Police Believe Laci Was Drugged And Strangled
Police Believe Laci Was Drugged And Strangled
POSTED: 7:18 a.m. PDT June 6, 2003
UPDATED: 4:06 p.m. PDT June 6, 2003
MODESTO, Calif. -- Police believe Scott Peterson drugged his pregnant wife with the growth hormone and date rape drug -- GHB -- and then strangled her in the couple's Modesto home, numerous sources revealed to KTVU Channel 2 on Friday.
Sources on both sides of the case told KTVU's Ted Rowlands that the prosecution's theory of the crime had been pieced together using information salvaged from a computer taken from the Peterson home.
The murder, one source said, was being classified as a 'soft kill' -- meaning there was very little evidence of the crime at the couple's home. The leaks came just hours before a series of hearings were take place in Modesto.
Slideshow: Scott Peterson Gets Emotional During Friday's Hearing
(some mystical stick picking must be poking scaughty!;o))
At the 8:30 a.m. hearing, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami ruled on a laundry list of legal issues. Girolami ruled that autopsy results of Peterson and her unborn son will remain sealed, and declined to issue a gag order on lawyers in the case.
Prosecutors have said they support some form of a gag order, while defense attorney Mark Geragos said in court papers that he opposes any effort to curtail discussions about the case.
Prosecutors also made the request last week to unseal the autopsy after extensive news leaks of the results. The prosecution team argued in a motion that the leaks were prejudicial toward the defense case. Among details reported by MSNBC and confirmed by an Associated Press source close to the case on condition of anonymity, the report said there was 1 1/2 loops of plastic around the fetus' neck and a significant cut on its body.
Analysts said the results could be used to bolster a defense argument that Peterson was kidnapped by a satanic cult.