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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[Canadian Outrage]

OMG - THAT is the EXACT comment I remember her making too. Then she proceeded to try and peddle this "Laci didn't like her car and wanted a better one for the baby"! *groan*. Laci LOVED her car, and LandRover is a VERY safe vehicle to carry a baby around in. How sad that she never got to do it.

[Sandylapper]

Vel, try looking for the Oct. 28th issue of NE. Believe it came out a week or two earlier (maybe the 14th??) Also think it glazed over in the last sentence or close to the end of that article. Let me know if you find it. If you don't, let me know.

[Sandylapper]

I'm not inclined to try to make arguments that either scenario I presented as hypotheticals actually happened. I was only trying to answer the questions you posed. Such scenarios are, in my mind's eye, possible--not probable but possible, if defense wants to throw it out there for jury consideration.

[Canadian Outrage]

Think of it this way?: The Prosecutions PURPOSE is to find and present the TRUTH. The Defense's purpose is to PREVENT a Jury from hearing the truth!! Now, I find that rather EASY to choose between.

[Sandylapper]

Vel, I found the article you posted re Oct. 28th isse of NE. Go here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1002836/posts?page=280#280

[Canadian Outrage]

That article says absolutely nothing about the Dirty and Skeeter claptrap story. Cory Carroll is mentioned only because he contacted police. His story was pretty much debunked by the fact that he said he was in solitary confinement for months and therefore didn't know Laci Peterson was missing. It was discovered that where he was held had NO Solitary confinement and he was in on a parole violation only. Anyway, that's the last I'll say on that subject. If it comes up at the trial, we'll see what, if anything, there is.

[Velveeta]

Thanks for finding it Sandy! I think this is what was misinterpreted because it's not well written:
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***NE says, as they have reported exclusively, Amber and Scott's "frequent phone conversations continued almost until April 18, when Scott was arrested."

It concludes by saying that "Amber had delighted her police handlers by extracting this taped confession from Scott: "I didn't do anything to Laci, but I know who did." And, briefly brings up the irony of Melvin King meeting with Cory Carroll, and talking with Amber.***
_______________________
The National Enquirer is just pointing out the irony that Melvin King had been the Private Investigator that Amber knew early on who was ready to polygraph SP if SP agreed in February.

The irony is that Melvin King was *also* the investigator called to polygraph Cory Carroll in October. It's *not* implied that Amber and Scott discussed Cory....

[Velveeta]

Ole Janey may just be an avid true crime fanatic, guaranteed a front row seat.

[Velveeta]

Thanks for the report! The information is so slow in dribbling out these days that we'll take any rumor we can. I did wonder about Lee not being in court a few weeks ago...

[Sandylapper]

It concludes by saying that "Amber had delighted her police handlers by extracting this taped confession from Scott: "I didn't do anything to Laci, but I know who did." And, briefly brings up the irony of Melvin King meeting with Cory Carroll, and talking with Amber.

Vel, this was discussed before and my opinion then was that the last clause "And, briefly brings up the irony of Melvin King meeting with Cory Carroll, and talking with Amber" is exactly that--a clause, not a sentence. The implied subject is "he", meaning Scott. That was my interpretation of the clause when I first read the article, and it still is.

[Devil_Anse]

Maybe she's looking to write a book.

She'd do better getting on "Laura", which is the Jerry Springer-type show for the Spanish channel. I watch it b/c I'm trying to learn Spanish, and also b/c it is HILARIOUS. Their last show (that I saw) had as its subject: "Mi suegra es una psicopática." ("My mother-in-law is a psychopath.")

[Devil_Anse]

I truly agree with your interpretation of the article. It does not say that Carroll's name ever came up in a discussion btw Scott and Amber.

[Devil_Anse]

If there is a slight foundation of fact that supports the introduction of evidence about this Carroll, or about other paid thugs, then maybe the defense can get it in. Otherwise, they will not be able to bring it up. They can't just throw any old thing into their questioning. There has to be a foundation laid--not only for the asking of questions on that subject, but also for the introduction of ANY evidence purporting to relate to Carroll, etc.

[Sandylapper]

Yeah, I know, and thought I had made it clear that by virtue of the Oct. 28th NE article, I think there is a taped conversation (foundation) between Scott and Amber whereby MG can get his nose in that door. Of course, maybe my interpretation of the article is incorrect, but for now I'm sticking to it.

[Devil_Anse]

Good grief. I just looked at the "article" again, and realized that it wasn't even THE article we were talking about--it was a synopsis of the article. The last sentence says, "And [the article] briefly brings up the irony of Melvin King meeting with Cory Carroll, and talking with Amber."

This absolutely does not say that Amber ever even knew of Carroll's existence, much less talked to or about him.

[Sandylapper]

I think you're right now, Anse and Vel, this is a synopsis of the article and not the real thing. A third person wrote the synopsis. I'm sorry for any confusion I caused in my interpretation of the article.

[Devil_Anse]

I hear that Geragos has today filed his motion for change of venue.

[MaggieMay]

Good to see you DA,here is the article titled,"Peterson defense Files For Change of Venue".
link
http://www.ktvu.com/news/2705851/detail.html

MODESTO, Calif. -- Waiting until the 12th hour, Mark Geragos -- Scott Peterson's lead attorney -- officially filed a change of venue motion early Monday morning, citing the enormous pre-trial publicity surrounding the domestic murder case that has captured the attention of the nation.

Geragos was granted an extension through the weekend until 9 a.m. Monday to file the petition by Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami. The noted defense attorney told the judge last Friday that his office needed the extra time to compile 8,000 exhibits accounting media coverage of the case on a disk to submit to the court.

In the filing, Geragos claimed that: "the lynch mob atmosphere that has been created in this case has become so poisonous that the nature of the news coverage has in many instances been reduced to nothing more than vilification. In fact, even former Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino stated on numerous occasions that Mr. Peterson cannot get a fair trial in Stanislaus County. "

A January 8th hearing was scheduled to determine if there will be a change of venue in the case.

The Peterson defense team had also objected at last Friday's hearing to a petition by the prosecution to survey potential jurors in Modesto, Sacramento and Los Angeles. But the judge -- citing the previous use of a survey in the Modesto courts -- said he'd allow the prosecution to move forward with its plans.

In court documents filed on Dec. 10, prosecutors had asked for permission to survey potential jurors not only in Stanislaus County, but also in Los Angeles and Sacramento.

The latter two were not too surprising since jurors in both locations have shown a tendency to find defendants guilty in capital murder cases. Of the 638 inmates on California's death row, 189 have come from Los Angeles County -- the highest number in the state.

Meanwhile, Sacramento County trails only Alameda in the number of death row inmates from Northern California with 35. In comparison, San Francisco County has just one death row inmate and nearby counties of San Joaquin and Madera have seven and three, respectively.

At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, Geragos had said he planned to ask for the change of venue.

"Generally what happens in a change of venue is that both sides will file," Geragos said. "Some times, the prosecution will concede -- which is what happened in the (San Francisco) dog-mauling case -- the prosecution conceded. Some times, they will fight it. Some times, they will propose other solutions."

John Goold, the lead district attorney, said his office was weighing what to do if Geragos asks for a change of venue.

"People always ask that (about a change of venue) and we are going to look at it," he said. "If we can have the trial held here, we want the trial held here. We do not want the trial here if it's not going to be done properly. If the jury pool is so bias that the defendant cannot get a fair trial (we don't want it here). Because that doesn't work for anybody...I just can't tell you at this point (if the prosecution would fight a change in venue)."

Goold also expected that wherever the trial is held, it would not be anytime soon.

"I really don't want to get into a crystal ball," Goold said. "You saw how long the preliminary has taken. It will take a while for this case to go to trial."

Prosecutors -- who encircled Peterson during a lengthy preliminary hearing in November with a loose-knit web of circumstantial evidence -- won the battle to have him held for trial on two counts of first-degree murder for the death of Laci and the couple's unborn son, charges that could bring the death penalty.

Girolami said there was sufficient evidence the crimes were intentional, deliberate and premeditated.

Peterson, 31, is being held without bail. He has pleaded innocent.

[Sandylapper]

Thanks, Mags and Anse. BTW, Anse, that Oct. 28th NE synopsis is the one Vel put up in Oct., and it's the only one I ever recall seeing...IOW, it was always a synopsis and not the real thing. If someone put up the real thing, I didn't see it and would appreciate a link to see what was really said at the end of the original article.

[Velveeta]

No problem Sandy, I'm glad you figured it out!