Attorney: Stacy Peterson talked extortion

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JOLIET, Ill., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Stacy Peterson discussed extorting money from her husband and suspected killer, retired Illinois police officer Drew Peterson, an attorney says.

Attorney Harry Smith testified during a Joliet, Ill., court hearing Monday that Stacy Peterson came to him shortly before she vanished in October 2007 saying she wanted a divorce from Drew, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The newspaper said Smith testified she discussed getting "more money out of Drew" by threatening to tell police he killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Smith is one of a string of witnesses testifying in a court hearing to determine whether hearsay evidence can be presented against Drew Peterson in his murder trial for the 2004 death of Savio, his previous wife. Authorities also suspect the former Bolingbrook, Ill., police sergeant killed his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, but have not charged him.

Smith said Stacy Peterson told him Drew was upset with her because he thought she had told Savio's son that Drew had killed his mother. He testified he told Stacy Peterson he couldn't represent her because he had also represented Savio, who was found dead in March 2004 in an empty bathtub at her Bolingbrook home.