| WHY WON'T SCOTT SPEAK? January 23, 2003 John Walsh, the host of TV's "The John Walsh Show" and "America's Most Wanted," said he has pleaded with Scott Peterson to answer questions and make a public statement. Peterson refused, Walsh said Sunday after taping "The John Walsh Show" in Modesto. "I talked to Scott on the phone for about 45 minutes and his parents for about an hour," Walsh said in the lobby of the DoubleTree Hotel. "I said, 'You need to show you are cooperating with the police fully, and you need to clarify the situation.'" Police have said they have not been able to eliminate Peterson as a suspect in his wife's disappearance. Laci Peterson's family said two weeks ago that police told them Scott was having an affair, a report that Peterson has called "a bunch of lies." Peterson has not given an extensive media interview since Laci disappeared, though he has talked briefly with some reporters. A volunteer center used to coordinate efforts to find Laci Peterson was closed the day after police talked to her family. Then the Modesto Police Department held a news conference where 28-year-old Fresno area resident Amber Frey said she had a recent romantic relationship with Peterson, but did not know he is married. Walsh said he told Peterson that the affair is "old news" and the investigation needs to refocus on finding Laci. He said he reminded Peterson that the parents of Danielle van Dam, a 7-year-old who was murdered last year in San Diego County, came forward and admitted that their lifestyles didn't meet everyone's moral standards. "That put everyone's attention back on the victim, and a man was arrested and then convicted for the murder because the parents stepped up to the plate," Walsh said he told Peterson. "That's what you need to do." Despite the conversation, Peterson still declined to appear on Walsh's shows "We just don't understand why he won't talk," Walsh said. "I told him that when Adam went missing, I would have stood naked in the middle of Times Square and let people shoot at me just to get my son back." No comment from Peterson family Peterson's parents had agreed to an interview for the show, but changed their minds after talking to Scott. "Scott's father called up and said he agreed it was time for Scott to start defending himself," Walsh said. Steve Howard, spokesman for the Peterson family, said Sunday he did not have any comments on the case. "Nothing is pending," Howard said. "There's nothing I can say right now." Without Peterson, Walsh spent his morning filming in front of the Peterson home on Covena Avenue. He spent the afternoon at the DoubleTree, where he interviewed a police detective and some of Laci Peterson's friends. HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT WITNESS LIST CASE INFO TRIAL NEWS |
| LACI & CONNER Forever in Our Hearts |
 |
 |
|
 |
|