Peterson's Mistress Seeks To Stop Sale Of Nude Photos

NBC4.com ^ | Oct 21, 2003

[runningbear]

Peterson's Mistress Seeks To Stop Sale Of Nude Photos
Amber Frey Admits To Posing Nude

Peterson's Mistress Seeks To Stop Sale Of Nude Photos
Amber Frey Admits To Posing Nude

POSTED: 8:27 a.m. PDT October 21, 2003
UPDATED: 8:38 a.m. PDT October 21, 2003

LOS ANGELES -- The woman who admitted having an affair with accused killer Scott Peterson filed a federal lawsuit Monday in an attempt to stop attempts to sell nude photos of her.

Amber Frey said she posed nude and partially clothed for a Clovis modeling agency in 1999. Though she decided not to continue with the agency, she didn't pick up the photos, the suit states.

Frey claims that after she made a public statement about her romantic relationship with Peterson, David Hans Schmidt tried to sell the photographs of her on the World Wide Web.

Peterson now faces trial on charges he murdered his wife, Laci, who was pregnant.

Frey contends Schmidt, an Arizona resident, got the photos illegally. She also alleged he "attempted to sell the photographs to third parties, including Larry Flynt for publication in Hustler."

Schmidt said he could not comment because he had not seen the .......

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Cadaver Dog Indicated Laci Peterson's Body was in Husband's Boat

Cadaver Dog Indicated Laci Peterson's Body was in Husband's Boat

Prosecutors believe Laci Peterson's body was in her husband's warehouse and boat before it was dumped in San Francisco Bay, according to court documents filed late Friday.

According to a report by the dog's handler, the cadaver dog showed "mild interest" in the boat and displayed some interest in containers in the warehouse during a search.

The defense team for Scott Peterson contends that the dog's failure to "alert" on the boat is proof that the body was never in the craft.

However, prosecutors argue that the dog did not fully alert was because it was distracted by the heavy smell of chemicals in the warehouse.

Scott Peterson used the warehouse located on Emerald Avenue as an office and storage area for his job as a fertilizer salesman.

The debate over the cadaver dog started when Peterson's lawyers sought to have wiretap information thrown out. Defense attorneys argued an investigator "purposely omitted" information from the dog handler's report in affidavits to a judge when seeking warrants for the wiretaps.

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami will decide whether to exclude the wiretaps and information from the dog's search after the preliminary hearing. That hearing was scheduled to begin today but has been postponed to October 28.

Scott Peterson is facing two counts of murder in the killings of his wife and unborn son. A conviction on the charges could result in the death penalty.

Laci Peterson was eight months .........

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Report: Dog 'interest' noted

Reposting

Report: Dog 'interest' noted

By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER

Published: October 20, 2003, 09:08:05 AM PDT

Prosecutors contend that Laci Peterson's body was in her husband's warehouse and boat before the body was dumped in San Francisco Bay.

The assertion is in a document filed late Friday in Stanislaus County Superior Court, where Scott Peterson is due for a preliminary hearing Oct. 28 on charges that he murdered his pregnant wife and their son, Conner.

A cadaver dog "showed mild interest" when placed in Peterson's boat and was interested in containers under a small workbench in his Modesto warehouse, according to the newly filed document, a partial report from the dog handler.

Peterson's defense contends that because the cadaver dog, Twist, did not "alert" -- or indicate that she had found the sought-after scent -- in the boat, "the prosecution's own investigation proved that Laci Peterson's body was never in Scott Peterson's boat."

That contention "grossly misstates" the dog handler's report, Senior Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso wrote.

"It is clear that Twist showed some interest in the boat and other areas of the warehouse but did not fully alert," Distaso wrote. "This was probably due to the heavy chemical smell in the warehouse."

Peterson, 30, of Modesto worked as a fertilizer salesman. He used an Emerald Avenue warehouse as an office and stored chemicals and his boat there, according to portions of the report by a Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue Team member.

The report indicates that the dog "showed mild interest but no alerts" after being placed in Peterson's boat.

The dog showed no interest in the small office area but was interested in some containers under a small workbench, dog handler Eloise Anderson wrote.

"She checked several times in each container, along the edge of the workbench where she could reach and along the edge of the boat closest to the workbench," Anderson wrote. "She demonstrated frustration by barking but did not go to her full alert or pinpoint a particular spot."

The jousting over the cadaver dog arose from a defense challenge to two wiretaps on Peterson's phones. The defense maintains that an investigator "purposely omitted" information in affidavits to a judge when seeking warrants for the wiretaps.

Investigators intercepted more than 3,000 phone calls during two wiretaps: one authorized to run Jan. 10 to Feb. 4, the second April 15 to 18, the day police arrested Peterson.

If Judge Al Girolami finds that district attorney investigator Steve Jacobson willfully omitted key material in his affidavits that would have affected a judge's decision to issue the warrants........

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Modesto police change plan to limit traffic for Scott Peterson hearing">

Police were pressured into leaving open I Street in front of the Stanislaus County Courthouse.
ADRIAN MENDOZA/THE BEE

Modesto police change plan to limit traffic for Scott Peterson hearing

By RICHARD T. ESTRADA
BEE STAFF WRITER

Published: October 21, 2003, 07:21:04 AM PDT

The Modesto Police Department put its I Street traffic plan in reverse Monday, following heavy criticism from downtown business owners and the mayor. I Street will stay open, after all.

"I'm sorry to see it took a lot of pressure to change their mind, but at least the police have made the right decision," said Judy Aspesi, co-owner of Dewz Restaurant, at the corner of I and 11th.

Police originally were going to close I Street, between 10th and 12th streets. The second plan, announced Friday, was to limit traffic to one lane in each direction and ban parking.

That was to accommodate television trucks in town for the Oct. 28 preliminary hearing of Scott Peterson, a 30-year-old Modesto fertilizer salesman charged with the murder of his wife and son.

The new plan -- the final plan, police Lt. Dan Inderbitzen promised -- has I Street open and TV trucks parking on the construction site of the Gallo Arts Center.

The I Street lot, between 10th and 11th streets, is across from the Stanislaus County Courthouse, where the hearing will be held.

Mayor Carmen Sabatino was upset at the proposal to limit traffic .........

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COURT CALENDAR

Scott Peterson Court Dates

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Frey files suit over pictures

Frey files suit over pictures

By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER

Published: October 22, 2003, 05:17:00 AM PDT

Amber Frey, a key figure in the Scott Peterson double murder case, is suing a pornography broker for $6 million for posting nude and seminude photos of her on his Web site.

Frey, a 28-year-old Fresno massage therapist, is a potential key witness against the 30-year-old Modesto fertilizer salesman, who is accused of murdering his wife and son.

During an emotional news conference at Modesto police headquarters in January, Frey said she did not know Peterson was married when she became romantically involved with him in the weeks before his pregnant wife, Laci, disappeared.

Police said Frey cooperated with their investigation. Partial phone records show she called Peterson dozens of times while investigators tapped his phones, often calling a police detective immediately after hanging up with Peterson.

Frey also called Laci Peterson's mother, brother and friends, and continued to call Scott Peterson after the phone taps were turned off, the records show.

In the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Frey accuses David Hans Schmidt of posting photos of her on his pay-for-use Web site without her permission.

Schmidt's Arizona-based public relations and production company, which carries his name, also is named in the lawsuit, which alleges misappropriation of Frey's name and likeness, unlawful or misleading advertising, invasion of privacy, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The pictures were taken in 1999 at Emerald Photography in Clovis for a "test shoot," according to the lawsuit. Frey was 24 at the time.

Schmidt has said he purchased the photos from the photographer earlier this year and attempted to sell them to Larry

Flynt for publication in the pornographic magazine Hustler. Schmidt posted them on his Web site in September.

At no time did Frey "license or authorize the use of her photographs by any defendant or any other person," the lawsuit states.

Frey is seeking to have a court forbid the sale or use of the photographs and require all negatives, reproductions and copies confiscated and destroyed.

Schmidt could not be reached for comment Tuesday. In earlier interviews he has said he had a legally binding model release for the photos.

"I hope she sues," Schmidt said in September.

Frey's attorneys contend that the purported model release is a "data sheet" that indicated Frey "had no tattoos, no body piercings, likes horses and would pose nude."............

[Devil_Anse]

Beware of men doing housework!

Truer words were never spoken!

[Devil_Anse]

There was that earlier article in which this James said Scott offered to give him his golf clubs, supposedly said, "go to my house and take them, just keep it to yourself." I think it was in that article.

If not, then we accidentally made it up! My own references to a broken club came from reading another poster's post. So don't go by that!

[Devil_Anse]

What color ketchup you gonna use this time? Let's use purple!

[CheneyChick]

It cracks me up how they put the smiling Scott picture on the cover.

[Velveeta]

It might have been the Diane Sawyer interview, but his statement instantly caught my attention. It was as though he wanted to make sure he had an excuse for having his prints on the bucket.

For him to say that the maid only cleaned half the floor was ridiculous. I'm sure this maid will be on the stand, pretty ticked off at being called a sloppy housekeeper!

[Velveeta]

LOL, certainly NOT the green....That would be unapproachable.

[Velveeta]

His ugly mug makes my stomach turn!

[Devil_Anse]

Yeah, you're right. I guess they only use that color for bluh spattr demonstrations on Mars.

[Devil_Anse]

That particular grin of Scott's is the same one he had when he was photographed with Amber and the Santa hat. Kind of saying, "Hey, look at me, I've got nookie!"

[Velveeta]

I'm trying to track down the mention of the bucket. Seeing this video again is creepy!

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/news/012803_nw_missing_woman_abcnews_exclusive.html

click on "husband speaks"

[CheneyChick]

That video is creepy. I hadn't seen it before. I didn't know that he said he told the police about Amber on the night of the 24th. Is that true?

[Velveeta]

The police have indicated that it's not true as far as I know.

Boy, if body language experts say that looking down and to left is indicative of lying....then SP is a classic study for those experts!

[Devil_Anse]

He did make that claim, that he'd told the cops about Amber from the first. Also claimed that he told Amber what was what as soon as Laci went missing. Another lie. I saw a clip of that Gloria Gomez interview, where she tried to pin him down on that. He wriggled around, then finally he said something to the effect that their interview time could be better used in talking about the search for Laci. To see it, it was very obvious that he was getting tripped up.

[CheneyChick]

And the croc tears at the beginning did not deserve an Oscar by any means.

[Devil_Anse]

"Yeah... the baby... that was hard..."

[MaggieMay]

Form today's ModestoBee October 26th,titled,Peterson Stage Set".
link
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7648390p-8554158c.html

The public's first real look at evidence against accused double-murderer Scott Peterson is expected Wednesday, when prosecutors begin laying out a legal case that has been under wraps for 10 months.
"Everything will be a revelation to us," said Ruth Jones, a criminal law professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and a former prosecutor. "This case is unique in that sense."

Peterson's preliminary hearing, which likely will last five days, could demonstrate the strength of the prosecution's case and outline the possible trial.

The hearing that begins Wednesday is to determine whether there is enough evidence to try Peterson in the deaths of his 27-year-old wife, Laci, and their son, Conner. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

It's unclear how much evidence the prosecution will unveil at the hearing, because it's relatively easy to have a defendant held for trial. For that reason, the defense rarely calls witnesses, protecting them from cross-examination.

But this case is different, legal observers said, pointing to widespread public scrutiny that has influenced legal tactics and might affect the trial.

"There are two battles going on here," San Francisco Deputy District Attorney James Hammer said. "The legal battle and the PR battle."

In the legal battle, attorneys are poised to spar over an array of evidence the defense wants kept out of court, including information from wiretaps, electronic tracking devices, DNA testing and scent-tracking dogs.

The judge also is to hear a defense argument that a potentially key piece of evidence -- a single hair found attached to a pair of needle-nose pliers in Peterson's boat -- likely was "altered" while in police possession.

Prosecutors contend that the hair simply broke inside an evidence bag.

The hair could be a critical piece of physical evidence linking Laci Peterson to the boat her husband said he took fishing on Christmas Eve, the day she was reported missing.

The defense's challenge of the evidence signals a wider tactic of trying to show that investigators acted improperly, echoing the O.J. Simpson murder trial, legal observers said. A jury acquitted the former football star in 1995 of killing his ex-wife and her friend.

"It's a very important strategy," said Professor George Bisharat, a criminal procedure specialist at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. "You

really saw the potential impact in the sense that there was law enforcement wrongdoing in the O.J. Simpson case."

Frey heightens interest

Like the Simpson case, the disappearance of Laci Peterson, a pretty substitute teacher with deep dimples and a captivating smile, has become staple fare for cable television, supermarket tabloids and newspapers on both coasts.

A Fresno massage therapist stoked interest in January when she announced she had been romantically involved with Scott Peterson before his wife disappeared.

Police said Amber Frey, 28, cooperated with their investigation. Partial phone records show she called Peterson dozens of times while investigators tapped his phones, often calling a detective immediately after hanging up with Peterson.

Frey's testimony is among the most anticipated, although prosecutors and her attorney have refused to say whether she will testify at the preliminary hearing.

In addition to tapping his phones, police searched Peterson's home twice and tracked his movements, although they refused to name him as a suspect or rule him out.

For months, hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement personnel scoured fields, reservoirs and waterways from the Sierra foothills to San Francisco Bay for Laci Peterson.

In April, passers-by discovered Laci Peterson's decomposed body and that of her son about a mile apart along the eastern shore of the bay, several miles from where Peterson had said he gone fishing.

He was arrested days later outside the Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla sporting a goatee and lightened hair. He had more than $10,000 cash with him, a law enforcement source said.

The 30-year-old fertilizer salesman has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail in Stanislaus County Jail.

Defense attorneys maintain that police ignored information that pointed to the "actual perpetrators," focusing exclusively on Peterson from "Day One."

Cults, a mystery van, gangs

Speculation has swirled around reports of a suspicious van in the neighborhood, sa-tanic cults and a Fresno inmate who said Peterson talked to neo-Nazi gang members about kidnapping and murdering his wife.

Judges have sealed most of the normally public documents in the case, first in an attempt to protect an ongoing investigation, then citing Peterson's right to a fair trial. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami imposed a gag order that extended from attorneys to potential witnesses to court employees.

The moves largely have thwarted glimpses into the case. But Wednesday, the shroud is expected to lift, at least partly.

"Yes, there is some circumstantial evidence: He was a bad husband, had a mistress -- which may have given him a motive -- but what evidence do you have that links him to the crime?" said Jones, the criminal law professor. "What evidence do you have that links him to the date, time and place and perhaps manner of the killing?"

It remains to be seen how much of that information Senior Deputy District Attorneys Rick Distaso and Dave Harris will unveil.

"Over 99 percent of the time, the judge decides there is enough evidence to proceed to trial," said Hammer, the San Francisco prosecutor. "It's a very low standard."

Because the standard of proof at a preliminary hearing is so low, prosecutors often reveal only what they need, shielding some witnesses from potentially grueling cross-examination until the trial, Bisharat said.

California law also allows police investigators to testify at preliminary hearings in place of witnesses they interviewed. That allows the information to be brought out in court without exposing the witness.

"Testifying is hard, particularly for members of the family who have to testify to emotional topics," Jones said. "You try not to have them go through that again."

Holding back some witnesses also removes the possibility that they will testify differently at the preliminary hearing than at the trial.

"There will always be discrepancies that will be exploited, inconsistencies that will be made to diminish the credibility of the witness at trial," Bisharat said.

The defense "almost never" puts on witnesses at a preliminary hearing, protecting them from cross-examination and preserving a degree of surprise, Bisharat said.

Since the accused likely will be held for trial, defense attorneys typically have little incentive to present evidence and reveal part of their strategy.

But traditional approaches might not apply in this case.

Court of public opinion

With national TV and print media poised to disseminate most elements of the preliminary hearing online and in broadcasts from outside the courthouse, some experts said it would damage Peterson if his attorneys did not put up a vigorous defense.

Lead defense attorney Mark Geragos had sought to close the hearing to the public, a request Girolami and a state appeals court rejected.

Now the defense appears poised to try to damage investigators on the stand, contending that they installed tracking devices incorrectly, withheld information from a judge when they requested search warrants and monitored calls between Peterson and his attorney.

"The thing for them is to take away the near-certainty of guilt," Hammer said. "One of the main defense goals is to put on other witnesses that the investigators ignored. Not just putting them on, but putting that information before the investigators and embarrassing them. It's both that he's not guilty and that the police rushed to judgment."

The defense team in the O.J. Simpson double-murder murder trial followed a similar line, producing witnesses at the preliminary hearing to counter massive negative publicity, Jones said.

Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazelton said in June that part of the reason he wanted a preliminary hearing was to debunk rumors and speculation about the case.

"The longer this drags on, the more stories get bandied about out there," Brazelton said, "By putting on a prelim, they're going to see some stuff that might open some eyes."

Hearing's side effects

But opting for a preliminary hearing rather than indicting Peterson through a closed grand jury proceeding could have side effects for the prosecution.

"The only advantage is the court of public opinion, and maybe to vindicate their reputation. Their reputation has been attacked," Hammer said. "(Prosecutors) just want to blast them with their evidence. You can do it, but say goodbye to the thought of keeping (the trial) in Modesto."

By laying out its case in an open hearing, prosecutors are ensuring that a trial would be moved because potential jurors would be tainted by hearing too much about the case, Hammer said.

Jones countered that the Simpson trial was held in Los Angeles County after prosecutors opted for a preliminary hearing.

Geragos has said he will ask to move the trial. That motion will likely come as the trial nears, allowing both sides to get a more accurate assessment of potential juror bias.

Prosecutors initially said they would oppose a motion to move the trial outside Stanislaus County, but they since have indicated they might support a move if it were clear Peterson couldn't get a fair trial in Modesto.

The prosecution's decision could also reflect a determination that the odds already are high that a judge would move the trial, Bisharat said.

"If the granting of such a motion is likely anyway, why not take this benefit now?" he said.

In rulings and comments from the bench, Girolami has indicated that he would prefer not to move the trial, but he has left open the possibility.

Still, the breadth of the media coverage could rule out a large group of potential jurors anywhere in the state, Hammer said.

"You end up kicking off well-read, well-informed people," he said. "You'll have people who don't read, who don't talk to their friends about the news. You have to ask yourself, 'Who are those people?' Hermits and bums."

[MaggieMay]

Thanks for that answer about amount of blood that one could expect,from a blow in the head. Let's hear it for the RN's. Yea! :)

[CheneyChick]

LOL! From this website

A Halloween song for Scotty:

Modesto Mash
To the tune of "Monster Mash

He was working on the boat late one night
In the dark where his deeds were out of sight
As the monster waited for the tides to rise
Betrayed him much to his surprise

They did the mash
Did the Modesto mash
Modesto mash
They found his hidden stash
They did the mash
They locked him down in a flash
They did the mash
Did the Modesto mash (wa-ooo)

From the courthouse steps in that town of blame
Stood the master shaman crying “It’s a frame!”
The ghouls all came from La La Land
To find the cult and the missing van

They did the mash
Did the Modesto mash
Modesto mash
He got no bail in a flash
They did the mash
No more golfing or cash
They did the mash
Did the Modesto mash (wa-oo)

His girlfriend was having fun
Her bombshells had just begun
The witnesses one by one
To rat on the "favorite son."

The scene was rockin', all the evidence was shown
Scotty in chains, cringing at the clever hounds
The DNA experts were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Mitochondrial Five"

They played the mash
That great Modesto mash
Modesto mash
And all his theories were smashed
They played the mash
In the press he was bashed
They played the mash
Played the Modesto mash (wa-oo)

[Yaelle]

"violence against women is unapproachable"

Scott continues, "That's why you always have to get them from behind."

[MaggieMay]

Hey Jackie-O,I was so intrigued by your post on the Susan Tedeschi
band,I just put a copy on reserve of one of her CD's. I'll let you know what I think. Thanks for the heads up,I had never heard of her before. :)