SCOTT'S FISHY FURY

The New York Post ^ | June 15 2004 | Howard Breuer

[runningbear]

SCOTT'S FISHY FURY

SCOTT'S FISHY FURY

By HOWARD BREUER

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 15, 2004 -- REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Scott Peterson hotly cursed and threw a flashlight after police grilled him about his suspicious fishing trip the day his pregnant wife, Laci, disappeared, one officer testified yesterday.

"I asked him what he was fishing for," Modesto Detective Matthew Spurlock told rapt jurors during the start of the third week of Peterson's murder trial.

"He had this blank look for a second or so, his eyes shifted a bit. And he didn't really answer the question.

"I asked what he was using for bait, and I got the same kind of response . . . this blank shifting," Spurlock said. "He couldn't really answer. Then he said, 'a silver lure,' and he held his hands about 7 to 8 inches apart."

Spurlock said that when he then asked Peterson to leave the house, he watched as the fertilizer salesman cursed through gritted teeth and threw a flashlight to the ground.

"It sounded like 'f - - -,' like it was being said out of frustration," the cop said............

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mistrial denied in surprise testimony

Mistrial denied in surprise testimony

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BY GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: June 15, 2004, 04:20:32 AM PDT

REDWOOD CITY -- The judge in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial refused to declare a mistrial Monday over surprise testimony about Peterson's use of an obscenity shortly after his pregnant wife disappeared.

Superior Court Judge Alfred Delucchi gently chastised prosecutor Rick Distaso for pulling a fast one, but concluded that it was not a gross violation of trial procedure.

Also Monday, Sharon Rocha cried as she looked away from a large screen showing remains of her daughter, Laci Peterson. Minutes later, pictures of her smiling daughter splashed on the screen and Rocha quietly got up and exited the courtroom.

And two Modesto police officers said Scott Peterson seemed caught off-guard when first asked about his solo fishing trip.

Sparks flew after lead defense attorney Mark Geragos asked Delucchi for a mistrial, in a motion that drew snickers from the audience.........

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angry Geragos Asks For Mistrial In Case
Police Officer Says Peterson Cursed

Angry Geragos Asks For Mistrial In Case
Police Officer Says Peterson Cursed

(AP)

June 14 (BCN) — A furious Mark Geragos asked for a mistrial this morning in the Scott Peterson double murder trial after prosecutors failed to inform him that a police officer overheard Peterson use an expletive on the night his wife Laci went missing. .........

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prosecution slowly builds case in Peterson trial
Debate over merits of deliberate strategy

Vicki Ellen Behringer / AP file
Prosecutor Rick Distaso, third from left, gestures to the jury, during opening arguments as Scott Peterson and Judge Alfred A. Delucchi listen in a Redwood City, Calif., courtroom June 1, 2004, in this courtroom sketch.

[drjulie]

"Like he was desensitized by seeing a lot of violent porn?"

I guess the porn on the internet is quite popular. However, you're correct, most people are not interested in violent sex and bestiality (fortunately!) As I suspected, this will be like peeling an onion, as each layer comes off we see the "real SP" and he gets progressively uglier. I suppose much of this won't be allowed in court due to relevance. Back to my point about "raping the teacher" & "the wife confesses". One way to make an act easier is to read about someone else doing it or visualizing it. Pedophiles often disinhibit victims by having them watch porn. Even though SP seems to be a pretty creepy guy (IMO) I don't necessarily think that it would be easy for him to kill Laci. How could he make it easier? By reading "stories" that make the violence titillating or pleasant. It's kind of like self desensitization only it goes a bit further because one is replacing an anxious response with a pleasant response (like counterconditioning). I'm just throwing this out there as a possibility.

[lakey]

Off the subject of porn: when the testimony gets to Connor's bone growth, I've read that the defense will declare that he was born alive, rather than a "coffin birth."

Isn't it possible that Laci did not know she was pregnant for a month or so, that she could have had a menstrual period? I know nothing about ultra sound techniques used today but I do know fetuses (children of any age) grow in rather quick spurts.

[drjulie]

"Isn't it possible that Laci did not know she was pregnant for a month or so, that she could have had a menstrual period? I know nothing about ultra sound techniques used today but I do know fetuses (children of any age) grow in rather quick spurts."

I'm a psychologist, not a physician but I used to be a nurse (many years ago!) They will attempt to determine the age of the fetus via the ultrasounds (the earlier one is usually most accurate, as I recall) and by x-raying the bones. They'll come up with an age range. Sounds like we may have a battle of the experts on this point.

[lakey]

The battle of the experts on this point is what worries me.

....attempt to determine the age of the fetus via the ultrasounds (the earlier one is usually most accurate, as I recall) and by x-raying the bones. They'll come up with an age range.

Thanks for your reply. Interesting.