MODESTO, Calif. -- Scott Peterson's attorney Mark Geragos told a judge Friday he would produce several witnesses if a grand jury was held that would point the finger at another suspect in the killing of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Connor.
Attorney Mark Geragos Friday Press Conference At the end of a hearing in which Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami ordered the arrest and search warrants to remain sealed, Geragos stood and asked the judge to also rule that the Modesto County District Attorney's Office not be allowed to convene a grand jury in the case.
Instead, Geragos wants a more public preliminary hearing. The judge refused to grant Geragos' request and the defense attorney then pledged in open court to bring several witnesses to the grand jury that would point the blame at another suspect.
Outside the courthouse, Geragos went even further.
"We know there are people out there and specifically there is one particular young lady out there who we believe has some very important information," he said. "We are asking, and we will protect her anonymity, that she contact my office. We will do everything possible to keep you (the woman) out of this. Please provide us with the information we need."
The defense attorney said he could not go any further because he "did not want to be gagged in this case." Geragos was referring to a warning issued by Girolami that he would issue a gag order if the rhetoric outside the courtroom got too intense.
Geragos did thank the judge for keeping the documents sealed.
"Obviously, we are gratified today that the judge has conditionally sealed the warrants and not for the reasons you would normally expect," he said. "If you read the court of appeals decision that came down, the court of appeals -- which has reviewed the search warrants affidavits -- states in unequivocal language that releasing or unwinding any of this information now could compromise not only the investigation, but also whoever the actual perpetrator might be."
Geragos said he was building his defense on an initial investigation done by Kirk McAllister -- Peterson's original attorney in the case and now part of the defense team.
"We have a number of private detectives out there working in addition (to) lawyers in my office who have been living in Modesto," Geragos said of his team.
Meanwhile, the Modesto Bee reported in its Friday editions that a search warrant for strands of hair had been executed on Scott Peterson on April 25 while he was being held in jail. A source also told the paper that a full body picture was taken of Peterson to show the natural color of his body hair.
When Peterson was pulled over in a Mercedes-Benz and arrested in La Jolla, police noticed that he had lightened his hair.
Laci Peterson had been missing since Christmas Eve -- and the subject of a massive search -- until her badly decomposed body washed up on shore near Point Richmond on April 14. The 27-year-old Peterson was eight months pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
The day before Peterson's body was found, the fetus of her unborn son Conner washed up on shore about a mile north. Scott Peterson had told investigators he was on a day fishing trip to the nearby Berkeley Marina on Christmas Eve when Laci allegedly disappeared from the couple's Modesto home.
On April 18 police arrested Peterson in San Diego for the murders just hours before being alerted that the bodies of Laci and her unborn son had been positively identified through DNA analysis.
Modesto District Attorney Jim Brazelton has said he will seek the death penalty in the case.