Drew's parents talk to grand jury

WILL COUNTY | Peterson calls move harassment

Drew Peterson's parents don't know what happened to his missing fourth wife.

That's what his mother and stepfather, Betty and Al Morphey, told reporters on Thursday after they testified in front of the Will County grand jury investigating Stacy Peterson's Oct. 28 disappearance.

"I have no idea. Do you?" Al Morphey replied when asked by a reporter if the couple knew where Stacy was.

Neither would comment on what they were asked about during their grand jury appearance, though Betty Morphey said she believed Stacy still could return home safely.

The grand jury convened last fall just days after Stacy Peterson vanished from the couple's Bolingbrook home. It also has been reviewing the 2004 bathtub drowning of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose death initially was labeled an accident but earlier this year was formally reclassified a murder.

Authorities have described 53-year-old Drew Peterson as a suspect in Stacy's disappearance, though the former Bolingbrook police officer has denied any involvement, contending that she may have run off with another man. Her family has vigorously disputed that theory.

Drew Peterson, who was one of the first witnesses called before the grand jury, also has insisted he didn't play any role in Savio's drowning death, which occurred after they had divorced.

Peterson said Thursday he's "pretty pissed off" his mother and stepfather were called before the grand jury, saying they have no information about Stacy Peterson's disappearance or Savio's death.

"It's simply harassment," he said. "They're old folks who don't have anything to do with anything."

Peterson's parents offered little other information to reporters.

"You guys are vultures," Al Morphey said as he and his wife walked away.