The son of a former Bolingbrook police officer accused of killing his third wife said he's never suspected his father had a role in her death.
"He was very, very shaken up about it. I'd never seen anyone so sad in my life," Tom Peterson told jurors Wednesday. "It was very troubling to see him so shaken up."
Peterson's father, Drew Peterson, is fighting first-degree murder charges he killed Kathleen Savio in an effort to protect his financial assets following their divorce.
The 19-year-old, a neuroscience student at the University of Pennsylvania and the valedictorian of his Bolingbrook High School class, assured jurors his testimony was "completely voluntarily."
Dressed in a suit, the young man spoke politely about his father, his mother and his step-mother, Stacy Peterson, who disappeared in October 2007.
"We all had a really good time. Stacy was very fun," he said.
Tom Peterson was 11 years old when his mother was found dead in the bathtub of her home.
"She definitely liked to have hot baths," he recalled, adding that as a young boy he and his younger brother used to share baths with their mother.
He recalled how Savio would sometimes pull her hair up if she intended to bathe without washing her hair. Other times she's leave it down and then be seen with a towel wrapped around her head.
During cross-examination, prosecutors reminded him of his 2008 grand jury testimony when he said he didn't know much about his mother's bathing habits.
Asked if Savio ever took baths in the morning hours, he said it sounded "highly unlikely," but said he "wouldn't know that either."
Peterson last year withdrew himself from the wrongful death suit filed on his behalf by his aunt and grandfather. His younger brother, Kristopher Peterson, followed suit when he turned 18 years old earlier this month.
- Day 1: Peterson Trial Begins with Different Explanations of Savio's Death
- Day 2: Judge Could Declare Mistrial in Peterson Case
- Day 3: Judge Denies Motion for Mistrial in Peterson Case
- Day 4: Savio's Sister Testifies
- Day 5: Colleague: Drew Peterson Said Life Would be Better if Savio Were Dead
- Day 6: Savio Slept With Knife Under the Bed
- Day 7: Drew Peterson Gets Brief Visit from Son, Now 18
- Day 7: Friend: Ex-Wife Said Peterson Grabbed Her by Neck
- Day 8: Key Witness Concedes Movie Deal
- Day 9: Judge Mulls Mistrial Motion in Peterson Case
- Day 9: Peterson Judge Allows Cop to Testify on Savio Report
- Day 10: Defense Drops Motion for Mistrial
- Day 10: Judge Again Scolds Prosecutors
- Day 11: Pathologist: Peterson's Third Wife Was Murdered
- Day 12: Judge: Savio Friend "Facially Unreliable"
- Day 13: Head Trauma Expert Details Savio's Injuries
- Day 14: Peterson Juror Recognizes Witness
- Day 14: Jurors Hear Hit Man Testimony
- Day 15: Man Tossed from Peterson Courtroom
- Day 15: Stacy Says Drew Coached Her to Lie
- Day 16: At End of Fourth Week, Prosecutors Sounding Less Confident
- Day 17: Judge Rejects Motion to Acquit Drew Peterson
- Day 17: Will Drew Take the Stand?
- Day 17: Drew Peterson Attorneys Begin Defense
- Day 18: Pathologist "Vehemently" Disagrees With State Witness
NBC Chicago has reporters in the Will County Courthouse for the trial. During proceedings, follow along with our Drew Peterson Trial Live Blog or follow @bjlutz on Twitter.
