SCOTT IN SICK LACI LIE TO LOVER

By HOWARD BREUER
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November 7, 2003 -- MODESTO, Calif. - Scott Peterson lied to mistress Amber Frey, telling her his wife was dead - a prophetic fib told on the very same day he purchased a boat possibly used in Laci Peterson's murder, a cop testified yesterday.

Detective Al Brocchini also suggested that the fertilizer salesman knew his pregnant wife was dead a day after she was reported missing. Brocchini said Peterson asked him on Christmas Day 2002 whether cops had used cadaver dogs to find her.

Brocchini's testimony came on the seventh day of a preliminary hearing to determine if there's enough evidence to try Scott Peterson, 31, for the murder of wife Laci and their unborn son, Connor.

Peterson told Frey on Dec. 9 that "he had lost his wife and this would be his first holiday without his wife," said Brocchini.

Laci disappeared on Christmas Eve, while Scott Peterson claims he was on a solo fishing trip in San Francisco Bay. Remains of the missing woman and her unborn son washed ashore near San Francisco in April, and cops arrested Scott Peterson days later.

Brocchini said Peterson made himself a suspect almost immediately by acting suspiciously.

Police found a loaded handgun in Peterson's car as they combed through the couple's house on Christmas Eve, when Laci was first reported missing.

The detective offered no suggestion that the gun - with no round in the chamber and a magazine loaded with live ammo - had recently been used by Peterson.

But Brocchini recalled how a nervous Scott Peterson called him at 2 a.m. Christmas morning, demanding the gun back.

"He said he wished I'd told him I kept the gun for evidence," Brocchini testified. "I responded it was illegal to have a loaded gun in his glove box and I was going to put it into evidence."

Peterson then asked "if they had used cadaver dogs to search for Laci," the investigator recalled.

"I said, 'No, I hadn't considered her dead yet.' I was kind of surprised he asked that."

Cadaver dogs later tracked Laci's scent from Modesto to the bay, according to court documents.

The preliminary hearing, before Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami, is scheduled to resume on Wednesday. .............

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MODESTO - Two weeks before his wife disappeared, Scott Peterson told his mistress he was a widower about to spend his first Christmas alone, an investigator testified Thursday.

That was Dec. 9, the same day Peterson purchased the boat he told police he used while fishing San Francisco Bay the day his wife disappeared, said Detective Al Brocchini.

Taking the witness stand on day six of Peterson's preliminary hearing, the Modesto officer said he interviewed Amber Frey after she called a tip line Dec. 30, telling him she had been romantically involved with Scott Peterson.

Frey told him Peterson had told her he was single -- a lie, she later learned. She said she confronted him Dec. 9, and he told her his wife was dead, the detective said.

A Stanislaus County judge is hearing evidence to determine whether there is enough proof to continue holding Peterson on two murder counts.

Laci Peterson vanished Dec. 24 and later turned up dead on the shores of San Francisco Bay not far from where Peterson said he was fishing.

Peterson was arrested April 18 in San Diego, driving a 1984 Mercedes Benz that Brocchini said Peterson told him he bought with $3,600 in cash days earlier while using his mother's name.

With dyed hair and sporting a goatee, Peterson told the seller that his parents named him Jacquelyn Peterson in a "Boy Named Sue" thing, referring to the Johnny Cash song about a boy given a girl's name, Brocchini said.

Offering up detailed description of the early search for the pregnant Modesto woman, Brocchini told a packed courtroom that Scott Peterson's behavior was, in some instances, surprising.

Peterson said in early questioning that on Christmas Eve he had gone fishing in his new boat. He had planned to golf, but the chilly December temperatures changed his mind, Brocchini said he was told.

Brocchini arrived about 9:30 p.m. at the Peterson house after police were called. He searched the house and then Peterson's truck, he said, finding a .22-caliber handgun in the glove compartment.

Brocchini asked Peterson to submit to a gunshot residue test, to which he agreed. Peterson said he had last fired a gun a month earlier while hunting, but questioned whether exhaust from the boat's motor would show up on the test, the detective testified, adding that it would not.

Officials have not said whether Laci Peterson died from a gunshot wound, but have indicated in court papers that she was killed inside her house.........

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MODESTO, Calif. -- The same day he bought a fishing boat that would provide his alibi when his pregnant wife vanished two weeks later, Scott Peterson told his mistress he was a widower planning his first Christmas alone, a police officer testified.

Detective Allen Brocchini, who launched the Christmas Eve investigation into Laci Peterson's disappearance, said Scott Peterson bought the boat Dec. 9 - the same day Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey later told the officer that she confronted Peterson about being married.

While Brocchini did not link the two events that happened that day, he provided the pieces of the puzzle prosecutors are assembling to show Peterson was plotting the demise of his wife weeks before he returned from his Dec. 24 fishing excursion and reported her gone.

Brocchini's testimony Thursday in the preliminary hearing revealed the details he gathered from the day Peterson claimed he was motoring his 14-foot skiff on San Francisco Bay to his arrest nearly four months later in San Diego.

Peterson was arrested driving a Mercedes convertible be bought for $3,600 cash, using his mother's name, ``Jacqueline Peterson.''

When asked about the peculiar name, he told the seller it was the name his parents gave him, Brocchini said.

In the first hours of the investigation, Peterson denied he was having an affair, Brocchini said. Peterson never told him about Frey.

On Dec. 30, Frey placed one of the hundreds of calls Modesto police received each day. Brocchini was watching a clerk type notes from the caller and decided to pick up the phone and handle the call himself.

Frey said she met Peterson on Nov. 20 and he said he was single. But she later became suspicious and confronted him about three weeks later because she thought he was married.

``He said he lost his wife, this would be the first holiday he was without his wife,'' Frey told Brocchini.

Peterson called Frey on Christmas and the following three days, Brocchini said. At some point, he told her he was out of the country and would be able to spend more time with her after Jan. 25.

Frey began taping their phone conversations for police, and investigators tapped Peterson's phones for evidence.

Frey may testify later in the hearing that will determine whether the 31-year-old former fertilizer salesman is tried on charges of murdering his 27-year-old wife and unborn son. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

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A Modesto Police detective who spent last Christmas Eve launching an investigation into Laci Peterson's disappearance testified Thursday that officers found a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun in Scott Peterson's pickup truck.

It was the first hint that Peterson, accused of killing his pregnant wife and unborn son, owned a weapon. But Modesto police detective Al Brocchini made no connection between the weapon and the death of pregnant substitute teacher Laci Peterson. Brocchini testified for 90 minutes Thursday on the sixth day of a hearing to determine if Peterson will stand trial for murder.

Brocchini, under questioning from Stanislaus County prosecutor Rick Distaso, also explained that as the Christmas Eve investigation began, Peterson denied having an extramarital affair and worried about his boss learning that he stored his boat in a company warehouse.

Before Brocchini's testimony, Peterson defense lawyer Mark Geragos told Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami that he recently discovered that the FBI conducted closed-circuit television surveillance of Peterson's home after his wife disappeared.

Geragos said he will subpoena the FBI for copies of the tape and seek a motion to dismiss charges against Peterson.

The 31-year-old former fertilizer salesman faces two counts of murder for the death of his wife and unborn son. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Brocchini said he arrived at the Peterson house on Covena Avenue about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 24, about four hours after Laci Peterson's stepfather Ron Grantski reported her missing to police.

The detective described Scott Peterson as cooperative, saying the fertilizer salesman never told him to leave or get out of his house.

Brocchini also recounted writing down all the phone numbers in Peterson's cellular phone log and taking pictures of Peterson's boat stored at a warehouse. He said the boat contained two fishing poles, a lifejacket, a homemade boat anchor consisting of cement poured into a bucket and yellow-handled pliers.

Much of the Peterson's preliminary hearing has focused on a single piece of human hair wrapped in the pliers, which prosecutors maintain was a hair from Laci Peterson.

Brocchini also described Peterson's remarks about a bucket and mop that have dominated testimony in recent days. He said Peterson told officers that his wife asked him to bring the mop bucket into the house before he left on a fishing trip to Berkeley Marina on the morning of Christmas Eve. He said Peterson said his wife was mopping floors when.........

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MODESTO, Calif., Nov. 6 — Two weeks before his wife was murdered, Scott Peterson told his mistress that his wife was already dead and that he was about to spend his first Christmas without her, the lead detective in the case testified Thursday.

Scott Peterson, asked whether police ‘had used cadaver dogs to search for Laci. I said, “No, I hadn’t considered her dead yet.” I was kind of surprised he asked that.’

— AL BROCCHINI Modesto police detective PETERSON TOLD the woman, Amber Frey, that “he had lost his wife and this would be his first holiday without his wife,” Modesto police Detective Al Brocchini said during the seventh day of a preliminary hearing on charges that Peterson murdered his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son.

The detective said he later learned that Scott Peterson called Frey daily starting Christmas Day, the day after Laci Peterson disappeared.

Frey “heard from him on the 25th, the 26th, the 27th and the 28th, and he said he was out of the country and would be able to be with her more around January 25,” Brocchini said.

Frey, who is expected to testify next week, taped many of the conversations, Brocchini said. It was a day of revealing testimony in a hearing dragged out by delays and painstakingly detailed DNA testimony. Brocchini also testified that when he searched Peterson’s pickup truck for clues late Christmas Eve, he founded a loaded gun in the glove compartment.

The detective offered no suggestion that the gun, a Llama .22 caliber semiautomatic handgun with no round in the chamber and a magazine loaded with live ammunition, had recently been used.

But Brocchini said Peterson called him on his cell phone at 2 a.m. Christmas Day wanting the gun back. “He said he wished I’d told him I kept the gun for evidence,” Brocchini said. “I responded it was illegal to have a loaded gun in his glove box and I was going to put it into evidence.”

Scott Peterson, 31, then asked Brocchini “if they had used cadaver dogs to search for Laci,” Brocchini added. “I said, ‘No, I hadn’t considered her dead yet.’ I was kind of surprised he asked that.”

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Larry King has got to be the worst interviewer in the business.

I think the secret of his success is, for one thing, he's been at this a long time, it didn't come overnight, and for another thing, he seems to be able to usually get the guests people really want to see.

But as for interviewing "skills", he has none!

I saw that too, and Fieger made a good point: if he knew his wife would be gone very soon, why would he need to get a secret mailbox to receive stuff from Amber? Why not just have her send it to the house?

But Gloria Allred came in and voiced my thoughts exactly: suppose Scott DID know that Laci would soon be gone, well, he also knew that there'd be people all over the place at his house for a time, and it wouldn't look good for Amber's gift to arrive there. Also, he probably figured if he gave Amber his address, she'd come over there. Lots of reasons he couldn't have that, even with Laci gone: others would see Amber and figure out that he'd been carrying on with her, Amber would be able to see that a WOMAN lived in the house there, etc.

I don't know where Greta got off telling us about that silly e-mail. Greta, as far as I know, has never been pregnant. Or if she has, you can bet SHE changed her clothes every day! (Of course she didn't use to brush her hair every day, but I digress.)

Leave the same clothes on two days in a row while pregnant? That's ridiculous. Sweating, etc., etc., are all worse when a person is pregnant. No way would Laci have worn the same clothes two days in a row. For one thing, it's such a relief when pregnant to get out of clothes and into something that is like just a sack, something that is loose. No pregnant woman would deny herself the luxury of putting on night clothes at night.

I have the answer! Because he was going to sell the house quicker than Janie Weintraub can roll her eyes. He would be moving back to Fresno (Party town!)pronto. And Gloria Allred's response was quite logical too.

Oh, I think I know what they were referring to. In the transcripts Geragos, McAllister, and the DA, Distaso, discuss a surveillance by the FBI. It appears that the FBI, shortly after Laci was reported missing, got permission from the owner of a vacant house to set up a videocam, to watch Scott's comings and goings. I heard that the vacant house was the house next door to Scott. OTOH, seems to me some accounts say it was the house across the street.

I would love to know what, if anything, they found out from that surveillance. So far, it appears that neither the prosecution nor the defense has gotten a copy of the surveillance tapes. They are repeatedly asking the FBI for them, but the feds often ignore requests from state personnel, and even more often ignore requests from mere defense attorneys. After all, they think, WE are the FEDS, we answer only to Washington and to our own regional offices!

I think eventually the FBI tapes will come to light. One thing that might be on them would be Kim McGregor, Scott's nutty drunkard neighbor, entering Scott's house on the weekend of Jan. 18, while Scott was away in San Diego, looking for Laci near the Super Bowl (I kid you not.) Kim, of course, is the nutjob who supposedly went in the house and took Laci's wedding dress. She later gave it back.

Really, you know, this guy was in business, and he'd been a homeowner, how could he have been so ignorant and naive as to think that he could just sell the house w/o Laci's signature? Sheesh. But it does indeed appear that he thought that.

And even if he knew he couldn't sell the house really fast, I guess he knew he'd be moving soon--which brings us to your point! When we moved, and didn't have our address finalized, we opened a P.O. box, too. Of course, we just went down to the post office--but Scott needed that extra privacy, heh.

Late news report from Gloria Gomez on KOVR13 ten o'clock news...

Gomez reports that the scent tracking dogs picked up Laci's scent at the warehouse AND on the boat ramp where Scaught launched his boat. The dog did not react to any scent on the boat.

The tracking event took place within 24 hours of Laci's disappearance according to Gomez.

I think we can understand why Gearloose is so determined to have the tracking evidence declared inadmissable. Gomez speculated that the judge will likely rule on that evidence next week.

Hmmmm...Could the smell have been lost if Laci was wrapped up in the tarp?

Have you read the updates on Kim the drinking neighbor who wore Laci's wedding dress?

She seemed to have her nose in Scoot and Laci's going ons as a neighbor and fed and walked the dog for Scoot after Laci vanished.

Sounds like she had the hots for Scoot but not sure if he responded. She is mute claiming she is under the gag order.

Sounds like a new twist if she has anything solid to add.

Scott was away in San Diego, looking for Laci near the Super Bowl

Not to be a stickler for detail but...I think he was in LA during the break - in and in SD a couple of weeks later during the Super Bowl. I remember being on the look out for him in Cancun at the end of January. He did make it to Guadalaraja not too long after that though.

He literally would NOT allow John Walsh to even finish what he had to say about Peterson. He just cut him off. He literally does this every single time any of his guests talk about the guilty, bizarre behaviour Snott Peterson.

He really started doing this bigtime after the show that Lee phoned in to. He is hoping that by being "fair and balanced", that Lee or one of the others in that sicko clan will call in again. He is such an a$$ kisser.

On his show last week when they were going to a break they showed clips of Scotty with sad music playing, and then showed the clip of Lee saying, "He's in there. He's an innocent man. He's lost his wife. He's lost his baby. He's lost his freedom. What more can you lose?" I was gagging.

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