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| LACI & CONNER MAY JUSTICE PREVAIL |
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| Peterson held over for trial November 18, 2003 Stanislaus County Superior Court this morning held Scott Peterson to answer on double murder charges in the deaths of his wife and son. NEXT COURT DATE - DECEMBER 3, 2003 Judge Al Girolami said prosecutors presented enough evidence over 11 days of testimony to show probable cause that Peterson killed his pregnant wife and dumped her body in San Francisco Bay. Judge Al Girolami's decision came at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the 31-year-old Modesto fertilizer salesman. COURT RULING "The court has considered all of the evidence, and it appearing to me that the offenses in the within complaint have been committed, there is sufficient cause to believe the within named Scott Lee Peterson is guilty thereof. I order him to be held to answer to the same. Specifically, I find that there is sufficient evidence for the two counts of murder, that they were committed intentionally, deliberately and with premeditation, further, that as to count one, the killing resulted in the termination of Laci Peterson's pregnancy, and also that finally, there is sufficient evidence of this special allegation pursuant to Penal Code Section 190.2(a)(3) involving more than one murder." --Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami He is charged with killing 27-year-old wife, Laci, and their unborn son, who was to be named Conner. The bodies of mother and son washed ashore in April, a few miles from where Peterson said he went fishing on a solo trip Christmas Eve. Peterson waved and smiled to his parents as he left the courtroom. He will be arraigned in court Dec. 3. Defense attorney Mark Geragos said he would file motions then to move the trial out ofModesto and to dismiss the charges against Peterson. Prosecutors presented a loose-knit web of circumstantial evidence that pointed toward Peterson from the moment he phoned his in-laws after returning home from an impromptu fishing trip. The defense contends that police suffered from tunnel vision once they locked their focus on Peterson. But Peterson drew attention when he called his mother-in-law, Sharon Rocha, on Christmas Eve and said his wife was missing. Rocha testified early in the preliminary hearing that her son-in-law called and told her Laci Peterson was missing, but didn't ask if she knew where her daughter was. Peterson told police he was fishing between noon and 2 p.m. in Berkeley on Dec. 24, and that his wife was missing when he returned home that evening. A battle over a 6-inch strand of dark hair dominated the four weeks of testimony, with prosecutors winning the right to introduce DNA testimony linking the hair to Laci Peterson and connecting her to the boat prosecutors believe her husband used to ferry her to a watery grave. On Tuesday, prosecutors presented their final two witnesses, investigators who said they had tracked Peterson's cell phone calls on the day his wife disappeared and the more than 240 calls between Peterson and his mistress. When first questioned by police, Peterson denied that he was having an affair. Stanislaus County investigator Steve Jacobson testified Tuesday that Peterson and Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey spoke as often as 16 times a day between Nov. 19 and Feb. 19. There were very few days when calls weren't exchanged between their phones, including Christmas Eve and Valentine's Day, he said. Modesto police Detective Jon Buehler, who said he was Frey's handler during the investigation, said that two weeks before Laci Peterson disappeared, Frey confronted Peterson about whether he was married. Peterson drove to Fresno and, holding Frey's hand and crying, told her that he had lost his wife and was facing his first Christmas alone, Buehler testified. Geragos criticized the preliminary hearing process, which allows police to testify about statements witnesses made during the investigation, without the witnesses being subject to cross-examination. "The standard, unfortunately, in California, and I say it jokingly, is 'Is the defendant breathing?"' Geragos said. Frey didn't testify at the preliminary hearing, but prosecutors introduced transcripts of some of the taped phone conversations between her and Peterson. In a call from Jan. 6, Peterson told his mistress he was "longing to hold on to you." Peterson was arrested in April, the day his wife's remains were identified through DNA. Buehler said that when he was arrested near San Diego, Peterson was carrying nearly $15,000 in cash and had a wide range of camping gear, including a fishing rod, saw, hiking boots, rope and a camping stove. PRELIMINARY HEARING INDEX ALIBI-WITNESS LIST EVIDENCE-NEWS HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT WIRETAPS |
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