| Wed, Jul. 21, 2004
Investigators say they found hairs on duct tape and Laci's remains By Brian Anderson CONTRA COSTA TIMES Investigators discovered 12 hairs on Laci Peterson's remains and on duct tape stuck to Laci's body after it washed ashore in Richmond last year, a Contra Costa County criminalist testified this afternoon. John Nelson said four hairs were found on the remains and another eight hairs were attached to a 15-inch long piece of tape that ran from Laci's waistband to her thigh. Seven of the hairs on the tape were "non-human," he said, and one was from a person's pubic area. Nelson did not test the hairs and did not say to whom the hairs belonged. Charged with collecting certain evidence during an autopsy, Nelson said he was present when pathologist Bruce Peterson examined Laci's remains on April 14, 2003. A dog walker had stumbled on the decomposed body earlier in the day at the Point Isabel Regional Shoreline. Laci's husband Scott Peterson was arrested four days later after genetic tests made a positive identification of the woman who went missing Dec. 24, 2002. Nelson also documented a plastic tarp or bag that he said was brought to the Contra Costa County Coroner's office with the remains. A rusted metal object bent like a hook, a red piece of plastic, and more strips of duct tape also were found at Point Isabel and logged as evidence, he said. Nelson said he documented the evidence and shipped it to the state crime lab for further examination. Deputy district attorney David Harris displayed photos of Laci's remains as he questioned Nelson. The victim's mother Sharon Rocha left the courtroom after Judge Alfred Delucchi warned that Harris planned to show graphic photos. Jackie and Lee Peterson, Scott Peterson's parents, looked away from the screen that showed hardly-recognizable images of a decaying leg. The testimony was a stark contrast to the morning session in which witnesses testified about seeming innocuous items or events, including the identification of a blade of grass. Prosecutors continued the line of questioning, calling Sandra Jagoda, a pathologist's assistant from Contra Costa County, to the witness stand. HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT TRIAL ALIBI-WITNESS LIST MAGAZINES AUTOPSY SEARCHES HOUSE PICTURES |
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