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People want to know: Who is Scott Peterson?
The Modesto Bee ^ | January 23, 2003 Posted: 05:10:11 AM PST | Ty Phillips

Posted on 01/23/2003 5:21:46 AM PST by runningbear

People want to know: Who is Scott Peterson?

People want to know: Who is Scott Peterson?

January 23, 2003 Posted: 05:10:11 AM PST

By TY PHILLIPS
BEE STAFF WRITER

His cell phone rings incessantly. TV camera crews capture his every move. Curious people drive, slowly, by his home every few minutes.

For Scott Peterson, privacy is a thing of the past. He has become perhaps the most recognizable man in Modesto.

"I feel badly for him," said Brian Argain, a friend of Scott and Laci Peterson's. "I can't even imagine being in Scott's shoes. Everybody has a theory on what happened to Laci, but nobody really knows. It's all very sad."

Laci, Scott's wife, was reported missing on Christmas Eve. The story has been a nightly fixture on many national TV news programs. Internet forums and talk shows brim with wild speculation about what happened to the pregnant woman.

Early on, family and friends described the couple's relationship as perfect. Most pledged unwavering support. Then cracks began to appear.

Last week, police detectives told

Laci's side of the family that her husband had an affair and during the summer took out a $250,000 life insurance policy on his 27-year-old wife, according to family members.

The family felt betrayed, and they distanced themselves from Scott. Many of Laci's friends also left his side. Others remain loyal to a man whom they consider a good friend.

"We're all looking for the truth," Argain said. "I'm going to support Scott no matter what the rumors are. It doesn't affect my friendship with him. Just because he may have had an affair doesn't mean he has anything to do with her disappearance."

Still, his recent behavior has many people -- including some who know him -- asking the same question:

Who is Scott Peterson?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was born Oct. 24, 1971, at Sharp Hospital in San Diego. His mother, Jacqueline, described him as a healthy, happy baby. The youngest of Lee and Jacqueline Peterson's seven children, Scott enjoyed no shortage of attention growing up.

As Lee raised his five sons, he instilled in them his passions for golfing, fishing and hunting. Scott quickly took to hunting and fishing as a young boy; golf was another story.

"When he was about 6 or 7 years old, we'd all go golfing together," Jacqueline said in an interview last week. "He would put his fishing pole in his bag because the course we often went to was on the San Diego River. By the second hole, he'd stop golfing and start fishing. We'd pass by him every so often, and he usually fished until we were done golfing."

The family, especially the Peterson boys, often took fishing trips to the mountains. Scott eventually convinced his father to buy a fishing boat.

As Scott got older, his parents enticed him to go golfing with them by letting him drive the cart. Over time, he began to excel at the sport.

He made the golf team at University of San Diego High School, playing alongside Phil Mickelson, who is now a touring professional.

"Lee told him once if he ever played a round of scratch golf, he'd buy him a Ferrari," Jacqueline said. "Lee never thought it would happen, but Scott was doing that before he got out of high school. We did get him a car, but it was a used Peugeot sedan. We thought it would be safer."

Scott had no living grandparents. So, while he was in high school, he befriended an elderly woman who had no grandchildren and visited her on Sundays after church, Jacqueline said.

"The school he went to encouraged community service," she said. "One day, he told us he was bringing his grandmother to Grandparents Day at the school. I asked where he got a grandmother. He told me he'd had one for a while.

"I went and met her the following Sunday. She just kept saying what a great kid he was, and how nice it was that he visited an old lady and brightened her day."

While Scott was in high school, his parents received two letters from people whose cars had broken down on the road, Jacqueline said. Scott had stopped to help them get going.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scott graduated from high school in 1990. He briefly attended Arizona State University on a partial golf scholarship, but he moved back with his parents, who had bought a house in Morro Bay.

He moved out about six months later, telling them that he was too old to be living at home. He began working three jobs to put himself through

Cuesta College and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

While he was a waiter at

Pacific Cafe, Scott met Laci Rocha, an upbeat young woman with a beautiful smile. Laci's neighbor worked at the cafe, and Laci ended up there from time to time, sometimes having brief conversations with Scott over a counter as she ordered coffee.

One day, Laci wrote her phone number on a piece of paper, handing it to her neighbor to give to Scott. Thinking his friend was playing a mean trick on him, Scott crumpled the paper and threw it in the garbage. After being convinced it was no joke, he retrieved the number from the trash and called her soon.

Everyone who knew them then said they quickly fell in love. When Sharon Rocha came to Morro Bay to meet Scott, the mother and daughter each were greeted by a dozen roses at their dinner table at Pacific Cafe.

A few weeks later, Scott brought Laci to San Diego to meet his brothers and sisters, and they noticed how their brother could not stop smiling.

"The moment he was with Laci, they just beamed at each other," Jacqueline said. "No one else ever made my son smile like that. They did everything right."

After graduation, the couple opened a popular eatery called The Shack, a place near the Cal Poly campus where students came for hamburgers and sandwiches. The restaurant, a converted bakery, featured barrels of peanuts and numerous televisions showing sports.

The business quickly became a success. The couple sold The Shack two years later after deciding to move to Modesto to start a family and be closer to Laci's parents.

They rented a home for a while before buying a fixer-upper on Covena Avenue in the La Loma neighborhood. Scott is a salesman for a specialty fertilizer company.

After several years of trying, Laci became pregnant last summer. She was so excited when she found out that she began calling family and friends at 7 a.m. after taking a pregnancy test.

As the holiday season progressed, the Petersons held several parties at their home. Guests walking in noticed that the house no longer resembled the place that the Petersons had purchased.

"Scott remodeled the entire house, doing woodwork, tile, plumbing, a little bit of everything," said Guy Miligi, a friend of the Petersons'. "I know he put a lot of hours into making that baby room just right. He was real excited about having his first child. He talked about that all the time."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Dec. 23, Laci and her mother spoke by telephone. The call ended about 8:30 p.m. Scott told police he last saw his wife the next morning as he left for a fishing trip out of the Berkeley Marina, and was unable to find her when he returned home that evening.

Early on, police obtained a search warrant for the couple's home and vehicles and his warehouse. Police said they gathered evidence during those searches, but have not elaborated.

When they released pictures of Scott's truck and boat several weeks ago, police said they had been unable to corroborate his story. Police have said he is cooperating with investigators "to some degree."

Scott has not been named a suspect in his wife's disappearance; Police Chief Roy Wasden said Wednesday that detectives have not been able to eliminate Scott from the investigation.

Initially, Scott refused nearly every media request for interviews, saying that he preferred to keep the focus on his wife and not himself. He broke his silence roughly at about the same time that reports surfaced about the affair and life insurance policy.

Since he began talking with the media last week, Scott mostly has given one- and two-sentence comments, mostly about his plans to keep searching for his wife and child. He has ended most interviews quickly and abruptly.

He has not issued a direct denial of allegations of the affair. During a brief interview Friday with a Bay Area TV station, Scott called The Bee's report "a bunch of lies."

That same day, the Rocha family issued a statement asking Scott to tell police everything he knows, imploring him to prove that he has nothing to hide.

That weekend, as national media trucks inundated the area around the Modesto Police Department, Scott headed to Southern California to help with a one-day event to raise awareness of his wife's disappearance

(Excerpt) Read more at modestobee.com ...


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: lacipeterson
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To: spectre; BunnySlippers
See post #108, john walsh has interviewed Laci's family and will be aired later this week.

#117.."Local news reporting body found at Millerton Lake about 20 miles outside of Fresno. No release yet as to sex or identity pending autopsy.117 posted on 01/23/2003 2:44 PM CST by iaf97 "
121 posted on 01/23/2003 12:52:41 PM PST by Freedom2specul8
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To: Yeti
If he did or didn't kill her, the happy grinning at a time like this is wierd. I wouldn't be surprised if it was pharmaceutically induced.

You have to be very suspicious of this guy .... but I think you may have a point there.

122 posted on 01/23/2003 12:53:48 PM PST by iconoclast
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
If he was on Ambien, then yes, it is posible that he would look that rested.
123 posted on 01/23/2003 12:53:58 PM PST by PleaseNoMore
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To: iaf97
Here's more info about millerton lake..take note of "ladycops" posts..

http://websleuths.com/forum/tm.asp?m=28494&p=1&mpage=3&tmode=1
124 posted on 01/23/2003 12:57:14 PM PST by Freedom2specul8
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
Just sending everyone the same link. Also Rommel's posts shows how this would effect SP's timeline on the websleuth forum.
125 posted on 01/23/2003 1:00:22 PM PST by iaf97
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To: PleaseNoMore
Thanks for the info..I did a quick google searcg cuz I wasn't sure what it was. Well, giving him the benefit of the doubt....and God forgive those of us who are leaning towards guilt if he's not guilty, he looks really well under the circumstances.
126 posted on 01/23/2003 1:00:35 PM PST by Freedom2specul8
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To: Palladin
Police didn't name the suspect and no arrests have been reported. Police say Laci and Scott Peterson know the suspect. The person is one of many people with access to their home. The stolen property has been returned.

HA! It was someone in the family, I bet, wanting some sort of personal memento or something.

127 posted on 01/23/2003 1:01:17 PM PST by wimpycat (Down with Kooks and Kookery!)
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To: cry4justice
So are you suggesting that he shouldn't be at a loss for words in front of the cameras? I think his attorney probably told him to not talk.. just a hunch though.
128 posted on 01/23/2003 1:02:21 PM PST by Freedom2specul8
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To: wimpycat
Police say Laci and Scott Peterson know the suspect. The person is one of many people with access to their home. The stolen property has been returned.

I missed that part!

129 posted on 01/23/2003 1:03:18 PM PST by Freedom2specul8
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To: PleaseNoMore; All
From another forum,Laci Peterson http://forums.delphiforums.com/PurgatoryII/messages posted by RICKAMORTI1 # 362

National Enquirer is reporting in their new issue, dated Feb 4th:
National Enquirer Feb. 4, 2003 Highlights by John South

1. Police are investagating reports of a bizarre secret life of reckless spending and multiple girlfriends, including one of his wife's best friends.

2. A source close to the case has dropped a new bombshell, Scott has been calling the girlfriend since Laci's disappearence telling her he was in Europe. She is described as a tall blonde in her late twenties.( no pictures)

3.The girlfriend was so angry with Scott that she agreed to tape Scott's phone calls.

4. Laci's father Dennis Rocha was the only family member to suspect Scott from the beginning. Telling a friend "I know in my heart he had something to do with my daughter's disappearence." Laci's dad never trusted Scott and thought he was a skirt chaser.

5. Two years ago the couple filed for Bankruptcy. Since then they have run up new bills as high as $100,000, including a $25,000 membership Scott bought at the town's most exclusive golf club.

6. Laci was convicted of felony assult as a juvenile. Laci, coldcocked another girl in a fight over a boy. The girl needed medical attention.

7. After cops briefed Laci's family last week about the girlfriend, Laci's familly turned against Scott, he was shocked that they told him to leave the volunteer center. Scott thought they would continue to support him.
130 posted on 01/23/2003 1:03:36 PM PST by Rusty Roberts
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To: Rusty Roberts
Scott has been calling the girlfriend since Laci's disappearence telling her he was in Europe. She is described as a tall blonde in her late twenties.( no pictures)

You gotta be kidding. This has to come off of a "blonde joke" email.

131 posted on 01/23/2003 1:08:23 PM PST by iconoclast
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
Since there have been no arrests, I'm sure it must be someone in the family wanting to get something out of the house, some sentimental item, probably.
132 posted on 01/23/2003 1:08:33 PM PST by wimpycat (Down with Kooks and Kookery!)
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
I keep thinking about the grief that is trying to be suppressed with pills. Even if he had sleeping pills at night, would he look rested?

I don't know, kim. I've heard that you get sleep, but not enough of the right kind of sleep. But I don't know.

She said she had seen the guy shortly after it happened, and his face was grotesquely distorted with grief and he couldn't talk, he just made a sound like a dying moose, with big heaving sobs -- with snot and saliva spewing from his face. She cried pretty hard when she told me about that, the evening it happened. She said it was a heartbreaking thing to see.

A few days later he was a happy-go-lucky guy, strolling through the mall, chatting and grinning.

133 posted on 01/23/2003 1:09:11 PM PST by Yeti
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To: Rusty Roberts
Please just leave this crap on the other website.
134 posted on 01/23/2003 1:10:26 PM PST by iconoclast
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To: Rusty Roberts; spectre; BossLady
See post 130
135 posted on 01/23/2003 1:11:00 PM PST by vikingchick
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To: Rusty Roberts
Two years ago the couple filed for Bankruptcy. Since then they have run up new bills as high as $100,000, including a $25,000 membership Scott bought at the town's most exclusive golf club.

Money problems. Ambitious, living way beyond their means, wanting to rub shoulders with rich people.

136 posted on 01/23/2003 1:14:11 PM PST by wimpycat (Down with Kooks and Kookery!)
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To: iconoclast
The couples money problems and numerous refinancings have been verified on other forums even as to lenders names. The NE information save and except for the blonde appears to support most of the info already released.
137 posted on 01/23/2003 1:20:26 PM PST by iaf97
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To: Rusty Roberts
A source close to the case has dropped a new bombshell, Scott has been calling the girlfriend since Laci's disappearence telling her he was in Europe. She is described as a tall blonde in her late twenties.( no pictures)

If that's true, then I would seriously question whether or not SP has the brains to pull of a homicide and get away with it. He sounds like one arrogant SOB or a con man. Calling the GF after she had seen his friggin' picture all over the airwaves and saying he was in Europe?? Unbelievable!

I'm bewildered by these SP types that are serial cheaters with two or three different women on the line at all times in addition to their wives. How do they get away with it?!? How can they not freak out every time they go out somewhere hoping they won't run into a GF??? I just cannot get a grasp of how these guys do it, and I know one or two that do it all the time. I guess I'm just not wired that way.

138 posted on 01/23/2003 1:22:05 PM PST by Space Wrangler
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To: Rusty Roberts
Laci was convicted of felony assult as a juvenile. Laci, coldcocked another girl in a fight over a boy. The girl needed medical attention.

LOL, I can see it!


Dynamite comes in small packages.

139 posted on 01/23/2003 1:22:55 PM PST by Yeti
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To: wimpycat
including a $25,000 membership Scott bought at the town's most exclusive golf club.

Golf club/Country Club, same differance. And living beyond their means? Definately, although alot of people in Modesto have that shallow-type, I AM SOMEONE atitude. Especially when they are desperately trying to "keep up with the Jones(sp)."

140 posted on 01/23/2003 1:29:42 PM PST by alexandria ("That which does not kill me makes me stronger")
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