Secret Lives of Women Tuesdays at 10pm|9c

Loved & Controlled


Drew Peterson has been making headlines since October 2007 when his fourth wife, Stacy disappeared. Her disappearance led investigators to re-open the case of Peterson’s ex-wife Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub in 2004. Although the death was initially ruled an accident, a second autopsy revealed that it was a homicide. Peterson has now been charged with her murder. Anna Doman and Cassandra Cales, Kathleen and Stacy’s sisters, tell us about their sisters and what life was like living with Drew Peterson. Dr. Robi Ludwig says Peterson fits into a group she calls "control killers." This type of person wants to be in charge of every aspect of their significant other’s life. They control the money, where the person goes day to day, even what he or she wears. The control killer makes his victim feel worthless and unloveable. Leaving this type of partner is very difficult because it is the ultimate loss of control. In this episode of Secret Lives of Women we talk to two women who tried to leave their controlling husbands, and paid a horrific price. Amy Jones married her high school boyfriend, Chris Rezos, who, she says, was very compassionate and loving. But over time he changed, and started to control her life. He complained about the way the dishwasher was loaded and about how much soap she used in the laundry. He told her repeatedly that she was a bad mother and that she was stupid. In 2004, she decided to leave him. While meeting in a hotel room to discuss their divorce, Chris attacked Amy. He bludgeoned her with a flashlight and tried to choke and drown her. She survived. Three weeks later, while out of jail on bond, Chris hid in her car and shot her twice in the head. Miraculously, she survived again. Amy is now a domestic violence spokeswoman. She worked to get a bill passed in Ohio that carries her name. Amy’s Law requires judges to use a risk assessment checklist before letting a domestic abuser out on bail. Jessica Lenahan’s former husband, Simon, was also mentally and emotionally abusive. She says that being married to him was like behing held hostage. After Simon tried to hang himself in front of their children, Jessica decided it was time to leave him. She got a restraining order against him, but one month later he picked up their three daughters without permission. Jessica called the police several times over the next 10 hours begging them to get her girls back, but police belived they were safe with their father. At 3:20 a.m., Simon drove to the police station and began to shoot into the building with a semiautomatic gun. Police returned fire, and killed Simon. When they looked into his car they found the bodies of all three daughters. Simon had shot each of them in the head. Believing that the police department acted negligently, Jessica brought her case to the U.S Supreme Court for the right to sue for not enforcing the restraining order, she was denied. She is now arguing her case in front of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.