Laci's case

[Gonz]

It's her & her baby...he's in jail on 1st degreee murder

Reuters Friday, April 18, 2003; 9:36 PM


MODESTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Police on Friday arrested the husband of pregnant California housewife Laci Peterson, who has been missing for months, after a female body and fetus found washed up from San Francisco Bay were identified as hers and that of her unborn child.

Modesto police said they would charge Scott Peterson with capital murder, but would not say whether they would seek the death penalty.

"There is no question in our mind that the unidentified female is Laci Peterson. The unidentified fetus is the child of Laci Peterson," California Attorney General Bill Lockyer told reporters. "We are scientifically convinced that the match is one in billions."

The mystery of substitute teacher Laci Peterson, 27, attracted nationwide attention as it combined family tragedy with intrigue in the holiday season.

In January, Peterson admitted he had been having an affair with another woman, but insisted he had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance.

A friend of Laci Peterson's parents said police told them on Friday afternoon that Scott Peterson had been arrested. "Well, they finally arrested the son of a bitch," Laci Peterson's father Dennis Rocha told his family, according to the family friend.

Scott Osetek, a manager at the upscale Torrey Pines Golf Club north of San Diego said police arrested Scott Peterson in the club's parking lot.

 

[Leslie]

I'm thrilled that he's finally gonna go on trial

 

[Professur]

Not to judge a man before he's been tried, but anyone who's kill his own kid has no right breathing my air.

If he's found guilty, he fries.

 

[Squiggy]

I would rather they had found them alive but I know what you mean, Les. This kind of thing is happening way to often...

 

[Gonz]

What evidence do they have against him I wonder

 

[Squiggy]

There seemed to be circumstatial evidence in abundance but not enough to nail down an arrest warrant.

 

[Gonz]

that's what I thought...bodies make the case? Seems weak, from public knowledge.

 

[Professur]

With the bodies come the search warrants. Then comes the evidence.

 

[Squiggy]

Well the whole trick was to find the bodies to confirm that there was indeed , murders. Now that they found them, the circumstantial becomes much more relevant.

 

[Inkara1]

The news is even bigger over here than in most areas. I just watched Scott Peterson arrive in Modesto, and get out of the car, a couple of minutes ago. There wasn't much in the way of emotion on his face as he got out of the car and surrendered any valuables he had on him.

 

[flavio]

I hate to judge the guy before the trial, but it looks pretty bad.

I spend a lot of time at the Berkeley marina where he claimed to be fishing by himself the day she disappeared. I used to live a couple blocks away from it.

They found those bodies only two miles away from the marina up on the Richmond shoreline.

Add the fact that he was making himself real hard to find since they washed up and was picked up 7 hrs away in San Diego and it looks even worse.

They're going to need more for a conviction though I suppose.

 

[freako104]

i hope they find out who did it and i think theyll find the asshole i mean husband guilty. adn i agree with prof. fry the bastard. hey if they suspect him before they find the cadaver cant they get a warrant?

 

[Aunty Em]

Lets hope they have more than circumstancial evidence.

 

[Gonz]

if they suspect him before they find the cadaver cant they get a warrant?

people have beent tried & convicted without a body.

 

[Gato_Solo]

i hope they find out who did it and i think theyll find the asshole i mean husband guilty. adn i agree with prof. fry the bastard. hey if they suspect him before they find the cadaver cant they get a warrant?

I hope the guilty party suffers immensely. Whether it's the husband or someone else...

 

[Squiggy]

people have beent tried & convicted without a body.

Didn't I just recently see an article posted about a murder case having to be dismissed when the "deceased" walked into the court room alive and well?

 

[Gonz]

That was in Aussie land...We kill what we shoot at

 

[Squiggy]

 

[Aunty Em]

people have beent tried & convicted without a body

So how many people have been executed on circumstancial evidence who later turned out to be innocent.... Or is that a federal secret?

 

[Squiggy]

The advantage of DNA testing has set many free. I don't know that anyone has managed to prove an executed person innocent. Not saying it hasn't happened. Just that I don't recall hearing of a case. Its hard as hell to get a case reviewed because of DNA evidence even when the convicted faces death. The same application of the DNA evidence that would have been accepted as 'proof' of innocence is not as easily accepted as 'cause for reversal'. Try and figure that one out.