Laci's things in tug of war

Laci Peterson's brother Brent Rocha loads a rocking chair from her Modesto home into the back of a truck Friday morning.

Laci Peterson's family and friends removed truckloads of items from the slain Modesto woman's house on Friday, touching off controversy between her family and that of her husband.

Police responded to the Covena Avenue home at about 10 a.m. after a security company reported that the alarm had been triggered, Capt. Greg Savelli said.

Officers determined that Laci Peterson's family and friends were removing items that belonged to Laci, said Savelli, who added that officers documented what was taken.

"We're treating this as a civil dispute over property," he said. "It was clear to the Police Department that this was not a burglary.

Peterson's husband, Scott, 30, has been charged with double murder and faces the death penalty in the killings of his 27-year-old wife and their unborn son, Conner.

Savelli said the fallout from Friday's property removal "was best handled between the families and their attorneys."

Adam Stewart, an attorney for Laci Peterson's family, said the family had been in contact with Scott Peterson's defense team, who had agreed to allow Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, to go through the house on Tuesday. She was to be accompanied by representatives of the defense team, and all items taken were to be photographed and videotaped.

Scott Peterson's parents and lawyers expressed outrage that the Rochas did not follow the agreement.

Jackie Peterson said the people who went into the home Friday had "absolutely no permission to be in that house. I have a lot of empathy for Sharon, but she does not have a right to go in our house and take what she wants."

Rocha did not appear to be among the packers. Calls placed to the Rocha home were not accepted.

Among the items loaded into seven vehicles were a crib, a rocking chair and a box with Graco printed on the outside. Graco makes such products as strollers, highchairs and car seats.

Laci Peterson's family announced Wednesday that it had hired attorneys to help recover items from the house. A list included her wedding dress, jewelry and Conner's crib.

Jackie Peterson told The Bee that the security company notified her by telephone in San Diego County that the house alarm had been tripped.

The property removal appeared to take Scott Peterson's defense team by surprise.

Matthew Dalton, an attorney with lead defense attorney Mark Geragos' law firm, drove to the house and asked reporters if someone had reported a burglary.

Dalton went to Stewart's Modesto law office Friday morning and dropped off some items requested by the Rocha family, Stewart said.

Monday, the defense team moved other items, including what appeared to be gifts, to the Modesto office of defense co-counsel Kirk McAllister, for transfer to Laci Peterson's family. But the items had not been picked up by Friday morning, McAllister said.

Stewart said in front of the home that it would be "ridiculous" to suggest that the Rochas broke into the home.

"I apologize for it coming down to this," he said. "This is not the way we operate. This is for Laci, for Conner and Laci's family. It is not for the media or Mr. Scott Peterson's defense in any way, shape or form. It's depressing that it's come down to this."

Stanislaus County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold said prosecutors had no legal authority over the house.

"It's not a crime scene," Goold said. " This is a civil problem between the Rochas and the Petersons."

The house title is in Laci and Scott Petersons' names, county records show. In such a joint tenancy, when one titleholder dies, the title goes to the other.

Incident brings Peterson case close to home
Victim's family moves items from house, raising the issue of ownership.

MODESTO -- Laci Peterson's family and friends removed truckloads of items from the slain Modesto woman's house Friday, touching off controversy between her family and that of her husband.

Police officers were dispatched after a security company notified them that the alarm at the Covena Avenue home had been triggered, Capt. Greg Savelli said.

Officers determined that members of the Rocha family and friends of Laci Peterson were removing items that belonged to the slain woman and documented what was taken, Savelli said.

"We're treating this as a civil dispute over property," he said. "It was clear to the police department that this was not a burglary. It was a dispute over property and was best handled between the families and their attorneys."

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A Stanislaus County judge on Friday ordered that arrest and search warrants remain sealed in the case against Scott Peterson, who is accused of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn son.

Superior Court Judge Al Giro-lami's ruling also ordered the autopsy reports for Laci and Conner to stay sealed.

Thursday, District Attorney James Brazelton reversed his position and asked to have the autopsy reports made public, and the matter is set for hearing June 6.

Brazelton's about-face came after part of the fetus's autopsy report was leaked to the media. Prosecutors said that portion was clearly "skewed in favor of the defense."

Defense attorneys, coroner's officials, police and prosecutors have denied leaking the information.

Friday, in his ruling on all the documents, Girolami said releasing them "might irreparably harm the continued investigation into this criminal matter."

"Despite the fact that the complaint has been issued and a suspect has been arrested, the investigation and search for both incriminating and exonerating evidence in this matter continues," Girolami wrote.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys argued that releasing the documents could impede Peterson's right to a fair trial and damage an ongoing investigation.

Girolami agreed, saying in his ruling that releasing the documents "might result in the evidence being destroyed and witnesses being reluctant to step forward."

A group of newspapers, including The Bee, are seeking to have the documents unsealed.

Charity Kenyon, an attorney representing the newspapers, argued that the public's right to view court documents was fundamental in an open legal system.

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - A judge ruled Friday that an autopsy report on the deaths of Laci Peterson and her unborn son should remain sealed along with other search warrant and arrest records.

Superior Court Judge Al Girolami said releasing the information could hamper the murder investigation and prejudice public opinion before a trial begins.

Girolami is scheduled to hear more arguments June 6 from prosecutors preparing a murder case against Peterson's husband, Scott Peterson. Prosecutors on Thursday asked that the autopsy reports be released to the public. They argued that media leaks of the reports are biased toward the defense.

Girolami also ordered that leaks of sealed information stop and indicated he would consider a gag order to stop the prosecution and defense teams from talking to the media.

Scott Peterson, 30, is accused of killing his wife and unborn son, whom the couple had planned to name Conner, last December in their home. Laci, 27, was eight months pregnant at the time. The bodies washed ashore in San Francisco Bay last month.

Contra Costa County authorities concluded their autopsy report earlier this month, but did not disclose the cause of death.

Several media outlets have released details of the coroner's report, and a spokeswoman for Laci Peterson's family members said Thursday they were "devastated" at hearing autopsy reports without warning on television.

The leaked reports indicated the unborn son had plastic tape wrapped around his neck and a significant cut across the shoulders.

Meanwhile, friends of Laci Peterson removed several personal articles Friday from the single-story Modesto home where she and Scott Peterson lived.

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May 31, 2003 -- Laci Peterson's mother - shattered by the graphic details leaked from the 25-page autopsy of her unborn grandson - yesterday began removing her slain daughter's belongings from the home she had shared with her accused murderer husband, Scott.

Sharon Rocha, accompanied by several friends and relatives, was seen at the Modesto, Calif., house removing the rocking chair Laci had bought to use when she nursed her infant son, as well as unopened Christmas gifts, clothing, chairs, lamps and artwork.

In doing so, she ignored the advice of her lawyer, Al Clark, that she wait until he, Scott Peterson's lawyers and court officials work out the procedures to be followed when she entered the house.

Modesto police arrived while Rocha was there, and she and her entourage left a short time later after packing seven cars full of Laci's belongings.

Hours later, lawyers representing Laci's family and Scott Peterson started haggling over whether removing the items was legal.

Scott Peterson's mother, Jackie, expressed outrage that the items had been removed since Laci's family had "absolutely no permission to be in that house."

Laci's family said Wednesday that they had hired lawyers to help them retrieve a baby crib and jewelry from the home.

Meanwhile, Clark told Fox News his client's anger over the grisly revelations leaked from her daughter's and grandson's sealed autopsy reports drove her to go get her daughter's possessions.

A family spokeswoman said Rocha was "devastated" by the reports describing how the near full-term fetus of her grandson Conner had plastic tape wrapped around the neck and a large cut across the chest when he was found in the shallow waters of San Francisco Bay last month.

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Yeah, the Modesto police stood by and watched so it MUST be ok...

I seem to recall lots of instances where the police just 'stood by' and let things happen - such as the destruction of the 911 Memorial Fence, since it was 'Private Property', - that must have ben legal, too. or maybe how the police stood by and watched Christopher Kime get beaten to death in the Mardis Gras celebration in Seattle - I guess that means beating people to death is leagl too...

My point is, just because the police stand by and watch something happen, it doesn't mean it's not a violation of the law - it could mean it's policemen who are not clear on the law... sad to say, that's happening more and more in recent decades :(

202 posted on 05/31/2003 11:24:01 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (A blind man received a cheese grater as a gift - said it was the most violent thing he had ever read)

"The thing that makes me not like what they did (aside form my own twisted sense of legalism) is that they had a list of 22 items, which they paired down to 16, of things they wanted of Laci's... 7-8 truckloads of stuff makes me seem to think they took a LOT more than they originally wanted. That raises all kinds of alarms in my head..."

Thanks for pointing this out......it caught my attention, too.

In the red pant-suit photo it appears as though her finger is elevated over her diamond ring on her ring finger. Although it should show when she crosses her fingers. Wish we could get a bigger look at this.

206 posted on 05/31/2003 11:26:29 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (A blind man received a cheese grater as a gift - said it was the most violent thing he had ever read)

Thanks for pointing this out......it caught my attention, too.

The police made a list of everything they took out of the house; they only took things that belonged to Laci.

If one of the things on the list is "Grandma's wicker chairs," that's four BIG chairs.

Well, I don't see what te big rush was - they had to have everything NOW, orcould it have waited? Apparently they needed these things right now, if not sooner?

To hell with the games, and the mother-in-law, and all that stuff - if they couldn't reach an agreement with the family, they could have taken the probate court route - I would have respected them for that. Now, to me, they look like a bunch of meterialistic looters of the dead...

There would have been nothing left.............. You don't know scum, don't you? lol

No. Because he told the police to stand by and let someone enter another person's home and remove property that didn't belong to them. THAT is why he's a moron. He aided and abbetted theft...

:0)

(This is just my hardassed opinion, though)

210 posted on 05/31/2003 11:28:06 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (A blind man received a cheese grater as a gift - said it was the most violent thing he had ever read)

if you had several types of vehicles, in all 7, lets say, a suburban, couple of pick up trucks, various sizes, some cars, how much do you think in furniture can they legally hold? Not a heck of a lot if bulky items, and those items were of the items listed? Take into consideration, no tarp or ropes on the vehicles for tying down the items, and the ability to see from the rear view mirror is necessary too. I think you, rightly so, reading way into this. Good though too. keeps sanity....LOL....

Besides, media was there filming the event. You saw?

211 posted on 05/31/2003 11:28:25 AM PDT by runningbear (Lurkers beware, Freeping is public opinions based on facts, theories, and news online.......)

***Peterson said her son has a request, too: He wants his wife's wedding ring, another diamond ring that he bought her, and a few diamonds given to Laci by her grandmother. Peterson said the rings and gems had been taken to a jeweler for crafting into one ring. "We want those," Peterson said. She said the Rochas picked them up from the jeweler. *****

How do you like this one, Mass?

they had a list of 22 items

And just to keep it FAIR, Geragos had that list of 22 things; of those items they requested he delivered TWO OF THEM, two lamps and 3 tiny Christmas presents.

Why didn't he give them all 22 things on the list, including her wedding dress? Think Scott wanted that for "old times sake?" Think that had something to do with her murder?

214 posted on 05/31/2003 11:28:51 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (A blind man received a cheese grater as a gift - said it was the most violent thing he had ever read)

yes and no.. You have to save them, and then zoom them from your files...

Can't repost them, edited, unless you have a url to repost them from.

216 posted on 05/31/2003 11:29:50 AM PDT by runningbear (Lurkers beware, Freeping is public opinions based on facts, theories, and news online.......)

218 posted on 05/31/2003 11:30:22 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (A blind man received a cheese grater as a gift - said it was the most violent thing he had ever read)

Howlin, don't you think Sharon Rocha got extremely ticked when she heard Ms. Peterson on Greta's show saying more or less "there's no big deal, where is this coming from, and oh, i'm gonna leaf the plants outside for her to pick up"... knowing that she had been trying to get in for 2 1/2 months?

Well, just because they had a list of 22 things they wanted, doesn't mean they have to get everything on the list - maybe a few of the things they wanted were gifts they gave to both Laci AND Scott - in which case, I don't see how they have any claim to those types of things (such as the China, the Glass Memento Box etc...)...

The Wedding Dress though, for example, should have been handed over pronto...

220 posted on 05/31/2003 11:32:08 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (A blind man received a cheese grater as a gift - said it was the most violent thing he had ever read)

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