Phone calls to Peterson intrigue psychologists
By GARTH STAPLEY and JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: November 22, 2003, 07:49:21 AM PST
As news reports of the missing Laci Peterson kicked into high gear Dec. 26,
Amber Frey abruptly broke her pattern of calling her boyfriend an average of
once a day.
While it's unclear when Frey learned that the man she had been dating, Scott
Peterson, was married and his pregnant wife missing since Christmas Eve, she
called him 14 times the day after Christmas.
The Fresno massage therapist may have been in shock and in denial, leading to
her first call to Modesto police four days later, two nationally recognized
psychology experts said.
A judge on Tuesday ordered Peterson, 31, to stand trial on charges that he
murdered his 27-year-old wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner. Prosecutors
are seeking the death penalty.
A review of cell phone records revealed Tuesday near the conclusion of Scott
Peterson's preliminary hearing brings into clearer focus his relationship with
the secret lover he initially denied having.
For example:
Frey made the first advance, calling Peterson three times on Nov. 19 after
getting his number from a friend. He called her four times over the next three
days.
She has said she met the Modesto fertilizer salesman Nov. 20, and they began
dating. At that point Peterson told her "that not only had he not ever been
married, he'd never been in a serious relationship before," Detective Jon
Buehler testified at the hearing.
The couple exchanged no calls Dec. 24. Authorities have said they believe
Peterson killed his wife that morning or the night before.
Peterson called Frey four times on Dec. 31. That evening, more than 1,000
people held aloft glowing candles in a tearful vigil for the missing
mother-to-be whose dimpled smile appeared on posters all over town.
Peterson rang his girlfriend six times on Jan. 6 -- the highest number of calls
he made to her on any single day of their relationship. That was the day he
told Frey that his wife was Laci Peterson.
Frey, cooperating with police, pretended to be stunned. Buehler said he was at
her side during the 23-minute phone conversation.
Peterson told Frey he was "longing to hold onto you."
The next day, the former lovers spent 100 minutes together on a single call.
Although investigator Steve Jacobson said no calls were exchanged on
Valentine's Day, phone records obtained by The Bee show that Frey called
Peterson once that day.
Jacobson testified that he obtained only cell phone records. Also, Frey used
another phone Feb. 13-15, according to Jacobson's report, and a source said
Frey's cell phone was out of service those days.
In all, Peterson called Frey 125 times, and she dialed him 119 times. That is a
total of 244 calls over 93 days starting five weeks before Laci Peterson
disappeared and ending when Frey told Peterson to quit phoning her in a final
three-minute call Feb. 19.
About not being married
That Peterson had a girlfriend could provide authorities with an explanation
for why he might kill his wife. During the lengthy preliminary hearing,
prosecutors painted a picture of a man impassioned with another woman.
Peterson initially lied to his girlfriend about being married.
The business associate who had set up Peterson with Frey discovered his
deception Dec. 6 and confronted him, Detective Al Brocchini testified. Peterson
told her "that he sometimes tells people he's married, and he tells some people
he's not married, because he's lost his wife," Brocchini said.
Peterson told Frey on Dec. 9 that he had "lost his wife," Buehler testified.
"She could see tears coming out of his eyes going down his cheek," Buehler
said. "She could hear his stomach making noises. She was sitting very close to
him at the time. They were holding hands."
The point at which Frey learned the truth hasn't been made public. But some
psychology experts say an abnormal peak in her calls to Peterson -- Dec. 26,
coinciding with intensifying reports on the missing Laci Peterson -- could
speak volumes.
"At the point that facts started flying around, I think (Frey) got scared,
panicked and probably became very frightened that she could become implicated,"
said Dr. Robi Ludwig, a New York City psychotherapist and frequent TV
newsmagazine commentator.
"I don't know if that got expressed by her making many phone calls, hoping she
was wrong, wishing she was wrong, praying she was wrong," Ludwig continued.
"Here was this guy she really wanted to believe in."
Frey passed a police lie detector test regarding involvement in Laci Peterson's
demise, a source said.
If Frey became aware of the situation Dec. 26, it took her four days to
approach police.
Ludwig explained the delay: "Denial. She's hoping that this man she's very
passionate about is who she thinks he is. Once she goes to police, she has to
grieve that relationship because calling police ends that relationship."
Perhaps Frey hoped to convince Peterson to "come forward on his own,"
speculated Dr. Evan Nelson, a Virginia forensic psychologist who recently
testified at the trial of Washington, D.C., sniper defendant Lee Boyd Malvo.
Or maybe Frey was afraid Peterson would point the finger at her and bolt. Or
that she would be hounded by the media, Nelson said.
"All those are possibilities," said Nelson, who has testified in 300 murder
cases. "But it's all guesswork. Frequently what the public sees (initially) and
what comes out in trial isn't the same."
Ruth Jones, a criminal law professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento,
said a normal reaction in Frey's case would be to "want to talk to the person
first" before deciding a course of action.
"Think of all the people who knew Scott Peterson," continued Jones, a former
New York City prosecutor. "Not one immediately said, 'Oh, my God -- maybe it
was Scott.' That's one of the things that make this case so dramatic. You can't
look in (someone's) eyes and say he's a killer."
In televised interviews in late January, Peterson said he told his wife about
the affair in early December. Laci Peterson's family and friends have expressed
doubt about that statement.
Peterson also said he immediately told police about Frey when officers
responded to a missing person call Dec. 24. But a detective testified that
Peterson denied the affair at that point, and it appears that authorities
didn't know about Frey until she came forward Dec. 30.
Calls to Laci's friends
Frey has not granted media interview requests since, speaking publicly only
twice: at a January news conference arranged by police and in May to announce
she had hired a lawyer.
But Frey did reach out to people close to Laci Peterson, calling the
then-missing woman's friends and family members 53 times over seven weeks
starting the day after she went public about her relationship with Scott
Peterson. She hoped to assure them she had no idea he was married, sources
said.
Frey also called detectives more than 200 times through mid-March.
Although Frey's calls to Scott Peterson were fairly regular both before and
after Laci Peterson was reported missing, she dialed him more than fives times
a day only twice: on Dec. 26 and Feb. 1, when she called 14 times and nine
times, respectively.
The first occurred before she was in cahoots with authorities. But on Feb. 1,
Frey called Buehler, her police handler, 19 times.
That same morning, Frey placed two calls to a polygraph service. Sources said
Peterson offered to submit to a lie detector test, but the plan never
materialized.
Peterson called Frey four times that day.
Other notable days during that period:
Dec. 31, Peterson called Frey four times the day a massive vigil was held for
his missing wife. When he called is unknown. Frey received 13 incoming calls
that day, including two within 15 minutes of the vigil's start, one in the
middle of it, one at its end and two others later than night.
Jan. 24, the day Frey revealed the affair publicly. She didn't call Peterson
that day, but he called her once; the next day, they exchanged five calls.
Jan. 27, the day Peterson taped his interview for ABC's "Good Morning America."
The two spoke three times on the phone.
After the show aired the first segment of a two-part interview with Diane
Sawyer the next day, Frey called Peterson's cell phone for a call that lasted
23 minutes. She called a second time later, and he called her twice as well.
Feb. 10, Frey's 28th birthday as well as Laci Peterson's due date. Also on this
day, nude photos of Frey began appearing on some National Enquirer newsstands.
Frey dialed Peterson's numbers four times that day, and he called her once.
Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at 578-2390 or
gstapley@modbee.com .
Bee staff writer John Coté can be reached at 578-2394 or
jcote@modbee.com .