By ,
Published January 13, 2015
Greta Van Susteren tells FOXNews.com how "On the Record" pressed police and prosecutors to further the investigation into the death of Drew Peterson's third wife Kathleen Savio, which ultimately led authorities to exhume her body and get a second autopsy. A third followed. The results showed that 40-year-old Savio's 2004 death was a homicide by drowning. Her body was found in a dry bathtub shortly before her divorce settlement was finalized.
Peterson, 54, is a former Bolingbrook, Ill., police officer and a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. She has been missing since October. A grand jury is investigating.
Watch "On the Record" weeknights at 10 p.m. EST on the FOX News Channel.
Q: How did you and your team get another autopsy for Drew Peterson's third wife Kathleen Savio? Take us behind the scenes.
A: We were in Bolingbrook a short time after Stacy disappeared. One day, the police showed up at Drew Peterson's home with search warrants. While they were executing the search, Kathleen Savio's sister showed up, and as we were talking to her, we learned that she had a briefcase full of documents — including Savio's 2004 autopsy. Naturally, we asked to see all of them. "On the Record" Producer Steph Watts and others got the documents.
Q: What clued you into the fact that her death was suspicious?
A: Although I am not a doctor (and don't pretend to be one), in reading the autopsy report from 2004, it seemed obvious this was not an accident. The bruises mentioned were a huge red flag and would have been (I think) to virtually anyone reading it.
Q: Why weren't the police and prosecutors investigating Savio's death as a murder before you got involved (or were they)? Do you think they were protecting Peterson, since he was a cop?
A: I think the police in 2004 and the then-prosecutor were lazy or overwhelmed with other investigations. There was a very sloppy coroner's jury, which concluded — based on the sloppy work presented to them — that it was an accident. Once her death was determined by that jury to be an accident, no one bothered to look further or to try and help the family seek justice. I guess — and I hate to say this — no one cared.
Q: What role did you play in the exhumation of the body?
A: We pushed the investigation (not the exhumation) with lots of reports on our show and with our "OTR" producers and journalists seeking more and more and more information. The exhumation was done at the direction of the state (the prosecutor).
Q: Were you there for the exhuming of the body?
A: I was not there when the body was exhumed. I watched it on TV like everyone else.
Q: Would you testify at the trial?
A: I have no role in the trial. Like the "OTR" producers who get lots of credit for their investigative reporting, I am merely a journalist reporting on the story. What is extraordinary about the "OTR" work on the Drew Peterson story is this: Our producers — as well as former Los Angeles Det. Mark Fuhrman and Dr. Michael Baden, who did the third autopsy — never gave up. They are the ones who just kept pushing and pushing and pushing for more information. They are really the ones who should take a bow for good reporting.
Q: Do you believe Drew Peterson murdered Kathleen Savio? Do you believe he murdered Stacy Peterson?
A: I don't know who murdered Kathleen Savio. I am suspicious of Drew Peterson and have told him that face-to-face. I could be wrong, but until a murder is solved, one should be suspicious of him (and others). He understands my suspicion of him — an ex-husband would be someone people would focus on in this instance, and he is a former police officer who understands investigations. But he denies he murdered her.
Watch "On the Record " weeknights at 10 p.m. EST on the FOX News Channel.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/fox-news-greta-van-susteren-on-the-record-team-pushed-for-new-autopsy-in-drew-peterson-case