six years ago, today. On a lazy Sunday morning, she texted a friend that she wasn’t ready to get out of bed and go help with some painting and then…silence. No more texts, no phone calls, no email, no sightings of her since that moment.

Her sister, Cassandra Cales, had been with her the night before and was already nervous about Stacy’s well-being. She knew that Stacy wanted to divorce her police officer husband, Drew, but that she was afraid he wouldn’t let her go. Her neighbor, Sharon Bychowski, had seen her sitting on the curb and crying in the days prior to her disappearance and had been told that she thought she would not make it out alive. She had confided a terrible secret to at least three people in the weeks before–that her husband had killed his third wife and that she had provided him with an alibi.

Stacy thought that this information might buy her and her children an escape from Drew, but it may well have cost her her life instead.

During Drew Peterson’s murder trial I received a lot of emails from people–really great emails for the most part filled with support for this site as well as the Savios, the Cales, and the prosecutors. Of course there were a few nutty negative emails as well, but those were expected.

But beyond that, there were also a few troubling emails. These came from people who, although they believed Peterson was guilty of killing Kathleen Savio, had difficulty accepting the idea that Stacy knew about her murder but did nothing about it until three years later when she wanted out of her marriage. These emails were from the nicest people you could imagine, who believed that Peterson killed not only Kathleen but Stacy as well, and they asked about this facet of the case tentatively, obviously not comfortable sharing their thoughts in the comments sections of the blog.

One woman, hoping that someone might have the answer just asked:

“I hope you can answer a question for me. After Neil Schori’s testimony yesterday, I have to wonder why Stacy Peterson waited until August of 2007 to tell her secret? That’s almost 3 1/2 years after Kathleen’s death. Why did Stacy wait so long to speak up?”

Another person took a few paragraphs to get to the point and then finally came out with it:

“Shame on Stacy. I don’t think she had one ounce of self-esteem and had no way of knowing right from wrong…She raised Kathleen’s son’s knowing their dad killed her. That’s messed up.”

It’s true that Stacy was not always kind to Kathleen during the first part of their relationship and that she later kept Drew’s dark secret for three years. However, she was only a teenager when they met and was no doubt under a good deal of control by Drew, so I factor that in when I think about her behavior towards Kathleen. I admit with some discomfort that I do find Stacy culpable to a degree for protecting Drew and providing him with an alibi.

That said, I guess I don’t dwell on it or feel anger towards her at this point because although I learned those facts of the case very early on, they were so eclipsed by the transgressions of Peterson himself.

In our country you have the right to be tried for your crimes and judged by a jury of your peers. Stacy Peterson was robbed of that right while her husband received the full benefit of the legal system. In my opinion, Drew Peterson was Stacy’s self-appointed judge, jury and executioner and he meted out a death sentence not as a matter of justice, but in order to hide a crime of his own. I think someday it will be proven in court that he killed her out of cowardice and greed. No matter what she might have been charged with, the sentence would not have been to be murdered at the hands of someone who had sworn to love and protect her.

I never think “shame on Stacy” because she never benefited from her right to representation and never got a fair day in court. She was abruptly silenced and denied the chance to either explain her actions or to defend herself against the slanderous accusations that have been made by Peterson and his lawyers since her disappearance.

It’s especially galling when you think about the fact that while Drew Peterson has now been convicted of the murder of Kathleen Savio, he still has parental rights over Stacy’s children and can legally keep her family from spending time with them.

Even if you feel that Stacy Peterson deserved punitive measures for not speaking up about the murder sooner, I don’t think there are many who would say that she hasn’t paid the price ten times over and then some.

She didn’t deserve to be killed and her children didn’t deserve to be robbed of their mother.

I try to take my cue from the Savio family who have found it in their hearts to put aside any resentment and have stood by the Cales to work towards getting justice for both Stacy and Kathleen. If the only people in the world who have a legitimate reason to be angry have demonstrated that they can get over it, so can you.

And of course there’s only one appropriate question to ask today: Where is Stacy?

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Drew Peterson Update: Gossip, Rumors and Innuendo

It’s been a while since there’s been any big news to report about the Peterson cases but that doesn’t mean nothing has been going on recently.

This summer there have been a few filings in the Savio’s wrongful death suit against Drew. Attorneys will be back in court on September 26 for Judge Power’s decision on the Savio’s motion for a summary judgement.

In August, prosecutors filed a motion requesting that Steve Greenberg step down from Peterson’s appellate team, claiming that the libel suit brought against Greenberg by Peterson’s ex-counsel, Joel Brodsky, created a conflict of interest for Greenberg. At the time of the filing Greenberg called the claim “absurd”.

Yesterday, Greenberg tweeted that Brodsky had withdrawn the libel complaint because he “didn’t comply with the rules (no surprise) and didn’t state a cause of action”. Greenberg went on to tweet that Brodsky has said he is going to re-file but needs to find an attorney to represent him.

Meanwhile, Joel Brodsky has shared the contents of some of his letters from Drew Peterson with a local Fox affiliate. He claims to have received nine letters from Peterson and made public a few excerpts from letters he received in March and April (Peterson began his prison sentence in February). The excerpts were complaints about the discomfort of prison life, and worries for his safety. This is consistent with the kind of letters Peterson wrote while in jail while awaiting trial, which he sent to the Sun-Times and other media outlets.

While public response to Peterson’s complaints has been overwhelmingly negative, his defense team questions Joel Brodsky’s decision to share any of the correspondence which was labelled as “legal mail” on the envelopes. In a Facebook comment, Steve Greenberg wrote, “Communications r fine. But keep em private. Don’t read them to a reporter” and Brodsky’s former law partner, Reem Odeh, wrote, “Are you serious? It’s all about integrity and the best interest of your client, respect for the law, justice system and integrity of your practice.”

Attorney Reem Odeh

Speaking of Reem Odeh, has Joel Brodsky really taken to Twitter to insinuate that she has ties to Nidal Hasad, the Fort Hood shooter? “Did you know that Hasan comes from the same village in West Bank as Reem Odeh, the former Drew Peterson atty. Distant cousins” he tweeted. “Odeh’s mother went to Hasan’s mothers home on the day of the shootings to express her sympathy and support. I was shocked.”

As for Peterson, it would appear that he has begun to adjust better to prison life since those April letters. More recently, his correspondents have been reporting that Peterson has started to make use of his popularity as a pen-pal to help out his fellow prisoners by sharing lists of inmates who would like pen-pals and to inquire about correspondence courses.

Cassandra Cales

Lastly, rumor has it that Cassandra Cales, sister of missing Stacy Peterson, has just returned from New York, where she consulted a celebrity medium, possibly to be aired as part of a reality show on TLC.

An appeal of Drew Peterson’s conviction is expected to be filed within the next 30 days.

Human remains found in a wooded area in the Chicago suburbs

UPDATE April 23: The DuPage County coroner’s office has identified human remains found in a wooded area of Woodridge on March 30, as those of 37-year-old Scott Anthony Arcaro of Lisle, who had been missing since 2007.

UPDATE April 17: DuPage County Coroner, Richard Jorgensen, says, “We continue our investigation and do not have any further reports at this time. We have multiple experts evaluating the remains and will do our best to communicate the results when they are finalized.”

UPDATE April 10: DuPage County Coroner’s Office said new information about human remains found in Woodridge could be released later this week. DuPage County Corner Richard Jorgenson said the ongoing investigation has not yet determined whether the remains are male or female, or cause of death; only that they are human.
“We are just beginning this process and can only confirm that we believe that we have recovered human remains,” Jorgenson said.

Meanwhile a status update by Cassandra Cales on the Stacy Peterson Facebook page, would seem to indicate that the remains are not those of Stacy Peterson:

****************************************************

On Saturday, March 30, while walking in a wooded area in the Chicago suburbs, two young people discovered what appear to be skeletal human remains. Although the area has been identified as the 7900 block of Lemont Road in Woodridge, Illinois, a search on Google maps identifies the town as Downer’s Grove. In any case, the area is about a 25 minute drive from Bolingbrook, where Stacy Peterson was last seen alive.

Route from the Peterson home in Bolingbrook to the Woodridge location where the remains were found

Numerous Illinois locations have been searched for the remains of Drew Peterson’s fourth wife, including the Sanitary Shipping Canal at Lockport; Shorewood, where Stacy’s cell phone pinged on the night of her disappearance; and even Peoria, reportedly searched after the ISP received what they believed to be a credible tip. Nothing was found in those searches.

Shortly after Drew Peterson was arrested in May 2009, human remains were found on the banks of the Des Plaines River and highly speculated to be those of Stacy Peterson. However, they were eventually identified as those of a young man from Woodridge named Scott Dudko.

From photos and videos of the scene the body appears to have been removed from a shallow grave.

There has been no indication yet about the gender, but it’s being reported that a dental examination is taking place today in an attempt to determine the identity of the remains. The Woodridge Police Department is handling the investigation. The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Unit and the Felony Investigative Assistance Team are also involved.

Entry to the wooded area off Lemont Road would seem to show walking trail access. (Google maps)

Families and friends of missing area people, including Stacy Peterson, Lisa Stebic, John Spira and others are no doubt anxiously awaiting the identification.

Read More at:
Chicago Tribune
ABC 7
Huffington Post
Patch

Thoughts on Stacy Peterson: Five years gone

Stacy Peterson, missing since 2007

Stacy Peterson was last heard from five years ago, today. On a lazy Sunday morning, she texted a friend that she wasn’t ready to get out of bed and go help with some painting and then…silence. No more texts, no phone calls, no email, no sightings of her since that moment.

Her sister, Cassandra Cales, had been with her the night before and was already nervous about Stacy’s well-being. She knew that Stacy wanted to divorce her police officer husband, Drew, but that she was afraid he wouldn’t let her go. Her neighbor, Sharon Bychowski, had seen her sitting on the curb and crying in the days prior to her disappearance and had been told that she thought she would not make it out alive. She had confided a terrible secret to at least three people in the weeks before–that her husband had killed his third wife and that she had provided him with an alibi.

Stacy thought that this information might buy her and her children an escape from Drew, but it may well have cost her her life instead.

During Drew Peterson’s murder trial I received a lot of emails from people–really great emails for the most part filled with support for this site as well as the Savios, the Cales, and the prosecutors. Of course there were a few nutty negative emails as well, but those were expected.

But beyond that, there were also a few troubling emails. These came from people who, although they believed Peterson was guilty of killing Kathleen Savio, had difficulty accepting the idea that Stacy knew about her murder but did nothing about it until three years later when she wanted out of her marriage. These emails were from the nicest people you could imagine, who believed that Peterson killed not only Kathleen but Stacy as well, and they asked about this facet of the case tentatively, obviously not comfortable sharing their thoughts in the comments sections of the blog.

One woman, hoping that someone might have the answer just asked:

“I hope you can answer a question for me. After Neil Schori’s testimony yesterday, I have to wonder why Stacy Peterson waited until August of 2007 to tell her secret? That’s almost 3 1/2 years after Kathleen’s death. Why did Stacy wait so long to speak up?”

Another person took a few paragraphs to get to the point and then finally came out with it:

“Shame on Stacy. I don’t think she had one ounce of self-esteem and had no way of knowing right from wrong…She raised Kathleen’s son’s knowing their dad killed her. That’s messed up.”

It’s true that Stacy was not always kind to Kathleen during the first part of their relationship and that she later kept Drew’s dark secret for three years. However, she was only a teenager when they met and was no doubt under a good deal of control by Drew, so I factor that in when I think about her behavior towards Kathleen. I admit with some discomfort that I do find Stacy culpable to a degree for protecting Drew and providing him with an alibi.

That said, I guess I don’t dwell on it or feel anger towards her at this point because although I learned those facts of the case very early on, they were so eclipsed by the transgressions of Peterson himself.

In our country you have the right to be tried for your crimes and judged by a jury of your peers. Stacy Peterson was robbed of that right while her husband received the full benefit of the legal system. In my opinion, Drew Peterson was Stacy’s self-appointed judge, jury and executioner and he meted out a death sentence not as a matter of justice, but in order to hide a crime of his own. I think someday it will be proven in court that he killed her out of cowardice and greed. No matter what she might have been charged with, the sentence would not have been to be murdered at the hands of someone who had sworn to love and protect her.

I never think “shame on Stacy” because she never benefited from her right to representation and never got a fair day in court. She was abruptly silenced and denied the chance to either explain her actions or to defend herself against the slanderous accusations that have been made by Peterson and his lawyers since her disappearance.

It’s especially galling when you think about the fact that while Drew Peterson has now been convicted of the murder of Kathleen Savio, he still has parental rights over Stacy’s children and can legally keep her family from spending time with them.

Even if you feel that Stacy Peterson deserved punitive measures for not speaking up about the murder sooner, I don’t think there are many who would say that she hasn’t paid the price ten times over and then some.

She didn’t deserve to be killed and her children didn’t deserve to be robbed of their mother.

I try to take my cue from the Savio family who have found it in their hearts to put aside any resentment and have stood by the Cales to work towards getting justice for both Stacy and Kathleen. If the only people in the world who have a legitimate reason to be angry have demonstrated that they can get over it, so can you.

And of course there’s only one appropriate question to ask today: Where is Stacy?

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Sisters of Stacy Peterson and Kathleen Savio to speak at domestic violence event

Sue Doman

Peterson in-laws to speak at domestic violence event
Tom Collins, Staff Writer, LaSalle News Tribune

Each year Zonta International holds a luminary to support the often silent victims of domestic violence. This year, the group welcomes two speakers who can testify to the pain of abuse.

Sue Doman and Cassandra Cales will speak at the program scheduled at 6:45 p.m. Thursday at First Congregational Church in Ottawa, following an awareness walk beginning at 6:30 p.m. across the street in Washington Square.

Doman and Cales are the respective the sisters of Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson, both of whom were married to convicted murderer Drew Peterson. Savio was drowned in a bathtub — Drew recently was convicted of her murder — while Stacy Peterson disappeared and has never been found.

Cassandra Cales

Diane Martin, a Zonta member and assistant La Salle County circuit clerk, approached both women and found them eager to speak about their experiences at Thursday’s event.

“They are extremely excited about spreading the word about domestic violence,” Martin said. “Cassandra also hopes the more exposure they get then perhaps someone will find Stacy and bring her home.”

The event is sponsored by the Zonta Clubs of Ottawa, La Salle-Peru and Streator.

Anyone who’s been victimized by domestic violence is encouraged to contact ADV/SAS toll-free at (800) 892-3375.

For more information, contact Susan Bursztynsky at susan.zonta@mediacombb.net.

Source: LaSalle News Tribune

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