Sun 11 Jul 2004
Posted on 07/12/2004 5:39:31 AM PDT by runningbear
‘No Joy in Our Lives’
Peterson's Parents Speak Out on Son's Murder Trial
July 9, 2004 — A year and a half ago Lee and Jackie Peterson were eagerly awaiting the birth of their grandson. Today, they say, there is no joy in their lives.
Watch Barbara Walters' full report tonight on 20/20 at 10 p.m.
Their son Scott is on trial, accused of the savage murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, a baby they planned to name Conner.
Lee and Jackie Peterson tell 20/20's Barbara Walters they are convinced of their son's innocence. But as the case unfolds in a Redwood City, Calif., courthouse, the Petersons must reconcile two versions of their son: one, a wrongly accused husband who grieves for his murdered wife and unborn son, and the other, an adulterer turned cold-blooded monster. ........
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Peterson Trial Enters 7th Week
Jurors in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial have had more time outside the courtroom than in it recently to mull the prosecution's claims that the former fertilizer salesman killed his pregnant wife.
SLIDESHOW: Peterson Case Images
Heather's Trial Notes
The case resumes today following a four-day weekend -- the beginning of its seventh week, one that could see the most-anticipated witness called to the stand.
Prosecutors are still making their case that Peterson killed his wife in their Modesto home on or around Dec. 24, 2002, trucked the body to San Francisco Bay in a large tool box and plunged it overboard from a small boat.
His alleged motive: an affair with massage therapist Amber Frey.
Frey, who began cooperating with authorities soon after Laci Peterson was reported missing, could testify this week. Though a judge has imposed a gag order, preventing attorneys from discussing who will be called, court officials recently advised media about special procedures for when Frey testifies. .........
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Phone records raise queries
By JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: July 10, 2004, 07:04:26 AM PDT
Scott Peterson's girlfriend called a Fresno police homicide detective's home in the days before and after Peterson's wife disappeared, partial cell phone records show.
Detective Richard Byrd's name surfaced in Peterson's double-murder trial during questioning about when Amber Frey called Modesto police about her relationship with Peterson and her whereabouts the day that Laci Peterson was reported missing.
Frey placed an almost hourlong call to Byrd's home the night of Dec. 21, 2002 -- three days before Peterson was reported missing, according to the phone records.
The next two calls from Frey's cell phone were to Scott Peterson the next morning, the documents show.
Frey called Byrd's home at least three times, for a total of 84 minutes, from Dec. 21, 2002, to Jan. 2, 2003, the records show. A 26-minute call from Frey's cell phone to Byrd's home took place the evening of Jan. 1, 2003 -- two days after Frey reportedly became aware that Peterson was married and his wife was missing.
Byrd declined to comment on the phone records, Frey's calls or the nature of their relationship.........
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THE PETERSON TRIAL
Prosecution faulted by observers in court
Defense seems to be scoring points during D.A.'s time
Harriet Chiang, Chronicle Legal Affairs Writer
Sunday, July 11, 2004
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Is Scott Peterson's defense team that good? Or are the prosecutors just not up to snuff?
That's what veteran trial lawyers are mulling over as they watch prosecutors try to convince a jury in Redwood City that Peterson is guilty of double murder.
After all, legal experts say, this is the prosecution's chance to bring out its most incriminating evidence, to build a rock-solid case against the Modesto fertilizer salesman who is accused of the 2002 slaying of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son.
But after five weeks of testimony, Mark Geragos, Peterson's noted defense attorney, instead seems be scoring one point after another, experts say.
During intense cross-examinations, Geragos has been able to produce evidence supporting his version of the facts, hammer away at the credibility of prosecution witnesses and even assume control of the courtroom, according to lawyers who have been observing the trial from the gallery of the Redwood City courtroom.......
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For all out missed this ping over the weekend
Sun 11 Jul 2004
Double act: Experts believe Senator John Edwards, right, brings real strengths to John Kerry’s Democratic ticket. He is an attractive figure who may help Kerry appeal to centrist voters in the presidential quest.
Picture: Justin Sullivan/ Getty Images
Dream team ready for Bush
ALEX MASSIE IN WASHINGTON
BATTLE is now officially joined. John Kerry’s selection of John Edwards as his running mate completes the rival tickets for this year’s presidential election and allows the campaign to start in full-blooded earnest.
Already Kerry’s choice is reaping rewards. Edwards, whose sunny, optimistic populism appealed to independent and moderate voters during the primary season, fills in some of the blanks in Kerry’s political curriculum vitae.
Where Kerry is a son of privilege, Edwards is self-made and his southern charm neatly balances Kerry’s New England and mildly aristocratic appearance while also giving the ticket a geographic spread that makes it seem as though it is appealing to all America.
On the stump, too, it is merely a small exaggeration to argue that in terms of eloquence Edwards is to Kerry as Tony Blair is to George W Bush.
An initial, post-announcement, CBS poll gave Kerry a four-point boost but that may only be the beginning of the good news for the Democrat challenger.
Perhaps in an effort to shake voters out of complacency, Bush’s own campaign strategists said they expect Kerry to have a 15-point lead by the end of the month, boosted as he will be by the acres of publicity Edwards has brought and, more importantly, by the party’s convention...........
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Pinging......
Pinging......
Pinging......
This case is a good example of the fact that we can't rely on government to protect us from criminals.
I was just rereading the transcript of Scott's call to Amber on Jan 6th admitting his once lost wife was indeed alive and missing....It is incredible...It is chilling in it's implications as he won't admit to Amber whether Laci's baby is his..He leaves it hangeing(can't talk about it, now)...What a snake..
Little did he know the poor little body would wash ashore and prove to be his baby..Grrrr. I was all about the evidence at this point and trying to rid myself of the emotions of this case...Hard to do.
Addict linked to gang found with Petersons' checks
Sarah Taberna admitted stealing checks but denied involvement in Laci Peterson's disappearance.
(Court TV) — Two months after Laci Peterson mysteriously vanished, a methamphetamine addict with ties to an Asian crime gang was caught carrying checks stolen from the missing mother-to-be and her husband, according to documents obtained by Court TV's Catherine Crier.
The woman, a known car thief and convicted forger named Sarah Taberna, admitted stealing the checks for the gang in exchange for drugs and a place to sleep, but denied any role in the murders of the 27-year-old Peterson and her unborn son.
Despite her offer to take a lie detector test and a police investigation that apparently cleared her, Scott Peterson — now on trial for the killings — told police he suspected Taberna was involved........
Sigh..Red Herring
yeah,,,, have several question here, and many more on Geragos theory....
These are those one or two blank checks that encourage a cardholder to max out a credit card. Not personal checks, not stolen from the house and not even sent until late January 2003. Catherine Crier must be getting hard up for viewers.
yes, I read that, and realized it is not personal checks.... Then the questions arose in stolen from the warehouse, and then, what next in this type of investigations that is aimed at Geragos theory?
I thought the "checks" the woman was carrying:
1. Were stolen from Scott's mailbox at his business warehouse, approximately two months after Laci disappeared.
2. Were not real checks, but actually were those things you get from your credit card. They are actually forms to fill out and present to get a cash advance from your credit card. That is, they are loan documents--not checks.
Those "checks" sent by the credit card companies do not look like real checks: they do not have the pre-printed name and address. So how does that make them "Laci's checks"?
So, did Scott and Laci have a credit card with both their names on it, which credit card had as its billing address Scott's warehouse/office?
Has anyone on here ever seen a credit card, of the type that send these "checks" periodically (we are always getting them), which has two persons' names on the credit card? I haven't.
Why would Laci be getting "checks" at Scott's business address? Or, more to the point, why would Laci be getting her credit card statement at Scott's business address?
This whole thing is obviously more bull**** from the big-nosed Clintonista, Geragos.
Catherine Crier DESERVES to be hard up for viewers!
She is spreading misinformation faster than a farmer would spread one of Scott's products.
Catherine, does Mark respect you in the morning?
So if they're not PERSONAL checks, then how can one say they were LACI'S checks? (Or Scott's, for that matter?)
No joy in their lives and no money in their bank accounts after Gerragos(?) gets through with 'em...
Is this Detective Richard Byrd the guy Amber hired to find out who Scott Peterson was?
Anyone out there know?
I'm beginning to think he was. I don't think she actually hired someone, I think I heard that she asked for help from a friend who was a private investigator.
Byrd is actually a Fresno homicide detective, and was also a client of Amber's in the therapeutic massage business.
We have been told repeatedly that this therapeutic massage which she was trained to do was NOT a front for prostitution, but was a legitimate job.
I'll bet they got a good massage though for their tips. :-)
I'm remembering Ron Grantski's testimony. A big deal was made of the fact that HE had gone fishing at approximately the same time that the crack fisherman, Scott, had gone.
Imagine this:
Amber is being cross-examined, and she is asked, "Is Peterson the first married man you've dated?"
Then she is asked, "And how many children have you had out of wedlock so far?" [More than Amber has.]
Then, later, the Devoted Mother, Jackie Peterson, is on the witness stand being cross-examined.
"Isn't it true that you dated your husband, Lee Peterson, while his wife was pregnant?" [I heard that that was the case.]
Then, "How many children did you have out of wedlock, Mrs. Peterson?"
Then a screaming objection from Scott's attorney.
Well, Grantski turned out to have been doing the same thing as was the poor, put-upon defendant. And Jackie P. turns out to have done the same things as did Amber Frey. What's good for the goose is good for the Geragos.
It will not happen this way. But I wish it would.
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