| Soon after the birth of "Baby Latham" in 1965, she was given up for adoption by her mother, Jackie Latham. Welcomed into the well-adjusted Grady family, she lived a happy life. Then, in the late 1990s, she came back into contact with her mother, now Jackie Peterson, and her family—including Jackie's son Scott Peterson and his wife, Laci. Anne was welcomed into the family, and over the next several years she grew close to Scott and, especially, Laci. Together they shared holidays, family reunions and even a trip to Disneyland. Anne and Laci became pregnant at roughly the same time, and the two became confidantes. Then, on Christmas Eve 2002, Laci Peterson went missing— and the happy facade of the Peterson family slowly began to crumble. Anne rushed to the family's aid, helping in the search for Laci and even allowing Scott to stay in her home while police tried to find his wife. Yet Scott's behavior grew increasingly bizarre during the search, and Anne grew suspicious that her brother knew more than he was telling. Finally she began keeping a list of his disturbing behavior. And, by the time Laci's body—and that of her unborn son, Conner—were found, Anne was becoming convinced: Her brother Scott Peterson had murdered his wife and unborn child in cold blood. The book written by Scott Peterson's half-sister paints the now-familiar picture of him as a lying philanderer fixated on himself and uninterested in the search for his missing wife. But it also sheds new light on Jackie Peterson, describing her as a mother willing to go to any lengths to save her son. After she connected with her birth mother, Jackie,she grew close to all the Petersons but felt the deepest connection to Scott, in part because their physical resemblance was so strong. "He really was the golden boy," Bird wrote. "He was a real charmer, the kind of guy who lights up a room. I had always considered myself a good judge of character, and I thought Scott was about as solid and genuine as they came." Bird offered her half-brother a guest room in her house after Laci's disappearance, when he was being hounded by the media. It was just a short drive to the Berkeley Marina where Laci and Conner were found. While her husband was suspicious of Peterson early on, Bird supported him. When her husband pointed out that Peterson never seemed upset and never mentioned his missing wife, Bird suggested he might just be traumatized. "When are you going to stop making excuses for him?" her husband responded. As Peterson's behavior grew more strange, Bird wrote that she began to doubt his innocence. Some examples, as depicted in the book: — He flirted with Bird's 22-year-old baby sitter. — He surfed Internet porn sites from Bird's home computer. — He dismissed Amber Frey as a "down and dirty" fling and told Bird about having sex with two strangers in an airplane's bathroom on a long flight. Jackie Peterson's actions also bothered Bird, who noticed her being critical of her daughter-in-law. Jackie Peterson once called Bird to complain about the "by-the-book" wording of a thank-you card Laci had sent, according to the book. On another occasion, she wrote that her mother told Bird's baby sitter: "I wish Scott could meet someone like you." The 214-page book closes with a chapter about Bird's final visit to Peterson in jail a little more than a month ago. He assured her he would be released after his appeals. She went out to the parking lot and cried. "Scott was going to be locked away for the rest of his life, and it wasn't registering," she wrote. "He thought it was temporary. I guess they all do. I guess that's how they survive." Jackie Peterson also tried to persuade Bird to testify during the penalty phase of Peterson's double-murder trial, but she refused. "She would go to any lengths to save him, do anything for her little boy, fight to the death if she had to," Bird wrote. Peterson was convicted in November, and a jury recommended the death penalty the following month. A judge will sentence him March 16. HOME INDEX LACI CONNER SCOTT CASE INFO PETERSON FAMILY TREE NEXT-BOOK-JACKIE |
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| LACI & CONNER "May your family have peace. I am truly sorry for your great losses." DEE ~ MA ~ GUESTBOOK |
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| ANNE BIRD VISITS THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW VIEW VIDEO |
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| ANNE LOOKING OUT INTO THE BAY |
| -Two of Scotts cousins said he was investigated in connection with the disappearance of Kristen Smart, the girl from San Luis Obispo missing since 1966. -When I asked about his new hair color he said it was bleached in the swimming pool up in Mammoth when he was there skiing. -Despite what Jackie said on TV about Scott and Laci's "perfect marriage" on three separate occasions before Laci disappeared, Jackie told me Scott and Laci were having problems. |
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