Deadly suspicion

Hoda Kotb Correspondent • Profile

In late October, cities and towns around the country were all tricked out in Halloween decorations. Up and down the neighborhoods, families prepared for fright night.

But this year, the village of Bolingbrook, a Chicago suburb, was plunged into a real-life mystery far more chilling than any Halloween haunting could ever be.

On Oct. 28, Stacy Peterson, 23 years old -- wife, mother, sister -- suddenly vanished. She went missing and is yet to be found.

Her husband Drew said she'd run off with another man.

Drew Peterson: I’m still in love with Stacy and I miss her, so... (he puts up hand and walks away)

But her family suspected foul play and launched a massive search.

Volunteers combed through forests and fields. Police took to the air and the water.

But it wouldn't go away. As the days dragged by with no sign of Stacy -- and no word from her either -- the questions piled up. So did the suspicions and the speculation about the role of Stacy’s husband Drew. He says all the attention forced him to speak out.

Drew Peterson: I’m really being portrayed as a monster here. Nobody's defending me. Nobody's stepping up to say, "No, he's a decent guy. He helps people. He does this. He does that." So somebody's got to say something.

Tonight we'll hear from Drew Peterson, along with other family members and friends, as we try to piece together what really happened to Stacy Peterson.

Drew Peterson: I don't believe she's missing. I believe she's where she wants to be.

Drew Peterson was one of Bolingbrook’s finest -- a police sergeant with more than two decades of experience -- when he met Stacy in 2001. At the time Peterson was 47 years old. Stacy, a high-school graduate, was just 17 -- 30 years his junior.

Hoda Kotb: I know people said, "What’s going on there?"

Drew Peterson: Sure.

But Peterson says he squared the age gap with Stacy.

Drew Peterson: I said, "Do you mind that I’m 47?" and she goes, "Do you mind that I’m 17?" Just like, kind of like, a weird feeling. But I-- she was beautiful. And it was exciting having a young, beautiful woman interested in me. And I purSued the relationship.

And, he says, Stacy did too.

Drew Peterson: Every time I tried to get out of the relationship, she would purSue me. Leaving little roses and notes on my car and stuff. So it was like it was exciting. So--

Hoda Kotb: So was it love like that?

Drew Peterson: Pretty quick. Pretty quick. So--

Hoda Kotb: So the relationship started. She was like a kid, I mean, in a way. Just very naive.

Drew Peterson: Well. she was very mature for her age in a lot of senses because she had a very tough upbringing.

Stacy Ann Cales was the third of five children born to Anthony and Christie Cales. Two siblings died young. Court records show that Stacy’s mom was in and out of trouble with the law. Her mother took off for good in 1998 and her dad began moving the family around the country. Pam Bosco is close to the family --and close to Stacy.

Pam Bosco: Oh, she was a darling. Bubbly, warm caretaker, you know. Just very, very, very sweet. Very much a family girl. Someone who wanted a family and wanted to be part of a family.

And Drew Peterson, his friend Steve Carcerano says, is a likeable guy.

Steve Carcerano: Drew's a nice guy. He's a happy guy. Happy go lucky. A jokester type of guy.

So the nice-guy police sergeant must have seemed like a dream come true when he started romancing the bubbly teen.

Pam Bosco: It’s her willingness to get close I think that made her available probably to an older person. She was just looking for something like that you know, the warmth-- maybe the possibility he could bring a family to her.

Peterson had a house in the suburbs, a good job, and spare change.

Kerry Simmons: I know he had bought her a car. Furnished the apartment. And it was -- you know, a lot of things that she didn't have.

Kerry Simmons is Stacy’s stepsister.

Kerry Simmons: I mean, she had everything she needed. But you know, Drew was giving her more. And she's 17 years old so -- it looked good to her.

It looked good. It felt good. It was good.

Kerry Simmons: She was head over heels over him. She really did like him.

Peterson fell hard too.

Steve Carcerano: When he met Stacy, it seemed like he had a glow in his eye. You know, she's young. She's attractive. He seemed very happy with her.

But Stacy’s family was not glowing. Just the opposite -- they told her to run, not walk from the new guy in her life.

Kerry Simmons: We were just "You're nuts. You're crazy. This guy is well over 30 years older than you. He still has a wife and you should not be involved with this guy."

Not only did Peterson have a wife, she was his third wife. And he had four children, all told, including two young sons who lived with him. Despite that, despite the warnings from her family, Stacy stayed with him. In 2003, his divorce came through.

Hoda Kotb: So -- how'd you propose to her?

Drew Peterson: I proposed to her on several occasions. Just asked her to marry me. First couple times she said no. Third time she said yes.

They married in a Bolingbrook field in October 2003. Stacy was 19; she'd just given birth to their first child. Later they had another child together and eventually they took in Drew's sons from his previous marriage.

Stacy seemed to be living her dream. By all accounts he was a good dad and she was an awesome mom.

Kerry Simmons: Never saw her upset with those kids. I mean she loved those kids so much. Those were like-- they were her life. And I think she really wanted to give those kids the life that she felt she didn't have, or the opportunities that she didn't have growing up.

She did birthday parties, marshmallow roasts, and backyard barbeques. Any excuse for a family get-together. Any excuse for fun with the kids. This year her youngest, 2-year-old Lacy, was supposed to go trick-or-treating for the first time.

Pam Bosco: She was so looking forward to having Lacy get dressed up and actually walk around the block and participate with Halloween.

It never happened. Three days before Halloween, Stacy Peterson’s husband told the world she'd run away. Vanished.

Stunned and stressed, Stacy’s family and friends told the police that something was terribly wrong.

Kerry Simmons: She would never leave those kids. Absolutely not. She took those kids everywhere with her.

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