| Defense witness in Peterson case dies By Jason Dearen, STAFF WRITER Oakland, CA Tribune - February 6, 2004 In a blow to the Scott Peterson defense team, a witness who said she saw Laci Peterson on the morning she disappeared, died Wednesday of natural causes. Vivian Mitchell, 79, a musician who loved playing classical pieces on her Steinway piano, told Modesto police in February 2003 that she saw Laci walking her golden retriever at about 10:15 a.m. on Christmas Eve 2002. Prosecutors contend that Peterson killed his wife in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve or the night before, then drove to Berkeley and dumped her body into San Francisco Bay. Mitchell's testimony was important to Peterson's defense because she was one of two people who said they saw Laci the day of her disappearance. UPDATE 4/13/04 - VIVIAN'S HUSBAND, BILL WILL TESTIFY "A witness that could have thrown off the prosecution's timeline is extremely important -- it could create reasonable doubt." said Professor Robert Talbot of University of San Francisco School of Law. "But the defense still has two witnesses, so this shouldn't be horrible for them." Another witness, Homer Maldonado, said he also saw Laci walking her dog that morning. But a third witness, Karen Servas, contradicted the other two accounts, saying she put the Peterson's dog in her back yard that morning. Mitchell's husband, Bill, said he and his wife became inundated with media requests after they told a group of students about Mitchell's sighting. The students took Mitchell's story to the Modesto Bee and the next day the music teacher's life changed drastically. "A dozen TV stations came out a day after the Modesto Bee reported her story. And the National Enquirer sent a man from Florida," Bill Mitchell said. "Two TV trucks were parked in front of our house, which is a residential area, and all the neighbors were wondering 'What's going on?'" Peterson said he was fishing in the Berkeley Marina on the day Laci disappeared. If prosecutors argue that he took Laci's body with him, witnesses such as Mitchell could prove key to the defense. Laci's body and the body of the couple's unborn son washed up on the shore of San Francisco Bay four months later. Vivian Mitchell's health had been deteriorating over the past year, her husband said Thursday. She underwent double-bypass heart surgery early in 2003 and suffered a broken hip after a fall during her recovery. Bill Mitchell said the couple loved to travel, and had embarked on adventures to North Africa, Spain and Russia. "She was a wonderful woman and had a career in public teaching and taught many church choirs of different denominations in her lifetime," he said. "She was a wonderful companion." Mark Geragos, Peterson's defense attorney, could not be reached for comment. HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT EVIDENCE-NEWS ALIBI-WITNESS LIST |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
| LACI & CONNER May The Truth Be Told |
 |