Drew Peterson’s erratic behavior in the days following the disappearance of his 23-year-old wife Stacy was a trained response to stress, the former Bolingbrook sergeant said Friday on ‘Larry King Live.’

“I was being barraged by [media]...I was being questioned by police. I was scared to death,” Peterson said. “And policemen - any policeman will tell you that police deal with stress and despair with humor. They laugh, they make jokes. They’re trained not to show emotions.”

Peterson conceded the behavior may have been an inappropriate response in public. His customary lack of emotion continued throughout the hour-long interview, but Peterson remained calm throughout King’s questioning and throughout a handful of questions from the public.

He appeared to near a breaking point only once, when he was asked how he sleeps at night.

“I’m bothered by the fact that [Stacy] left. And I’m bothered by the fact that my children don’t have a mom,” Peterson said, his demeanor betraying a hint of emotion. “I’m raising a little girl who needs female attention. And, yes, sometimes I have trouble sleeping with it.”

Peterson, 54, said he still believes his wife left with another man and will eventually be found alive. She went missing Oct. 28 and police are calling the disappearance a “potential homicide.” Investigators have also reopened the case of Drew Peterson’s third wife Kathleen Savio’s mysterious 2004 drowning, which had been ruled accidental.

Savio’s body was exhumed in November and two pathologists, one at the request of Savio’s family and one on behalf of Will County, performed separate autopsies. Each recently ruled her death a homicide.

“The circumstances surrounding all of this are weird,” King said.

“And even, I’ll admit, suspicious,” Brodsky replied. “But when you look beyond mere suspicion and look for hard facts and proof, there is none.”

Brodsky reaffirmed his belief that his client will never be charged with a crime, noting police have investigated every angle for more than five months and have yet to file charges.

“And that says, I think, volumes,” Brodsky said.

Meanwhile, Illinois State Police said in a statement they are confident that Stacy Peterson did not voluntarily disappear and that the investigation “will culminate in an arrest.”

Drew Peterson’s appearance was the latest in a series of high-profile interviews granted in an attempt to improve his public image.

“What you saw today is the real Drew Peterson,” Brodsky said. “It is not only the goofy things he was doing earlier on. This is the real guy.”

But Stacy Peterson family spokeswoman Pam Bosco denounced the recent media blitz, saying the appearances are merely attempts to “promote himself...for future profit.”