Peterson Witness Says Detective Lied

KPIX ^ | 9/8/04 | Simon Perez

[runningbear]

Peterson Witness Says Detective Lied

In testimony in the Scott Peterson murder trial Wednesday, a witness who said he saw a pregnant woman walking a dog in a park near the Peterson home on Christmas Eve 2002 said he was "100% positive" the woman was not Laci Peterson.

Score one for the prosecution, who claims that Scott Peterson killed his wife the night before, and therefore couldn't have been walking in the park that day. That theory contradicts Peterson's story. He says the last time he saw his wife was the morning of December 24th, 2002, as she was headed out to the park to walk the dog.

In court Wednesday, the witness insisted he saw the woman's face, and it wasn't Laci's. That witness also said Modesto police detective Al Brocchini lied when the detective told the Modesto Bee the witness hadn't seen the pregnant woman's face.

"If the jury believes Brocchini was lying, it can disregard anything......

[runningbear]

More testimony:

Modesto neighborhood full of Laci Peterson look-alikes

ONE TESTIFIES SHE WAS WALKING DOG IN PARK CHRISTMAS EVE

By Julia Prodis Sulek

Mercury News

A parade of dark-haired women who were pregnant and took frequent walks -- some with their dogs -- in Laci Peterson's neighborhood around the time she disappeared took the stand Wednesday during Scott Peterson's murder trial.

Prosecutors ........

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Modesto, Calif., mother Jordan Visola-Prescott leaves the San Mateo County Superior Courthouse after testifying in the Scott Peterson (news - web sites) trial on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004, in Redwood City, Calif. Visola-Prescott was pregnant in December 2002 and walked in the neighborhood where Laci and Scott Peterson lived in Modesto, Calif. Laci Peterson (news - web sites) was also pregnant and missing in December 2002. Scott Peterson faces the death penalty if he is convicted of two counts of murder for the deaths of his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn son. (AP Photo/Anne-Marie McReynolds, Pool)

Modesto, Calif., mothers Jill Lear, left, and Elizabeth Guptill, upper right, leave a Redwood City, Calif., courthouse, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004, after they testified in the Scott Peterson (news - web sites) trial. Both were pregnant in December of 2002 and walked in the neighborhood where Scott and Laci Peterson (news - web sites) lived. Scott Peterson is the Modesto, Calif., man who could face the death penalty for the murders of his life, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son. Laci Peterson was missing in December of 2002. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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attire throw back from the 50/60's?

Sister Susan Caudillo, left, father Lee Peterson, center, and mother Jackie Peterson of Scott Peterson (news - web sites) enter the San Mateo Superior County Court, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004, in Redwood City, Calif. The family was present for DNA testimony in the trial of Scott Peterson who faces the death penalty if he is convicted of two counts of murder for the deaths of his wife, Laci Peterson (news - web sites), and the couple's unborn son. (AP Photo/Anne-Marie McReynolds, Pool)

Sorry, I had to meow!

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Hairs on Peterson's boat consistent with Laci's
But DNA testing unavailable to prove conclusively that it was hers

Two strands of hair taken from a pair of pliers found in Scott Peterson's boat are consistent with hair collected from a hairbrush that belonged to Peterson's wife, a trace evidence expert from the FBI testified this morning.

Karen Korsberg of the FBI told the jury in Peterson's double-murder trial that lab tests showed that the hairs appeared to match and did not come from the head of the defendant.

The hairs are a critical piece of evidence for prosecutors who are trying to prove that Peterson killed his pregnant wife, Laci, and then transported her body to the Berkeley .....

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Former mothers-to-be tell of walks in area
Jurors also hear of hair found in pliers in Peterson's boat

Prosecutors in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial focused Wednesday on four pregnant women and a single strand of hair.

Deputy District Attorneys Rick Distaso and Dave Harris maintain that any one of the women could have been mistaken for the eight-months-pregnant Laci Peterson by defense witnesses who say they spotted her on the day she was reported missing, a day prosecutors contend she was already dead.

They say a dark hair, found in Scott Peterson's pliers at the bottom of his fishing boat, which forensic experts concluded was consistent with Laci Peterson's hair, is further proof that the former fertilizer salesman ........

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Hearing delayed for N.Y. private eye accused of fraud

Investigator charged with impersonating a police officer in Peterson case

By SUSAN HERENDEEN
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: September 9, 2004, 04:30:59 AM PDT

A New York private investigator accused of passing himself off as a peace officer while poking around Modesto looking for leads in Laci Peterson’s murder turned himself in Wednesday.

But Scott H. Bernstein was not arraigned in Stanislaus County Superior Court on five felony and six misdemeanor charges, as planned.

Judge Ricardo Córdova granted a three-week delay after defense attorney H. Ronald Sawl of Fresno said he needs more time to investigate the allegations in a criminal complaint.

“It wasn’t available to us until today,” said Sawl, who received a copy of the complaint at the beginning of the hearing.

Deputy District Attorney Dean Archibald agreed to the delay and declined to comment on the case........

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Defense attacks detective's credibility

Attorneys continue to focus on inaccuracies in Modesto

REDWOOD CITY -- A Modesto detective whose inaccurate testimony has dogged prosecutors throughout Scott Peterson's double-murder trial came back to haunt them again Wednesday, as the defense blasted him for lying on the stand.

The damaging information came during the defense's cross-examination of what was otherwise a strong prosecution witness. Christopher Van Sandt, a man who phoned in a tip to Modesto police the day Laci Peterson went missing, said he saw a pregnant woman walking her dog between 8:45 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. in Dry Creek Park.

Van Sandt said he called Modesto Police Detective Al Brocchini again the next day after a picture of Laci Peterson on television made him realize she was not the woman he saw. "I'm 100 percent sure it was not Laci Peterson," Van Sandt told prosecutor Rick Distaso.

His testimony buoyed prosecutors' theory that Laci Peterson could not have been walking her dog that day because she was already dead. Scott Peterson maintains that when he left to go fishing that morning, his pregnant wife was planning to walk their golden retriever in a nearby ........

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Witness: Scott Peterson tried unsuccessfully to auction wife's watch

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Three weeks before his wife went missing, Scott Peterson tried to sell a diamond-encrusted watch she had recently inherited on eBay, but failed to find any takers for the gaudy heirloom, an employee of the online auction site testified Wednesday at his capital trial.

Nils Myers, the supervisor of eBay's fraud investigations department, took the stand at the request of prosecutors, but his testimony appeared primarily to benefit the defense.

The gold watch has never been found, and Peterson's lawyers claim his wife, Laci, may have been abducted for the flashy timepiece. Specifically, they have pointed to a pawn shop receipt indicating a woman sold a watch matching the description of the.......

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Suggesting mistaken identity, DA calls pregnant neighbors

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — In a preemptive attack on defense witnesses who claim they saw Laci Peterson alive after her husband is alleged to have killed her, prosecutors focused Wednesday on four other pregnant women who lived in the couple's neighborhood.

Three of the women and the husband of a fourth testified that the expectant mothers frequently walked on the residential streets and in a nearby park, allowing prosecutor Rick Distaso to suggest the anticipated witnesses actually spotted one of Laci Peterson's neighbors and not the 27-year-old mother-to-be herself.

As he questioned each witness about their walking routes and habits, the prosecutor flashed onto a large projection screen snapshots of the women taken at the time. One, Jill Lear, who was six months pregnant, posed in black tights like the ones Laci Peterson often wore walking. Another, Jordan Bisola-Brescott, who was four and a half months pregnant with twins, was shown holding her swollen belly with her brown hair falling on her shoulders. Laci .........

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Defense: Detectives blew off possible lead to chase Scott Peterson

REDWOOD CITY, California (Court TV) -- Scott Peterson's defense suggested at his capital trial Tuesday that police ignored an anonymous tip that a dangerous band of convicts was holding his pregnant wife, Laci, at a remote flophouse.

A sheriff's deputy called by prosecutors acknowledged that no officers from Modesto ever searched the rural compound known as a haven for drug dealing, cockfights and parole violators, nor any surrounding areas.

"They didn't even make one search?" defense lawyer Mark Geragos asked.

"Not really, no," San Joaquin County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Mears said.

The implication that police were too narrowly focused on Peterson to investigate other leads came as Mears and another officer called by prosecutors recalled investigating a phone tip about two weeks after the mother-to-be's Dec. 24, 2002, disappearance........

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Developments Wednesday in the Scott Peterson case

"WHAT'S NEXT: Trial resumes Thursday with 11 witnesses planned for the day. It is unclear who they will be as the list is sealed and attorneys are bound by a gag order."

[runningbear]

PINGING........

[runningbear]

PINGING........

[runningbear]

PINGING........

[Tijeras_Slim]

"@!#*&@ Not Scotty AGAIN!"

[CHUCKfromCAL]

Although Peterson probably is guilty, I am betting that he walks. Both the police and the prosecution have demonstrated they are inept, incompetent and probably guilty of misconduct. They have had over a year to build a convincing case and have failed.

[runningbear]

Dog walkers and dark hair

REDWOOD CITY — Gasps rippled through the audience Wednesday as a life-sized photo of a dark-haired, pregnant woman with a wide, white-toothed smile flashed on a courtroom wall. The woman in the picture, Jordan Visola-Prescott, was alive and well and seated on the witness stand.

With hair much shorter than in the picture, she hadn’t conjured up the image of murder victim Laci Peterson when she began testifying moments earlier. But the resemblance in the huge photo was remarkable.

And that’s just the effect Scott Peterson’s prosecutors were going for.

Visola-Prescott was one of at least four brown-haired women who were pregnant and living in Modesto’s La Loma neighborhood when 27-year-old Laci Peterson vanished on Christmas Eve 2002. Three testified Wednesday about walking for exercise back then, as did the husband of the fourth.

Prosecutors are offering......,P>

[Constitution Day]

Ah, just one more thing, Mr. Peterson...

[Sacajaweau]

So if she was in a flop house, how did the "frame Scott" people manage to get by the Bay surveillance and why did the "frame Scott" people weight the bodies so they would not be seen and/or found? "Frame Scott" people would have dumped the body where it could be found, somewhere near the Bay. That takes care of that matter.

Do you remember what the person that was either before or behind you at the supermarket yesterday looked like? Could you identify them in a line up? I doubt it. We're not good observers unless it effects us.

Scott had his story about walking the dog cooked up before he left. I'm betting that he trained the dog to go home as it was SCOTT who usually walked the dog. I wish they had tested the dog..i.e., let him loose and see if he would get home....and how fast. If Laci was kidnapped, why didn't anyone report horrendous barking??

[MEG33]

Just went over to CTV..Katiecoolady is at the trial and has a great thread from the courtroom and the emotional effect of the ladies(witnesses) who were pregnant that Dec and walked in the park...One Katie said eerily resembled Laci...The story isn't Broncchini...(they may not like him, nor trust him, but yesterday was a good day for the pros)..if what I read was right.

Katie is sure she can get back in today..Jordy is there with her..They went to an Aphrodite booksigning last night..talked to some of the media players.

[Sacajaweau]

I've been following that thread with Katie. REAL reactions are soooo important. Kinda like Scott's reaction to the cops "fishing" in the Bay. Now why would Scott be there. HE KNEW WITHOUT A DOUBT that Laci was walking the dog in the Park???

[Sacajaweau]

Scott has another flawed lie. He called Laci's mom and said she was "missing". But he called others and asked if they had seen Laci? Can't have it both ways. The dog didn't put the leash on himself.

[MEG33]

He wanted to tell Laci how many people were looking for her?/sarcasm...(Remember his "thank you sign" to the volunteers?)

[runningbear]

I think that the pundit heads only yap on the OMG stuff more-so in defense scoring points than what was actually the whole picture of court testimonies for the day. They tend to leave out alot of stuff for most citizen viewers. I am sure, the juror takes heed of what not to regard or take into account....But shall see in the final outcome.

[runningbear]

ROFL......

[runningbear]

yes, we tend to forget the little stuff that surrounds our daily lives... Especially those who live in the fast lanes.

Even I in many cases, like you state, if it didn't concern me or spark my attention for some reason, I could care less about that instant. But for some odd reason, a gut filling thingy occurred, yep, I could recall.

Reporting barking dogs, car alarms, or other repetitive nuisance stuff, people get immune to it, and go about their ways.

But something that became different, a different dog barking sounds, well that would get attention.

[MEG33]

I was blue over the hung jury predictions....bouyed by how few not guilty predictions she found in the "crowd"

[MEG33]

I was blue over the hung jury predictions....bouyed by how few not guilty predictions she found in the "crowd"

[Sacajaweau]

I don't think he'll walk. There is simply too much evidence. Most cases are truly circumstantial.

His loose dog thing looks just like the OJ case.

His fishing at the Bay looks just like OJ was rushing for a plane bit. Scott washing his clothes immediately looks like destroying evidence.

There's still a scarf incident to come. I'm waiting. The Prosecution said: "Remember the scarf".

[Sacajaweau]

I think the issue will be whether he will receive the death penalty. I STILL think that Peterson will ask for a deal before this is over....and get it. I don't think he is willing to risk the jury giving him the death penalty.