ASSOCIATED PRESS 11:20 a.m., June 15, 2003
MODESTO – Since his arrest mearly two months ago, Scott Peterson has amassed an unusually thick stack of letters – many of them from women – in his single-person jail cell, according to a newspaper report.
A fellow jail inmate of Peterson's told the Modesto Bee that one of Peterson's female correspondents is an inmate serving time at a state prison for women in Chowchilla for murdering her husband. A guard read the letter aloud, according to the inmate, Chris Young, 29.
Peterson is awaiting trial in the Stanislaus County jail on charges he murdered his pregnant wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn son. He has pleaded not guilty to double-murder charges that make him eligible for the death penalty.
Deputy Tom Letras, a Sheriff's Department spokesman, confirmed that Peterson gets a lot more mail than most jail inmates, but wouldn't comment on who the senders are.
But Jeanette Sereno, a criminal justice professor at California State University, Stanislaus, says it's not uncommon for young men who have been accused of terrible crimes to receive letters from female admirers.
"(Peterson) is a young, attractive man who has yet to be found guilty," Sereno said. "If you don't see him as responsible for the (slayings), he's a very sympathetic young man, someone the whole world is against. People out there have a need to come to the rescue of someone beleaguered."
Young, who faces trial next month on multiple felony charges stemming from a high-speed chase, said he briefly had contact with Peterson while serving meals at the Stanislaus County jail, and noticed that extra security precautions have been taken to ensure Peterson's safety.
For instance, Peterson is escorted to twice-weekly solitary sessions at an outdoor recreation yard at varying times to reduce chances that he will be attacked. Inmates on meal duty have been told to select Peterson's trays randomly – to avoid poisoning, Young said.
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Peterson case: Phone talks with woman described
Posted on Mon, Jun. 16, 2003
Peterson case: Phone talks with woman described
Mercury News Wire Services
Although he called his lover three to four times a day during January, Scott Peterson revealed nothing that would indicate he killed his pregnant wife and unborn son, according to a report in this week's Newsweek magazine.
In those conversations, according to Newsweek, Peterson asks Amber Frey for snapshots of the two taken at a Christmas party, and tells Frey that he loves her. But the wiretaps, which Frey requested of police after the Christmas Eve disappearance of Laci Peterson became public, are inconclusive as evidence in a homicide case, the magazine says.
Newsweek says it obtained information contained on the tapes before a gag ruling was imposed in the case last week.
The Modesto Bee, meanwhile, also using information it says it gathered before the gag order, reports that Peterson is receiving stacks of letters in jail, many of them from women.
A fellow inmate told the Bee that Peterson's correspondents include a woman serving time for murdering her husband. A guard read the letter aloud, inmate Chris Young said.
Peterson has pleaded not guilty to double-murder charges that make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
Late last week, a judge issued the gag order barring lawyers, witnesses and police officers from publicly discussing details of the case. Judge Al Girolami said the gag order was the only way to stop leaks and rumors from derailing Scott Peterson's right to a fair trial.
Stanislaus County sheriff's deputy Tom Letras confirmed that Peterson gets more mail than most inmates, but would not elaborate.
It's not uncommon for young men accused of terrible crimes to receive letters from female admirers, said Jeanette Sereno, a criminal-justice professor at California State University-Stanislaus.
``If you don't see him as responsible'' for the slayings, Sereno said, ``he's a very sympathetic young man, someone the whole world is against. People out there have a need to come to the rescue of someone beleaguered.''
Young, 29, also told the newspaper that extra security precautions have been taken at the Stanislaus County Jail to ensure Peterson's safety. For instance, inmates on meal duty have been told to select Peterson's trays randomly to avoid poisoning, he said.
Peterson was arrested after his wife's body and the remains of their unborn son washed ashore in San Francisco Bay.........
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Peterson-Frey Wiretaps Reveal Little Hard Evidence
Peterson-Frey Wiretaps Reveal Little Hard Evidence
POSTED: 3:56 p.m. PDT June 15, 2003
UPDATED: 9:10 p.m. PDT June 15, 2003
MODESTO, Calif. -- Since his arrest nearly two months ago, Scott Peterson has amassed an unusually thick stack of letters -- many of them from women -- in his single-person jail cell, according to a newspaper report.
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Analysis: Assistant San Francisco D.A. Jim Hammer And Defense Attorney Bob Moore Discuss Gag Order
Another report -- in Monday's edition of Newsweek -- reveals that wiretaps between Scott Peterson and his one-time mistress Amber Frey have yielded very little hard evidence in proving that the Modesto fertilizer salesman killed his pregnant wife at the couple's home on Christmas Eve.
Newsweek reporters -- San Francisco Bureau Chief Karen Breslau and Los Angeles correspondent Andrew Murr -- were leaked information about the wiretaps before Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami slapped a gag order on the case last Thursday.
In the information they received, the Newsweek reporters said Scott never lost his temper with Amber, told the Fresno woman he loved her and was desperately trying to get pictures from her of the couple at a Fresno-area Christmas party before they became public.
The magazine also offered a different view of Frey -- that of a young woman who thought about going to the Peace Corp before finding work as a pre-school teacher in Fresno. At a local church where Frey attends services regularly; the pastor tells Newsweek that "Amber has a real desire to become the person God wants her to be."
Frey once again found herself in the center of a controversy not of her own making on Friday when Mark Geragos, the famed defense attorney representing Scott Peterson, filed court papers asking Girolami to lift his gag order and charge attorney Gloria Allred with contempt of court.
Geragos claims that Allred, who is representing Frey, violated the judge's gag order within hours after it was imposed on Thursday afternoon by appearing on Fox News Network's 'On The Record With Greta Van Susteren.'
On the show, Allred said that the court order only extended to Frey as a potential witness and not to her. She discussed several issues in the case including a ruling Thursday by Judge Roger Beauchesne. According to the Modesto Bee, Geragos disagrees and says in his court filing that her appearance was "mocking the authority of this court."
In response, Allred called the action an "attempt to silence" her.
"I think this is an attempt to silence me," Allred said in a faxed statement to the Modesto Bee responding to the defense allegations. "The protective order makes no reference to me, and Mark Geragos knows that."
Citing numerous leaks in the case, Girolami issued the gag order late Thursday.....
Dear ________,
Of all the letters I have received since my horrible incarceration began, yours was the absolute sweetest. You sound like such a warm and loving person. You are the only one who understands that it is a crime even to SAY these things about someone like me. Thank goodness there is someone in this world who can see through all this nonsense and who knows me for who I really am.
After all, when the drug dealers/ devil worshipers/ gardeners in a brown van [circle one] took away my Laci, I was left rudderless, whoops, make that defenseless, I mean helpless against the horrible media onslaught and rush to judgement just because I happened to choose that day to go golfing/ fishing/ working/ anchor-making [circle one]. I should never have left my cell phone in that boat/ truck/ car/ warehouse [circle one]. Life has been pure agony since then. If it weren't for my saintly mother and someone as sweet as you, I'd almost believe those lies myself.
I know my heart is so broken I could never, ever love again. If I ever could bring myself to give myself completely to one woman again, ever, she would have to be the absolute best woman in the world, the most loving and understanding and giving. I don't know if you really are that kind of girl, but you do kind of sound like that. Please describe yourself for me one more time again. What are your eyes like at sunset? How much joy is in your sweet smile? How much is that lovely house/ sportscar/ club membership/ boat [circle one] you talked about worth?
I will be waiting anxiously to hear from you again, to know if you really are the most wonderful, understanding, generous girl in the world like you sound, though I know it will take a LOT for you to convince me, due to my broken heart at the hands of cruel sadistic killers/ society/ the media [circle one].
Yours Only,
Scott Jaqueline Peterson
Cellblock 9