| Dog handler: Scott Peterson made odd requests during collection at home September 1, 2004 A dog handler who supervised the K-9 search-and rescue efforts in the days after Laci Peterson's disappearance told jurors Tuesday morning about the unusual requests Scott Peterson made of him during a brief interview at the defendant's dining room table. "He asked me not to take notes on the table," said Christopher Boyer, volunteer captain of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department search-and-rescue team. "He said he didn't want his table damaged." Prosecutors were attempting to demonstrate that Peterson's behavior after his wife's disappearance was cold and uncaring, that he was more concerned with the condition of his furniture than the matter at hand — finding his missing, pregnant wife. Boyer testified that directly before that Dec. 26, 2002 interview, he assisted in collecting "scent articles," items belonging to Laci Peterson, including a hairbrush from the master bedroom, a pink slipper, a green and brown slipper, and sunglasses in a case removed from her purse. Boyer then asked Peterson questions about, among other things, the last time he'd seen his wife (answer: 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 24), what she was wearing (a white long-sleeve top and black pants in bare feet), any tattoos Laci had (a large sunflower on her left ankle), any prescription medications she was taking (only prenatal vitamins) and what her plans were for the day (cleaning the house, walking the dog and meeting him upon his return at 4 p.m.). Afterward, according to Boyer, Peterson looked toward his father and said "something to the effect of, 'Should I get a receipt, do you think I need a receipt?'" "We've never been asked for a receipt before," Boyer testified, explaining that he created a form on the spot to fulfill Peterson's request. Hot on the trail Jurors also learned Tuesday how trained dogs can pick up a person's trail from the scent of the 150,000 skin cells, or "skin rafts" humans shed per hour. "We'd present the dog with something very personal to you — a sock, watch, eyeglasses, underwear — something that has your predominant scent on it," Boyer said, explaining that humans shed skin rafts on everything they touch and pass. Boyer said that the dogs are trained to alert their handlers only to the presence of the freshest predominant scent. They use a "process of subtraction" to rule out the scents of family members or others whose skin rafts may have commingled with the missing person's. Boyer met with two dog handlers, Ron Seitz and Eloise Anderson, on Dec. 28 at the Berkeley Marina, where Peterson told investigators he launched his boat for a solo fishing trip on Dec. 24. Boyer said he gave the sunglass case to Anderson and the pink slipper to Seitz. Since the glasses were in their case, Boyer explained, the case could be opened and the glasses could be presented to Anderson's trailing dog, Trimble, without ever having to handle them. Anderson testified subsequently about Trimble's training and extensive case work, successfully picking up the trails of missing people who have traveled on foot, bike and even in vehicles. Some jurors smiled and sat up in their seats as a photo of the yellow Labrador retriever, in his leather collar and work harness, was displayed on the projector. Trailing dogs, according to Anderson, are trained at an early age how to pick up a person's scent and are rewarded with treats and dog toys. "For a puppy, that is a huge party," Anderson said. "We make the person they are looking for the most important person in their world." On Dec. 28, Laci Peterson was the most important person in Trimble's world. As prosecutor Dave Harris projected an aerial photo of the Berkeley Marina on a screen, Anderson pointed to the area where Trimble began her search process. She first faced her dog toward an area that she deemed to be a "neutral direction" and then presented Laci Peterson's "scent article" to her. "With rubber gloves, I peeled the plastic Ziplocs off the article, and opened the glass case so she could 'scent' on the glasses inside," Anderson said. Trimble moved toward vegetation in the parking area, circled back to her owner, sat by her left-hand side, and made eye contact, a behavior that indicated "no scent trail." After several "no scent trails," Trimble took a straight line down a pier and stopped at a pylon at the water's edge. Trimble then looked out over the water, her snout into he wind, and turned to give Anderson an "end of trail" indication, head level and tail up. Anderson said that Trimble then verified Laci's trail, going to the perimeter of the scent, and returning back to the pylon, again indicating a "hard" end-of-trail alert. Harris asked if it was possible that the dog could have picked up the scent of someone else whose scent commingled with Laci's while driving in and out of the parking lot. Anderson said that Trimble would have picked up an "exit trail" leading out of the parking lot, but she did not do that in Laci's case. Disputing the dogs During pretrial hearings, Peterson's defense attorney Mark Geragos called the dog trailing evidence "complete voodoo," and claimed that Peterson's own handling of the sunglasses likely caused the dogs to give a false-positive alert. Boyer conceded during cross-examination by Pat Harris Tuesday morning, that he later learned the green and brown slipper collected actually belonged to Scott, not Laci Peterson. However, he stuck to his guns when questioned about whether Seitz's dog was presented with Laci's pink slipper or Scott's green and brown slipper. Although the exact scent article used was not recorded in either of the men's reports, Boyer said he had a photo that proved it was the pink slipper. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. A photo?" Geragos piped in from the defense table. "Where is that photo?" Boyer explained that the photo taken at the marina that day only showed him holding a double plastic bag which contained the pink slipper, but it did not show Seitz presenting the item to his dog. He also admitted that it would be impossible to determine the exact time a scent was deposited, or how old it was. Boyer and Harris also traded arguments about the scientific validity of scent theory, how the dog can distinguish among different scents. "Are you sitting here telling this court that you can produce [a scientific] article?" Harris asked. Boyer was calm as he told Harris that he could produce articles and books that stated that scent theory was an accepted scientific standard. "I can also give you an article from Andy Redmond, your expert witness," Boyer said. Members of the gallery whispered to each other over Boyer's quick parry, and a reporter could be heard in the back of the room saying, "Oooh!" Peterson, 31, faces the death penalty if convicted of the murder of his wife and unborn son Conner. DOG EVIDENCE INDEX HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT AMBER TRIAL ALIBI-WITNESS LIST WIRETAPS MAGAZINES |
 |
 |
 |
| . |
| LACI & CONNER 'THEY ARE IN EVERYONES HEARTS ' The Maldonado Family - CA - Guestbook |
|
|