Death certificates opened for Laci Peterson and son

MODESTO - The Contra Costa County Coroner's Office could not determine a cause of death for Laci Peterson, but concluded that her son was born dead.

The coroner lists Peterson's manner of death as homicide. Death certificates for the 27-year-old and the son with whom she was eight months pregnant were made public late Friday.

A judge agreed earlier in the day to allow release of the documents, but kept sealed the results of the two autopsies.

During two hours of courtroom wrangling, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami told Scott Peterson's defense lawyers and the prosecutors who have charged him with the murders of his wife and child that the report will remain sealed until a preliminary hearing.

The death certificates were filed in Contra Costa County on Friday. Signed April 21, they are the official record of Laci and Conner Peterson's deaths.

The filings do not mean the remains will be released to Laci Peterson's family. A court order requires the coroner's office to retain custody of the remains until told otherwise by a judge, said coroner's spokesman Jimmy Lee.

Laci Peterson's family does not know when that will be, said family spokeswoman Kim Petersen. "It's a very tough time for them," she said Friday.

The death certificates contain the time and place of death. For Laci Peterson, the coroner's office specifies the date she was found on the Richmond shoreline, April 14.

Conner Peterson was found a day earlier. That is specified on his fetal death certificate, along with where he was found along the Richmond shoreline. Fetal death certificates have no category for a cause of death. Conner's does specify that he was born dead.

Cable news station MSNBC reported last week that a leaked portion of the autopsy reports showed that Conner was found with 11/2 loops of tape around his neck.

Legal analysts have surmised the information could be used to back a defense theory that a satanic cult played a role in Laci Peterson's disappearance and slaying.

It also was widely believed that the defense team had a hand in leaking the autopsy to bolster its case with the public, an allegation attorney Mark Geragos adamantly denied.

The autopsy had been sealed May 15 at the request of both defense attorneys and prosecutors. After last week's leak, the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office asked that the entire report be unsealed.

Deputy district attorney David Harris told Girolami on Friday the leaked details provided a "significant slant" in favor of the defense. "We can't discuss inaccuracies or accuracies without violating the court order," he said.

Girolami said the results will not be unsealed. "I don't think that releasing the report at this time is necessary. The mere fact that someone has leaked out part of the report does not justify releasing all of it."

In other matters, Girolami told lawyers for 22 reporters that a state law does not protect calls and conversations they placed to Scott Peterson. Authorities wiretapped Peterson's phone before his arrest and alerted journalists last month that they had been taped.

Scott Peterson, 30, was arrested April 18. His wife, who was eight months pregnant, vanished Dec. 23 or 24 from her Modesto home.

By Tim Wimborne
MODESTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A judge refused on Friday to make public graphic autopsy reports for Laci Peterson and her unborn son, rebuffing press efforts to unseal key documents in a murder case that has riveted the nation.

The parents of the 27-year-old substitute teacher left the Stanislaus County courtroom when Superior Court Judge Al Girolami began discussing whether to release the autopsy, grim details of which have already surfaced in media reports.

Laci's husband, Scott Peterson, 30, who is charged with two murders and could face the death penalty if convicted, has pleaded not guilty.

During the autopsy discussion, Peterson, who has shown little emotion during the proceedings, dabbed his eyes with a tissue and appeared grim-faced, swallowing hard several times.

"This is not about adverse publicity," Peterson's attorney Mark Geragos told the court in opposing the release of the autopsies. "I'm worried about my client's life."

Geragos has argued against releasing many of the documents in the case, saying that to do so would increase the already high public hostility toward his client.

Judge Girolami said leaks to the press of some details from the coroner's reports were not a justification to release the entire document. Prosecutors in the case had withdrawn their objections to the report's release.

The judge, however, refused to authorize a gag order on lawyers in the case and authorized the Contra Costa County coroner to prepare and release death certificates for Laci and her unborn son, that might list a cause of death.

Officials have not publicly stated how they believe Laci Peterson died, and have released few details of the case they have against Peterson.

The two decaying corpses washed out of San Francisco Bay in April, prompting Peterson's arrest. Coroners worked for weeks on the bodies, saying the advanced state of decomposition made their job especially difficult.

A law enforcement official told Reuters on Friday that plastic was wrapped in the area of the neck of the unborn baby when it was found along the Contra Costa high-tide shoreline, but said it could well have been from trash rather than a clue to the murder.

"There is a lot of junk in the sea, maybe that's what it is," the official said.

San Francisco television station KTVU quoted law enforcement sources on Friday as saying Laci Peterson may have been drugged with a so-called date rape drug to weaken her before being strangled........

Media Won't Hear Scott Peterson Wiretaps
Judge Rejects Reporters' Requests to Hear Wiretaps of Husband in Laci Peterson Murder Case

The judge in the Laci Peterson murder case on Friday rejected requests by reporters to listen to wiretaps of phone calls they made to Scott Peterson.

Attorneys representing 22 reporters had asked to review to tapes of their calls to Peterson so they could determine if they might be barred from becoming evidence.

The lawyers said those conversations were protected under the California Shield Law, which protects reporters from turning over unpublished work. They claimed the wiretaps are the same as journalists' notes.

But Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami said he did not think journalists were entitled to any privilege protecting their phone calls. He did, however, delay for 10 days the release of the tapes.

Girolami's ruling came during the first hour of a hearing in which he also set a June 19 date to rule on defense motions regarding wiretaps of Peterson's calls. The judge was also expected to begin considering a prosecution motion to unseal results of an autopsy on the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner.

Scott Peterson's lawyers want the judge to dismiss the prosecutors assigned to the case and to toss out the results of two wiretaps that monitored thousands of Peterson's calls after the disappearance of his pregnant wife, Laci.

During the court-approved wiretaps, the first of which began two weeks after Laci Peterson vanished when investigators thought they had exhausted normal evidence-gathering techniques, police logged 3,858 phone calls made to her husband, according to court papers.

Some of those conversations will be questioned by defense lawyers, who claim police eavesdropped on protected conversations between Scott Peterson and his lawyer.

Girolami will also consider issuing a gag order to prevent evidence leaks in the case and he may decide whether to release autopsy results of Laci Peterson and her unborn son. Prosecutors have said they support some form of a gag order, while defense lawyer Mark Geragos said in court paper that he opposes any effort to curtail discussions about the case.

Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder for ....................

A judge kept under wraps many documents and other evidence in the Peterson double-murder case Friday. During a discussion of autopsy reports, defendant Scott Peterson - who is charged with killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner - dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief.

Kept sealed wiretap recordings. He allowed prosecutors and defense attorneys to get copies of the tapes, but temporarily prohibited the handing over of calls between Peterson and journalists. Prosecutors also are not allowed to hear calls between Peterson and his defense team.

Delayed a decision on a potential gag order preventing principals ...................

>>I thought that cocoa/coca cola (some soft drinks), as well as coffee, contained caffeine. <<

I don't know much about this chemistry stuff either but I'll give it a shot. The above are caffenated unless the caffeine is removed from the end product during processing.

>>Recently, I got an e-mail with a warning that Cocoa Mulch, available at garden supply stores is lethal to dogs and cats. It contains "Theobromine" (whatever that is). <<

I don't know what it is either but I know it is in chocolate and chocolate is lethal to dogs and cats. I know this because I have a dog and 4 cats and that's what the literature says...NO chocolate for the critters. :)

>>Is Theobromine also lethal to human beings? <<

No, I don't believe so as it is in chocolate and if it were lethal to humans, I'd be long gone. :)

>>My next question is, why would caffeine be present in Laci? Does it not "go away" after a period of time, much the same as something like GHB? Or is caffeine more like arsenic? I need a chemist here.<<

Here's the big guess. I think caffeine is eliminated by the body over time. But if Laci were killed shortly after consuming something with caffeine, her body would not be able to eliminate the caffeine and levels that could be detected would remain in her body.

Maybe I'm wrong, but sounds like they're contradicting themselves.

So far the police have only mentioned a "violent death" the "soft kill" thing is media fluff.

But I will say that the terms are not necessarily a contradiction. The "violent death" statement came from police at the press conference when Laci's status was changed from a missing person to a probable homocide victim. Dying at the hands of another in any way shape or form should be considered "violent". The term "soft kill" still denotes the violent act of killing another but it is being used to calm speculation on a mutilation type killing.

Link

"As the investigation has progressed, we have increasingly come to believe that Laci Peterson is the victim of a violent crime," said Detective Craig Grogan, the lead investigator.

Frey May Testify at Peterson Hearing

Sunday, June 08, 2003

MODESTO, Calif. — The distraught former girlfriend of murder suspect Scott Peterson (search) met with prosecutors over the weekend about her potential testimony in the preliminary hearing.

A source close to Amber Frey (search) told Fox News that she and her high-profile attorney, Gloria Allred (search), met with prosecutors in Modesto, Calif., Saturday to discuss the possibility that Frey would take the stand in the hearing, set for July.

The judge in the criminal case has considered a gag order to prevent more leaks from the defense and prosecution, but Allred said that would hurt her client and scare others away from coming forward with information.

"A gag order against Ms. Frey would render her helpless in the face of a continued onslaught of rumor and innuendo," Allred said.

Superior Court Judge Al Girolami has declined to issue a gag order on lawyers to prevent evidence leaks in the case, but he could do so at a later date.

The source also said Frey was very upset about the possible upcoming release of nude photographs of her. Hustler publisher Larry Flynt (search) is currently in hot pursuit of nude photos of Frey, which she says are unauthorized for publication.

The source told Fox that Frey is still feeling overwhelmed. Frey, a 28-year-old single mother and massage therapist, has said she didn't know Peterson was married when she dated him.

In other developments, Fox News has learned of a leak in the case involving a theory that Peterson might have drugged his wife. Peterson apparently was surfing the Web for the so-called date-rape drug, GHB, in the weeks before Laci was killed.

Peterson, 30, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder for allegedly killing his wife and their unborn son. Laci, 27, was eight months pregnant when she disappeared from the couple's Modesto home on Christmas Eve.

Her body and that of the baby washed up in April on the shores of San Francisco Bay, where Peterson said he was fishing the day of her disappearance.

On Friday, in a rare show of emotion, Peterson dabbed his eyes as a judge decided not to release the autopsy reports for Laci and the couple's unborn son, Conner.

Prosecutors had asked last week that the autopsy results be unsealed ......

"How much connective evidence LE really has" is a concern for me, too, of course. I hate this "close to the vest" card playing. Hope they're not bluffing!!! Something else that LE has said is troublesome for me, and I believe it was QJ and DA that addressed when they talked about "a violent death" vs. "a soft-kill". Those two terms kind of take on two different interpretations to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but sounds like they're contradicting themselves.

Yes Sandylapper I was discussing this last night. It is VERY troublesome to me also. I had said that the two terms are on the opposite ends of the "descriptive" spectrum. We know that the MPD has been playing this case "close to the vest" therefore i strongly doubt that they would throw around a term like "violent homocide" in Febuary only then to have a leak that states MPD described the murder as a "soft kill". Devil stated that all killing is violent, agreed on that but I just don't think the MPD would be that careless on their terminology being so disparate. I believe this whole GHB thing is a bunch of hooey! Mainly bc MPD would not have seeked the death penalty on a theory that cannot be substantiated. I.E no hyoid bone to prove strangulation and a body present in water for three months obliterating any chances of proving abnormal levels of GHB. As Henry Lee would say "Someting no' righ'" I really do hope MPD has got GOOD SOLID EVIDENCE that we are not privy to. Because Marc Geragos is gonna be a force to content with. He is a "big city" attorney who may just dominate and overpower the Stanislaus County DA's team, If the evidence they have is not on the strong end of the spectrum.

So far the police have only mentioned a "violent death" the "soft kill" thing is media fluff. But I will say that the terms are not necessarily a contradiction. The "violent death" statement came from police at the press conference when Laci's status was changed from a missing person to a probable homocide victim. Dying at the hands of another in any way shape or form should be considered "violent". The term "soft kill" still denotes the violent act of killing another but it is being used to calm speculation on a mutilation type killing.

I know what you are saying RG but STILL something is bothering me here. How do we know that there was not brain matter/ fluid that was found on the second search? That would jibe with violent homocide. Why not just say "homocide" if they knew in Febuary that Scott fed laci GHB and strangled her. I believe that Laci and Scott got into an argument perhaps triggered by laci finding out about Amber. He had been planning on knocking her off but had put it off.

If he fed her GHB this would indicated more planning, and we have discussed frequently that if he plannned (not premeditated..which is a given IMHO) this, he would not have done it this way. Especially knowing now that he told Laci's sister that he had a golf game the next morning.

I still think there is more blood or body fluid that would indicate a VIOLENT death more than the drugged strangulation death (soft kill). This also jibes with what had been released b4 MG got on the case.

Winesses who finally realize that their 15 minutes is over routinely disappear, on their own volition, from public view.

The defense has the power to subpeona witnesses and to compel testimony. The defense can also introduce earlier statements made by the witness. All; that needs to be done is to read the initial statements and then go over the number of times LE questioned and re-questioned that witness.

Did LE point out inconsistencies in the witness' statement or conflicts with other "know facts".

Do this enough times with enough witnesses and the jury starts to think that LE is pushing its own agenda.

"How much connective evidence LE really has" is a concern for me, too, of course. I hate this "close to the vest" card playing. Hope they're not bluffing!!!

Just speculating now, but think about this scenario.

LE is certain Scott did it, but doesn't really have a lot of physical evidence. They follow Scott, plant a device in his car, etc. not because they think he will lead them to anyone, but because they want more time to develop evidence.

Then he goes to San Diego and withdraws a lot of money--suddenly they think he is going to flee to Mexico. So, they arrest him, but before they really wanted to.

Now they have a real problem. he has a number of constitutional rights, a speedy and public trial among them.

Does anyone know if he has "waived time" , i.e. given up his right to a speedy trial?

Part of Westerfield's strategy was that he did not waive this right and the prosecution was really under the gun to get all thier evidence together in 12 weeks, which is the limit. Came close to working for him also.

If Scott really did it, his case will get weaker over time, while the prosecution's will get stgronger as they analyze more evidence. It is to his advantage to demand a speedy trial.

All; that needs to be done is to read the initial statements and then go over the number of times LE questioned and re-questioned that witness.

The police don't ever have to re-question a witness who is not being completely honest. The witness knows. As a matter of fact, the big gripe here is that the MPD didn't talk to these media propelled witnesses enough. The police don't waste their time with them, knowing that they will be discredited at trial if the defense insists on calling them.

The witness will hear the facts through the media as they come out while the prosecution's case is presented at trial. When it is the defense's turn, the witness will realize that his story is beyond belief. The defense may be told by the witness that he made up his previous statements or he may just recant. If the defense attempts to require his testimony remain as previously stated, THAT may be suborning perjury in addition to being a case loser.

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.