Justin Falconer, previously known to the world as Juror No. 5 in the Scott Peterson murder trial, speaks with the media after he was kicked off the jury Wednesday.
JOHN GREEN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted on 06/24/2004 5:54:22 AM PDT by runningbear
MODESTO False alarm near ex-Peterson home
MODESTO False alarm near ex-Peterson home
Charlie Goodyear
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
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When a group of children reported hearing screams and seeing a woman's body in a creek not far from the former home of Scott and Laci Peterson, police in Modesto geared up for the worst Tuesday night.
A short time later, authorities, using a helicopter and searchers on the ground, found what had prompted the scare -- a large beaver.
The false alarm came in around 8:30 p.m. with disturbing details. The children, at least one of whom was 11 years old, said a dark-haired woman's body, clothed in a ripped white shirt, was floating in Modesto's Dry Creek........
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Peterson's account of events is attacked
His wife's pregnancy ended her walks in the park, friends testify.
By John Cote and Garth Stapley -- Modesto Bee
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, June 22, 2004
REDWOOD CITY - A string of prosecution witnesses testified Monday that Laci Peterson frequently complained of fatigue and had pledged to give up exercise walks in the weeks before her disappearance. Scott Peterson claims his wife planned to walk the couple's dog the morning he left for a solo fishing trip and returned to an empty home.........
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Juror dismissed from panel
By Jason Dearen
Snip it:
"Breaks in the case
The major break for detectives came in late December, when Amber Frey called the Modesto Police Department's tip line. "I was standing behind the clerk's desk; she was typing in a claim from someone claiming to be his girlfriend," Brocchini said.
Brocchini and another detective drove to Frey's house to check her story. Moments later they were at a Radio Shack, purchasing a recording device for her cell phone.
"I told her not to tell (Peterson) you are working with the police. Just let him keep talking to you ..." Brocchini said. Distaso asked how long it took for Frey to record a call.
"She recorded a conversation while we were there," he said.
The other break came while studying a photograph of Scott Peterson's boat two months after it was taken. For the firs time, Brocchini noticed a pair of pliers with a hair attached resting on the boat's bottom. The hair discovery "was kind of an exciting moment for us," said Brocchini. That hair has not been identified as Laci's, but has been excluded by DNA testing from belonging to Peterson.
At one point in the video, Brocchini tried to confuse Peterson but had the tactic backfire. Peterson said he made two calls to Laci from the marina that day, one at 2:17 p.m. and another on his way home around 4:30 p.m. "I have a couple of concerns. One is from the cell phone call at 12:17, you said 2:17 but the time stamp (on Peterson's cell phone) says 12:17," Brocchini says in an accusatory tone.
Peterson grabs the cell phone and checks the time stamp. After checking he tells Brocchini he mixed up the times. "You said it," Peterson said. With a slight pause to look at his notes, Brocchini admits, "Yeah, you're right."".....
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Juror No. 5 removed, motion for mistrial denied
Justin Falconer, previously known to the world as Juror No. 5 in the Scott Peterson murder trial, speaks with the media after he was kicked off the jury Wednesday.
JOHN GREEN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Snip it:
"Falconer said he would not vote to convict Peterson of murdering his wife, Laci, an unborn son, Conner, from the testimony so far presented. Speaking to a media throng outside the courthouse, he declined to comment on whether other jurors felt similarly. "
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
The last time I remember hearing the "gift for Ron" routine was (IIRC) from Geragos. And yes, he did tell Diane Sawyer the boat was a "surprise".
And we all know that when we buy someone a gift or a "surprise", we always rag it out by using it ourselves before we give it to them. Mmm-hmm.
It's possible. It's so hard, when the poor corpse is missing the head. I imagine they could and did test for poisoning. I would think it would show up. Some of us speculated that maybe he drugged her with the date rape drug. Because we heard, I think, that there was something about that on his computer. Then, with her totally unconscious, she'd have been easy to kill.
There's a thing about poison, though. I don't know why, but more women than men use poison. Maybe b/c the average woman is less directly confrontational than is the average man. Clearly both sexes have their EVIL persons, but the methods vary. From what I've read, only a small percentage of male murderers use poison, and it takes a certain type of personality. Maybe Scott would fall into this "non-confrontational" category, I don't know.
Hey, you know what? This girl was (IMO) more sick than usual during her pregnancy. She was having dizzy spells, she was needing to use a wheelchair and be helped to her car... arsenic poisoners usually use more than one dose, b/c the stuff collects in the system and kills the victim over time. Brrrr! It could be! Only one more problem: would gradual doses of arsenic have killed the baby? Or caused a miscarriage? (Some substances don't cross the placenta, wonder if arsenic is one of them?) The poor little baby was alive and well in December, we know that...
I would never make it in today's dating scene. ;)
>>I would never make it in today's dating scene. ;)<<
Me either---There are advantages to being fifty and happily married.GRIN!!
Update - AIA/Mid-Valley Promotions is the name of the company that used to be located at 1027 N. Emerald #A, next door to SP's "warehouse" unit, and is run by Peggy O'Donnell(the warehouse "witness"). They show a different location as of May 2004. She is also the recording secretary for the Modesto Soroptomists and active in the community. From all indications she is of sound mind and Geragos will probably try to twist her words. "Peggy" is not her legal name.
"I thought the "witness" was going to say Laci was at the warehouse on Dec. 23rd??"
I think there is some confusion on this. It will be really interesting to hear why LE & the pros. concluded that Laci never saw the boat, despite what this witness says. MG would have us believe that LE hid this from pros. but it appears that this is not the case.
".....just biding their time till that inheritance came in."
I confess that I haven't read all the transcripts - I don't have time - however, it sounds like the prosecution may be a bit disjointed in their presentation. They hinted at a financial motive but it would seem like there would have to be more evidence (business statements, credit card bills, checking/savings accounts, etc.) Surely we'll hear more later. I don't understand why they wouldn't just present this all of this together.
"She was having dizzy spells, she was needing to use a wheelchair and be helped to her car..."
This is an excellent point & one that deserves exploration. Her symptoms did not seem within normal bounds for a pregnancy. I would be surprised if someone like SP would try to poison his wife to death, however, I wouldn't be suprised if he was trying to cause a miscarriage.
Trying to cause a miscarriage... Omigosh! I hadn't thought of that!
WHAT a creepy thought! But then, Scott is definitely a creepy guy!
Regarding his possibly poisoning her with arsenic, I think I see another problem with that... see what you think: Seems to me that in most cases of people poisoning someone with arsenic, it is done over a period of time. That just doesn't jibe with the way I picture Scott. He's a guy, relatively young, obviously is not into delaying the attainment of whatever he wants to get. (As shown by his having the affairs and his spending habits.) So gradually poisoning Laci with arsenic over time... nah.
But the miscarriage thing, now that's an intriguing thought you had!
LOL! On the part about happily married, I gotta agree with you!
As for the fact that we all grow older every day, well, I think the horror that some young people feel about that is unwarranted. "Old" people know things! Knowing things is a good thing!
Okay, we won't put Peggy in the same category with Justin or Kim McGregor just yet, lol! (That category being: "Flake".)
Guess we'd better see what she really says. Some of Geragos' promises, er, seem to, like, not always come true...
>>category with Justin or Kim McGregor just yet<<
Those two remind me of Rosa Lopez from the OJ trial, and Geragos is using the same creepy investigator that the dream team used.
I think the bottom line is that Geragos is desperate to somehow make the jury think that Laci was in that boat some time before the fateful day of Dec. 24.
I really don't see how he can prove that, though--regardless of whether it happened or not. Because the previews we're getting all refer to Laci's having gone to the witness' warehouse. That might "prove" that Laci was in the area of Scott's warehouse, but that's all.
To me, the only likely time that Laci was in that boat, prior to when her body was dumped, might have been if he took her to the warehouse to kill her!
Yes, they are disjointed. And the fact that each witness must be cross-examined makes it even more disjointed--but that's just how the game is played.
Here's hoping that they tie together all the finances info when they get to their closing arguments.
Well, I am confused now; I just finished reading the detective's last day on the stand -- about this report.
It must be me, but I didn't see that as a big "bombshell" like the press made it out to be; he admitted what he did and he said it was in other officers' reports.
What am I missing?
>>What am I missing?<<
Nothing but the spin from the talking heads. Even when the prosecution clears this up on Monday, I think the TH's will still be spinning.
Have you seen Michael Cardoza? He's on almost every channel screaming about how bad the prosecution is. I also saw him on the day that juror #5 spoke to Brent Rocha. He turned him in to the judge because he is an officer of the court.
I'm wondering if he is being paid by Geragos to spin?! Wish there was some way to find out if they have a connection.
LOL! Justin the ex-juror reminds me of Kato Kaelin--someone who loves to get close to "fame", regardless of how fleeting the fame is. I think it was the high point of Justin's so-called "life" that he got to be in the room with people (Brent R., Scott, Geragos) who were the subject of great media attention.
As for Kim McGregor, I really hope more information about her break-in comes out. I am still totally baffled about that. Some testimony said that Kim met Scott at the search center. This contradicts earlier speculation that she visited with Laci--I vaguely remember reading in a tabloid or something that Kim deplored the way "Scott was never home"--in the time period BEFORE Laci died, that is.
And lemme ask you and the others something, Sis--suppose Scott DID meet Kim for the first time at the search center. Would YOU engage a random person you'd just met, to be your dog-walker, giving her a key to your house? I wouldn't!
I mean, I might go to someone who had advertised a dog-walking service, but I wouldn't just get someone I'd just met, who was not in the "dog-walking business", so to speak. And I think I'd find a way to do it w/o giving them a key to the house, if I knew I was going out of town!
Well, I wouldn't doubt it at all.
I'd see if I could find out, but I got banned yet again at CTV last night.........LOL.
Oh, what you're missing is the swell, boffo presentation in which ringmaster Geragos put the report, with the "excised" portions highlighted, up on the screen!
Visuals, visuals! That's how we conduct our circus!
The first thing that would come to my mind, if I were a juror, would be: "If this detective was hiding that info, then how DOES Mr. Geragos know so much about it already?"
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