Brocchini waits, but not called to stand
By JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: July 7, 2004, 05:35:14 AM PDT
REDWOOD CITY -- Modesto police Detective Al Brocchini waited in the courtroom Tuesday for more than an hour as attorneys met in the judge's chamber, but he did not take the stand again.
After the closed-door meeting, prosecutor Rick Distaso spoke briefly with Brocchini. The detective then left, carrying a thick binder with blue documents -- apparently police reports.
Dean Johnson, a former San Mateo County prosecutor who is observing the trial, speculated that the meeting addressed whether Brocchini would be re-called Tuesday.
Questions have swirled since Brocchini's testimony last week about a tip he received. The detective testified that a man who claimed he went to college with Peterson said the Modesto man described in 1995 how he would dispose of a body. .......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graphic testimony quiets court
Elena Maria Gonzalez, leaving the Redwood City courthouse Tuesday, found the remains of Laci Peterson in April 2003. DAN HONDA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
By GARTH STAPLEY and JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: July 7, 2004, 06:07:49 AM PDT
REDWOOD CITY -- Disturbing testimony about the discoveries of Laci and Conner Peterson's remains appeared to evoke an emotional response Tuesday from Scott Peterson and some jurors.
"We have to be specific about this," prosecutor Dave Harris said while questioning Elena Maria Gonzalez, who testified to seeing a dog gnawing at something on the San Francisco Bay shore on April 14, 2003. Peterson briefly put a hand to his bowed head as he sat at the defense table.
Peterson is being tried on murder charges in the deaths of his pregnant wife and unborn son. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Defense attorneys say someone abducted Laci Peterson while she walked her dog as her husband fished alone at the bay.
Members of Laci Peterson's family, knowing what was coming, had quickly left the courtroom hours before as the first of five witnesses Tuesday talked about recovering the remains of mother and son.
At one point, Harris showed a grisly photo of the infant's.......