Coroner's office remove a body found at Point Isabel Regional Park in Richmond Monday afternoon. Officials announced Tuesday that more analysis of the remains will be needed.
Posted on 04/16/2003 5:34:33 AM PDT by runningbear
Coroner: More testing and analysis needed
Coroner's office remove a body found at Point Isabel Regional Park in Richmond Monday afternoon. Officials announced Tuesday that more analysis of the remains will be needed.
AP Photo
Coroner: More testing and analysis needed
Bee Staff Reports
Published: April 15, 2003, 02:05:22 PM PDT
A man walking a dog by the Berkeley Marina Monday found a bone that may be connected to two bodies found in the area, Contra Costa County coroner's officials said in a press conference Tuesday morning.
Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department, said that investigators had not determined any connection between the bodies - one of an adult woman, the other of a baby boy - to the Modesto Police Department's Laci Peterson case.
Lee said that the coroner's office late Monday finished an autopsy on the body of an adult woman found that afternoon near Point Isabel Regional Shoreline, a few miles from the Berkeley Marina. "There is no obvious cause of death," Lee said. "We need to do more testing and analysis."
Officials also had not determined a cause of death for the baby boy, whose body was found Sunday, nor had they determined if the two bodies were connected, Lee said.
Peterson, 27, was eight months pregnant when she was reported missing Dec. 24. Her husband, Scott, told police he went fishing at the Berkeley Marina that day and could not find his wife when he returned to their Covena Avenue home.
Early today, Oakland Police contacted the sheriff's department about a bone found in the area Monday afternoon.
"(An Oakland) resident walking his dog in area of Berkeley Marina found the bone about 2:30 p.m." Lee said. The man took the bone home, then called police.
DNA tests on bodies could take time
Excerpted
DNA tests on bodies could take time
Authorities looking into possible Laci Peterson link may need weeks to identify victims.
Bee News Services
(Published Wednesday, April 16, 2003, 4:35 AM)
Jimmy Lee says the identification process on the two bodies could take days or even weeks.
Anxiety and anticipation returned to Modesto on Tuesday, as family members and residents waited for word on whether the bodies of a woman and a baby boy found 90 miles away in San Francisco Bay were those of a pregnant Laci Peterson and the son she was carrying when she disappeared on Christmas Eve.
"These past 31/2 months have been a constant nightmare for us," her family said in a written statement.
"This waiting is the worst."
Modesto police said they could not reveal any information while authorities in Contra Costa County, where the body was found, perform DNA tests. It could be days or even weeks before the corpses are identified.
"Analysis is a very time-consuming process," said Jimmy Lee, spokesman for the Contra Costa County sheriff. "At best, we can get answers within several days; at worst, it might take several weeks or even longer."
"We're still trying to find out the identity of the body, and ... whether or not there's any relationship between the adult female and the baby male," Lee said. "There is no obvious cause of death."
Officials will be working from samples culled from the body of the woman that a source told the Contra Costa Times was missing part of the left leg, right arm, foot and head. Forensics experts said the head usually is the first part to become detached from a decomposing body.
The mostly skeletal remains were described as being from a 5-foot, 3-inch to 5-foot, 4-inch female, according to the source.
Peterson was 5-feet, 1-inch and eight months pregnant.
Sources say the undergarments found on the woman were those of an expectant mother. The bra and panties bore the brand labels of maternity wear, one of those sources said.
On Monday, the forensic pathologist took X-rays of the remains, did an external exam and removed and preserved any clothing on the body. Then the autopsy began, lasting for about four hours. Lee refused to comment on the condition of the woman's body and on how the body was dressed.
He said that as part of the investigation, officials have contacted an "eluviation" expert -- someone who studies how water affects corpses.
"That person will analyze the body and should be able to tell us roughly how long that body's been in the water," Lee said.
Examiners at the California Attorney General's DNA Lab in Richmond began comparing tissue samples taken from the bodies of the woman and the baby with genetic materials linked to the missing Modesto woman, a lab spokesman said.
The discoveries of the bodies Sunday and Monday by people walking dogs on the shore in Richmond and at Point Isabel less than two miles south is the latest possible development in a case that has consumed hundreds of hours and spanned much of the state.
Officials testing to determine if corpse is Laci Peterson, missing since Dec. 24
Jimmy Lee
MARTINEZ, Calif. — An autopsy on the body of a woman that washed ashore found no obvious cause of death, the sheriff’s department said Tuesday, and further testing is required to determine if it is that of Laci Peterson.
Contra Costa County sheriff’s spokesman Jimmy Lee said it could take days or even weeks before experts determine the identities of the woman whose body was found Monday and of an infant found Sunday.
Peterson, who was 27 when she vanished in her hometown of Modesto, was eight months pregnant and had been due to give birth to a boy in February.
‘‘We’re still trying to find out the identity of the body, and ... whether or not there’s any relationship between the adult female and the baby male,’’ Contra Costa County sheriffs’ spokesman Jimmy Lee said. ‘‘There is no obvious cause of death.’’
On Monday, the forensic pathologist took X-rays of the remains, did an external exam and removed and preserved any clothing on the body. Then the autopsy began, lasting for about four hours. Lee refused to comment on the condition of the woman’s body and on how the body was dressed.
He said that as part of the investigation, officials have contacted an ‘‘eluviation’’ expert — someone who studies how water affects corpses.
‘‘That person will analyze the body and should be able to tell us roughly how long that body’s been in the water,’’ Lee said.
Police in Modesto, who have been searching for Peterson for months, had been called in after the bodies were found.
‘‘All it is at this point is they had a body wash up,’’ said Modesto Sgt. Ron Cloward, who has headed the search. ‘‘We have no indication at this point that it has anything to do with Laci.’’
Peterson’s husband, Scott Peterson, told police he last saw his wife the morning of Dec. 24 as she went out to walk the dog. He said he then went fishing at the Berkeley Marina, about three miles south of where the woman’s body was found in Richmond by a woman walking her dog in a park.
The baby’s body had surfaced about a mile away Sunday with his umbilical cord still attached. Authorities were also studying a bone found near the Berkeley Marina on Monday but had yet to figure out if it was human or animal.
Peterson’s husband has been questioned about her disappearance but never named as a suspect. He admitted in January that he had an affair with another woman last year but denied
excerpted
Police Test to See if Body Is Laci Peterson's
Excerpted
"The discovery of the woman's remains came one day after a passerby spotted a tiny body near the Richmond Marina, about a mile to the north. Police identified it as a "full-term" fetus.
The infant was so decomposed that it took an autopsy to determine that it was a boy.
The cause of death was unknown late Monday, and it remains unclear whether the baby had been delivered, said Richmond Police Sgt. Enos Johnson.
At a news conference late Monday, Johnson said there could be a link between the two bodies "because of their close proximity, the time they were found and the fact that they had both been in the water — they're both decomposed."
Laci ordeal remains far from over Investigators await DNA tests
EXCERPTED
An 11-year-old Oakland boy and his family reported to Oakland police Tuesday morning that they found what appeared to be a human forearm bone about three miles south of the Richmond shoreline.
Hours later, a black tarp washed up in the same area where the woman's body was found, prompting police to rush to the scene once again to collect the tarp as evidence.
"We searched that area carefully, using dogs, on Monday and that tarp wasn't there. It apparently washed up overnight," said Norman Lapera, police chief for the East Bay Regional Park District, which has jurisdiction on that stretch of shoreline.
Lapera said he did not know if the tarp was connected to the case, but said it has been turned over to the Contra Costa County crime lab.
As police collected evidence, the bodies of the woman and the baby -- described as a "full-term male baby" -- were transferred Tuesday to the state Department of Justice Richmond DNA Laboratory after an autopsy on Monday failed to produce their identities or a cause of death.
Crime lab officials said DNA identification tests could take up to several weeks.
AND FROM SAN DIEGO
Peterson Family In San Diego Awaits Word On Bodies
Petersons Say They Are Relying On Their Faith
yello ribbons on fence
Peterson Family In San Diego Awaits Word On Bodies
Petersons Say They Are Relying On Their Faith
POSTED: 7:00 p.m. PDT April 15, 2003
UPDATED: 7:17 p.m. PDT April 15, 2003
SAN DIEGO -- In Clairemont, family members of Scott and Laci Peterson are not commenting until they hear definitive word about Laci Peterson's disappearance.
Coroners are working to identify the bodies of a woman and a fetus found on a Northern California beach during the past few days. Investigators from the Laci Peterson case have been called in to the investigation.
Though family members would not comment directly, they did say that they were worried they may be waiting for news that no family member wants to hear.
In the Solana Beach area, Scott's parents said that their son Scott, a San Diego native, is not with them.
Scott has never officially been named as a suspect in the case but he has been questioned repeatedly, and on Tuesday, police said that they did not know where he was.
Neighbors of his parents said that they have not seen Scott, either, and that they, too, are anxiously awaiting news about Laci Peterson.
"I'm waiting to see what the detectives working on the case reveal," said neighbor Karen Schmidt. "It does bring some sort of closure if it is her. And then the question is: 'What happened to her?' "
On Tuesday, there were ribbons outside the family's home in Clairemont, a reminder of Laci's disappearance. The family said that they were relying on their faith in what are, for them, very difficult times.
(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
there is lots of info from yesterday, and developing today. I have heard reports confirming ID on the bodies, but not yet in print, or it gets retracked. But all pending new developments......
Laci and Baby been found?
April 14th, 2003- Officials have cautioned that they do not have evidence linking two bodies found north of the marina in Richmond on Monday. Investigators looking into the disappearance of Laci and her baby were called in Monday after two bodies, one a newborn boy and the other a headless woman, were found along a beach in Northern California. The two bodies were found about 1 mile apart just north of the Richmond marina that police had been searching. The baby was found of Sunday and the woman on Monday. Authorities have said that the the baby's umbilical cord was still attached, and it appeared to have been dead for some time. The woman's body was badly decomposed and said to be wearing maternity clothes.
Compiled from published and broadcast
news stories and other reliable sources.
"An independent forensic pathologist examined the woman's body for four hours Monday night. Contra Costa officials said they have contacted an "eluviation" expert - someone who studies how water affects corpses - to determine roughly how long the bodies were in the water.
"At best, we can get answers within several days, at worst it might take several weeks or even longer," Lee said.
Peterson's family issued a statement Tuesday in which they described their ordeal as "a constant nightmare."
"These past three and a half months have been a constant nightmare for us," the family said. "This waiting is the worst."
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| eluviation |
| SYLLABICATION: | e·lu·vi·a·tion |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   -l  v -  sh n |
| NOUN: | The lateral or downward movement of dissolved or suspended material within soil when rainfall exceeds evaporation. |
| ETYMOLOGY: | eluvi(um) + –ation. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. | |
Not Mexico, I hope...
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