| Scott Peterson's Ex-Girlfriend Hires a New Lawyer May 19, 2003 GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Claudia Cowan joins us from Point Isabelle in Richmond, California. -- Claudia? CLAUDIA COWAN, FOX CORRESPONDENT: Well, Greta, officially, Scott's other woman, Amber Frey, is just a witness, at this point, but her new high-profile attorney is also calling her a victim of Scott Peterson's deception, adding that victims are entitled to attorneys. And so it was that high-profile civil rights attorney Gloria Allred announced she has been hired to represent Amber, who's looking different than she did back in January. That's when she announced publicly she was having an affair with Scott Peterson at the time his pregnant wife Laci disappeared and that Scott had told her he was not married. The massage therapist and single mom from Fresno has been helping police build their case and is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution. Allred says she anticipates attacks on Amber both in the press and on the stand and that her client will continue to refuse all offers for money for interviews because she's most concerned with the integrity of the prosecution. Amber added she won't talk to reporters until after she testifies. She also offered her condolences to Laci's family. Meantime, divers looking for clues in Laci's death returned to the San Francisco Bay for the fourth day in a row. They're combing the murky waters and muddy floor of the bay with their fingertips, focusing on two main areas. One is off the Richmond shoreline, near where the remains of Laci and her unborn son, Conner, washed ashore last month. The other is closer to Brooks Island. That's where Scott told police he was fishing at the time his wife vanished on Christmas Eve. Authorities won't say what they're looking for or what, if anything, they have found so far. But clearly, they're hoping to recover body parts or other potential evidence, like ropes, tarps or cement rocks that may have been used to murder Laci or weigh her down. The remains could provide valuable clues, maybe even cause of death, which has yet to be determined in this case. But salvage experts say because of the decay factor, finding anything relevant will be difficult. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DIANE SHIPWAY, SALVAGE COORDINATOR: I think it's looking for a needle in a haystack. If it's free-floating, it's probably going to wind up on the beach here at Point Isabel. And if it's weighted down, it could be six to eight feet in the mud and the silt. So they may never find anything. (END VIDEO CLIP) COWAN: But prosecutors are hoping to bolster their case against Scott, who today begins his second month behind bars on charges of double murder. Defense sources say the intensive search effort here in the bay strongly suggests to them that the DA's office is scrambling to find any evidence to link Scott to the crime, evidence that the defense argues simply does not exist. Greta, back to you. VAN SUSTEREN: Claudia, thank you. Joining us from Los Angeles is that high-profile attorney. Gloria Allred is a frequent guest on our who had a big announcement today. Gloria, how do youlike being called "high-profile"? GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIMS' RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, it's maybe one of the nicer things I've been called lately, so that's OK. VAN SUSTEREN: All right. OK. Well, you said today that you anticipate that -- your client, Amber Frey, needs a lawyer because you anticipate attacks. What attacks? ALLRED: Well, I do anticipate attacks on probably any witness that the defense may consider to be important to the prosecution's case. And certainly, Amber Frey would be in that category, as a person who has reported to be -- been reported to be a key witness for the prosecution. And so these attacks may take place inside the courtroom, in an attempt to undermine her credibility, and/or they may take place outside of the courtroom, where she may be challenged in the court of public opinion. I'm going to be there to make sure that the truth about Amber is known, where it is appropriate to do so, and to make sure that her reputation is protected because, Greta, I think of her as a very grave young woman who did the right thing. She went to law enforcement as soon as she felt that she had information that was relevant, and she provided it to them. She's cooperated with them at all times and plans to continue to do so. And she's done the right thing. VAN SUSTEREN: And I've given -- certainly, given her the nod for doing the right thing, too. But assuming that she has no skeletons in her closet, assuming that she has, you know, done nothing wrong -- and I'll make that assumption, it certainly doesn't seem like she's done anything wrong -- she's not going to be attacked, Gloria. I mean, there's nothing they can do to her. She hasn't done anything wrong. ALLRED: Well, I mean, defense attorneys, for the most part, are attack dogs. That's what they do for a living. So I don't think that we could lull ourselves into a false sense of security and assume that... VAN SUSTEREN: Do you think Mark Geragos is going to... ALLRED: ... land of Oz. I wouldn't operate under that assumption. I don't know what the strategy is going to be. I'm not sure if they know, at this point, what the strategy is going to be. But I think that Amber is going to be a formidable witness. VAN SUSTEREN: Well, if Mark -- if she hasn't done anything wrong and if Mark Geragos goes after her like an attack dog, then he's lost his mind, I mean, in a sense, because the jury is going to be very sympathetic to her. And he's not that nuts. He's not that crazy. He's not going to do that to her. But if she's got something to hide, he is going to go for her, and that's fair, right? ALLRED:Well, I mean, I would want to see what it is he's saying before I decide whether it's fair or not fair. But I can say this, that, you know, I think that she's going to come across in a way that many people will find extremely persuasive. And let me say something about whether she's got something to hide. She's not a suspect. She hasn't been a suspect. The first news conference that she did was with the police at the police department. They... VAN SUSTEREN: I think the viewers know that, Gloria. I think the viewers know that. ALLRED: I want to be sure they know it. She hasn't done anything wrong. She's an innocent victim in all of this. VAN SUSTEREN All right. You know what I think, Gloria? That everyone pretty much knows that because people have been watching this, and so far, there's been nothing suspect about her, and even that she has actually helped the police. Up next: Did something about Laci Peterson's body tell investigators to scour the San Francisco Bay? And more evidence. What did a woman discover along the beach where Laci's body was found? Tonight, a woman walking along the California park where Laci Peterson's body was found says she may have discovered more evidence. The woman says she turned over a tarp and duct tape to police. Back with Amber Frey's attorney Gloria Allred. Attorney Geoffrey Fieger. Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden. Attorneys Bernie Grimm and Ted William (a former D.C. homicide detective). Bernie, I'm bringing up a topic that I'm a little raw about, and that is should we be showing on our air pictures of Scott Peterson in jail garb? Is that fair to him, to the system? BERNIE GRIMM, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's not fair. The Supreme Court has talked about the fact that, when a defendant appears in court, he's to appear as if he's not in jail to prevent the presumption of innocence to going from a presumption of guilt. Now he's not entitled to it at status hearings, but Mark Geragos made the motion and the judge ruled on it. I would rather see him in his present state. That's what the state of the case is now. He's allowed to come to court in his regular clothes, whether it's a sweater and jeans or a jacket and tie, which I saw him in last time, and he looked fine. VAN SUSTEREN: Actually, I'm troubled by that as well, to show him in the jail garb, especially, Ted, when the judge has specifically said that he be shown in his, you know, what we call street clothes. TED WILLIAMS, FORMER D.C. HOMICIDE DETECTIVE: Well, I would have to agree with you. You know, one of the things about it is there is a presumption of innocence. I think that, clearly, we do not want to prejudice the jury pool out there by showing him in these garb. I think it would be far, far better to show him dressed as he will be when he goes to court. VAN SUSTEREN: Geoff, let me get one more word out because, it's not even fair to the prosecution because, in the event that everyone's so poisoned -- and I realize there's a lot of -- sorts of a lots of ingredients here. I mean, look, you know, we've got to try to at least not make the job difficult for the jury pool. You're laughing. GEOFFREY FIEGER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's the perp walk. That's all it is. I mean you see it all the time. The police do it. That's their thing. And they're doing it for that reason. I mean nobody should be surprised, but it's not going to have any effect on this case. Whatever prejudice is occurring is occurring every night while we're talking about it and every other show is talking about it. What he wore today or yesterday or if he wore his prison orange or street clothes is in the end not going to matter. ALLRED:Greta, I would respectfully disagree with your first two guests who thought that somehow there was something wrong with showing him in the orange jail uniform. Look, he had an attorney at the time. The judge allowed the reporters in so that they could videotape him in the courtroom, and he was wearing the orange jumpsuit. That's just part of the history of this case. VAN SUSTEREN: Yes, I guess... WILLIAMS: That was early on. ALLRED: If, you know, the judge said they could show it, they can show it. VAN SUSTEREN: Oh, but -- but I mean I guess the problem -- I see more, Gloria, sort of the bigger picture, sort of our responsibility in the media, in terms of what we should do. I mean like, Look, the judge has now made it clear that he's going to be shown in the -- in his street clothes, and... ALLRED: From now on. VAN SUSTEREN: ... yes, from now on. Is it fair to us because we just had some video on our screen a few moments ago where he's in the orange jumpsuit. Is that sort of fair for us to sort of keep splashing in front of the potential jurors? That's the simple question. ALLRED: Yes. I don't think you have a duty to protect Scott Peterson from himself, and the way he was that day... VAN SUSTEREN:But do we have a duty not to -- do we have a duty not to sort of like -- you know, sort of, you know, undermine the process any more than we have to? FIEGER: Wait. Wait a second. ALLRED: I don't think you're undermining it. FIEGER: Timothy McVeigh -- how many times... ALLRED: I think you're more than fair to Scott Peterson. FIEGER: Yes. Gloria, you're right. How many times did the TV show Timothy McVeigh being led out in his prison thing? Nobody said anything about it. And we executed him. Come on. That's silliness. We do it all the time. Nobody complained when they showed Timothy McVeigh being led out in chains. I mean I must have seen that thing 10,000 times. WILLIAMS: Geoff -- Timothy McVeigh, is a completely different situation. They had... FIEGER Why? WILLIAMS:They had people -- they had trained marksmen on the roof for fear that people would be up there trying to kill him for good reason. He was under police protection. They didn't have a lot of time to change him into a jacket and tie, so I think that's sort of apples and oranges. FIEGER: That wasn't the issue. The issue was whether you should play that tape over and over again. VAN SUSTEREN: I guess we have sort of the option, we have the choice, and the judge has ruled, you know, what -- you know, what's sort of the -- you know, the good judgment. I don't think it necessarily is going to poison the jury pool, but the question is, you know, when we can exercise a little good judgment, should we, is the basic question. WILLIAMS: I would say, yes, we should. Without being verbose in conversation here, the fact about it is the judge has ruled, and I think that we here, certainly, have to be responsible. VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Let me ask a quick question on appearance, Gloria, before we have to get a jump out of this segment. Your client has changed her appearance. Got any -- you know, any -- is there any reason? Was that just to sort of avoid the media pounding her and look a little different? ALLRED Really she hasn't changed it that much, though. I was kind of surprised when people said that. I mean her hair was up for the first news conference. It happened to be down today. So I thought she looked very beautiful, and -- and I was proud to be with her, is all I can say. She's a young woman... VAN SUSTEREN: So we shouldn't... ALLRED:... in a crisis, but she... VAN SUSTEREN: All right. ALLRED: ... can look nice and very presentable and very beautiful and... WILLIAMS: But, Greta, as... VAN SUSTEREN: All right. We won't read anything into it. We've got to get Dr. Baden in our next block. Gentlemen, stand by. And Gloria. Still ahead, a late-breaking update on tonight's ongoing search in the San Francisco Bay. We're going to take you live to the scene. We're back with Amber Frey's attorney Gloria Allred, criminal-defense attorney Geoffrey Fieger, forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, criminal-defense attorneys Bernie Grimm and Ted Williams. Dr. Baden, the fourth day search of the San Francisco Bay. Are they being thorough, or do you think they're worried and looking for more help on their case, the prosecution? MICHAEL BADEN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, both. I think they're being thorough. I think they're looking for any evidence they can find, but I think that material, though, that was found by the person walking on the beach, a tarp and duct tape, could be very important. VAN SUSTEREN: How would you check... BADEN: Duct tape... VAN SUSTEREN: How would you check to see if that's connected because I assume there's a lot of chunk in a body of water that could wash ashore. BADEN Yes, but the way they could do it is duct tape -- the sticky part of the duct tape is wonderful for holding on to fingerprints, hairs, fibers, and if they can connect that duct tape to the body, either by what's on the body or by a single hair from Laci on that duct tape, would -- it could easily be identified by DNA. And, if that's connected and they have duct tape or tarp, then they have to go back and -- to see if it connects to anything in Scott's truck or house, and, if there is a fingerprint on it, because duct tapes, even in water, are very good at holding on to fingerprints, if it's Scott's fingerprint, that has a great deal of significance. If it isn't Scott's fingerprint and it's connected to Laci, that has a great deal of significance. VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Let's talk about Gloria Allred now representing Amber Frey. Geoff, how does -- how does this affect the case? And I know Gloria's at a little disadvantage of this discussion, can't get too involved in it, but what do you think? FIEGER It -- well, it -- to use a pun, it provides a great makeover for this case, and, very seriously, I can't believe the prosecutor will be very happy. Let me explain to you why. Amber Frey is an essential witness for the prosecutor. The prosecutor would prefer to be able to deal with Amber Frey on his own, to go over testimony, to prepare her for trial. That's not -- no longer going to be possible. Gloria's going to be involved in that, and the prosecutor doesn't necessarily like that. That's not anything against Gloria. That's her job, but the prosecutor would prefer not to be involved with Gloria. He'd prefer to just deal with Amber Frey. What that's going to do is that's going to tilt him towards presenting this case to a grand jury, where Gloria can't go in in front of the grand jury. The prosecutor can bring Amber Frey in there and get her testimony the way he wants her testimony. It's going to inch him away from having a preliminary exam where she's on the stand, both parties get to question her, and Gloria has prepared her in advance.That's not going to stop Gloria from preparing her, but it can't be something the prosecutor's happy about. VAN SUSTEREN: All right. I'm going to let -- I'm going to let Gloria jump in whenever she wants. Gloria, you're sort of on the hot seat on this one. Ted wants to talk, but jump in when you want. WILLIAMS: But, Geoff, you know, let me just be very candid. I don't know what Gloria can do to protect Amber Frey. FIEGER: Nothing. WILLIAMS:Amber Frey -- well, I don't think she can do anything. She can't stand up, and no -- no disrespect to Gloria... VAN SUSTEREN: Well, I'll tell you one thing she can do. Every time -- every time Amber Frey gets a call from us, she can say call my lawyer, Gloria. That's one... WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, but that -- I could do that, but what I'm simply saying is simply she can't go into court. Every time during the course of the cross-examination, Gloria will not with able to stand up, or, if the media is after this young lady, as such, I would expect that the D.A. would want to do the protection. I don't know what Gloria can do at this angle. Gloria may in the future be able to sell some books to help her with. VAN SUSTEREN: Gloria, do you want to jump in, or you want to be quiet on this one? ALLRED :Well, no, I mean I think, you know, if it were my daughter or someone whom I loved's daughter, who were involved in such a case, in a high-profile case as a key witness -- and, you know, there were press hounding her, and, you know, she might be subject to defense attacks out there in the court of public opinion. And inside the courtroom, I certainly would want her to have the advice and the support of an attorney. So I really don't know what he's talking about. Whether the prosecution's happy, not happy, I haven't spoken to the prosecution yet, but what I'm concerned about is the protection of my client. I am... WILLIAMS: How are you going to protect her, Gloria? ALLRED: And the integrity -- and the integrity... WILLIAMS: How are you going to protect her? Think about this for a second. When the "National Enquirer" wanted to do a story... ALLRED: Well, excuse me. I don't have to think about it for a second. I have a lot of ideas. I have a lot of ideas on it. This is not the first time I've been thinking about it. Let me just tell you I can -- I am concerned about the integrity of the prosecution's case People who have been offering her money... FIEGER: Gloria... ALLRED: ... are not going to be -- are going to be put on notice now... FIEGER: That's fine. ALLRED: ... she's not taking them. She's not taking it. She's going to have her testimony protected. FIEGER: Gloria, you can protect her out -- Gloria, you can protect her outside the courtroom, but let's be honest. You can't do anything as far as her participation in the case is concerned, zero, other than be there when the prosecutor meets with her outside of court. But, in the court, the prosecutor and the defense attorney -- you cannot do a thing. You can't open your mouth. You can't sit even at the counsel table. So the only thing you can do to protect her is outside the courtroom, and then you can make some deals... FIEGER: ... for her afterwards, and you can speak for her. VAN SUSTEREN: Bernie, doesn't it speak highly -- the fact that people are getting lawyers, you know, really says that D.A.s really aren't explaining things, aren't telling things. I mean the fact is people do need lawyers because D.A.s aren't servicing the victims. GRIMM: Right. Well, I -- I guess if the prosecution came out with some more evidence about what happened, then maybe Amber would not be lawyering up. Gloria is a fine attorney, but everything everyone else just said...Gloria, I -- my name's Bernie Grimm, although you want to call me an attack dog. That's -- that's fine. If I'm an attack dog, you just threw me a huge bone because, when your client comes in, the first thing I'm going ask her is, well, you have nothing to hide, why is your lawyer sitting there in the front row with a $3,000 suit on, looking beautiful as ever.There's no reason for it. She's just -- as Geoff said, she's insulating Gloria, not intentionally, but she's insulating Gloria from the prosecution and the way they want to torque this case. VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Gloria, I'm going to let you respond to that. ALLRED: Well, I guess there might be some people who are under the impression, as one of your guests said, that the district attorney represents witnesses and their that job is to protect them. That's not the case. The district attorney represents the people of... VAN SUSTEREN: It sort of is. Come on. It... ALLRED: No, the district attorney... VAN SUSTEREN: Well, wait a second, Gloria. I mean they -- they're supposed to do that to some extent. ALLRED: The district attorney represents the people of California. He does not represent the witnesses in the case. He does not represent the murder victim or the murder victims' family in the case, and victims and witnesses are entitled to their attorneys. Absolutely they are... VAN SUSTEREN: Oh, absolutely. Gloria... ALLRED not going to participate in the criminal case in the hearing or the trial, but they are... VAN SUSTEREN: Gloria, I'm on your side. Wait a second, Gloria. Gloria, I think I'm on your side. I don't quibble with that. I -- it's just that so many people have questions that the D.A.s typically should be able to answer don't, and so that's why they do need lawyers so they understand the process. So believe me... ALLRED: That's right. VAN SUSTEREN: ... you know, I'm not after -- I'm not dogging you on this one. Dr. Baden, one of the big stories -- I mean it's -- you know, is this -- you know, is what they're trying to dredge up, and let me ask you the most gruesome -- is there anything down there possibly that could be left that could aid the prosecution? BADEN: Sure. There can be the missing body parts. There can be any weights that were on the body. What's not clear, Greta, from this is -- they say -- the police -- the police have said they had spotted the body a month before it came to the surface, but they couldn't get to it. Yet they're looking in, it sounds like, 10 or 12 feet of water. There's no reason that a month before they couldn't have gotten to that same spot.And, if the body were there, it would have been in better condition than it turned out, and it's kind of confusing as why they didn't get what they thought was the body a month before it came to the surface. It would have been in better condition, maybe more of the body parts, maybe the weights or any -- supposing the duct tape on the beach was also on the body, it would connect it up. The tarp on the beach is also on the body.It would all be important evidence to try and connect whoever did this to the physical evidence because, without it -- I'll repeat this, Greta -- one can get a conviction -- and Geoffrey has mentioned this -- without a cause of death, but, in those cases where it's been done, they've had a lot of physical evidence to match it up to the perpetrator. Here they don't so far. VAN SUSTEREN: All right. All right. I want to go quickly around to the extent that I can to everybody. Geoff, first to you. What you do see as the most powerful piece of evidence for the prosecution and the most powerful piece of evidence for the defense? FIEGER Amber Frey. That's the most powerful piece for the prosecution because it jades the jury against Scott Peterson from the very beginning.For the defense, it's exactly what Michael Baden said. If they don't have a cause of death, they better have a bunch of circumstantial evidence connecting him to the body, or that can be a problem for the prosecutor. VAN SUSTEREN: Bernie? GRIMM The most compelling piece of evidence for the state right now is not what Scott Peterson did after his wife was missing. It's what he didn't do: showed no compassion, showed no participation, seemed completely indifferent, was arrested playing golf, and I think we'll all have to agree, minus a confession from Scott, the cause of death is going to be huge problematical... VAN SUSTEREN: For the def -- for the prosecution. GRIMM: For the state, yes. WILLIAMS What clearly is most compelling is not only Amber Frey and the fact of the manner in which Scott acted. It's actually where they found the body in relationship to where Scott said he was. One of the... VAN SUSTEREN: The receipt. The marine receipt. WILLIAMS:The marine receipt. But one of the things that I believe that the defense have going for them is the mere fact that they -- I don't think they're going to be able to show premeditation in this case. VAN SUSTEREN: And, of course -- but, of course, we can discuss it some other time, but that could mean it would just be down to murder two or manslaughter. But, Gloria and gentlemen, thank you all very much. Up next, a late-breaking update on the Laci Peterson case. We're going to take you live to the search site in San Francisco. Claudia Cowan joins us live from Point Isabelle in Richmond, California, with a late-breaking update -- Claudia. COWAN Well, Greta, I have to say the late-breaking update has been a guest on your show tonight. We can add another high-profile attorney to those already involved in the Scott Peterson murder trial. Prominent civil-rights, L.A.-based attorney Gloria Allred says she will represent Amber Frey, the other woman in Scott Peterson's life, who came forward back in January to announce publicly she was having an affair with Scott at the time his pregnant wife Laci disappeared. She's been living in an unwanted spotlight ever since,, helping police build their case against Scott on the one hand, and being hounded by the news media and tabloids on the other. As a result, she felt she needed to hire Allred who is nothing if not media savvy. She will advise her client on legal and P.R. matters, though she will not have any role to play in the courtroom once trial begins. Allred says she expects the media and the defense team will try to attack her client's credibility. Here's what the two women had to say at today's news conference. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALLRED: In addition to being a witness, Amber is also a victim of Scott's deception. Victims are entitled to attorneys, as are witnesses.It's my opinion that what she has to say in testimony will be very important to the case.She has been offered money for interviews, and she has refused and will continue to refuse those offers. We are committed to protecting the integrity of the prosecution, and we will not allow her testimony to be contaminated by offers of money for her story. AMBER FREY, FORMER GIRLFRIEND OF SCOTT PETERSON: I expect that I will be asked to testify in this case, and I am prepared to do so. I don't think it's appropriate to talk about what might be contained in my testimony prior to me being called to the witness stand. Until that time, I just want to lead a normal life and regain my privacy. I want to express my sympathy to Laci's family. My heart goes out to them for the loss of their daughter and their grandson. (end video) COWAN: Meantime, the search of the San Francisco Bay continued for a fourth straight day. Divers, including a special FBI team out from New York, are helping Modesto police look for more evidence in the ongoing murder investigation. Authorities won't say what specifically they're looking for or whether anything relevant has been found so far. But, clearly, they are looking for body parts or other potential evidence like ropes or cement blocks that could have been used to weigh down Laci's body, maybe find that one key clue that would explain how Laci was murdered because the cause of death is still unknown. Prosecutors say they're doing nothing more than trying to bolster their body of evidence and that recovering all of Laci's remains would bring some small measure of comfort to her family, but defense sources say this intensive search effort out here in the bay suggests to them that the prosecution is really still scrambling to build their case against Scott. And the defense is saying they are looking for evidence to connect Scott to the crime. The defense say they will never find that evidence because they say Scott did not kill his wife, someone else did Greta, back to you. VAN SUSTEREN: Claudia, thank you. And thank you for being with us tonight. TRANSCRIPTS HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT EVIDENCE & NEWS ALIBI-WITNESS LIST |
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