Convicted killer Drew Peterson's murder case was back in court on Thursday as the sister of his third wife revived sonar images that she says show her sibling's skeletal remains at the bottom of an Illinois canal.

Peterson, convicted in 2012 of killing Kathleen Savio, and sentenced to 38 years in prison, is seeking a new trial because his lawyer, Joel Brodsky, would not let him testify on his behalf, according to WGN.

Savio's death raised numerous questions about Stacy Peterson, the former cop's fourth wife who disappeared in 2007.

Cassandra Cales, in an interview on NewsNation on the eve of the court hearing, told NewsNation that sonar technology that spotted what she believes is her skeletal remains of her sister in the canal in Lockport, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago.

She showed NewsNation images of the sonar search.

"You can actually see a fish above her body. She still had flesh, but if she lost her eyes and her feet were gone. It was kind of turning skeletal," she told NewsNation.

Cales said she contacted the FBI, the Illinois State Police and other law enforcement agencies about the find, but she claims they failed to do a thorough search.

She said whenever they have new information or tips about her sister she alerts the police, but "it's just like they close the door in my face."

Police have conducted searches in the canal for Peterson, including in October 2021 but none of them have been successful in finding the remains.
The Illinois State Police said they are receptive to Cales.

"ISP's investigation is active and ongoing and special agents follow-up on any and all credible and viable leads," Melissa Albert, a spokeswoman for the department, told HNGN.

Peterson, 70, has blamed bias against police officers for his conviction and claimed that the prosecutor intimidated witnesses.

"People enjoy seeing policemen in trouble. I've seen a lot of cops get in trouble and people enjoy that," Peterson told NewsNation in February.

In the interview, Peterson also denied allegations that he abused his wives.

"Disturbance doesn't mean you were abused. It means you're having a confrontation. And it got out of hand, where (there) was yelling and screaming and somebody called the police," Peterson said. "Some of my wives were very combative. They didn't want to put up with my bulls**t."