Both Ill. Cop's Wives Feared 'Accidents'

Nov. 15, 2007 — -- With the search for missing Illinois mother Stacy Peterson wearing on and another woman's exhumed body under examination, friends and family members of both women grow increasingly suspicious of husband, Drew, despite his insistence Wednesday that he had nothing to do with either case.

The remains of Drew's third wife, Kathleen Savio, were exhumed this week after police reopened the investigation into her death, a decision made after the disappearance of Stacy, his fourth wife. Savio was found dead in a bathtub in 2004, just days before her divorce from Drew was finalized.

Results from an independent doctor regarding Savio's manner of death could take several weeks, but a grand jury reportedly is considering charges connected to the case.

A coroner initially ruled Savio's death an accidental drowning despite the fact there was no water in the bathtub and her hair was soaked from an apparent head wound. Authorities theorized that the water had drained from the tub after her death. Drew was the duty sergeant working the night that her body was discovered.

Savio's sister Sue Doman said today on "Good Morning America" that the family had always been suspicious of Drew, who is currently on unpaid leave from his police force. Doman said Savio also shared her fears before her death — in words that are eerily similar to what Stacy reportedly told friends.

"Just the Thursday before she passed away, she called me and she said — she just felt so strongly that that he was going to kill her and it was going to look like an accident. Take care of the children,'" Doman said, recounting the conversation.

Doman also described another instance in which Drew allegedly grabbed Savio as she came down the stairs and held her by her throat at knife point. "And he threatened to kill her," Doman said. "And he didn't care if he died either."

Doman is convinced that investigators examining her body will rule that Savio was murdered and was not the victim of an accidental death. She added that Stacy' disappearance only gives Savio's loved ones more reason to question her cause of death.