Neil Schori reacts after the Drew Peterson verdict is read this summer. (Photo Courtesy Neil Schori)

By Paul Morello

NAPERVILLE - An Illinois State University alum has dedicated himself to advocating for domestic violence awareness since his role in the Drew Peterson murder trial.

Rev. Neil Schori was Drew and Stacy Peterson's pastor at Westbrook Christian Church in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook. He said he met with Stacy, Peterson's fourth wife, in Aug. 2007 at a coffee house.

"She told me, after talking for awhile, that 'He did it.' And I said, 'He did what?' She clarified, and said, 'Drew killed Kathleen.'"

Schori's testimony provided some of the hearsay evidence that helped convict Peterson earlier this year in the death of Kathleen Savio.

"I really think that she felt she was running out of time," Schori said Monday.

Since the meeting with Stacy in 2007, Schori has become an advocate for domestic violence awareness.

"It's not just somebody else's issue. This is an issue that statistically affects one in three or one in four women," he said. "That's a tremendous number of people."

Schori is now pastor at Naperville Christian Church, where he's training pastors on the Evidentiary Affidavit of Abuse, which is a tool that helps victims document their abuse.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 

Paul Morello can be reached at paul@wjbc.com.