Drew Peterson sentenced to 38 years for murder


February 21, 2013 at 5:00p.m.

Drew Peterson sentenced to 38 years for murder

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Drew Peterson — the swaggering former suburban Chicago police officer who gained notoriety after his much-younger fourth wife vanished in 2007 — was sentenced to 38 years in prison today for murdering his third wife.

Illinois does not have the death penalty, and the 59-year-old Peterson had faced a maximum 60-year prison term.

Jurors convicted Peterson in September in Kathleen Savio’s 2004 death. Neighbors found the 40-year-old’s body in a dry bathtub at home with a gash on her head — her hair soaked in blood.

Peterson is also a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson — who was 23-years-old when she vanished — but he hasn’t been charged in her case. It was her disappearance that led authorities to take another look at Savio’s death and eventually reclassify it from an accident to a homicide.

Fascination nationwide with Peterson arose from speculation he sought to use his law enforcement expertise to get away with murder.

Judge Edward Burmila proceeded to sentencing after denying a defense request to grant Peterson a retrial. Peterson’s current attorneys contended his former lead attorney, Joel Brodsky, botched the initial trial.