JOLIET, Ill. (AP) " Former police officer Drew Peterson offered someone $25,000 to kill his third wife because he thought a pending divorce settlement would financially ruin him, but then killed her himself months later, prosecutors said Friday.
Prosecutor James Glasgow made the allegation at a bail reduction hearing for Peterson's $20 million bond.
Judge Carla J. Alessio-Policandriotes refused to reduce the bond for the suburban Chicago police officer, who is charged with first-degree murder in Kathleen Savio's 2004 death.
Peterson also is a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. He has maintained his innocence in Savio's death and Stacy Peterson's disappearance.
Glasgow said Peterson told a fellow police officer in late 2003 that he would be financially ruined by a pending divorce, and his life would be easier "if she was just dead." Glasgow did not reveal the source of his allegation.