| Scott Peterson told a detective two days after Laci Peterson went missing that he "longed for the comfort of his own bed and the smell of his wife," according to testimony Wednesday in his capital murder trial. The former fertilizer salesman made this comment to Modesto Police Det. Craig Grogan on Dec. 26, 2002 after being asked if he had been able to get any sleep since his wife disappeared. His house had been cleared by police, who were conducting their first thorough search for evidence. "Were you aware that he's talking to Amber Frey during this period?" prosecutor Birgit Fladager asked the detective. "At the time I was not," Grogan replied. Frey contacted police four days later and cell phone records showed the two had talked frequently even after Laci vanished. The head detective on the case, Grogan took the stand Wednesday for the seventh straight day. Half of the day was spent on cross examination by defense attorney Mark Geragos, the other half answering questions from Fladager. Geragos has spent the last two days trying to expose flaws and failures in the detective's investigation into Laci Peterson's disappearance, charging Grogan with zeroing in on his client while ignoring leads pointing elsewhere. Peterson, 31, is on trial for the murder of his wife and unborn child. On Wednesday, Fladager addressed many of the issues raised by Geragos, and challenged his assertion that Peterson acted like he missed his wife. "Did he make inquiries as to the status of his missing wife on a daily basis?" Fladager asked. "No," Grogan replied. Wearing a purple suit and a slight smile, Fladager asked Grogan if Peterson inquired on a weekly basis. Grogan said the Modesto man asked for progress reports about once a month. The district attorney also attacked a key defense strategy with a simple question. Geragos had highlighted two of Peterson's prior affairs, and claimed that Laci knew about at least one of them and that she even knew about his affair with Frey. By doing so, Geragos attempted to undermine the prosecution's theory that Peterson killed his wife to be with Frey. "Did he tell any of those two women that he had lost his wife?" Fladager asked rhetorically. Peterson told Frey on Dec. 9, 2002 that he had been married, but lost his wife. Fladager also addressed an e-mail that Peterson sent in early February 2003 to Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, that Geragos portrayed as evidence that his client missed his pregnant wife and was sorry for the trouble he caused with Frey. In the e-mail Peterson apologized for not coming clean about his affair. In the e-mail exchange, Sharon asked Scott to give her Laci's Tiffany lamps. Peterson denied the request, writing: "Laci loves her lamps and they should be in our home when we bring her home." But Fladager pointed out that Peterson already had contacted a real estate agent about selling the home -- with its furnishings. Fladager also took aim at Geragos' argument that police ignored credible leads from people who said they saw Laci walking her dog on Dec. 24. Of an elderly woman who did not contact police until months after the case had been in the media, Fladager hinted that the site at which she claimed to have seen Laci was too far away from the Petersons' home to be credible. "And none of the sightings fall within the time range ... of 10:08 a.m. and 10:18 a.m.," Fladager said. At 10:08 a.m., Peterson was tracked by cell phone near his home; at 10:18 a.m., a neighbor found their dog in the street with its leash still attached. Prosecutors say that leaves only 10 minutes in which the defense's abduction theory could have occurred. Fladager attempted to undermine in other ways the sightings highlighted by the defense. Most of the purported eyewitnesses described Laci clad in black pants and a light-colored, or white, shirt -- the same description Peterson gave to police. "The majority of people said black pants and white shirts -- which was the description given to the media," Fladager said, intimating that people were remembering the media's descriptions of Laci. HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT TRIAL PG 1 PG 2 WIRETAPS AUTOPSY EVIDENCE PHOTOS ALIBI-WITNESS LIST AMBER MAGAZINES MODESTO PD |
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| LACI & CONNER "My heart goes out to your family" DANIELLE ~ CT ~ GUESTBOOK |
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| Detective on hot seat for 7th day Birgit Fladager Shines Wednesday - September 29, 2004 |