2004 death of cop's 3rd wife a homicide

BOLINGBROOK, Ill., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The death in 2004 of the third wife of an Illinois police officer whose fourth wife has mysteriously disappeared has been ruled a homicide.

Two additional autopsies were done on Kathleen Savio's exhumed body. Both Larry Blum, a pathologist working for the Will County state's attorney, and Michael Baden, a nationally known pathologist brought in by her family, found Thursday that she had been deliberately killed, the Joliet (Ill.) Herald News reported.

Savio was found dead in an empty bathtub while she was in the process of divorcing Drew Peterson, an officer in the Bolingbrook Police Department. At the time, the death was ruled an accidental drowning, but the case was reopened after Stacy Peterson disappeared last year.

Melissa Doman, Savio's niece, said a more thorough investigation at the time might have saved Stacy Peterson's life.

"It's something that should have been done the right way almost four years ago," Doman said. "It would have been done the right way if people listened."

Peterson, who is no longer a police officer, appeared surprised by the new findings, the newspaper said. But he was also defiant.

"The thing is, do what you got to do," he said. "You roll the dice, I'll roll the dice."