Identification of body focused on Laci Peterson
News from my growing up hometown...;o)
Identification of body focused on Laci Peterson
Thursday, April 17, 2003
By DAVID KRAVETS
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND -- The identification of two bodies found in San Francisco Bay is focused solely on whether it was Laci Peterson and the baby she was carrying, a state crime lab supervisor said Wednesday.
The lab is comparing DNA from Peterson and her parents with tissue and bone taken from the decomposed bodies of a woman and infant boy found earlier this week a mile apart on the rocky shoreline of this city east side of San Francisco.
"We don't have another person in mind," said John Tonkyn, a missing persons supervisor at the state crime lab.
Peterson, 27, a substitute teacher, vanished on Christmas Eve from her Modestao home, 90 miles southeast of Richmond. Her husband, Scott Peterson, said he last saw her as he left to go fishing that morning in Berkeley, not far from where the bodies were found.
The lab was analyzing cheek swabs taken from Laci Peterson's parents and hair from Laci Peterson's hairbrush. Those results will be compared with DNA from the bodies that were found.
When asked why they weren't using dental records, Tonkyn said the lab wasn't provided with teeth from the Contra Costa County Coroner's office.
"Sometimes not a full skeleton has been found," Tonkyn said.
Published reports have said the woman's body was headless. The full-term baby still had an umbilical cord attached.
If the woman's body is not identified as Peterson, the lab will begin comparing the samples with likely matches in a database of 100 DNA samples of other missing people or their relatives. The state has more than 25,000 active missing person cases.
The news conference came as Laci Peterson's family members remained sequestered in Modesto.
"There's no news, we're just waiting," said Ron Grantski, Laci Peterson's stepfather. "Until they confirm there really isn't anything."
Scott Peterson, 30, a fertilizer salesman, was nowhere to be seen in town. He hasn't surfaced publicly since the bodies were discovered Sunday and Monday.
While Laci Peterson's family issued a brief statement Tuesday, not a word has come from his camp. While his in-laws stood by him early in the investigation, a rift developed after he acknowledged having an affair with a Fresno woman and traded in his wife's Land Rover for a new pickup truck.
Scott Peterson has not been named as a suspect in his wife's disappearance, but police have seized his boat, truck and nearly 100 items from his house.
His father, Lee Peterson, told reporters Tuesday at his house north of San Diego that he didn't know where his son was.
"What if Scott were here?" he said. "Is that a big deal?"
The lawn in front of the house the couple shared was freshly cut Wednesday, but neighbors said someone had stopped by and cut it the night before. Scott Peterson hasn't been seen in the neighborhood for more than a week.
The property manager of the building where Peterson rented an office, who only identified himself as Mark, said Peterson moved out earlier this year and is trying to find someone to take over the lease for another six to eight months.
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On the Net:
Funny how Stanislaus District Attorney is positive on the discovery of the bodies to be those of Laci and Conner... A good sign... ;o)