Pastor: Stacy lied to police for Drew Peterson

Stacy Peterson's pastoral counselor testified Friday she admitted providing a false alibi for her husband after he coached her how to lie to police investigating his ex-wife's death.

Neil Schori said Stacy made the tearful confession Aug. 31, 2007, after the two met at a coffee shop.

The 23-year-old woman said she awoke the night before Kathleen Savio's body was discovered to find Drew Peterson missing from their Bolingbrook home, Schori testified. He said Stacy told him Peterson, upon his return, immediately washed his black clothing, as well as another woman's apparel that he had in a duffel bag.

For hours, Peterson "coached" Stacy what to tell police, Schori said.

Savio, 40, was found drowned in her bathtub March 1, 2004.

Peterson is charged with killing Savio, his third wife, with whom he battled over finances while building a new life with Stacy, his 30-year junior bride whom he wed months earlier after an extramarital affair.

Stacy vanished Oct. 28, 2007.

Peterson, 56, has not been charged in her disappearance.

Prosecutors are trying to convince a Will County judge in the pretrial hearing to admit certain hearsay statements, such as those Schori said Stacy made, during the upcoming murder trial. Prosecutors must prove by a preponderance of evidence that those statements are reliable - a point the defense team is vigorously fighting - and that both women are unavailable to testify because Peterson killed them.

A higher legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is required at trial.

Schori said Stacy admitted she lied at her husband's behest. Stacy asked him not to go to the police, Schori said, because it "wouldn't do any good" because Peterson was a longtime Bolingbrook police sergeant.

"She said she was scared of the control Drew had on her life," Schori said. "She said she was scared to be with him, and scared to be away from him. She said she didn't believe she could ever get away from him safely."

A state police officer earlier testified Stacy said her husband was home with her and their children. Her friend, Scott Rossetto, who also testified Friday, said Stacy confessed to him that it was a false alibi.

"She lowered her voice and said, 'Can you keep a secret?'" Rossetto said. "I told her she can trust me with anything. She said the night Kathleen Savio died, he (Peterson) came home really, really late, all dressed in black and said, 'If anyone ever asks where I was, tell them I was home.'"

Some 48 hours later, Stacy went missing.

Drew Peterson said Stacy called afterward to say she left him for another man, but many of her relatives and friends testified she would never leave without her children.

Rossetto said Stacy confided in him that she talked to a divorce attorney. She was eager to break free of Peterson's control and was reconnecting with old friends, looking into attending nursing school, similar to Savio, and wanted to get a job. Rossetto described Stacy as a big flirt, but said he did not return her sexual advances.

Will County Circuit Judge Stephen White barred Neil Schori from disclosing certain incriminating conversations that Stacy said took place between the couple, after the defense argued marital privilege applied. But, in a December 2007 nationally televised interview, Schori said Stacy told him that Peterson actually confessed to killing Savio.

Schori, now lead pastor at Naperville Christian Church, said he provided both Stacy and Drew counseling while at Westbrook Christian Church in Bolingbrook.

After his talk with Stacy, Schori said, he had a voice-mail message waiting for him back at work from Drew Peterson.

"The voice mail said, 'I know you were just meeting with Stacy. I haven't seen you in a while. I thought maybe we could get together today and go for a ride in my plane."

Did you think that was a good idea, asked Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow.

"Certainly not," Schori responded.

Schori said he never counseled Stacy again, but he immediately went to police after her disappearance.

Prosecutors called about 35 witnesses in eight days. More than 60 names are on their witness list. White said he will rule at the hearing's conclusion which statements, if any, will be allowed at trial.

The defense team, lead by attorney Joel Brodsky, often drills witnesses on their credibility and bias.

"If that's all they got, it ain't a lot," Brodsky said Friday after Schori's much-anticipated testimony.

The Will County hearing continues Monday in Joliet.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=352113">Images of the missing and deceased in the Drew Peterson case </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=352115">Images of the Drew Peterson Case </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Timeline in Drew Peterson investigation</b></p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>March 1, 2004:</b> The body of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40, is discovered in a bathtub in her Bolingbrook home. Her death is initially ruled an accidental drowning.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Oct. 29, 2007:</b> His fourth wife, Stacy, 23, is reported missing, a day after she fails to show up at a family member's home.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Nov. 9, 2007:</b> Illinois State Police declare Drew Peterson a suspect in Stacy's disappearance and announce they've launched an investigation into Savio's drowning death. A Will County judge signs an order to exhume Savio's body.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Nov. 12, 2007:</b> Drew Peterson resigns from the Bolingbrook Police Department, where he had been an officer for nearly three decades.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Nov. 13, 2007:</b> Savio's body is exhumed for a second autopsy.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Nov. 16, 2007:</b> Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden says Savio likely was murdered.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Nov. 21, 2007: </b>A special Will County grand jury is convened to hear evidence in both cases involving Savio and Stacy Peterson.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Feb. 21, 2008:</b> Kathleen Savio's death officially ruled a homicide.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>May 21, 2008:</b> Drew Peterson surrenders to police on a weapons charge unrelated to the disappearance of his fourth wife.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Nov. 20, 2008:</b> Gun charges dropped against Peterson after Will County prosecutors refuse to hand over internal investigative documents.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>May 7, 2009:</b> Drew Peterson indicted on two counts of first-degree murder for Savio's death; peacefully surrenders during a traffic stop. Peterson remains jailed on $20 million bond.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Oct. 2, 2009:</b> Will Circuit Judge Stephen White upholds new state law that allows Savio beyond-the-grave hearsay evidence at trial if later deemed reliable.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Jan. 19, 2010:</b> A landmark hearsay court hearing is scheduled to begin in which prosecutors lay out their evidence against Peterson in Savio's death.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Source:</b> Daily Herald archives</p>