| Detective acknowledges Scott had regular contact with police September 30, 2004 By Truong Phuoc Khánh -Mercury News The lead detective in the Scott Peterson double-murder investigation finished testifying today, his seventh day on the witness stand, and was excused just before jurors broke for lunch. Defense attorney Mark Geragos used his cross-examining time this morning to dispute Modesto detective Craig Grogan's testimony yesterday that Scott Peterson showed little interest in the police investigation into his wife's disappearance. Grogan this morning acknowledged that Peterson had continuous, almost daily contact with the police about the status of their search. Geragos also cited pages of telephone conversations secretly recorded by Modesto Police that showed Peterson asking his in-laws and various police investigators for any news in the search for Laci. "Time after time . . . page after page,'' from the wire tap, Geragos said, Peterson asked about the investigation. In fact, Peterson had asked to meet with Modesto Police Chief on Jan. 6 to talk about the case, but the chief was not available, Geragos said. Geragos also tried to debunk a police theory that financial pressure was a possible motive for Peterson to kill his wife. Prosecutors have tried to show that Laci wanted to buy a nicer, more expensive house but intended to stop working after the birth of her child. This would have caused financial problems for the couple, prosecutors said, leading Peterson to kill his wife. Geragos said Laci earned $6,000 in 2002, a salary Grogan acknowledged he had not known. Geragos suggested that that amount wasn't a significant loss of income for the couple if Laci were to stop working. In addition, Laci had just inherited jewelry worth up to $100,000 from her grandmother and she stood to inherit more than $100,000 from the sale of her grandmother's house. Geragos pointed to what he said are other holes in the police investigation including: Laci sightings. Modesto Police detectives discounted Laci sightings and did not follow up on some eyewitnesses who reported seeing Laci on the morning of Dec. 24 in the Modesto area near where she lived."At some point during investigation, they did not become a priority,'' Grogan said of the sightings. A plastic bucket. Peterson said he used a plastic bucket to pour cement in in order to make a boat anchor. But police never found any bucket. Police believe Peterson made cement blocks to weigh his wife's body down in the water. But under questioning, Grogan said he never asked Peterson what he did with the bucket. Geragos suggested Peterson would have torn the bucket apart after he was done and discarded it. Too cold to fish. Police were skeptical of Peterson's alibi that he was out fishing the day Laci disappeared, citing it was too cold that Christmas Eve's morning. Geragos pointed out that Laci's stepfather, Ron Grantski, also went fishing that day. NOTE: What Scott actually said was, it was "too cold to golf" so he went fishing. -DETECTIVE GROGAN INDEX HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT TRIAL ALIBI-WITNESS LIST MODESTO POLICE AUTOPSY PLIERS-DNA WIRETAPS TV INTERVIEWS |
| LACI & CONNER "I would of like to have known Her. My thoughts are with You always." KRISTIN * KY * GUESTBOOK |
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