14 DAY TRIAL // Ex-cop Drew Peterson has shown emotion for the first time in the murder trial for his wife's death. Peterson has been sentenced to 38 years in prison, which for the 59-year-old man equates to a life sentence.
According to the Washington Times, he belted out a scream before the judge gave the sentence, uttering "I did not kill Kathleen!" and emphasizing every word. He quickly received the response "Yes, you did! You liar!" by the wife's grieving sister, Susan Doman.
Judge Edward Burmila asked Doman to leave the courtroom, but dished out the sentence saying Peterson showed "no remorse."
"Until this happened, I thought I was a great guy. And in moments, the media turned me into a monster. As soon as I get a chance, I’m going to get a tattoo on my back, from shoulder to shoulder, that says, 'No good deed goes unpunished,'" Peterson said, according to WGNTV.
ABC affiliate WLS relays that minutes of sobbing followed on the part of the so-far-composed defendant.
"I love Kathy," he said. "She was a good mom. ... She didn't deserve to die," he added.
"Never forget my face. Never forget what you've done, I don't deserve this," he told Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow.
"This sentence needs to send a very strong message that this will not be tolerated. [...] We all had an opportunity to see a psychopath reveal himself in open court.
"I've never seen a more pathetic display than today, saying 'I'm not asking for sympathy,' and then turning to the judge and asking for sympathy. That is pathetic," Glasgow responded.
Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was killed in 2004. While he is also suspected of murdering fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, who disappeared when she was just 23 years old, no charges have been filed in the case.