Illinois jury finds Drew Peterson guilty of murdering third wife

US-USA-CRIME-PETERSON:Illinois jury finds Drew Peterson guilty of murdering third wife

By Adam Kirby

JOLIET, Illinois (Reuters) - An Illinois jury found former Chicago-area police officer Drew Peterson guilty on Thursday of murdering his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Peterson was convicted of killing Savio in 2004 during a contentious divorce and then staging her death to look like an accident. Savio was found dead in a bathtub, and the death was initially ruled accidental. Suspicions were raised when Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared in 2007.

Little physical evidence linked Peterson to Savio's death, and the prosecution's case relied heavily on testimony from people who said Peterson threatened Savio, tried to hire a hit man and said he could make her death look like an accident.

The Peterson case has received national attention in part because of a popular Lifetime television network movie based on the case, "Untouchable," starring Rob Lowe.

Peterson is the sole suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, who has never been found.

(Reporting By Adam Kirby; Writing by Greg McCune, Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

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