Posted on 06/09/2003 3:17:16 AM PDT by runningbear
Print islifted from human remains
Print islifted from human remains
By Lauren Keene/Enterprise staff writer
Investigators in the case of the human remains found in Davis last week were able to extract a fingerprint from one of the parts Friday, but it failed to match any prints on file with the state Department of Justice.
Now, authorities are looking to the FBI, DNA experts and a forensic anthropologist to help determine whose remains they are and how they came to be disposed of next to a trash Dumpster in the Slatter's Court community on Olive Drive.
Mary Koompin-Williams, Yolo County supervising deputy coroner, said the FBI has a national databank that might provide useful information, including whether other agencies have reported similar discoveries.
Investigators are also relying on a Department of Justice lab in Richmond to extract DNA from the remains, as well as a forensic anthropologist at Chico State University to determine the races, genders and ages of the four or more people the remains are believed to have come from.
"Now it's just hurry up and wait, I guess," Koompin-Williams said.
The Davis Police Department continues to seek information from residents who may know something about the case. The department can be reached at 747-5400.
Five days have passed since a Slatter's Court maintenance worker made the grisly discovery -- decomposed, mummified and skeletal remains inside a plastic bin, set next to an overfilled Dumpster.
The case has attracted national attention since then, said Koompin-Williams, who in recent days has fielded phone calls from media outlets such as CNN and the news programs "60 Minutes" and "20/20."
She also received a call from the office of Mark Geragos, the defense attorney in the Laci Peterson homicide case who has theorized a serial killer murdered Laci Peterson, not her accused husband Scott.
As the Davis case unfolded last week, investigators noted that some of the parts were the same as those missing from the Modesto woman's body when it washed up in the Bay Area in April. While coroner's officials haven't totally discounted that possibility, Koompin-Williams said it's unlikely, as the remains appear to have come from a woman older than Laci Peterson.
Davis police Lt. Jim Harritt said last week that authorities are pursuing three theories in the case: that the remains are the result of a homicide, were taken from a grave or removed from a medical research facility and improperly disposed of.
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Recap from Friday
Autopsy reports to remain sealed, wire taps and gag order will be decided later
Autopsy reports to remain sealed, wire taps and gag order will be decided later
Fri Jun 6, 5:07 PM ET Add Crimes and Trials - Court TV to My Yahoo!
By Harriet Ryan, Court TV
MODESTO, Calif. (Court TV) — A judge refused Friday to make public autopsy reports of Scott Peterson (news - web sites)'s murdered wife and unborn son. The prosecution had argued that leaks of details favorable to the defense made full-disclosure of the documents fair.
"I don't think releasing the entire report is called for," Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami ruled during a hearing on several wide-ranging issues in the double-murder case against Peterson. "The mere fact that someone leaked out part" of Laci and Conner Peterson's report to the press "does not justify releasing all of it until the parties have an opportunity to thoroughly investigate this matter."
The discussion of the autopsy provided a rare moment of emotion in an otherwise dry proceeding on procedural matters. Although attorneys carefully avoided mentioning any details of the coroner's reports, Scott Peterson, consistently stoic in past court hearings, squeezed his eyes shut tightly and appeared near tears during the discussion. In the front row of the gallery, Laci Peterson (news - web sites)'s mother, Sharon Rocha, began weeping at the initial mention of the autopsies and buried her head on the shoulder of her husband, who quickly rose and escorted her from the courtroom.
Last week, MSNBC reported that the autopsy report noted a "noose" of tape around Conner Peterson's neck. That information appeared to support defense suggestions that the victims may have been killed by a satanic cult.
The district attorney's office angrily noted last week that the leaks slanted toward the defense position, but in court Friday, Mark Geragos, Peterson's attorney, insisted he had nothing to do with the disclosure.
Lawyers also discussed a potential gag order in the case. Prosecutors are calling for a limited order that would hold all attorneys and their employees including police officers and defense investigators to the California legal bar's rules for trial publicity. Witnesses would not be covered by such an order.
Those rules prohibit lawyers from making statements to the press that have "a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing" a case, but allow them to defend their client's reputation from prejudicial media coverage.
Geragos opposed the gag order saying it created a vacuum of information that the media would fill with speculation instead of fact.
"The people who actually know the facts end up being muzzled," said Geragos.
Girolami said he would rule at a later date on the gag order.
The judge put off until June 26 a hearing on wire taps of Peterson's phone by police. Investigators monitored more than 3,000 calls to Peterson's phones before his arrest. The defense alleges that police improperly monitored 69 calls between Peterson and his defense team and has asked Judge Girolami to punish prosecutors by throwing out the charges against Peterson or excluding certain witnesses or testimony.
Geragos said he was not prepared to argue for those sanctions because he still had not received all the paperwork from prosecutor's concerning the wiretaps. The judge ordered police to provide the defense with the paperwork as well as recordings of all 3,000 wiretaps.
The judge also refused several journalists access to recordings of their wire-tapped conversations with Peterson. Reporters had asked to review the recordings prior to the police handing them over to lawyers.
Also attending the hearing was Gloria Allred, who represents Amber Frey, the massage therapist who had a month-long relationship ......
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Defendant Scott Peterson appeared near tears during discussion of autopsy reports
Autopsy reports to remain sealed, wire taps and gag order will be decided later
By Harriet Ryan
Court TV
MODESTO, Calif. — A judge refused Friday to make public autopsy reports of Scott Peterson's murdered wife and unborn son. The prosecution had argued that leaks of details favorable to the defense made full-disclosure of the documents fair.
"I don't think releasing the entire report is called for," Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami ruled during a hearing on several wide-ranging issues in the double-murder case against Peterson. "The mere fact that someone leaked out part" of Laci and Conner Peterson's report to the press "does not justify releasing all of it until the parties have an opportunity to thoroughly investigate this matter."
The discussion of the autopsy provided a rare moment of emotion in an otherwise dry proceeding on procedural matters. Although attorneys carefully avoided mentioning any details of the coroner's reports, Scott Peterson, consistently stoic in past court hearings, squeezed his eyes shut tightly and appeared near tears during the discussion. In the front row of the gallery, Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, began weeping at the initial mention of the autopsies and buried her head on the shoulder of her husband, who quickly rose and escorted her from the courtroom.
Last week, MSNBC reported that the autopsy report noted a "noose" of tape around Conner Peterson's neck. That information appeared to support defense suggestions that the victims may have been killed by a satanic cult.
The district attorney's office angrily noted last week that the leaks slanted toward the defense position, but in court Friday, Mark Geragos, Peterson's attorney, insisted he had nothing to do with the disclosure.
Lawyers also discussed a potential gag order in the case. Prosecutors are calling for a limited order that would hold all attorneys and their employees including police officers and defense investigators to the California legal bar's rules for trial publicity. Witnesses would not be covered by such an order.
Those rules prohibit lawyers from making statements to the press that have "a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing" a case, but allow them to defend their client's reputation from prejudicial media coverage.
Defense lawyer Geragos denies being source of autopsy leaks.
Geragos opposed the gag order saying it created a vacuum of information that the media would fill with speculation instead of fact.
"The people who actually know the facts end up being muzzled," said Geragos.
Defense lawyer Geragos denies being source of autopsy leaks.
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Death certificates opened for Laci Peterson and son
Recap
Posted on Sat, Jun. 07, 2003
Death certificates opened for Laci Peterson and son
By BRIAN ANDERSON and CLAIRE BOOTH
Contra Costa Times
MODESTO, Calif. - 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.
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Trial survey may open your eyes to pool of closed-minded answers
Trial survey may open your eyes to pool of closed-minded answers
By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER
Published: June 8, 2003, 05:26:30 PM PDT
It's all about bias.
Of course, not your bias -- you don't have any, right?
You'll soon see, if you take the accompanying survey. It's nearly identical to the one conducted recently in Stanislaus County, to suggest whether a Modesto man accused in a double-murder case could get a fair trial here.
Though some people readily admit that they're closed-minded, most like to think that they could weigh the evidence carefully and make a rational decision. But, often, reality and what people like to think are different things.
Lawyers and judges question prospective jurors before a trial to help reveal biases that people may not know they have. The questioning comes during what is called "voir dire," French for "to speak the truth" -- the process of examining members of the jury pool to see if they are qualified and suitable to serve.
If the judge doesn't like an answer, he or she can dismiss a prospective juror. Attorneys on both sides can use peremptory challenges to accomplish the same thing, without giving a reason.
When a crime draws more attention than usual, courts and lawyers often survey the community before starting jury selection. Carefully worded questions can help determine whether the mood against a defendant is so strong that open-minded jurors are not likely to be found, in which case a trial can be moved.
Such surveys usually are conducted at random by telephone. A standard response is 400 people, experts say.
Now take a few minutes to answer the questions in this survey. Come back for grading when you're through.
Take The Survey
How did you do?
If you answered no to either A or B, that's it. You have to be at least 18 and live in Stanislaus County to serve on a jury in Modesto.
If you answered no to both C and D, you aren't eligible because court officials draw potential jurors only from lists of voters or people with driver's licenses. If you answered yes to either one, keep going.
Question 5 tells you the subject of the survey: the disappearance of a pregnant woman from her Modesto home, and the subsequent arrest of her husband on charges of killing his wife and their unborn child. Questions 9 and 10 tell you husband and wife's names for the first time, just in case you didn't know.
If you answered yes on question 11, you're done. Lawyers on either side don't like putting a verdict in the hands of closed-minded people.
Friday afternoon, while walking in downtown Modesto, Peterson's lead attorney, Mark Geragos, peered at drivers and pedestrians and mused out loud that only a fraction of them hadn't made up their minds about his client.
Peterson has pleaded not guilty to two murder charges, one for his wife and one for their unborn son, Conner. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
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Stuntmen and women get proper recognition Today on TV
Snip it:
At a glance
Test the Nation (8 p.m.-10 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) - How you feel about this special may well depend on the ending. Leeza Gibbons will lead a studio audience through an IQ test, while brave (or foolhardy?) viewers can use the Internet to give their answers and calculate their own IQs. Fox.
Dateline NBC (10 p.m.-11 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) - This special edition of the news show features the family of Laci Peterson talking with Katie Couric in their first network interview since the bodies of Laci and her unborn baby were discovered last month. Couric also talked with childhood friends and the principal of Laci's former high school about her life, their memories of her, the day she went missing, her husband Scott and the allegations against him. NBC.
(Excerpt) Read more at davisenterprise.com ...
Near Roseville, I think. Hey Rb, I can see how Rio Linda = Lodi after 6 years. LOL
This is interesting...does this mean Ron suspected Scott was fooling around on Laci even before she disappeared? If so, I wonder why.....
It's one of the most painful parts to imagine.
I have two sons-in-law around Scott's age and we love them exactly as if they were our own flesh and blood.
Many times I have thought about how horrid the betrayal must be and how it must intensify (if possible) the family's grief.
I say it repeatedly.......UNIMAGINABLE !!!
If additional deaths occur that have clearly not been committed by Scott Peterson while he's been in custody, or even if he's found *not guilty* in an OJ-style mockery of a trial, who else can the Modesto police use to deflect criticism from their own failings, and how else would you expect them to do so. Thye previous victim [Smart] was a college girl, and they've had no great success in apprehending her killer/s in the last 5 years, so there's no particular reason to think they've done any better with Lacy Peterson's case, other than having a more convenient- and admittedly unsympathetic- scapegoat upon which to hang the blame.
Three women. Two murdered. One still missing. One year after Rachel Newhouse disappeared, police now reflect on what made the cases different, what investigators learned following Cal Poly student Kristin Smart's disappearance and what actions the FBI and San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Department are now taking to find her. Rex Allen Krebs is scheduled to go on trial in April for the murders of Newhouse, a Cal Poly student, and Cuesta College student Aundria Crawford. Their bodies were found eight months ago, buried on property Krebs was renting at the time. But Krebs is not a suspect in the Smart case, who has been missing for more than three years.Sgt. Sean Donahue of the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Department said the differences in timing after the disappearances of Newhouse and Smart were vital in law enforcement's ability to solve the cases.
"Smart's disappearance was reported to Cal Poly University," Donahue said. "It is not unusual for a young adult to be gone. There was no report of foul play, no ransom notes. It was a holiday weekend." Donahue said San Luis Obispo's low crime rate gives a false sense of security, which had an impact on the speed with which the disapppearance was reported.
"They (Public Safety) waited to give the case to us two weeks later," Donahue said. "The first 72 hours are crucial. Cal Poly handled the Smart case like most other cases. There was nothing suspicious."
Kristin's mother, Denise, also said timing was crucial in finding her daughter.
"If Cal Poly hadn't stalled and the sheriff's department had come and made a task force, we might have found her," Denise said.
Donahue said the suspicious circumstances surrounding Newhouse's disappearance prompted action from law enforcement more quickly than in Smart's case.
"Newhouse was intoxicated to the point where she couldn't feel for her own safety," Donahue said. "The blood on the bridge made it suspicious."
However, Denise said it was not just an accumulation of evidence that lead police to find a suspect in the deaths of Crawford and Newhouse.
"Law enforcement did learn from Kristin's case," she said. "I think that was one reason (Newhouse's case) was solved so quickly. The police, Sheriff's Department and FBI all cooperated. In Kristin's case, there were lots of territorial attitudes and nobody wanted to work together. It takes a lot of people to work together. That didn't happen for Kristin."
Donahue had a similar point. "The major thing we've learned is the importance of working together, putting away rivalries to solve this crime," Donahue said. Since handing the case over to the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Department, Cal Poly's Public Safety officials will not comment on Smart's case.
"It is out of the norm for Public Safety to handle these cases. They aren't as equipped," Donahue said. San Luis Obispo Sheriff Pat Hedges said the investigation into the whereabouts of Smart is ongoing.
"The Sheriff's Department still has an investigator who is working with the FBI and the SLO police." Hedges said. Hedges said Smart's case is still unfolding and questions are being answered.
"We do have some work being processed by the crime lab in Washington, D.C., and we are interviewing some folks outside the area who, previous investigations show, might have some leads."
But Denise said law enforcement is still without any substantial leads in her daughter's disappearance.
"Three years later it's almost the same as three days after she disappeared. In terms of being any closer to finding her, I don't think we are," Denise said.
Smart was a 19-year-old speech communication freshman at Cal Poly when she disappeared. She was last seen leaving an off-campus party at 2 a.m. on May 25, 1996 with former Cal Poly student Paul Flores. Flores was the last person seen with Smart and is one of the few suspects in the case, but police do not have enough evidence to arrest him or charge him with a crime.
Newhouse was last seen on Nov. 12, 1998, after leaving Tortilla Flats restaurant in downtown San Luis Obispo. She was alone and on foot.
Crawford was abducted from her Branch St. apartment on March 12, 1998.
Investigators found the bodies of Newhouse and Crawford on April 12, 1998.
Rachel Newhouse:
Aundria Crawford:
-archy-/-
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