| Amber Secretly Recorded Phone Calls Defense Attorney, Kirk McAllister attacked the testimony of one of the lead investigatorsThursday, suggesting the detective focused on Scott Peterson to the exclusion of other possible suspects. McAllister suggested during Peterson's preliminary hearing that the case had become personal for Modesto, Calif., police Detective Al Brocchini, and that the detective had told friends of the couple that he was going to take Scott Peterson down. Brocchini denied making the statement, but acknowledged he tried planting the seeds of suspicion with a friend of Scott Peterson with a different goal in mind. "My intent was to catch, to get, whoever got Laci. That was my intent and still is," he said, adding that he kept an open mind and followed all leads when questioning Scott Peterson's friends. Peterson told one investigator that after watching the Martha Stewart show with his wife, he decided to go fishing and last saw Laci Peterson mopping the kitchen area. The couple's housekeeper testified earlier that she had mopped the day before during her biweekly cleaning. That information contradicts with evidence presented by a different police officer during the preliminary hearing last week. According to that officer's testimony, Peterson said that on Dec 24 at 9:30 a.m. he left to go fishing, and the last time he saw Laci, she was walking her dog. The apparent contradictory information is important, because the district attorney is expected to argue that with the events so fresh in Peterson's mind, the erroneous statements are suspicious. The preliminary hearing is being held to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial. McAllister continued cross-examining Brocchini, the first detective to investigate the disappearance of the pregnant woman. The defense has claimed investigators focused suspicion immediately on Peterson and ruled out other viable suspects. McAllister suggested that Brocchini tried to get Scott Peterson fired from his fertilizer sales job, which the detective denied. Brocchini said he worked with the company to review expenditures Scott Peterson made to see whether they were work related. Investigators studied both personal and business spending -- some records of which had been subpoenaed by a the FBI, using a federal grand jury. McAllister also questioned why Brocchini called an anonymous tip into the Laci Peterson hot line that Scott Peterson and his mother had established. Brocchini said he gave them the same tip that the police had gotten to see if the family would follow up on it or turn it over to police. "I was worried a good tip would come in and wouldn't be followed up on" by the Petersons, Brocchini said. On Wednesday, he said he asked neighbors to provide tips and tried to get friends to prod Peterson for details about what happened to his wife. Brocchini said that he called friends of the couple to point out a news article about Scott Peterson's extramarital affair and a $250,000 insurance policy he took out on his wife. He also said he took part in discussions with other officers about themes that mistress Amber Frey should discuss with Peterson to coax a confession from him during phone calls she was secretly recording. He recalled officers telling her to pretend she was a suspect in the disappearance so Peterson would feel sorry for her and take the rap. Brocchini said he was concerned with her spilling the news that she was cooperating with police. He encouraged her to let Peterson talk. "Laci was missing and he wasn't talking about Laci, he was talking about himself and where he was in Europe," Brocchini said about a phone call that came in when officers were at Frey's house in Fresno, Calif. Peterson is not believed to have been in Europe at the time. PRELIMINARY HEARING WITNESS LIST COURT DATES-STORIES WIRETAPS HOME INDEX LACI TRIAL SCOTT AMBER EVIDENCE-NEWS |
| PRELIMINARY HEARING - DAY 8 Thursday, NOVEMBER 13, 2003 |
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| LACI & CONNER "May We All Pray That The Legal System Shows Justice for Laci and Conner" Renee - New Jersey - Guestbook Entry |
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