Stacy Cremated?

[Peculiar Petunia]

I think the cremation theory is entirely plausible...

* It would explain why Drew only needed the brother-in-law's assistance in loading the blue barrel onto the truck, not off- someone met him at the funeral home and helped him unload the barrel.

*I remember reading that one of Drew's former friends claimed that Drew remarked that the biggest mistake he made with third wife Kathleen was not having her body cremated, or something to that effect. Makes me believe he had 'cremation as a means of evidence disposal' at the forefront of his sneaky little brain.

*It's been thought by many people that Drew had a lot of shady business dealings, and it is possible someone owed him some big favors.
**Another thought is that he also tossed some big money this person's way. Some people will do just about anything for the right amount of money.
***Once the 'deed' was done, the person who helped arrange/assist/or just looked the other way would never be able to admit to anything without incriminating themselves in the process.

As I stated in a post above, this would also explain his seeming cockiness that Stacy's body will never be found, so he believes he will never be held accountable for either her disappearance or murder.

In his mind, he committed the 'perfect' crime. Every murderous sociopath's grandest goal. What a huge achievement for his huge ego!

The above is my speculative opinion only, of course!

Years ago, I would have said, "No way," but after that case in KY, IIRC, where the owners just threw the bodies out in a back field, I'm not so sure.

 

[delaney]

i don't think cremating stacy's body is very likley.

you would have to have a mortician involved, just
waiting for drew to pull up with the body. no other
staff around.

people talk. not everyone has no conscience like drew.

 

[panthera]

***bump*****
After hearing that DP wanted so badly for Kathleen to be cremated, Makes me wonder more.
Now that he is in jail someone will squeel on him?
Could he have done a cremation himself?
I still also am worried about the storage unit, body in barrel of chemicals then
before everything hit the news, bury bones? cremate them? easier than a body?
Did someone owe him a favor?
DP knew the 'bad guys'...........LE needs to look into who he didn't arrest at a time he
should of?

Please don't laugh at me, but last night on CSI:Miami, in the storyline there was a guy who was pushed into a swimming pool where an alkaline had been injected through the filtration system and he literally boiled and dissolved. Two more bodies (well, what was left of them) were found in a tannery, in solution-filled barrels. So, I don't think this theory is beyond the realm of possibilities. And it would give DP the reassurance that Stacy's remains wouldn't be found. MOO

 

[scandi]

I think the cremation theory is entirely plausible...

* It would explain why Drew only needed the brother-in-law's assistance in loading the blue barrel onto the truck, not off- someone met him at the funeral home and helped him unload the barrel.

*I remember reading that one of Drew's former friends claimed that Drew remarked that the biggest mistake he made with third wife Kathleen was not having her body cremated, or something to that effect. Makes me believe he had 'cremation as a means of evidence disposal' at the forefront of his sneaky little brain.

*It's been thought by many people that Drew had a lot of shady business dealings, and it is possible someone owed him some big favors.
**Another thought is that he also tossed some big money this person's way. Some people will do just about anything for the right amount of money.
***Once the 'deed' was done, the person who helped arrange/assist/or just looked the other way would never be able to admit to anything without incriminating themselves in the process.

As I stated in a post above, this would also explain his seeming cockiness that Stacy's body will never be found, so he believes he will never be held accountable for either her disappearance or murder.

In his mind, he committed the 'perfect' crime. Every murderous sociopath's grandest goal. What a huge achievement for his huge ego!

The above is my speculative opinion only, of course!

I appreciate your thoughts Smart Blonde, but just can't visualize anyone, even a cop, driving up to the funeral home door and asking if the guy could unload a blue barrel from his truck that contained a dead person.

Anyone dead in a barrel would be considered very suspicious and therefore end up on a table at the morgue, right, for autopsy? They would learn the true ID of the person, and since it is surmised it was Stacy put in that barrel, it wouldn't work. IMO

 

[scandi]

Please don't laugh at me, but last night on CSI:Miami, in the storyline there was a guy who was pushed into a swimming pool where an alkaline had been injected through the filtration system and he literally boiled and dissolved. Two more bodies (well, what was left of them) were found in a tannery, in solution-filled barrels. So, I don't think this theory is beyond the realm of possibilities. And it would give DP the reassurance that Stacy's remains wouldn't be found. MOO

Yo, Panthera, ITA with you about CSI Miami and think I have learned a great deal about procedure and forensics from the show.

Do we know the date the barrel was moved from P's house? Was any odor present? I know the BIL said the barrel was warm to the touch.

You must be thinking the barrel was moved very soon after death, he dropped the BIL off and took the barrel somewhere where he added lye or something else to disolve the body {he would know of vacant bldgs that were safe to leave it}, and then discarded the barrel at a later date when it would have been much lighter. What a gruesome thought!

 

[thesleuther]

I think this is just impossible.

First, Drew was a police officer. He, of all people, knows that accomplices talk. Yes, he used Tom Morphey to help him move the blue barrell, but the only reason is that he had to get it out of there pronto and he couldn't do it himself. He desperately needed help.

Drew has known for a long time that the marriage was shaky. He couldn't let Stacy go because of what she knew and because of the financial obligations. He was nearing retirement and didn't want to share custody of the children nor did he want to lose part of his assets.

I've said it before and I'll say one more time that I believe he had a spot prepared for a burial. Think of how difficult it is to find a body in a woods somewhere. I don't think Drew really wanted to kill her, but in his mind he had no choice. With a burial spot already prepared, all he had to do was get the barrel close to the edge of the Denali and let gravity take over. Covering a grave is easy compared to digging it. He would have had ample time to accomplish it. His police work educated and prepared him for the task. It is far more difficult to prosecute without a body and he knows it. I am convinced that he took the Denali because of where he had to go.

I simply don't see taking the time or the risk of a cremation involving another person.

 

[Leila]

I think this is just impossible.

First, Drew was a police officer. He, of all people, knows that accomplices talk. Yes, he used Tom Morphey to help him move the blue barrell, but the only reason is that he had to get it out of there pronto and he couldn't do it himself. He desperately needed help.

Drew has known for a long time that the marriage was shaky. He couldn't let Stacy go because of what she knew and because of the financial obligations. He was nearing retirement and didn't want to share custody of the children nor did he want to lose part of his assets.

I've said it before and I'll say one more time that I believe he had a spot prepared for a burial. Think of how difficult it is to find a body in a woods somewhere. I don't think Drew really wanted to kill her, but in his mind he had no choice. With a burial spot already prepared, all he had to do was get the barrel close to the edge of the Denali and let gravity take over. Covering a grave is easy compared to digging it. He would have had ample time to accomplish it. His police work educated and prepared him for the task. It is far more difficult to prosecute without a body and he knows it. I am convinced that he took the Denali because of where he had to go.

I simply don't see taking the time or the risk of a cremation involving another person.

This scenario makes a lot of sense. I've always felt that DP knew he couldn't let Stacy leave him with the knowledge she had in regards to Kathleen. He planned on doing away with Stacy, but didn't plan on doing it on a weekend with the older boys and neighbors home. I think he would have done it on a weekday and away from home - no witnesses.

I think DP killed Stacy in a rage on Sunday, Oct. 28th, and he was then caught in the worst possible circumstances, with the the children in the house and neighbors home. He had to get the body out of the house before the children found the body or before Stacy's family became suspicious.

Cass said she started calling Stacy in the early afternoon and got no response. She became increasingly alarmed. She went to the Peterson home about 11:00pm, saw that both the Denali and Stacy's car weren't there. One of the boys answered the door, saying that his dad wasn't home - that his mom and dad had an argument and Stacy left and his dad was out looking for her.

Later, Cass called Drew's cell phone and when he answered it he was out of breath and Cass heard the sound of car keys. She asked where he was and he said he was at home.......but Cass was sitting in her car near the Peterson house and could see that DP's car wasn't in the driveway.

In the wee hours of the morning, Cass and her boyfriend, Bruce, saw that both the Denali and Stacy's car were in the driveway of the Peterson home, and Bruce called Drew, who told him that Stacy had left him and she called and told him her car was at the airport and he had gone and brought it home.

It was at that point that Cass went to the police to report Stacy missing.

When Cass first called Drew, when he was out of breath and she heard the sound of car keys............he could have been out disposing of Stacy's body in the woods.

 

[whatgivesq]

Thats very interesting. I just wish the investigators would find something concrete to nail the bastard to the wall. It seems obvious to me that he is guilty of the death/disappearance of Stacy and his 3rd wife. IIRC, Stacy's mom disappeared right around the time he started dating Stacy, I wonder if he had anything to do with that disappearance.
His day will come I'm sure.

I have been wondering about the circumstances of Stacy's mother being missing too..... anyone have any insight?

 

[mysteriew]

Is it possible that Stacy was cremated? I think it is entirely possible.

DrewP would have had to know a funeral director who would cooperate. I don't believe that there is any way for DrewP to have had a clandestine cremation without the cooperation of the crematory director. But yes, I think he could have blackmailed or paid to get the cooperation. There has been questions all along about DrewP's associates and his ties to people with questionable backgrounds. So either he knew a susceptible director or they did. And let's face it. DrewP lives near the area that used to be acknowleged leader on getting rid of dead bodies. Yes, they may have changed, but the knowlege and even some of the people who used to do this and didn't get caught may still be around.

The funeral director would have had to have another cremation scheduled at the same time. To run the crematory clandestinely would be impossible. But it wouldn't be much of a problem to throw another body in on another cremation.

The ashes. The ashes would have no attachment for DrewP. To him, it is done and over. He would have left the ashes for the director to dispose of. All DrewP would have wanted out of them would have been distance from them. So they either went down a drain, in the garbage or they are mixed in with the ashes of another cremated person. And who would question a crematory who had some "ash dust" to get rid of? So my quess is that they went into the garbage.

TM, I have thought all along that TM was a diversion. He was set up to throw LE into a track leading away from what really happened. As a police officer, DrewP knows that it doesn't matter what authorities think he did. What matters is what they can prove he did. So if LE is running around looking for containers and barrels, maybe they won't be looking at crematories.

The three days. Maybe the director needed a couple of days to get to a scheduled cremation. Maybe DrewP needed the time to get to the people he needed to get to to make arrangements and payments or whatever. Or maybe DrewP just needed the time to calm himself down and get his 'game face' on before he faced the media. After all he was answering LE questions at that time. Maybe he wanted to hide his face, to keep from being recognized as he took care of some last minute business. And maybe he just thought he could avoid the media and they would lose interest and go away. But remember he was still a police officer at that point and all the publicity was bound to cause difficulty on the job. When media published pictures of him and Stacy, when his face was already out there then DrewP did start showing his face.

 

[KenoshaKid]

***bump*****
After hearing that DP wanted so badly for Kathleen to be cremated, Makes me wonder more.
Now that he is in jail someone will squeel on him?
Could he have done a cremation himself?
I still also am worried about the storage unit, body in barrel of chemicals then
before everything hit the news, bury bones? cremate them? easier than a body?
Did someone owe him a favor?
DP knew the 'bad guys'...........LE needs to look into who he didn't arrest at a time he
should of?

(Bold mine)
If you mean burn the body outside of a crematorium, no. Burning a body requires very high heat, after which many of the bones are still intact and are then run through a grinder. I'd be more inclined to think that he dissolved her with acid or lye.

 

[mysteriew]

I have been wondering about the circumstances of Stacy's mother being missing too..... anyone have any insight?

Some people have wondered if DrewP could have arranged her disappearance for some reason. Either his own reasons or to alow himself to get closer to Stacy.

IMO her missing mother was a coincidence. Maybe something that DrewP exploited, like promising to do more investigation or offering "sympathy and understanding" to help him get closer to her. But IMO that happened before DrewP was in the picture. If he had had something to do with her disappearance, he isn't the sentimental type that would look up her kids to see how they were doing.

 

[kikid]

Is it possible that Stacy was cremated? I think it is entirely possible.

DrewP would have had to know a funeral director who would cooperate. I don't believe that there is any way for DrewP to have had a clandestine cremation without the cooperation of the crematory director. But yes, I think he could have blackmailed or paid to get the cooperation. There has been questions all along about DrewP's associates and his ties to people with questionable backgrounds. So either he knew a susceptible director or they did. And let's face it. DrewP lives near the area that used to be acknowleged leader on getting rid of dead bodies. Yes, they may have changed, but the knowlege and even some of the people who used to do this and didn't get caught may still be around.

The funeral director would have had to have another cremation scheduled at the same time. To run the crematory clandestinely would be impossible. But it wouldn't be much of a problem to throw another body in on another cremation.

The ashes. The ashes would have no attachment for DrewP. To him, it is done and over. He would have left the ashes for the director to dispose of. All DrewP would have wanted out of them would have been distance from them. So they either went down a drain, in the garbage or they are mixed in with the ashes of another cremated person. And who would question a crematory who had some "ash dust" to get rid of? So my quess is that they went into the garbage.

TM, I have thought all along that TM was a diversion. He was set up to throw LE into a track leading away from what really happened. As a police officer, DrewP knows that it doesn't matter what authorities think he did. What matters is what they can prove he did. So if LE is running around looking for containers and barrels, maybe they won't be looking at crematories.

The three days. Maybe the director needed a couple of days to get to a scheduled cremation. Maybe DrewP needed the time to get to the people he needed to get to to make arrangements and payments or whatever. Or maybe DrewP just needed the time to calm himself down and get his 'game face' on before he faced the media. After all he was answering LE questions at that time. Maybe he wanted to hide his face, to keep from being recognized as he took care of some last minute business. And maybe he just thought he could avoid the media and they would lose interest and go away. But remember he was still a police officer at that point and all the publicity was bound to cause difficulty on the job. When media published pictures of him and Stacy, when his face was already out there then DrewP did start showing his face.

lets not forget about pet crematory's, I'm not sure what the legalities are with those for scheduled or non scheduled cremations. Such places are equiped to cremate large dogs so I think a small person would fit without a problem. just my thoughts -

 

[kikid]

Some people have wondered if DrewP could have arranged her disappearance for some reason. Either his own reasons or to alow himself to get closer to Stacy.

IMO her missing mother was a coincidence. Maybe something that DrewP exploited, like promising to do more investigation or offering "sympathy and understanding" to help him get closer to her. But IMO that happened before DrewP was in the picture. If he had had something to do with her disappearance, he isn't the sentimental type that would look up her kids to see how they were doing.

my memory is so fuzzy as I haven't read much about the case for the last year, but I thought I recalled that one of Stacy's sisters (older sister who died?) had dated Drew at some point?? I hope I'm not posting something I'm recalling incorrectly - but for some reason I thought I'd read it somewhere.

 

[mysteriew]

my memory is so fuzzy as I haven't read much about the case for the last year, but I thought I recalled that one of Stacy's sisters (older sister who died?) had dated Drew at some point?? I hope I'm not posting something I'm recalling incorrectly - but for some reason I thought I'd read it somewhere.

That does sound vaguely familiar. Either that she knew him or dated him. But I think it was still a rumor, I don't think we ever confirmed that for sure.

 

[kikid]

That does sound vaguely familiar. Either that she knew him or dated him. But I think it was still a rumor, I don't think we ever confirmed that for sure.

ok, well we'll say it was a rumor then since there wasn't confirmation. Although if true, he may have known Stacy's mom and even had conflict with her at some point before ever meeting Stacy. If the rumor is true of course.

 

[Mysterylover]

(Bold mine)
If you mean burn the body outside of a crematorium, no.
Burning a body requires very high heat, after which many of the bones are still intact and are then run through a grinder.

I'd be more inclined to think that he dissolved her with acid or lye....

KebishaKid, Good theory...
I am inclined to agree, that he possibly dissolved her with acid or lye from that blue, pool barrel he had sitting in his garage......I suspect that is why S. told her sister, she had to be 'found' within 2 days.

I'll ad another theory ..

Let's not forget the bikini she took, along with her passport and $25 grand.

What IF Drew paid the money to whomever he told to dispose of the body?

What IF he put the barrel/her into a storage shed at the airport that night?

..then he gives the key to the storage shed/hanger to someone along with the money to dispose of the body in the container of liquid?

Possibly a trucker or called in an 'I OWE U' from someone he met working undercover drugs years back.

Days Later He follows at a distance to make sure the job is done right during the 3 days he goes missing...

OR: he doesn't trust anyone and he gets the barrel/container from his plane hanger and disposes of her himself, at a pre-planed, prepared location..which took the 3 days.

 

[closeobserver]

Interesting story about how it takes 2 days to completely dissolve a body in sulfuric acid....mmm, 2 days, plus one day for travel and clean up equals a three day unexplained "head clearing" trip and the confidence that Stacy will never be found.
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/717344.html

[SIZE=-1]Subject: Re: What is the fastest method to (chemically) dissolve a body?
From: cryptica-ga on 10 Apr 2006 16:56 PDT[/SIZE] Oh, yes, Follow Kemlo's suggestion and check out legendary British
killer, John George Haig! I wrote & produced a mini-documentary about
him several years ago. I just looked up some of my notes. . .

Haigh, a k a "The Acid Bath Murderer," while in prison on fraud
charges came up with the idea for a series of "perfect murders." He
experimented while in prison with jam jars, field mice and very small
quantities of acid in order to work out how long it would take a body
to disappear in acid. On his release, he then started practicing on
human beings.

Haigh dissolved 5 people between 1944 and 1948 -- then stole their
property by forging letters and documents and posing as a relative.
All of the people he killed were his friends, including Mrs.
Durand-Deacon, the 6th and last of his victims. He got her to come to
his "workshop" in Crawley, where he shot her in the head.

He placed her body in a 45-gallon oil drum, went out for a cup of tea
and a poached egg on toast, then returned and filled the drum with
sulfruic acid, left it to stand for 2 days until the body had
disintegrated and swilled out the residue across the yard outside.

When the police searched Haigh's workshop, they found a rubber apron,
gas mask and empty carboys of acid. Plus letters and correspondence
and the recently fired revolver.

Haigh finally confesssed. "I've destoryed her with acid. You'll find
the sludge that remains at Leopold Road. Every trace has gone," he
bragged. "How can you charge me with murder when there is no BODY?"

A leading forensic pathologist foraged around in the soil where the
drums of acid had been dumped. He immediately picked up a small
stone. What Haigh didn't realize, the skilled pathologist did:
GALLSTONES don't dissolve quickly in acid.

In the end, 475 pounds of earth were analyzed, which came to 28 pounds
of animal fat, part of a foot, two more gall stones, Mrs.
Durand-Deacon's red handbag and Mrs. Durand-Deacon's dentures.
(Try saying THAT 5 times fast.)

Haigh's trial lasted only 2 days, during which he shocked the
courtroom by calming working on a crossword puzzle. The jury
deliberated for 17 minutes.

In 1949 Haigh was put to death by hanging. A perfectionist to the
end, he asked for a rehearsal of his execution. (The authorities
declined.)

There are many photographs of Haigh's workshop and the drums and gas
mask, etc., if you're interested and I also recommend an excellent
book that goes into more detail about his "technique."
"The Acid Bath Murders," by David Briffet.

 

[thesleuther]

The problem I see with all the cremation talk and people owing Drew talk is that accomplices talk. How much do you think the National Enquirer would pay for that scoop? What kind of deal could a convict work out for the info that would put Drew behind bars for life? What about a 7-figure book deal?

I think Drew is given too much credit and all the accomplice talk and cremation talk just makes everything way too complicated.

I simply don't see Drew getting help beyond his step-brother Tom Morphey. The desperation of getting the body out of the house is one thing; getting a convict or a funeral director to help dispose of one is another. There was no reason to get help with disposal and if there's no reason to involve another person then it's beyond stupid to do it. Drew's years of seeing criminals in action showed him very well all the problems with accomplices. They talk...even Morphey....he talked.

I hate to repeat myself, but here I go. Drew was desperate to get Stacy's body out of the house; he had no choice but to get it away from the crime scene ASAP. Stacy's body at his house meant only one thing and that is that he murdered her. Despite taking a chance on Morphey, he had no choice. Once the body was loaded in the Denali, he had lots of choices and there was no need to involve anyone else.

 

[mysteriew]

The problem I see with all the cremation talk and people owing Drew talk is that accomplices talk. How much do you think the National Enquirer would pay for that scoop? What kind of deal could a convict work out for the info that would put Drew behind bars for life? What about a 7-figure book deal?

I think Drew is given too much credit and all the accomplice talk and cremation talk just makes everything way too complicated.

I simply don't see Drew getting help beyond his step-brother Tom Morphey. The desperation of getting the body out of the house is one thing; getting a convict or a funeral director to help dispose of one is another. There was no reason to get help with disposal and if there's no reason to involve another person then it's beyond stupid to do it. Drew's years of seeing criminals in action showed him very well all the problems with accomplices. They talk...even Morphey....he talked.

I hate to repeat myself, but here I go. Drew was desperate to get Stacy's body out of the house; he had no choice but to get it away from the crime scene ASAP. Stacy's body at his house meant only one thing and that is that he murdered her. Despite taking a chance on Morphey, he had no choice. Once the body was loaded in the Denali, he had lots of choices and there was no need to involve anyone else.

You and I are not as far apart as we might seem.

I totally agree with you, witnesses talk. What it will take to get a witness to talk will vary though.

That's why I think that TM is a diversion. DrewP sees him as weak, he knows that TM would talk. If DrewP needed a family member quickly, a strong family member who was loyal to him- he had other family members. IMO TM would be the last one he would go to if he wanted to keep something covered up. But now to use him to develop a diversion, that he would do nicely. If police are following up on TM's info then they aren't looking elsewhere. And it worked for a while. LE kept TM under wraps for a good while. Then without explanation TM says they simply quit talking to him and they brought him home.

There are also other witnesses. Some who had committed crimes so regularly that to committ a crime or cover up a crime is almost a profession. Those generally won't talk, not unless their own lives are threatened and sometimes not then. It is thought that DrewP knew some people like this. Connected guys. It is thought to be possible that DrewP may have done business with them before. But that he definately knew them or knew of them. As a police officer, it might even be possible that they owed him. Or that he had worked for them. They would be safer than TM. For instance if someone referred him to a funeral home, they probably wouldn't want that info to come out because they wouldn't want LE to get too interested in other cremations that were done at the crematory if you get my drift. They wouldn't be telling anyone.

 

[mysteriew]

Closeobserver I don't have a pool. But do pool owners use any acids in the car of their pool? I mean I know they use clorine and some other chemicals, but I wouldn't think acid unless they were draining and cleaning it.

From what I remember being said earlier, the barrel that was reported to be in the P garage was supposed to be chlorine, which doesn't act like an acid.