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Two points about the 9:30am time: One, he could have been in and out of the home several times during the night without being seen or heard. Two, HE told the police 9:30am before anyone came forward to corroborate the time.

Now maybe he did leave at 9:30am. But talk about taking a chance! Any friend or relative could have stopped over at that time to drop off gifts, a bottle of wine, return something, just say hi, for coffee with Laci to say Merry Christmas............and if they did, what exactly does he say,............she's out walking the dog (ok, I'll wait) or she went to the store (ok I'll wait).

I would be more skeptical about the neighbor relating an accurate time. I see my neighbors coming and going constantly, but I don't immediately glance at my watch and make a mental note each time they back out of their driveway!

9:30am says alot without saying alot. It says WE had a leisurely morning, We had a quiet wake-up and breakfast, WE were ready to begin our day etc. 7am says no way a woman who is 8 months preggy is going to get up on a cold drizzly day and say, "Hey, I can't wait to take the dog for a walk!" OTOH if he strangled her in her sleep (or suffocated her) during the early morning hours of the 24th, he may have been so busy prepping the body and getting prepared for the drive to Berkely that he didn't get away until 9:30. But if that's true, he was certainly one lucky stiff no one interrupted him.

Sinnett's clerk thinks she saw Laci Peterson
By Leslie Slape
Jan 30, 2003 - 08:41:04 am PST

A clerk at a Longview grocery store believes she may have waited on a pregnant woman who vanished from Modesto, Calif., on Christmas Eve and whose case has come to national attention.

"This is serious," the Market Place clerk recalled the woman as telling her sometime in December. "I was kidnapped. Call the authorities when I leave."

The clerk initially intended to call police but became distracted and forgot. She didn't act until late last week after a CNN report on Laci Peterson, 27, jogged her memory.

Longview police are reviewing all video surveillance tapes for the month of December. If the woman on the tape appears to be Peterson, officers will advise Modesto Police.

Peterson's husband has told investigators he last saw his wife the morning of Christmas Eve. Peterson is due to give birth to a boy on Feb. 10.

While watching the CNN report, the clerk suddenly recalled a strange pair of customers who passed through her checkout line at the Commerce Avenue store.

In her statement to Longview police, the clerk, 45, recalled that the woman appeared to be in her 20s and in a late stage of pregnancy. She said the woman was a "classic beauty" with sleek brown hair.

The clerk said the woman was accompanied by a much older man with "strong features" and a ruddy complexion.

The man's apparent age doesn't correspond with that of Peterson's husband, Scott Peterson, who is 30.

Police have not named Peterson as a suspect in his wife's disappearance, but attention has focused on him, in part because he admits he told his wife he was having an affair shortly before she vanished.

The clerk said the couple bought the sort of food which could be eaten easily on a trip, such as containers of yogurt. After the man stepped out of line to get something he forgot, the clerk remarked to the woman that she should be wearing a coat on such a chilly day.

The woman told the clerk she didn't have time to take a coat because she was kidnapped. She said the man had a weapon.

The clerk told police she wasn't sure whether to take the woman seriously.

The woman then quickly put some candy on the counter, signed her name to a check and gave to it the clerk, telling her to fill out the rest for the price of the candy.

The clerk told her she wasn't allowed to do that. The report does not indicate whether the clerk looked at the name or address on the check.

The woman hurriedly completed the check, but the clerk had no time to ring up the purchase because the man returned. He took the check and insisted on paying cash for the candy along with the rest of the groceries.

He asked what the women talked about while he was gone.

"She said you kidnapped her," the clerk said.

That made the man angry, she said.

The clerk teasingly added that her husband always kidnaps her to take her to dinner. The man relaxed and laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I kidnapped her," she recalled him saying.

After they left, the clerk unsuccessfully tried to find a phone book to call police, then became distracted and forgot about the incident. She told police she feels terrible about it now.

The Daily News Wednesday was unable to contact the clerk or the Modesto officer in charge of the investigation.

Detective Sgt. Dan Jacobs said he didn't know how long it would take to review the videotapes.

© 2003 The Daily News
Lee Publications, Inc.

Exactly

That is why I wondered if that person HAD corroborated his 9:30 am story.....they looked enuf to see him loading stuff so their time would be fairly accurate, at least not off by hours.

If he had been out several times during the night, disposing of stuff, why wait until the daylight to haul out those umbrellas?

He could have left at 7am and still used the dog story....we were lying in our glorious marital bed, discussing her plans for the day..she was going to walk the dog, go to the store, bake, etc.

OTOH if he strangled her in her sleep (or suffocated her) during the early morning hours of the 24th, he may have been so busy prepping the body and getting prepared for the drive to Berkely that he didn't get away until 9:30.

I realize that the details are probably something we will never know for sure, but I really want to know what his precise motive was.

If it were premeditated by more than a few hours, you would think he'd have done a better job with alibi and timing. Christmas Eve just doesn't sound like a likely date to plan for your pregnant wife's murder, especially with the busy family schedule they had.