Peterson seen driving to marina 3 times

Peterson seen driving to marina 3 times
Amber Frey not expected to testify at Modesto hearing

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Modesto -- Scott Peterson drove rental cars to the Berkeley Marina three times in the days after his pregnant wife disappeared, gazing at the water before returning home to Modesto, a detective testified Thursday.

Peterson spent only a couple of minutes each time at the marina, where he had told police he went fishing the day his wife, Laci Peterson, disappeared on Christmas Eve, Modesto police Detective Al Brocchini said. Officers who tailed the double-murder suspect saw him driving erratically at one point, as if trying to elude them, the detective said.

Peterson, 31, a former fertilizer salesman, has pleaded not guilty in the slayings of his wife and their unborn son, whose bodies washed ashore in April in Richmond, a few miles north of the marina.

Laci Peterson's body was clad in tan maternity pants and a 12- to 18-inch- long piece of duct tape was "attached to the groin area," Detective Philip Owen testified Thursday.

Also on Thursday, attorney Gloria Allred said her client Amber Frey, a Fresno massage therapist who was romantically involved with Peterson, will not testify at the preliminary hearing to determine whether Peterson is tried.

"I think that if she had been called to testify at this preliminary hearing, that the defense might have chosen to re-victimize her," Allred said.

Peterson visited the marina on Jan. 5, 6 and 9, Brocchini testified Thursday, and "stared out toward the bay" each time. While driving back to Modesto on Jan. 6, Peterson "began doing countersurveillance," making U-turns and stopping on the side of the road, Brocchini said.

But during cross-examination, defense attorney Mark Geragos asked the detective if he was aware that a Modesto newspaper had reported that divers were searching for Laci Peterson in San Francisco Bay on the same days Peterson visited the marina.

Geragos also noted that Peterson's truck had been impounded by police and suggested that his client had been driving in a way to shake off reporters. "You'd rather just come to the conclusion that it's suspicious because he's returning to the scene," Geragos said.

Brocchini also testified that Frey was introduced to Peterson after a friend of Frey's met the defendant at an agricultural conference in Anaheim. After the friend discovered that Peterson was married, she confronted him on Dec. 6. Sounding tearful, he said, "Look, I'm not married. I lost my wife. Let me break it to Amber," according to Brocchini. ..........

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By Harriet Ryan
Court TV
Thursday, November 13, 2003 Posted: 9:44 PM EST (0244 GMT)

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MODESTO, California (Court TV) -- Two weeks after his pregnant wife went missing, Scott Peterson made three suspicious trips to the bay where her body was ultimately found, a detective testified Thursday morning.

Modesto Police Detective Al Brocchini, the lead investigator in the disappearance of Laci Peterson, said surveillance teams tailed Peterson to the San Francisco Bay January 5, 6 and 9.

On each occasion, Peterson parked at the Berkeley Marina and "stared into the bay" for a few minutes before driving away, the detective told Superior Court Judge Al Girolami.

Peterson never took his own SUV on the trips and on two occasions rented vehicles immediately before setting out for the hour and a half-long drive, the detective testified. He also said that, when Peterson discovered police were following him as he returned from the Bay January 6, he began "driving erratically" in an effort to lose them.

Peterson is accused of killing his wife in their home and then dumping her body in the bay December 24. Her remains and those of the couple's unborn son washed up on the bay shore in April. Peterson insists he was on a fishing trip in the bay when his wife vanished and had nothing to do with her murder.

The description of Peterson's brief and strange bay visits was not the only damaging testimony the detective offered Thursday, his third day on the witness stand at Peterson's preliminary hearing.

The detective also related the account of Shawn Sibley, a business associate of Peterson and the matchmaker for his extramarital relationship with masseuse Amber Frey. Sibley told the detective that, when she met Peterson at an agribusiness conference in October, he told her he was single and begged her to set him up with one of her friends.

On December 6, a few weeks after Frey and Peterson began the affair, Sibley learned from a colleague that Peterson was married and confronted him, the detective testified.

"He said, 'Look, I'm not married. I lost my wife. Let me break it to Amber,'" Brocchini said. Sibley recalled Peterson sounding "extremely upset like he was crying," the detective said.

He later called back and said he had told Frey the truth: that he was a widow, the detective said.

Brocchini also cast doubt on the efforts of Peterson and his family to search for his wife. His parents and siblings established a separate tip line after becoming frustrated with the direction of the police investigation. Peterson, however, promised to turn over tips from the line to investigators. .......

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Amber Frey, right, who acknowledged an affair with Scott Peterson, will not testify at his hearing. By Jerome T. Nakagawa, AP

MODESTO, Calif. — Scott Peterson's former mistress won't testify at a hearing to decide whether he will stand trial for the murder of his wife and unborn son.

Massage therapist Amber Frey, who taped her phone conversations with Peterson for police after he became a suspect, had been the most eagerly awaited witness after eight days of testimony. She was on the prosecutors' witness list, but her lawyer, Gloria Allred, said late Thursday that prosecutors told her Frey won't be called.

Prosecutors apparently want to spare her from early cross-examination by Peterson's lawyers. She is certain to testify if Peterson goes to trial next year as expected.

Allred's bombshell came on a day when defense lawyers accused police of a single-minded focus on nailing the former fertilizer salesman for the murders, ignoring other possible explanations for Laci Peterson's Christmas Eve disappearance.

Defense lawyer Kirk McAllister contended that detective Al Brocchini tried to get Peterson fired from his job and told friends he was going "to take Scott Peterson down." Brocchini denied that, insisting that every tip was pursued. "My intent was to catch, not get, whoever got Laci," he said.

When prosecutors detailed how Peterson returned three times to the spot where they say he dumped his wife's body, the defense countered that there were innocent explanations.

Brocchini said police tailed Peterson when he drove from his home here to San Francisco Bay three times in January. Once there, he got out of his car, stared briefly at the water, then left.

Prosecutors believe Peterson killed his pregnant wife and dumped her body in the bay. They'll try to prove that his purchase of a fishing boat two weeks before she vanished is evidence he planned the crime in advance. They're seeking the death penalty.

Prosecutor Rick Distaso sought to show that Peterson returned to where they allege he dumped her body, 85 miles from his home, on Jan. 5, 6 and 9.

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) Nov. 13 (AP) — A lawyer for Scott Peterson's former mistress says she will not take the stand during his preliminary hearing.

Attorney Gloria Allred says that prosecutors have decided not to call Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey to testify in the hearing that will determine if Peterson stands trial in the killings of his wife and unborn son.

Allred says prosecutors determined they have presented enough evidence without Frey.

A detective testified that Frey called police about a week after Laci Peterson vanished to say she had been romantically ........

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Amber Frey will not take stand in preliminary hearing MODESTO POLICE WERE SUSPICIOUS OF PETERSON FROM THE BEGINNING

MODESTO - Three times within days of Laci Peterson's disappearance, Scott Peterson drove a rented car 90 miles to the Berkeley Marina -- the place police believe Peterson dumped his pregnant wife's body after killing her -- looked out across the water for a couple of minutes, then drove home without speaking to a soul, a detective testified Thursday.

The testimony from Modesto police Det. Al Brocchini implied that Peterson, not realizing he was being tailed by police, returned to the bay in early January to see if Laci's body had surfaced. But Peterson's defense lawyer said the trips to the marina were innocent -- he was simply a concerned husband checking up on the search effort by divers there. And although he was driving his wife's Land Rover around Modesto, he rented a car because his own truck had been impounded by police.

• Prosecutors decided they would not call Peterson's mistress, Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey, to the stand during the preliminary hearing, held to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to make Peterson stand trial for the deaths of his wife and unborn son. She could still testify at trial, however.

• Brocchini described how Peterson, a 31-year-old fertilizer salesman, was a married man on the prowl, asking a woman he met at a convention to set him up with one of her friends. That's how he got Frey's phone number and began the affair.

• The detective testified that Peterson had obtained a fishing license dated Dec. 23 and 24, casting doubt on the suspect's statements that he had planned to play golf the day his wife disappeared -- Dec. 24 -- and only changed his mind that morning to go fishing instead.

• Testimony revealed that Laci's body, which washed up along the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay last April, had remnants of tan maternity pants -- pants her sister has testified Laci was wearing the night before Christmas Eve, not the black pair her husband said she was wearing when he left the house Christmas Eve morning. The remains also were wrapped with duct tape around the groin area -- testimony that sent Laci's mother and close friends out of the courtroom near tears.

Police believe Peterson killed his wife sometime late Dec. 23 or early Dec. 24, put her body in his fishing boat, towed it to the Berkeley Marina, and dumped it in the bay early Christmas Eve morning. The bodies washed up separately months later about a mile north of the marina..........

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MODESTO, Calif. — Scott Peterson (search) has admitted to family members and friends that he cheated on his wife, Laci Peterson (search), at least four times with different women, Fox News has learned.

One relative, who does not believe Peterson is guilty of murder, described him as a sex addict.

"He has a sexual problem and has a need to sleep with other women," the relative told Fox News.

Scott Peterson's family has contended that his wife was aware of the affairs, and that although she would get angry she'd eventually put them behind her. Peterson's mother has told relatives and friends that she knew her daughter-in-law was aware of at least one affair, and that she once saw the couple arguing over it.

Amber Frey (search), a 28-year-old single mother and massage therapist, came forward as Peterson's lover shortly after his arrest in April for the murders of Laci and their unborn child. She has maintained that she did not know that Peterson was married, and that she knew nothing about the murders.

Peterson has told his family that his relationship with Frey, who is expected to testify in his preliminary hearing, was "strictly a physical relationship."

Laci Peterson's family has said they don't believe she knew about her husband’s indiscretions, Frey included.

Fox News has also learned that Scott Peterson's parents have sold old cars and refinanced their house to help pay the $1 million cost of their son's defense by high-profile attorney Mark Geragos (search).

Testimony continued Tuesday in the preliminary hearing to determine if Peterson, a former fertilizer salesman, will stand trial on two counts of murder.

Peterson has read almost 10,000 pages of the discovery material in the case while he sits behind bars.

He also spends his days doing yoga and making items out of toothpaste and toilet paper in his cell, where he has placed four or five photos of Laci, including one of the young woman sitting in a toy car during her pregnancy, sources told Fox News.

A police officer said Tuesday that he saw a bucket and mops in plain sight in front of the Peterson home as officers began investigating his pregnant wife's disappearance. ......

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November 14, 2003 -- MODESTO, Calif. - Double murder suspect Scott Peterson made several suspicious trips to the waterfront where cops believe he dumped the body of his murdered wife, a detective testified yesterday. Modesto Detective Al Brocchini said investigators in January watched Peterson drive at least three times from Modesto to the Berkeley marina where he claims he set out on a solo fishing trip Christmas Eve, the night his pregnant wife, Laci, vanished.

Defense lawyer Mark Geragos admitted Peterson took the trips, but only to see police dive teams looking for Laci's body.

Meanwhile, Peterson's former mistress Amber Frey won't be called to testify at his .......

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MODESTO, Calif. -- Scott Peterson's former mistress Amber Frey, rumored to be the centerpiece of the double murder case against the Modesto fertilizer salesman, will not testify at the preliminary hearing.

Frey's lawyer, Gloria Allred, said prosecutors "obviously made a determination" they have presented enough evidence to convince a judge to order Peterson to stand trial for the murder of his wife, Laci, and his unborn son.

Meanwhile, Modesto Police Det. Al Brocchini testified that police received a tip that a man who looked like Scott Peterson was seen driving toward San Francisco Bay before dawn Dec. 24 hauling a boat containing a blanket-swaddled bundle.

Brocchini said he got the tip Jan. 9 and anonymously relayed it in February to a hot line established by Scott Peterson and his family to see if they would pass the clue on to police.

"We weren't sure if he was culling out tips that were on him or on Laci sightings that we didn't know about," Brocchini said. "I was worried a good tip would come in and wouldn't get followed up on."

He said the Petersons never passed the message on to police, who had already investigated the tip. Brocchini said he interviewed the witness, but revealed nothing else about the man.

The testimony came on the eighth day of Peterson's preliminary hearing as prosecutors attempt to show there is enough evidence to have the 31-year-old fertilizer salesman tried on murder charges in the slayings of his wife and unborn son.<.......

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Defense broaches sighting at park

http://modbee.com/local/story/7743764p-8647728c.html

By JOHN COTÉ
and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS

Last Updated: November 15, 2003, 08:04:08 AM PST

Scott Peterson's defense attorney raised the prospect Friday that Conner Peterson was born alive. The attorney, Mark Geragos, also questioned a detective about witnesses who reportedly saw suspicious men in Dry Creek Regional Park the day Laci Peterson was reported missing.
The defense contentions emerged in day 10 of Peterson's preliminary hearing on double-murder charges; testimony also raised questions about a single hair found attached to pliers in Peterson's fishing boat and about red paint scuffs on the boat.

The day was capped by the unlikely possibility that Geragos would subpoena Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey to tes-tify at the preliminary hearing.

Frey, who was Peterson's girlfriend when his wife disappeared and who taped his phone calls for police, is widely considered a key prosecution witness.

"Mr. Geragos has indicated to me that a final determination has not been made," Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred, said outside Stanislaus County Superior Court at the close of Friday's proceedings.

Geragos' ambiguous answer to Allred could simply be legal gamesmanship. The two have sparred repeat- edly in court and in comments to the media.

The defense only could call Frey as a witness if attorneys can demonstrate to Judge Al Girolami that her testi- mony could help the defense, legal observers said.

Geragos has subpoenaed Frey's phone records, Allred said Friday, suggesting that the move could be an attempt to harass her client.

The suggestion Friday that Laci Peterson's baby was born alive could provide insight into the line of questioning the defense will pursue if prosecutors call the medical examiner who performed the autopsy when the preliminary hearing resumes Monday.

Laci Peterson was about 32 weeks pregnant when she last was examined by an obstetrician on Dec. 23 -- the day before she was reported missing. Authorities have said they believe her husband killed her that night or the next morning.

Geragos used phrases such as "full-term infant" and "speculation that the baby was 38 to 39 weeks old" while questioning Mo- desto police Detective Phil Owen, who interviewed Laci Peterson's doctors and attended two autopsies of her remains.

Geragos called Owen as a defense witness to question him about the witnesses who reported seeing at least two suspicious men in Dry Creek Regional Park the morning of Dec. 24, the day Laci Peterson was reported missing.

Scott Peterson told police his wife was preparing to walk their golden retriever, McKenzie, in the park when he left that morning to go fishing in San Francisco Bay. Detective Al Brocchini testified earlier that Scott Peterson said his wife was mopping when he left about 9:30 a.m.

Peterson, 31, is charged with murdering his wife and their unborn son. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Their remains were found in April along the bay's eastern shore, a few miles from the spot were Peterson said he went fishing Dec. 24.

Owen acknowledged that he interviewed three people Dec. 27 with stories that Geragos said could "negate an element of the crime."

John and Karma Souza told the detective they saw a suspicious man in a puffy jacket and blue jeans who "popped out of bushes" as they jogged on a trail in East La Loma Park early that morning.

About 10:45 a.m. Dec. 24, Diana Campos, an employee of a nearby hospital, saw a pregnant woman walking a golden retriever with two men along a path in the park, Owen said. Campos described the woman as six to seven months pregnant with straight, shoulder-length hair, and the men as extremely dirty.

Campos told Owen one of the men used an expletive when telling the woman to quiet the dog, Owen testified.

Campos saw a flier on Dec. 26 about Laci Peterson's disappearance and called police the next day. "She said to herself, 'I know that girl,' and realized it was the same subject she saw walking through the park," Geragos said.

Owen agreed, but said he thought the witness had seen media reports on the disappearance. "I felt she was giving me information that was not going in the right direction," he testified.

The alleged sighting could be crucial because Scott Peterson came under tight police surveillance after Christmas Eve.

But the timeline didn't square with testimony from neighbor Karen Servas, who said she found McKenzie standing in the middle of the street with a dirty leash at 10:18 a.m. Dec. 24.

Geragos suggested that Campos initially told Owen the sighting was at 9:45 a.m., but after checking an audiotape of the interview during a break in court proceedings, Owen said Campos twice said it was 10:45 a.m.

Owen acknowledged having scraped paint from a red buoy in the bay to compare with red paint that showed up on the trim of Peterson's 14-foot aluminum fishing boat. Geragos argued that police theorized that the defendant tied his boat to the buoy to keep it from capsizing when he dumped his wife's body -- but the paint samples didn't match.

Owen said he was not sure whether the samples matched.

Geragos also suggested that the paint transfer may have occurred when police bumped the boat against a red dolly when removing it from Peterson's warehouse or a red object at the police storage area that wasn't described.

"Did you ever consider that it was Modesto police that cause the paint transfer?" Geragos asked.

Owen said he wasn't aware there was a red dolly at the warehouse.

The defense also attacked the prosecution's explanation that a single hair found attached to pliers in Scott Peterson's boat broke apart in an evidence envelope.

Two fragments that prosecutors contend came from a single hair are different shades of brown, said Rodney Oswalt, a criminalist at the state Department of Justice who examined the hair fragments.

Oswalt also said he never indicated in any of his reports that the "mashed or splayed" ends of the two hair fragments matched.

The pliers appeared rusted when examined at the Justice lab in Ripon, and there was no indication they had been used recently, according to sections of a lab report read in court Friday.

Oswalt also said tools can rust quickly if exposed to salt water, and the items hadn't been examined until February.

The hair is potentially key physical evidence that could link Laci Peterson to her husband's fishing boat.

Peterson's defense attorneys are trying to get the hair fragments excluded from court, arguing that the chain of custody was broken and that a DNA test performed on the hair is unreliable.

Girolami heard arguments on the disputed DNA technique late Friday and indicated that he was leaning toward allowing the evidence. He could issue a ruling on that matter Monday.

The DNA test showed the hair could not have come from Scott Peterson, but may have come from his wife, Laci Peterson, FBI expert Constance L. Fisher testified earlier.

Prosecutors maintain that the hair was not mishandled, and that a single strand, roughly 6 inches in length, found in the pliers simply broke in an evidence envelope.

When the evidence arrived at the Ripon lab, there were two hair fragments, one 4 3/8 inches, the other 1 5/8 inches, Oswalt said.

He called it "entirely possible" the damage at one end of each hair could have been caused after being clamped in pliers and then breaking later.

He also said both hair fragments "could" have come from the same source as hair found in Laci Peterson's hairbrush.

There was some type of "vegetative mater-ial" attached to the long fragment, and an undetermined "translucent material" attached to the shorter fragment, Oswalt said.

Geragos suggested that prosecutors are now contending that the one hair broke because he filed a motion saying the hair was mishandled while in police possession.

He also raised questions about how the hair got into the boat, saying a police ca- daver dog placed in the boat Dec. 27 could have transferred the hair after coming from the Petersons' Covena Avenue home.

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