| FRIDAY - OCTOBER 31, 2003 MR. DISTASO: Amy Rocha. THE CLERK: Please raise your right hand. AMY SHAREE ROCHA, called as a witness on behalf of the People, being first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: THE CLERK: Please have a seat. Put the microphone around your neck. DIRECT EXAMINATION - MR. DISTASO: Q. Miss Rocha, would you state your full name and spell your last name for the record? A. Yes. Amy Sharee Rocha, R-O-C-H-A. Q. And are you related to Laci Peterson? A. Yes. I'm her sister. Q. And how were you related to her? A. Sister. Q. And could you describe for the Court just in a little more detail -- you and Laci share one parent, but not the other; is that correct? A. Yeah, we have the same dad, but different moms. Q. Okay. So you're not related to Sharon Rocha? A. No. Q. All right. And you're related, then, to Dennis Rocha; is that right? A. Yes. Q. And Dennis is also Laci's father? A. Yes. Q. Do you know the defendant in this case? A. Yes. Q. And how is it that you know the defendant? A. My sister's husband. Q. Have you known the defendant since the time that he and Laci have been married? A. Yes. Q. How long have you known him? A. Since they were dating. Q. Do you remember when that -- when -- can you just give me some kind of idea when the year was when you first met or came into contact with the defendant? A. I was pretty young. I was in middle school. So probably around seventh, eighth grade. Q. Okay. And how old are you now? A. 22. Q. All right. So you've known him for some time, then? A. Yeah. Q. What is -- well, let's start here. On the 23rd of December, 2002, you -- were you aware that Laci was pregnant? A. Yes. Q. And can you just briefly for the Court characterize your relationship with her? I mean, how did you and Laci get along? A. Oh, we got along good. Q. Did -- how often would you say that you spoke --you and Laci spoke together? A. Pretty often. Not every day, but maybe once a week. Q. And do you also live some -- don't tell me your address, but do you also live somewhere here in the city of Modesto? A. Yes. Q. And were you familiar with Laci's house at 523 Covena Avenue? A. Yes. Q. And that's also in the city of Modesto, correct? A. Yes. Q. What is your profession? A. I'm a hairstylist. Q. All right. And do you work for a salon here in town? A. Uh-huh. Yes. Q. And, again, just for the record, that's in Modesto, correct? A. Yes. Q. Now, when you and Laci would talk, was this normal sister kind of talk? A. Yeah. Q. And so you would kind of tell her what's going on in your life; is that right? A. Yeah. Q. And she would basically tell you what's going on in her life; is that correct? A. Yes. Q. So did she at some point tell you when she found out that she was pregnant? MR. GERAGOS: Objection. Calls for hearsay. THE COURT: Sustained. MR. DISTASO: Did -- well, actually, Your Honor, I'm not offering this for the truth of the matter, I'm actually offering it to show the relationship of these two parties, that the habit of this particular witness, Laci -- I mean,the decedent, Laci Peterson, would be that she would talk to this witness and tell her, you know, certain facts about her life. THE COURT: It's still hearsay. MR. GERAGOS: Right. MR. DISTASO: Q. The -- and what was your relationship with the defendant? A. It was good. Q. And did -- how often do you think you would speak to the defendant? A. When I'd see my sister or if they were together. Q. Okay. Did you ever see the defendant without your sister? A. Yeah, when I'd cut his hair. Q. Okay. So you cut his hair on a regular basis? A. Yeah. Q. And how -- let me ask you this: When they first had -- when Laci and the defendant were first married, were they living here in Modesto? A. No. Q. Did -- where were they living? Do you know? A. In San Luis Obispo. Q. Okay. And at some point did they move back here to the city of Modesto? A. Yes. Q. And do you know when that was? A. It was in 2000, I think. Q. Okay. A. I was in school still, so, yeah. Q. So somewhere around 2000? A. Uh-huh. Q. Are you exactly sure of the date? A. Maybe not exactly, but I was -- Q. All right. But is that a good -- a good guess, I guess, at this point? A. Yeah. Q. After they moved back to Modesto, did the defendant move back to Modesto also? A. Yes. MR. GERAGOS: Mr. Distaso? MR. DISTASO: I'm going to show them to you. Q. Did -- and from the time they moved back to Modesto up until December 23rd,did you cut the defendant's hair? A. Most of the time, yes. Q. Okay. How frequently would you do that? A. On a monthly basis. Maybe once a month or -- Q. All right. So were you familiar with his normal hair color or I guess his natural hair color? A. Yes. MR. GERAGOS: Objection. Relevance. THE COURT: Overruled. THE WITNESS: Yes. MR. DISTASO: Q. And as he sits here today, can you just state for the record what color his hair is? A. Yes. It's brown. Q. And is that a good es -- or is that a fair representation of what his natural hair color is? A. Yes. MR. GERAGOS: Objection. Relevance. THE COURT: Overruled. THE WITNESS: Yes. MR. DISTASO: Q. Okay. Did the defendant ever ask you to dye his hair a different -- a color different than the color of his natural color that we see here today? A. No. Q. Did he ever ask you to dye his hair a kind of orange or red tint? A. No. Q. Did he ever -- did the defendant ever ask you to dye his eyebrows in orange or red tint? A. No. Q. Did -- were you ever aware in the time that you knew the defendant to know him to wear or grow a full, bushy goatee? A. Not a full -- I might have seen like a little bit of a goatee, but not a full goatee. Q. Okay. Did you -- did the defendant ever ask you, even in the little bit of a goatee that you saw, to dye that goatee any particular color? A. No. Q. Let me show you two photographs, People's 45 and 46. Do you recognize the individual in those photographs? A. Yes. Q. And who is that? A. Scott. Q. And that's the defendant, correct? A. Yes. Q. Okay. And the color of his hair and eyebrows and goatee in those photographs, did he ever ask you to prepare his hair in that fashion? A. No. Q. Now, were you working at Salon Salon on the 23rd of December, 2002? A. Yes. Q. What is the last date that you saw your sister Laci Peterson alive? A. Was that day. Q. The 23rd of December? A. The 23rd, yes. Q. And let's just start from the beginning. On - what's the first time you saw her on that day? A. I saw her around 5:45, the evening. Q. Did you speak to her -- don't tell me what she said, but did you speak to her any time prior to that? A. Yes. Q. And do you remember what time that was? A. I spoke to her a couple times that day, but the last time I had talked to her was probably around 5:20 that evening. Q. And then you actually saw her in person at what time? A. At 5:45. Q. All right. And was she by herself or was she with someone else? A. She was with Scott. Q. With the defendant? A. Yes. Q. And where did you see them? A. At the salon. Q. And what was their purpose in being there? A. I was going to cut Scott's hair. Q. And did you do that? A. Uh-huh. Yes. Q. Okay. What was Laci doing while you were cutting the defendant's hair? A. She was sitting next to us just talking with us. Q. And what was her -- she was obviously visibly pregnant, correct? A. Yes. Q. What was her demeanor or her affect? Can you describe that for the Court? How was she feeling? A. She was really tired. She even said that she was tired. Q. Okay. Did she do anything to act tired? A. She just seemed exhausted from like the pregnancy. Q. Okay. And where was she sitting while you were cutting the defendant's hair? A. She was sitting right next to us in the station right next to where we were at. Q. So like in the stylist's chair right next to you? A. Yeah, right next to us. Q. Did Laci get her hair cut that night? A. No. Q. Did you ever cut Laci's hair? A. Uh-huh. Yes. Q. And -- but on the 23rd of December, you didn't cut her hair? A. No. Q. Do you know if any -- did you observe her during the time she was there? A. Yes. Q. Did any other stylist cut her hair? A. No. Q. And so she just sat and talked to you while you were cutting the defendant's hair, correct? A. Yes. Q. Do you remember what she was wearing? A. Yes. Q. What was that? A. She had cream colored pants on, they were kind of a khaki, maybe tan, cream colored maternity pants. She had a black blouse with either small cream polka dots, cream flowers. She had a black jacket, a cream scarf and black shoes. Q. Do you remember -- in regards to the pants that she was wearing, do you remember what length they were? A. Yes. They were probably like ankle length. Q. Now, did -- was there an item that needed to be picked up for a Christmas breakfast from a place called Vella Farms? A. Actually, it was an item for our grandfather, it was a basket, gift basket for a Christmas present. Q. Okay. A. Yes, it was supposed to be picked up. Q. And where is Vella Farms located here in the county? A. In Modesto on the corner of Dale and Kiernan. Q. And do you know where the Del Rio Golf Club is? A. Yes. Q. Where is that located? A. North of McHenry, off of Ladd, kind of off of Stewart Road. Q. Is it out towards -- is the Vella Farms store and Del Rio in the same general area in the county? A. Yeah, they're on the same side of town. Q. Did -- what time did this item need to be picked up, what date and time, I should say? A. On the 24th, after 12:00 noon, but before 3:00 p.m. Q. Okay. So you had made arrangements to pick up this gift basket the next day between 12:00 and 3:00? A. Yes. Q. And what was the deadline at 3:00? What was going to happen at that time? A. They were supposed to close at 3:00. Q. Okay. Did you tell that information to Laci and the defendant? A. Yes. Q. And what, if anything, did the defendant say about that? A. He offered to pick it up. Q. And did he say why he could pick it up or why that he'd be able to do that? A. Because he was going to be out that way. Q. And did he say where he was going to be going? A. He said he'd be out that way golfing, so I assume Del Rio. MR. GERAGOS: Objection. Motion to strike the last portion. THE COURT: Overruled. MR. DISTASO: Q. Did -- were you aware as to whether or not the defendant and Laci had a membership to the Del Rio Country Club? A. Yes. Q. Did they? A. Yes. Q. Okay. After you were finished cutting the defendant's hair and you had made this arrangement -- or I guess he agreed to pick this up, did anything else happen at the salon that night? A. No. Q. Okay. Did they go home? A. Yeah, they left. Q. And then did you go somewhere else? A. Yes. Q. Where'd you go? A. I went to dinner with one of my friends that was here from out of state -- Q. Okay. The next day, did you get some word that the basket had not been picked up from Vella Farms? A. Yes. Vella Farms -- Q. And when was that? A. It was around 3:45. Q. And what happened? A. The lady from Vella Farms had called wondering if I had forgotten to pick up the basket. Q. And did you attempt to get a hold of the defendant? A. Yes. Q. How'd you do that? A. By calling his cell phone and their house. Q. And was there any answer? A. No. Q. So did you -- what did you do? A. Well, at that time I just figured I'd go pick it up myself, since I was -- for one, I thought they were supposed to close at 3:00, and she said they were going to be open until 4:00, so I thought I'd go pick it up so they wouldn't have to wait and stay open just for us. Q. Did -- now, during the time -- at any time up until the last time -- was that the last time that you then actually spoke to your sister Laci? A. On the 23rd? Q. Yes. A. Yes. Q. Up until that time, had Laci ever mentioned to you that the defendant had bought a boat? MR. GERAGOS: Objection. Calls for hearsay. THE COURT: Sustained. MR. DISTASO: Well, Your Honor, I'm not asking for the statement. I'm only asking if she -- if that subject had ever been mentioned to her. That's not calling for a statement. MR. GERAGOS: That's his calling for the truth -- THE COURT: Calling for hearsay. Sustained. MR. DISTASO: Q. Did you have any knowledge that the defendant had bought a boat? A. No. Q. Had you ever seen the defendant's boat? A. No. Q. There's a picture there in front of you. What's the number on that? MR. GERAGOS: 47. MR. DISTASO: Q. 47. Did you ever see that -- well, let me ask you this: Do you recognize the truck in that picture? A. Yes. Q. Whose truck is that? A. Scott's. Q. The defendant's? A. Yes. Q. And this boat that's being -- behind the truck, do you recognize that boat? A. No. Q. Had you ever seen -- not -- don't think of any media accounts or anything else, but had you ever seen up to December 23rd, this particular boat? A. No. Q. And did you have any knowledge that Laci or -- I mean, that the defendant had bought boat? A. No. Q. So I take it by that, you've never ever been in that particular boat? A. No. Q. At any time in your relationship with either your sister Laci or the defendant, did you ever know, and let's just say up until December 23rd, that the defendant was having an affair with a woman by the name of Amber Frey? A. No. Q. The -- are you familiar at all with the defendant's use of his cell phone? A. No. MR. DISTASO: Nothing further, Your Honor. THE COURT: Mr. Geragos? MR. GERAGOS: Thank you. CROSS-EXAMINATION by MR. GERAGOS - PAGE 2 HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT PRELIMINARY HEARING INDEX COURT DATES ALIBI-WITNESS LIST INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS EVIDENCE-NEWS AUTOPSY INDEX WIRETAPS AMBER |
| LACI & CONNER May They Rest In Peace |
| PRELIMINARY HEARING - DAY 3 Testimony of AMY ROCHA - Page 1 |
 |
|
|
 |