Drew Peterson Exposed: Polygraphs Reveal the Shocking Truth about Stacy Peterson and Kathleen Savio.

by Derek Armstrong

Book Overview

This investigative examination sheds new light on one of the most provocative and high profile criminal investigations in the country. October 28, 2008 marks the one year anniversary of Stacy... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1601641877
• ISBN13: 9781601641878
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Kunati Inc.
• Length: 315 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

You be the judge

In high profile cases such as Drew Peterson's, we're bombarded with news stories and speculation, but very little factual information. Author and crime investigator Derek Armstrong takes us behind the scenes of Sgt Drew Peterson to show us family photographs and documents that we'd not otherwise be privy to. Having taken the class "History as Bibliography" taught by Dr. Don Carleton, who assisted Walter Cronkite with his autobiography, I can say that Armstrong did his work correctly by questioning the narratives presented within the book like he would witnesses in court. Not only is the information appropriately questioned, it is presented in a logical and interesting manner. Armstrong's skill as a writer took a narrative which could otherwise become monotonous and created a fascinating read. Like most readers of these types of books, I came to "Drew Peterson Exposed" with a preconceived notion of Peterson's situation. Clearly, from the diverging opinions of others who've read the book Armstrong allowed us to draw our own conclusions which is the best way to handle the story. While I didn't change my mind, I am now approaching the case with a good deal more information than I had before thanks to Mr. Armstrong's enlightening narrative. Rebecca Kyle, May 2009

A Fair Trial

If all you've seen of Drew Peterson is the slapdash sensationalist reportage, paid interviews with ex-friends, or Peterson's own disastrous and counterproductive interviews, then you haven't seen even 10% of the story of Stacy Peterson's disappearance and even Peterson's third wife's (Kathleen Savio's) bathtub death. Derek Armstrong, author of Drew Peterson Exposed, had unprecedented access to Peterson's attorney, defense materials, and Peterson himself, including hundreds of hours of interviews and the long-awaited polygraph test. It's a massive amount of information to base a book upon. Armstrong does an excellent job of showing how, in the complete absence of hard forensic evidence and with only easily impeached witness accounts, the media has railroaded Drew Peterson and is willfully messing up his kids' lives. Now, it may be that the media is hounding a guilty man, but you should see the evidence for yourself. The media has created a story, one with a villain (Drew Peterson,) damsels in distress (Stacy and Kathleen,) and a hero (the media itself, championing the cause of justice.) Armstrong punctures the media's hysteria. There are two basic kinds of evidence in criminal trials: forensic and witness. Armstrong shows that there is no particular forensic evidence for Drew Peterson being responsible for either Kathleen Shavio's death or Stacy Peterson's disappearance. The so-called witnesses in the Peterson case are a prosecuting attorney's nightmares. Armstrong systematically discredits each one. For example, Thomas Morphey allegedly said that he helped Drew Peterson carry a corpse-sized blue barrel to his car. Later that night, Morphey was hospitalized for a severe drug overdose. What's more, a TV played that night with a murderer dumping the bodies in, oh yes, blue barrels. The infamous "blue barrel" is probably a drug-fueled hallucination. Peterson's allegedly notoriety-grubbing neighbors, who are "witnesses" in that they believe they can allegedly perfectly remember which of their neighbor's cars were in the driveway at what time of day (try this with your two closest neighbors, for all day yesterday,) allegedly emotionally torture Peterson with a "Stacy Garden" of ill-tended potted plants and accusatory signs in their front yard and webcams aimed at his house, not to mention allegedly cornering Peterson's minor children and interrogating them. In another example, the witness Richard Mims, who allegedly stated that Drew's son Kris Peterson told Mims that Kris heard fighting that night, is obviously lying. (Kris allegedly denies both telling Mims this and hearing fighting that night.) Mims's alleged motives are twofold: money (Mims allegedly sold his story to the National Enquirer for $35,000,) and notoriety (he allegedly fabricated the story about the hearsay evidence and the story about "wearing a wire" for the police in order to secure TV interviews. He allegedly brags about finking out a friend.) He's also allegedly been

A Reasoned (and Reasonable) Analysis

I am neither a watcher of television nor a reader of tabloids, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that I'd never heard of Drew Peterson until a few weeks ago when a friend told me about the case. I have now given the work a close read, and in my opinion the author does an admirable job of sorting through a maze of conflicting statements and half-baked conclusions. Slowly and carefully, this work deals with the facts as they are known while at the same time giving consideration to the fervent voices of the group of individuals who've made a business of keeping the pressure on Drew Peterson. There's money in sensationalism, and my sense is that more than anything else, these people are after the cash. Overall, I found DREW PETERSON EXPOSED to be unbiased and refreshingly honest. The careful analysis of the events leading up to the disappearance of Drew Peterson's fourth wife might be a bit slow, but succeeds in presenting both sides of the issue in a best/worst case format that leaves the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. Is Drew Peterson guilty? My senses say yes. Police are notorious for their contempt for the law, and as a long-time police officer, Peterson's arrogance certainly fits the model nicely. Instinct, however, is not enough to indict, and I regret that he has probably already gotten away with one murder and will more than likely skate on the second one too.

Inside the mind of a killer. A great read with lots of new facts.

Peterson's guilty as far as I'm concerned. I'm more convinced than ever after reading this book. After Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, this is my new favorite true crime at least for now. I just finished the book in one sitting, and plan another go. The author gets a little tabloid at times, but this is the most impartial view of the case I've seen so far. I thought Peterson was guilty before. I still do. I knew the results of the polygraphs and the three deceptive answers from the media coverage on this book but it was really amazing to see them reproduced, and the interview with the polygraph examiner was interesting. The photos are really interesting. Some I saw before and some were new. I think this book will draw polar reviews, either one star or five. One, probably from people who wanted more sensationalizing and five from those of us who like a good, detailed investigation. It's not a complete investigation. It basically picks up where the press left off last May. Everything from autopsies to polygraphs are on display here in the same way as Mark Fuhrman's Murder in Brentwood, another favorite author. It is pretty clear the author spent a lot of time with Drew Peterson, but I enjoyed going in the mind of a "killer." I still think Peterson is guilty, and I liked the way the author created these narrative chapters with both a guilty and not guilty scene. Even with the polygraphs, I believe Peterson did harm his wives, and the author seems to still have doubts too at the end of the day. He seems pretty even-handed in presenting those facts. There were a few typos, which didn't bother me much, not enough to down grade my rating. One of the other reviewers complained about the portrayals of the victim families, but most of this, from what I saw, were media quotes, and some from Peterson's own mouth. I didn't think the author was taking a position. He does write like a Canadian, or like Mark Furhman, the hard presentation of facts without emotion, but I think the story is already wild enough without author hype. I wonder if he'll write a follow up when the case is resolved. He does rely a bit too much on polygraphs, but there is a lot more meat in here. I actually hate Peterson more now, after reading this book. All the affairs, the way he goes on about "conning people", the way he whines about how the media are unfair to him, and the way he blames his wives. Despicable. The hate and love letters are really interesting. I don't get where people can send this creep love letters, but then again Doreen Ramirez married the Night Stalker on death row. The Peterson timeline really helped, especially when the author linked it to the polygraph deceptive answers. A lot of new facts are presented. The only disappointment for me is I wanted the case to be wrapped up. It can't be, but I wanted it to be. I think the timelines, polygraphs and these interviews are going to help the police move this case on. I recommend for any fan of true crime, especially if

Well-written, interesting take...

This is the first in-depth look at the days of Drew's life that the media never uncovered. This is the most inside information you'll get from being on the outside of the story. The author used his time with Drew to build trust and got some amazing access. The polygraphs reveal the answers to questions people have been asking for the past year. This is a well-written, thoroughly researched look at the case America has been talking about but until now didn't have all the information to make an informed opinion. Very interesting.