Peterson Trial Looks at Use of Dogs
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — The use of cadaver-sniffing dogs is under dispute in the Scott Peterson (search) double-murder trial, with prosecutors maintaining they provide important clues to how Peterson disposed of his wife's body and the defense arguing the canines are unreliable.
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Tuesday's testimony focused on Cindee Valentin, whose bloodhound was called in to find Laci Peterson (search) after her disappearance Dec. 24, 2002, and Eloise Anderson, who trained a labrador retriever who was brought into to sniff Peterson's boat and warehouse for signs that his pregnant wife had been there.
Anderson's testimony was to resume early Wednesday. Court documents said Twist showed only "mild interest" in Peterson's boat, where prosecutors allege he carried his wife's body before dumping her in San Francisco Bay.
Defense lawyer Mark Geragos (search) wants the judge to toss out all evidence gathered by tracking dogs, calling it unreliable.
Valentin's dog, Merlin, tried to track Laci Peterson's scent on Dec. 26 from the Modesto home where prosecutors allege Scott Peterson killed her. Though Merlin soon lost her scent, the dog initially ran in the middle of the road -- rather than on the sidewalk where a person would walk -- leading Valentin to conclude Laci Peterson left in a vehicle.
A week later, investigators brought Merlin to a rented warehouse where Peterson told police he stopped Christmas Eve morning before going fishing on San Francisco Bay. The dog followed a path from the warehouse to Interstate 580 -- one route from Modesto to the area where the bodies of Laci Peterson and their unborn son surfaced in April.
Days after the bodies were found, authorities arrested Scott Peterson and charged him with two counts of murder. Prosecutors allege he drove his wife's body to the bay, weighted it down with concrete he kept at the warehouse and sank it.
Defense lawyer Pat Harris questioned Valentin's credentials and Merlin's experience. He said factors including the dog's mood could have led to mistakes.
"Sometimes a dog just wants to go home, lie on the couch, eat Milk-Bones and watch Lassie reruns," Harris said.
Harris also pointed out Valentin had no way of knowing whether Merlin was tracking a scent at all.
"He was certainly bouncing around all over the place wasn't he? He hit more spots than Paris Hilton on a Saturday night didn't he," Harris said.
Valentin said her dog was well-trained and she could recognize when he picked up a scent.
Harris hinted that investigators were on a single-minded pursuit to get Peterson. He said Merlin picked up Laci Peterson's scent outside the warehouse, but detectives stopped the dog because he was headed in the wrong direction -- an episode Valentin acknowledged was true.
Earlier Tuesday, Geragos accused prosecutors of trying to prejudice potential jurors by spilling a tabloidlike theory about why they think he killed his pregnant wife into a public court document.
In the first detailed description of their case, prosecutors charged that Peterson's affair with massage therapist Amber Frey motivated him to kill.
That led to the most heated courtroom exchange yet, as Geragos said the 10-page document was rife with "out-and-out falsehoods" designed to grab headlines.
"It was right out of the National Enquirer," Geragos complained to the judge. He said prosecutors "wanted to pollute the jury pool," which is scheduled to convene next week.
Prosecutors told the judge they were simply rebutting Geragos' request that a judge exclude Peterson's public statements from his double-murder trial.
Judge Alfred A. Delucchi told both sides that, going forward, they could not file anything without his prior review.