Pastor who counseled Stacy Peterson reveals "scary moment" while on session with murder convict Drew Peterson, links disappearance to coercion

Bolingbrook church counseling pastor Neil Schori has revealed his experience with Drew Peterson. For those who don't know, Peterson is a former police officer who is currently imprisoned for killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio. But that's not the only case against Peterson. Drew is also involved in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

For those who don't know, Stacy disappeared from her Bolingbrook residence on October 28, 2007. She was 23 years old at the time of her disappearance and hasn't been found in the past nineteen years. Now, counseling pastor Neil Schori has revealed his experience with Drew Peterson and Stacy. In an interview with the CBS News Chicago Investigators, Schori revealed what Stacy told him:

"Stacy told me about things in her life that were concerning. And she called it 'regular marriage issues.' Drew would always accuse her of affairs."

Neil Schori revealed that Stacy Peterson, who was just in her early 20s at that time, used to tell the counseling pastor that Drew accused her of infidelity because he loved her. Schori also told the CBS News Chicago Investigators that Drew used to call Stacy around 40 or even 50 times even if she took too long at grocery stores.

In the same CBS interview, the counseling pastor recalled one of the sessions in which he was hearing out both Drew and Stacy Peterson. Drew abruptly ended that session in a way that disturbed even Neil Schori. The pastor recalled the session, saying:

"This is a police officer with weapons. It was a very, very scary moment. And then she asked me to pray for her."

The Bolingbrook church counseling pastor further recalled the moment when Stacy Peterson revealed something shocking about Drew's involvement in Kathleen Savio's death in 2004.

What did Neil Schori say about Drew Peterson's involvement in Kathleen Savio's death?

Drew's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in her bathtub in March 2004. Savio and Peterson were married between 1992 and 2003. Drew Peterson married the then-19-year-old Stacy just eight days after he and Kathleen divorced. In 2007, just two months before her disappearance and three years after Kathleen's death, Stacy revealed the dark secret to Neil Schori.

The pastor recalled:

"She just kind of shouted this out with no context: 'He did it.' I said, 'He did what?' She said, 'Drew killed Kathleen and made it look like an accident.'"

Back in 2004, Stacy had provided an alibi for Drew upon his request. Schori revealed that Drew Peterson sat right next to Stacy as she attested to her husband's presence on the day of Kathleen's death:

"They allowed him to sit next to her while they asked her where he was. It was horribly inappropriate. She said, 'Oh, he was right here the whole time.'"

Relationship experts over the years have described Drew Peterson's behavior as coercive control, something Schori agreed with in the interview:

"It's a pattern of behaviors that's designed to control and diminish another person."

Schori informed the Bolingbrook police about what Stacy had told him. This information is what enabled the authorities to reexamine Savio's death, which was initially ruled an accidental drowning. Schori's testimony in that trial was crucial in convicting Drew Peterson of first-degree murder.

However, Schori himself has some regrets about not recognizing Drew's coercive control:

"I have huge regrets that I didn't know. I didn't understand coercive control. I didn't, as a pastor, know how to respond well to abuse. I know all those things now, but I know those things because of Stacy and because of Kathleen."

Where is the disgraced police officer now?

Peterson was convicted in September 2012 of the murder of Kathleen Savio and sentenced to 38 years. Drew has maintained that he didn't murder Kathleen; he told Fox 32. He also maintains that he didn't kill Stacy, and he once told a press outlet that he hoped she would resurface one day:

“Well, there's been all kinds of cases of a woman coming back years after. As much as 10 or 12 years afterward.”

Additionally, he was also charged with a murder-for-hire plot targeting James Glasgow, Will County prosecutor, in February 2015. He is incarcerated in the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. For the Glasgow case, he was sentenced to 40 years, meaning he is serving a total of 78 years in prison.

Drew Peterson is still the primary suspect in Stacy's disappearance. If you have any information, please contact the FBI at their national tip line, 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the FBI Chicago Field Office at 312-421-6700 immediately. Apart from the FBI tip line, please contact the Illinois State Police's Stacy Peterson tip line at 815-740-0678.

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