Deadly suspicion

In the late 1990s Drew Peterson live with then-wife Kathy and their sons.

Steve Carcerano, neighbor: We got introduced to them. And he came over to the house and he told me directly if I ever need anything in his garage, a lawn mower or a tool, anything -- his garage is always open to us.

Neighbor Steve Carcerano liked Drew immediately.

Steve Carcerano: Drew's a very happy person. He is a jokester. He'd kid around a lot. Great with his kids. And a good person.

He seemed like a good husband too.

Steve Carcerano: My first impression of Drew and Kathy was a happy couple when they first moved there.

Drew says he met Kathy Savio on a blind date in 1992.

Drew Peterson: Another policeman's wife fixed us up. She was a lot of fun. We did things we liked. We went to shows and stuff.

Kathy was in her late twenties, working as an accountant. She told her sister Sue Doman that the Bolingbrook police officer was a great guy.

Hoda Kotb, Dateline correspondent: There's something about a police officer, I think, that makes your average girl feel safe.

Sue Doman: He was funny. He talked-- you know, he would joke around, got along with everybody. Went out of his way to meet people. She was very impressed by that.

And when Sue met her sister's new boyfriend, she was very impressed too -- which seemed to be just what he wanted.

Sue Doman: He was going out of his way to impress us.

Hoda Kotb: How?

Sue Doman: "Hey, how're you doing'?" Wanted to know, what do you. "Where do you work? Is there anything I can do? Do you need anything?" You know, "Hey, you know, I love your sister." Would hug her and kiss her in front of us. Just a very happy person, joking around.

It wasn't long before he decided to pop the question.

Drew Peterson: I think she was lying in bed one day. And I just crawled in with her and I put a ring on her hand. And she just came up and she said, "Wow." And "Wow."

Sue Doman: She called me and she said "Guess what? I’m getting married." And I said, "You're getting married?" And she said, "You know, I’m getting older. I want to have a family. And I really love him. And he's really good, and he can provide very well for me.”

Hoda Kotb: How'd you feel as her sister, at that point?

Sue Doman: I was happy for her. Because she just-- you know, she's my baby sister, I wanted the best for her.

Kathy and Drew were married in 1992. Two sons followed. By the time the family moved here, both boys were in school. But by then Drew says, there were strains in the marriage

Drew Peterson: Our relationship started deteriorating. She was more-- she was easy-- easily agitated and more demanding.

Hoda Kotb: When you say "easily agitated," what do you mean?

Drew Peterson: She would snap quickly.

Sue Doman remembers it differently, and her story is eerily similar to the story Stacy Peterson’s family would tell years later.

Sue Doman: He would call her names.

Hoda Kotb: What kind of names?

Sue Doman: He would-- horrible, swearing names. “Bitch,” “whore.” "You look like a dog." She needed to go to Jenny Craig. She needed to do anything to make herself look better because she was looking horrible.

Sue says there was violence, too. She says Kathy told her she was beaten. Hospital records show Kathy landed in an emergency room on one occasion and the records reflect the story Kathy told her sister.

Sue Doman: He took her head and took her hair, she had long hair, and he beat her against a wooden table. He was angry at her.

Hoda Kotb: What kind of injuries did she sustain?

Sue Doman: She had a laceration on her head. She became dazed. She had black and blue marks all over her.

In late 2001, Kathy received an anonymous letter that shattered her world. It said her husband was having an affair with a teenager. Kathy would soon discover the teen was Stacy. Sue Doman happened to call her sister right after Kathy confronted Drew.

Sue Doman: I heard yelling. He said, "Hang up on that bitch." And he slammed the phone down. She called me back and she said, "I’m on my way to get an order of protection." She said, "Drew threw me against the refrigerator. He was chasing me with a stick." And I said, "what's-- what's going on?" She said, "I got an anonymous letter. Someone from the police department said I was the laughing stock of the town.” He was having an affair. And he said it wasn't true.

But it was true. Kathy did file for an order of protection from her husband some months later.

Hoda Kotb: There was a quote in it. And the quote from your sister was, "He wants me dead."

Sue Doman: Yes.

Hoda Kotb: She feared for her life.

Sue Doman: Yes, she did.

Hoda Kotb: She thought that Drew was going to kill her.

Sue Doman: She knew he was going to.

Hoda Kotb: She knew?

Sue Doman: She knew.

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