LARRY KING: Tonight, day one of Scott Peterson's murder trial -- finally. The prosecution takes all day to lay out its case, questioning inconsistencies in Scott's stories and detailing his affair with Amber Frey. But will his unsympathetic behavior be enough to convict him? Because they still have no murder weapon, no murder scene and no cause of death. No cameras allowed in the court, either, but CNN's Ted Rowlands was there, and he'll give us a blow-by-blow account of today's dramatic opening statement by the prosecution. Also with us, Court TV's Nancy Grace, defense attorney Chris Pixley; former prosecutor Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom; and Michael Cardoza, one of the top defense attorneys in the area. He was in court today, too. And they're all next on LARRY KING LIVE. Let's go CNN's own Ted Rowlands for what happened today --Ted. TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was a long day, Larry, and it was all prosecution. The original plan was to have the prosecution deliver opening statements in the morning, and then the defense to come after the afternoon recess. But the prosecution ended up going all day long. Really, not a lot of new information, but it was all compiled together. Rick Distaso, the lead prosecutor, methodically went through the state's case, starting very slowly with the night that Laci was reported missing and moving all the way until April 18, when Scott Peterson was arrested. He played audiotapes of Scott talking with his girlfriend, Amber Frey. On a night where people in Modesto were gathering for a vigil on New Year's Eve. Peterson was talking to Frey as if he was in Brussels, saying that he was going to continue his relationship with her and saying, quote, "Our relationship will grow." It was a five-minute portion of tape that was played in front of the jury. Distaso indicated that he had more of that conversation and more of other conversations. He also detailed specific lies and inconsistencies throughout the entire period after Laci's disappearance that Scott took part in. He compiled them all together to show that while he wasn't delivering the entire case in terms of how, when and where, he was showing that Scott , in his words, was the only person that could have committed the murder of his wife and unborn child. And he said that this was a case of common sense. KING: Nancy, in an opening statement, how much of a case does the state reveal? NANCY GRACE, COURT TV: Well, Larry, I've got my own theories on that. I think when you strike that jury, No. 1, that's the single most important part of your case. But No. 2, that opening statement, Larry, you got to hit them and you've got to hit them hard. And that's what Distaso did today. It took him four hours to put up the state's case in opening statement. And the way he finished it -- now, Distaso is not big on drama, all right? But at end of that statement, he put up in the courtroom Laci and Conner's remains. And there were audible gasps. That brought it home. All these facts, all these phone calls, all these charts, all these maps -- it's all about these remains and the loss of Laci and Conner. But I'll tell you this much, Larry. I think tonight Geragos is dancing in the halls, not because Distaso gave a bad opening, he gave a great opening. But he has a tactical advantage. Tonight he can prepare to make a comeback. If he had been forced to give his opening statement today, it would have been much less than it will be tomorrow. KING: Chris Pixley, does the prosecution have to back up everything it said in the opening statement? Must it produce everything to back it up? CHRIS PIXLEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, if they're smart, they will. One of the -- one of the real rules in an opening statement is that you don't overstate your case. It's essential that you get the evidence out there, that you pique the jury's interest, that you build a relationship with them. But this is a relationship of trust, Larry. You are building a long-term relationship, especially in a case that's going to last months. And if you can't back up what you said in the opening statement, the jury's -- the jury's going to make you pay for it. So it will be very important for the prosecution to find a way to back up the statements that they've made in a four-hour opening statement which has covered a tremendous amount of ground. KING: Kimberly, I know you attended a lot of preliminary hearings. How much of the opening statement on both sides remains with the jury on a trial that goes this long? KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, there are some studies that suggest that many of the jurors make up their minds -- 30 percent to 40 percent of them make up their mind after hearing the opening statement. It really is a road map. And for Mark Geragos tomorrow, he's got a big task ahead, and I think and know -- I'm confident that he's going to deal with the evidence piecemeal, go through and attack all the things that the prosecution brought up. I think that's the best way to hit the case in this particular instance. KING: Michael, is the whole point, then, to create a doubt? MICHAEL CARDOZA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: For the defense, absolutely, Larry. I think he's got four things he's got to address. One of the things that Distaso talked about in the opening statement, which was four hours -- and he got into a lot of minutiae that I didn't think he had to get into. But one of the things that struck me was that when Scott came home and reported Laci missing, he told three separate people (Kemple, Krigbaum, Venable)that he was golfing that day -- not fishing, but golfing. The other big piece that Geragos is going to have to address, they're going to bring a scientific expert on to say that Laci and Conner's bodies were dropped off at an island in San Francisco Bay. That's where they were dropped in the water. That just happens to be where Scott was fishing that day. The other thing they have to address is that Scott went back to the Berkeley marina before it became public that they were looking for the bodies in the Berkeley marina. He's going to have a lot of explaining to do there. Geragos should have the answers tomorrow. KING: What, Ted, was the reaction of the families in the court today? ROWLANDS: Well, at different times, there were, as you could imagine, different reactions. Of course, the most emotional part of the day was when Rick Distaso brought out the autopsy photos, the remains photos of both Laci and baby Conner along the shores of the San Francisco Bay. Laci's mother was obviously, as you might imagine, very visibly upset. The entire family was upset, looked down. Scott Peterson would not look at any of those photos. He also would not look at any photos of he and Amber Frey which the prosecution put up of him at a Christmas party, the same night that Laci was alone at another Christmas party, representing the family while Scott was down in Fresno with Amber Frey. At one point Laci's father, too, broke down at a shot of Laci showing off her pregnant stomach and had a glow about her. And it was just too much for him. So there was a lot of emotion throughout the day. At one point, Janey Peterson, on the other side, got up and left because she didn't want to see the autopsy photos. But other times, people were intent in listening to what Distaso had to say. And I think the jury throughout the entire process was focused on Distaso and absorbed pretty much everything that he said. And they were able to concentrate even through those autopsy photos. KING: Nancy, why are they expecting this trial to take so long? GRACE: Well, if you take a look at the opening statements, Larry, and the jury selection, that's a pretty good indicator as to how this case is going to go. You know, the state is going to put up many, many witnesses. They've listed 200. I don't think they're going to put up that many. But so far, the list from the defense is 35 witnesses, a video, some written reports, a very, very slim defense case. I don't think it is going to go six months. I'm looking at maybe three or four. But judging by how long it took to strike a jury and give the opening statements, I think that's a pretty good prediction. It will take months. FULL TRANSCRIPT HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT TRIAL ALIBI-WITNESS LIST TRANSCRIPTS MAGAZINES |
| LACI & CONNER MAY THE TRUTH BE TOLD |
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| LARRY KING LIVE
Legal Analysis of Scott Peterson Double Murder Trial Day One June 1, 2004 - FULL TRANSCRIPT |
| RON GRANTSKI & SHARON ROCHA |
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