| Hypnotized Peterson witness reportedly tells of van By John Coté The Modesto Bee Published Friday, September 12, 2003 A woman who underwent hypnosis told police she saw a suspicious tan van parked across the street from Scott and Laci Peterson's home the day Laci Peterson was reported missing, according to a report of the witness's account obtained Thursday. The witness is the second person to undergo hypnosis in the investigation. A doctor hypnotized Diane Jackson at the Modesto Police Department in an attempt to draw out more details. In a statement to police, Jackson also provided information that conflicts with authorities' version of a burglary that happened around the time Laci Peterson disappeared. Jackson said Thursday she could not comment publicly about the sighting because members of Scott Peterson's defense team have informed her she will be subpoenaed as a witness, bringing her under a sweeping gag order imposed in the double-murder case. But according to the report, Jackson told police she was driving to her home in Modesto's La Loma neighborhood at 11:40 a.m. on Dec. 24 when she saw three men standing near a tan van parked in front of 516 Covena Ave., directly across the street from the Peterson home. One rear van door was open, the other ajar. That house was burglarized while residents Rudy and Susan Medina were out of town. Authorities said the home was burglarized on Dec. 26 at 6:30 a.m., according to police reports. The thieves made off with two firearms, tools and a safe containing jewelry, according to the reports. On Jan. 2, authorities arrested two men, Steven Wayne Todd, 36, and Donald Glenn Pearce, 44, in connection with the burglary and said neither was connected to Laci Peterson's disappearance. Todd led police to some of the stolen property, including the safe, jewelry and a weed-eater, according to a police report. "We're confident in our minds that we have resolved one crime," Modesto police detective Doug Ridenour said shortly after Todd and Pearce's arrest, "and now we can get back to focusing on Laci's disappearance." That search came to an end in April when Laci Peterson's body and that of her unborn son were found. Scott Peterson told police he last saw his wife at about 9:30 a.m. that day as he left for the bay and she prepared to walk their couple's golden retriever. Peterson, 30, was arrested charged with two counts of murder. Police discounted reports of a suspicious van in the neighborhood, saying it belonged to landscapers. Jackson's account to police indicates that she saw no landscaping equipment with the three men, whom she described as Hispanic or Asian. Todd and Pearce are white. In interviewing Jackson, police displayed pictures of three men suspected of being the trio she spotted in front of the Medina home. The pictures were of men who previously performed yardwork for Jackson, and clearly different from the men Jackson saw in front of the Medina home, according to the account. That trio reportedly turned toward Jackson with malevolent looks as she drove by. A doctor hypnotized Jackson at the Police Department in an attempt to draw out more details. She reportedly recalled little else beyond perceiving a threat from the three men. But authorities believe a link between the men and Peterson's disappearance is tenuous. Petersons' dog, which her husband said Laci had taken for a walk, was found running loose more than an hour before Jackson saw the van. A neighbor said she spotted the golden retriever, McKenzie, between 10:10 and 10:17 a.m., his leash attached and muddy. The woman said she returned the dog to its yard, not realizing there might be something amiss. Peterson's defense team repeatedly has said they were searching for a tan or brown van after at least one other witness reported seeing one in the area around the time Peterson said his wife was going to walk their dog. In June, law enforcement located a brown van that Peterson's defense claimed may have been involved in the case. The van's occupants agreed to let investigators examine the vehicle, and it was towed to the state crime lab in Ripon, according to the Stanislaus County district attorney's office. Authorities investigated several people associated with the van and determined that they had no involvement in Peterson's disappearance, according to prosecutors. Kristen Dempewolf, 33, is the other person known to have been hypnotized in the investigation.Dempewolf was at about the same stage of pregnancy as Peterson at the time Peterson disappeared and also lives in the neighborhood. Prosecutors have indicated that they intend to introduce testimony from Dempewolf. RELATED STORY- Hypnosis - Risky? HYPNOSIS INDEX HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT ALIBI-WITNESS LIST INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS EVIDENCE-NEWS & STORIES |
| LACI & CONNER Forever in Our Hearts |