Posted on 08/20/2003 5:23:46 AM PDT by runningbear
Remains to be released to family; dogs, hypnosis may be part of hearing
Remains to be released to family; dogs, hypnosis may be part of hearing
By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER
Published: August 19, 2003, 05:56:00 AM PDT
Testimony about human scent-tracking dogs and a prosecution witness interviewed using "hypnosis techniques" is expected to play a role in the preliminary hearing for accused double murderer Scott Peterson, newly released court documents show.
A separate court document made public Monday indicates that the remains of Peterson's wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner, will be released to family members no later than Friday after a defense specialist X-rays the fetus.
Scott Peterson, 30, is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths. He has pleaded innocent.
The bodies were found in April along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, roughly four months after Laci Peterson's reported disappearance from her Modesto home touched off a widespread search.
Modesto police used several dogs in the hunt for the 27-year-old substitute teacher.
Scott Peterson said he last saw his wife the morning of Dec. 24 as he left for a solo fishing trip to the bay and she prepared to walk their golden retriever, McKenzie, in Dry Creek Regional Park.
A potentially key development came Dec. 26, when a specially trained bloodhound from the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department indicated to its handler that Laci Peterson left her Covena Avenue home in a vehicle, not on foot.
The dog headed to Yosemite Boulevard, away from the park. Later, the dog led its handler from the Peterson house all the way to Maze Boulevard.
The handler at the time declined to identify herself or the dog.
The defense has requested a bevy of information about dogs used in the case, including their veterinary records, training reports, reliability tests and trainers' backgrounds, according to court documents filed by defense attorney Kirk McAllister.
In a July 29 letter to Senior Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso, one of the prosecutors on the case, lead defense attorney Mark Geragos wrote that Distaso had "previously indicated to me that the prosecution intends to call witnesses at the preliminary hearing who will testify as to human scent-tracking dogs."
The defense specifically wants information about a dog named Merlin and the dog's handler, Cindee Valentin, a deputy with the Contra Costa County Emergency Services Search and Rescue Unit, a division of the sheriff's department. Reserve Capt. Christopher Boyer of the search and rescue unit also was named.
Valentin could not be reached for comment. Contra Costa County Sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said Valentin had been subpoenaed and was covered by a gag order imposed in the case by Judge Al Girolami.
The dog information request was contained in an eight-page motion listing 26 areas where the defense wanted more information from prosecutors.
Prosecutors replied in documents filed Monday that they had fully complied with the law, turning over 23,700 pages of documents, 18 videotapes, 100 audiotapes, five DVDs and three CDs of wiretap recordings, among other items.
Distaso also noted in the filing that prosecutors are requesting information from the defense, including the names and addresses of potential witnesses and any real evidence the defense intends to offer at the preliminary hearing, set for Sept. 9.
At a defense request, a hearing on evidentiary issues is scheduled for Sept. 2.
The prosecution document also indicates that one prosecution witness, identified as "Kristen Deppenwolf" was questioned in a "cognitive interview where hypnosis techniques were used."
A Kristen Deppenwolf could not be identified through public records, and it was unclear what role she could play in the case.
Distaso's response also noted that the prosecution has no known evidence that would clear Peterson.
Geragos alleged in court documents filed last month that prosecution evidence turned over to the defense last month "totally exonerates" Peterson and will tip off the true killers if made public.
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The Peterson case has attracted national media attention during the search and now the court hearings
Peterson not a 'reality' show
By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER
Published: August 19, 2003, 05:55:59 AM PDT
Professing a reluctance to turn the proceeding into a "reality" television show, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami on Monday banned television and still cameras from the preliminary hearing for accused double-murderer Scott Peterson.
Prosecutors are preparing to lay out closely guarded elements of their case during the hearing, sheduled for Sept. 9.
Girolami is expected to decide at the close of the hearing whether there is sufficient evidence to try the 30-year-old fertilizer salesman from Modesto.
Peterson is charged with murdering his wife, Laci, 27, and the couple's unborn son, Conner.
The case sparked intense media attention after Laci Peterson, nearly eight months pregnant, was reported missing Christmas Eve. Her body and that of her son were found in April about a mile apart along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, within miles of the spot where Scott Peterson said he launched his boat Dec. 24 for a solo fishing trip.
Peterson has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder in the deaths. He could receive the death penalty if convicted.
"As this is a death-penalty case, the court must carefully and cautiously consider the impact cameras in the courtroom may have on providing a fair trial," Girolami wrote in his six-page ruling.
Girolami suggested print media coverage had less potential to taint the jury pool.
Prospective jurors will have a more difficult time avoiding or disregarding something they have seen replayed "many times on television in living color as opposed to something they have read about a few times in black and white," Girolami wrote.
The decision came four days after the judge ruled the hearing would be open to the public.
Television networks, including CNN, Court TV and NBC, had filed almost 1,000 pages of documents in their bid to allow cameras in the courtroom.
A group of newspapers, including The Bee, had sought to have a still camera photographer cover the proceeding. Prosecutors had requested the camera ban, and members of Laci Peterson's family joined that request.
Girolami described the plea from family members as "particularly compelling."
The victims' families will be "forced to relive their worst nightmare in a very public way, which unfortunately is necessary for the process," Girolami wrote.
"Televising these passionate proceedings is not, however, necessary to the process."
Scott Peterson's defense attorneys had argued to hold the hearing behind closed doors. When Girolami denied that request last week, they asked that cameras be allowed.
Henry Schleiff, chairman and CEO of Court TV, expressed disappointment with Monday's ruling but said the network's policy is not to appeal such decisions.
"According to our Constitution, trials are meant to be public, and we believe that all citizens -- not just the print press or those few who can fit into a courtroom -- should be able to watch their judicial system in action," Schleiff said in a written statement. "We respect Judge Girolami's decision and will not contest it."
Alonzo Wickers, whose firm represents broadcast media on the issue, said he could not comment on whether other networks would appeal.
"We hope the judge will revisit the issue before a subsequent proceeding in the case," Wickers said.
In the detailed ruling, Girolami cited 18 factors he weighed in his decision, including witnesses' privacy rights, the impact on finding an unbiased jury and the effect on ongoing law enforcement activity in the case.
"Because this case remains in its earliest stages, the possibility exists that the actual perpetrator remains at large," Girolami wrote.
The judge also said television coverage would "significantly increase the odds of requiring a change of venue."
Moving the trial is "not a desirable option" and would result in considerable hardship to the witnesses and added expense to the public, Girolami wrote.
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PROSECUTORS HYPNOTIZE LACI LOOKALIKE
PROSECUTORS HYPNOTIZE LACI LOOKALIKE
By HOWARD BREUER and DAVID K. LI
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August 20, 2003 -- The prosecution in the Laci Peterson murder case hypnotized a dog walker who resembles her in hopes of poking holes in husband Scott Peterson's defense, sources told The Post yesterday.
Cops believe Scott murdered Laci last Christmas Eve, before driving her body to Berkeley, Calif., and dumping it into San Francisco Bay. The defense has claimed witnesses spotted the pregnant woman walking her dog in Modesto at the time Scott Peterson allegedly murdered her.
To cut off the defense, prosecutors hope to show those witnesses were mistaking dog-walking Modesto resident Kristen Dempewolf, 34, for Laci, sources told The Post.
Both women were at about the same stage of pregnancy on Christmas Eve. Dempewolf delivered her baby at a Modesto hospital in early January - around the same time Laci Peterson would have given birth to son Conner.
Dempewolf's name surfaced on Monday, when unsealed court documents listed her - misspelled as "Deppenwolf" - as a witness interviewed under hypnosis. Investigators hypnotized Dempewolf so she could specifically recall .......
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Hypnosis, dogs to play part in Peterson trial
Posted on Wed, Aug. 20, 2003
Hypnosis, dogs to play part in Peterson trial
By John Coté
Testimony about human scent-tracking dogs and a prosecution witness interviewed using "hypnosis techniques" is expected to play a role in the preliminary hearing for accused double murderer Scott Peterson, newly released court documents show.
A separate court document made public Monday indicates that the remains of Peterson's wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner, will be released to family members no later than Friday after a defense specialist X-rays the fetus.
Scott Peterson, 30, is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths. He has pleaded innocent.
The bodies were found in April along Bay shore near Richmond, roughly four months after Laci Peterson's reported disappearance from her Modesto home touched off a widespread search.
Modesto police used several dogs in the hunt for the 27-year-old substitute teacher.
Scott Peterson said he last saw his wife the morning of Dec. 24 as he left for a solo fishing trip to the Bay, and she prepared to walk their golden retriever, McKenzie, in Dry Creek Regional Park.
A potentially key development came Dec. 26, when a specially trained bloodhound from the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office indicated to its handler that Laci Peterson left her Covena Avenue home in a vehicle, not on foot.
The dog headed to Yosemite Boulevard, away from the park. Later, the dog led its handler from the Peterson house all the way to Maze Boulevard.
The handler at the time declined to identify herself or the dog.
The defense has requested a bevy of information about dogs used in the case, including their veterinary records, training reports, reliability tests and trainers' backgrounds, according to court documents filed by defense attorney Kirk McAllister.
Lead defense attorney Mark Geragos wrote in a July 29 letter to Rich Distaso, senior deputy district attorney and one of the lead prosecutors on the case, that Distaso had "previously indicated to me that the prosecution intends to call witnesses at the preliminary hearing who will testify as to human scent-tracking dogs."
The defense specifically wants information about a dog named Merlin and the dog's handler, Cindee Valentin, a deputy with the Contra Costa County Emergency Services Search and Rescue Unit, a division of the sheriff's department. Reserve Capt. Christopher Boyer of the search and rescue unit also was named.
Valentin could not be reached for comment. Contra Costa County Sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said Valentin had been subpoenaed and was covered by a gag order imposed in the case by Judge Al Girolami.
The dog information request was contained in an eight-page motion listing 26 areas where the defense wanted more information from prosecutors.
Prosecutors replied in documents filed Monday that they had fully complied with the law, turning over 23,700 pages of documents, 18 videotapes, 100 audiotapes, five DVDs and three CDs of wiretap recordings, among other items.
Distaso also noted in the filing that prosecutors are requesting information from the defense, including the names and addresses of potential witnesses and any real evidence the defense intends to offer at the preliminary hearing set for Sept. 9.
At the defense's request, a hearing on evidentiary issues is scheduled for Sept. 2.
The prosecution document also indicates that one prosecution witness, identified as "Kristen Deppenwolf" was questioned in a "cognitive interview where hypnosis techniques were used."
A Kristen Deppenwolf could not be identified .............
(Excerpt) Read more at modestobee.com ...
Well, I know, but she could have been wanting to give a baby shower and knew she couldn't do it while Laci was missing. /saracasm off
Boy, I can certainly relate to that :):)
The proper DSM-IV term for that would be: Amberette Syndrome
Recent studies report a close link between Amberette Syndrome and Killthebrunette Syndrome. Initial (unconfirmed) reports suggest that peddling manure and the unresloved conflict of yearning for a Corvette and a Bimbette, contribute to the disastrous consequences.
The good news is that a combination of three drugs (sodium pentothal, an anesthetic which puts the afflicted to sleep; Pancuronium, which paralyzes the muscles and stops breathing; and potassium chloride, which stops the heart)permanently cures this syndrome.
Responded Peterson, according to the sources: "Yes … uh … uh … but no. But I know who did and I'll tell you later when I see you."
I'm going to make this a hypothethical that the Sandlapper and I were having this same conversation about a person/family member, (not me, of course), and tell you how I would interpret it. I would think Sandlapper was telling me that yes, he knew something about it, maybe paid somebody to do it, but he didn't do it himself. It does not speak to murder--it speaks to kidnapping.
I go to a lot of forums, but I really believe that I read it here on FR....
Well, we can hope that was her exact question, but we weren't given direct quotes on her question. The question could just as well have been, "Scott, do you know anything about your wife's disappearance"?
The conversation that will be equally interesting will be the one where he admits that he HAS a wife. Remember, Amber supposedly learned that he HAD a wife from a taped conversation between Scott and her.
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