Friend: Peterson was frantic

The Modesto Bee ^ | 12/05/03 | Garth stapely

[runningbear]

Friend: Peterson was frantic

Friend: Peterson was frantic

By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: December 5, 2003, 07:25:21 AM PST

Scott Peterson sounded frantic when he called a friend after Peterson's pregnant wife disappeared Christmas Eve, Modesto businessman Gregory Reed said Thursday. Reed's name surfaced in the intrigue-packed preliminary hearing for Scott Peterson. The hearing ended Nov. 18 with a judge ordering the 31-year-old former fertilizer salesman to stand trial on charges of slaying Laci Peterson and their unborn son, Conner.

Other former acquaintances of the defendant, also mentioned at the proceeding, refused to comment.

Reed and his wife, Kristen, held private Lamaze sessions attended by the Petersons, who lived a few blocks away in the La Loma neighborhood. Gregory Reed previously said the Petersons brought meals and visited after the Reeds' child was born.

"They were good people," Reed said Thursday.

At the preliminary hearing, detectives testified that on the night of Dec. 24, Scott Peterson told them he fished alone briefly that day in San Francisco Bay. Peterson said his wife, who had been planning to walk their dog when he left, was gone when he returned.

Prosecutors contend that Peterson used his pickup to transport the body of his wife to his work warehouse and then to the bay.

Steve Jacobson, a prosecution investigator, testified that Peterson used his cell phone to call Reed shortly after leaving the Berkeley Marina on Dec. 24, and again later that evening. There was nothing unusual about the first call, Reed said.

"I could tell he was driving," Reed said, "but I don't know where. I could hear road noise and feedback.

"A few hours later I did get that frantic phone call. I caught up with him and went over to the house."

Family members, friends and neighbors gathered that night to post fliers and search for the mother-to-be.

Peterson's attorney, Mark Geragos of Los Angeles, appeared at the hearing to draw the image of a man concerned at having returned to an empty house. Jacobson confirmed that Peterson made numerous calls the evening of Dec. 24, including several to his wife's mother, Sharon Rocha, and sister, Amy Rocha, and later to 911........

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Taping calls is legally tricky

By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: December 6, 2003, 07:01:58 AM PST

Amber Frey secretly taped her phone conversations with suspected double-murderer Scott Peterson, but such an action is only legal under very specific circumstances. Recording calls is against the law in California -- unless the one taping gets the other person's consent. Another law permits covert recording to gather evidence of certain crimes, including murder.

That's how Frey did it. In fact, she had help from detectives who bought her a recording device and showed her how to use it -- hoping she could extract evidence from her boyfriend.

Peterson, 31, is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 26 on charges of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

In a preliminary hearing last month, authorities suggested that the defendant's romance with Frey may have provided him with a motive to kill his wife.

Frey approached Modesto police on Dec. 30, six days after Laci Peterson went missing, and began cooperating with authorities. Detective Al Brocchini testified that he gave her taping equipment that same day.

Brocchini said he bought some of it at Radio Shack. The store sells a "recorder control" for $24.19 -- with a caution urging buyers to check local laws because taping without consent is illegal in some states.

Questioning from a defense attorney suggested that Frey had begun taping their calls on her own as of Dec. 16.

In any case, she continued recording their calls for about seven weeks. Transcripts from one featured Peterson saying he was "longing to hold onto" Frey; he repeatedly deflected questions about having previously lied about his wife and unborn baby.

Authorities also obtained wiretap warrants for Peterson's cell phones allowing them to record all of his calls. Those recordings were not discussed at the preliminary hearing, though prosecutors reserved the option of introducing that evidence at trial.

Before 1967, anyone in California could tape a phone chat without fear of going afoul of the law. But state legislators that year adopted a series of eavesdropping statutes, including one prohibiting one-party-consent recording.

"To me, it's just offensive that people record conversations, in terms of .......

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Superior Court, Stanislaus County December 5, 2003

Minute Order: Findings on Sealing Orders

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Superior Court, Stanislaus County December 5, 2003

Minute Order: Correction to Minute Order of 12/3/03.....

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[Devil_Anse]

What you said gives me an idea--maybe they had this knock-down drag-out fight, in which he punched her, and she had broken ribs, and maybe she did lie down, but was bleeding internally and died. I remember hearing of a case of a child who was kicked. After the scumbag abuser (mother's boyfriend... as IF you couldn't guess) had done that, the fool mother later put him to bed b/c he was very, very tired. Well, he was very, very tired because he was bleeding internally... needless to say, he died.

[Sandylapper]

My point was that we don't know the "reasons" for the search warrant.

According to Nancy Grace on LKL, she put MPD onto looking for the missing clothing in Laci's wardrobe, if I recall correctly, the day before they got the warrant for the second search.

[Devil_Anse]

You need witches' ashes? We here at SCOW can help you! LOL.

[Devil_Anse]

Whatever explanation Geragos would give for Scott's fingerprints on the duct tape would surely become a standard on the Comedy Channel!

[Rusty Roberts]

I agree about not several points: not being too ready to accept this story at face value, it could be pieced together from so many different sources to come up with what the NE "thinks" the DA will present, who knows?

But, say there was a fight, and Laci either was injured and threw up or was so upset that she thought she might be going in to labor, so she had to lie down, possibly put a wet washcloth over her eyes....see where I'm going with this? She might even have gotten so far as putting on her pajama top, maybe not the bottom, I don't know, the clothes thing bothers me. It's true Scott really would have been on the ball to realize she should have day clothes on, just in case.

I have thought she had to have been either drugged or taken by surprise.

Who ever said above maybe Scott bled from a bite, good thought, and I'm betting Laci had those long fake nails that could do some quick damage.

[Devil_Anse]

Isn't L.A. the very place where they are making this MOVIE about the events?? What kind of "neutral" place would THAT be?

[Devil_Anse]

I'm still stuck on that tabloid story in which they say Scott put the tan pants on Laci.

If he did this, then WHY would he commit himself to her having disappeared wearing black pants/white shirt? After having struggled to put tan pants on a dead pregnant person, there is no way he wouldn't REMEMBER exactly what she was wearing when she "went missing". Then if the body were ever found, that part of his story would ring true.

[Sandylapper]

This is the part I would have the most problem with if I were a juror. A normal, logical person on a jury is going to think "the guy had a truck and a boat, he was the last known person to see her alive, he goes fishing in a bay 90 miles away, her partial body (and that of her baby) is found 4 months later in that same bay, taped with HIS finger prints on the tape"--no brainer here, jury, do your duty. Why does it really matter whether her body was in the boat or the truck? Okay, just a little loose end prosecution wants to nail down. Could stuff like this be the reason why CA has the largest state budget deficit in the nation, including all the other states combined?

FWIW, I don't think they have a fingerprint. JMO

[Velveeta]

MPD knew what Laci was wearing from Amy as early as the 24th when SP reported her missing. Amy even told the investigators about the video at Salon Salon of the two of them from the 23rd.

Boy, I think we can see just from the questions that we have that this is going to be a loooong trial. (I'm finally getting Court TV on Dec 18th, hurray!)

It sure wold be nice if we could e-mail in questions to the DA that we'd like answered!

[Velveeta]

Double, double, toil and trouble. Hee heee....cackle!

[Devil_Anse]

Re: Their idea that the truck which carried the body could be sold for a profit.

"mental illness"

You are too kind. I call that sort of behavior "assholism".

[Velveeta]

He couldn't commit himself to admitting that she was wearing the same outfit from the night before, so he gave the complete spectrum opposite.

....Or....he was taken by surprise when asked and remembered the black tarp on the bottom and white pillow case on top. "White top, black bottoms". Gobs of jewelry.

[Devil_Anse]

Before the trial, but not necessarily before the prelim, the state has to turn over all exculpatory evidence that is in their possession. As for other evidence, often if someone doesn't turn it over in response to a lawful discovery request, then that party can't use it at trial. LAWFUL discovery request.

[Sandylapper]

That's probably true, Vel, that MPD knew as early as the 24th what Amy saw Laci wearing on the 23rd. But had they ever checked to see if that particular outfit was hanging in her closet, or in the dirty clothes hamper before the 18th of February? I think that's what NG was suggesting.

[Devil_Anse]

Well, frankly, I always thought fringes were more suitable for a woman than for a man... but try to tell that to Gerry "Hiawatha" Spence...

[Devil_Anse]

Great idea! We could brand the images of deceased Laci on his forehead, right next to the image of Monica and Bill...

[Devil_Anse]

to insinuate that Laci tied herself up in plastic and duct tape and hopped to the bay with weights attached to every limb and threw herself in where Scott was fishing. Just to spite him, of course.

Hey, it could happen. (NOT!) But, you know, there is a Sherlock Holmes story in which the husband was fooling around with the governess, and the wife killed herself but made it look like the governess had murdered her.

I was looking at weights today in a store, and I picked up some 5-pound wrist weights. Those things were HEAVY! What was that receipt of Scott's for? 20-pound ankle weights? (Who the heck could use such a thing... Arnold??) Someone would sink like a rock wearing such things.

[Velveeta]

But! There's going to be that ONE OJ juror who's going to say: "Where's the proof that SP used the boat to dump her in the bay?" "There's no proof and he couldn't have driven his truck into the bay....so he couldn't have done it cause there just isn't any proof as to HOW".

The DA has to prove:

Who = SP
What = Smothered Laci with pillow
Where = Covena -> Warehouse -> Bay
When = After 8:30pm Dec. 23rd
How = killed her, wrapped her up, taped her up, drove in truck to warehouse, loaded into boat, motored out to bay, dumped her with weights on, drove back to warehouse, back home, showered....etc
Why = Amber

[Devil_Anse]

Yes, the idea that he might have drugged her keeps coming back. It would explain the vomit, and it would also make the smothering sound like child's play... it would be so easy to smother someone you outweighed so much, if they were drugged.

[Velveeta]

ROFL! My new favorite "ism" word!