The Disappearance of Stacy Ann Peterson

Mystery and Murder: Analysis by Dr. Phil

Dr. Phil McGraw

True Crime, News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 10.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This is the courtroom showdown years in the making: the 2012 trial of former Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio against the backdrop of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, still missing.

Prosecutors build a case without a single “smoking gun,” leaning on forensic testimony, a re-examined autopsy, and the statements Kathleen and Stacy allegedly made about fear, threats, and what Drew was capable of, evidence allowed under the statute that became publicly known as “Drew’s Law.”

After days of deliberation, the jury finds Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in September 2012, and he’s later sentenced to 38 years.

Appeals follow, but the conviction stands—including after the Illinois Supreme Court upholds it in 2017. Then comes another twist: a 2016 conviction for soliciting a murder-for-hire from prison—an alleged plot targeting prosecutor James Glasgow, adding 40 more years. And still, Stacy’s case remains open.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	On the last episode, we walked you through how two women's stories collided into one investigation.
0:12.0	On October 28, 2007, 23-year-old Stacey Ann Peterson vanished from her home without a trace, leaving behind her purse,
0:24.0	her clothing, and the two young children she adored. She also left behind a husband who treated
0:32.4	her disappearance like an inconvenience instead of a crisis.
0:44.6	Years earlier, Kathleen Savio had been found dead in a dry bathtub.
0:52.5	Her injuries dismissed as an accident until a second autopsy changed the official ruling to homicide.
0:55.8	The two women had one thing in common.
0:59.3	They were both married to Bowling Brook, Illinois Police Sergeant Drew Peterson.
1:05.2	Drew told authorities that Stacey's disappearance, well, it was just no big deal.
1:12.6	He claimed she had simply left him for another man and would eventually resurface.
1:20.5	He was completely nonchalant, laughing, even jovial at times.
1:28.2	Those closest to Stacey said,
1:31.2	his story just simply did not match the woman they knew.
1:37.7	They said in the months before she disappeared,
1:41.6	Stacey confided in them that she was terrified of her husband. She described to
1:48.8	them controlling behavior, emotional intimidation, and allegations of physical abuse that she
1:56.4	said left her feeling trapped and constantly watched.
2:03.4	She reportedly warned more than one person that if anything ever happened to her, Drew
2:11.6	would be responsible.
2:15.0	As days turned into weeks with no sign of her, investigators were forced to look backward,
2:22.1	not forward.
2:24.9	Roughly two weeks after Stacey was reported missing, authorities made the extraordinary decision
	...

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