Homicide victims usually know killer

The Modesto Bee ^ | Posted: January 28, 2003 @ 04:50:10 AM PST | Patick Giblin

[Freedom2specul8]

Modesto reties yellow ribbons
Pregnant wife's vanishing recalls Levy, Yosemite cases
Janine DeFao,
San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, January 5, 2003

Modesto -- Once again, posters of a missing dark-haired young woman
with a winning smile and bright future are papering the streets of
this Central Valley city.

When Chandra Levy disappeared less than two years ago in Washington,
D.C., residents of her hometown posted flyers and tied yellow ribbons
to trees and mailboxes. Today, they are wearing ribbons pinned to
their shirts with a second strand in pale blue, for Laci Peterson and
the baby boy she is supposed to deliver around Valentine's Day.

Peterson, 27, vanished on Christmas Eve. While police have few clues,
they believe she met with foul play. On Saturday, investigators
broadened their search efforts from Stanislaus County to six other
counties -- including a return trip to the Berkeley Marina -- but
found no new evidence.

While each passing day diminishes the possibility she will be found
safe, time has not dimmed the efforts of the hundreds of volunteers
who have the search for her, from friends and family to total
strangers touched by the tragedy.

They are holding out hope, they say, because it is too hard to
consider the alternative.

"With Chandra Levy, there was not much we could do here to solve the
case. All we could do was worry and wait and support the family," said
Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino. But with Peterson, "the response of the
community has just been overwhelming. They're out searching fields and
ranches and empty warehouses. It's uppermost in their minds."

It is the third time in four years that Modesto residents have found
themselves thrust into a high-profile missing persons case and the
ensuing media glare.

The fast-growing city of nearly 200,000, struggling to retain its
small- town atmosphere as it becomes home to more Bay Area commuters,
also was the command post for the search for three missing Yosemite
tourists in 1999. The volunteer center was based in the same hotel
that now houses the one for Peterson.


'TOO MUCH FOR OUR TOWN'
"This hits our community for the third time, and it's just too much
for our town to go through this tragic a thing," said Susan Levy,
Chandra's mother. "I feel so sad. It's like flashing back to the very
beginning of our case."

The remains of the 24-year-old intern were found a year after her
disappearance, and her reported relationship with Rep. Gary Condit,
D-Ceres, cost him his political career. The case of the Yosemite
tourists -- Carole Sund, her daughter, Juli, and their family friend
Silvina Pelosso -- also ended with the discovery of their bodies.

Peterson's searchers know that, but say they won't give up.

"Things look bleak out there. It's hard to keep up your hope, but you
have to," said Modesto resident Lisa Braden, among the 80 or so
volunteers who show up daily at the volunteer center to distribute
flyers, make ribbons and help with other tasks.

While Modesto police have been guarded about many details of the
investigation, they increased public scrutiny of Peterson's husband,
Scott Peterson, when they announced last week that they needed help to
corroborate his story that he found his wife missing Dec. 24 upon
returning from a solo fishing trip at the Berkeley Marina.

Saturday's search at the shallow marina -- involving seven dogs and
eight divers -- wasn't because of a specific tip, authorities say, but
because the clear weather finally let them conduct the search.


PLANNED TO WALK DOG
Scott Peterson has told police that he left home around 9:30 a.m.,
when his wife was planning to walk their golden retriever in a nearby
park and shop for Christmas brunch. A neighbor found the dog outside
an hour later, trailing a muddy leash. But searches of the park and
beyond have come up empty, and bloodhounds led investigators to
believe Peterson may have left home by car, not on foot.

Police released photos of Scott Peterson's pickup truck and boat,
which have been impounded, and said he is only cooperating "to some
degree," which his family disputed. Investigators would not say
whether he has taken a polygraph test.

On Friday, police said they do not think a burglary at a home across
the street from the Petersons on Covena Avenue was related to the
disappearance, as family members and volunteers had suspected.
Investigators said the break- in happened two days after Laci Peterson
was reported missing.

While both his parents and Laci Peterson's family have done extensive
media interviews in a case that is garnering national attention, Scott
Peterson has declined to do so. He does not attend the police
department's daily press conferences and sat apart from the family at
a New Year's Eve candlelight vigil, leading some of the 1,200
attendees to believe he was not there.

"Being the parent of a child who's missing, I don't understand why
anyone would not stand up and say, 'Here I am. Do with me what you
please,' " said Donna Raley, whose 36-year-old daughter Dena
Raley-McCluskey disappeared in Modesto in 1999 and has never been
found. "If you were innocent, wouldn't you want to clear your name?"

Still, friends and family are adamant that he could not have been
involved, describing the couple as "perfect" and "like honeymooners"
even after five years of marriage. Scott Peterson, 30, has gone to the
search center daily and left notes posted for the volunteers.

"As I see every person come through this door, or out searching, I
tell Laci about them, looking for her," one reads. "Early this
morning, I felt she could hear me. She thanks you." It is signed,
"Laci's husband."


COUPLE MET AS STUDENTS
The couple married five years ago after meeting as students at
California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where both
majored in agriculture fields. Laci Peterson grew up with her mother,
stepfather and brother in Modesto, where she was a high school
cheerleader. Her father and half- sister lived in nearby Escalon,
where he raised dairy cows.

Scott Peterson grew up in San Diego, the youngest of seven children.

After graduating from college, the couple opened a restaurant in their
college town. They closed it more than two years ago to move back to
Modesto and start a family, closer to Laci Peterson's relatives.

Laci Peterson began working as a substitute teacher, and Scott
Peterson took a job as a salesman for Tradecorp, a Spanish firm that
manufactures specialty fertilizers.

While Scott Peterson traveled often for work, neighbors said they
often saw the couple gardening together, hosting pool parties and
grilling on the backyard barbecue that Scott Peterson built.

"I never heard them argue or look upset," said Terra Venable, who
lives across the street. "They're what you would classify as a totally
normal family. "

Family and friends said the couple were excited about the anticipated
arrival of the baby. While Laci decorated the nursery in nautical
theme, Scott built a table for it.

Rene Tomlinson, a friend of Laci Peterson since high school, said she
last talked to her a few days before Christmas. She was heading out to
buy fabric for the nursery, and there was no indication anything was
wrong.

Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, said she talked to her daughter on Dec.
23, the night before she was reported missing. Aside from Scott
Peterson, she was the last known person to speak to her daughter.


'LOOKING FORWARD'
"She said they would be over for Christmas Eve and were looking
forward to it," Rocha said.

Tomlinson said it was not unusual for Scott Peterson to go fishing
alone, and his parents said he fished often from the time he was a
child.

"The boat was new, so he was anxious to go," said his mother, Jackie
Peterson. "He had an agreeable wife, so he got to do what he wanted."

Another relative said Scott Peterson had not fished before at the
Berkeley Marina, but had wanted to go after reading an article about
sturgeon.

Tomlinson, who had been organizing Peterson's baby shower, shows up
daily at the volunteer center with her 5-month-old daughter, Emma, for
whom Laci had thrown a shower.

"It's wearing on my family life, but I don't think anyone is going to
give up," she said.

Family and friends have been buoyed by the support of volunteers,
estimated at nearly 800. That many people turned out at the Red Lion
Hotel for a New Year's Day brunch and fund-raiser for the search. The
hotel has donated space for the volunteer center.

"When you just look at her picture and see her smile, you feel the
warmth and want to do something. Add to that the holidays and the fact
that she's eight months' pregnant," said hotel general manager Brad
Saltzman. "Since Modesto has been through this twice before, they
really just come together."

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (209) 342-6166. A
$500, 000 reward is being offered for Laci Peterson's safe return.

[iaf97]

The ticket is the only evidence and it has no entry or exit time that I know of. Very weak absent any other corroboration of his time line. As far as the girl friend theory it is really speculation. Seems that the present one is excluded. IMHO, Scottditit! :)

[alexandria]

Early in this case someone posted many many missing women from the Bay area that have never been found. We have a few here in Eueka plus they found a womens torso floating in a slough and she has never been identified. Laci Peterson is not the first person to disapear and won't be the last.

Very true but I ask under the same type of circumstances? True, LOTS of women are abducted, murdered, or simply vanish never to be heard from again. However, we are talking about a woman that is 8 mos pregnant w/ her first baby, who has family she is close to nearby. Sorry but the victimology of this crime shows Laci to be in the low-low/medium risk catagory for a victim of a violent crime by stranger.

[MaggieMay]

OK, if Scott says he told LE about his infidelity,then you have Scott scoring a small victory in the war of words. But and this is critical, what else did he accomplish in this interview? If, as has been pointed out, he messes up on his timeline. LE has just to play their little tape recorder or read his statements and redline the inconsistances. I cannot imagine a lawyer allowing his client to conduct a interview like this on national TV. Isn't this the opening that LE has been waiting for, that Scott's narcissist personality will help break the case for them?

[Freedom2specul8]

Sorry bout the format of that article.

[Freedom2specul8]

Posted on Tue, Dec. 31, 2002
COMMUNITY SEARCH AND SUPPORT UNDER WAY
Modesto mobilizes for missing woman
DISAPPEARANCE EVOKES MEMORIES OF 2001 CASE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., OF
CHANDRA LEVY
By Roxanne Stites
San Jose Mercury News

Modesto residents could do little but watch from across the country
when Chandra Levy, one of their own, disappeared from her Washington,
D.C., apartment last year. But now, the Central Valley town is the
setting for the high-profile search for another young woman.

Friends, family and more than 150 volunteers are banding together to
help find Laci Peterson, the 27-year-old pregnant woman last seen on
Christmas Eve.

Some of the same people who rallied support for Levy's family are now
involved in the tiring search for Peterson. They have blanketed the
town with fliers, helped police search parks and city streets, and
pooled a $500,000 reward to bring her home safely.

Levys are concerned

There's no connection between the two women, but their mysterious
disappearances have brought the community together again.

``It's pretty hard, hearing it again,'' Chandra Levy's 21-year-old
brother, Adam Levy, said Monday. ``Hearing it again brings back all
the trauma from before.''

Levy's mother, Susan Levy, plans to meet with Peterson's family today
to lend her support.

Adam Levy said his family has been tempted to call but didn't want the
Petersons to be forced to consider the worst. Chandra Levy's remains
were discovered in a Washington, D.C., park in May, after a yearlong
mystery that brought down Gary Condit, the Central Valley congressman
with whom she was reportedly having an affair. Her killing remains
unsolved.

The Levys also don't want to draw media attention away from Peterson's
disappearance.

Scott Peterson reported his wife missing Dec. 24 after he returned
home from a solo fishing trip to the Berkeley Marina. She had stayed
home to walk the dog and get ready for a family dinner.

The couple is expecting their first child around Valentine's Day and
had already decorated the baby's room.

Modesto police say they have no suspects. They have scoured
neighboring parks and abandoned buildings, questioned registered sex
offenders and parolees, and asked residents to search rural areas
where Laci Peterson may have walked before disappearing.

On Monday, her mother, Sharon Rocha, made another appeal to the
community to help bring her daughter and future grandchild home.

Levy's parents and their support group, Wings of Protection, are
planning to help Peterson's family cope.

Susan Levy and Modesto resident Donna Raley, whose daughter has been
missing since 1999, co-founded the group last year for families whose
loved ones are missing or found dead.

``I think because of Chandra Levy, there's a lot more attention paid
to missing-person cases, like Laci's,'' Raley said. ``There's more
pressure on police and it's been an eye-opener for the community.''

The Levys say they know how anguished the Petersons must be,
especially during the holidays.

Park factor

Adam Levy said it tore at him when he heard Laci Peterson may have
been seen in a park before she disappeared. Investigators said they
thought Chandra Levy had gone jogging in a park, where her remains
were discovered about a year later.

``It's hard when you have gone through something like this already,
especially about the park and everything,'' Adam Levy said.

It's difficult for him to recall the first few weeks of his sister's
disappearance, Adam Levy said.

``It was like I was living a bad dream, a nightmare,'' he said. ``You
want to believe it's nothing. It's bad communication. It was just
trauma and the unknown. It's like you don't know what to think.''

He said the community support helps but can also be overwhelming.

``It's different for everyone, of coping and dealing with it,'' he
said. ``Every situation is different. People find different ways of
dealing with it. Some people find religion, friends, family, support.
I just tried to survive.''

[Yeti]

Scott's stories just don't add up. Once a liar, always a liar in my book.

Well, he is a liar, that's for sure! And a player. A cad.

All I am doing is entertaining the possibility that he is innocent of this. He is bad, but there might be some people who are worse. I would hate for, say, a murderous piece of trash to get away with the sick, cruel murder of an expectant mother just because Scott is a weaselly-type of guy.

[muggs]

I distinctly remember hearing that Amy had said something about Laci's going out the door w/o even waiting for Scott. If anyone else remembers something like that, I hope they'll post.

I also remember reading or hearing that Amy said that. Of course I don't remember where I read/heard it but I do remember.

[wimpycat]

I don't know, and I am not going to let you GOAD me into pretending I DO know something I don't, just because you are...I wish you would share it with us instead of trying to spin your way to some imagined debating victory.

Low blow, Yeti. Chill out with the sarcasm, why don't you? How about if we do each other a favor and not pick each other apart on this? I'm taking a totally different tack than you are on this, and that's all there really is to it. I tried to make that plain, but maybe I didn't explain myself well enough. Your theory about a jealous girlfriend just doesn't do a thing for me. It just kind of lays there....but that's just me. I just can't help it if I don't feel the same way about it. You're pursuing the not-so-obvious or likely, and that's OK by me; but I simply don't want to go there. I simply don't agree with your characterization of the Amber press conference and other things. Who knows? Maybe some jealous girlfriend will turn up and you'll be right and the rest of us will be eating a lot of crow. I'm not afraid of being wrong. You just do your thing, and let me do mine, OK?

[iaf97]

They don't need to; LE knows where they are going. People get impatient when they have to wait while the evidence is compiled in a circumstantial evidence case. What is frustrating is that even if they can prove murder they may not be able to find the body. They want to do that both for a conviction and for the family.

[Yeti]

Is that an older article?

[Velveeta]

But do you kick your husband out of your house to have a *sleepover*?

I go out with friends also, go to hotels with girlfriends so the kids can swim in the middle of winter and such. I've never thought to kick my husband out of the house in order to have my girlfriends over...call me crazy

[spectre]

We will wait and see what Scott says tomorrow.

There has to be a good reason why Scott came out with this new revelation. He has been very precise so far. Maybe he's losing his grasp? Don't know..

sw

[Freedom2specul8]

Yes yeti it's from dec 31st. I guess iaf97 is right..I was thinking it might help them find the body quicker, if they hire a private investigator..but in Chandra's case, she 'left a map'..which was a huge clue..

[spectre]

Well, it might also help, and this is a stretch, if they changed the wording for the $500,000 reward from "information leading to her SAFE return" to "information leading to finding Laci"...dead or alive.

sw

[Jrabbit]

Do you recall if Laci's step-dad said he was also fishing that day and talked to Scott by cell phone?

[Freedom2specul8]

someone asked about the reward money earlier..or maybe on a different thread..

Reward increased for missing pregnant woman
Saturday, December 28, 2002
(12-28) 16:52 PST MODESTO, Calif. (AP) --

The reward for a missing pregnant woman ballooned to $500,000 Saturday after a massive donation from a family friend who asked to remain anonymous.

The man wrote a check for $375,000, single-handedly quadrupling the reward for information leading to the safe return of Laci Rocha Peterson, according to a foundation coordinating the volunteer effort to find the missing woman.

"He doesn't want any of the attention," said Kim Petersen, executive director of the Carole Sund-Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation. "He just wants Laci home."

SNIP

The man is from the Modesto area, but asked that no other identifying information be released, Petersen said.

[Freedom2specul8]

Speaking of rewards..see my previous post.

This brings back memories to a previous reward from a previous case. :(

[Freedom2specul8]

There is a rumor that the $ could be from the gallo family..famous wine folks.

[landerwy]

Oh those tag lines! My compass is pointing north, is that good?