Scott Peterson
Posted on 10/17/2003 2:59:30 AM PDT by runningbear
Scott Peterson
Peterson Hearing Today
Scott Peterson will be back in court today, as attorneys try to determine what evidence will be presented at Monday's preliminary hearing.
But, that hearing could be delayed, because Peterson's lead attorney, Mark Geragos, may be in court on another case.
Meantime, prosecutors have decided not to use evidence from a hypnotized witness at the preliminary hearing.
According to court documents, prosecutors still plan to call the woman to testify if the case goes to trial.
Scott Peterson is charged with the murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner.
He could receive the death penalty if convicted.......
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Peterson Defense: Laci's Body Never In Boat
Peterson Defense: Laci's Body Never In Boat
POSTED: 5:37 p.m. PDT October 16, 2003
UPDATED: 6:06 p.m. PDT October 16, 2003
MODESTO, Calif. -- On the eve of a court hearing, Scott Peterson's defense team submitted a filing late Thursday claiming that an investigator 'willfully omitted' evidence that allegedly proved the body of Laci Peterson was never in her husband's boat.
According to the filing, the defense believes that the prosecution's claim that Laci Peterson's lifeless body was placed in Scott Peterson's boat and dumped in the San Francisco Bay off the Berkeley Marina on Christmas Eve day is pivotal to the case against the Modesto fertilizer salesman.
Kirk McAllister, a member of Peterson's defense team, asked the court for a 'Franks Hearing' on the alleged omission. A 'Franks Hearing' is simply an evidentiary hearing on a motion to suppress evidence based on a challenge to the facts included or omitted from a search warrant.
In the filing, McAllister claims that a cadaver dog named Twist was placed in the boat by the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team and failed to 'alert' -- to signal that a scent of Laci Peterson had been detected.
"This information was purposely omitted from the search warrant affidavits because it destroys the theory on which the prosecution has based its case," McAllister stated in the filing.
He added that such an omission "fatally undermines a finding of probable cause." McAllister went even further to claim that the "prosecution's own investigation proved that Laci Peterson's body was never in Scott Peterson's boat."
Peterson has been charged with the capital murder of his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn son. A preliminary hearing in the case was scheduled to begin Monday but several reports say that the defense team will ask for at least a one-week delay at Friday's hearing. The delay request comes because Peterson attorney Mark Geragos is currently representing a murder defendant in a Los Angeles trial that has been slow in wrapping up.
Laci Peterson disappeared from the couple's modest Modesto home on Christmas Eve day, triggering a highly publicized search effort. At the time of her disappearance, Scott Peterson has told police he was on a day fishing trip to the San Francisco Bay off the Berkeley Marina.
Laci's partially decomposed body and that of her unborn son was discovered in April by dog walkers on successive days on the shoreline of a park in Richmond, just miles north of the Berkeley Marina. Scott Peterson was arrested in San Diego a few days later with his hair dyed blond and $10,000 in cash in his pocket. Authorities have said they feared he was preparing to flee to Mexico.
He has been held without bail in the Stanislaus County Jail.
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Evidence gained under hypnosis won't be used at Peterson hearing
Evidence gained under hypnosis won't be used at Peterson hearing
By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER
Published: October 16, 2003, 07:18:49 AM PDT
Prosecutors changed course Wednesday and said they will not introduce evidence from a hypnotized witness at Scott Peterson's preliminary hearing on double murder charges.
But prosecutors still intend to call the woman to testify if the case goes to trial, according to documents filed Wednesday in Stanislaus County Superior Court.
The decision appears to delay a legal showdown over whether Kristen Dempewolf, who may have resembled Peterson's pregnant wife at the time that she disappeared, will be allowed to testify.
Dempewolf, 33, could be used to counter witnesses who contend that they saw Laci Peterson after her husband said he left for a solo fishing trip the day she was reported missing.
Peterson, 30, is charged with murdering his wife and the couple's son, Conner. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Laci Peterson, 27, was almost eight months pregnant when her family reported her missing Christmas Eve. Dempewolf, who lives several blocks from the Petersons' home in Modesto's La Loma neighborhood, was at roughly the same stage of pregnancy.
Peterson's attorneys have asked the judge to exclude Dempewolf's testimony, saying investigators failed to follow strict legal requirements for allowing testimony from hypnotized witnesses in a criminal case.
Her testimony is part of a collection of evidence that the defense is seeking to bar from court, including information from wiretaps, scent-tracking dogs, GPS tracking devices and a hair found on pliers in Peterson's boat. A DNA test shows that the hair could have come from Laci Peterson, according to prosecution documents filed in court.
Judge Al Girolami is likely to hear arguments on the evidence issues at Peterson's preliminary hearing, which is set for Monday but may be delayed.
Prosecutors indicated earlier in court that they would call Dempewolf to testify at the hearing.
In more than 450 pages of documents filed Wednesday, prosecutors said they reserved the right to address the issue of introducing Dempewolf's testimony in the future.
They also contend that the defense objection to Dempewolf's testimony must also apply to Diane Jackson, a second neighbor who went under hypnosis for police.
Jackson is not cooperating with the defense, who notified her that she may be called to testify as a witness.
Jackson told police that she saw three suspicious men standing near a tan van parked directly across the street from the Peterson home at 11:40 a.m. Dec. 24, according to a report of her account.
In Dempewolf's case, defense attorney Mark .......
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Peterson defense wants evidence thrown out
Peterson defense wants evidence thrown out
Friday, October 17, 2003 Posted: 3:21 AM EDT (0721 GMT)
(CNN) -- Defense lawyers for murder suspect Scott Peterson on Thursday filed court documents seeking to throw out police search warrants and the evidence gathered using them in searches of Peterson's boat.
The documents say police "purposely omitted" the fact that a cadaver dog failed to pick up any scent of a body in Peterson's boat in affidavits to get a search warrant.
Peterson, 30, is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Prosecutors believe he killed Laci in their home and transported her body in his boat, later dumping her in the San Francisco Bay.
Both sides will appear in Stanislaus County Superior Court on Friday for a status hearing to discuss preparations in the case, where one court official said it's likely another continuance request may be made in the case.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin October 20. It was originally slated for September but has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts with defense attorneys.
The documents filed Thursday .......
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Superior Court, Stanislaus County
October 16, 2003
Defendant's Reply to People's Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Traverse Search Warrants
(Excerpt) Read more at abclocal.go.com ...
I may spend my day at Animal Planet & Food TV. And who knows--there may be a House Hunters marathon.
Even if he didn't kill her, he unwittingly contributed to her demise by choosing to be away on the day of her supposed abduction.
Well, Forensic Files doesn't come on Court TV until later (I love sleuthing, mysteries and whodunits, too), but a FOX NEWS ALERT!!!! because a certain pro basketball player is getting out of his SUV or walking in the hall? Gimme a break. There are just so many ways these stories can be milked for ratings. I want facts. I don't want endless legal talking heads screaming about their legal theories for hours.
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