| Geragos - Hair samples exclude Peterson February 18, 2003 Hair taken off duct tape found with Laci Peterson’s decomposed remains does not match her husband’s, his defense attorney said in court today while relaying a series of allegedly new information contained in prosecution documents turned over Tuesday to the defense. "I've got pages on pages of hair comparison that are very detailed that exclude my client at every single point," attorney Mark Geragos said, charging that prosecutors this week turned over about 800 pages of documents from the state Department of Justice and the FBI containing information that could help his client. "Hair was taken off duct tape that excludes my client," Geragos said, referring to tape found with Laci Peterson's remains in April after her body washed ashore in San Francisco Bay. Five stains in Peterson's boat that police thought were blood turned out to be something else, according to Geragos. Prosecutors contend Scott Peterson murdered his pregnant wife on or just before Christmas Eve 2002 and then ferried her body out to San Francisco Bay in a recently bought 14-foot aluminum boat. Her body and that of her unborn son, Conner, were found separately along the bay's eastern shoreline, within a few miles of where her husband said he went fishing the day she was reported missing. Peterson has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in their deaths. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Geragos charged that the documents revealed an "extensive" investigation into four unnamed people, one of whom allegedly claimed responsibility for the killings. Prosecutor Dave Harris suggested the defense was trying to resurrect its theory that suspicious people in a brown van were connected to the case. Authorities later found a van the defense was seeking and questioned and cleared its occupants. "It's not the brown van," Geragos replied. "There is a series of seven witnesses who have a complete separate connection to this." Harris argued that the newly provided information was largely "notes" by lab technicians and other witnesses and did not exonerate Peterson. "There isn't anything exculpatory in there because there is no connection between that work and this particular case," Harris said. Prosecutors were not withholding information but simply turning over documents as soon as they received them, he said. But Judge Alfred Delucchi chastised prosecutors for providing the documents to the defense so late. RELATED STORY #1 RELATED STORY #2 HOME INDEX LACI EVIDENCE-NEWS |
| LACI & CONNER May The Truth Be Told |
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