Laci Peterson's mother, brother and other family members spent emotional moments Monday at the slain woman's Modesto home, removing stuffed animals and flowers left outside by well-wishers since Scott Peterson's double-murder conviction Friday. Sharon Rocha and her longtime companion, Ron Grantski, and others opened a gate and walked around their daughter's home, Grantski said, "just to look and get a feel." He said their loss has been eased by the outpouring of support from a "great community." They threw away some deteriorating flowers and planned to give others to a care home for the elderly, Grantski said. Teddy bears would go to abused children via the Modesto Police Department and First Baptist Church, he said. But he said he was keeping a toy apparently left by one of Laci Peterson's former pupils. Peterson was a substitute teacher before she was slain at Christmastime 2002. "It said, 'To the best teacher,'" Grantski said, his voice quivering. "Things like that smart." "It touches us a lot," he continued, referring to the shrine that sprouted on the lawn at 523 Covena Ave. soon after news of Friday's conviction spread. "The whole community has been fantastic. I don't know how the Petersons get through it. They don't have near the support we do and it's hell for us." The Covena Avenue home has played a significant role in the case. Jurors agreed with prosecutors that Scott Peterson strangled or smothered his wife there on or just before Christmas Eve 2002. Five months later, Laci Peterson's loved ones entered the home without the permission of her husband's relatives and removed pickup loads of items, including her wedding dress, a crib and a rocking chair. Scott Peterson's father, Lee, on national television, equated the action with burglary — and a public debate ensued. Grantski said no one in his group entered the home Monday. "They have a legal right to be there," said Adam Stewart, a Modesto attorney handling civil lawsuits for Rocha against her son-in-law. "It's all part of the healing." Family and friends on both sides of the case watched most of the five-month trial and are expected to attend the penalty phase set to begin Monday. The six-woman, six-man jury that handed down the guilty verdict will be asked to decide if Peterson should die by lethal injection or spend his life in prison. HOME INDEX LACI CONNER TRIAL VERDICT SCOTT ALIBI-WITNESS LIST |
| Family pays emotional visit to Laci's house Laci Peterson's relatives say community helps ease pain November 16, 2004 |
| LACI & CONNER "You will always bless the world with your smile..... even from heaven" FRIENDS ~ ST.LOUIS, MO ~ GUESTBOOK |
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