Better late than never!
Posted on 09/15/2004 5:28:32 AM PDT by runningbear
Expert suggests Peterson bodies draped in random debris unrelated to murders
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A forensic examiner suggested Tuesday that a length of plastic around the neck of Scott Peterson's son was unrelated to the fetus' murder, a blow to the defense claim that the plastic points to another perpetrator.
Peterson's lawyers had said the positioning of the plastic loop indicated assailants wrapped the 4-foot-long strand around the baby's neck after it was born alive. Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she vanished Dec. 24, 2002, and her husband was under near constant police surveillance after her disappearance.
Criminalist Pin Kyo of the California Department of Justice, however, seemed to lend credence to prosecutors' theory that the fetus the couple planned to name Conner was expelled from the mother's womb after Peterson dumped her in the San Francisco Bay and the plastic loop was only trash that washed over the baby's head as the body floated toward the bayshore.
Kyo, spending her second day on the stand as a prosecution witness, said the loop was "chemically similar" to plastic debris recovered near Laci Peterson's remains and noted that it was not tied tautly.
Story continues
In recent days, prosecutors in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial have been focusing almost entirely on blunting anticipated defense arguments, rather than making assertive points to help their own case. Tuesday was no different.
State Department of Justice forensic analyst Pin Kyo testified for most of the day and presented nothing that directly proved Scott Peterson was his wife's killer. But she did take the wind out of two defense theories -- that someone wrapped Laci Peterson's body with plastic sheeting before dumping it, and that someone tied a knot of twine around the neck of their unborn child.
Clothes found on Laci Peterson's waterlogged body were dotted with barnacles, but a large plastic sheet found near her showed no such remnants of sea life, Kyo said. Likewise, duct tape found on the sheet was of a different variety than the length of duct tape found attached to Laci Peterson's body, she said.
Prosecutors believe that on or just before Dec. 24, 2002, Scott Peterson killed his pregnant wife, weighted her body with homemade cement anchors and dumped her in San Francisco Bay. Peterson later claimed he had gone fishing the day his wife disappeared.........
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Last Updated: September 14, 2004, 05:31:39 AM PDT
MONDAY
Satellite technology experts testified that tracking devices worked well on vehicles owned or rented by Scott Peterson, except for a few glitches.
A laboratory analyst testified that she found blood on a comforter and socks in the Petersons' home. Pin Kyo didn't say where the blood came from, but defense attorney Mark Geragos said June 2 that authorities did not find Laci Peterson's blood anywhere. The blood on the socks was not human, the analyst said.
She also said she examined small chunks of concrete recovered from Scott Peterson's boat cover.
Matt Laolagi of Modesto testified he had nothing to do with Laci Peterson's disappearance. Scott Peterson's defense attorney previously suggested a link between Laolagi and men near the Petersons' home who a witness thought appeared suspicious. Also, Laolagi said that the night before Laci Peterson was reported missing, he had dinner with a woman who later burglarized the Petersons' home.
Detective Rudy Skultety reaffirmed previous testimony that cement powder had been vacuumed from the bottom of Scott Peterson's boat, and that police obtained a sample of concrete from Peterson's driveway.
TODAY.......
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Tests little help to prosecution
REDWOOD CITY -- Jurors in Scott Peterson's murder trial perked up Monday when a laboratory analyst testified about examining what looked like blood spots on various items found in his home. But none was tied to pregnant Laci Peterson, one of America's best-known murder victims.
Scott Peterson, 31, could face the death penalty if convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn son, Conner.
Pin Kyo, a criminalist at the state's Department of Justice laboratory in Ripon, said she found reddish-brown stains on a mop, a jacket, some bedding and two socks. Spots on the first two items tested negative for blood, and blood on the socks wasn't human.
Peterson's attorney Mark Geragos said in his June 2 opening statement that authorities didn't find Laci Peterson's blood anywhere. The criminalist confirmed that samples of Scott Peterson's blood and that found on a comforter were sent for further analysis, but she did not officially link them.
She also examined tattered clothing found with Laci Peterson's remains. Grisly photographs of badly decomposed tissue clinging to material, shown Monday to jurors, kept her family members from attending, her mother's attorney said.
In other testimony, a Modesto man linked to someone who.......
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Developments Tuesday in the Scott Peterson case
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS: Scott Peterson's defense lawyer used a prosecution expert witness to point out that police found no blood or incriminating forensic evidence implicating Peterson in the murder of his pregnant wife. The witness testified she found a few specks of blood on a comforter cover from the Petersons' bedroom, but another witness later testified that DNA testing indicated the blood came from Scott Peterson. The prosecution is set to finish its case by the end of the month. Some legal observers speculate that defense lawyers may not put on a case at all. "They haven't put enough evidence on to mandate that the defense put on a case," said former prosecutor Michael Cardoza, who is observing the trial. "Right now, it would be tempting for me not to put on a defense case at all."
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WHAT'S NEXT: Testimony Wednesday will turn to the autopsies of Laci Peterson and her fetus. It is unclear who the witnesses will be as the list is sealed and attorneys are bound by a gag order.......
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Peterson defense uses prosecution witness to note lack of evidence
REDWOOD CITY – Scott Peterson's defense lawyer promised jurors during opening statements that testimony would show police found "zip, nada, nothing" in their investigation that would implicate Peterson in the killing of his pregnant wife.
On Tuesday, Mark Geragos hammered that point in his cross-examination of a witness who testified she found no blood on any of the tattered clothing on the remains of Laci Peterson that washed up on the shore of San Francisco Bay months after she disappeared.
Pin Kyo, a state Department of Justice criminalist, said she did find a few specks of blood on a comforter cover from the Petersons' bedroom, but a source told The Associated Press that DNA testing indicated it was Scott Peterson's blood. A witness was expected to testify to that effect Tuesday afternoon.
Kyo testified she examined .........
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PINGING......
PINGING......
PINGING......
I always found it interesting that he bought his boat from a person named Peterson and the person who did the autopsies is named Peterson. One might say that Peterson's name is all over this case.
I also think maybe the Rochas won't be there on the testimony of autopsy.
I think so too... Mommie dearest has done much to shield scotty, and so to Lee Peterson. I think if volumes speak, and as stated on the radio show yesterday, where is the masses of the Peterson's family support. You just hear and see the minimal people. Mom, Dad, Janey, and a few others... Peterson family is quite large with many members.. ;o) Maybe that is why they bark more, and get their ways, compared to Rochas. Treatments compared of families!
Better late than never!
oh my.. I pinged.... ;o)
I think I heard they bought the house from another person named Peterson also....
great minds think alike LOL...must have posted at the same time
You're right, Jackie. A misspeak. Bought the Covena property from a guy named William Traina.
Somehow I was thinking of you when I posted that...knew you would know the answer. ;o)
I think Greta was thinking of the boat, but had a brain fart.
:-(
Are you hanging a COW'S TONGUE out to dry?
For sure. :-)
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