Michael Looby (top center) recounts for jurors Tuesday his discovery of the remains of Scott Peterson's son.
Posted on 07/07/2004 5:55:51 AM PDT by runningbear
Grusome Testimony About Baby's Body in Peterson Case
Grusome Testimony About Baby's Body in Peterson Case
Scott Peterson is accused of killing his wife Laci and her unborn child.
Len Ramirez
Testimony in the Scott Peterson double-murder case was so heart-wrenching Tuesday that Laci Peterson's family left the courtroom.
Witness Michael Looby described walking on the shore of San Francisco Bay after a storm in April of 2003 and finding the decomposing body of a baby. Laci's mother and stepfather Sharon Rocha and Ron Grantski and her brother Brent Rocha quickly left the courtroom during the.......
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TESTIMONY TOO MUCH FOR LACI'S KIN, JURORS
TESTIMONY TOO MUCH FOR LACI'S KIN, JURORS
By HOWARD BREUER
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July 7, 2004 -- REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Laci Peterson's mom, stepdad and brother rushed out of court yesterday as a witness took the stand to describe how he found her fetus washed up on a bay shore.
Even some jurors appeared disturbed by photos of the bodies of the unborn baby boy and Laci that were displayed — cupping their hands over their mouths as if sickened, and rubbing their foreheads.
The body of the unborn boy — whom the Petersons planned to name Conner — was found Sunday, April 13, 2003, a day before his mother's headless torso was discovered nearby.
Both washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay, near where Laci's husband, Scott — who is on trial for their deaths — says he went fishing the previous Christmas Eve. That was the day he reported the eight-months-pregnant Laci missing.
"As you're walking along, does something attract your attention or your dog's attention?" prosecutor Dave Harris asked witness Michael Looby. .......
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Laci's family stunned by large-screen images of decomposed bodies
Article Last Updated: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 3:35:40 AM PST
Grisly photos shock trial
Laci's family stunned by large-screen images of decomposed bodies
By Jason Dearen, STAFF WRITER
REDWOOD CITY -- Grim photos of Laci Peterson and her unborn child's badly decomposed bodies were projected on a large screen in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial Tuesday, evoking gasps from the seating gallery and forcing the dead woman's family to flee the courtroom.
When the macabre images were shown, the defendant's mother, Jacqueline Peterson, covered her eyes, slumping down in her chair.
Determining the age and condition of the fetus' remains are instrumental to both sides' theories about how Laci Peterson died -- and could be the deciding factor in the case. Defense attorney Mark Geragos promised the jury during opening statements that he will prove that the baby was 36 to 38 weeks old before it died. .........
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Peterson trial witness describes finding infant's body
Peterson trial witness describes finding infant's body
Stacy Finz and Diana Walsh, Chronicle Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
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Laci Peterson’s family rushed out of the courtroom this morning, minutes before a witness described finding the body of the Modesto woman’s infant on the Richmond shoreline.
Scott Peterson, on trial in Redwood City for allegedly murdering his wife and their unborn child, watched the witness attentively.
Michael Looby said he and his wife were walking their dog along the beach near Point Isabel on April 13, 2003, looking for a good spot for the dog to take a swim. The tide was low, so they decided to take a walk down the coastline instead, Looby testified for the prosecution.
When they got to a point where the sand ended, they climbed over some rocks into a marshy area. It was there, Looby said, that he saw the tiny corpse. ........
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Peterson denied affair, polygraph expert testifies
Peterson denied affair, polygraph expert testifies
Tuesday, July 6, 2004 Posted: 5:07 PM EDT (2107 GMT)
REDWOOD CITY, California (AP) -- A day after his wife, Laci, disappeared, Scott Peterson told a state polygraph expert that he was not having an affair and that his marriage was fine, the expert testified Tuesday at Peterson's murder trial.
Peterson was, in fact, having an affair with a massage therapist, Amber Frey. Prosecutors have suggested that he killed his pregnant wife so that he could be with Frey.
Douglas Mansfield said he interviewed Peterson on Christmas Day 2002.
"He said there was no third ......
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Peterson looks away as jury sees graphic photos of wife, child
Michael Looby (top center) recounts for jurors Tuesday his discovery of the remains of Scott Peterson's son.
Peterson looks away as jury sees graphic photos of wife, child
By Harriet Ryan
Court TV
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Scott Peterson turned away as prosecutors displayed graphic photos of his slain wife and unborn child at his capital trial Tuesday.
The double-murder defendant angled his chair to the side and stared toward away across the courtroom as the gory images of the severely decomposed bodies were flashed onto a giant projection screen.
Several jurors appeared disturbed by the pictures of Laci Peterson and the baby the couple planned to name Conner. One female panelist put her hand to her temple when she first glimpsed a photo of the baby's body. Another woman looked away entirely.
The pictures accompanied testimony about the separate discoveries of the mother-to-be and child on April 13 and April 14, 2003. A dog walker found the boy's remains in grassy marshland on the shores of San Francisco Bay. The next day, about a mile away, another dog owner came across Laci Peterson's body wedged in some rocks on the bayshore.
Story continues ..........
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Exclusive document reveals identity of Peterson defense's 'mystery woman'
Exclusive document reveals identity of Peterson defense's 'mystery woman'
(Court TV) — What do a gold watch, a brown van and an eBay auction have in common?
According to documents obtained by Court TV's Catherine Crier, they resurrect defense attorney Mark Geragos' theory that Satanists in a brown van were involved in the murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn son.
Deanna Renfro pawned a gold watch like one belonging to Laci Peterson.
The host of Court TV's "Crier Live" obtained a pawn shop receipt revealing the identity of a "mystery woman" cited by Scott Peterson's lawyer and her possible connection to the owners of a brown van allegedly spotted in the Petersons' neighborhood before her disappearance.
The document indicates that Deanna Renfro pawned a gold Croton watch six days after Laci Peterson's disappearance — a gold watch almost identical to one Laci tried to auction on eBay weeks earlier, according to the records of the Petersons' eBay account.
Laci Peterson, 27, disappeared Dec. 24, 2002. Four days later, a rape crisis counselor told police that an unidentified woman reported she had been raped by two men and two women in a brown van during a satanic ritual.
A watch Laci Peterson attempted to sell on eBay
According to the counselor's account, the victim said that, during the ritual, the group mentioned a Christmas day death, one she would read about in the papers.
When police tracked down the van to a nearby campsite on Dec. 30, among the four people in the van were Donny and Mary Renfrow. Court TV sources indicated that Deanna Renfro (despite a different spelling in documents) is related to the Renfrows and may be Donny Renfrow's daughter.
The receipt from the pawn shop indicates that, the day after the police visit to the campsite, Deanna Renfro, who has a long criminal history including at least one methamphetamine arrest, pawned the gold Croton watch for $20.
The pawn shop where Deanna Renfo pawned a gold Croton watch for $20.
The bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son were found four months later on the shore of San Francisco Bay. Her husband, Scott, faces the death penalty if convicted of both murders.
"Is the pawned watch the same as Laci's? Are the Renfrows related?" Crier said. "Court TV is working to resolve these unanswered questions, but in the meantime, a conspiracy theory is born."...........
If Geragos successfully proves the baby was as developed as that, it could exonerate his client. Prosecutors believe the baby died on Dec. 23 or 24, 2002, which would have made the fetus 33 weeks old. Peterson was under intense surveillance after Dec. 24, so if Geragos proves the baby was alive two or three weeks after Laci's disappearance, it would go a long way to disproving the prosecution's scenario.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbs5.com ...
Pinging......
Pinging......
Pinging......
How interesting. When does a baby become a baby? If an abortion doctor had performed a late term abortion on Laci it would be a fetus. When some nut with a knife does it, it becomes a baby. How come the media never presents any sort of philosophical debate on these questions?
What the hell am I saying? Duhhhhhh
Somewhere I read that Scott had checked the tide tables of the Bay. If he was going to sink a body, what would be the best situation with respect to tide?
Brocchini waits, but not called to stand
By JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: July 7, 2004, 05:35:14 AM PDT
REDWOOD CITY -- Modesto police Detective Al Brocchini waited in the courtroom Tuesday for more than an hour as attorneys met in the judge's chamber, but he did not take the stand again.
After the closed-door meeting, prosecutor Rick Distaso spoke briefly with Brocchini. The detective then left, carrying a thick binder with blue documents -- apparently police reports.
Dean Johnson, a former San Mateo County prosecutor who is observing the trial, speculated that the meeting addressed whether Brocchini would be re-called Tuesday.
Questions have swirled since Brocchini's testimony last week about a tip he received. The detective testified that a man who claimed he went to college with Peterson said the Modesto man described in 1995 how he would dispose of a body. .......
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Graphic testimony quiets court
Elena Maria Gonzalez, leaving the Redwood City courthouse Tuesday, found the remains of Laci Peterson in April 2003. DAN HONDA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
By GARTH STAPLEY and JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: July 7, 2004, 06:07:49 AM PDT
REDWOOD CITY -- Disturbing testimony about the discoveries of Laci and Conner Peterson's remains appeared to evoke an emotional response Tuesday from Scott Peterson and some jurors.
"We have to be specific about this," prosecutor Dave Harris said while questioning Elena Maria Gonzalez, who testified to seeing a dog gnawing at something on the San Francisco Bay shore on April 14, 2003. Peterson briefly put a hand to his bowed head as he sat at the defense table.
Peterson is being tried on murder charges in the deaths of his pregnant wife and unborn son. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Defense attorneys say someone abducted Laci Peterson while she walked her dog as her husband fished alone at the bay.
Members of Laci Peterson's family, knowing what was coming, had quickly left the courtroom hours before as the first of five witnesses Tuesday talked about recovering the remains of mother and son.
At one point, Harris showed a grisly photo of the infant's.......
yep, journalists contradict themselves.......liberal schooling
Surprise, surprise. Geragross will throw enough trash into the mix as possible to try and confuse the jurors. Reminicent of the Simpson trial, and also Jeff MacDonald, who murdered his wife and two children (actually three, his wife was pregnant at the time). At least MacDonald is rotting in a jail cell where he belongs.
My cousin's daughter was brutally raped and murdered over two years ago, and the trial is just beginning. However, the hell my cousin is going through will never end.
My heart and prayers go out to the Rocha family. May Scott Peterson rot in hell for his heinous crimes.
yes, Geragos is one creepy swine attorney!
How would the "satanic cult" know where to find the watch? I thought all transactions on ebay were anonymous. If Laci or Scott gave out their home address to these strangers, wouldn't there be a computer record of this somewhere?
I think I'll pass on this one.
Thanks for dropping by, though...It was a bad day for the Rocha family.
The pawn shop watch had no diamond bezel is my understanding..Pawned for 20 dollars...Almost identical isn't going to cut it.
Why is it necessary that they know where to find this specific watch?
I think the scenario the defense is try to propose is that they kidnap Laci and she has the watch. The watch looks valuable. They then pawn the watch.
They don't even know about the Ebay listing. I doubt that anyone would kidnap her for a $20 watch they saw on Ebay, but if she was wearing the watch, pawning it would be pretty easy.
You have to wonder where drifters like this got what was once a very expensive watch. We haven't seen the evidence yet, but it is not your everyday brand of watch. Laci's relative couldn't identify it, but where is Laci's watch? Could the relative be helping the prosecution?
ebay accounts are to be anonymous except for email address when requested, or square trade verifying or PayPal.... But, one would have to know the item listing to this particular item being auctioned, and time frame for ebay search to find a record of it, in 6 mos they are no longer linkable if you bookmarked the item? Someone gave them their ebay account info or was subpeona?
the news accounts are quite vivid in sentences as you read some excerpts of the testimonies.
yeah, the word here: "almost" identical.
and you wonder why some innocent people are robbed and murdered over $2.00 or jealousy! So, makes no difference when a person wants to 'off' ya for some particular reason, they will. Laci and Conner were; for someone else wanting out of life styles they particularly didn't want anymore, and that is the way they(he) figured was the way out.
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