| Peterson case looks at time span Ten-minute period becomes a key issue in case against accused double-murderer Thursday, November 20, 2003 A 10-minute period on the morning of Dec. 24 could become a key element of the case againstaccused double-murderer Scott Peterson. That's the amount of time that elapsed from the moment someone used Peterson's cell phone in or near his home until a neighbor said she found the Petersons' dog standing in the road at 10:18 a.m., its leash dangling from its collar. If the 10:08 a.m. call indicates the time Peterson left his home, it raises questions about the story he told police. Peterson has told police that his pregnant wife was preparing to mop the floor as he was leaving to go fishing, and that she planned to run some errands and walk the dog. The defense has suggested that she may have been abducted. But the time frame poses problems for that theory. Could she have mopped the floor, run any errands, gathered the dog for a walk, and be the victim of an abduction within 10 minutes? Neighbor Karen Servas testified that she found the Petersons' golden retriever, McKenzie,standing in the street at 10:18 a.m., calculating that time after checking a time-stamped receipt and clocking how long it took her to retrace her route to the store. Peterson told police he left home at about 9:30 a.m. Dec. 24 to go fishing in San Francisco Bay, stopping at a warehouse he used in his work as a fertilizer salesman to get his boat and to check his e-mail, detective Al Brocchini testified during Peterson's preliminary hearing. "Laci asked the defendant to bring in a bucket," Brocchini testified. "She was going to mop, clean up the kitchen, go shopping for a dinner or a brunch they were going to have and then walk the dog." Prosecutors contend Peterson killed his wife and unborn son either late Dec. 23 or early Dec. 24. He could receive the death penalty if convicted on both murder counts. The 10:08 a.m. call from Peterson's cell phone to his voice mail appeared to show the caller driving westward from the Peterson's Covena Avenue home, within 1.42 miles because it switched to a different cell phone tower, district attorney investigator Steve Jacobson testified. The cell tower serving the Petersons' home has a radius of 1.42 miles, Jacobson said, meaning the call could have come from anywhere in that distance. Peterson's Emerald Avenue warehouse is northwest of his home. "Does it appear that he's driving from the house and that, while making the phone call, that the cell phone site switches?" defense attorney Mark Geragos asked. "That would be my understanding," Jacobson said. But the defense questioning did not pursue the possibility that Peterson left at 9:30 a.m., drove somewhere else, then went back through his neighborhood on the way to his warehouse. "You're familiar that Peterson is at the warehouse sometime shortly after 10:08, if you believe that he's the one that accessed the computer at the warehouse, correct?" Geragos said. "Yes," Jacobson said. A computer expert who examined Peterson's computer at the warehouse found that someone accessed it shortly after 10:08 a.m. and used it until nearly 11 a.m., Geragos said in court. During that period, Servas testified she found the couple's dog standing in the middle of the street with a damp, dirty leash. A second neighbor, Amie Krigbaum, testified she was awakened about 10:30 a.m. that day by two dogs barking: a neighbor's dog and another she later realized sounded like McKenzie. The defense could try to use the dog barking as an indication Laci Peterson was abducted while walking her dog. Scott told police McKenzie was protective of his wife and would bark at strangers, but Brocchini testified the dog did not bark at him when he visited the home the evening of Dec. 24. Krigbaum said McKenzie was "just going crazy" when the police came to tow away Peterson's pickup a few days later."We heard that familiar bark from that original day, and we're like, 'That sounds like the same bark on that day that we didn't recognize,'" Krigbaum said. After being awakened Dec. 24, Krigbaum said she took her dog outside almost immediately. The neighborhood was quiet. Peterson's truck was not in his driveway, but his wife's Land Rover was there. There were no unusual vehicles in the area, Krigbaum said. A short time later, at about 10:45 a.m., Diana Campos, an employee of a nearby hospital, saw a pregnant woman walking a golden retriever with two men along a path in the park, Detective Phil Owen testified. Campos described the woman as six to seven months pregnant with straight, shoulder-length hair, and the men as extremely dirty. However, Owen testified, "I felt she was giving me information that was not going in the right direction." HOME INDEX LACI CONNER SCOTT TRIAL WIRETAPS PRELIMINARY HEARING ALIBI-WITNESS LIST EVIDENCE-NEWS |
| LACI & CONNER May The Truth Be Told |
 |
 |
|