Posted on 09/10/2004 5:45:29 AM PDT by runningbear
Father admits Scott Peterson never mentioned Christmas Eve fishing trip
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Scott Peterson's father admitted to jurors Thursday that his son never mentioned a fishing trip, nor his recent purchase of a boat in a phone conversation the day his pregnant wife went missing.
Lee Peterson, who was called to the stand by prosecutors, also acknowledged that even weeks after Laci Peterson vanished, his son never informed him of his affair with Amber Frey — and that he only learned of the relationship when the blonde masseuse held a televised news conference.
But the elder Peterson insisted there was nothing suspicious about the omissions and told jurors in his son's capital murder trial that his youngest child kept his own counsel about other big developments over the years, including his purchase of another boat, a truck and two motorcycles.
"It wouldn't be that unusual," Peterson repeated twice when pressed by prosecutor Rick Distaso about his son's failure to disclose the boat and the fishing trip during the Dec. 24, 2002, phone call.
Story continues.....
September 10, 2004 -- REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Only minutes after he left the Berkeley Marina on the day his pregnant wife disappeared, Scott Peterson had a phone conversation with his dad — and never mentioned he was on a fishing trip, the father testified yesterday.
"Did you know he had even purchased a boat?" prosecutor Rick Distaso asked Lee Peterson in the 52nd day of his son's murder trial.
"No — but that wouldn't be unusual," said Peterson, who began his testimony by telling the jury: "I'm proud to say that Scott is my son."
Prosecutors have suggested that, during the two phone calls between father and son that began at 2:40 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2002, Peterson didn't decide on his fake alibi. Hours later, as the philandering fertilizer salesman searched for his missing wife, he told some people he'd been golfing and others he'd been fishing, several witnesses have testified. ........
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Peterson’s father vouches for him
REDWOOD CITY — Scott Peterson had loved fishing since he was a boy and didn’t boast about expensive purchases, his father testified Thursday. Though Lee Peterson was a reluctant prosecution witness at last year’s preliminary hearing, some legal analysts questioned the wisdom of putting him on the stand at trial.
His testimony might have marginally supported prosecutors’ theory that Scott Peterson avoided talking about the boat he used to dump his pregnant wife’s body, or his affair with a Fresno massage therapist.
But under questioning from his son’s attorney, Lee Peterson worked in stories that painted the defendant as someone’s unassuming, hard-working son — not the cold, calculating killer prosecutors have worked to depict.
“He brought a fishing pole in his (golf) bag” as young as 8 when family members golfed at a course with meandering streams, Lee Peterson said. “If he didn’t feel like playing, he would fish and we would pick him up on the way back.”
The elder Peterson also told of his wife reading the newspaper while their young son cast a line into a small lake by their Southern California home. Scott Peterson eventually took up saltwater fishing, his father said........
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Peterson's dad 'proud Scott's my son'
Scott Peterson's dad defiantly proclaimed he had no shame in being the defendant's father after taking the stand Thursday in his son's double-murder trial.
"I'm proud to say Scott's my son," Lee Peterson told prosecutor Rick Distaso, who called him to testify in the case.
The worn and tired father, wearing a cream-colored knit vest, blue striped shirt and khaki pants, then looked over at his son and gave him a reassuring grin. The defendant nodded slightly and smiled back.
During the 15-week capital case in Redwood City, Lee Peterson has never publicly wavered in his opinion that his son is innocent of charges that he murdered his 27-year-old wife and their unborn child. Every day Lee Peterson and his wife, Jackie, take their seats in the front row of the courtroom to support their son......
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Scott Peterson's Father Testifies
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Scott Peterson's father took the stand Thursday in his son's double-murder trial.
Prosecutors started by asking Lee Peterson if he could identify the defendant. He said "I am proud to say that Scott is my son."
Under direct examination, Lee Peterson said that Scott never told him about the boat that he bought two weeks before Scott's pregnant wife, Laci, disappeared.
Lee Peterson also testified that Scott also did not mention that he went fishing on Christmas Eve when the two spoke shortly after the alleged trip.
The elder Peterson also testified that he and his son did not use handguns when they went pheasant hunting. A handgun was found in Scott's truck and he said he had used it while pheasant hunting.
Defense attorney Pat Harris offered innocent explanations.........
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Scott Peterson's father recalls secrecy
REDWOOD CITY - Prosecutors called Scott Peterson's father as a witness Thursday to show his son was secretive about his boat and Christmas Eve fishing trip, but in doing so tarnished their own contention that Laci Peterson had given up walking.
Lee Peterson told jurors Scott never said in a Christmas Eve phone call that he was fishing the waters of the San Francisco Bay that day. Nor had his son ever told him about a small aluminum fishing boat he bought Dec. 9, 2002, 15 days before his wife Laci disappeared from her Modesto neighborhood.
Prosecutors contend that Peterson, who is on trial for the murder of his wife and unborn son, quietly bought the boat and made the nearly 90-mile trek to the Bay as part of a plot to kill his pregnant wife and dispose of her body. Lee Peterson's testimony was important to help prove that, showing jurors Scott was not eager to share with even a close relative where he was on Christmas Eve and what he was .......
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Peterson's Dad Questioned About Scott's Fishing
Scott Peterson (news - web sites)'s father Lee Peterson took the stand Thursday in his son's murder trial and announced "I'm proud to say Scott is my son."
"What he said wasn't so important as how he said it," said legal analyst Dean Johnson. "Lee Peterson came across as an understandably a sad person -- his son is on trial for a double murder. He came across as very straightforward as best he could. He was humanized."......
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"NEXT WEEK/
Judge Alfred Delucchi told jurors that Monday’s court session would begin with “two short witnesses,” followed by testimony on satellite tracking. Authorities secretly placed devices on Scott Peterson’s vehicles to keep track of their main suspect before his arrest in April 2003.
The judge said jurors would hear from “a gentleman from Canada” on global positioning system technology. Hugh Roddis, president of Orion Electronics Ltd., testified at a February hearing that a $5,175 device his company sold Modesto police provided reliable data."
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Stan State professor who oversaw juror bias survey is put on paid leave
The administration at California State University, Stanislaus, has placed criminal justice professor Stephen Schoenthaler on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of an investigation into possible scientific misconduct.
Schoenthaler, who has taught sociology and criminal justice at the university since 1982, oversaw a tainted survey that was meant to gauge juror bias in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial.
Several students told The Bee in December they made up results. Those results factored into a judge’s decision to move the Peterson trial from Stanislaus County to San Mateo County.
Reached Wednesday, Schoenthaler said while on paid leave that his focus is working with the investigation committee. He declined further comment.
Reached in ........
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Peterson Rarely Shared Fishing Stories With Father
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- An unruffled Lee Peterson took the stand Thursday, telling jurors that since he doesn't particularly enjoy fishing, his son, Scott, rarely talked to him about it, and that Scott wouldn't necessarily tell him about large purchases.
Scott Peterson, who's accused of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, sat back in his chair and gave his full attention to his father, who testified for about 40 minutes.
Wearing khaki pants, a striped golf shirt and a beige sweater vest, Lee Peterson was self-assured as he swore to tell the truth, and announced he was "proud to say Scott's my son."
Prosecutor Rick Distaso immediately hit Lee Peterson with a series of questions he couldn't answer -- about his son's boat, his mistress and his whereabouts on ......
The prosecution questioned Peterson about many things his son didn't tell him, like why didn't Scott say he'd bought a new boat in the weeks before Laci's disappearance, and why didn't Scott tell his father he'd been fishing in the San Francisco Bay on the morning of Christmas Eve 2002?
PINGING.......
PINGING.......
PINGING.......
"Going out of business Scott Peterson sought to terminate the lease on his business warehouse on Jan. 13, 2003, three weeks after his wife disappeared. Prosecutors are trying to show that Peterson was trying to sever his ties with his past and that he knew his wife would never be found alive because he killed her. But Geragos produced a real estate contract showing that Peterson's company had begun laying plans to move from Modesto to Fresno well before Laci Peterson disappeared. The contract was dated October 2002. Laci Peterson disappeared on Dec. 24, 2002.".......
But his father didn't say: "Watcha doin?" And Scott didn't say: "I just left the Bay...Tying out my new boat. But it's kinda windy so I'm heading home."
Thanks for the ping darlin'!
FYI
The American's Creed
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by William Tyler Page
"I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, a democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
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I just found this soooo enlightening because of this weekend 911 memorials upcoming everywhere....
That would be my instinct to say something of what I did, especially trying your newer boat for the first time?
And you don't buy a $30,000 Golf membership and a $2,000 boat if you like fishing more.
I think Scott was just checking to see if everyone was where he thinks they should be to pull this off. He made a whole series of phone calls. Normal for him? Not likely. This was not a "Normal Day for Scott".
Hi, runningbear!!
So far we don't really know about this Tradecorp warehouse in Fresno, I guess. We heard it only from Geragos, and since Geragos and the truth are total strangers, who knows what really happened?
But if by chance it turns out to be true that Tradecorp got a warehouse in Fresno in Nov. 2002, that raises some questions, none of which are flattering to Scott.
If you have ONE MAN who is your California guy, wouldn't HE have a big part in determining where you located? And if you knew this guy had a growing family in Modesto, you wouldn't inconvenience him by shutting down the Modesto operation and relocating 90 miles away--UNLESS you were trying to get rid of him.
Maybe Tradecorp was in the process of cutting Scott loose. If so, that's just another factor that might make Scott feel desperate--desperate enough that he actually thought murder was a solution.
besides Scotty trying his best to a relationship once meeting and covorting with Amber. IMO
Wouldn't you think that if your company was moving you would inform your spouse, and she (Laci) would at least inform her Mother? If the Rochas , or even the Petersons, weren't made aware of this by Scott or Laci then I find this highly suspicious. For someone that seemed to spend half his life on the phone, he sure never said anything, did he? Well, I guess he did, but they were all LIES!!
You know, this $30,000 golf membership really bugs me. Here you have a couple, expecting their first child, income has decreased because Laci is no longer working. I just wouldn't think that spending that kind of money for golf appropriate. But, that's just me. Also, I find it a little odd that you would give that kind of money away without informing your spouse first. Sounds like Jackie just couldn't deny her son whatever he wanted.
The fact that he had relatives cards on him when they picked him up kinda raises my suspicions that he eventually told some members of his family "the truth" (well sorta) and made them a part of his fiasco.
What does that mean? To me, it means he had already planned to kill her and was then going to cut and run after terminating the lease on his business. That's a no brainer.
$30,000! For a golf membership? That's just under what I earn in a year! Cheez.
oh should I say, dang!!!
I thought I heard that his parents paid for his golf membership, I could be wrong, but it stuck with me because it showed what a spoiled brat he was.
"I thought I heard that his parents paid for his golf membership"
Right, they did, or at least Jackie did. I don't know when Lee was informed. That's what I meant by spending that kind of money and not informing your spouse.
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