Services for Peterson will be private

The Modesto Bee ^ | August 26, 2003 | John Cote'

[Devil_Anse]

A person who gets all upset about that is usually someone who has struggled with a family member who is seriously mentally ill--say, schizophrenic. Those people have my sincere sympathy.

[Devil_Anse]

I meant, if you had said "your head", you would have been referring to MY head.

[MaggieMay]

You are abosolutely correct DA. The predecessor to this latest Fox News story, ran in the May 26th or June 3,2003 National Enquirer(I'm not sure which date).

From:Rickamorti1 at Purgatory Forum
World Enquirer Exclusive by David Wright

"Its the Smoking gun cops had worked so hard to find"

synopsis

The Enquirer has obtained stunning new details from the secret tapes
of conversation between Scott and Amber. The "Amber Tapes" will
provide some of the strongest evidence against Scott when he stands
trial.

Under the direction of the police, Amber secretly taped phone calls
Scott made to her after Laci disappeared.

"I didn't do anything to Laci, but I know who did," he told
Amber. "Somebody else is involved but I can't tell you who."

It is going to be nearly impossible to explain away Scott's
confession to Amber at trial. "Its the smoking gun cops had worked so
hard to find. For the first time since Laci disappeared he actually
admitted knowledge of what happened to her".

The detectives who heard the recording all thought the same thing.
If he knows about it, he's involved in it.

In another blow to Scott's defense, The NE has learned that Scott
sold some of Laci's jewelry and other treasured belongings before her
body was found. Scott knew the search would never bring Laci home.

When the cops went to their Modesto home the second time with a
search warrant they were looking as much for what WASN'T there as for
what evidence they could find. Watches, earrings, and trinkets that
Laci treasured were nowhere to be found.

Police later established that Scott sold them.

The tapped confession provides a graphic illustration of the key
role "double agent" Amber played in putting Scott behind bars. But
it also highlighted the potential danger of her role. With Scott
free, her family worried about her saftey.

When police heard about the confession, their response was, "If he
really has an accomplice, does he have the power to reach out and
harm Amber?" Amber's role began 6 days ofter Laci went missing. On
Dec.30th she went to the police and handed them the pictures. She
told cops that Scott was still calling her.

Scott's calls to Amber's home -some lasting 40 minutes, went on till
Jan.5th when he then told her "Sit down I've got something to tell
you." He confessed he'd lied to Amber and said that he was married,
and his wife was missing. Amber pretended to hear the news for the
first time. Scott said, "I want you to know I will never lie to you
again." With Laci's disappearance now out in the open between them,
Amber took on the risky role of trying to obtain more information
from him. She worked from a script the police had given her.
Guiding him always back to talk of Laci.

Amber walked a fine line to gather information from him without
scaring Scott off and bringing his phone calls to an end. The
questions to Scott, through Amber, became more pointed as the weeks
passed. Amber did a magnificent job in her double agent role. While
police listened they were learning more and more about Scott, what he
was doing everyday and how he was coping with the pressure they were
putting on him during the investigation.

Then came the evening when a nervous Amber got the results her
handlers wanted. "He blurted out, "I didn't do anything to Laci- but
I know who did." "Somebody else is involved but i can't tell you
who." Scott's calls continued until just a couple of weeks before he
was arrested. By then the dangerous game of double agent Amber had
been playing had frayed her nerves. Ron Frey, Amber's father
said "By the time Scott was arrested, Amber's nerves were shattered. This has been a nightmare for the whole family.

[Canadian Outrage]

I agree. To buy that explanation is tantamount to swallowing a camel!!

[MaggieMay]

abosolutely = absolutely

[Canadian Outrage]

OKAY!! WHERE are y'all???????????????

[runningbear]

Appellate Court Refuses To Close Peterson Prelim

.....>>>>>STANISLAUS DA WINS THIS ONE BIG<<<<<<

Appellate Court Refuses To Close Peterson Prelim

POSTED: 10:49 a.m. PDT August 27, 2003
UPDATED: 11:00 a.m. PDT August 27, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. -- A California appellate court Wednesday denied a request from Scott Peterson's defense team to close the Modesto fertilizer salesman's Sept. 9 preliminary hearing to both the public and press.

The denial by order from 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno was expected. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami, who is presiding over the case, had already denied a similar request.

Video

Fox's Greta Van Susteren Gives Her Thoughts About Peterson Prelim

Peterson's lead attorney Mark Geragos had argued that the media spotlight on the case required the extraordinary measure of closing the prelim.

"Unless this court intervenes and closes the preliminary hearing, there will be no chance of obtaining an unbiased jury," Geragos wrote in a 28-page request asking the appeals court to overrule Girolami's ruling.

In his ruling, Girolami also did not believe Gerago's arguments.

"The court further finds that the harm expected is speculative and not unlike that in other high publicity cases," the judge wrote in his decision.

Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two murder charges in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn child. Laci Peterson, 27, was eight months pregnant when she disappeared Christmas Eve -- her body and that of her son washed ashore along San Francisco Bay.

Scott Peterson is being held without bail in the .........

[MaggieMay]

I just came back from vacation at the Long Beach(peninsula),Wa. I think you and Oceanperch know, where that is. The whole family including the cat enjoyed the kite festival. I have been reading about the wild fires up in B.C. I hope you are OK.

I guess the next bit of news will come Sept 2. That is when there is a hearing on what evidence will be submitted by the prosecution for the prelimanary, set for Sept.9th. Here is the corresponding site, in which you will need adobe acrobat to link.
http://www.pressupdate.info/pdfs/peterson/081803/peoples_response_081803.pdf

[I. Ben Hurt]

I agree, the pre-lim should be very interesting. LE must have solid evidence against Scott or they wouldn't seem so confident. Hope the full story can come out so there's no doubt about what happened to Laci and her son.

[I. Ben Hurt]

A reply by Scott of "no, but I know who did" was reported months ago, and by a different source. If accurate, that very nearly as damning as "yes...uh...uh...but no." Oh, but we can't believe anything at all that any of these media people tell us, anyway. Laci probably isn't even dead. She's probably home changing her baby's diapers. We're all the victims of a cruel hoax.

Excuse me but I missed the point of your strange sarcasm. You must be working too hard.

[Devil_Anse]

My point: while the media are often despicable, when they don't have a political agenda in a story, oftentimes they actually tell it the way it is.

Rita's sources (the Scott-said-yes story) could be mistaken.

But what are the odds that both that story is an error, and the story that Scott said "no, but I know who did" is also an error. The second story was from a completely different source--several sources, actually.

If either story is correct, it is a blow to Scott's defense. IMO, either or both stories are correct. Betcha.

[Devil_Anse]

Welcome back, Maggie!!

[I. Ben Hurt]

I (sorta) remember the "no, but I know who did" story but can't remember where it came from. Rita seemed to have recently been told a little different version with Scott saying "yes" first. Regardless, if this conversation took place, they have it on tape and I just hope some technicality doesn't keep US from hearing it or it being presented as evidence.

[Devil_Anse]

It really sounds like Scott acted strange, and said a number of strange things, in the days following Laci's "disappearance". Even we the viewers noticed early on that there was something not right about his behavior. So it wouldn't surprise me if he really did slip up and say too much to Amber. And I can't think of any reason that it wouldn't come in as evidence.

[Velveeta]

National Enquirer:

Ne:cops Probe Drug Secret Behind Laci's Murder
The Laci Peterson murder investigation has taken a surprising new turn as police probe a suspected connection between accused killer Scott Peterson and the illegal drug trade.

Cops believe there may be a link between heavy spending by Scott - a fertilizer salesman, and Modesto's flourishing black market in methamphetamine, which contains a fertilizer compound as a key ingredient, The ENQUIRER has learned.

Scott reportedly burned though tens of thousands of dollars just before the murder of his wife and unborn son, and friends say he and Laci fought over his lavish spending.

"Shortly before her disappearance Laci told her family that she was worried about Scott's spending and didn't know where he was getting all the money he was going through,: said a family friend who is close to the investigation.

In December, just weeks before Laci was reported missing on Christmas Eve, Scott joined the upscale Del Rio Country Club at a cost of $25,000. He also bought a 14 ft. aluminum fishing boat with out telling his wife.

"Laci said she was shocked when she learned that Scott had bought a boat," said the family friend.

Modesto and the surrounding California Central Valley region are considered the U.S. capital for the production of methamphetamine, a widely used stimulant that causes euphoria.

Police suspect Scott may have played a role in illegal drug activity.

"Police think that Scott's expensive lifestyle may be more than would be expected on the commissions of a fertilizer salesman, unless Scott was dealing in the black market trade with any of the many methamphetamine makers, or 'cookers,'" said an investigator.

"The meth cookers have to go to the black market to get the fertilizer compound, anhydrous ammonia. It is the only ingredient in the drug that can't be bought over the counter at a local pharmacy."

Unlike the other ingredients, Acetone, and common cold medicines such as Pseudoephedrine or Ephedrine, the sale of Anhydrous ammonia is restricted by law.

The high-nitrogen fertilizer costs about $2 a gallon when used for legal purposes on the farm to keep crops green. But on the street, as the juice for home "cooked" meth, it brings between $60 and $200 a gallon.

"The DEA guys want to know if Scott Peterson has been supplying the fertilizer ingredient to any of the meth labs in the valley," said a source inside the investigation. "They are also curious about Peterson's recent trips to Mexico, which is a center for the international methamphetamine trade."

Court documents obtained by The ENQUIRER show that wiretap evidence and subpoenaed records of Scott Peterson's cell phone usage have been turned over to the Stanislaus (County) Drug Enforcement Agency.

But authorities won't disclose whether they have uncovered any evidence that indicates Peterson has been involved in the sale of fertilizer to meth makers.

Kelly Houston, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Dept. told the ENQUIRER, "It is not unusual for narcotics officers to be doing wiretaps in the Peterson case, the DEA guys are the most experienced in handling wiretaps."

However, Stanislaus District Attorney, Jim Brazelton may have tipped his hand when he opposed live television coverage in the courtroom during evidence hearings scheduled for September in Scott Peterson's case.

In court papers, Brazelton said, "Cameras in the court might expose the identities of undercover investigators."

The investigator told The ENQUIRER, " You don't need undercover detectives in a homicide investigation. You use undercover investigators in a narcotics investigation."

[Velveeta]

(Please note, these are *unconfirmed* rumors, I just post 'em as I find 'em as food for fodder....Vel)

From Poster "Misfit" at Websleuths: New Evidence!

Scott's computer contained a number of files that included the charts/tidal patterns of the areas near Brooks Island, and the shipping channels. Maybe he was searching for their depth, maybe just for areas near the island where he could motor over and dump the body. Rumor was that he was also researching ways to sink a body. He must have known something about the depth and relationship to pressure. Or maybe not.

He may have tied off his boat to a navigation buoy, one of which I will link you to a picture of, or struck one in the process of the disposal The reason they know that is becuase his boat had red paint marks on it that matched with paint used on the buoys.

That might be one of the reasons the Bruce Petersons were asked to look at the boat. What do they see differently? Well, there's a missing life jacket (could have fallen overboard in the process of moving the body) there were the missing auxillary wheels (disposed of or ditched after he returned the boat to his trailer) and RED PAINT MARKS on the stern of the boat.

I looked pretty hard at the photos of Scott's boat, and one of my correspondents pointed out that there was a part of the rim of the stern cut off, as if it had been removed to take the sample of the paint stain/scratch.

So....that may be another reason why he said he was fishing off Brooks island.

Any DNA of Laci's found on the boat (and there will be some) would be incriminating. The tarp he used might have blown off or he lost it in the dark (he's an amateur) and we have wondered what the blue tarp was that they found early in the case. They didn't find it in the marina. Contra Costa Times repored they found it north of the marina, near the Ceasar Chavez park. The cadaver dogs were involved in this search, and that's probably why Geragos is interested in the dogs