Drew Peterson's stepbrother returns

BOLINGBROOK, Ill., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Drew Peterson's stepbrother resurfaced to attend a one-year anniversary vigil for Peterson's missing wife in Bolingbrook, Ill., sources say.

Thomas Morphey went into seclusion last November after published reports alleged he helped Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, load a large blue barrel into Peterson's sport utility vehicle Oct. 28, 2007 -- the day 23-year-old Stacy Peterson disappeared from the couple's home in Bolingbrook, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.

Drew Peterson has been named a suspect in the case but has not been charged, the Sun-Times reported, noting police sources have said Morphey could be an important witness in the case.

Morphey, 40, was hospitalized for a suspected overdose of sleeping pills the day after Stacy Peterson disappeared and then went into seclusion until this past week when he was seen at the vigil with his girlfriend, Sheryl Alcox, the Sun-Times reported.

Alcox said she and Morphey recently encountered Drew Peterson at a local store, but didn't speak.

"He didn't come near us that time," Alcox told the Sun-Times.