Ex-cop appeals to court of public opinion

updated 7:53 p.m. ET March 24, 2008

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. - Jobless and with no prospects, Drew Peterson spends his days taking care of his four children: cooking meals, washing clothes, helping with homework. All the while, he does so knowing that most of the world believes he killed his last two wives.

Nearly five months have passed since Stacy Peterson vanished from the couple’s home in this Chicago suburb. Peterson is a suspect in her disappearance, and authorities are also trying to determine if he had any role in the 2004 death of his ex-wife.

The 54-year-old former police officer knows that he could be locked up anytime, and that is part of why he allowed The Associated Press into his home for an exclusive interview.

“I am now dealing with the court of public opinion, which is filled with my jury pool,” explained Peterson, who conducted the interview last week with his attorney’s blessing.

Peterson’s image has taken a beating. He has repeatedly come off as boorish and callous, after making wisecracks about his wife’s menstrual cycles and enthusiastically agreeing on a radio show to take part in a “Win a Date With Drew” contest.

Peterson acknowledges that his behavior might be seen as peculiar and his jokes inappropriate, although he blames the news media for portraying him as a “sinister character lurking around underneath rocks.”

“Humor’s kind of a defense mechanism for me, so I joke about everything,” he said. “Even though I may be scared to death, I’m smiling and laughing.”

Pamela Bosco, a friend of Stacy Peterson, said Drew Peterson changes his demeanor whenever it will help his case.

30 pounds lighter, fewer jokes, too
“They keep trying to change the look that fits,” she said. “Drew is a chameleon.”

For two hours at his home, Peterson was subdued. He’s 30 pounds lighter than when his wife disappeared. There are bags under his eyes, and he appears pale. When he speaks, there are still some jokes, but he is careful.

Peterson’s home life is centered on raising his children from the two marriages: two teenage boys, ages 13 and 15, plus a 3-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son.

Stacy, who was 23 when she vanished, is everywhere in photographs displayed throughout the family’s house. Many of them are in frames with phrases like “Home Sweet Home” and “Live, Laugh, Love.”

“I can’t even bring myself to put her clothes away,” Peterson said. “They’re hung up like they were the day she left.”

Much of the home remains as she decorated it, with silk flowers filling the living room and artificial vines hanging from lattice on the kitchen walls, an effort by Stacy to give the room an Italian feel.

Among the couple’s knickknacks is a figurine of a police officer holding a little girl’s hand. Peterson joked that it shows him and his wife in 1988, referring to their 30-year age difference.

“I thought we had a lot of fun together when we just did everyday things,” he said.

Throughout the tour, Peterson complimented his wife. She was a great mother, he said, and a funny and caring wife.

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