State police take bathtub as evidence in Peterson's wife's death
3rd wife was found dead there in 2004
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-drew-peterson_31_may31,0,6643633.storyBy Matthew Walberg and Erika Slife | Tribune reporters
9:44 PM CDT, May 30, 2008
Investigators probing the death of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, now possess the bathtub in which her body was found.
One of the current homeowners told the Tribune on Friday that state police came to take the tub last week, but declined to comment further. A spokesman for the Will County state's attorney's office confirmed her information and said the tub was in storage.
"The state police removed the bathtub from the home where Kathleen Savio was found dead," said spokesman Charles Pelkie. "It's our belief that the tub will be a key piece of evidence in the prosecution of this case when charges are filed."
On March 1, 2004, Savio, 40, was found dead in an empty bathtub weeks before her divorce from Peterson was finalized.
An autopsy determined she drowned, and a coroner's jury later ruled the death was accidental.
Savio's case was reopened in November as authorities investigated the Oct. 28 disappearance of Peterson's wife, Stacy, from their Bolingbrook home.
In February, State's Atty. James Glasgow called the Savio inquiry a murder investigation after a second autopsy concluded her death was a homicide.
Police have called Peterson a suspect in Stacy's disappearance. The former police sergeant denies involvement in either case.
On Friday, he made his first court appearance on a felony gun charge that came as a result of search warrants executed in the Stacy Peterson case. Authorities allege that the barrel of an assault rifle owned by Peterson is nearly 5 inches shorter than allowed by state law and charged him last week with unlawful use of a weapon.
His attorney, Joel Brodsky, filed a motion seeking dismissal of the charge, alleging federal law authorized Peterson to carry the weapon and that he was authorized by Bolingbrook to use the gun as a duty weapon.
"I don't know if they were aware of the federal statute or not. If they were, it's surprising that they would have brought this case," Brodsky said after the hearing. "But even if there wasn't a federal statute, under Illinois law, Drew is immune because barrel lengths don't apply to officers' duty weapons."
Glasgow's office says the gun was privately owned by Peterson, and Bolingbrook police denied any knowledge of the weapon.
"Peterson has not been charged with a violation of any law involving the concealment of a handgun," said Pelkie, adding the federal statute has no bearing on the charge filed. "At the time his weapon was seized, Peterson did not have an exemption to own and carry a rifle with an illegal barrel, either for his personal use or in his official capacity as a police officer."
Looking well-tanned, the normally media-friendly Peterson left the courthouse without comment to reporters. Thursday, a 22-year-old tanning salon employee testified before a grand jury about her involvement with Peterson.
