Posted on 12/03/2003 5:40:41 AM PST by runningbear
Prosecution claims Peterson's pickup was used to dump body
Posted on Wed, Dec. 03, 2003
Prosecution claims Peterson's pickup was used to dump body
By Brian Anderson
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
With hands bloodied, Scott Peterson hauled the body of his wife, Laci, from their Modesto house to his pickup truck in an hours-long effort to dispose of her in San Francisco Bay, prosecutors said in court papers filed Tuesday.
Stanislaus County prosecutors said they believe Peterson drove his Ford F-150 to a warehouse he used for work, hooked up his fishing boat and steered his truck west. He had cut his hands killing his pregnant wife either Dec. 23 or Dec. 24 and was dripping blood in the cab of the truck, according to prosecutors' six-page filing.
"Specifically, the truck was used to transport Laci Peterson's body to the defendant's warehouse ... and also was used to transport her body to the San Francisco Bay," prosecutor Rick Distaso wrote in one of three documents filed Tuesday. "In addition, samples of the defendant's blood were found inside the cab area of the truck."
Distaso pointed as well to debris taken from the truck bed during a police investigation, saying it might turn out to be cement. It is possible that Laci's body was weighted with cement, law enforcement officials have indicated.
The material will be sent to the state crime lab for analysis, Distaso wrote.
The court document is Distaso's response to a defense request to have the truck returned to Peterson's family.
The revelations came as lawyers on both sides of the case prepared to appear today in a Modesto courtroom as the legal drama spins forward.
Peterson is scheduled to be arraigned again in a standard procedure following a preliminary hearing last month. Judge Al Girolami decided after several weeks of testimony that prosecutors had enough evidence to prove that Peterson probably killed his wife.
Peterson has pleaded not guilty to two murder counts with special circumstances that District Attorney......
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Laci Prosecutors Hint at Their Slaying Theory
Laci Prosecutors Hint at Their Slaying Theory
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Scott Peterson (search), charged with killing his pregnant wife Laci (search), bled inside the truck he allegedly used to haul away the corpse of his slain wife, prosecutors contend.
In court papers filed Tuesday, prosecutors gave the first hint of their theory of the slaying, arguing to keep the pickup truck as crime evidence.
Prosecutors have never previously said Scott Peterson was wounded in the killing -- saying he was injured either during or after the alleged attack on his wife -- and have never publicly revealed where Laci Peterson was killed.
The mention that her body was trucked to Scott Peterson's nearby warehouse indicates prosecutors believe she was killed at home. It also explains why lawyers sparred at the preliminary hearing over a mop and bucket used to clean the couple's kitchen.
Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazelton (search) said he wants jurors to view the pickup truck as part of the crime scene.
For their part, defense attorneys want the truck returned to Peterson's family because he faces mounting legal bills and continues to pay $643 in monthly auto payments.
Lawyers will argue the matter Wednesday when Peterson, 31, is scheduled to be arraigned in Stanislaus County Superior Court on two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his wife and unborn son nearly a year ago.
Peterson, a former fertilizer salesman, previously pleaded innocent but faces a second arraignment after a judge ruled last month there was enough......
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Peterson Prosecutors Hint at Their Theory
Peterson Prosecutors Hint at Their Theory
Prosecutors in Laci Peterson Case Hint at Theory Behind Slaying, Saying Scott Bled in Truck
The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. Dec. 3 — Prosecutors for the first time hinted at parts of their theory behind the Laci Peterson slaying, saying her husband Scott bled inside the truck he allegedly used to haul her body away after killing her.
Those details and others were presented Tuesday in a court filing prosecutors used to argue that jurors should be allowed to see the truck as evidence.
Prosecutors have never previously said Scott Peterson was wounded in the killing saying he was injured either during or after the alleged attack on his wife and have never publicly revealed where they believe Laci Peterson was killed.
Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazelton said he wants jurors to view the truck as part of the crime scene because it was used to haul Laci Peterson's body.............
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Cops' Theory In Laci Case Revealed
Cops' Theory In Laci Case Revealed
MODESTO, Calif., Dec. 3, 2003
Scott Peterson (Photo: AP)
Defense attorneys say they want Scott Peterson's pickup truck returned to his family because he faces mounting legal bills and continues to pay $643 in monthly auto payments. The prosecution says it's evidence.
Laci Peterson in July 2002 (Photo: AP)
(CBS/AP) It's been almost a year since Laci Peterson, a 27-year-old substitute teacher, disappeared from her home on Christmas Eve.
Wednesday, her husband, Scott Peterson, will be arraigned on two counts of murder: hers, and that of their unborn son, whose body was found separately from Laci's - but in the same body of water, San Francisco Bay.
Peterson, who was eight months pregnant, was reported missing after her husband said he'd returned from a fishing trip at the Berkeley Marina. Her remains and those of the fetus washed ashore in April.
Peterson, a former fertilizer salesman, previously pleaded not guilty but faces a second arraignment after a judge ruled last month there is enough evidence to go to trial.
The arraignment marks the beginning of the next phase of the case as the defense seeks to move the trial out of Modesto, lawyers argue over the admissibility of evidence and the news media ask the judge to consider unsealing court documents and lifting a gag order in the case.
CBS News Radio's Steve Futterman reports court papers filed by prosecutors in preparation for the arraignment reveal, for the first time, portions of the police theory on how Laci and the unborn child were killed.
The prosecution documents indicate detectives believe Laci was killed at home by her husband, who then loaded her body into his Ford pickup, hiding the body in his fertilizer warehouse before dumping it in San Francisco bay. ..........
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Prosecutors: Peterson's truck involved in killing
Prosecutors: Peterson's truck involved in killing
Vehicle called 'instrument' in death of his pregnant wife
Wednesday, December 3, 2003 Posted: 5:22 AM EST (1022 GMT)
Police refuse to release Scott Peterson's truck.
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MODESTO, California (CNN) -- Prosecutors filed court papers Tuesday saying the Ford F-150 pickup truck seized by authorities from Scott Peterson was "an instrument used in the murder of Laci Peterson" -- and contained Scott Peterson's blood in the cab.
In the filing, the Stanislaus County District Attorney's office rejects Peterson's request to have his bronze-colored truck returned to him.
"Such evidence is relevant and admissible here in that the people contend that the pickup truck was an instrument used in the murder of Laci Peterson," the prosecutors say in some of the most detailed information about their case to date.
"Specifically, the truck was used to transport Laci Peterson's body to the defendant's warehouse at 1027 N. Emerald in Modesto, and was also used to transport her body to the San Francisco Bay."
The motion was filed a day before Scott Peterson is to be arraigned on charges of killing his pregnant wife and their unborn child -- charges that could result in the death penalty. (Full story)
Peterson, 31, has pleaded not guilty.
The defense contends the 2002 Ford truck should be returned because it is not critical evidence.
Prosecutors disagree. ...........
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Prosecutors in Laci Peterson case hint she was killed at home
Prosecutors in Laci Peterson case hint she was killed at home
December 3, 2003
BY BRIAN MELLEY
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Scott Peterson, charged with killing his pregnant wife, Laci, bled inside the truck he allegedly used to haul away the corpse of his slain wife, prosecutors contend.
In court papers filed Tuesday, prosecutors gave the first hint of their theory of the slaying, arguing to keep the pickup truck as crime evidence.
Prosecutors have never previously said Scott Peterson was wounded in the killing -- saying he was injured either during or after the alleged attack on his wife -- and have never publicly revealed where Laci Peterson was killed.
The mention that her body was trucked to Scott Peterson's nearby warehouse indicates prosecutors believe she was killed at home. It also explains why lawyers sparred at the preliminary hearing over a mop and bucket used to clean the couple's kitchen.
Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazelton said he wants jurors to view the pickup truck as part of the crime scene. AP..........
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(Excerpt) Read more at bayarea.com ...
That's one expensive truck.
Is he still paying collision insurance on it while it's off the road?
Truck, most likely cost in the range of $30K after all fees, docs, and upgrades, pending interest rate.
Worked for OJ.
Peterson's truck at center of blood trail
By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: December 3, 2003, 05:51:02 AM PST
Investigators found Scott Peterson's blood in the cab of his pickup and "cement-like material" in the bed of the truck, according to prosecution documents filed Tuesday in Stanislaus County Superior Court.
Prosecutors contend that Peterson wounded his hands "during, or after, the murder of Laci Peterson," according to the documents. Peterson has said he cut them during his work as a fertilizer salesman.
Prosecutors also allege Peterson used the truck to carry his pregnant wife's body to his Modesto warehouse and then to San Francisco Bay.
"The pickup truck was an instrument used in the murder of Laci Peterson," Dep-uty District Attorney Rick Distaso wrote.
Prosecutors could attempt to tie cement traces in the truck bed to spilled cement on a flatbed trailer in Scott Peterson's warehouse -- where he might have made anchors.
Laci Peterson, a 27-year-old substitute teacher from Modesto, was almost eight months pregnant when she was reported missing Christmas Eve. Prosecutors contend that her husband murdered her and their unborn son, Conner, late Dec. 23 or early Dec. 24, and they are seeking the death pen-alty.
The defense maintains that police doggedly pursued Peterson, conducting a sloppy investigation while ignoring other leads.
Laci Peterson's body and that of her son were found in mid-April along the bay's eastern shoreline, less than two miles from the spot where her husband told police he fished on Christmas Eve. No cause of death has been determined.
Prosecutors contend that Peterson ferried his wife's body into the bay in his boat.
The defense has asked for the pickup's return to Peterson. In documents opposing the release, prosecutors acknowledged that investigators found blood in the truck.
The issue is one of a handful that Judge Al Girolami is expected to consider today during the 31-year-old Peterson's arraignment on double murder charges. The arraignment stems from Peterson's recent preliminary hearing, which ended with the judge concluding that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to warrant the case going to trial.
In a TV interview taped Jan. 27, Peterson said there would be "plenty of blood in there (in his truck) from me."
Peterson said he routinely cut his hands on the job.
"I work on farms. And you can take a look at my hands now and they have cuts all over them," he told Diane Sawyer of ABC's "Good Morning America."
"They do?" Sawyer asked........
Scaughty's interviews are coming out to haunt him...
I can imagine the joyful tears of the Peterson family if Scott is acquitted: "Yes, and although it might take a while to live down the fact that he was tried for capital murder, our baby still has an A-1 credit rating!"
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