The cause of Kathleen Savio’s death remains classified as a drowning, according to Will County Coroner Patrick O’Neil.

According to a press release issued by O’Neil’s office late Tuesday, Dr. Larry Blum, an independent forensic pathologist, found “nothing to contradict a change relative to drowning as the cause of Kathleen Savio’s death.”

The release did not state whether or not the latest findings addressed a six-person Will County Coroner’s Jury determination in March 2006 that Savio’s drowning was accidental.

Dr. Blum will provide an independent opinion once his review of the case is complete, which could take “several weeks to complete”, the release said.

Dr. Blum was called in to perform an autopsy Tuesday on the remains of Savio, exhumed from Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Hillside early Tuesday morning.

On March 1, 2004 Savio’s body was discovered by neighbors in her bathtub in her residence in Bolingbrook.

A six-person coroner’s jury listed her death as an accidental drowning, but several circumstances surrounding her death led Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow to recently re-examine the case.

Savio is the third wife of Sgt. Drew Peterson, whose wife Stacy Peterson, has been missing since Oct. 29.

Her disappearance has led to intense media coverage and law enforcement investigations of both cases.

On Friday, Nov. 9 the Illinois State Police, the lead investigative unit for the Stacy Peterson case, listed Drew Peterson as a suspect in her disappearance.

According to the release issued by O’Neil’s office, Dr. Blum will review “all the facts and circumstances surrounding Kathleen Savio’s death including scene photos, original autopsy photos, toxicology, microscopic examination of tissues, radiologic evidence and investigative reports."