JOLIET — A judge has sentenced Drew Peterson to 38 years in prison for murdering his third wife.

Will County Judge Edward Burmila imposed the sentence Thursday. The 59-year-old Peterson faced a maximum 60-year prison term.

Jurors convicted Peterson in September in the 2004 death of Kathleen Savio. Neighbors found her body in a dry bathtub at her home with a gash on her head.

Peterson is also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his 23-year-old fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, but hasn't been charged. Her disappearance is what led authorities to take another look at Savio's death and reclassify it from an accident to a homicide.

Fascination nationwide with Peterson arose from speculation he sought to use his law enforcement expertise to get away with murder.