Drew Peterson’s minor children from his third and fourth marriages were ultimately raised by his adult son, while his older children have lived mostly private lives as adults, dealing with the fallout of the case.

Quick Scoop: What happened to Drew Peterson’s children?

Drew Peterson, the former Bolingbrook, Illinois police sergeant, has six children from four marriages.

He is serving a long prison sentence for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and remains the prime suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

How many children, and with whom?

  • First marriage (Carol):
    • One son, Eric; Drew has long been estranged from him, and he is rarely mentioned publicly.
  • Second marriage (Victoria):
    • No children.
  • Third marriage (Kathleen Savio):
    • Two sons, Tom and Christopher.
  • Fourth marriage (Stacy Peterson):
    • Two youngest children, a son and a daughter commonly identified as Anthony and Lacy.

All four of the younger kids (Tom, Christopher, and Stacy’s two children) were minors when Peterson was arrested and later convicted.

Who raised the younger children after Drew Peterson’s arrest?

When Peterson was taken into custody and later convicted, his adult son Stephen (from a previous marriage) stepped in as the primary caregiver for four of the six children.

  • Stephen moved into the Bolingbrook family home to care for Tom, Christopher, and Stacy’s two children.
  • Reports note that he effectively became their guardian, handling day‑to‑day parenting after both Kathleen was dead and Stacy had disappeared, and once Drew was no longer in the home.

Peterson himself wrote from jail years ago pleading for people to “back off” his kids and referring to Stephen as the caregiver for four of his six children.

What is their situation today?

Most detailed, recent coverage focuses on Stephen and the emotional impact the case had on him and his siblings, rather than on specific personal details of each child’s adult life (which are largely kept private for safety and privacy reasons).

Key points from public reporting:

  • Stephen initially defended his father and publicly insisted Drew was innocent.
  • Over time, he changed his view and has said he now believes his father likely killed both Kathleen and Stacy.
  • Interviews and TV appearances describe anxiety, trauma, and health challenges among the children as a result of the murders, disappearance, and relentless media attention.
  • The younger children have been shielded as much as possible; there is no widely reported evidence that any of them were harmed physically after being placed with Stephen, only that they grew up under the shadow of the case.

Mini timeline: kids and case

  1. 2004 – Kathleen Savio is found dead; her death is later ruled a homicide.
  1. 2007 – Stacy Peterson disappears; Drew becomes the prime suspect.
  1. 2009–2012 – Drew is arrested and ultimately convicted of Kathleen’s murder; Stephen is caring for four of the children.
  1. 2010s–2020s – Stephen and some siblings occasionally speak in documentaries and talk shows; the younger kids remain mostly out of the spotlight.

Short forum‑style take

In true crime circles, when people ask “what happened to Drew Peterson’s children,” the core answer is: they were not placed in foster care or split up by the state; they were raised by their older half‑brother Stephen, largely away from cameras, while dealing with long‑term emotional fallout from their father’s crimes and their mothers’ deaths and disappearance.

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What happened to Drew Peterson’s children? After the ex-cop’s murder conviction and Stacy Peterson’s disappearance, his four youngest kids were raised by their half‑brother Stephen, while the family has lived mostly privately, coping with trauma and media scrutiny.

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