The overwhelming conclusion on all these threads seems to be that the husband, Scott Peterson, is the main suspect in his wifes disappearance. Up until now the main focus of speculation has been how she might have disappeared and how he might have carried it out.
Although some posters have touched on it, the one point that hasn't been explored in depth is motive.
Now this may be that since he has not been formally charged in the murder of his wife people are hesistant to speculate on just why he might have murdered her.
While that is understandable, I think his reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement, his hiring a lawyer, the rather farscial staged timeline and his activities on the day of her disappearance all point to the fact that he killed his wife and disposed of her body.
So why does a young man, after 8 1/2 months of his wife's pregnancy, suddenly decide to murder his wife and unborn child? There are only two basic explanations. One, the murder was premeditated and methodically carried out in cold blood. Two, that he killed her in the heat of passion, or in other words, murder 2, manslaughter, or whatever legal terminology California provides.
If the murder was premeditated, what might have been the motive for what he surely must have recognized as a very risky proposition. Did he have a girl friend on the side that no ones knows about. Divorce seems a bit easier but then again who can be sure of what goes on in a criminal's mind?
If not a girl friend to commit murder for, one could speculate money. Does he anticipate collecting a sizable sum of money from her death? Why would he possibly need a large sum of money?? An expensive girl friend and their future together? Drugs debts? Gambling debts? Hardly seems likely, but I'm sure the police have been forced to at least look at this possibility.
If he calmly planned her death he must have had an overwhelming pressure to make him undertake such a perilous course of action. Yet again, could it be that he suddenly saw the future closing in on him and decided that he didn't want to be a father, tied down to Laci for the rest of his life? Could the pressure of fatherhood and perhaps not being in love with his wife any more been the impetus to push him over the edge to murder her?
Possibly, but since most people who are murdered meet their death at the hands someone they know, is it more likely that Laci Peterson died as the result of a violent argument sometime prior to the time he claims to have last seen her?
The holiday season often brings about added pressures that some individuals cannot handle. Perhaps an argument about money, family ties, an impending divorce no one knew about (not even their families), a sexual indiscretion that was discovered or admitted?
The scenes of this drama definitely appear to have been staged. The timing, the trip, the ticket, the dog, etc. The question is did he plan the murder well in advance, or did she die at his hands in a fit of rage?
My personal suspicion is that she died as the result of a violent altercation that was unplanned. The rather concocted staging was then hastily put together for the police. She was most likely killed the evening before the time she would usually retire. The night provided him sufficient time (absent of interruption i.e., phone calls to her, visitors, deliveries etc) to formulate a disappearance strategy and carry it out.
Then again,.......................................
I just still cannot believe there are no 'fresh' divers in CA today to retrieve that body.
And for goodness sake, another body was pulled out of that water yesterday, but it's not a big deal? Good lord.
I like your thinking out loud post.
There is something in between your two scenarios, in between fully premeditated and heat of passion. I think OJ slashed his wife's head off in a steaming fit of anger that had been building for hours. He did not show good signs of planning any getaway or trying in advance to escape blame. I guess there can be a sort of crime of passion in which the killer does lay in wait a little. Still counts legally as premeditated.
That would make sense if Laci cruelly broke the news to her husband that the baby was not his.
Let me address only the "reluctance" and "hiring a lawyer" part. I've written on FR about being pulled over on suspicion of DUI (probable cause: probably a brief drift while rummaging in my coat pocket for a candy bar), when in fact I ultimately blew a 0.00 on the Breathalyzer both times. The experiences caused me no trauma whatsoever, but they have forever changed my assumptions about how the police work once they suspect you.
In both instances, in two different jurisdictions, I was given the full treatment. Spotlight in the car, flashlight in the eyes. Not good enough: follow the pen. Not good enough: out of the car, alphabet backward, 1-5/5-1 on fingers, estimate 30 seconds, touch nose with eyes closed, I forget what all. And STILL not good enough: finally, the breathalyzer!
Is it in any way possible that I, stone-cold sober, coordinated, alert, could have failed ALL of those preliminary tests? Or even ONE of them? No. NFW. Once, given the full treatment at 2 am, maybe. Not the full treatment twice.
I'm now certain, and will require overwhelming evidence to the contrary (to balance the first-hand evidence of my own) that, once they pull you over in CA, there are certain circumstances beyond your control or performance which dictate that you get every single test.
All this to say that there are therefore corresponding instructions for "the full treatment" for various other suspected crimes as well. All of us here know that the police, as a matter of policy, will first suspect the husband or boyfriend in a kidnap or murder of the wife or girlfriend. I shudder to imagine the full treatment designed and dictated as a matter of department policy for the relentless grilling, intimidation, lies, and mind games forced on the husband in this kind of case.
If it's impossible to perform circus tricks perfectly for fifteen minutes and avoid the Breathalyzer, and then after blowing a 0.00 still get a dirty look from the officer as he reluctantly admits that you're free to go, what chance does somebody they suspect of murdering his wife have in getting fair treatment, keeping his dignity, and even staying out of jail by "cooperating" with the police? None, I say.
So I say "well done" to this husband for trying to protect his rights and his libety as he is allowed to do in this situation. God forbid, if I find myself in the same situation, I'll call the friends & family, call a lawyer, then call the police.