| From: AshleyC27
GLOBE - June 21, 2004 "Cops probe whether Scott shot pregnant Laci in the head" Did Scott Peterson shoot his wife Laci before dumping her body in the chilly waters of the San Francisco Bay? Without conclusive evidence of how the bubbly 27-year old housewife was murdered, cops have asked if her husband shot her in the head, say sources. Prosecutors dropped a bombshell in opening arguments of Peterson's double homicide trial in the Redwood City, Calif., courtroom, by introducing evidence about the fertilizer salesman's 22-caliber handgun. Stanislaus County Deputy DA Rick Distaso first outlined the evidence and witnesses against Peterson, 31, for the murders of Laci and their unborn son Connor. Then he showed the jury a photo of the loaded gun that was taken from Peterson's truck and he promised he'd have a firearms expert testify about when it was last fired. Former FBI profiler Robert K. Ressler, who testifies in high profile murder cases tells the GLOBE the weapon comment wasn't accidental. "The Prosecutor is saying the gun has some significance to his theory of the crime, although we don't know where he is going with this yet" says Ressler. "He won't just drop the idea later - that would hurt his credibility. He's got to pay it off now that he's opened the door." According to a source close to the investigation police have explored the theory that Laci was shot in the head. Evidence of the shooting disappeared, they theorize, when Laci's head became detached from her body in the turbulent waters. "Her head is still missing" says the source. There have been many attempts to recover it, with extensive searches of the bay bottom. Cops say it would be a Perry Mason moment if the skull turned up, and inside was a bullet that could be traced back to the gun in Scott's vehicle." Police assert the former fertilizer salesman killed his 7 1/2 months pregnant spouse and dumped her body in the San Francisco Bay on or about Christmas Eve 2002. He faces the death penalty if convicted. No cause of death was determined by the medical examiner who performed the autopsies. In April 2003 their remains washed ashore just two miles from where Peterson said he'd been fishing the mornining his wife vanished. While Connor was found intact, Laci's head, parts ofher limbs and all of her internal organs except her uterus were missing. Lead Det. Al Brocchini found a Llama 22-caliber handgun in the glove compartment of Peterson's Ford F-150 pickup truck. Peterson told the cops he had been pheasant-hunting about a month before, but the gun was "dry-fired," then it "misfired again," so he put it in the glove compartment and forgot about it. Famed forensic pathologist and ballistic expert Robert H. Goldberg found the gun testimony fascinating. "They wouldn't go to the trouble and expense of bringing in a firearms expert unless they had some physical proof," he tells the GLOBE. "There could be blood or gunshot evidence we haven't heard about yet." Goldberg says the prosecutor's firearms witness will be able to tell if the gun is broken like Peterson said it was. "If the gun can be fired, the Scott is caught in a lie." he notes. "And if not why bring in this witness?" Ressler concludes "If Scott Peterson is innocent he's certainly made some odd statement." HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT TRIAL ALIBI-WITNESS LIST MAGAZINES AUTOPSY INDEX WIRETAPS CEMENT INDEX |
| LACI & CONNER May the Truth be Told |
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| THE DAY SCOTT WAS ARRESTED |
| LACI & CONNER May the Truth be Told |
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