Incorporated on March 7, 1956, Schaumburg, Illinois, lies in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, about 30 miles from downtown and 11 miles west of O’Hare International Airport. It sits partly in Cook County and DuPage County.
I briefly lived here in the early 90s and liked the area, but living in a large metropolitan area was not for me. My favorite part of Schaumburg back then was the Woodfield Mall. Lord, I loved that place! 😁
I lived with my sisters on Roselle Road and Interstate 90, or Roselle and 90. Little did I know back then that not too far from our apartment, a lovely mother of three small children had disappeared a decade before, never to be seen again.
Who Was Peggy Dianovsky?
Peggy Gollias was born on April 15, 1954, to Stanley and Mary Gollias. Besides Peggy, the Gollias children included Constantine “Gus,” Anne, George, and Steve.
Growing up in Chicago, the children had a standard upbringing during the 1960s. The Gollias household was often chaotic at the hands of the patriarch. While Stanley ruled with an iron fist, Mary was the gentle heart, soothing voice, and loving hands the children needed during those dark and rough times.
Sadly, the Gollias children lost their mother in 1969, and shortly after, Stanley blamed Anne for her untimely death, but he was likely acting out of grief. He died of cancer a few years later and apologized for not being a good father to Anne on his deathbed. (Peterson, 2014, p. 16)
Despite their early losses and challenging upbringing, the Gollias children were close to one another. Anne Peterson recalls in her book Broken: A Story of Abuse, Survival, and Hope she and Peggy lip-synching and danced to songs as teenage girls. The two were the only girls in the family, and their bond was unbreakable. Never could Anne have envisioned the tragedy that would soon come and the unimaginable loss and emptiness that followed.
A Turbulent Marriage
Peggy grew into a beautiful young woman with brown hair, brown eyes, and a dazzling smile. Looking at her picture, one can clearly see her Greek ancestry in her.
Like all teenage girls, Peggy dreamed of finding her knight in shining armor. She had dated a few times and had her heart broken. Then, she met Robert “Bob” Dianovsky and wrongly believed he was the one.
Bob and Peggy married when Peggy was 18. That marriage produced three sons – Andrew, Robert Jr., and Jon.
Her family has said Peggy was always optimistic – the glass was always half full, not half empty – and had no problem living frugally to afford nice things. If she set her mind on something, she accomplished it. And her boys were her life. She would have done anything for them and protected them at all costs.
However, Peggy’s rocky marriage took its toll on her.
Bob was an extremely jealous husband who constantly accused Peggy of having affairs, even though he was the one who betrayed their marital vows.
In 1982, the Dianovskys lived at 240 Kingsport Drive in Schaumburg. Bob, then 32, and Peggy, 28, were going through a bitter divorce in September 1982.
Peggy’s sister, Anne, was a military wife and lived in Colorado. In early September 1982, Peggy sent Anne a letter stating in part, “This is going to shock you, but I’m getting a divorce.” (Peterson, p.7)
Anne immediately called Peggy in Schaumburg. “I can’t talk now; he’s harassing me again!” Peggy exclaimed. She was referring to her husband, and Anne could hear Bob in the background taunting Peggy.
Later that night, Peggy telephoned Anne and said she had called the police. Peggy and Anne spoke for several minutes before Peggy hung up for fear of raising the phone bill. However, Anne called her back.
Peggy revealed to her sister her jealous husband’s accusations of her cheating with other men and the time Bob held a knife to her throat. She also said she caught him with another woman in their bed.
Shortly after that phone call, Peggy was gone forever.
The Disappearance of Peggy Dianovsky
On September 12, 1982, Peggy vanished without a trace. During a police investigation, authorities always question the spouse first to rule them out. Naturally, the police immediately questioned Bob.
He claimed he and Peggy got into a fight; he punched her and knocked her down, and then Peggy grabbed a bag of clothes and fled their home on foot, leaving her three children and her car behind. According to Bob, Peggy said she would return in five days, so authorities had to wait. However, Peggy never came home.
Investigators administered a polygraph test on Bob, but the results are unclear. Peggy’s family never believed that Peggy left because she would not have abandoned her children. They did everything they could to find her.
Peggy’s divorce lawyer filed Peggy’s document after she disappeared. In that document, Peggy contended that her husband constantly accused her of cheating, called her names in front of their children, and once smashed her head against a headboard. Peggy requested temporary custody of the children and sole possession of their house. She also sought an injunction to prevent Bob from entering the house without her permission. (Martin, 2003b)
There is little doubt that the divorce was a motive for murder.
Schaumburg police believe Bob knows where Peggy’s body is and that he buried it at his company’s site. (Peterson, p.30) Unfortunately, the case went dormant until May 2002, when three grown men contacted the Schaumburg Police Department.
Sons Come Forward
Bob lived in Schaumburg for 12 more years following Peggy’s disappearance before moving to Phoenix, Arizona.
In May 2002, Peggy’s three sons, Andrew, Robert Jr., and Jon, now grown men, went to the police regarding their mother’s disappearance. Robert and one of his brothers wore concealed audio devices during a visit with their father at a Phoenix restaurant. They were hoping for a confession that never came.
When Robert Jr. asked what future grandchildren should know about Peggy, Bob responded, “You can say your dad did something to her.” (Martin) However, Bob never admitted to killing Peggy. He likely caught on that his sons were wired.
Schaumburg and Cook County state’s attorney’s office investigators traveled to Phoenix and interviewed Bob. They got a warrant for his arrest the next day, and Phoenix police apprehended him. He was later extradited to Schaumburg to stand trial.
Murder Trial and Shocking Verdict
The trial took place in 2003 at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building in Chicago. Anne, Peggy’s sons, Bob’s best friend in 1982, and neighbors of the Dianovskys testified.
When Andrew Gollias took the stand, he stated, “In the last couple of days before my mom was gone, I’d hear my parents fighting. I slipped out of bed and crawled on the floor to where I could look downstairs and see them. One time, my dad held a knife in his hands. I was so scared. “(Peterson, p. 27)
The most heartbreaking testimony, however, came from Peggy’s second son, Robert Jr.
“I heard my mom scream and I ran into the house. My dad was straddling my mom, punching her in the face. There was blood everywhere. I didn’t know what to do, so I ran downstairs to the family room and tried putting my head in my arm. I just wanted to get that picture out of my head. Within minutes, my dad came downstairs. He was crying as he washed the blood off his hands. Then he told me, ‘Get your brothers; I’m taking you on a bike ride.’ Later, when we came back to the house, Dad told us, ‘Don’t bother your mother; she’s sleeping.” (Peterson)
Peggy’s boys never saw their mother again. In court, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Byrne revealed that Robert Jr. kept silent after his mother disappeared because Bob told him not to say anything. Three years after Bob remarried to a woman also named Peggy (weird, right?) Robert Jr. told his stepmother, who said, “It must have been a dream.”
Oh, PUH-lease. Tell me you’re in denial without telling me you’re in denial.
One witness testified to seeing an A.J. Canfield Company truck parked in front of the Dianovsky home. Bob worked for Canfield but drove a company car. (Peterson, p.26)
Did Bob use this truck to transport the body for disposal? 🤔
Paul Kariotis was Bob’s best friend in 1982. He told the court that Bob asked him to help kill Peggy. Bob also asked Paul to buy a gun for him. When Paul could not find one, Bob said he would make Peggy’s death look like a suicide. The plan was for Bob to hide in Peggy’s closet, knock her unconscious, and place her in her yellow Chevrolet Nova with a hose running from the exhaust pipe. However, Paul was able to convince Bob that the plan would fail.
Paul also acknowledged under oath that he never went to the police about Bob’s plan or warned Peggy that Bob was in danger. Furthermore, he never told Peggy’s three sons of their father’s plan when they reached adulthood.
“I didn’t have any hard evidence to tell them that their father killed their mother,” Paul said. (Coen, 2004a)
The jury heard the audio tapes the boys recorded over several days of their conversation with their father.
But that was far from the truth. Judge Dennis Porter threw out Paul’s testimony, saying, “I believe if this testimony were true, it would have surfaced long before now.”
He also dismissed the testimonies of Peggy’s sons.
“If the things they shared were true, I believe that information would have been disclosed when the boys were questioned by the Schaumburg police,” he said.
Regarding Robert Jr.’s testimony, he said, “I can’t see how a police officer can’t get [a statement] out of a 7-year-old at his school in front of the school principal.” (Coen, 2004b)
What BS. Honestly, did this judge know Bob?
Within a few days, Judge Porter reached a verdict – not guilty. While he believed that Peggy likely died from violence, there was only circumstantial evidence, and authorities never found Peggy’s body. Therefore, he was unable to convict Bob for her murder.
Life After Peggy
Peggy’s sister, Anne Peterson, became a writer, published author, and speaker. I recommend reading her book Broken: A Story of Abuse, Survival, and Hope. She discusses her sister’s abusive marriage and disappearance and the losses of their brothers, Gus in 2011 and Steve in 2013. Anne also discusses her husband’s mental illness. She has been through so much, yet never gave up on life or her strong belief in God. You can find her work here and follow her on Facebook, where you can see pictures of the Gollias family.
George Gollias still resides in the Chicago area. It’s unclear where Peggy’s boys are today, but they have always been in touch with their mother’s family.
Bob Dianovsky now lives in Mesa, Arizona, and has a Facebook page, as does his wife, PEGGY Dianovsky. Hint, hint. Both are living their lives as if he does not have a dark and evil past. Imagine that! What are the chances that he never abused the second Peggy? 😏
Sources
Coen, Jeff. 2004a. “Man Says Friend Asked Him to Help Kill Wife.” Chicago Tribune, October 27.
—2004b. “Man Cleare of Murdering Wife Missing Since 1982.” Chicago Tribune, November 5.
Good, Meaghan. “Peggy Dianovsky.” The Charley Project. https://charleyproject.org/case/peggy-dianovsky
Keilman, John. “Sons Provide Clues Leading to Dad’s Arrest.” Chicago Tribune, February 25, 2003.
Martin, Mitch. 2003a. “Man Denies Killing Wife 20 Years Ago.” Chicago Tribune, March 29.
—2003b. “Murder Charge Stemmed From Sons Taping Dad.” Chicago Tribune, April 4, 2003.
Peterson, Anne. Broken: A Story of Abuse, Survival, and Hope. Kindle.