Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Peterson's ex-girlfriend testifies today
The National Post ^ | 11/12/03 | Julie Smith

Posted on 11/12/2003 5:28:47 AM PST by runningbear

Peterson's ex-girlfriend testifies today
Amber Frey: Detective told court husband lamented wife's death weeks before her murder

Peterson's ex-girlfriend testifies today
Amber Frey: Detective told court husband lamented wife's death weeks before her murder

Julie Smyth
National Post

Wednesday, November 12, 2003


Laci and Scott Peterson celebrate Christmas in this undated family photo. Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant, disappeared last Christmas Eve. Her body and that of her unborn son were found in April.

The murder trial of Scott Peterson, accused of killing his pregnant wife and their unborn child, has not even begun, yet a preliminary hearing is already providing the tabloids and talk shows with enough salacious details to keep the American public captivated.

The hearing is set to provide even more fodder for the media this week -- Amber Frey, Mr. Peterson's former girlfriend, is expected to take the stand as early as today as a key witness. She will be speaking for the first time since she went public in January about their affair, when she claimed she had no idea her ex-boyfriend was married and expecting a child. She went to the police when she discovered his pregnant wife was missing.

Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant with her first child, disappeared from her Modesto, Calif., home on Christmas Eve.

In April, her body and that of her unborn son, whom she wanted to name Connor, washed up on the shore of San Francisco Bay, just miles from where Mr. Peterson had told police he was fishing the day his wife vanished.

The most sensational details came on Thursday, when a police detective revealed to the court that Mr. Peterson told Ms. Frey on Dec. 9, more than two weeks before Mrs. Peterson went missing, that he had "lost his wife" and that the upcoming holidays would be his first without her.

Ms. Frey told police her former lover said he would be able to spend more time with her after Jan. 26, Detective Al Brocchini told the court.

Mr. Peterson initially denied to police that he had been involved with Ms. Frey, a massage therapist and single mother, but eventually went public about his affair during a television interview with Diane Sawyer. He said Mrs. Peterson, a 27-year-old substitute teacher, knew about the affair and they were working through their problems. Speaking through teary eyes, he told the cameras they had a "glorious" marriage and never fought about his infidelity.

Det. Brocchini, who investigated Mrs. Peterson's disappearance, testified last week that police discovered on Dec. 9 that Mr. Peterson had bought a boat and paid for it with cash -- more than a dozen US$100 bills, according to the man who sold him the boat. He said Mr. Peterson also paid cash -- 36 US$100 bills -- for a car, according to another man who sold Mr. Peterson the vehicle in San Diego shortly before his arrest. Mr. Peterson filled out the paperwork using his mother's name, the court heard.

Mr. Peterson, a 31-year-old fertilizer salesman, spent days leading a volunteer search when his wife first went missing. However, he came under the spotlight when police began searching his house, boat and truck and after Ms. Frey admitted to their affair. Police arrested him on April 18, not far from the Mexico border. His hair was bleached blond and he was carrying US$10,000 in cash.

He was charged with two counts of capital murder and could face the death penalty.

Mr. Peterson has denied any guilt and his lawyers have vowed to find the real killers, raising the possibility of a satanic cult killing.

The preliminary hearing at Stanislaus County Superior Court................

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modesto Man Goes Hollywood, Opens Speciality Shops

Modesto Man Goes Hollywood, Opens Speciality Shops

Tue, Nov 11, 2003, 05:11 PM PT
By Hanh Nguyen

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Former hotel general manager Brad Saltzman, who served as a chief volunteer in the search for missing Modesto, Calif., woman Laci Peterson, has gone Hollywood.

He's opening a Pure Foods, a chain of retail stores specializing in

b, low-fat and sugar-free items important to diets such as the Atkins, Zone and South Beach diets, which are popular in the showbiz world.

Celebs such as Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt owe their svelte bodies to the Atkins diet, while Madonna, Demi Moore and Charlie Sheen are fans of the Zone.

Saltzman says the stress of the Peterson case caused him to gain weight, especially before being forced to resign in July after refusing to accommodate the parents of Scott Peterson, the husband suspected of murdering Laci and their unborn son last Christmas. Their bodies were found in a marina along the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

"I guess I ate a little too much, for the same reasons a lot of us do -- to escape," says Saltzman about dealing with his dubious notoriety.

But after losing more than 20 pounds on the Atkins Diet while trying to piece back together, Saltzman decided to focus on his health.

"I had several offers from other hotels," he says. "But after all the media attention and negative energy associated with the Peterson case, I decided to take a totally different direction and make a new start."

An estimated 35 million people are now embracing some form of low-carb diet and many more will no doubt make a fresh start after the upcoming ......

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peterson mailbox is alleged

Peterson mailbox is alleged

By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: November 9, 2003, 08:17:54 AM PST

Scott Peterson told his lover in late December to send a Christmas present to his private mailbox, according to well-placed sources.

Peterson rented a private mailbox on Dec. 23 -- the same day that his pregnant wife, Laci, visited her obstetrician and watched her sister cut her husband's hair. Authorities have said they believe Scott Peterson murdered his wife that night or the next morning.

Around the same period, Peterson told Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey that he could not spend the holidays with her, but "would be able to be with her more exclusively like Jan. 25," a detective testified Thursday in Stanislaus County Superior Court.

Peterson also told Frey that he would be out of the country for the holidays, his first without his wife, Modesto police Detective Al Brocchini testified Thursday.

Frey, 28 and a single mother, has said she did not know that Peterson was married when they met Nov. 20. On Dec. 9, he told her that he had "lost his wife," Brocchini said at Peterson's preliminary hearing on double-murder charges.

Also on Dec. 9, Peterson bought a 14-foot aluminum fishing boat -- a central part of the prosecution's case. Authorities say they believe Peterson carried his wife's body in the boat. A hair found in pliers in the boat could have been Laci Peterson's, an FBI expert testified Oct. 29, the first day of the hearing.

Peterson is accused in the deaths of his wife and their unborn son, Conner. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred of Los Angeles, refused Friday to confirm or deny the account of Peterson's private mailbox.

Peterson accompanied Frey to a party in Fresno on Dec. 14. A photo, widely circulated since, captured the cozy couple by a Christmas tree.

Sources said Frey, downcast at having to spend the holidays without her boyfriend, talked to him on the phone about exchanging gifts. Peterson instructed her to send a gift to his private mailbox, the sources said.

Brocchini testified Thursday that Peterson denied having an affair when the detective interviewed him Christmas Eve for a missing person report on Laci Peterson.

Scott Peterson also denied the affair to reporters. He came clean Jan. 28 -- four days after Frey revealed their romance at a news conference arranged by Modesto police.

Frey secretly taped her phone conversations with Peterson after she learned the ...........

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Boy Named JacquelineA Boy Named Jacqueline

POSTED: 2:56 PM PST November 7, 2003
UPDATED: 5:12 PM PST November 9, 2003

MODESTO, Calif. -- After days of scientific information on DNA, testimony at the Scott Peterson preliminary hearing finally got down to the heart of the prosecution's case with the testimony of detective Al Brocchini. Here are excerpts from Brocchini's testimony about what Scott Peterson told him during their first meeting -- hours after Laci Peterson was reported missing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Video

Ted Rowlands Friday Report From Modesto

Video

Ted Rowlands Reports On Brocchini's Testimony

On the happening at the Peterson household on Christmas Eve morning (Brocchini's answers are designated 'A' and Assistant D.A. Rick Distaso's questions are designated

'Q'):

MR. DISTASO: Q. What time did the defendant say he woke up?

A. He woke up about 8:00 o'clock. Laci had gotten up a little bit earlier.

Q. And did he say whether or not they both ate breakfast?

A. Yes.

Q. What did he say?

A. He said he got up after Laci, took a shower and went had a bowl of cereal.

Q. Did he say what Laci had had for breakfast?

A. Said she had a bowl of cereal.

Q. What did he say happened next? Or what did he say they did next?

A. They watched Laci's favorite show, Martha Stewart.

Q. And did he say whether or not they watched the whole show?

A. No, he said he didn't watch the whole show, but I asked him what he remembered about the show.

Q. Okay. And what did he tell you?

A. That they were cooking meringue, something to do with meringue.

Q. Okay. Did he tell you anything else about the show, anything else that he remembered?

A. No............

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Murder hearing turns to home

Murder hearing turns to home

By JOHN COTÉ
and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS

Last Updated: November 11, 2003, 07:56:38 AM PST

The questions "Who cleaned what, and when did they clean it?" are hovering over Scott Peterson's preliminary hearing on double-murder charges.

Much of the six days of testimony in Stanislaus County Superior Court has been devoted to mops, a bucket, towels and laundry.

Prosecutors also have focused their questions on items found in Peterson's truck, including patio umbrellas wrapped in a tarp, a loaded .22-caliber handgun and an unopened package of fishing lures.

Judge Al Girolami's gag order prevents attorneys, investigators and others from providing context for the evidence.

But some details are emerging in the case against the 31-year-old Modesto fertilizer salesman charged with murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner.

The focus on cleaning in the couple's Covena Avenue home could address two issues: Peterson's statement about what his wife was doing when he says he last saw her, Christmas Eve morning; and whether he attempted to sanitize a crime scene.

Testimony also focused on whether animals were in the home -- Peterson's explanation for a displaced throw rug and a reason that he gave for cleaning the floors twice in two days.

Peterson said his wife was mopping the floor in front of French doors in the kitchen area as he left at about 9:30 a.m. to go fishing in San Francisco Bay, a police detective testified last week.

Peterson told police that he returned home between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m. and his wife was missing.

House cleaner Margarita Nava testified that she cleaned the home the day before as part of her regular two-week rounds. Nava said she mopped the floors with water and Pine-Sol and used bleach only in the bathroom.

The floors were dirty and there was animal hair in the home, Nava said. There was an animal bed in "Laci's bedroom" and a water bowl in the bathroom. Nava said she did not know if they were for a cat or a dog.

Nava said she put towels used to clean a door in the mopping bucket and placed it on top of the washing machine, behind a set of doors in the living room.

Nava said she then put the mop outside to dry.

Peterson told police that his wife asked him to bring in the mop bucket from outside Christmas Eve morning because "she was pregnant, so she couldn't carry it," Detective Al Brocchini testified.

Peterson said he placed the bucket near the front door, and there were two mops present, Brocchini testified.

Peterson said that upon his return from the bay, he opened the French doors, and the cat and dog ran in, with the cat heading toward the bucket, Brocchini said.

"He thought the cat was gonna spill it or drink out of it," Brocchini said. "He took it out and dumped it."

Peterson told police that he set the bucket and mops outside, along a walkway that leads to the front door, where the first officer on the scene, Jon Evers, said they were in plain sight when he arrived at about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 24 in response to the missing person report about Laci Peterson.

Early in the investigation, police sources said there was a noticeable smell of bleach when officers entered the home, but Evers and Brocchini both have testified that they did not smell bleach or other cleaners.

After putting the bucket outside, Peterson told police, he removed some towels from the washing machine, put them on top of the machine, undressed and washed the clothes that he had been wearing, Brocchini said.

The detective testified that he found a laundry basket overflowing in the master bedroom and dirty white towels on top of the washing machine.

Questioning also keyed on a rug that two police officers said was bunched up against a doorway when they responded to the missing person call..........

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Superior Court, Stanislaus County

November 6, 2003

Minute Order: Preliminary Hearing

(ie; Seventh day court provided overview)

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalpost.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: avoidingchildsupport; baby; babyunborn; conner; deathpenaltytime; dontubelievemyalibi; getarope; ibefishing; laci; lacipeterson; smallbaby; smallchild; sonkiller; unborn; wifekiller
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 161-180181-200201-220 ... 241-260 next last
To: Canadian Outrage
Darn, I have to give up the computer. Oh well, tomorrow is a relatively free day. I will be here with bells on. Goodnight fellows Freepers!!
181 posted on 11/12/2003 7:21:51 PM PST by Canadian Outrage (All us Western Canuks belong South)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 180 | View Replies]

To: RGSpincich
"I've never seen such a little house with so many exterior doors."

That floor plan is not exact. Done by someone who put it together with what they thought it was. On that plan they show a door just left of the dining room and a door into the livingroom on the south wall. There is no door on the living room south wall.

Go to posting #36 for a map from the Modbee. At #4-5 are the French doors off the kitchen. #11 is door from the north side of the living room out to the driveway. Then there is the main door that leads into the front just left of the dining room. That is 3 doors is all. Not to many.

The only thing I know wrong with the Modbee floor plan and position of things is they put the mops and bucket in the wrong place.

182 posted on 11/12/2003 7:23:07 PM PST by Spunky (This little tag just keeps following me where ever I go.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 168 | View Replies]

To: Canadian Outrage
I don't recall ever hearing that Snott SAID that he hated the thought of being a Dad

One of the pundants did say that, and I about fell over. I thought maybe that was something that I had missed.

We know that he wouldn't have told that to Amber. I can't imagine his confiding that to family member, as he was too busy playing the "perfect husband".

He must have said it in passing to one or more of his friends.

183 posted on 11/12/2003 7:23:54 PM PST by LisaMalia (Buckeye Fan since birth!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 180 | View Replies]

To: LisaMalia
I missed the show and don't know her. She couldn't possibly be worse that Jayne Weintraub, could she?
184 posted on 11/12/2003 7:25:42 PM PST by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 170 | View Replies]

To: MaggieMay
Thanks Maggie. I can't wait to read the transcripts.
185 posted on 11/12/2003 7:27:02 PM PST by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 166 | View Replies]

To: Velveeta
She pretty much kept with the typical defense "company line"....this is a rush to judgement, the hair on the plyers might have been there because Laci used them before (yeah, right), just because he had affairs doesn't make him guilty..... blah, blah. Same B.S., different defense attorney...lol

She was annoying more than anything.
186 posted on 11/12/2003 7:31:50 PM PST by LisaMalia (Buckeye Fan since birth!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 184 | View Replies]

To: LisaMalia; Canadian Outrage
"We know that he wouldn't have told that to Amber."

I remember reading on one of the threads that he hated the idea of being a dad. I also remember reading on one of these threads that he supposedly told Amber when they could be together full time that he didn't want anymore children just the daughter she already had.

Now I don't know where all this info came from. Probably one of the rag sheets.

187 posted on 11/12/2003 7:34:22 PM PST by Spunky (This little tag just keeps following me where ever I go.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 183 | View Replies]

To: Velveeta
By the way....all the pro-prosecution pundits I've heard today all agree, NOT TO PUT AMBER ON THE STAND UNTIL THE TRIAL.
188 posted on 11/12/2003 7:35:18 PM PST by LisaMalia (Buckeye Fan since birth!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 185 | View Replies]

To: Spunky
There is no door on the living room south wall.

Well, I see a door on that wall in the exterior views of that wall. Just to the right of the window as you walk towards the front door. Picture

Since that room was a garage previously that would have been a side door entry. I see what you are saying though, the patio doors in the dining room show as a window in the Modesto Bee layout.

189 posted on 11/12/2003 7:48:46 PM PST by RGSpincich
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 182 | View Replies]

To: LisaMalia
I saw the ones on LKL and Greta who were saying the same thing.

I'd like to see Amber testify simply so someone would describe the look on Snott's face when she's on the stand.

Can you picture Snott turning to his mother and saying: "Psst, Mom....give me some of your jewelry..quick!"
190 posted on 11/12/2003 7:55:19 PM PST by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 188 | View Replies]

To: Velveeta
I just got done watching Greta, and it the fact that they are questioning police officer Brochinni's integrity as a factor in this case scares me. Reminds me too much of the Mark Furman fiasco in the Simpson case.

191 posted on 11/12/2003 8:04:15 PM PST by LisaMalia (Buckeye Fan since birth!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 190 | View Replies]

To: Yaelle
Scaughty tells the truth for the first time

Ah yes, how kind of you to notice!!! LOL!!

192 posted on 11/12/2003 8:10:40 PM PST by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 96 | View Replies]

To: Yaelle
Yeah, someone else on here said, if that's the criteria, their house was in trouble, too.

BUT Scott and Laci had not had their first child yet, and it looks like their critters spent most of their time outside... and Scott sure did straighten that rug in a hurry when the cop noticed it.
193 posted on 11/12/2003 8:12:20 PM PST by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 100 | View Replies]

To: Tijeras_Slim
LOL!!! Heap on the Adolph's!!!
194 posted on 11/12/2003 8:13:19 PM PST by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 102 | View Replies]

To: LisaMalia
The defense is grasping at straws. Since they haven't been able to name the "real killer" as promised, the defense has to do something. I think it's telling that that's the only defense so far.
195 posted on 11/12/2003 8:14:22 PM PST by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 191 | View Replies]

To: MaggieMay
Thanks, Maggie!

Seems they are thinking that these surveillance tapes might show Kim and the "burglary". And Geragos implies that his side doesn't know all that was taken??? I thought Scott had settled the matter; I thought Kim brought everything back and it was all squared away and he wasn't going to press charges.

If Scott isn't even sure what was taken, how come he didn't press charges so they could go to court and FIND OUT just what this woman made off with? Other than the wedding dress?

I'm starting to wonder why Scott was willing to let the burglary matter drop so easily.
196 posted on 11/12/2003 8:20:03 PM PST by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 108 | View Replies]

To: Yaelle
Yeah, hey, what's the prob?

Scott might say, "Well, they ASKED me to describe the last Martha Stewart show I watched with Laci... that's all I did..."
197 posted on 11/12/2003 8:21:13 PM PST by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 109 | View Replies]

To: ftriggerf
LOL!!
198 posted on 11/12/2003 8:22:24 PM PST by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 115 | View Replies]

To: ftriggerf
Lissen, ftrig, Martha just ain't gonna FIT in 12 gallons of water!
199 posted on 11/12/2003 8:26:20 PM PST by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 117 | View Replies]

To: Sandylapper
I think it was Geragos who said that! In the transcripts.
200 posted on 11/12/2003 8:28:53 PM PST by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 129 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 161-180181-200201-220 ... 241-260 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson