'It Eats At Me': Drew Peterson's Ex Shares Story In New Interview

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Nearly 13 years after becoming romantically involved with convicted murderer and ex-Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson, his ex-fiancee Christina Raines came forward with her story in an episode for Lifetime's docuseries "Cellmate Secrets."

In the interview, which aired on Lifetime June 11 as part of the new documentary series, Raines spoke out about Peterson's convictions for the first time. She said the night his third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in her bathtub, his fourth wife, Stacy, was his alibi. That's what ultimately "doomed her," Raines said.

Raines alleges Peterson put Stacy’s body in a barrel and took it to a location only he knew about — two and a half hours away from where he lived. She's been missing since October 2007.

"He tried to reason with her, and she was not having it and it wasn’t going to work," Raines said. "He got rid of her."

Peterson’s trial in Savio's death began in July 2012. On Sept. 6 of that year, the ex-cop was found guilty and sentenced to 38 years in prison He later had another 40 years tacked on after he was convicted of staging a failed murder-for-hire plot targeting the Will County State's Attorney. To this day, Peterson hasn’t been charged in connection with Stacy’s disappearance, though authorities have said he’s the sole person of interest.

Raines said she once asked Drew what he believed happened to Stacy, and he said she "took $25,000 in cash and a couple bikinis and took off." But Raines, who had been living with Peterson in the same house Stacy lived in, said she knew better because her wardrobe was still intact.

More than a decade later, Raines said, "It eats at me. ... I’m ready to share my truth and move on."

Raines, who was 24 at the time, met Peterson, who was about three decades her senior, at a club in 2008. But it wasn’t the first time she encountered him. When she was 15, he was one of the officers who detained her when she skipped school, her dad, Ernest Raines, said in the episode.

When he met her years later at the club, where Raines and her sister were celebrating a birthday, Peterson said to his friends, "I think I found wife number five," according to "Cellmate Secrets."

Raines’ sister Kimberly believed Peterson murdered his wives, so she was "not having it" when she saw the two talking at the club. At that time, his wife Stacy had been missing for about 10 months.

"I really didn’t care what people thought," Christina said. "I didn’t."

After a few months, by January 2009, she was living with Peterson in the house he had shared with Stacy. She said she even realized he had gifted her jewelry that used to belong to his previous wives.

Raines said one day found a camera in one of his drawers with photos of her naked in bed. When she confronted Drew about it, he said she looked peaceful, so he took some pictures. She said in the interview that she started questioning if she was in the wrong for yelling at him about it. A few months later, they were engaged.

"He was so upbeat and positive about everything, you know?" she said. "It was like nothing really bothered him. He really didn't show any emotion or anything like that."

But today, Raines said she believes Drew had trust issues and showed red flags. After once moving out of his house, she went to stay with an ex-boyfriend who was still a friend. While with him, Raines said she got a text from Peterson and realized he had been watching her from the window.

She moved back in with him after some time, and later, he met another woman, Nicole Speakman, then 23. Drew and the woman became friends before his arrest and started dating afterwards, which Raines learned about for the first time during her"Cellmate Secrets" interview.

Both women described Peterson as kind and flirtatious, and both feared disappointing him.

In a statement to the Chicago Tribune, Peterson’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, called Raines an opportunist, who “apparently believes that each decade she should get her 15 minutes of fame. There’s not a ring of truth to anything she says about Stacy.”

In the interview, Raines said despite believing in his guilt, she still cares for Peterson. Speakman, on the other hand, said she thought he belonged in prison and now has a hard time trusting people.

Peterson is currently serving time in an undisclosed state facility, according to the Tribune.

Raines is not the only person in Drew Peterson's life who believes he was involved in Stacy's disappearance. In 2017, his son, Stephen Peterson, appeared on another Lifetime show, "Monster In My Family," to speak out about his dad, and told the Chicago Tribune he believes his dad "probably" killed Stacy as well as Kathleen Savio.

The "Cellmate Secrets" episode featuring Raines is available on Lifetime's website.