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REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Scott Peterson (news - web sites)'s attorney wants a new jury in a different county to decide whether the former fertilizer salesman gets the death penalty or life in prison without parole for killing his wife and the fetus she carried. Defense lawyer Mark Geragos made the request in a motion filed Wednesday in San Mateo County Superior Court. The details will not be made public until after Judge Alfred A. Delucchi reviews the file before the scheduled start of the penalty phase Monday morning, which could now be delayed. The motion marks the second time...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The cost to investigate, arrest and prosecute Scott Peterson for the murder of his pregnant wife, Laci, has reached nearly $2.5 million so far, and state taxpayers might have to pick up the tab. Estimating that the costs could reach $5 million with appeals, Republican state Sen. Jeff Denham said he will introduce a bill when the Legislature convenes next month to get the state to cover 100 percent of the bills. Authorities in Stanislaus County and Modesto, where Scott and Laci Peterson lived, have spent about $2.1 million so far. San Mateo County, where the...

Please Freep this poll!Do you think Scot Peterson will get the Death Penalty?

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Scott Peterson could spend his remaining years catching glimpses of the bay where he launched his boat on Christmas Eve 2002, not far from where the bodies of his pregnant wife and unborn child eventually floated to shore. Now convicted of their murders, Peterson will be transported to San Quentin State Prison overlooking San Francisco Bay if the jury recommends a death sentence following a hearing that begins Monday. Cell doors on two of the three units at San Quentin look past walkways patrolled by rifle-toting guards, out at the same water that doomed Peterson when jurors...

Peterson May Join 'The Qs' Infamous Death Row SAN QUENTIN -- If Scott Peterson is condemned to die he would become the latest addition to a San Quentin Death Row that already houses serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, Richard Allen Davis, the killer of Polly Klaas, David Carpenter, the Trailside Killer, and recently arrived Cary Stayner. Ironically, Peterson could also catch an occasional glimpse across the San Francisco Bay waters of the spot where he launched his boat on Christmas Eve 2002, not far from where the bodies of his pregnant wife and unborn child eventually...

Scott Peterson has been found guilty on two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Laci and unborn son, Conner. Because of California's fetal homicide law, Scott Peterson was convicted of a double Homicide. This is driving Planned Parenthood, NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League and NOW (National Organization of Women) absolutely batty. How could this be possible, they lament, since it is lawful to kill unborn children right up to term? I certainly can understand their plight, but I must say that I am relishing in it. They were told by the Supreme Court that since no...

The judge in the Scott Peterson murder trial denied defense motions Monday for a new jury and a new venue for the penalty phase of the case, and rescheduled the process to begin Nov. 30. The penalty phase had been set to begin Monday, 10 days after Peterson was found guilty of first-degree murder for killing Laci Peterson and second-degree murder for killing her fetus. Jurors must choose between a life sentence or execution. "We're going to have to go with this jury," Judge Alfred A. Delucci said in rejecting the defense arguments. Defense lawyer Mark Geragos argued that a...

It was where she planned to start a family, and where prosecutors say he killed her. And now that a jury has convicted Scott Peterson of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn son, questions swirl around what will become of the couple's Covena Avenue home in Modesto. Once the site of media stakeouts, 24-hour police surveillance and impromptu shrines for Laci Peterson and the son the couple planned to name Conner, the house now lies at the heart of a legal morass involving criminal convictions, lawsuits and a loan. The single-story 1,770-square-foot home in the La Loma neighborhood was the...

Stanislaus County Superior Court judge seals Laci Peterson autopsy Posted on Thu, May. 15, 2003 Stanislaus County Superior Court judge seals Laci Peterson autopsy MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - The autopsies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son were completed by the Contra Costa County coroner and sealed Thursday by a judge in Stanislaus County Superior Court, prosecutors said. The autopsies were completed sooner than expected, but it wasn't clear if a cause of death had been determined in the homicides. Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the Contra Costa sheriff would not comment, but has said in the past that the...

Divers Search Bay Waters For Peterson EvidenceDivers Search Bay Waters For Peterson Evidence POSTED: 7:50 a.m. PDT May 16, 2003 UPDATED: 2:54 p.m. PDT May 16, 2003 RICHMOND, Calif. -- Divers from several Bay Area law enforcement agencies and members of an FBI dive team joined police boats equipped with side-scan sonar Friday, searching the waters off Richmond for further evidence in the murder case of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Connor. The search was taking place not far from where the bodies of the missing Modesto woman and her child were found washed up on the shore of...

The Laci case gets weirdThe Laci Case Gets Weird May 20, 2003 Laci and Scott Peterson (AP / CBS) Amber Frey, the "other woman" in Scott Peterson's life, re-emerged Monday looking (and acting) eerily like Paula Jones. (CBS) Just when it seemed that the Scott Peterson capital murder case finally had settled into a rhythm of sense and stability it exploded into chaos and absurdity. What had been an increasingly orderly procession toward pretrial proceedings devolved instead over the weekend and Monday into a uniquely Californian freak show. It is as if the Gods of High-Profile Trials have spoken thus:...

Peterson Sports New Look; Prelim Set For July 16addingPeterson Sports New Look; Prelim Set For July 16 POSTED: 2:30 p.m. PDT May 27, 2003 UPDATED: 4:44 p.m. PDT May 27, 2003 MODESTO, Calif. -- The judge overseeing the murder case of Scott Peterson ordered that police records of telephone calls made between Peterson and his lawyer and investigator earlier this year be turned over to his new defense attorney Mark Geragos. The Many Looks Of Scott Peterson Police listened in or recorded at least two of the 69 calls between Peterson and Modesto attorney Kirk McAllister as part of widespread...

Laci Peterson family seeks items from homeLaci Peterson family seeks items from home Relatives hire lawyers to retrieve wedding dress, baby crib, other personal belongings. By John Coté The Modesto Bee (Published Thursday, May 29, 2003, 4:15 AM) MODESTO -- Laci Peterson's family has hired attorneys in an attempt to retrieve her wedding dress, a baby crib and other personal items from her Modesto home, according to a statement released Wednesday. In the murder case against her husband, court documents made available Wednesday assert the defense team's contention that investigators violated the law by monitoring privileged communications and that Deputy...

<p>Laci Peterson's unborn child was found with one-and-a-half loops of plastic tape wrapped around his neck and a large cut on his body, believed to have come from a knife or some sort of sharp object, an investigation source told Fox News.</p>

With as many as three girlfriends, multiple cell phones to stay in touch and a checking account hidden from his wife, Scott Peterson had a busy secret life, a source close to the double-murder investigation revealed. Investigators also have evidence that Peterson - accused of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, named Conner - made a "significant purchase" of items that could have been used to anchor a body, a second source familiar with the case said. Investigators need to find the items to "connect all the dots," that source said. The bodies of Laci and Conner...

Prosecutors want autopsy results unsealedProsecutors want autopsy results unsealed By JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY BEE STAFF WRITERS Published: May 29, 2003, 07:40:54 PM PDT Prosecutors have reversed their position and are now asking a judge to unseal autopsy reports for Laci Peterson and her unborn son after details allegedly from one report were leaked to the media Thursday. “The information being leaked has clearly been skewed in favor of the defense,” prosecution documents filed in court Thursday say. “The People cannot see why the autopsy documents should not be released.” Defense attorney Mark Geragos strongly denied the leak came...

MORE NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Families clash over belongings in Peterson home By BEE STAFF REPORTS Modesto Bee May 30, 2003 MODESTO, Calif. - Scott Peterson's family had planned to voluntarily turn over only some of the items that his wife's family wanted from the couple's home. Laci Peterson's family and friends acted first, though, and took what they wanted Friday from the Covena Avenue house - over the Peterson family's objections. Jackie Peterson, Scott's mother, expressed dismay: "Yesterday we see a coroner's report about a baby, and today we're talking about salt-and-pepper shakers," she said by telephone from her home in...

Laci's things in tug of warLaci 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...

Move to open Peterson autopsies is being termed damage controlMove to open Peterson autopsies is being termed damage control By GARTH STAPLEY BEE STAFF WRITER Published: June 1, 2003, 07:18:53 AM PDT Prosecutors in the Scott Peterson double-murder case changed course on release of the autopsy reports as a strategic move, not because the attorneys favor public scrutiny, legal specialists say. "When you play the case in the media, both sides make pragmatic decisions," said Michael Vitiello, a professor of criminal law at the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. "This is not a legal question -- it's a pragmatic...

Peterson family planned to keep some property Peterson family planned to keep some property By DAVE JONES BEE STAFF WRITER Published: May 31, 2003, 07:18:00 AM PDT Scott Peterson's family had planned to voluntarily turn over only some of the items that his wife's family wanted from the couple's home. Laci Peterson's family and friends acted first, though, and took what they wanted Friday from the Covena Avenue house -- over the Peterson family's objections. Jackie Peterson, Scott's mother, expressed dismay: "Yesterday we see a coroner's report about a baby, and today we're talking about salt and pepper shakers," she...