Drew Peterson’s ex: It was all a ‘stunt’
Raines says ex-cop dreamed it up to stay in the news
(Rich Hein/Sun-Times/CBS)
Police want to talk to the latest woman to walk away from Drew Peterson.
Christina Raines hit the TV airwaves Monday to dish about her just-ended relationship with Peterson, and State Police plan to question the 24-year-old Romeoville woman today, her father says.
The cops also want to take a look at the purported engagement ring Peterson gave Raines last month, said her dad, Ernest Raines. "They're going to get the ring and talk to her," he said.
Christina Raines and her two young children moved into Peterson's Bolingbrook home in January after a whirlwind courtship -- with Peterson publicly proclaiming as recently as last week that he planned to marry the waitress.
Peterson, 55, is still married to his missing fourth wife, Stacy, who vanished in 2007. Authorities have labeled him a suspect in her disappearance, which they have described as a "potential homicide." Peterson insists she left him. Police also are investigating the 2004 bathtub drowning death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio.
Christina Raines abruptly moved out of Peterson's house Friday after an ABC "Nightline" report on Peterson's relationships aired Thursday night. On Monday, she was the one giving interviews, telling CBS' "The Early Show" that their purported engagement was "a stunt" concocted by Peterson and his advisers to garner publicity.
"I was never engaged to him," Raines said, though she acknowledged that at one point, "I thought I loved him."
Peterson wouldn't comment Monday, but his attorney said the former Bolingbrook cop wanted to marry Christina Raines.
"There was a proposal, there was an acceptance, and after the proposal, she moved in with him," attorney Joel Brodsky said. "Why she denied it, I don't know."
A State Police spokesman declined to comment on whether investigators plan to interview Christina Raines or take possession of the ring. Ernest Raines said he suspects the engagement ring once belonged to Stacy Peterson, though other sources say it's not the same ring.