| Wednesday, June 9, 2004 Family details Scott's Christmas distance More relatives and friends of Laci Peterson testified for the prosecution Tuesday, and they all had a common theme: Scott Peterson seemed unemotional about his wife's disappearance, and he blew off family members who wanted to know more about Laci's actions Christmas Eve morning. Prosecutors called Laci's brother, Brent Rocha, and his wife Rose Rocha; Sandy Rickard, a close friend of Laci's mom, Sharon Rocha; and Sharon's first-cousin, Gwendolyn Kemple, to the stand. Peterson, wearing a beige suit, his dark brown hair cut short, stared blankly at witnesses as they paraded to the stand one by one and described the surreal Christmas Eve night. So far during the trial, Peterson has sat quietly at the table with little or no reaction to testimony. Brent Rocha, Laci's older brother, testified that Scott Peterson had admitted to having job troubles in the months just prior to Laci's disappearance. He said that his former brother-in-law had confided in him during a pool party in the summer of 2002. "He wasn't doing good in his job," Brent testified Scott told him. "He was down, kind of quiet." Under cross-examination by defense attorney Mark Geragos, Brent provided details of the multi-million dollar trust that Laci would have been a beneficiary of had she lived. The trust, valued at more than $2.3 million in 2002, came from the estate of Laci's paternal grandparents. The trust was structured in a way that only the grandchildren or their offspring would be able to collect the inheritance. The death of Laci and her unborn son, Conner, meant that only Brent and Amy Rocha would be beneficiaries. "As far as you can tell, there's absolutely no financial motive for Scott Peterson to do anything to Laci or Conner especially during that eight-week period," between Laci's disappearance and Conner's due date, Geragos said. "Yes," Brent Rocha said. When asked about Scott's demeanor on Christmas Eve, Brent replied, "My perception of Scott is that he was just staring right ahead ... like he was in outer space, not looking at anyone. Just kind of by himself," A hushed court heard how an NE scoop sparked a furious showdown between Scott Peterson and Brent Rocha. Brent told the jury about the day in January 2003- with Laci missing three weeks, when he called Scott and asked him if he'd read the new issue of the NE, carrying an exclusive story revealing his secret affair with Amber Frey for the first time. "He went to the store to get one," said 33 year olf Brent, who is an analyst for the California Department of Justice. When Scott called back, the paper now in front of him, he at first denied, then admitted that the story was true, Brent told jurors. Angrily, Brent asked him, "How do you know Amber has nothing to do with it? It was the moment of high drama that convinced Laci's family that Scott had killed her. "No way," Scott replied weakly. She didn't know Laci existed. She didn't know anything about Laci. The first time she knew she existed was when I told her Laci was missing." Brent Rocha also said he confronted Scott in January 2003 after he heard reports that circles of cement residue were found in Peterson's warehouse and that police believed Peterson used the cement to make a number of anchors. One such anchor was found in Peterson's fishing boat. "(Peterson) said 'I told (police) I used it to make one anchor, and I used the rest as cement for my driveway,'" Rocha said. Prosecutors believe Peterson used the anchors to weigh down his pregnant wife's body after he dumped it into San Francisco Bay. Laci's body and the body of their unborn child washed ashore in April 2003, four months after she was reported missing. Defense attorney Mark Geragos pointed out that Peterson did indeed use cement often -- in building his backyard barbecue and other home-improvement projects. "Do you recall there was cement work in the backyard?" Geragos asked. Rocha, relaxed and confident on the stand, said he did. Both Ron Grantski and Brent Rocha said people began immediately Christmas Eve night to question Scott's involvement in Laci's disappearance. Many told them that Peterson's story just did not seem to add up. During testimony, three prosecution witnesses chillingly described Peterson's attitude toward becoming a father, delivering a potential blow to the defense's painstaking attempts to show that Peterson was looking forward to fatherhood. Rose Rocha, Laci's sister-in-law and her brother Brent's wife, said she was delighted at the news that Laci was pregnant. But when she congratulated Scott Peterson, his startling response caused the courtroom to go silent. "Are you ready for this?" she said she asked Peterson at a family party. His reply, as she testified: "I was kind of hoping for infertility." When one of Peterson's defense attorneys, Pat Harris, cross-examined Rocha, he asked if Peterson's remark might have been "a joke." "He was not laughing," she replied. "He was not smiling when I heard it." MORE TRIAL COVERAGE: For complete updates go to sanmateocountytimes.com HOME INDEX LACI LACI'S ALBUM TRIAL ALIBI-WITNESS LIST SCOTT SCOTT'S ALBUM CONNER LACI'S FAMILY |
| LACI & CONNER PRAY FOR JUSTICE |
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| BRENT ROCHA |
| ROSE & BRENT ROCHA |