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 Laci Peterson's sister testified that Scott volunteered to pick up a Christmas gift basket Dec. 24 from a farm near his golf course but never showed. Rocha called him to find out why he hadn’t run the errand, but he didn’t answer his cell or home phone.
On Jan. 3, he told several friends and relatives that a photo of him with a blond woman was a fake, created on the Internet. The photo showed him with his mistress, Amber Frey. (Sharon Rocha and Brent Rocha also testified to this.) |
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Laci Peterson's mother testified Scott used the word "missing" to describe his wife, even though by his account he’d only been trying to establish her whereabouts for less than an hour.
When Sharon Rocha first spotted him 30 feet away in the park as she searched for her daughter, she called out to him repeatedly, but he did not acknowledge her.
About an hour into the search for Laci, Sharon Rocha tried to give her son-in-law a consoling hug, but he kept "angling" away from her and did not make eye contact.
At a community vigil for his wife Dec. 31, Peterson arrived late and did not sit with the rest of the family, including his own parents, on a stage. He told his brother-in-law, Brent Rocha, that he preferred to sit with his friends in the audience.
Each time Sharon Rocha asked Peterson for a detailed description of her daughter’s activities and state of mind on the day she vanished, Peterson would say he had something else to do and did not have time. (Sandy Rickard also testified to this)
When Sharon Rocha finally talked to Peterson in February about the morning of Dec. 24, he said the last time he had seen his wife, she “looked so cute” curling her hair in front of a mirror. He told police she was mopping the floor and Laci's cousin-in-law Gwendolyn Kemple that she was watching Martha Stewart on TV.
Sharon Rocha, Peterson and other relatives were watching a television show about fishing as they waited for news. When the program mentioned that shrimp was the best bait for sturgeon, Rocha asked Peterson what he had used for bait during his alibi fishing trip. He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled, but did not answer. A sister-in-law volunteered that he had used lures.
Sharon Rocha called Peterson immediately after the remains of Laci Peterson and her unborn son were recovered. She left a message asking him to call her immediately. He never did. |
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Laci Peterson's stepfather said that, when her friends and family gave media interviews to encourage the public to look for her, Scott Peterson declined, saying he wanted to keep the focus on her, not him. (Laci's brother, Brent Rocha, also testified to this.) |
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Laci's brother said that Peterson did not make eye contact with him the night the search began.
Peterson expressed surprise at the end of the evening when Brent Rocha said he was going to stay in Modesto to look for his sister and not return to Sacramento. |
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Months before Laci Peterson went missing, his sister-in-law asked Peterson if he was ready for fatherhood. He replied, "I was kinda hoping for infertility." |
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As police searched his home and vehicle in the first hours after he had reported his wife missing, Peterson told family friend Sandy Rickard that he wouldn’t be surprised if they found his blood because he often cut himself. |
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When Gwendolyn Kemple asked father-to-be Peterson if he was looking forward to playing backyard catch with his son, he was dismissive, saying he had friends to do that.
When Kemple, the wife of Laci Peterson's cousin, talked to Peterson a couple of hours after his wife went missing, she found he had not pursued some basic questions, including whether Laci’s purse was still in the house and whether her coat was still there. |
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Harvey Kemple, Laci Peterson's cousin, said that Scott Peterson showed more emotion when he burned chicken at a summer barbecue than he did when his wife vanished.
He told Kemple and two neighbors — Tera Venable and Amie Krigbaum — that he was golfing, not fishing, when his wife disappeared.
One January morning, Peterson told Harvey Kemple he was going to post fliers, but instead drove to a mall and sat in the parking lot for 45 minutes.
While others searched for his wife, Peterson drove to the golf course at his country club. |
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On Christmas, Peterson was dismissive when police said they had a tip that his wife had been spotted walking on a footbridge in a local park. He told his wife’s aunt, Susan Aquino, who was excited by the tip, that he was sure it wasn’t Laci because she walked in the opposite direction. |
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Laci Peterson’s girlhood friend said she found Peterson vacuuming the laundry room just 24 hours after his wife went missing. He told her, "I just can’t keep the house clean enough." |
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Both patrolmen said Peterson could not answer when asked what he had been fishing for Dec. 24.
After seeming to flub answers to the questions about his alibi, the officers saw him throw down a flashlight and curse under his breath. |
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Laci Peterson, a 27-year-old wife who was eight months pregnant, disappeared on Christmas Eve, prompting a nationwide search. But when the body of the Modesto, Calif., woman and her unborn child were found four months later, her husband, Scott, was charged with two counts of murder.
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 Jury Instructions
Judge's instructions to the jury for deliberatons.
The Wiretaps
Read the transcripts, listen to the tapes of Scott Peterson's phonecalls
Police Interview
This 30-page transcript shows the exchange between investigators and Scott Peterson less than 24 hours after Laci Peterson's disappearance was reported.
Rocha-Peterson Call
Laci Peterson's mother and Scott Peterson had this Feb. 2003 phone conversation that was taped by police.
Frey Phone Transcript
Police recorded this conversation between Amber Frey and Scott Peterson after Frey went to police following Laci Peterson's disappearance.
Dismissal Motion
Alleging a lack of evidence presented at the preliminary hearing, the defense asked the judge to set aside the charges in this January 2004 motion.
Complaint
Peterson was charged with two counts of murder in the slayings of his pregnant wife, Laci, and unborn son.
Arrest Warrant
Police obtained this warrant prior to arresting Scott Peterson for the murders of his wife and unborn child.
MORE
More Scott Peterson case documents.
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