| Witnesses tell of Laci's new wedding ring plan
Thursday - June 17, 2004 Laci Peterson's pregnancy and jewelry hobby took center stage this morning as a parade of witnesses came to the stand during her husband's trial. Did $100,000 in diamonds, sapphires and other gems play a role in Laci 's murder? Witnesses at her husband's capital trial suggested Thursday that, before she vanished, both Laci and her husband, Scott, were preoccupied with jewelry — not just the valuable baubles she had inherited from her grandmother, but also cheaper accessories they were pawning for quick cash. Prosecutors, who called the witnesses, have not said how the jewelry fits into their theory that Scott killed Laci Dec. 23, 2002. And the testimony from two jewelers, a pair of pawn brokers and the victim's aunt seemed to raise more questions than it answered. Laci Peterson's aunt, Robin Marie Rocha, testified that her niece received a stash of pricey watches, rings, necklaces and other items in November 2002 as part of the settlement of her grandmother's estate. She testified that she had inventoried her mother's jewelry before giving it to her niece. When police asked her to review the jewelry seized from the Peterson home when police searched it, Rocha testified that a watch and a pair of 2 ct. diamond earrings were missing. Geragos, in questioning fragmented by repeated prosecution objections, probed Rocha about a gold Croton watch with a diamond-rimmed face. Rocha identified a watch matching that description in a photo taken from the eBay online auction service as one of the watches her niece inherited. But Rocha couldn't identify it as a Croton. Two witnesses who had met Laci Peterson while working at a Modesto jewelry shop said she became a frequent customer in the fall of 2002, after she had inherited a valuable jewelry collection from her grandmother who had recently died. Both Mary Anna Felix, then a saleswoman at Edwards Jewelers in Modesto, and Jeff Schumacher, the shop's jeweler, said Laci had planned to make a new wedding ring for herself using parts of her own wedding ring and a large diamond from her grandmother's wedding ring. They appraised the inheritance at their Modesto store for "in excess of $100,000." Felix said Laci told her that her husband wanted to know how much the pieces were worth. "She said he would be very happy," Felix recalled. The jewelers told jurors that the Laci commissioned them to incorporate two of her grandmother's rings into her own wedding ring. The result, the jewelers said, was to be a diamond confection worth $55,000. The 2.5-carat center stone itself was valued at $30,000. But in December 2002, at the same time she was meeting with the jewelers about the extravagant ring, Laci also made two visits to a pawn shop where she hocked gold chains, charms and other rings for $250. David Brooks: co-owner of Brooks Pawn and Jewelry -- testified Laci had stopped by his shop to sell jewelry twice, on Dec. 10 and 14, 2002. On her second visit, David Brooks recalled, he bought a chain and a charm from her for $110. However, Laci did not have her identification on her, and by law he could not buy it from her. Laci instead got Scott, who was with her, to pawn the items since he had his identification with him. It is unclear why the couple was selling the jewelry in a pawn shop instead of a venue where they were likely to get more money. The pawn shop owner's wife testified that, while Scott was affectionate toward his wife, rubbing her belly, she appeared uncomfortable. "She was hesitant toward him," Victoria Brooks recalled. Victoria Brooks said Laci told her that she was cleaning out her jewelry box and wanted to get rid of items she received from her grandmother. But Robin Rocha said that, when she inspected her niece's jewelry at the request of the police, she found only two pieces missing: a fancy gem-encrusted watch and a 2-carat pair of diamond earrings. The trips to the pawn shop are even more mysterious in light of their timing. Laci made the first trip to Brooks Pawn in Modesto on Dec. 10, when she handed over a gold chain for $140. The day before, her husband had plunked down $1,400 in cash for an aluminum fishing boat prosecutors believe he later used to dispose of her body. Her second trip to the pawn shop, this time with her husband, occurred four days later on another date highly significant to the prosecutors' case. On Dec. 14 , the Petersons were scheduled to attend a Christmas party together, but according to witnesses, Scott told his wife he had to meet a business colleague. Instead, he took his mistress, Amber Frey, to a Christmas formal and, according to prosecutors, told her that he wanted a future with her and that he planned to get a vasectomy. Peterson, 31, earned about $60,000 a year as a fertilizer salesman. Laci was a substitute teacher until late in her pregnancy. 'She always wore it' When Laci was reported missing, police found several pieces of jewelry laid out on a bureau in the couple's bedroom as if she had removed them for the night. Arranged neatly between her jewelry box and a wedding photo of the couple were the sapphire ring she was wearing while her wedding ring was redesigned, a diamond pendant necklace, and a diamond and gold watch. All were bequests from her grandmother. Felix said that, on the dozen or so times Laci visited her store, she was always wearing the pendant. "Every day. She always wore it," said the jeweler. When she recommended Laci have it cleaned, Laci refused, saying she didn't like to take it off, Felix said. The defense contends Laci was abducted, likely while walking her dog in a nearby park the morning of Christmas Eve, but prosecutors seemed to be hinting that she would never leave the house without her watch and jewelry. As prosecutor Dave Harris flashed photos of the jewelry onto a large projection screen, most jurors scrawled in their notebooks. At the defense table, Scott appeared to be following the testimony closely, whispering to his lawyers and jotting down notes. His lawyer, Mark Geragos, noted that, after Scott's wife went missing, he never called the jewelry store asking about the diamonds they were holding. Schumacher, the jeweler, said he phoned investigators and the jewelry was later turned over to Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha. "The only people who contacted you about getting the jewelry were the police and Mrs. Rocha?" Geragos asked. "Yes," Schumacher said. As the jeweler recalled giving the jewelry to Rocha, she looked on from the front row, nodding. She said Laci never brought Scott into the shop and told her that her husband worked at a local law firm. Scott Peterson was a fertilizer salesman. ~Thanks to Lil Cali Girl~ HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT TRIAL ALIBI-WITNESS NEWS |
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