Ex-Cop Drew Peterson Sentenced 38 Years For Murder

Drew Peterson, 59, was sentenced Thursday to 38 years in prison for the 2004 murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40, who was found in her bathtub and whose death had been ruled as an accidental drowning. However, when Peterson’s 4th wife, Stacy, who was just 23 years old, went missing in 2007, Savio’s case was reopened. Stacy Peterson is still missing.

Peterson, a former police officer, was eventually convicted of murder by a Will County jury, who took 14 hours to make a decision. Illinois does not have the death penalty and Peterson originally faced a sentencing as harsh as 60 years.

"The reason that I never looked Drew Peterson in the eye is because I never acknowledged his existence," Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said, CNN reports. “But I looked him in the eye today. He knows that we did our job."

Peterson’s ordeal was adapted into a Lifetime movie, Untouchable, starring Rob Lowe. When Peterson was given the opportunity to speak he lamented the movie and the legal process he believed betrayed him despite his more than 30 years of service. Peterson also screamed into the microphone, "I did not kill Kathleen!" at which point Savio's sister, Sue Dorman, yelled back, "Yes, you did!" —Hal Sundt

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