FIRST POLICE OFFICER TAKES THE STAND By GARTH STAPLEY and BRIAN SKOLOFF June 10, 2004 Within hours of responding to Scott Peterson's home the evening he reported his pregnant wife missing, police determined the scene was suspicious and summoned a detective, according to testimony Thursday. Modesto Police Sgt. Byron Duerfeldt said he received a missing person report about 6 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2002. Duerfeldt first went to a park near the Petersons' home where friends and family had gathered to search for Laci Peterson. Her husband, Scott, told authorities she had been preparing to walk the couple's dog in the park when he left for a solo fishing trip that morning. Duerfeldt said he met briefly with three other officers there before heading to the Petersons' home. Though many of Laci Peterson’s friends and family members peppered the officer with questions and “venting” in frenetic moments after she was reported missing, her husband didn’t, the officer testified this morning. Modesto Police Sgt. Byron Duerfeldt, the first officer to testify in Scott Peterson’s double-murder trial, said he was the point person for Laci Peterson’s loved ones for a time the evening of Christmas Eve 2002. "I wanted to make sure that Laci wasn't inside the house, that she wasn't in the backyard somewhere," Duerfeldt testified. "To just make sure that we weren't missing her somewhere inside the house." Duerfeldt said he then summoned a helicopter to fly over the park, and received a briefing from the other officers who had already been inside the house about whether they found anything "unusual or suspicious." "Based on what they told me I felt it was necessary to have a detective respond," Duerfeldt said, acknowledging that wasn't common practice. Three other officers were inside her Covena Avenue home, and Duerfeldt was keeping everyone out. “Chaotic, emotional,” the sergeant said, describing the scene. “I specifically remember Mrs. Rocha (Laci’s mother) being very upset, understandably, as well as many family and friends. A lot of emotion, questions, anger, all those types of emotions.” Prosecutor Rick Distaso asked, “Did Scott Peterson ever come up to you with questions, venting, anything of that nature?” Duerfeldt: “No.” Authorities say the 31-year-old Modesto fertilizer salesman deserves a lethal injection for murdering his pregnant wife and unborn son. Peterson’s attorneys say someone else kidnapped and murdered Laci Peterson. Duerfeldt called Modesto Police Detective Al Brocchini to the scene, and he acknowledged that move was unusual for a missing person’s case. The circumstances - a woman almost eight months pregnant vanishing on Christmas Eve - dictated the call, he said. Duerfeldt said officers searched a vacant home on the street as friends and family gathered at the Petersons' house. "There was a possibility that Laci could have been in that house," he said. Additional officers were summoned to search the park and a frantic scene unfolded at the house. He was stopped from explaining further because he's not allowed to testify about what others told him, but he made it clear their observations led him to call the detective. A detective later took over the investigation, Duerfeldt said. HOME INDEX LACI TRIAL NEWS ALIBI-WITNESS LIST SCOTT WIRETAPS AUTOPSY LACI'S FAMILY MODESTO POLICE INDEX PETERSON FAMILY PROSECUTION OPENING STATEMENTS |
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| LACI & CONNER May the Truth Be Told |
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