Posted on 03/04/2003 5:39:16 AM PST by runningbear
Scott Free: Scott Peterson didn't kill his wife, but he is full of bologna
Scott Free
Scott Peterson, managing editor March 03, 2003
Scott Peterson didn't kill his wife, but he is full of bologna
My wife walked into the room just in time to see the confession.
A breathless reporter was on camera, talking about the startling news. Under the picture of the reporter, the bulletin was printed in large letters on Fox News: A woman admitted that she had been having an affair with suspected murderer Scott Peterson.
As Ricky Ricardo used to say, I had some splainin' to do.
Fortunately, I had an alibi this time, so Nancy was not too worried. The woman I was accused of murdering was my wife. We only had to check Nancy's pulse and I was in the clear. (Because she fainted slightly due to the news, that took a little more work than we thought. But eventually my name was cleared.)
Having a common name has its blessings. It means people generally can read your lousy penmanship and you don't have to explain your spelling too much (Is that "on" or "en"?).
But it does mean you get a lot of strange calls from people thinking you are somebody you are not.
"Are you the same Scott Peterson who was a pilot?"
"Are you the Scott Peterson who had that bologna for sale in Chicago?"
"Did you used to work at the Journal in circulation?"
"Aren't you the guy who murdered his wife in California?"
No, no, no and (thought I'd fall for that last question, didn't you?) no.
I used to camp a lot as a Boy Scout and I can still remember the day my mother handed me a newspaper clipping about a boy named Scott Peterson who fell to his death while climbing at Devil's Lake State Park. It was eerie, because I had recently been there and this boy was almost exactly my age.
However, if you think you are unique, I urge you to do a Google search of your name, and you quickly find out how ordinary you really are. There is somebody out there named Scott Peterson who sells cars. I have my own logo stuck on the bumpers of cars in South Dakota.
According to Google, I am also an English professor in Maine, I designed a phlebotomy cart, I am a freestyle swimmer at the University of Massachusetts, I wrote a vegetarian cookbook, I am a reporter in Iraq for the Christian Science Monitor, and I probably murdered my wife, Laci. (Now, I ask you, would I have had time to murder my wife while I was doing all this? You can ask my wife, Nancy. She can tell you I don't have any time to walk the dog, much less do the other things mentioned in the 688,000 things Google found with my name on them.)
I am not alone. My son, Kyle Peterson, when he still had hopes of being a big-leaguer, looked at me wide-eyed one day when I told him the Milwaukee Brewers had just picked up a pitcher named Kyle Peterson.
With a curious blend of hope and fear in his face, the little tyke said, half questioning, "That's not me?"
EXCERPTED LINK....
As for giving credit to Scott for having admitted the affair -- he did if after he was caught. Initially he lied about it. There might even be other girlfriends.
Wrong. When the police tell you anything you say can be used against you, they mean it. Remember, under our system, only guilt - not innocence - needs to be proved. Scott Peterson doesn't have to "prove his innocence" by talking. Instead, the presumption of innocence means that, if he didn't do it, he doesn't need to talk.
Says it all...
Don't know if anyone viewed MSNBC story, EXCERPTED:
Police continue to insist that their goal is to gather evidence and consider all possibilities. In fact, on the record, Scott is not a suspect.
What does Scott think?
Scott told Abrams, “I hope the police are doing everything they can to find Laci, and I trust that they are. I am missing my wife and my child. I can’t drive, I can’t sleep. Sometimes I feel I just can’t do it. I feel like I’m in a dark corner, and I just can’t function.” Abrams believes Scott sounds like a broken man – and no wonder considering all the pressure that Scott has been under from police, media and Laci’s family.
This week alone the hoopla was enormous. The entire street where Scott and Laci live was shut down and police tape was put around the house. According to one investigator, the police tape was an indication they are considering the house a crime scene – though this was not an official statement.
On Wednesday’s Abrams Report, forensic pathologist, Michael Baden, and former FBI profiler, Clint Van Zandt, joined Abrams. They commented on whether or not the search can be considered a criminal investigation.
According to Zandt, “It’s semantics here. Are they targeting Scott Peterson? This is a guy who continues to shoot himself in the foot and wonder why he’s bleeding. He’s got a relationship outside of marriage, now we’re tying Viagra into that. Who knows what that means, and who cares at this point? But we’ve got a guy who sells his wife’s vehicle, who supposedly is going to sell the house, takes out a life insurance policy, runs down to Mexico for work or whatever. He’s grown a mustache and he’s grown a beard. I’ve worked with the families of kidnapped victims for years and the one thing they do is always do is keep everything constant because when their loved one comes home they believe they want everything to be the same. This guy has changed everything. It’s like he’s closed the book and he’s moving on with his life. He says one thing, he does another ... and that’s what bothers me about him.”
According to Baden, “Certainly, one can’t eliminate Scott by going to his house. The only reason they’d be going to his house is not to eliminate him. There’s nothing they can find there that will exclude him, and I think that what they’re doing is trying to get as much information as they can. There may be some evidence that they have that she was injured in the house. They’ll be looking at all the traps, all the water, the bathtub.”
This second search may be driven by findings from the first search – though at this point what the police are doing is all speculation.
In the meantime, the families are struggling to come to terms with events.
Jackie Peterson, Scott’s mother, continues to stand behind Scott and told Abrams, “Scott is a victim in this. We’re talking about Laci’s family. It’s Scott Peterson, her husband, who is missing his wife and baby. And I think people need to start remembering that.”
However, Laci Peterson’s family, the Rochas, spoke with MSNBC’s “Donahue” on Feb. 11, and talked to “The Abrams Report” February 13th with a different take.
The first public signs of strain were evident when Sharon Rocha, Laci’s mother, told “Donahue” that she had questions about Scott the minute she heard that Laci had disappeared. Laci’s siblings, Brent Rocha and Amy Rocha, expressed the same apprehension of Scott.
Brent Rocha: “I don’t think he (Scott) is cooperating as fully as he could be. He’s not acting like a husband who’s missing his wife. He’s not working with the family — our family at least, in finding Laci. He has not been truthful or forthcoming; just numerous behaviors that just don’t add up for us.”
Scott’s actions and inactions have caused a rift between the families that appears to have started over the news that Scott had an affair prior to Laci’s disappearance. Scott eventually admitted to the affair and said that it had nothing to do with Laci’s Christmas Eve disappearance. The Rochas, however, are still struggling with the revelation.
The shocks continue. Only time will tell what the police have been able to find this week.
That's why I tell my kids to build their reputations for truth-telling, because one day it might really matter that people believe them. It is easy to see why people suspect a liar of telling other lies...like "what really happened" to his wife. And it is hard to sympathize with a man who cheats on his pregnant wife.
It appears his first concern was not getting caught.
My husband has a common name with an uncommon spelling. Unless someone knows us very well they probably don't know how we spell our last name. Just a few weeks ago a man was arrested in this area for several burgleries. Even though the name was spelled a little differently, it was still quite shocking to see the name flashed on the TV and in the newspaper. Thankfully the guy doesn't look anything like my husband and they usually showed the suspects picture with the name. Otherwise it could have made for a lot of explaining especially since my husband and I have master keys to hundreds of apartments.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.