Defense: Conner may have been born alive
By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: November 14, 2003, 12:26:00 PM PST
12:26 p.m., PST: Scott Peterson's defense attorney raised the prospect this morning that Conner Peterson was born alive before he was killed.
If true, the allegation would cast serious doubt on whether Scott Peterson was involved in the disappearance and deaths of his wife and their son.
Testimony this morning in Peterson's preliminary hearing on double-murder charges also included disputes over a paint transfer on his fishing boat and discussion of more witnesses who thought they may have seen his pregnant wife, Laci, walking their dog Christmas Eve morning.
Attorney Mark Geragos used words such as "full-term infant" and "speculation that the baby was 38 to 39 weeks old" while questioning Modesto police Detective Phil Owen, who attended two autopsies on the remains of Laci Peterson.
"Was it indicated in the autopsy that the baby may have been born alive?" Geragos asked Owen. Judge Al Girolami ordered the entire exchange stricken from the court record when it was determined that Owen had not attended autopsies on the remains of Conner Peterson.
Scott Peterson, 31, faces the death penalty if convicted of murdering his wife and unborn son. He was dressed in a tan suit and light blue shirt this morning.
Laci Peterson's pregnancy was about 32 weeks along when she was last examined by an obstetrician on Dec. 23 - the day before she was reported missing. Authorities believe her husband killed her that night or the next morning.
Her remains were recovered clad in tan maternity pants similar to what her sister, Amy Rocha, said she wore the evening of Dec. 23. Scott Peterson told authorities his wife was wearing black pants when he left for a solo fishing trip to San Francisco Bay the morning of Dec. 24.
Both bodies were found in April along the shore a few miles from where Peterson said he fished.
But some people in the Petersons' La Loma neighborhood have told The Bee they saw Laci Peterson walking her golden retriever that morning - after the time police believe she was slain.
Under questioning by Geragos, Owen acknowledged this morning that he interviewed three people on 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.
At about 10:50 a.m., 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 6-to-7 months pregnant with straight, shoulder-length hair, and the men as extremely dirty.
Campos saw a flier about Laci Peterson's disappearance on Dec. 26 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 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 and likely would not have had an opportunity to act.
Owen also acknowledged having scraped paint from a red buoy in the bay to compare with paint that showed up on the right side of Peterson's 14-foot aluminum fishing boat. Geragos suggested 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.
Geragos also suggested that the paint transfer may have occurred when police bumped the boat against a red dolly at a police storage area.
"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 hand-truck in the storage area.
http://www.modbee.com/reports/peterson/updates/story/7736641p-8640323c.html>>Testimony this morning in Peterson's preliminary hearing on double-murder charges also included disputes over a paint transfer on his fishing boat and discussion of more witnesses who thought they may have seen his pregnant wife, Laci, walking their dog Christmas Eve morning. <<
Thanks Vel! I'm so tired of these dog-walking witnesses. Come to think of it, I think I saw Laci and McKenzie out walking past my house last Xmas Eve. Sheesh.
Thanks, Vel! I'm really behind today! So much is happening and I've gotta run again! BBL