For Peterson jury, circumstantial evidence made case for murder

modbee ^ | 11-12-04

[LouAvul]

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) - It was circumstantial evidence that led jurors to decide that Scott Peterson planned the killing of his wife. They agreed it was premeditated, first-degree murder even though prosecutors didn't prove where, how or exactly when Laci was killed.

The jury did so, legal analysts said, because of the cumulative weight of all the circumstantial factors that pointed to Peterson - not least his alibi about going fishing in San Francisco Bay the day she disappeared from her home in Modesto, more than 85 miles southeast.

When her body and that of her fetus turned up four months later not far from the marina where Peterson launched his brand new boat, that alibi became some of the strongest evidence against him.

"Just the fact that her body was found in a place where he put himself - that alone is overwhelming evidence," said Pete Kossoris, a retired attorney who prosecuted murder cases for 27 years.

Kossoris said the defense didn't present a "reasonable alternative" to the prosecution's theory of the case.

[dubie]

it could have been that the guy who had lipstick smeared on him was setup by a guy at a party he was drinking with. The guy gets drunk, his friends mess with him... pure perfume on him and smear lipstick on him. Now he is guilty in the eyes of his wife while being only innocent of being stupid.

[Dante3]

Yes, of course there was a crime. And there is evidence of a crime. Laci did not commit suicide and she did not end up in the marina by accident. She was murdered. In addition to the location of the bodies, there was also the timeline, etc. All the pieces taken together added up to a picture of Scott as the guilty party.

[job]

yeah... that's sounds pretty good. use that one on your wife.

All you NOT GUILTY make my head hurt. You will go half way around the world to figure out how Amber did it, but ignore the fact the Scott admitted to being the last person to see her alive, and admitted to being in the same spot where her body was dumped. You completely and conveniently forget to mention the whole part about how he told Amber that "he lost his wife, and this would be the first holiday season without her."

Poor, poor scott. He is the most unlucky person in the whole world. He predicts that his wife will not spend Christmas with him, and then some unnamed evildoers kidnaps Lacy, then finds out where Scott was, then dumps her body, days after Scott has been cavorting with Francois and Pasquale.

I could go on, but it would just be wasted.