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Nancy Grace
Peterson`s Second Wife Tells Similar Tale of Control and Threats
Aired November 16, 2007 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIKE BROOKS, GUEST HOST: Tonight: His fourth wife is missing, his third wife is dead, and now wife number two finally comes forward. Drew Peterson remains a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, this as authorities investigate the mysterious bathtub death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Tonight, wife number two speaking out, saying her marriage to Drew Peterson was controlling and abusive, the same allegations of the families of wife three and four. Plus, Vicki Connolly says Drew Peterson threatened to kill her and make it look like an accident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vicki Connolly was married to Drew Peterson for 10 years. She says during their marriage, he became increasingly controlling and told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident. Connolly also says that Peterson was abusive. Now, police have named 53-year-old Drew Peterson as their prime suspect in 23-year-old Stacy`s disappearance. They`re also reinvestigating Kathleen Savio`s death, his third wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`d like to say three strikes, you`re out, at this point. But there definitely is a pattern here, a history. And my first reaction is, is there a number five out there?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: Good evening. I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Tonight, wife number two breaks her silence, speaking about her marriage to Drew Peterson. The veteran`s police sergeant`s third wife is dead and fourth wife is missing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More allegations swirling around the Illinois cop whose wife has been missing for two weeks, the second wife of Drew Peterson now talking about her marriage to the man who police say is the prime suspect in the disappearance of wife number four. Vicki Connolly was married to Peterson for 10 years back in the `80s, and she says she`s been watching all of this unfold with disbelief. She said that during their marriage, Peterson beat her and threatened to kill her, saying he could make it look like an accident, saying that she was so worried that she did tell some of their police officer friends. Investigators are no
looking into the death of Peterson`s third wife. It was ruled accidental, an accidental drowning, despite some questionable circumstances, back in 2004. That`s Kathleen Savio`s picture there. Her body was exhumed earlier this week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: Good evening. I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Well, wife number four, Stacy Peterson, is still missing. Wife number three, Kathleen Savio, her body exhumed days ago and now undergoing an autopsy. And now we hear from wife number two, Vicki Connolly.
For the latest, let`s go out to Chicago and Kathy Chaney, reporter for "The Chicago Defender." Kathy, what`s the latest from Bolingbrook right now?
KATHY CHANEY, "CHICAGO DEFENDER": The latest is that Drew is -- he`s able to collect his pension right now. They can`t stop him from doing that. Wife number two has spoken out, and she said those same disturbing things that was noted in Kathleen`s documents to her attorney, that if something happened, he said he could make it look like an accident.
And also, wife number one, her husband spoke for her. She didn`t want to make comments herself. But she said that she had not endured any abuse during her marriage with Peterson.
BROOKS: Do we know when the exact times he was married to wife number one?
CHANEY: No, I do not. I do not know those exact times.
BROOKS: Now, you said he`s going to receive his pension. We talked a little yesterday, that he`s going to receive quite a hefty sum. I mean, I`m a retired law enforcement officer, and I tell you what, he`s going to receive some good money for being a retired sergeant from a department that`s a relatively small department in Bolingbrook.
Now, it was -- they said there in the town that there were some people on the pension board that didn`t want him to receive the pension. Why not?
CHANEY: I guess the circumstances surrounding everything that`s going on. But like they said, because of the statute, they couldn`t stop it, whether they voted no or not, so there was no choice but to say yes.
BROOKS: Now, joining us from Washington, D.C., is Michelle Sigona, correspondent for "America`s Most Wanted." Michelle, you spoke to Kathleen Savio`s family just recently. What did they have to say?
MICHELLE SIGONA, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": Well, here`s what`s going on right now. We do have a crew on the ground in the area. Kathleen Savio -- they have brought in a doctor from New York City to come in and to perform a second autopsy on Kathleen`s exhumed body. Now, that autopsy was just completed in the last 20 minutes.
BROOKS: No, this would be -- no, this would be the third, because we had the first one...
SIGONA: Right.
BROOKS: ... when she died. Then we had Dr. Blum, who was doing the one just completed and going over his findings now. And this is another one?
SIGONA: This is another one. This is one that has been requested specifically by the family. And listen to this. The family just told us within the last 15 minutes that they said that he came out and that Dr. Baden has ruled this as definitely a homicide. Also, Dr. Baden said that - - told the family and the family told "America`s Most Wanted" that she was killed outside of the bathtub and then placed into the bathtub. He also said that she was possibly -- Kathleen was possibly injected with poison.
Now, toxicology reports have been sent off. It`s going to take about two to three weeks to be able to get those results back. But as you can imagine, the family is extremely distraught right now, especially knowing that Kathleen, you know, may have gone, you know, who knows how many hours of -- of abuse.
BROOKS: Now, Michelle, you said the doctor, Dr. Baden, thinks she was injected with a poison.
SIGONA: Possibly.
BROOKS: What is leading him to this?
SIGONA: I`m not too sure. This is just something that the family has told our crew on the ground, something that he told them specifically, and that`s why he`s sending off these toxicology reports. But again, Mike, it`s going to take about two to three weeks to get those results back.
BROOKS: So he already has now conducted the third autopsy, correct?
SIGONA: Yes, that third autopsy is complete.
BROOKS: Now, why did the Savio family think that they needed to do an independent autopsy? Because the doctor they brought in, the state brought in, to reexamine her remains after she was exhumed, he is -- Dr. Blum is also an independent forensic pathologist.
SIGONA: Absolutely. You know, I think, at this point, the family has just gone through so many ups and downs and twists and turns, and they want to know for themselves (INAUDIBLE) if their family member has to be dug back up from the ground and brought back up to here on earth to do an autopsy, they want to make sure that it`s not just done again but it`s done their way and they have their own results.
BROOKS: You know, it`s very interesting that they want to do that. You know, maybe there is some mistrust, especially after the first autopsy, where it seems to me, as a former investigator, that the Illinois State Police totally botched the initial investigation.
SIGONA: And you know, in the autopsy report, they really did state a lot of these facts, Mike, as you know. But it seemed like in that inquest hearing in front of the jury that some of that information was sort of may have been misrepresented, and that`s why they ruled in the decision that they made.
BROOKS: Well, you know, and I agree with you because I`ve been saying all along, Michelle, as a former investigator who`s actually investigated homicides before, been to autopsies, the investigator for the Illinois State Police, when he was there at this coroner`s inquest, he said that -- he testified to the scene. He was never at the scene.
SIGONA: Never at the scene.
BROOKS: And he testified to the autopsy and was never at the autopsy.
SIGONA: Never at the autopsy.
BROOKS: And we hear another police veteran the other night, Deputy Inspector Ron Schindel, said right here on set with me and told me that`s not the way things are done.
BREMNER: No, it should not be the way that things are done. I mean, for gosh sakes, if you`re going to have someone go, especially someone representing the investigation, as you know, with all of your experience, you bring someone who has actually been to the scene, someone who`s actually been to the autopsy, someone who can actually speak about the crime.
BROOKS: Exactly. Now, initially, when her body was exhumed -- again, it`s very, very painful. And I know Kathleen Savio`s family has been here, has talked to us, her nephews, her friends, they`ve talked to us, and it`s very very difficult. They`re having to relive this again, her body being taken out of the ground there at Queen of Heaven cemetery in the town. And -- but for this to happen, there was a petition for exhumation. And I just want to read -- I just want to read our viewers some of the bits that allowed them to go ahead and do this.
Now, there was another medical examiner. They`re reexamining this. James Glasgow, the state`s attorney for Will County, Illinois, in this petition for exhumation, he goes on to say that additional evidence has been obtained relative to the death of Kathleen Savio during the investigation into the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.
It goes on to say that a review of the photographs of the crime scene and autopsy, the autopsy protocol and police reports show in part that the one-inch gash on the back of Kathleen Savio`s head did not render her unconscious, which would have been necessary for her to accidentally drown in the bathtub. And keep it in mind, folks, that they initially said that she died of -- it was an accidental drowning in the bathtub, this empty bathtub.
The report goes on to say that this injury, this head wound, would have bled profusely, but the blood evidence in the tub is not consistent with an accidental drowning followed by the water slowly leaking out of the tub. There are abrasions on her left elbow and buttock that are not consistent with having been caused by smooth surfaces in the tub area during the fall, that this evidence is consistent with, quote, "staging" of an accident to conceal a homicide.
And then it goes on to say that the undersigned has consulted with Kathleen Savio`s family, Henry Savio, her brother, Henry Savio, her brother (SIC), Anna Doman, and nephew, Charles Doman, and they all fully support the exhumation.
Right now, I want to bring in, joining us here in -- out of LA, Howard Oliver. He`s a former deputy medical director and forensic pathologist and is a man who can shed a lot of light on this particular case. Thank you for being with us.
DR. HOWARD OLIVER, FMR. DPY. MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Yes.
BROOKS: Now, this report that I was just talking about, this new exhumation, now, undergoing three exhumations (SIC), what do you -- what do you glean by having -- happening to have three exhumations -- three autopsies after this exhumation, Doctor?
OLIVER: Well, I`ve done many second autopsies. It`s very unusual to see a third autopsy. Each autopsy will glean you less and less information. Many times, a family wants a second autopsy because they don`t trust the first, in that they`re associated with the authorities. They may be all county employees, so their opinions are skewed in that direction. So I do a lot of autopsies as a second opinion. I hardly ever see a third one, however. But anyway, most people want a second autopsy because they don`t trust the first one due to the fact that they`re associated with the authorities.
BROOKS: Now what do you make of Mr. Glasgow, the state`s attorney for Will County, Illinois, saying these things in this order for exhumation, that maybe it was staged? Will they be able to tell? And help us explain how a potential homicide can look staged.
OLIVER: Well, if you know -- for instance, like, if you`re a law official, you would know how to stage a homicide to look like an accident.
BROOKS: Say that one more time? Say that one more time?
OLIVER: You could -- as a law official, you`ve seen enough accidents and homicides that you could stage one to look like the other. But from a forensic pathology standpoint, however, it would be difficult for me to make a statement like, It was staged. Maybe you could glean that sort of information from an investigation report, but the things I deal with are strictly objective.
BROOKS: Right. Now, this body has been in the ground for a number of years. Now, when they exhumed her -- and now we`re hearing the third doctor who has done -- who has done an autopsy now saying it`s a possibility of using poison. Would they be able to detect this right now?
OLIVER: Yes, they should be able to detect poison.
BROOKS: And how would they do that?
OLIVER: Through toxicological evaluation at a toxicology laboratory.
BROOKS: Now, we`re hearing that the casket -- that the gasket on the -- on the casket, the seal, was not very good and water possibly could have gotten in there. Is this going to make any effect into any of the findings?
OLIVER: It shouldn`t have any effect on the findings. In this country, the embalming process is very sophisticated, and the body is usually very well preserved even through a leaking casket.
BROOKS: Very interesting. Let`s go to the lines. Roger from Virginia, thanks for joining us. You have a question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. I was wondering, due to the length of time this poor lady`s been -- you know, been deceased, what type of testing could they possibly do, being that the body`s probably been decomposing for this long?
BROOKS: Howard Oliver?
OLIVER: Again, the body should be very well preserved since it`s been embalmed. The only processes you`ll lose with decomposition are normal or rather causes of death, you know, like pneumonia or something like that, that could be lost microscopically in soft tissues. But other causes, from, like, trauma, like broken bones...
BROOKS: Right.
OLIVER: ... contusions, abrasions, that sort of thing, will still be there. Toxicological evaluations should still be valid. You can get adequate sampling from liver tissue, from kidney tissue, even though you`ve lost the blood.
BROOKS: And I think what you just said is very important. The broken bones, the contusions, all those should still be visible, and that`s going to play a lot into this report that we heard that says this could be staged and that the wounds are not consistent with an accidental drowning.
Joining me here in studio in New York is a very, very special guest. His name is Ric Mims. He`s a friend of Drew Peterson and has known him for quite some time. Thanks for being with us, Ric. How long have you known Drew?
RIC MIMS, FRIEND OF DREW PETERSON: Twenty-seven years.
OLIVER: Twenty-seven years.. And how did you two first come to know each other?
MIMS: I was working at a local carry-out grocery store. I was stocking the cooler, and all the police officers used to come in there and buy their coffee.
BROOKS: I understand that. I used do the same thing. I had some places I always used to frequent when I was on patrol.
MIMS: That`s when I met him the first time. And then a few years later, I was about 18 years old, and there was a sports bar in town. He was the hired police officer in uniform to work the door, and that`s when we became really good friends.
BROOKS: Tell us about the Drew Peterson that you know.
MIMS: The Drew Peterson I know is not this Drew Peterson that`s on TV here -- I mean, talking about these wives and possible foul play that he has (INAUDIBLE) The Drew Peterson I knew, he`s a good family man. I mean, from what I seen. I never really got into his personal life.
BROOKS: Right.
MIMS: But every time I was around, I mean, the kids were well mannered. They`re well groomed. They`re such well-behaved children. The house is immaculate. Every time I was around him and Stacy, they seemed to be happy.
BROOKS: Now, going back to when he was working off-duty, you know, at the place you were, the bar, how was he with people, with, you know, patrons as they were coming in and that kind of thing? What was his interaction with people?
MIMS: He was a big flirt with the ladies.
BROOKS: He is?
MIMS: Oh, yes. There`s no doubt about that.
BROOKS: He`s always been a big flirt with the ladies?
MIMS: Yes.
BROOKS: Going -- going back even...
MIMS: That`s not a big secret in town.
BROOKS: What do you -- what do you mean by that?
MIMS: Oh, a lot of people in town know that Drew is a big flirt with the ladies.
BROOKS: Really?
MIMS: Yes.
BROOKS: Now, what do you mean by big flirt?
MIMS: I wouldn`t say a womanizer, but just very over-flirtatious, chasing (ph) a little bit here and there.
BROOKS: Oh, really?
MIMS: Yes.
BROOKS: Chasing? How so?
MIMS: You know, I -- just flirting. You know, he`s a big flirt. If (INAUDIBLE) ever caught his eye, he was definitely intrigued by it.
BROOKS: Well, we want to delve into that a little bit more. We want to hear more about what -- the Drew Peterson you really know.
But first, to tonight`s "Case Alert." A day care owner admits placing a 4-year-old boy in her car trunk and driving almost a mile, all as punishment. According to the Washington State Police, Linda Clark (ph) says she put the boy in the trunk because he tried to slam her hand in a door and bit another child. The state has pulled Clark`s license and prosecutors weigh charges
And tonight, Nancy has a brand-new message about the twins. So check out the new message plus photos and video. Go to CNN.com/nancygrace and click on Nancy`s baby blog.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Drew Peterson`s second wife told "The Tribune" all about their rocky relationship. She says that Peterson was abusive and told her that he could kill her and make it look like an accident. But of course, Stacy Peterson`s family is reacting to that explosive interview.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to say three strikes, you`re out, at this point, but there definitely is a pattern here, a history. And my first reaction is, is there a number five out there?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Thanks for joining us. Well, wife number four, Stacy Peterson, remains missing. Wife number three, Kathleen Savio, now we hear has had a third autopsy performed on her body that was exhumed days ago. And now we hear wife number two speaking out.
But joining me right here in studio is a very special guest, Ric Mims, friend of Drew Peterson. We were just talking about -- a few minutes ago, Ric, about -- about Drew. And you say he was kind of a flirt. Did you ever see him exhibit any violence at all?
MIMS: Other than at his job, when he was working the door at the bar and he had to throw some of the drunks out, that`s the only time I`ve ever seen him violent.
BROOKS: Did you know Stacy?
MIMS: Yes, I was friends with Stacy.
BROOKS: Tell us about Stacy.
MIMS: Oh, Stacy, she`s -- she would walk in the room and the room would light up.
BROOKS: I just saw your face light up, so...
MIMS: Yes, she -- I mean, she was just that -- just that much of a person to be around. You loved to be around her. You never knew what I was going to come out of her mouth. You never knew. I mean, she just had some humor in her and you just waiting for anticipation, what`s going to be next. When it came to her kids, she loved them kids. I`m telling you, those were her babies.
BROOKS: Well, you know, Drew is saying that she ran off with somebody. What do you think about that?
MIMS: I find that hard to believe.
BROOKS: Hard to believe why?
MIMS: Well, at first, when Drew first told me that, and that was that Tuesday night, I was still kind of in shock about the whole thing. So the main thing was that I wanted to help take care of the kids, let him get his head together. But as details came out, like with his timeline not matching up with the cars being in the driveway, and then the car shows up over at Clow (ph), which is, like, a five-minute walk from his house, and then the...
BROOKS: So where they found the car was a five-minute walk from their house?
MIMS: Correct.
BROOKS: And he found the car.
MIMS: Stacy supposedly called and told him that she found somebody else, she`s taking a vacation, If you want the car, it`s parked over at Clow.
BROOKS: And if that -- what did he say what time that was?
MIMS: 9:00 o`clock, 9:00 PM.
BROOKS: 9:00 PM.
MIMS: Right. When I asked him when the last time he saw Stacy, he said, Well, when he got up at 11:00 AM, she was already gone. But from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM, both cars were still in the driveway.
BROOKS: How do you know this?
MIMS: Sharon (ph), the neighbor, plus all the neighbors` reports from (INAUDIBLE) all created a timeline.
BROOKS: Right. So both cars were there when he said that she had already left.
MIMS: Right.
BROOKS: So that`s what`s not adding up, in your mind?
MIMS: Exactly.
BROOKS: Now, you -- initially, you were a big supporter of Drew.
MIMS: I was. And I still -- Drew`s still a friend. It`s just the facts aren`t adding up. And at one point, your common sense has got to take over. (INAUDIBLE) listen, you`re my friend, but I think you`re into some serious trouble and I`m just going to back away from you for a while.
BROOKS: Very interesting. I want to come right back to that.
Tonight`s "Case Alert." New clues in a search for missing Tennessee missing Nikki Sisounong, last seen October 31. Police identify a mystery man caught on surveillance using her ATM card, the same man also caught on video driving the young mom`s car. Since then, her car found abandoned at the National Airport. According to her son, Sisounong`s boyfriend is a person of interest and is the man on that surveillance video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More allegations swirling around the Illinois cop whose young wife has been missing for more than two weeks. Vicki Connolly was married to Peterson for 10 years back in the `80s. She says that during their marriage, Peterson beat her and threatened to kill her, saying he could make it look like an accident, saying that she was so worried that she did tell some of their police officer friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Well, wife number four, Stacy Peterson, still remains missing in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Joining me here on set, very special guest, Ric Mims, who`s known Drew Peterson for 27 years. Now, we were just talking about the timeline, and you said it doesn`t add up to you.
MIMS: No, it doesn`t.
BROOKS: At all. When`s the last time you talked to Drew?
MIMS: Last time I physically seen him was the Saturday that I left his house.
BROOKS: Now, you say you left his house?
MIMS: Yes.
BROOKS: Why did you leave the house.
MIMS: After I confronted him about the timelines and he told me that the neighbor, Sharon, was lying about the timelines -- and I know Sharon. You know, she`s a pretty good woman. I find it very hard to believe that Sharon lied. And in the match (ph), there`s other people that confirmed the cars were there. So all these people now all of a sudden are lying to him?
BROOKS: Are you scared of Drew Peterson?
MIMS: I`m not scared of him, I`m scared for him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wife number one of Drew`s was a high school sweetheart. They met very young. Wife number two, they were married for about 10 years between the early `80s and early `90s. And he met wife number three while he was still with wife number two.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have sources inside this investigation who say that he tapped the phones of each of his four wives repeatedly to monitor their conversations and to see who they were talking to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people told us that Drew had a lot of women on the side all throughout his career at the Bolingbrook Police Department, and everybody around knew about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. That was Jon Leiberman from "America`s Most Wanted" talking about the number of women in Drew Peterson`s life, and we just heard from a good friend of his from his home town, Ric Mims, that, in fact, he was kind of a ladies` man.
Now, yesterday -- two days ago now, he was on the "Today" show with Matt Lauer. Liz, do we have that ready? I would like you all to listen to what Drew Peterson had to say on the "Today" show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, "TODAY": Why do you think Stacy was concerned that something was going to happen to her and that they would need to look for her?
SGT. DREW PETERSON, SUSPECT IN STACY PETERSON`S DISAPPEARANCE: I don`t know. I don`t know.
LAUER: Would you describe your relationship as volatile? Was it ever violent?
PETERSON: I don`t believe it was ever violent.
LAUER: You`d either know it was violent or not violent.
PETERSON: There was a few incidences where, like, Stacy and I would have verbal confrontations and I would be in her face, and she hated being cornered and one time, she hit me in the head with a frozen steak. And OK, I...
LAUER: Did you ever hit her?
PETERSON: Never. Never.
LAUER: Never raised a hand to her?
PETERSON: Never raised a hand to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: That was video of Drew Peterson on the "Today" show. A very calm Peterson talks about his relationship with his missing wife, Stacy.
Right now, I want to bring in the attorneys. Joining us is Dan Horowitz from San Jose, California, defense attorney, and Darryl Cohen from Atlanta, another defense attorney. All right, guys, you`ve heard the case laid out before you. You`ve heard him for the last number of days, "Today" show, and you`ve heard one of his good friends, 27 years, talking about him. And you`ve heard our panelists over the last week saying, Just stay at home and shut your mouth.
Dan, how do you defend this guy?
DANIEL HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, Mike, this is an easy case to defend. It`s not even going to get to the courtroom.
BROOKS: Oh, come on! What do you mean it`s not even going to get to the courtroom?
HOROWITZ: He`s a bad guy. Everybody knows that you don`t want your sister dating him. But there`s not a shred of evidence -- and you know this, Mike. As an investigator, you know that there`s not a shred of physical evidence tying him to the crime. You would not make an arrest, and no one should. This guy is going to walk. If they...
BROOKS: What about -- what about the grand jury and all the people they`re bringing in front of the grand jury right now?
HOROWITZ: So what? What are they going to say? There`s no physical evidence. There`s no body. There`s nothing -- even if she`s dead, there`s nothing tying him to the crime. He is, at this point, legally -- I`m not saying in reality -- legally, he`s stone, cold innocent, to quote Mark Geragos.
BROOKS: OK, well -- OK, Darryl, what about Kathleen Savio, wife number three? Now they`re looking at it. It was ruled accidental drowning. Doesn`t look like that anymore, does it.
DARRYL COHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Mike, maybe it is a homicide, but can you tie him to it? I don`t think so. What we do know is after one, two, three autopsies, that we have a dead woman, we have a dead woman, we have a dead woman. Choose your autopsy report. It would be very interesting to see what the last two autopsies have to say.
And I agree with Dan. Whether it gets to court or not, at this point, with what we know, there`s no way that a jury`s going to convict. It wouldn`t get past, at least in my view, a directed verdict. And a good assistant U.S. attorney -- excuse me -- assistant state attorney is not going to try this case absent a lot more evidence.
BROOKS: Well...
COHEN: Now, you do have some problems that if it gets to court, they`re going to bring in his wife from long before, who, by the way, finally has a good memory and remembers what she was worried about...
BROOKS: No, I think -- you know, they -- they had talked to her before, Darryl. She`s been interviewed, along with wife number one, by law enforcement. But the thing is, she just hadn`t come out in public. But now she has, and we`re going to hear a little bit more of what she has to say. And I tell you what. It doesn`t bode well for Drew Peterson. Don`t you think?
COHEN: Well, I`ll tell you what. If she was really concerned the way she says she was, then where was she for the past several years? If she was really concerned that he is going to be dangerous, the worst thing she could have done was to remain silent. The best thing she could have done for his defense now is to have remained silent. Just absolutely not going to work.
BROOKS: Well, we`ll see what happens.
Let`s go to the lines. Diane from Florida, thanks for calling us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you`re welcome. I`m an avid watcher. I have a question about the children. He`s a suspected (ph) killer -- and I use that term loosely -- he`s a violent person and yet he has custody of the children?
BROOKS: Ric Mims, you just came from there. Where are the children right now?
RIC MIMS, FRIEND OF DREW PETERSON`S: When I left, the two youngest children were with his older boy, Steve, who`s a police officer also, and...
BROOKS: His older son is also a police officer?
MIMS: Yes, he is.
BROOKS: Interesting. In Bolingbrook.
MIMS: No, no, no.
BROOKS: OK.
MIMS: In another community. And the two that are in middle school and high school were staying with friends in the community so they can continue to go to school.
BROOKS: Interesting. That`s something we had never heard.
Right now, I want to go out to Norma from Florida. You have a question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Thank you for taking my call, and blessings...
BROOKS: Thank you for calling in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... blessings to Nancy`s babies. I wanted to know if the family could prosecute the coroner who botched up the autopsy report? And also, did Drew Peterson ever have to do any cases that involved this coroner? Thank you.
BROOKS: OK, let`s go to Michelle Sigona first. Do you know if Drew Peterson ever had any cases including the coroner in the first autopsy?
MICHELLE SIGONA, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": Not that I`m aware of at this time, but that`s not saying that he hasn`t. I mean, he did have a 30- year career at that police department. So it`s hard to tell who he`s had dealings with and who he hasn`t. A lot of things are still unfolding for us.
BROOKS: And Dan Horowitz, her question about -- about suing -- about maybe a civil case.
HOROWITZ: No way. I mean, this coroner acted in good faith. And you know, just because we think he made a mistake doesn`t mean he gets sued years down the line. He`s got immunity for doing his job. Most police officers do, Mike, and judges and to a large degree, thank goodness, lawyers.
BROOKS: Well, you know, and he`s going to get his pension because if they can`t prove that there`s any felony that was job-related, he is still going to get his fairly hefty pension.
HOROWITZ: It`s his money.
BROOKS: It is -- I agree. I get my pension. That first of the month is a great day. But if they go back and they look at the timeline and they`re -- I mean, on the -- on the wife number three and now wife number four, and they can find out if maybe he used his car or anything at all -- you know, again, not convicting him. We`re not going to be a judge and jury here. I`m just saying, What if they can say that anything was related job-related, he could lose that pension.
HOROWITZ: I`m not so sure that`s right, Mike. You know, just because you do...
BROOKS: Oh, no, it is right!
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: I can tell you it is right because...
HOROWITZ: No way.
BROOKS: ... if they can say -- if they can that it was a felony related to his job and they can relate any of this evidence at all and tie it into his job, it`s going to be considered job-related.
HOROWITZ: I disagree.
BROOKS: I want to go out to Pat Brown, criminal profiler and author of "Killing for Sport," Washington, D.C. Pat, the behavior you`ve seen, what do you think of this?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, Mike, I`ve been thinking about this whole thing. I`m looking at ideation before action. You know, when he was with wife number two, he said, I can kill you, make it look like an accident. Then you fast-forward to the Savio incident. Remember when he brings Stacy over there, and he ends up assaulting, essentially, assaulting Savio, pinning her to the ground.
And now we fast-forward a little bit further. Look at that autopsy report and what it says. It says someone hit her, probably, probably knocked her to the ground, all the abrasions on her body, held her down, asphyxiated her. And not by drowning. There`s no evidence of drowning, but asphyxiation is definitely there, probably placed her in the bathtub, put water in it to make it look like a drowning, and then the water drains out, unfortunately, makes it look less like a drowning. But that was the attempt.
And now we fast-forward again to wife number four. Hey, you know, that accident -- that accident by drowning didn`t look quite so good, and this woman might have done -- you know, been killed in his own house, so he says, Oh, can`t do the accident thing again. She`s got to go missing. So what we see is kind of a whole timeline that just follows right through. I`d say he`s looking darn guilty.
BROOKS: It sure does. And coming from one of his good friends, Ric Mims, the timeline doesn`t add up there, either. And Ric said he just gathered up his things and he left the house.
Right now, I want to go out to Dr. Joseph DelTito, joining us here in New York. He`s a licensed psychologist (SIC). Dr. DelTito, you`ve listened to everything. You`ve read things all week along about this case. Give me -- I want to hear what you have to say about this.
DR. JOSEPH DELTITO, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, nothing predicts future behavior like past behavior. The question is, what do we really know about his past behavior? You know, a lot of incidents can be cherry picked from a person`s life over 30 years and said he said this on this day, he did this to his wife on another day. Sounds like he`s somewhat of a volatile guy. Many people who become policemen are -- not all, but many are. We know he worked deep undercover. That means that he`s probably good at being an actor. It means he`s a little harder to read than most people, like when he goes on the Lauer show or something like that.
But I also agree that there`s no strong evidence right now really tying him to a crime, and I think his behavior has been rather consistent with the idea that he believes that his wife went off with another man. He told the younger children, Mommy`s away on a vacation. The things that he has done is consistent, I think, with someone who believes that, that if she came home, he wouldn`t necessarily welcome her with open arms, there would have to be a lot of talking. So I don`t know. We need evidence.
BROOKS: Yes, we do. And "The Chicago Tribune," the interview with Vicki Connolly, wife number two -- here`s what she had to say. We heard what Ric Mims had to say.
Quote, "Caught him cheating on me with someone with my own eyeballs. We had bugs in our house, put a microphone in our kitchen and taped our conversations. He was cheating so much, he wanted to make sure I wasn`t."
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(NEWSBREAK)
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kathleen confided in her sister and other family members that, Look, I think he`s going to kill me. I want you to have these documents about my history with Drew for when something happens to me. And then you`ve got Stacy sending off e-mails and confiding in people, Look, you know, he`s manipulating my life. He`s abusing me, so on and so forth. And then Vicki says in a newspaper article that she was threatened and that her death appeared to have been staged as an accident. That`s what he threatened her with. You know, she said the uncontrollable need to take care of her -- these are things that he told her. And she also says, quote, "But what feeds his ego was his line of work and how he could deceive people." So you see an obvious pattern here from the second wife to the third wife to the fourth wife.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. We`re trying to find Stacy Peterson. What happened to her? Did she suddenly disappear, or was she a victim of possibly homicide? We don`t know. That`s what we`re trying to find out.
I want to go back out to Chicago, to Kathy Chaney, reporter from "The Chicago Defender." Kathy, what`s the feeling right now in Bolingbrook?
KATHY CHANEY, "CHICAGO DEFENDER": They`re just still trying to search for Stacy. All of the water searches, land searches, everything`s coming up empty, so they`re still searching each day.
BROOKS: Also here, joining me here in studio in New York is Ric Mims, 27-year friend of Drew Peterson. Again, thanks for being with us. We`ve talked a lot about Drew and Stacy. You knew Stacy very well. Would she have ever left her children?
MIMS: No.
BROOKS: Do you think -- and you talked to her quite a bit. Do you think that she had another man?
MIMS: I don`t think she would have had time.
BROOKS: What do you mean, she wouldn`t have had time?
MIMS: She had four kids. And Drew was constantly stalking, you know, watching every move she made, I mean, so...
BROOKS: How so?
MIMS: She went to Denny`s to meet some friends of hers for lunch or dinner, and he popped up there. I mean, he just was around everywhere, and she didn`t have too much time to get around.
BROOKS: Now, we heard wife number two, Vicki Connolly, that he bugged the house. Do you think that he bugged this house, too?
MIMS: I don`t know for a fact that he bugged it, but I do know that he`s told me that with Vicki, he bugged her house, followed her, stalked her (INAUDIBLE) phones at the bar, yes.
BROOKS: He bugged the phones at the bar?
MIMS: Uh-huh.
BROOKS: I think that`s illegal. That`s considered, like, a title 3. You need a warrant for that.
MIMS: I`m just telling you what he told me.
BROOKS: OK. OK. I`m just saying, from a law enforcement perspective, you start bugging phones, that`s -- that`s against the law.
MIMS: I didn`t say I did it.
BROOKS: No, no. No, no. You didn`t say you did it. Not at all. Now, what`s next? You`re going to be going home here shortly back to Bolingbrook. What are is going to be going on? What are you all going to do to try to find Stacy.
MIMS: Sunday, me and Jon Leiberman from "America`s Most Wanted," we`re going up, flying all day. We`ve got some high-resolution digital cameras we`re taking up with us. We`re really going to search some areas that me and Drew flew over and some areas that he frequented. And mainly, keep Stacy`s picture in the news. Keep the story alive.
And I`d like to ask if there`s anybody out in the Bolingbrook area that would like to come out and volunteer or donate food for the searchers, they could donate to the Westbrook church.
BROOKS: The Westbrook church.
MIMS: Anybody that wants to show up can be there at 8:00 AM. Just come along. Dress warm. We need all the volunteers we can get.
BROOKS: Do you think Drew Peterson had anything at all to do with Stacy`s disappearance.
MIMS: Looks that way.
BROOKS: Very interesting. Want to go back out to the lines. Frances from Illinois, thanks for joining us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I wanted to know, him being his age and her being 17 -- what is the consensual age in Illinois?
BROOKS: What is -- that`s a great question. Dan Horowitz, defense attorney, do you know the age of consent in Illinois?
HOROWITZ: No, I have no idea, Mike. Sorry.
BROOKS: Ric, you say?
MIMS: Well, actually, Drew had to get permission from the state`s attorney to date her.
BROOKS: He had to get permission from the state`s attorney?
MIMS: When the police department found out that he was dating Stacy, they actually went to the state`s attorney with it and approached him with what was going on, and they said that he was perfectly within the confines of the law.
BROOKS: Did you think it was strange that...
MIMS: I thought it was very strange because (INAUDIBLE) as soon as he starts dating my 17-year-old daughter, we got a problem.
(LAUGHTER)
BROOKS: Let`s go out to the lines. Joseph from Massachusetts, thanks for joining us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I was wondering, if they do find this guy guilty, do they look back at any of his cases that he`s tried and caught? Does any of those cases that he`s, you know, put people in jail come back up?
BROOKS: Darryl Cohen, defense attorney, I don`t know if they would do that or not since it didn`t have to do with this particular case. What do you say?
COHEN: Mike, I think that that would be pretty farfetched. I just don`t see that happening. Certainly, it could. Certainly, a smart defense lawyer may say, Look, this guy is rotten here, he was rotten then, let`s take a look at it and let`s reexamine it. But it`s very, very unlikely, quite frankly.
BROOKS: Want to go back out to Dr. Joseph DelTito, M.D. He`s a psychiatrist. And Dr. DelTito, you know, what do you think, next of all, what`s going on with this case? And do you think that right now the whole family -- what kind of things they are going through, again, the Savio family, with the exhumation of the body? They`ve got to be going through a lot, a lot of emotional distress right now.
DELTITO: It`s a very difficult thing, but I think they did a smart thing by getting Dr. Michael Baden involved, in that they can get information immediately from him, instead of the other doctor, was it Blum who did the autopsy...
BROOKS: Right.
DELTITO: ... the more recent one, would hold onto his evidence for who knows, maybe six months or a year, or whether it was relevant to trial or whatever. So this way, they`re able to get -- it`s actually quite savvy by the Savios to get Dr. Baden involved, so that they can get information very quickly from someone who`s there. And I`m sure they have an opinion about Drew Peterson, and it doesn`t sound like it`s a good one.
BROOKS: But Doctor, you`re an M.D. How long is it going to be before they get all the results from tissue, any of the other tests they did, and toxicology?
DELTITO: Well, usually, the toxicology results may take up to two or three weeks, or DNA of certain types, polymerase, it may take another two or three weeks. But they should have it all in fairly soon.
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BROOKS: Tonight, a look back on the stories and the people making the rest of the headlines this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is a killer on the loose in southwest Michigan? That`s the question residents in Constantine are asking after a little girl vanishes and turns up dead in a local cemetery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it`s someone local, or do you think it`s someone from outside?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, there can always be a sexual psychopath in that town that just hasn`t struck there yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The death of Dr. West was recorded at the coroner`s office on November 12 as resulting from possible complications from cosmetic surgery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, what do we know about this doctor who performed the procedure?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not only was he the subject of a medical malpractice suit back in 2001, you get to the DUI convictions from 2003 and 2006. The California medical board is going after him.
BROOKS: A Las Vegas judge rules there is enough evidence for Simpson to stand trial on 12 charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just robbed by a bunch of thugs, and my adrenaline was pumping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s a high-profile person. People have been waiting for him to screw up, and he screwed up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After covering every day of the whole criminal case and the civil case, here we go again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a network interview, Drew Peterson says he has nothing to do with the disappearance of his wife, Stacy Peterson, or the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he should be ashamed of himself. I think he should be looking to find Stacy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you be telling Drew Peterson right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would tell him to obviously keep his mouth shut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get yourself back in your house and shut your mouth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: Tonight, let`s stop to remember Army Captain Dr. Roselle Hoffmaster, just 32, from Cleveland, Ohio. Graduated with honors from Smith College, she went on to medical degree at Case Western. Caring and compassionate, she was dedicated to her parents, awarded the Army service ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal. She loved the outdoors, hiking and running. She leaves behind grieving parents and widower Gordon. Roselle Hoffmaster, American hero.
Thank you to all our guests, especially Ric Mims, and to you at home for being with us. And remember, visit Nancy`s baby blog at CNN.com/nancygrace. See you tomorrow (SIC) night 8:00 PM sharp Eastern. And until then, stay safe.
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