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Stanislaus County Superior Court judge seals Laci Peterson autopsy
The San Jose Mercury News ^ | May 15, 2003

Posted on 05/16/2003 6:16:00 AM PDT by runningbear

Stanislaus County Superior Court judge seals Laci Peterson autopsy

Posted on Thu, May. 15, 2003

Stanislaus County Superior Court judge seals Laci Peterson autopsy

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - The autopsies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son were completed by the Contra Costa County coroner and sealed Thursday by a judge in Stanislaus County Superior Court, prosecutors said.

The autopsies were completed sooner than expected, but it wasn't clear if a cause of death had been determined in the homicides. Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the Contra Costa sheriff would not comment, but has said in the past that the cause of death may never be known.

Scott Peterson, 30, is being held without bail on two counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted. He has pleaded innocent.

He was arrested last month after the decomposed remains of his wife and the son they planned to name Conner were found on the shore of San Francisco Bay in Richmond near where Peterson told police he went fishing on Christmas Eve, the day he reported his wife missing.

Police have not revealed how they believe Laci Peterson, a 27-year-old substitute teacher, was killed or any of the evidence they compiled against her husband, a fertilizer salesman.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers asked to seal the autopsy and Judge Al Girolami agreed. The autopsy report could be unsealed at a May 27 hearing in which news organizations are seeking the release of other court documents, including search warrants and police reports.

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Click this site for an image of remains, from www.voodooscott.com


image link

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KILLER 'CARVED' LACI'

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PETERSON May face death

KILLER 'CARVED' LACI'

By HOWARD BREUER and ANDY GELLER --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 16, 2003 -- Laci Peterson was savagely carved up, her killer cutting off her head and removing internal body parts, a chilling new report said yesterday. Fox News quoted a source on the legal team of her husband, Scott, as saying the condition of Laci's body was "horrendous" - "awful, awful, awful."

The source - who saw documents revealing the condition of the body - said the 27-year-old Modesto, Calif., woman "was carved up" - and "the head is not the only part that is missing."

Asked if the damage to the body could have been caused by it being underwater for three months, the source said, "No . . . there are internal parts missing."

John Goold, the chief investigator in the infamous case, declined to comment on the report.

"We want to protect the integrity of the investigation," he said.

Mark Geragos, Scott Peterson's lawyer, did not return calls.

The remains of Laci, a substitute teacher, and her unborn son, Conner, washed up from San Francisco Bay around April 14.

Scott, who reported her missing on Christmas Eve, was arrested days later in San Diego. He pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder, for which prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.

The coroner's office in Contra Costa County completed the autopsies of Laci and Conner yesterday, but the results were immediately sealed by Judge Al Girolami in Stanislaus County, which includes Modesto.

Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the coroner's office, said the autopsy reports would be turned over to the Stanislaus district attorney's office in the next few days.

Goold, chief deputy district attorney in Stanislaus, said he would send the reports to defense attorneys. Asked if medical examiners had gotten answers to the main questions in the case, Lee said, "In a very general sense, the answer is yes."

Police sources believe Scott, who was having an affair, killed Laci in their home the night of Dec. 23 and weighed down her body with concrete anchors before tossing it into the waters of the bay.

The defense source conceded Scott could have inflicted the unspeakable damage on his wife's body, but questioned where and how.

"With the exception of a single hair that may be Laci's, found on that pair of needle-nose pliers found in Scott's boat, there's nothing forensically to link Scott to this crime," the source asserted.

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Defense claims 'credible' suspects

Article Last Updated: Friday, May 16, 2003 - 3:57:14 AM PST

Defense claims 'credible' suspects

Peterson's attorneys refuse to name names; Laci's autopsy complete

By FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Defense attorneys for murder suspect Scott Peterson are stay-ing tight-lipped in a number of new developments in the case of his dead wife.

The attorneys say they have identified one or more "credible suspects," but will not say who the suspects are. They also will not reveal what the defense theory is regarding the disappearance of Laci Peterson.

The autopsies of the 27-year-old Modesto woman and her unborn son were completed Thursday morning by the Contra Costa County coroner and reports were sealed by a judge in Stanislaus County Su-

perior Court, prosecutors said.

The autopsies were complet-ed sooner than expected, but it wasn't clear if a cause of death had been determined in the homicides.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers asked to seal the autopsy report and Judge Al Girolami agreed. The report could be unsealed at a May 27 hearing in which news organizations are seeking the release of other court documents, including search warrants and police reports.

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Autopsies on Laci Peterson and Baby Ordered Sealed

Autopsies on Laci Peterson and Baby Ordered Sealed

Thu May 15, 2003 05:14 PM ET

By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Coroner's officials completed autopsies on the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son on Thursday but immediately sealed the results under a court order sought by prosecutors and lawyers for accused killer Scott Peterson.

Both sides agreed to the order "in order to protect the integrity of the case, the defendant's right to a fair trial and avoid undue media exposure, Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazelton said in a statement.

The order was apparently signed on Thursday by Superior Court Judge Al Girolami, who is presiding over Scott Peterson's trial on double murder charges and who has also sealed other key documents in the sensational case.

A spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, which handled the autopsies, said that they would comply with the order and that the remains of Laci and her unborn son were being kept there until further order from the court.

Officials declined to comment on a report by the Fox News Channel that coroner's officials had been unable to determine a cause of death for Laci, whose body washed out of San Francisco Bay last month.

Fox, in a story posted on its Web site (http://www.foxnews.com) said an unnamed defense source had told the network that Laci's body had been "carved up" and was missing the head and other body parts. The source said the extensive injuries could not have been caused by being underwater for three months.

Mark Geragos, Scott Peterson's lead defense attorney, could not be reached for comment.

Police arrested Peterson last month and prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty against the 30-year-old fertilizer salesman.

Authorities have released little of the evidence they have against Peterson, who has pleaded innocent to two counts of first-degree murder. Peterson, who is being held without bail, said he last saw his 27-year-old pregnant wife on Christmas Eve as he left to go fishing.

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Peterson Case, Similar Crimes, Build Momentum for Protection of Unborn

Peterson Case, Similar Crimes, Build Momentum for Protection of Unborn

By Steve Brown
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
May 16, 2003

(CNSNews.com) - With a high-profile murder case providing momentum, pro-life activists are mounting an aggressive campaign to persuade Congress to pass the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
Please don't tell me that my dead son was not a real crime victim!

In addition to citing the Laci and Conner Peterson murders, the National Right to Life Committee's ad campaign uses the photo of a mother at a funeral cradling the dead body of her son who had died in the womb when the mother was beaten.

According to the mother in the photo, Tracy Marciniak, law enforcement authorities in Milwaukee, Wis., told her, "Nobody died in the attack." Marciniak's testimony is included in the print ad, which began running May 14.

"When I was hospitalized and grieving for my dead baby, law enforcement authorities told my family that they could charge the man who attacked only with assault," Marciniak stated in the ad. "I was devastated."

Marciniak's husband attacked her in Milwaukee in 1992, when her son, Zachariah, was four days away from his birth due date. The husband, Glendale Black, was convicted of beating his wife, but there was no law to punish him for the death of his unborn son.

In 1998, Wisconsin lawmakers approved legislation treating such instances as two crimes - not one.

"Thank God California has such a law," Marciniak said. "That's why prosecutors were able to file a double homicide charge in the brutal murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner. They didn't have to tell surviving family members that legally, Conner had never lived and never died."

The recent revelations in the Laci Peterson case have bolstered interest and support for federal legislation to deal with violence committed against unborn children. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act is awaiting action in both the House and Senate. In the House, the bill has been renamed "Laci and Conner's Law" in honor of Peterson and her unborn son. Peterson's husband, Scott, is charged in the crimes.

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Pondering the Laci phenomena

Posted on Fri, May. 16, 2003

BILL MANN: MEDIA NOTES
Pondering the Laci phenomena

YOU'VE PROBABLY wondered the same thing: Why has the Laci Peterson story gotten so much TV coverage? At times, it's been more than excessive -- e.g., one local TV station recently ran a pointless live shot of Scott Peterson, husband and accused murderer, in a rooftop jail exercise yard.

KGO-TV anchor Pete Wilson claimed on his radio chat show the other day he'd been petitioning Channel 7 news management to back off the Peterson coverage a bit, saying, "unsuccessfully, I might add."

This does seem like classic media overkill -- even though I'm not part of the horde that blames an amorphous entity called "the media" for many of the evils in society. It's obvious from talking to local TV news people that there is, in actual fact, a high level of public interest in the story of the murdered Modesto housewife.

One Alameda reader, Gloria A., e-mails: "Laci was pretty and cute and she lived in a nice house in a good neighborhood. It's a reality show in the truest sense." Gloria adds: "Sure, I'm interested in the story, but certainly not to the degree it's been played on TV." And then something you can't totally dismiss: "I have to wonder that if Laci had been plain-looking or if she'd been black, would this story have been half as big?"

Almost certainly not. TV likes pretty people (no big surprise there). As for the other part, one African-American TV newsman told me, "That's probably part of it, but that still doesn't fully explain why the story's so big."

One local TV news exec who asked to remain anonymous said, "Like Wilson, I've said in our news meetings the story shouldn't get this much play. I know that we don't play it as big on my newscast as the station does on others."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Another APB alert:


Sketch of suspect

Police Seek Man For Questioning In Trail Killing
2 Witnesses Saw A Man In The Area Of Trail Murder, Police Say

Police Seek Man For Questioning In Trail Killing
2 Witnesses Saw A Man In The Area Of Trail Murder, Police Say

POSTED: 4:18 p.m. PDT May 15, 2003
UPDATED: 5:47 p.m. PDT May 15, 2003

CONCORD -- Police have released the description of a man they want to question in connection with the killing of a 49-year-old Antioch woman who was beaten to death on a trail near her workplace in Concord on Tuesday.

Two separate witness accounts led police to prepare a sketch and description of a white man they say was in the area when Kathleen Aiello-Loreck was on her noontime stroll on a popular walking trail.

Sgt. Stephen Price said that the man hasn't been named a suspect, but police think he may have seen something that could prove valuable to the investigation.

At a 2 p.m. news conference police described the man as a 25 to 40-year-old white male between 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, weighing between 180 and 200 pounds with a medium build and a pronounced belly. He is said to be clean-shaven with brown, medium length hair and was wearing brown Docker-style khakis, a light-colored Polo or T-shirt with a dark-colored zip-up sweatshirt. He was also wearing dark brown sunglasses.

Aiello-Loreck, a mother of three, never returned to the offices of Systron Donner Inertial Division from a walk along the Contra Costa Canal, between Cowell and Tioga roads.

She was found near the path with fatal injuries to her head. Medical personnel pronounced her dead at an area hospital shortly before 5 p.m., police said.

Price Thursday described the killing is an isolated incident. "We still see Concord as a safe city," he said. "We don't think there's any reason to be alarmed."

He added that it remains unclear whether the attacker was lying in wait or if Aiello-Loreck was a random target.

At the time of the attack, Aiello-Loreck was on a cell phone call with a man police have not yet identified. Price said they have made contact with the man and that he is cooperating with the investigation.

Tuesday's was the second murder in Concord this year, according to the Police Department. Price said there was no evidence that Aiello-Loreck was sexually assaulted.

Video clip

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


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: avoidingchildsupport; baby; babyunborn; conner; deathpenaltytime; dontubelievemyalibi; getarope; ibefishing; laci; lacipeterson; smallbaby; smallchild; sonkiller; unborn; wifekiller
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Comment #721 Removed by Moderator

To: Devil_Anse
Sounds like a perfect description of atheism, that you made there!

That and anti-Godism! : )

722 posted on 05/17/2003 10:04:37 AM PDT by nicmarlo
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To: Devil_Anse
Good post and good points!

ty, Devil_Anse.

723 posted on 05/17/2003 10:06:14 AM PDT by nicmarlo
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To: Devil_Anse; oceanperch; Wheat; Allyoop; Jackie-O; Yeti; All
You did a good job driving the limo last night, especially when you deftly kept from backing into that piling!

Yes, but that was BEFORE she ran off the moat drawbridge when zooming away from the island! I must tell you that the Sandlapper was quite cross with me this a.m. Said, "SANDY, WHO WERE THOSE PEOPLE? THE WHOLE ISLAND IS A WRECK! WE'RE RUINED"!

Guess I don't have to tell you that we need another location next week for the party. But it was great fun!

724 posted on 05/17/2003 10:24:09 AM PDT by Sandylapper (P.S. Yeti had taken all the lobster to shrimp to the SCOM room!)
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To: Jackie-O
I LOVE good falafel with tahini and fatoush(sp?)!

You sound like a good catch, for the guy who can. I've been saying for years I want a woman who can out-cook me.

725 posted on 05/17/2003 12:16:55 PM PDT by Yeti
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To: Wheat; allyoop77; not-an-ostrich; Jackie-O
Chicken and dumplings ARE fine alone; however, nowadays you should add a veggie. NOT cauliflower. (I always grumble when served an all-tan meal.) Zucchini or asparagus, yes.

2. Bisquick MUST make the best biscuits.

I got bisquick. I was at the rural IGA and it was the only brand they had. For veggies I got some corn on the cob, and in case I got lazy picked up some frozen mixed veggies and I have others like green beans frozen. The only recipe I found for chicken and dumplings had carrots and celery in it, so I got those. The produce section is not very good there -- eg. no fresh spinach, the zucchini didn't look too good.

I plan to make it monday, since today the youngin' will not be around, and tomorrow we are going out with my sister's family and my dad.

726 posted on 05/17/2003 12:27:10 PM PDT by Yeti
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To: allyoop77
OKRA!

Even here in the South, okra is a very controversial veggie. Some people love it, others like it okay, but only fried or in gumbo, and still others despise it. I don't care for it. I am one of the ones that only eats it fried or in gumbo, and even then I don't really care for it.

727 posted on 05/17/2003 12:32:00 PM PDT by Yeti
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To: Yeti
No! No! No! No carrots and celery in with chicken and dumplings. Look on the SIDE of the box for the recipe. Just follow the timing of lid on and off and you can't go wrong.

Any questions, I can ask my husband, he's the cook around here.

728 posted on 05/17/2003 12:43:19 PM PDT by I. Ben Hurt (I, too, hate tag lines)
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To: allyoop77
AND where does sugar fall ;)

Based on my experience, I would say: on the floor in front of the coffee pot.

729 posted on 05/17/2003 12:43:55 PM PDT by Yeti
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To: I. Ben Hurt
My box does not have a recipe for chicken and dumplings, I just checked. It has easy chicken pot pie, strawberry shortcakes, velvet crumb cake, Impossible Cheeseburger Pie and oven-baked chicken(where bisquick is the coating).

I am going with the Better Homes cookbook recipe.

730 posted on 05/17/2003 12:55:37 PM PDT by Yeti
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To: Yeti
We buy the BIG size box of Bisquick. It has lots of recipes on it. Does just say "Dumplings" not chicken and dumplings. Here's what it says:

DUMPLINGS

Prep time: 2 min - Cook time: 20 min

2 cups Original Bisquick - 2/3 cup milk

STIR ingredients until soft dough forms

DROP by spoonfuls onto boiling broth, reduce heat

COOK uncovered 10 min. COVER and cook 10 min. 10 dumplings.

The Better Homes cookbook has good recipes. Let us know how your dumplings turn out.

731 posted on 05/17/2003 1:12:04 PM PDT by I. Ben Hurt (I, too, hate tag lines)
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To: STOCKHRSE
Just one thing Ray, we don't have any evidence yet ;-)
so, at this point, all we have now is how backdoor both have gone with leaks as to "sources", and the deck is stacking up higher on the defense side currently.

Scott has done a very decent job at stacking the deck for the police/DA ,imo. Of course, there was no need for the sack with viagra notation to be carried out of the house visible to the press during the search, that was definitely a leak. Scott had to be pi$$ing them off that day, not to mention previous days, weeks, months.

When I hear a reporter say "sources close to the...tell me", I'll listen, but with a 50-75% factor of skepticism until official sources confirm.

I'm really going to love to see those reporters get it when and if their conversations are released that were tapped. They must be mortified. Just think how kissa$$ they were, trying to get an exclusive with Scott. Talk about performance anxiety,lol. Ted Rowlands just seems to have landed his job for face time, as he is a few cards short of a full deck, again, imo. He gets that deer caught in the headlights look when asked questions on LKL, especially if it’s by Nancy or one of the lawyers.
732 posted on 05/17/2003 1:19:33 PM PDT by Rusty Roberts (now I'm realling going back to the cave!)
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To: Devil_Anse
I love rutabaga! My mom always makes it on Thanksgiving!
733 posted on 05/17/2003 1:19:43 PM PDT by Jackie-O (Newbie still learning every day!)
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To: I. Ben Hurt; Yeti
You know what else is good is when you snip some fresh chives or herbs in the bisquick mix...
734 posted on 05/17/2003 1:22:15 PM PDT by Jackie-O (Dumplings made this was are great on beef stew!)
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To: I. Ben Hurt
Thanks I. Ben...

Bookmarking for use monday evening...

You're right, I bought the small box. Better Homes does have lots of good recipes, especially for homestyle things. Better Homes has chicken and dumplings, but the refers you to another recipe for the dumplings. I might end up making them from scratch, we'll see...

735 posted on 05/17/2003 1:25:27 PM PDT by Yeti
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To: Jackie-O; I. Ben Hurt
I can't get my chives to grow right. They were fine for several years, then kittens destroyed them . Now I can't get either them or basil to grow right. Out of a whole pack of seeds EACH I got a few sprouts that withered. Think they peed in the barrel. I was looking around the IGA today for some seeds, but I didn't see any.

The recipe calls for herbs in with the chicken. I will just use prefabbed poultry seasoning(as recommended by the cookbook, other choices: dried thyme or sage, I have both in the yard, but not dried). Tastes good to me, heavy on the rubbed sage, I usually use it when I roast chicken. I want to do it by the book one time before I start imrovising.

Looking at the recipe for "dumplings for stew" to which it directs me...p 378...

It says use herbs, but the chicken and dumplings recipe says to omit them.

Oh well, I need a nap now...

See y'all later : ) ...

736 posted on 05/17/2003 1:41:43 PM PDT by Yeti
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To: STOCKHRSE
Ray, I'll gladly stand corrected and like to read any article that shows a long standing friendship from childhood, I have yet to read any. He's young enough to still have bonds to those he grew up with, went to school with. I would be interested to hear he's had a friend for 15 years.

We have heard and seen multiple friends of Laci's from the age of 4, not so of Scott. The members of his High School golf team specifically talked about his being a loner, it was the coach that praised him. It is always the adults that have praised Scott, in the articles I read.

So again, would be happy to read of a long standing friendship. The Best Man and Maid of Honor at their wedding, my understanding, were Laci's friends originally, who became Scott's. That's what made me wonder about no longstanding best friend.

Scott appears to make quick acquaintance frienships, it's the longterm, commitment ones that learn the real you that I question: where are they?
737 posted on 05/17/2003 1:42:21 PM PDT by Rusty Roberts (RB and RG have memories like elephants, thankfully for those of us who read but post infrequently)
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To: Devil_Anse; allyoop77; runningbear; nicmarlo; Jackie-O; Canadian Outrage
Runningbear posted some links on another thread (having time on my hands, curiosity, and questions that I posed last night) I did a little research into Scott's childhood/family history and while doing so ran across a link to sociopaths. Thought you might all find it a tad interesting.

Very surprising is that Snott is the only child born to the union of both Lee and Jackie Peterson. Jackie put her first (and possibly second) child up for adoption and Lee has a bunch of kids prior to marrying Jackie. www.findlaci2003.us/peterson-tree.html (sorry don't know how to do the direct link)

After reading that, then go to www.findlaci2003.us/sociopath.html and read the character traits of a sociopath. It has been obvious from the beginning that Snott is the "Golden Boy" in the Peterson family - now we really know why and how that has affected him, presumably.

Let me know what you all think.

738 posted on 05/17/2003 2:00:27 PM PDT by WellsFargo94
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To: Devil_Anse
good one DA,lol
739 posted on 05/17/2003 4:17:08 PM PDT by Rusty Roberts (RB and RG have memories like elephants, thankfully for those of us who read but post infrequently)
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To: WellsFargo94
Thanks for the cites!

I was going to go to the sociopath one, but I ended up at a pop-up, "metrodate", lol! I'll try again in a minute.

As for the family tree, some of this info was on court tv's site. It is very interesting. Someone from there or somewhere had really done some extensive research on the family. Yes, I remember that Jackie had at least one, maybe two, children pretty much before she was even of the age of majority, and she gave one up for adoption, maybe gave 2 up. One of these is surely the guy Don Chapman, a man who has been on TV, introduced as Scott's brother. He is in Pennsylvania. He got up there to defend Scott. There are other brothers, and I think there is a sister or two.

Frankly, it surprises me that Scott isn't the pampered baby brother of a family of older sisters. I've certainly seen that type! Talk about, "golden boy"!!

I am very tempted to make some harsh comments about what I think Jackie has done with her life ever since her teens, but since I don't know her personally and might have to make too many assumptions to do so, I won't. But I just feel as though I could write her life story w/o even being told it, b/c I feel sure that I have seen other women who followed the same patterns and after a while they become predictable. But this is still speculation and generalization, I must admit.

I can see why people are calling Scott a sociopath/psychopath, but I am still having a little bit of trouble with that. From what I have seen, sociopaths are almost invariably CHARMING, and frankly, Scott looks very un-charming! This is where Hervey Cleckley's book, "The Mask of Sanity", has been such a great source of understanding for me. You've just GOT to look for it! I think there are excerpts of it online!

I thought I had a good working knowledge of what a sociopath/psychopath is, but that book opened my eyes to some common misconceptions about these people. It is very informative and I couldn't put it down.
740 posted on 05/17/2003 4:32:40 PM PDT by Devil_Anse
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