Prosecutor Will Decide Soon Whether Drew Peterson Faces New Charges
CHICAGO (CBS) – The prosecutor who convicted Drew Peterson of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio, will decide in a couple of weeks whether he'll charge Peterson in connection with the disappearance of his fourth wife.
Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow says he also plans to travel to Springfield to ask lawmakers to grant greater legal protections to women.
The prosecutor says there is undue insulation for husbands who kill their wives – legal protections that made prosecuting Peterson more difficult.
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"Until this guy was held accountable for what he did, everybody is thinking there's a gap in the system. Well, that gap's been closed," Glasgow tells CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli.
Savio was discovered drowned in her bathtub in 2004, and the death was initially ruled an accident. After Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared in 2007, investigators reopened the Savio case and concluded she'd been murdered.
Some incriminating remarks that Stacy Peterson made to her pastor were allowed at trial, but a key detail was barred because of husband-wife privilege. Glasgow says Stacy Peterson also told the pastor Drew Peterson told her he hit Savio on the head to make her death look like an accident.
He says husband-wife privilege shouldn't apply if a man murders his wife.
A jury on Thursday convicted Drew Peterson of murdering Savio after weighing testimony Stacy Peterson effectively made through other witnesses.
Glasgow said Friday he's waiting for the conclusion of another high-profile trial – the murder trial of Christopher Vaughn, who's accused of killing his family -- before convening investigators and prosecutors to discuss additional charges against Peterson. That could happen in the next couple of weeks.
Drew Peterson is considered a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance.
Peterson defense attorney Joel Brodsky says he plans to appeal this week's jury verdict.
"If I was a voter in Will County, I'd wonder if I wanted my state's attorney pursuing personal vendettas," he said.
