Drew Peterson dumps girlfriend
A woman who became engaged to a former suburban Chicago police sergeant suspected in his wife's 2007 disappearance moved out of his home Friday morning, hours after he appeared on a national television show and said his much younger fiancee likes him because "I'm a good guy."
Christina Raines, 24, moved her belongings from Drew Peterson's home as the woman's father looked on, along with a television camera crew and police from Peterson's former department, said Bolingbrook Police spokesman Lt. Ken Teppel.
"Drew did tell me it's over," said Glenn Selig, Peterson's publicist.
Peterson declined to comment on the incident. Nor would he discuss the reasons for the breakup, though Selig said it was prompted by Peterson's appearance Thursday on ABC's "Nightline."
According to Selig, Raines did not like Peterson's answer to questions about his previous relationships with women.
"She likes me. She likes me a lot," Peterson said of Raines on the show. "I'm good to her and I treat her better than she's ever been treated." She turned down a request for an on-camera interview.
The department received a call about 10:30 a.m. Friday from Ernest Raines, Christina Raines' father, Teppel said.
When officers arrived, Peterson told them that he knew the Raines were coming to the house to retrieve her things, but he did not know they were bringing a camera crew and wearing microphones. So Peterson slammed the door on them, Teppel said.
Peterson told officers he did not want Ernest Raines on his property or the cameras allowed in his home, Teppel said. So officers brought the woman's belongings to the curb, where she and her father could load them into a vehicle. Teppel did not know if the cameras were rolling during the move.
Peterson, 55, is suspected in the October 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. Peterson has not been charged, but authorities have said they are investigating the disappearance as a possible homicide.
Peterson has denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance, and has maintained that he believes she left him for another man.
Authorities are also investigating the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio. Savio's body was found in an empty bathtub in her house in 2004. After Stacy Peterson disappeared, authorities reopened the investigation of Savio's death, which was originally classified as an accident. Her body was exhumed and her death was reclassified as a homicide following an autopsy.
In December, Peterson confirmed the relationship with Raines, who at the time was 23 -- the same age as Stacy Peterson when she disappeared. At the time, Peterson, who is still legally married to Stacy Peterson, lamented that the media had found out about the engagement. He said he was concerned the media attention might strain and ultimately end the relationship.