US Trends

what happened to drew petersons kids

Drew Peterson’s minor children from his third and fourth marriages were kept together and raised by one of his adult sons after he went to prison.

Quick Scoop: What Happened to Drew Peterson’s Kids?

When Drew Peterson was arrested and later convicted, he left behind four young children from his marriages to Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson.

Who are the kids?

  • With his third wife, Kathleen Savio , he had two sons, commonly reported as Tom (Thomas) and Christopher/Kristopher.
  • With his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson , he had two more children, a boy and a girl.

All four of these younger kids were still minors when their father’s cases exploded in the media and he was eventually sent to prison.

Who raised them?

After Drew Peterson was incarcerated, custody of the four younger children went to his adult son Stephen Peterson , from his first marriage.

  • Stephen took the children into the Bolingbrook-area home that Drew had previously shared with his family.
  • Reports note that he tried to give them as normal a life as possible despite the media attention and the trauma tied to their father’s case.

A notable detail often mentioned in coverage: one of the sons, Thomas, later graduated high school as valedictorian, which is frequently cited as an example of the kids managing to move forward academically despite everything surrounding the family.

How do they feel about their dad now?

Publicly, the kids themselves (especially the minors) have mostly stayed out of the spotlight, which is typical in high-profile crime cases to protect their privacy.

However, Stephen has spoken a bit about how the family’s view changed over time:

  • Years ago, Stephen made statements on behalf of the younger kids saying they believed their father was innocent.
  • Later, in interviews (including the show Monster in My Family and local news segments), Stephen said he had come to believe Drew probably killed Kathleen and likely also Stacy, and that this realization had made his own life “hell.”

Drew Peterson himself has repeatedly said in prison interviews that he does not want his children to think he killed their mothers and continues to insist on his innocence.

Where are they now?

Because they were minors and the case involves murder and a still-missing person (Stacy), specific current locations, careers, or private details about the kids are largely kept out of public reporting, likely by design to protect them.

What is publicly known from recent coverage is mainly that:

  • The younger children remained under Stephen’s care as they grew up.
  • At least one of them achieved strong academic success (valedictorian mention).
  • The family has tried to live as quietly as possible despite ongoing media interest in Drew Peterson’s appeals and interviews.

Overall, when people ask “what happened to Drew Peterson’s kids,” the short answer is: they were taken in and raised by their older half-brother Stephen, who has openly wrestled with the truth about their father, while the kids themselves have largely stayed out of public view, focusing on building their own lives away from the case.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.