Quandary over families at trial

THE BEE Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, next to husband Ron, could testify -- she talked to Peterson the night before her disappearance. THE BEE

Scott Peterson's father Lee Peterson, next to wife Jackie, talked to his son a few hours before Laci Peterson was reported missing. THE BEE

REDWOOD CITY -- Players in People vs. Peterson have hammered out ground rules on dozens of issues leading to today's opening statements, but have not touched a potentially explosive question: What to do with the families?

Scott and Laci Peterson's relatives regularly attended most proceedings up until jury selection. But many could be called as witnesses and, as such, normally would be excluded from the double-murder trial........

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This morning, at precisely the same time, one capital murder trial ends while another begins at the Redwood City courthouse.

Scott Peterson, accused of killing his wife Laci, and confessed murderer Seti Scanlan have little in common aside from being two death penalty defendants in the same county, in courtrooms down the hall from each other. But, depending on the juries’ ultimate decisions, both could also end up together on San Quentin’s death row.

Opening statements begin at 9 a.m. in Peterson’s trial, thought to be the state’s most publicized case since the O.J. Simpson murder trial..........

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COUNT I: On or about and between December 23, 2002, and December 24, 2002, defendant did commit a felony, MURDER, violation of Section 187 of the California Penal Code, in that the defendant did willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously and with malice aforethought murder Laci Denise Peterson, a human being.

SPECIAL ALLEGATION: It is further alleged as to Count I, MURDER, that the defendant acted intentionally, deliberately and with premeditation. ...........

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May 30, 2004 -- HIS name was Conner. As Scott Peterson heads to his murder trial, a parallel battle is being waged in the California courtroom by the case's littlest victim.

Peterson's son, known as Conner - a boy killed even before he was born - is fighting for the right to be called a person.

Even before the trial kicks off, the confounding case against Peterson, charged with murdering his eight-months-pregnant wife, Laci, and the soon-to-be-born baby she carried, has managed to turn virtually everyone in America into a card-carrying hypocrite. ........

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Can the prosecutors make their case stick?
THE PROBLEM: The evidence on hand is only circumstantial

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But prosecutors contend they have enough circumstantial evidence to send Scott Peterson to San Quentin's death chamber for allegedly murdering his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn child. Opening statements in the trial are to begin today.

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Scott Peterson said during this Jan. 28, 2003, interview with Diane Sawyer of ABC New's 'Good Morning America' that he was having an affair -- and that his wife knew it -- prior to her disappearance. The Associate Pres.......

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AFTER police arrested Scott Peterson in San Diego County in April 2003, an angry mob greeted him back in Modesto, carrying signs accusing the fertilizer salesman of killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn child. During the 31/2 months between Laci's disappearance on Christmas Eve 2002 and the grisly discovery of the bodies on the shores of San Francisco Bay, a Fresno massage therapist and single mother named Amber Frey held a press conference.......

HAPPY HUBBY A DISGRACE TO MANKIND

Snip its:

" REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Why on earth is this man smiling? The Husband from Hell strode lightly into the courtroom in a khaki suit and a love-me grin. Fourteen months in the slammer has agreed with Scott Peterson (news - web sites), I noticed as this walking advertisement for the urgent need for latex contraceptives flashed a smile at his mom, brothers and sister. He's transformed into the eager boy next door, no danger to the commonweal, provided you hide your lonely sisters from his horny grasp. But Peterson hasn't lost the arrogant smirk that won him the triple crown of liars: He was a successful salesman, fisherman and adulterer. "

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Prosecutor lays out his case for jury D.A. reveals new details in opening statement in trial of Modesto man charged with killing pregnant wife

"Scott Peterson is a liar and a cheat who read romantic poetry to his secret lover -- even as hundreds of volunteers scoured the Central Valley looking for his missing wife -- the prosecution told jurors on the first day of his double-murder trial Tuesday.

Stanislaus County Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso laid out his case against the 31-year-old Modesto man charged with killing his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn child. He tried to show that Peterson was scheming to murder his pregnant wife shortly after he met a new woman and planned to use a fishing expedition as both his alibi and his method of getting rid "

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Grisly Photos Mark Opening of Peterson Trial

"By Adam Tanner

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (Reuters) - Scott Peterson repeatedly lied and wooed his mistress after reporting his wife Laci missing on Christmas Eve 2002, a prosecutor said at the start of the fertilizer salesman's double-murder trial.

Even after the eight-months-pregnant Laci disappeared, Peterson continued to deceive his mistress, Amber Frey, lying to her about his whereabouts and telling her in a telephone tape played for the jury: "You know you're an amazing woman ... and our relationship will grow."

Stanislaus County Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso, laying out his largely circumstantial case, showed the jury grisly photos of the badly decomposed, headless body of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner, in a dramatic day-long presentation.

"This is a common sense case," the former military attorney said in asking the jury to convict Peterson of double murder despite the lack of forensic evidence, including her cause of death......"

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New photos figure in attack on Peterson's story

"New photos figure in attack on Peterson's story
Opening statement from prosecution targets defendant's credibility

By Dan Abrams
on MSNBC

Updated: 9:36 p.m. ET June 01, 2004REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Prosecutors alleged a "chronicle of lies" on Tuesday and showed photographs highlighting Scott Peterson's infidelity in the days leading up to his wife's disappearance as the long-awaited murder trial of the 31-year-old Californian began Tuesday."

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JUST A FEW MORE UPDATES FROM YESTERDAY'S HEARING! JUST CONTINUING THIS THREAD FOR TODAY?

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