The Dark Celebrity Enjoyed by Drew Peterson From “His Fans” Mirrors the Night Stalker in California, Now That Peterson is in Jail

“I can please you and spoil you in a way you have never known,” one so-called fan wrote Drew Peterson in a letter covered in perfume and lipstick. Dozens of letters disturbingly mirror the Night Stalker phenomenon, where death-row serial killer Ramirez received love and hate letters and eventually married one of his fans in jail.

Drew Peterson’s Narcissism thrived on the hate and love mail he received, and the media attention that brought the letters his way. The “dark fan mail” will almost certainly continue now that he finds himself held in jail, isolated from the general population, and charged with Kathleen Savio’s murder.



Peterson Got Physical Rush Out of Letters
In interviews with author Derek Armstrong — who spent over 200 hours taping interviews with Drew Peterson for the book Drew Peterson Exposed — Peterson admitted the thrill it gave him to receive fan mail. Armstrong predicts the “dark fan” attention will continue. “Even while I was there at his house, interviewing him, the mail came. And Peterson almost got a physical rush out of it. He let me photograph the letters for Drew Peterson Exposed, read them to me, couldn’t stop talking about how he asked the women writers to send pictures.” Some letters were imprinted with lipstick kisses and drenched in perfume.

Armstrong dedicated a chapter in Drew Peterson Exposed to Peterson’s Narcissism, reproducing both the hate and love letters in full (with senders last names obscured), and Peterson sent him new bundles of letters by courier for the book. “There’s no question Peterson loves the attention. In the same way as he gets a thrill from what he calls his ‘adoring fans’, I can tell you he gets an equal thrill from joking with the media as he’s led off in handcuffs. It’s classic Narcissism, symptomatic of a sociopathic personality. There are literally hundreds of stories in Drew Peterson Exposed that demonstrate this unnaturally strong craving for attention of any kind. It’s one of the reasons I wrote the book. A glimpse inside the Peterson mind is important — especially now.”

Some Examples of Disturbing Letters
• HATE: “Dear Slime bag murderer – You are one of the lowest life forms on planet earth. The country and you both know that you killed both Kathleen and Stacy. It’s only a matter of time before they haul your pathetic ass into jail.”
• LOVE: “I have a goofy request. Could you send me your picture and autograph. I like you a lot.”
• HATE: “ The only one who can help you now is GOD. He is the final judge. I have been and will continue to pray that justice will be served I this case…”
• LOVE: “Wanna see you! Love Ya!” (picture enclosed!)
• HATE: “… You have committed these two barbaric and cowardly acts of murder. I strongly urge you to confess these sins before the Holy LORD God.”
• LOVE: (lipstick and perfume covered letter): “I believe in you… I look forward to the day I can please and spoil you in a way you have never known.” Signed ME XO

“Hate or love, Peterson was equally proud of both,” Armstrong said. Peterson laughed appreciatively at the suggestions to confess his sins, and told stories of how he asked for — and got — pictures of some of the “love” letter writers.

Predicted Arrest Four Months Ago for Murder of Kathleen Savio
Armstrong’s book, Drew Peterson Exposed, penetrated the psyche of Drew Peterson in depth. “I was lucky to have a willing subject,” Armstrong said. “Fed by ego, Drew Peterson held nothing back.” Armstrong appears frequently on news programs and predicted the arrest almost to the day. On one cable TV show, four months ago, Armstrong indicated he thought Peterson would be arrested for Kathleen Savio’s homicide, and that it would be in the last week or two of the special grand jury empanelled to consider an indictment.

“The main reason why is fairly obvious,” Armstrong said. “It wasn’t likely they would convene a new grand jury. Eighteen months is long enough to make a determination.”

Prosecution’s Case Reasonably Strong
He evaluates the case as reasonably strong, but a difficult presentation for the prosecution. “They were smart to wait until they had everything they could get. They definitely have motive: the marital home, multiple life insurance policies, assets, the child custody battle. The domestic abuse complaints, indicated a pattern of anger and violence. Opportunity depends on whether you believe his alibi – which was Stacy Peterson and his children – and other circumstantial evidence. The biggest challenge will be the introduction of hearsay evidence from Kathleen Savio. “The appeals will be pretty much automatic.”

Mock Jury Indicates Hung Jury
In an earlier story, Armstrong also investigated and released the story of the mock jury put on by Peterson’s defense team, where Peterson “scraped by with a near-tie win.” It would have been a hung jury. Judging by the written comments from the mock jury, the results indicated that the prosecutions case wasn’t strong, but they seemed to believe he was guilty.

Drew Peterson Exposed
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• 140 photographs and documents reproduced
• Publisher: Kunati Inc.(October 1, 2008) Embargoed Title
• Exclusively distributed by Independent Publishers Group and available October 1, 2008 in major retailers everywhere.
• ISBN-13: 9781601641878