Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s statement regarding the Stacy Peterson, Kathleen Savio investigations

This statement is in response to media requests for comment regarding the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Stacy Peterson. This statement may be attributed to Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow:

The Illinois State Police continue to conduct exhaustive investigations into the disappearance of Stacy Peterson and the murder of Kathleen Savio. The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office reopened the investigation into Kathleen Savio’s 2004 death, which occurred before I took office. After filing a petition with the court to exhume Kathleen Savio’s remains, a board certified forensic pathologist confirmed my assertion in that petition that her death was a homicide.

In addition, my office took the rare step of convening a Special Grand Jury in November 2007 to hear testimony and evidence regarding Stacy Peterson’s disappearance and Kathleen Savio’s murder. The Special Grand Jury is still receiving evidence.

The investigations into both Stacy Peterson’s disappearance and Kathleen Savio’s murder have been highly productive. I fully expect there to be a resolution in at least one of these investigations in the near future.

Furthermore, it must be noted that these two investigations, as well as the investigation into the disappearance of Lisa Stebic, prompted me to draft a new law that will enable prosecutors across Illinois to use a murder victim’s cries for help as evidence at trial to convict her brutal killer. This common-sense legislation, which will become law in November, will enable prosecutors to bring previously inadmissible evidence to trial to ensure abusive murderers cannot profit from their wrongdoing. The new law will apply to crimes committed before its enactment. The provisions contained in this new law have recently been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

I personally want to express my gratitude to the families and friends of both Stacy Peterson and Kathleen Savio for their patience, understanding and cooperation during the past year. We are committed to making certain that justice is served for them.

My office continues to work hard to assist the Illinois State Police in advancing both investigations under intense national and local media coverage. We have done our best to respond to legitimate media queries without jeopardizing the integrity of these investigations or the secrecy of the Special Grand Jury. While this has proven difficult at times, I respect the professionalism displayed by the press during these investigations.