Stacy Peterson's Stepdaughter-In-Law Ripped on Missing Mother's Parenting Skills

Within weeks of Stacy Peterson disappearing, her stepdaughter-in-law told investigators the vanished young woman was “immature” and “not a very good mother,” according to state police reports recently obtained by Patch.

Teresa Peterson, who was married to accused wife-killer Drew Peterson’s second son, Stephen Peterson, also reportedly told police Stacy Peterson wanted a divorce but was fearful of how her husband would react.

“Teresa said Stacy told her she was afraid what Drew would do to her if she divorced him,” the state police report says.

The reports were released as part of the case file for Stephen Peterson’s bid to reclaim his job with the Oak Brook Police Department. Former Oak Brook Police Chief Thomas Sheahan fired Stephen Peterson in February for obstructing the state police in their investigation of his stepmother Stacy’s disappearance in October 2007.

This obstruction involved Stephen Peterson stashing three of his father’s firearms before the state police got around to executing a search warrant soon after Stacy was reported missing.

Stephen and Teresa Peterson have since divorced. Stephen Peterson, 32, moved out of their North Aurora home and now lives in his father’s house in Bolingbrook, where he cares for his younger half-siblings.

The younger children were in need of a guardian on account of Stacy mysteriously disappearing and Drew Peterson going to jail a year and a half later.

Drew Peterson remains in jail as he waits to be tried on charges he murdered his previous wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found drowned in a dry bathtub in March 2004. He faces no charges in connection with the missing Stacy, but the state police have named him their only suspect in the investigation of what they have termed her “potential homicide.”

The state police interviewed Teresa Peterson, an agent with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in reference to Stacy’s whereabouts on Nov. 21, 2007.

Teresa Peterson, 30 — and three years older than her stepmother-in-law Stacy — reportedly told the state cops of Drew and Stacy Peterson engaging in “only one” domestic dispute in the two and a half years she knew the Peterson family.

“It involved an incident when Stephen tried to throw Stacy in the swimming pool and she threatened to bite him,” the report says. “When Stephen let her go Stacy then tried to punch Drew in the face.”

Teresa Peterson also told the state police that Drew and Stacy Peterson had given up on marriage counseling and “she had told Drew to get out of the house.”

“Drew did not leave and she told him she wanted a divorce,” the report says.

Teresa Peterson also reportedly told the police that Stacy “told her stories about how she used to sneak into the house … Drew and Kathy (Savio) shared.”

“At the time, Drew was living in the basement because they were in the process of separating or getting a divorce,” the report says. “Stacy would sneak into the house and sleep with Drew while Kathy was upstairs.”

Reports on interviews with Stephen Peterson also were included in the court file.

According to the reports, Stephen Peterson said his father “appeared to be in a state of shock” after discovering Savio’s dead body.

Stephen Peterson also recalled his younger half-brothers — Savio’s sons Thomas and Kristopher — waking the next morning and learning their mother was dead.

The report has him relating that the boys “may have cried a little but then were laughing.”