Laci's things in tug of war

The Modesto Bee ^ | May 31, 2003 | Garth Stapely and John Cote'

[runningbear]

Laci's things in tug of war

Laci Peterson's brother Brent Rocha loads a rocking chair from her Modesto home into the back of a truck Friday morning.

Laci's things in tug of war

By GARTH STAPLEY and JOHN COTÉ

BEE STAFF WRITERS

Published: May 31, 2003, 07:16:10 AM PDT

Laci Peterson's family and friends removed truckloads of items from the slain Modesto woman's house on Friday, touching off controversy between her family and that of her husband.

Police responded to the Covena Avenue home at about 10 a.m. after a security company reported that the alarm had been triggered, Capt. Greg Savelli said.

Officers determined that Laci Peterson's family and friends were removing items that belonged to Laci, said Savelli, who added that officers documented what was taken.

"We're treating this as a civil dispute over property," he said. "It was clear to the Police Department that this was not a burglary.

Peterson's husband, Scott, 30, has been charged with double murder and faces the death penalty in the killings of his 27-year-old wife and their unborn son, Conner.

Savelli said the fallout from Friday's property removal "was best handled between the families and their attorneys."

Adam Stewart, an attorney for Laci Peterson's family, said the family had been in contact with Scott Peterson's defense team, who had agreed to allow Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, to go through the house on Tuesday. She was to be accompanied by representatives of the defense team, and all items taken were to be photographed and videotaped.

Scott Peterson's parents and lawyers expressed outrage that the Rochas did not follow the agreement.

Jackie Peterson said the people who went into the home Friday had "absolutely no permission to be in that house. I have a lot of empathy for Sharon, but she does not have a right to go in our house and take what she wants."

Rocha did not appear to be among the packers. Calls placed to the Rocha home were not accepted.

Seven vehicles loaded

Among the items loaded into seven vehicles were a crib, a rocking chair and a box with Graco printed on the outside. Graco makes such products as strollers, highchairs and car seats.

Laci Peterson's family announced Wednesday that it had hired attorneys to help recover items from the house. A list included her wedding dress, jewelry and Conner's crib.

Jackie Peterson told The Bee that the security company notified her by telephone in San Diego County that the house alarm had been tripped.

The property removal appeared to take Scott Peterson's defense team by surprise.

Matthew Dalton, an attorney with lead defense attorney Mark Geragos' law firm, drove to the house and asked reporters if someone had reported a burglary.

Dalton went to Stewart's Modesto law office Friday morning and dropped off some items requested by the Rocha family, Stewart said.

Monday, the defense team moved other items, including what appeared to be gifts, to the Modesto office of defense co-counsel Kirk McAllister, for transfer to Laci Peterson's family. But the items had not been picked up by Friday morning, McAllister said.

Stewart said in front of the home that it would be "ridiculous" to suggest that the Rochas broke into the home.

"I apologize for it coming down to this," he said. "This is not the way we operate. This is for Laci, for Conner and Laci's family. It is not for the media or Mr. Scott Peterson's defense in any way, shape or form. It's depressing that it's come down to this."

Stanislaus County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold said prosecutors had no legal authority over the house.

"It's not a crime scene," Goold said. " This is a civil problem between the Rochas and the Petersons."

The house title is in Laci and Scott Petersons' names, county records show. In such a joint tenancy, when one titleholder dies, the title goes to the other.

------------------------------------------------------------

Incident brings Peterson case close to home
Victim's family moves items from house, raising the issue of ownership.

Incident brings Peterson case close to home
Victim's family moves items from house, raising the issue of ownership.

By Garth Stapley and John Coté
The Modesto Bee

(Published Saturday, May 31, 2003, 4:47 AM)

MODESTO -- Laci Peterson's family and friends removed truckloads of items from the slain Modesto woman's house Friday, touching off controversy between her family and that of her husband.

Police officers were dispatched after a security company notified them that the alarm at the Covena Avenue home had been triggered, Capt. Greg Savelli said.

Officers determined that members of the Rocha family and friends of Laci Peterson were removing items that belonged to the slain woman and documented what was taken, Savelli said.

"We're treating this as a civil dispute over property," he said. "It was clear to the police department that this was not a burglary. It was a dispute over property and was best handled between the families and their attorneys."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Judge cites Peterson right to fair trial in denying report access

Judge cites Peterson right to fair trial in denying report access

By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER

Published: May 31, 2003, 07:16:56 AM PDT

A Stanislaus County judge on Friday ordered that arrest and search warrants remain sealed in the case against Scott Peterson, who is accused of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn son.

Superior Court Judge Al Giro-lami's ruling also ordered the autopsy reports for Laci and Conner to stay sealed.

Thursday, District Attorney James Brazelton reversed his position and asked to have the autopsy reports made public, and the matter is set for hearing June 6.

Brazelton's about-face came after part of the fetus's autopsy report was leaked to the media. Prosecutors said that portion was clearly "skewed in favor of the defense."

Defense attorneys, coroner's officials, police and prosecutors have denied leaking the information.

Friday, in his ruling on all the documents, Girolami said releasing them "might irreparably harm the continued investigation into this criminal matter."

"Despite the fact that the complaint has been issued and a suspect has been arrested, the investigation and search for both incriminating and exonerating evidence in this matter continues," Girolami wrote.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys argued that releasing the documents could impede Peterson's right to a fair trial and damage an ongoing investigation.

Girolami agreed, saying in his ruling that releasing the documents "might result in the evidence being destroyed and witnesses being reluctant to step forward."

A group of newspapers, including The Bee, are seeking to have the documents unsealed.

Right to view reports argued

Charity Kenyon, an attorney representing the newspapers, argued that the public's right to view court documents was fundamental in an open legal system.

Other means exist for ensuring

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Judge orders Laci Peterson autopsy report sealed

Judge orders Laci Peterson autopsy report sealed

The Modesto Bee

The Associated Press

Published: May 31, 2003, 06:49:17 AM PDT

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - A judge ruled Friday that an autopsy report on the deaths of Laci Peterson and her unborn son should remain sealed along with other search warrant and arrest records.

Superior Court Judge Al Girolami said releasing the information could hamper the murder investigation and prejudice public opinion before a trial begins.

Girolami is scheduled to hear more arguments June 6 from prosecutors preparing a murder case against Peterson's husband, Scott Peterson. Prosecutors on Thursday asked that the autopsy reports be released to the public. They argued that media leaks of the reports are biased toward the defense.

Girolami also ordered that leaks of sealed information stop and indicated he would consider a gag order to stop the prosecution and defense teams from talking to the media.

Scott Peterson, 30, is accused of killing his wife and unborn son, whom the couple had planned to name Conner, last December in their home. Laci, 27, was eight months pregnant at the time. The bodies washed ashore in San Francisco Bay last month.

Contra Costa County authorities concluded their autopsy report earlier this month, but did not disclose the cause of death.

Several media outlets have released details of the coroner's report, and a spokeswoman for Laci Peterson's family members said Thursday they were "devastated" at hearing autopsy reports without warning on television.

The leaked reports indicated the unborn son had plastic tape wrapped around his neck and a significant cut across the shoulders.

Meanwhile, friends of Laci Peterson removed several personal articles Friday from the single-story Modesto home where she and Scott Peterson lived.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

MOM'S MOVING MOMENT

MOM'S MOVING MOMENT

By HOWARD BREUER and MARSHA KRANES

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 31, 2003 -- Laci Peterson's mother - shattered by the graphic details leaked from the 25-page autopsy of her unborn grandson - yesterday began removing her slain daughter's belongings from the home she had shared with her accused murderer husband, Scott.

Sharon Rocha, accompanied by several friends and relatives, was seen at the Modesto, Calif., house removing the rocking chair Laci had bought to use when she nursed her infant son, as well as unopened Christmas gifts, clothing, chairs, lamps and artwork.

In doing so, she ignored the advice of her lawyer, Al Clark, that she wait until he, Scott Peterson's lawyers and court officials work out the procedures to be followed when she entered the house.

Modesto police arrived while Rocha was there, and she and her entourage left a short time later after packing seven cars full of Laci's belongings.

Hours later, lawyers representing Laci's family and Scott Peterson started haggling over whether removing the items was legal.

Scott Peterson's mother, Jackie, expressed outrage that the items had been removed since Laci's family had "absolutely no permission to be in that house."

Scott Peterson has pleaded not guilty to killing his wife and their unborn son.

Laci's family said Wednesday that they had hired lawyers to help them retrieve a baby crib and jewelry from the home.

Meanwhile, Clark told Fox News his client's anger over the grisly revelations leaked from her daughter's and grandson's sealed autopsy reports drove her to go get her daughter's possessions.

A family spokeswoman said Rocha was "devastated" by the reports describing how the near full-term fetus of her grandson Conner had plastic tape wrapped around the neck and a large cut across the chest when he was found in the shallow waters of San Francisco Bay last month.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Bella]

And I could hardly stand LKL last night. I had to continually change the channel until Pixley and the "ever present Petersons) were finished. THEY are totally disgusting.

Take notice when JP calls into the talk shows..note how well she speaks--without the nasal oxygen cannula..doesn't sound Short of Breath to me, and I'd bet she ONLY wears it when she desires..

[GrandMoM]

....don't have to .

I actually had people thanking me for that post.....enough said!

[Velveeta]

Take notice when JP calls into the talk shows..note how well she speaks--without the nasal oxygen cannula

Just out of sheer curiosity, when JP "calls in"....how do you know she's *not* wearing her 02?

[Scenic Sounds]

I'm glad I don't live there

I think your there is here.

Or, maybe not. LOL. ;-)

[RGSpincich]

They did so after the other side had agreed to and begun to provide specific requested items AND a tour of the house to the burglars.

Wrong. The other side reneged on the agreement.

The Rochas have a key and free access to the house in the absence of Laci and SP per prior agreements with them. No legal action was taken by Petersons to secure the property from entry by the Rochas. The proper legal thing to do for the Petersons was to get a court order barring the Rochas and have it legally served and a hearing held. The Petersons were never legally in complete control of the house and the Rochas were never legally barred from entering.

The Rochas had tried to cooperate with the Petersons but the the Petersons attempted to exercise unfounded control. Rochas put it to the test, nothing underhanded here. No midnight burglary, it was broad daylight with media thick as flies recording the whole thing.

The items taken for safe keeping were cataloged and that inventory was given to the police officer on the scene. Hardly theft.

[MaggieMay]

Now, for what it's worth, here's how I see it playing out. Jackie P. says to Scott. We are trying to raise money to pay for your defense, where are Laci's wedding rings, the nice ring you bought for her, grandmother's diamond's? Scott says, gosh mom, I took all those to the jeweler to have a custom ring made, and those Rocha's went behind my back and picked it up. Scott could tell Jackie the moon is made out of swiss cheese and she would believe it. I may be wrong but somehow I just think Scott sold the missing jewelry or given to Amber.

[Bella]

Just out of sheer curiosity, when JP "calls in"....how do you know she's *not* wearing her 02?

You'd be able to "hear" shortness of breath..If she was SOB, she wouldn't be able to speak as continuously as she does, you'd hear pausing, and slight gasps..watch the difference when she's ON the news and speaking..

[Defiant]

No death Certificate has been issued yet, and until the trial is over, that house is Scott's, but if he is convicted of killing his wife, it will be turned over to Laci's heirs.

Not true. The house is Scotts, as his sole property, now that the other joint owner is dead. The certificate does not make it his, her death does. The certificate is only one form of evidence of her death.

A convicted murderer does not forfeit his property. Laci's heirs will have to sue Scott for wrongful death, and win, and then collect on the judgment by foreclosing the house, before they will gain possession of the house. The auction must be held in a commercially reasonable manner, to maximize the amount received so that the judgment can be reduced by that amount. Someone will come along and pay a lot of money at the auction for the house. The Rochas will likely never own that house.

[mafree]

Jackie Peterson said the people who went into the home Friday had "absolutely no permission to be in that house. I have a lot of empathy for Sharon, but she does not have a right to go in our house and take what she wants."

"Our house??" Where does this witch get off saying some crap like that? I'd love to knock her and that oxygen tank into the middle of next week!

[Jackie-O]

Your tag line made me lauch my bumm off!
Man is the net slow! I just tried to e-mail my darlin' friend and it took forever! Maybe just AOL!

[daylate-dollarshort]

Was there a Satanic Killing?

I don't know what Geragos has, if anything at all. But I have seen quotes on this thread from Mark Furman who states there is no Satanic killings anywhere on record, or words to that effect. I seen this echoed by ex-FBI persons interviewed on the various news/talk shows

Funny, In short order I was able to find reports of more than two dozen. One occurring about 6 or so miles from Modesto and reported in the Modesto Bee

July 197O - Steven Hurd and four other California Satanists are charged with two murders involving ritual dismemberment and cannibalism. Hurd is declared insane and remains in a state hospital "his accomplices are duly convicted and sentenced."
July 1970 - Satanist Stanley Baker is convicted in the cannibal- slaying of a Montana resident. He confesses other crimes, committed as a member of the "Four P" cult - a spinoff from the Process Church of Final Judgment - and bloody fingerprints link Baker to another homicide in San Francisco, but California courts bar prosecution on a claim that he has been denied a "speedy trial." Paroled in 1985, he is at large today.
December 1979 - The mutilated bloodless corpses of Carol Marron and Howard Green are found by police, outside West Paterson, New Jersey. Both victims are known to be involved with the occult, and while the crimes remain unsolved, authorities say of the case, "It was definately a satanic murder. And it wasn't a one-man job"
April 1981 - Self-styled Satanist Kimberly Goytia, age 13, is convicted of manslaughter for the shooting death of her sister in Sacramento, California. She informs police that Satan orderd her to fire the fatal shot (Newton, 1993a).
October 1981 - Robin Gecht and three fellow Satanists are arrested following a series of cannibal murders in Chicago. Gecht escapes prosecution for murder, but is sentenced to 120 years in prison for mutilating a prostitute who survived the attack. His accomplices are convicted of multiple murders, with two sentences to death and one to life imprisonment.
July 1984-Teenage Satanists Richard Kasso and James Troiano are arrested for the ritual slaying of a fellow "stoner." Kasso hangs himself in jail; Troiano is acquitted in 1985, after a key prosecution witness admits using drugs on the night of the crime (Newton, 1993a)
January 1986 - Satanic "priest" Harold Smith and four disciples are jailed following a series of murders in Houston, Texas. All are convicted and sentenced for the ritual torture-slaying of a young man at a local cemetery.
February 1986- Dana Jones admitted member of a "sex magic" cult founded by Aleister Crowley in 1907, is arrested for the ritual mutilation-slaying of a man in Denver, Colorado. Acquitted on grounds of insanity and confined to a state hospital, she escapes in June 1988, with aid from a nurse on the staff, and flees to New Mexico, where she commits suicide.
March 1987 - Tim Erickson and two other Minnesota teenagers, admitted members of a "vampire cult" inspired by the movie The Lost Boys, murder a 30-yr old drifter and drink his blood. Erickson is sentenced to life in prison.
September 1987- Ohio Satanist John Fryman is convicted in the dismemberment slaying of 21-year old Monica Lemen, whose severed legs are found outside a rural Indiana church. Discovery of a black- painted ritual chamber in Fryman's mobile home, including a gravestone employed as an alter, prompts the defendant to admit, "I'm involved with the occult. I think everybody knows that. You don't have a room like that in your trailer if you're not.
December 1987 - Three teenage Satanists in Carl Junction, Missouri, bored with sacrificing cats and dogs, beat classmate Steven Newberry to death with baseball bats while chanting, "Sacrifice to Satan! Sacrifice to Satan!"
May 1988 - Satanists Clifford St. Joseph is convicted in the 1985 murder of an unidentified man, whose mutilations include an inverted pentagram carved in his chest. Despite the victim's injuries, confiscation of ritual paraphernalia, and testimony from another participant in St. Joseph's rituals, Ken Lanning describes the case as a "sadistic" murder with no occult overtones.
May 1988 - Teen Satanist Terry Belcher is convicted for the ritual murder of Theresa Simmons, in Duglasville, Georgia. A month later, co-defendant Robert McIntyre is likewise convicted, and both are sentenced to life. (A female accomplice is jailed for three years.) On the witness stand, Belcher describes animal sacrifices for the court: "We ate their eyeballs and innards and drank their blood. We toasted the devil by drinking the blood."
June 1988 - Satanists Jason Rose and John Jones are indicted for murdering 19-year-old Melissa Ann Meyer "while deliberately effecting a human sacrifice." A videotape of the murder in progress earns Rose a death sentence in May 1989, while Jones is sentenced to life a month later.
October 1988 - Joseph Bradsberry, age 22, is sacrificed by California Satanists as part of an initiation ritual. A 15-year-old cultists confesses his role in the murder, leading to the arrest of several adults who deny responsibility on grounds that they were "stoned" when the murder occurred.
March 1989-Alleged Satanist Tony Hall is convicted and sentenced to death for the 1987 murder of victim Ngoc Van Dang near Orlando, Florida. Accomplice Danny Bowen is convicted in May and sentenced to life. Two male participants in the crime, including outspoken Satanist Bunny Dixon, plead guilty on reduced charges and are sentenced to prison (Newton, 1993a).
September 1990 - Daniel Rakowitz, self-styled leader of the "Church of 966" (his own peculiar variant of "666") is convicted and sentenced to life in New York City of the murder of Monika Beerle. Cult member Randy Eastherday is arrested in 1992, charged with helping Rakowitz dissect and boil Beerle's corpse, after which Rakowitz carried her skull and bones around in a bucket. (Cawthorne, 1995; Ryder, 1994) July 1991 - Michigan Satanist Jaime Rodriguez is convicted and sentenced to life for beheading a teenage runaway and severing one of her fingers, to wear as a charm around his neck. Accomplice Augustin Pena, who kept the victim's head in his refrigerator, is also charged in the case.
July 1992 - Two Satanists are sentenced to die for the 1990 decapitation murders of four cult defectors in Salida, California. Two more defendants are convicted and sentenced to life in January 1993. (Modesto Bee, 1990-93)
February 1994 - Jessie Misskelly, Jr. is convicted and sentenced to life plus forty years in prison for the mutilation-murders of three eight-year old boys at West Memphis, Arkansas, the previous year. A month later, accomplices Damien Echols and Charles Baldwin are likewise convicted, with Echols sentenced to death and Baldwin sentenced to life without parole. Echols is an admitted practitioner of black magic, and prosecutors describe the triple murder as a ritual slaying.(USA Today, March 21, 1994)
April 1994 - Self-described Satanist Carey Grayson, 19, and three younger defendants are charged with the murder of a female hitchhiker in Birmingham, Alabama. Police say the victim was mutilated "in an apparent ritual that involved cannabilism" (USA Today, April 28, 1994)
May 1996 - Three teenage Satanists in San Louis Obispo, California, are charged with raping, torturing and murdering 15 year old Elyse Pahler. Prosecutors say the defendants hoped a virgin sacrifice would earn them "a ticket to hell." (Indianapolis Star, May 3, 1996)

I have come a half dozen more reported in Europe and Russia, and haven't tracked down some additional US cases reported in the Washinton Post and Reuter's.

Now I'm not saying that there was or wasn't Satanists involved in the Laci Peterson case, but to dismiss it out of hand at this point in premature

[Jackie-O]

Yes, and don't you remember the interview outside their home when she didn't have it on. We were discussing one night that if she were suffering from an extreme case of emphesema, in order for her to benifit from the oxygen, she would have to wear that constantly.
By the way Vel, did you get any of that nasty weather last night?
Maybe it just stayed south by me...our sirens went off at about 8:10PM.

[Velveeta]

Darkling? LOL

[Jackie-O]

See spectre's post #342...this is what I was trying to say but the talking head attorney's said it better... ;0)

[Velveeta]

Thanks for the reply. I was just horsing around and being literal.

Actually I don't have any doubt that she's a sickly woman. I've seen her on TV when she's coughed and there's a certain sound and physical contortion to those with a COPD type cough. This trial will weigh heavy on her health.

[mtbopfuyn]

I too am not convinced he did it either. But of course I don't know anything other than what the crazed media has been dishing out. This is just more sensationalized journalism which has turned into a Jerry Springer miniseries. Similar events are played out across America dozens of times every day but it's only this family that makes headlines. Why is Laci's murder so much more important than any other murder? I'm sick of all the media frenzy and don't care who takes what from the house. As someone said earlier, if the police don't consider the contents of the house important to the investigation then this is a non-story.

[Rusty Roberts]

LOL. I calls them as I sees them, as some like to say. Look, I think Scott is scum, I think he has zero emotions, I think there is a heck of lot more to the behind the scenes in the Scott and Laci relationship that we don't know about (as is the truth in any marriage), and I think Scott is involved with her murder. I have no problem saying that is what I think. I certainly am not able to convict him at this point, but I have witnessed with my own eyes and ears statements from Scott's interviews and his actions (more importantly, his inactions) throughout these many months in regards to the search for his missing wife to make him more than a suspect. I await a trial with great interest.

I also find it fascinating the way he uses women. The spokespeople for his familly throughout these many months have mainly been his mother and his sister in law. It is only recently that his father has spoken somewhat regularly to the press. His many brothers have been silent. There have been one or two occassions, but otherwise, it is always the Janey, the sister in law, or poor, pitiful Mom.

I also believe Scott has not been subjected to anyone truly questioning his ability/skills often in life, thanks to Mom and Pop. I think the story about the fake golf scholarship says quite a bit about Scott, the fact that he went out to Arizona, to try and follow in the steps of Phil Mickelson, claimed to have a partial golf scholarship, yet suddenly returned home and his parents claimed they never asked or knew why....right. Interesting how the school has no record of him and the golf coach has outright denied he had any form of scholarship.

Again, I'll be very interested in what is actually presented at trial, as the real Scott has yet to be revealed, imo. I think Laci might have been one of the very few who found out what really made Scott tick. I don't think Amber is THE reason, THE motive, I think she may be a symptom.

[Sandylapper]

I may be wrong but somehow I just think Scott sold the missing jewelry or given to Amber.

IF given to Amber, then Amber will tell us how and when, won't she? Your thinking is very plausible, IMO. Maybe we'll find out soon if Amber and Scott really did meet as was hinted at by Ted Rowlands? Or, he could have mailed the new ring to AF? Either way, does she have the ring, or do the Rochas have the new ring? Or did he sell the ring? The jeweler will have to tell us who picked up the ring, won't he? Jackie's in a heap more trouble if she's getting on the record based on what Scott told her, if she and Scott are lying. JMO Maybe such knowledge would make even MG jump ship.