Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Hypnosis testimony use 'a risk'
The Modesto Bee ^ | Sept 10, 2003 | John Cote'

Posted on 09/10/2003 5:27:47 AM PDT by runningbear

Hypnosis testimony use 'a risk'

Hypnosis testimony use 'a risk'

By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER

Published: September 10, 2003, 04:50:01 AM PDT

Investigators handling the double-murder case against Scott Peterson used an increasingly rare and legally risky tactic by interviewing a witness using "hypnosis techniques," legal observers said Tuesday.

"They're taking a risk," said Dr. David Spiegel, associate chairman of psychiatry at Stanford University. "There must be some reason why they want to take that risk."

The jeopardy stems from a state law passed in 1984 that severely restricts the use of information from a hypnotized witness at trial -- including limiting the testimony to matters the person recalled before the hypnosis.

The law was in response to a 1982 California Supreme Court ruling saying that "most experts agree that hypnotic evidence is unreliable because a person under hypnosis can manufacture or invent false statements."

Since the 1984 law, hypnotism largely has been shelved in criminal investigations, but it's sometimes used when police run out of leads, observers said.

"If you hit a dead end, you might come up with some facts that would help you," said Roger C. Park, an evidence law specialist at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

An example would be a kidnap victim who under hypnosis remembers details such as riding in a car driven on a gravel road and then over a bridge, Park said.

"You go there and find some evidence, and then you don't need that testimony," Park said. "That's what you're hoping during the investigation."

But prosecutors handling Peterson's case indicated in court last week that they intend to introduce testimony from a Modesto woman who appears to have been hypnotized.

Kristen Dempewolf, who lives in Peterson's La Loma neighborhood, was questioned in a "cognitive interview where hypnosis techniques were used," according to documents prosecutors filed in Stanislaus County Superior Court.

Dempewolf was questioned as police probed the disappearance and death of Peterson's pregnant wife, Laci.

Dempewolf, 33, owns a dog and was in roughly the same stage of pregnancy as Laci Peterson when Peterson was reported missing Christmas Eve.

Two witnesses have said they saw Laci Peterson walking her dog after 9:30 a.m. Dec. 24 -- the time her husband told police he left for a solo fishing trip.

Scott Peterson told police Laci was preparing to walk the couple's golden retriever, McKenzie, when he left for San Francisco Bay, and he returned from the trip to find his wife missing.

Prosecutors contend that he killed his wife and unborn son, Conner, on Dec. 23 or Dec. 24. Their bodies were found in April along the eastern shore of the bay, within four miles of where Scott Peterson said he launched his boat Christmas Eve. The 30-year-old fertilizer salesman faces the death penalty if convicted of two counts of murder.

Testimony could be key for prosecution

Dempewolf could be key to the prosecutors' case if she offers an alternative explanation for witnesses who say they saw Laci Peterson walking her dog Dec. 24.

But if Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami determines that the hypnosis techniques amount to hypnotism, strict conditions will have to be met for her testimony to be admissable in court.

Testimony must be limited to matters the witness recalled and related before the hypnosis, and the substance of the pre-hypnotic memory must be preserved in written, audiotape or videotape form before the hypnosis.

The law also requires that the hypnosis be performed by a licensed professional experienced in hypnosis, such as a medical doctor or psychologist, and not done in the presence of law enforcement, the prosecution or the defense.

Defense attorney Mark Geragos indicated in court that the interview had been videotaped, but it is unclear from prosecution documents who used hypnosis techniques on Dempewolf.

Prosecutors also would have to prove by "clear and convincing evidence" at a hearing that the hypnosis did not make the witness's earlier recollection unreliable or "substantially impair" the ability to cross-examine the witness.

Interviewer may lead subject

Hypnosis subjects are susceptible to suggestions -- even subconscious ones -- by their questioner, said Dr. Emily Keram, a forensic psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco.

"It's natural for a person to be helpful, and they're prone to give the wrong answers," Keram said. "There may be a question where the interviewer inadvertently demonstrates their need and leads the subject to report things in an effort to address those cues."

Hypnosis, which induces deep relaxation, is effective in reducing ......

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

Peterson's ex-girlfriend sticks close to home


Amber Frey

Peterson's ex-girlfriend sticks close to home

By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER

Published: September 6, 2003, 10:02:24 AM PDT

The woman who admitted having an affair with Scott Peterson is being protected by private guards and now lives in a gated community with round-the-clock security, her father said Friday.

"She hardly goes out now," said Amber Frey's father, Ron Frey. "She goes to work. She's got to live, but she mostly stays home."

Amber Frey, now 28, burst into the public spotlight in January when she announced that she had had an affair with Peterson, saying that he had told her that he was not married.

Peterson's 27-year-old pregnant wife, Laci, had been reported missing Christmas Eve in Modesto. Her body and that of the couple's unborn son, Conner, were found in mid-April along the eastern shoreline of San Francisco Bay.

Peterson, 30, was arrested several days later and charged with two counts of murder in the deaths. He could receive the death penalty if convicted.

Ron Frey said he was concerned for his daughter's safety after she became ensnared in a case that plays across tabloid news racks and cable television news shows.

"What good would it do to put her in witness protection? Everybody knows her," Frey said. "Sure there's security. I cannot account for the police, whether they've got people involved or not."

Modesto police said Frey cooperated with their investigation, and court documents show that officers tapping Peterson's phones monitored a call between her and Peterson on the night of Jan. 20, almost a month after Laci Peterson was reported missing.

Prosecutors and Gloria Allred, the attorney representing Frey, have declined to say if the Fresno massage therapist will testify at Peterson's preliminary hearing, now set for Oct. 20.

But Ron Frey said his daughter was dismayed after the hearing was pushed back earlier this week.

"She's anxious for this to be over," he said. "She was very ........

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

GPS use on Peterson in question

GPS use on Peterson in question

By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER

Published: September 5, 2003, 05:05:13 AM PDT

The use of electronic devices by investigators to track Scott Peterson's movements was an unorthodox move, observers said Thursday.

Prosecutors intend to introduce evidence from a global positioning system tracking device, Senior Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso said at a hearing this week.

Defense attorney Mark Geragos countered that he would seek to have the evidence excluded, indicating that there were problems with the GPS equipment.

The issue is likely to be hashed out at an Oct. 20 hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to put Peterson on trial on charges of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn son, Conner.

Authorities used "wiretaps on phones, tracking vehicles, all of the technology available" as they probed Peterson's death, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer said at a news conference April 18 the day that her husband was arrested in La Jolla.

Peterson, 30, could receive the death penalty if convicted of both murder counts.

His wife was almost eight months pregnant when she was reported missing Christmas Eve. Her body and that of her son were found in mid-April along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, several miles from where her husband said he went fishing Dec. 24.

During a four-month probe, investigators employed a range of tactics, including "hypnosis techniques" on a witness.

Police also attached a tracking device to Peterson's pickup, Lockyer said at the April news conference.

Such tracking equipment usually is employed by state and federal law enforcement in major drug cases, according to experts.

"The fact that they used one in this case shows law enforcement were being very resourceful," said James Hammer, San Francisco assistant district attorney. "They were doing things that are not particularly done in a homicide case."

Most police and sheriff's departments do not have the budgets for tracking equipment, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Sharon Chow said.

"That's out of our league," Chow said. "Tracking devices for vehicles are very expensive."

It is unclear what evidence the tracking devices produced. Authorities and the defense have successfully sealed most documents in the case, and Judge Al Girolami has imposed a gag order preventing the parties from talking about evidence.

Tracking devices could serve the prosecution if they show that Peterson returned to the bay, tie him to a location where physical evidence was found or indicate that he was preparing to flee the country, Hammer said.

"If he's going back to the bay to make sure nothing floated up, that he didn't leave anything behind, that would help a prosecution theory," Hammer said.

But prosecutors will have to demonstrate that the tracking evidence is relevant to the case and that the equipment worked properly, some observers said.

"If he went to Mexico, so what? He came back," veteran ..........

(reposting this article).....

(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: avoidingchildsupport; baby; babyunborn; conner; deathpenaltytime; dontubelievemyalibi; getarope; ibefishing; laci; lacipeterson; smallbaby; smallchild; sonkiller; unborn; wifekiller
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 161-170 next last
To: All
Gloria Gomez is on a run lately, from today's:

9/10/2003 KOVR 5pm News

"SCOTT PETERSON
NEXT ON KOVR-13 NEWS AT FIVE: ENG VO ENG VO

WILL A PARADE OF WOMEN TAKE THE STAND TO SAY THEY HAD AFFAIRS WITH SCOTT PETERSON? WE'VE GOT THE EXCLUSIVE STORY!
{snip}

ONCAM KOVR-13 NEWS ***PETERSON ANIMATION  ((((PAUSE HERE FOR ANIMATION))))
SCOTT'S AFFAIR

GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. THANKS FOR JOINING US. OUR TOP STORY AT FIVE:
A NEW STRATEGY EMERGES FOR SCOTT PETERSON.... ON THE FACE, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A GREAT ONE. SOURCES SAY DEFENSE ATTORNEYS WILL TRY TO PORTRAY HIM AS A MAN WHO CHEATED ON HIS WIFE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF HIS MARRIAGE!

 2BOX 2 BOX
GLORIA GOMEZ JOINS US FROM OUR SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NEWSROOM TO EXPLAIN WHY "THEY" THINK IT MAKES SENSE. -GLORIA?

***TOSS TO GLORIA
ENG PKG 1:01--QUICK ONLY :04 1:34 runs: 1:52

SCOTT'S AFFAIR

BY NOW MUST OF US HAVE HEARD ABOUT SCOTT PETERSON'S AFFAIR WITH AMBER FREY..BUT NOW WE'RE LEARNING THERE WERE MORE-- A LOT MORE. SOURCES SAY SCOTT CHEATED ON LACI SEVEN TIMES DURING THEIR MARRIAGE.

THE FIRST TIME CAME SHORTLY AFTER THE TWO WERE MARRIED BACK IN 1997. LACI WAS LIVING IN PRUNEDALE, WORKING AS A WINE DISTRIBUTOR AND SCOTT WAS STAYING WITH A ROOMMATE IN SAN LUIS OBISPO. SOURCES SAY LACI FOUND OUT ABOUT THE AFFAIR AFTER MAKING A SURPRISE VISIT. THAT NIGHT LACI IGNORED SCOTT DURING A DINNER DATE WITH ANOTHER COUPLE.

LACI NEVER TOLD ANYONE ABOUT SCOTT INFIDELITY AND IT WAS NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. SO WHEN LACI DISAPPEARED AND THIS SINGLE MOTHER FROM FRESNO CAME FORWARD..IT LOOKED LIKE POLICE HAD FOUND THEIR MOTIVE.

EVEN AMBER'S FATHER RECALLS THE HAUNTING WORDS SCOTT SHARED WITH HIS DAUGHTER.. DAYS BEFORE LACI VANSIHED..

5:46
HE HAD IMPLIED THAT HE LOST HER A YEAR AGO HE DIDN'T SAY HOW HE LOST HER A YEAR AGO.. AMBER TOOK IT HOW…THAT SHE HAD PASSED AWAY. BUT PETERSON CAMP MAY TRY TO WATER DOWN THOSE STINGING COMMENTS BY SAYING SCOTT TOLD THREE OTHER WOMAN THAT HE HAD LOST HIS WIFE…

IT WAS HIS STANDARD LINE—AMBER WAS JUST ANOTHER FLING. BUT THIS D.A. IN NEIGHBORING COUNTY BELIEVES IT CERTAINLY MAY WEAKEN THE PROSECUTION'S MOTIVE, BUT IT COULD ALSO HURT THE DEFENDANT

30:06
IF I'M THE DEFENSE I HAVE TO THINK LONG AND HARD BEFORE I PUT ON THAT OH… HEY IT'S NO BIG DEAL HE HAD AFFAIRS ALL THE TIME. IN MEAN YOUR AVERAGE MIDDLE CLASS JUROR SITTING ON THE JURY IS GOING TO GO..AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LIKE HIM..."

http://www.kovr13.com/newsscripts/FIVE.HTM
41 posted on 09/10/2003 11:14:51 PM PDT by hergus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: hergus
revelations!

If defense puts that scenario before the jurors, Scott's trial is way downhill ........ Huge motives on the murder of Laci and Conner if defense proposes these affairs. (just my thoughts....) ;o)

42 posted on 09/11/2003 2:29:40 AM PDT by runningbear (Lurkers beware, Freeping is public opinions based on facts, theories, and news online.......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

from KOVR 6PM news link:

"PETERSON NEW DEFENSE TOP PREV NEXT

A NEW TWIST IN THE PETERSON CASE COULD HAVE THE DEFENSE TEAM ADMITTING SCOTT HAD MORE AFFAIRS.

IT’S BELIEVED PROSECUTORS COULD CONTEND PETERSON MURDERED LACI TO BE WITH FORMER GIRLFRIEND AMBER FREY. BUT SOURCES FAMILIAR WITH THE DEFENSE'S STRATEGY SAY THEY MAY TRY TO DOWNPLAY SCOTT’S AFFAIR WITH FREY BY ACKNOWLEDGING SCOTT HAD SEVEN AFFAIRS DURING HIS MARRIAGE WITH LACI... AND CLAIM AMBER WAS JUST ANOTHER FLING. A DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN A NEIGHBORING COUNTY BELIEVES IT COULD WEAKEN THE PROSECTIONS MOTIVE, BUT IT COULD ALSO HURT THE DEFENDANT.

"If I'm the defense I have to think long and hard before I put on that. Oh..hey it’s no big deal he had affairs all the time. I mean your average middles class juror sitting on the jury is going to go..and there not going to like him any better."

PETERSON'S PRELIMINARY HEARING IS SET FOR OCTOBER

I had edited out some lines.... verbage....;o)

43 posted on 09/11/2003 6:06:43 AM PDT by runningbear (Lurkers beware, Freeping is public opinions based on facts, theories, and news online.......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: jdontom; All
a great follow up from a story crime alert of home invasions in Merced and Stanislaus county I posted some time ago on the Laci Peterson thread.

Home invasion arrests


Agencies including the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department, police and K-9 units hunted in Turlock for two home invasion robbery suspects Wednesday. DEBBIE NODA/THE BEE


David Wayne Morrison is taken into custody by deputy Richard Gonzales

Home invasion arrests

By JOHN COTÉ and DARYL FARNSWORTH

BEE STAFF WRITERS
Published: September 11, 2003, 06:36:43 AM PDT

Authorities arrested 10 people after a violent, pre-dawn robbery Wednesday north of Denair, and said evidence links them to a string of 18 other home invasions in Stanislaus and northern Merced counties.

"The reign of terror that has paralyzed our community is over," Stanislaus County Sheriff Les Weidman said. "These suspects are part of a vicious outlaw group."

Four of them allegedly stormed into a home in the Denair area, east of Turlock, about 3 a.m., attacked the family living there, then took off with several pieces of property and some money. The robbers fled in a sedan that had been parked in an orchard, authorities said.

Undercover deputies assigned to a strike team had been watching the suspects for about four weeks and were in the area, Weidman said.

They swooped in after the dispatch center relayed word of a panic alarm going off at the house at Roeding and Swanson roads. Deputies saw the suspects leaving the area and followed them.

Officers tried to stop the suspects' car near Keyes and Geer roads, Weidman said, but the car sped through the intersection.

The suspects' car continued into south Turlock, stopping a block from Wakefield Elementary School, and they scattered into the neighborhood.

At least two of them, one with a handgun and the other a shotgun, fired several times at deputies, the sheriff said. Officers returned fire with high-powered rifles. No one was wounded.

EXCERPTED.....

44 posted on 09/11/2003 6:52:00 AM PDT by runningbear (Lurkers beware, Freeping is public opinions based on facts, theories, and news online.......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies]

To: Neenah; hergus; Velveeta; Devil_Anse; runningbear; Jackie-O; Sandylapper; STOCKHRSE; All
Neenah,I copied this paragraph,from your post #16."The pregnant lady, 8 mo...who had been hypnotised, was interviewed by this reporter. She was the lady walking her dog, AND WATCHED SCOTT LOADING THINGS INTO THE TRUCK. SHE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH HIM..SHE HAD BEEN UNDER HYPNOSIS FOR OVER 3 HOURS..TRYING TO RECALL WHAT HE WAS UNLOADING INTO THE TRUCK". It will be very interesting if under hypnosis,the woman was able to reveal any more about what else she observed while,Scott was loading those market umbrella's. We know for sure it was market umbrella's because,here is a link to a article,in which Scott in the last paragaph,admits to loading the umbrella's. I think this is perhaps some of that connective evidence, that Stockhrse always talked about.
http://www.nbc11.com/news/1943509/detail.html




45 posted on 09/11/2003 9:09:27 AM PDT by MaggieMay (A blank tag is a terrible thing to waste)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Devil_Anse
I haven't been able to find anything, have you?
46 posted on 09/11/2003 9:18:59 AM PDT by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: hergus
SEVEN??? Poor Laci never had a chance.
47 posted on 09/11/2003 9:19:44 AM PDT by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: runningbear
Oh grief! Almost instantly we will hear Geragros trying to tie this group with Laci's murder...only nothing was taken from the home that day.....
48 posted on 09/11/2003 10:40:59 AM PDT by Jackie-O
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: Devil_Anse
Found it!

Aguirre trial date pushed back


GLENDALE — The trial of three people accused of killing Hoover High School student Raul Aguirre was pushed back a few days while one of the lawyers in the case wraps up an unrelated hearing in Northern California.

Mark Geragos, who represents 21-year-old Karen Terteryan, asked that the trial date of Sept. 8 be rescheduled for Sept. 15 because he had to attend a preliminary hearing in Modesto, Deputy Dist. Atty. Darrell Mavis said.....snip
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/glendale/news/la-gnp-trial3sep03,1,5343251.story
49 posted on 09/11/2003 11:52:16 AM PDT by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: Devil_Anse
Writ copy here:

http://www.calawlinks.com/CasesRecent/B147452.htm
50 posted on 09/11/2003 12:00:01 PM PDT by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: All; Jackie-O; runningbear; Devil_Anse; blondee123; hergus; Sandylapper; Yeti; STOCKHRSE; ...
There are 3 stories this week, and many new pictures!

Cops Have Fingerprints of Laci's Murderer!

by Don Gentile and Michael Hanrahan

synopsis

Blockbuster new Evidence found on Duct Tape used to Wrap Laci!

Police have uncovered startling new evidence in the murder case- the fingerprints of the killer!

The NE has learned that the prints were lifted from duct tape attached to a black tarp that washed up on the San Francisco Bay shoreline where Laci's body was found.

Authorities in Modesto, Calif., are keeping the fingerprint discovery top secret but one source has heard that cops believe the prints belong to Scott Peterson.

Tests were being done to determine if there are eight so-called "minutiae points" to the prints found on the tape, the minimum number under California Department of Justice standards, to declare them a match to a specific person.

But a source close to the case called the fingerprint discovery "the ultimate smoking gun".

The 42 inch wide by 20-foot-long tarp washed up near Point Isabel in the city of Richmond on April15.

It was found about 50 yards south of the spot where Laci's badly decomposed body had come ashore the day before- and about a mile south of the spot where dog walkers came upon the body of Laci's unborn son Connor on April 13.

The recovery sites are 3 miles north of the Berkeley Marina, where Scott says he was fishing in his boat last Dec. 24th.

A LE source said, that the tarp was initially taken to the crime lab at Contra Costa Sheriff's department, a forensic testing facility considered one of the best in the world. "You need a lab like Contra Costa's lab to lift the prints," said a close source.

"The duct tape has to be carefully removed because it tends to stretch and the prints can be distorted. You essentially have to remove the tarp from the duct tape and not the other way around." "It can take weeks to perform such a procedure."

Duct tape can hold fingerprints even if it has been submerged in water for a long period, say experts.

"You can still lift prints from the sticky side of it," crime scene expert Hal Sherman, a former New York City detective, told the NE.

"Examiners use certain stains such as Gentian violet or iodine to bring out the prints. There's also something called Sticky-Side Powder that investigators use to lift prints from various kinds of tape."

Internationally known scientist Dr. Kobilinsky noted, "If Scott handled that tape, he may have left a pattern that you could definitely find after four months in the water."

The strips of duct tape from the tarp were also being compared to tape that was attached to Laci's remains and duct tape police found during searches of the Peterson home in Modesto and the nearby warehouse, Scott used for his job.

The fingerprint and duct tape revelations will be only the latest to rock Scott Peterson's defense.

The blood reported in the brown van turned out to be B-B-Q sauce, and the cult theory of beheading also turned out to be false.

Laci's obstetrician, Dr. James Y.K. Yip has revealed that he did see Laci on Dec.23rd, but she did not have a sonogram that day.

Geragos showed that other evidence obtained by police is causing him worry when he said he was going to move in court to suppress mitochondrial DNA testing done by LE.

To Kobilinsky, that means one thing: hair found jammed into needlenose pliers that were discovered in Scott's boat has definitely been identified as Laci's hair, as reported first in the NE. Mitochondrial DNA is DNA inherited only from a person's mother and is found outside the nucleus of a cell.

Testing for such DNA is done when evidence samples from within the nucleus of the cell- which contain DNA from both parents- are not present.

"Mitochondrial testing is very accurate, says Kobilinsky, explaining that it's difficult to obtain nuclear DNA from a hair. "Geragos could argue that Laci's hair got onto Scott's clothing and when he got the boat, it somehow wound up in the pliers, But is that something a jury would believe.?

The source close to the case said Geragos is realizing "the evidence is looking more bleak..that it is not a good case for Scott."

Credit to Rickamorti at Purgatory
more to follow....


51 posted on 09/11/2003 1:26:28 PM PDT by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: All
9/23 National Enquirer
Bloodhound sends investigators off in the right direction!

One of the key witnesses in the Laci Peterson case is a dog- a 4 year old bloodhound named Merlin.

Merlin and his handler, Cindee Valentin, helped search for Laci last Dec. 26, two days after she was missing. And the dog gave the cops the first hint she may have been the victim of foul play.

"Following Laci's scent, Merlin stopped in his tracks at the end of the Petersons' driveway, rather than continue to LaLoma Park one block away, where her husband Scott claimed she'd gone to walk the family dog."

"The bloodhound instead set off in the opposite direction toward Yosemite Blvd." said a source close to the case.

"It told cops, Laci left in a car and not on foot."

Merlin continued to follow Laci's scent for several miles before losing the scent. "The dog stopped at a dumpster on Yosemite, where it is possible some physical evidence may have been dumped," said a detective assigned to the case.

Peterson's defense attorneys want to know how good a dog Merlin is. They have filed papers with the court seeking complete backgrounds on Valentin and the bloodhound, though their credentials seem impeccable.

Valentin is a volunteer trainer and dog handler in the Costa County Sheriff's Reserve Division. Merlin is her personal dog, and has worked with her on numerous cases.

"Cindee Valentin is a highly trained individual in search and rescue and in evidence handling," Contra Costa Sheriff's spokesman, Jimmie Lee, told the NE.

In addition to training dogs for Contra Costa Sheriffi's office and the California Rescue Dog Assoc., Valentin teaches seminars in the training of guide dogs, rescue and cadaver searching dogs.



52 posted on 09/11/2003 1:28:09 PM PDT by Velveeta (again, thanks to Rickamorti)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: All
Again from the 9/23 National Enquirer
Laci's Tragic Final Journey

by David Wright

new pictures; The Hearse, Overview of Cemetary, Laci's Family arriving in Limo, Friends at Grave Side, Flowers at the Grave

Laci Peterson and the baby she came so close to holding in her arms were laid to rest in the same way they died- together.

The murdered mom and her tragic son Connor were buried in a single casket as two white doves symbolizing their souls soared into the blue sky above.

The emotional service might not have taken place if accused killer Scott Peterson's family had their way.

As Laci's loving mom Sharon Rocha was making burial arrangements, a close family source says she received a stunning e-mail from her daughter's mother-in-law Jackie Peterson, who wrote in part:

"We ask you to postpone the service until such time as Scott is exonerated and we all join together as a family to mourn your daughter, Scott's wife, our and your grandson and Scott's son who has been taken from all of us so cruelly."

Furious, Sharon and her husband Ron Grantski- who are convinced of Scott's guilt- handed the sensational message to their lawyer. "The Peterson's were told in no uncertain terms that the funeral was going ahead and that they were not welcome," revealed the close family source.

The attorney, Adam Stewart, wondered whether Jackie Peterson really wanted to be at the funeral..or "was she more concerned about elicitng sympathy for her son?"

It was against that turbulent background that more than 250 family and friends gathered at Burwood Cemetery in Escalon, Calif., on August 29 to say farewell to 27-year-old Laci, who was 8 months pregnant with Connor when she vanished last Christmas Eve.

Before the single coffin was lowered into the grave, Laci's distraught stepfather Ron Granstski rose to declare bitterly,"She was the light of my life. The animal that did this to her is going to pay."

The two doves were released over the grave, piled high with roses, daisies and sunflowers. As they fluttered away, 20 more doves followed them.

"The two were Laci and Connor, and the rest were angels sent to help follow them to heaven," Grantski explained.

But if Laci had been laid to rest, the bad blood between the families had not.

"Laci's mom Sharon is brokenhearted over her loss," the close family source told the NE.

"When she began planning Laci's and Conner's funeral, she bought two plots side by side.

"She told her family,"The second plot is for me when I die. I want to rest close to my daughter and grandson."



53 posted on 09/11/2003 1:35:17 PM PDT by Velveeta (Thanks to Rickamorti)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: Velveeta
hey hey HEYYYYYYY!!!!!!

(Please, oh please let this be true!!!)
54 posted on 09/11/2003 1:40:48 PM PDT by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: Devil_Anse
Prints from the "sticky side". Wouldn't that be grand? How would Ma and Pa Peterson spin that one??
55 posted on 09/11/2003 1:48:55 PM PDT by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

bbl
56 posted on 09/11/2003 1:49:39 PM PDT by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Velveeta
Oh, easy! "Someone locked a bomb onto Scottie's neck and made him wrap Laci in duct tape... sob... !"
57 posted on 09/11/2003 2:24:53 PM PDT by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Velveeta; All
Thanks for the tabloid updates. Ok, what if there is not only Scott's fingerprints on that tape but some of his hair or blood from that cut on his hand.Ummmmmmm Maybe all three.
58 posted on 09/11/2003 2:29:29 PM PDT by MaggieMay (A blank tag is a terrible thing to waste)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Canadian Outrage
Read Post 51! The rumor is, they've got fingerprints!!!
59 posted on 09/11/2003 2:31:29 PM PDT by Devil_Anse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: Velveeta; Devil_Anse
Outstanding news, Vel! I'm with DA on this one. Please, please let this be true. Just wondering....was there any "Laci" DNA evidence on the tarp?
60 posted on 09/11/2003 2:31:39 PM PDT by Sandylapper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 161-170 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson