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 ...
Thanks, here is some background on the case:
Most Wanted Murder Suspect Captured,
McCray Arrested In Canada
UPDATED: 9:55 a.m. EST November 3, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- One day after a Ross County murder mystery was aired on America's Most Wanted, police took the suspect into custody.
NewsChannel 4 learned that T.J. McCray (pictured, left) was captured in Saskatchewan, Canada.
McCray was wanted for the murder of Stephanie Evans, whose body was found in April 2001 along the banks of the Scioto River near Richmondale, Ohio.
Ross County sheriff detectives Richard Vititoe and Kevin Pierce were in the Washington, D.C. studios of Fox TV Saturday night when America's Most Wanted aired the story.
NewsChannel 4 reported that McCray's girlfriend called in from Canada. He is now in jail on a breaking and entering charge.
Ross County authorities had been chasing McCray across the United States for the past 19 months. He is also wanted in connection with the murder of a Londonderry real estate agent.
Sissy I saw Catherine Crier today!! Fabulous huh? Have I not said all along that Laci's broken ribs were done to her probably by her loving husband. His testimony regarding the baby being born by park bum C-section was so terrific. I loved his comment, "I would be embarassed as a medical professional to attempt to testify to something that is clearly not possible"!! He said the tape around that baby's neck was LOOSE. This Medical Examiner examined both the baby and Laci's remains. He said even with the swelling from the water on Connor that there was an inch of space between the neck and the tape. Connor WAS NOT strangled. He explained that the tape debris got over the baby's head because the brain was liquified and therefore the head was soft and maleable. He also confirmed that the baby was the RIGHT gestational age. I can certainly see why Cyril Wecht REFUSED to testify and if I hear correctly the ever present Henry Lee is having second thoughts!!
I read that book Lisa. It was an extremely good read!!
Wasn't her Rusty??? He stated that because Laci had the trousers on that half her belly tissue was there and that the "bum" would have to have incised the belly, THEN reached way DOWN and jaggedly incised the fundus of the Uterus and removed the baby. Absolsutely ABSURD. He said HE would have a hard time doing it. Also said that it was NOT a coffin birth because again she had on her pants, panties and was taped. Not to mention that her cervix had not been opened and was intact.!!
Hi Jax!! You on vacation?????
? Not sure what you mean CO, as I totally agree with the guy on CC.
BTW, on Greta they just talked about having a pregnant woman the same size as Laci tesitify today, with pictures, and proves she can fit in the boat without anyone seeing her. What's more, she also fit inside the green tool box, which blew me away.
Oh my, no court AGAIN TOMORROW??? I guess these things happen tho. I wish you had seen Catherine Crier today. That Dr. DeMaeo I believe, a Forensic Pathologist and medical examiner was beyond FABULOUS. He has personally examined both the baby and Laci. He stated that Conner was JUST released from Laci's uterus before he washed up. He determined that it was within 24 hours because the baby had meconium at the anus. He outright mocked the theory of the baby being taken C-section by some murderer, kept say in a freezer, then thrown in the Bay only to wash up in nearly the same place as Laci. Not really possible. He thoroughly explained the tape. NO strangulation. He surmised that Laci's ribs were fractured from a kick, a blow by an instrument (say a broken oar?) or some such thing.
AMW is such a valuable program. God Bless John Walsh for his continued vigilance and determination to see these awful people found and prosecuted.!!
greta is definately pro gagagous. she is starting to make me gag
Oh my, no court AGAIN TOMORROW???
No wonder this is suppose to take 6 months
Lisa, freepmail!
Yep, I only took one week...have a month left.
Just hanging around with the chickadees. Sleeping in alot!
She's beginning to tick me off. I missed her last two segments, phone rang....
CO, I thought that coffin birth only meant that the baby came out after the mother was dead and when her body decomposed the baby explodes through the uterus because of the gases.
I didn't think coffin birth actually meant through the birth canal, am I wrong in this?
ACCCCKK!!! Don't mind me Rusty. It was a typo, I meant He not her. Bottom line I was agreeing with you. I nearly doing loops around the room. LOL Finally to have a Medical Expert state the OBVIOUS!!
Great!! I didn't hear that they had this pregnant woman testify today. Glad they demonstrated that she could fit in the boat. I'm not sure what I confused you with in my post but bottom line, WE AGREE COMPLETELY. I wonder WHO exactly is the Prosecutions expert. I have never heard. It would be GREAT if it was this Dr. DiMaeo wouldn't it?
Hey fiesti!! I agree. I don't get FOX so don't get Greta. I would NOT watch her if I did. I lost all respect for her in the Simpson trial. I don't trust the woman at all. Frankly, her hype over the duct tape has kinda made her hyperventilating and grandiose claims of Prosecutor Misconduct look foolish!!
Glad you have a break Jax. Enjoy it. This Dr. said he would be EMBARASSED to attempt to testify that the baby was cut out by park bums, kept in a freezer, strangled, then thrown back in the Bay only to wash up exactly at the right place. As well, I think he said that it would require deliberately misrepresenting these medical facts. He stated that the baby was also the right gestational age. The clincher however was the meconium found at the baby's anus. We mothers know that meconium is expelled in the first 24 hours after the baby's birth unless it was expelled in utero due to stress. The baby was in the water not more than a day. He stated that there was NO evidence of ANY animal feeding on Connor.
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