- Tom Peterson was 11 when his mom was found dead in an empty bathtub at their Bolingbrook home in 2004, just before his parents' divorce was finalized. He has said he believes she died of an accidental drowning.
- In June, the 18-year-old Peterson will graduate first in his class of 817 students as valedictorian at Bolingbrook High School in Illinois.
- But psychologists say that Tom Peterson's focus on hard work might prevent him from processing his emotions, which can later "catch up" with him.
- The teen said he discovered he was smart in the sixth grade. The tragedies only made him work harder.
- He credits his father with teaching him old-fashioned discipline and tells the man he loves him in frequent phone calls.
- His father, now 57, is awaiting trial. Drew Peterson is also the prime suspect in the disappearance of his later wife, Stacey Peterson.
- In 2009, after a girlfriend he liked took no interest in him, Tom set new goals -- one was running a marathon faster than he had in the past. In the process, he won the girl's affection and she is now his girlfriend.
- Today, Tom lives with three brothers and a sister from three of his father's four marriages.
- His role as "hero in the family" could also complicate how Tom ultimately processes his grief.
- Tom has maintained a GPA above 4.0 and hopes to study neuroscience at Harvard University, among other elite colleges, according to an interview in the Chicago Tribune.
- But today, according to his Facebook page, Tom is in a serious relationship, has been involved in his high school's marching band, math team and tennis club. He says he loves computers and, with some parallels to his own life, perhaps, the book, "Outsiders" -- a coming of age novel about young teens and violence.
- Tom Peterson has steadfastly maintained his father, a former police sergeant, is innocent. He even asked to have his name taken off a wrongful-death lawsuit against his father by his mother's relatives, according to the Tribune.
- He is the son of Drew Peterson -- the man accused of murdering two of his four wives, including Tom's mother, Kathleen Salvio.
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