Prosecution Eyes Charging Drew Peterson in Fourth Wife's Disappearance

Feb. 22, 2013— -- A spokesman for the lead state prosecutor in the Drew Peterson case said that the prosecution may be looking at filing charges against the former Illinois police officer for the disappearance of his fourth wife after he was sentenced to 38 years in jail for killing his third wife.

"[Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow] is not precluded necessarily from charging someone with murder if there is no body," Glasgow's spokesman, Charles Pelkie, told ABCNews.com. "These cases have been prosecuted in the past."

Drew Peterson was sentenced on Thursday for the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose body was found in a bathtub, her hair soaked in blood in 2004.

But prosecutors also have their eyes on the case of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, who went missing in 2007. Her body has never been found.

"What [Glasgow] intends to do is review that case, as well as another missing person case, the Lisa Stebic case, as well as a number of other missing persons cases, some going back 25 years," Pelkie said.

Pelkie said attorneys in Glasgow's office are looking through those cases, assessing their strengths and weaknesses in order to determine what they need to do "with respect to an eye toward charging."

Pelkie said Glasgow is "not a state's attorney who believes that you don't forgo a murder case when the defendant has already been convicted and is going to jail for another murder."

Meanwhile, Savio's family is thankful Peterson is now behind bars.

"I think that since everything has been happening, we've kind of been on pins and needles since he was convicted," said Elizabeth Savio, Kathleen Savio's niece. "Now that he has been sentenced, we're hoping we can continue that feeling, basically, now, because there is evidence that they are going to be charging him with Stacy's disappearance."

Savio said she did not attend the sentencing on Thursday, but was glad that Peterson's true colors came out when he shouted in court, "I did not kill Kathleen!"

"Finally, at the end, where he is the most vulnerable," she said, "it was nice to able to show who he really is as a person."

Savio characterized her family's experience with the trial as "an emotional rollercoaster," but said she expected they will be there to provide support to Stacy Peterson's family if further charges are filed against Drew Peterson.

But an appeal also may lie ahead for the defense team, in part because prosecutors relied on hearsay evidence.

"It has a good a chance of a successful appeal as any case I've ever seen," Steve Greenberg, one of Peterson's attorneys, said late Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

Greenberg did not immediately return ABC News' calls for comment.