Posted on 05/28/2003 1:14:59 AM PDT by kattracks
With as many as three girlfriends, multiple cell phones to stay in touch and a checking account hidden from his wife, Scott Peterson had a busy secret life, a source close to the double-murder investigation revealed.Investigators also have evidence that Peterson - accused of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, named Conner - made a "significant purchase" of items that could have been used to anchor a body, a second source familiar with the case said.
Investigators need to find the items to "connect all the dots," that source said.
The bodies of Laci and Conner washed ashore last month in San Francisco Bay, near where Scott Peterson, 30, had told cops he went fishing Christmas Eve. He reported his 27-year-old wife missing after returning that night.
Peterson, a fertilizer salesman, has proclaimed his innocence. His lawyer, Mark Geragos, has vowed to help him find the real killer.
Lawyer Gloria Allred, representing Peterson's admitted mistress, Amber Frey, urged any other girlfriends to step forward yesterday. Allred also met with prosecutors to discuss their plans to call Frey as a witness, possibly during a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 16.
Peterson, who is being held without bond, showed up in court yesterday aslawyers wrangled over an array of issues, from unsealing document towiretaps.
His bleach blond locks had been shorn to a near-buzz cut that was back to his original dark brown. He said nothing, appearing confident and sometimes flashing a smug grin as the legal eagles duked it out.
Judge Al Girolami heard arguments from California newspapers that want sealed documents - including search warrants and autopsy results - to be made public. He said he would rule this week.
Girolami also threatened to issue a gag order. "Every day we hear about something in the paper that we don't hear in court," he said. "I think we need a protective order."
The judge ordered prosecutors to give Peterson's camp copies of 69 phone conversations that law enforcement intercepted between the defendant and his lawyers in the months before his arrest.
Details of those conversations were disclosed Monday on Fox News Channel, which reported that Peterson told Frey in one conversation: "I know who did it, and I'll tell you later when I see you." That meeting never occurred.
Defense sources have raised the possibility that Laci Peterson was killed as part of a satanic ritual or by a strange man spotted in the neighborhood the day she disappeared.
After the court proceedings, Geragos said the defense team has received several helpful tips from the public that the police also are looking into.
"The big cases tend to bring out the big nuts," he conceded, "but a lot of information we have received has been very good."
Originally published on May 28, 2003
My apologies to Ms Frey for besmirching her character and to you for speaking out without your comprehensive, up-to-the-minute information on this case.
I consider myself chastened and rebuked.
I did use the word "apologies".
Was it too cryptic, or did I not grovel sufficiently?
I was really just laughing at my own waywardness.
No offence meant.
Indeed, and he wasn't fleeing to Mexico, either. With a PASSPORT, I am sure he was going to get on a plane in Mexico and fly somewhere else. He would have a cornucopia of countries that don't extradite for DP cases.
With malice aforethought is Murder One, right? And didn't we hear that he had purchased so many suspicious things soon before the 23rd, such as the secret boat, the cement, and the exercise weights??? That implies that there was no fight, nor did Laci have to have discovered ANYTHING that evening. He may have picked that night because who would ever suspect a loving husband of murder on Christmas Eve?
Here is another question for you all: Am I the only one scared to death that Geragos will find some loophole to get Scaughty off completely because of the taping of the client-attorney calls?? This scares me. What is the farthest Geragos can go with this? What if some (barely) priviledged communication WAS taped? Could Scaughty walk? I would rather die than see that Grinchy smirk on that guy, walking free.
Yep, and Geragos probably had an up close and personal look at it via his representation of good ol' Susan McDougall. They are all cut from the same cloth.
While it's tough to say just where a leak is coming from, the information in this article is either 1) - of a nature that the defense would be highly unlikely to leak, or 2) - unavailable to the defense at the present time. Defense hasn't heard the Scott / Amber tapes yet, and the judge just ruled that the prosecution has to hand over the Scott / attorney / PI tapes - ruling was silent on the others, I believe.
Some of the leaks may be coming from the Amber camp, info on the tapes for example, but that's bound to run counter to whatever agreement she's flanged up with the prosecution.
"They're making a mockery of the legal system, and you are here, cheering them on. "
A mockery of the system can be made by either side. The prosecution has been leaking info from day numero uno, mostly info that is highly unlikely to be admissable in court. One has to wonder just how experienced the MPD is with murder investigations - hopefully more than the Jon Benet keystone kops.
Bear in mind that >5 months after the crime, ~5 months after the police became aware of the Scott / Amber liason, and ~1 month after Scott's arrest, the prosecution says that the investigation is still ongoing. They arrested him because they thought he was a flight risk, but still are having difficulty coming up with more than circumstantial evidence, apparently. Why do I say that? Simple - if there was any more incriminating actual evidence, he'd have been arrested months ago.
Please don't mistake my posting facts or comments that make you uncomfortable with my 'cheering them on'. I'm doing nothing of the kind.
Like Mexico.....
Hmmm, good point. I wondered before why he needed it if he was just seeing AF on the side, but if he had THREE girlfriends, even a 30 y.o. guy might poop out after a while!
And while I'm thinking of it, how the heck did he afford all this extra activity on his salary? I think I read his salary was $60K a year, and he probably made more in commissions, but even if he was pulling in $100K a year, once taxes take a bite out of that, and after all the expenses he and Laci must have accrued, he was walking a tightrope financially.
Maybe this guy is just--what's the term for a guy nympho, a satyr? Maybe he couldn't stop himself! Oh-oh, I see a defense in here somewhere, I'd better shut up...
No, that's what politicians' aides are supposed to do, heheheh. Think Reagan, Bush & Iran-contra.
Reasonable doubt is the phrase that fits in a coutroom gig.
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