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Christmas Day Sgt. Duerfeldt 12:30 am. Sgt. Duerfeldt left 523 Covena, which ended his responsibility. He had no further assignment related to Laci's disappearance.
Christmas Day Brocchini drove Scott home 1:00 am. After the one-hour interview, Brocchini drove Scott home, which, Brocchini said, would have taken 5-10 minutes. Brocchini returned to the police station and made up a missing persons flyer to go out to law enforcement agencies.
Christmas Day Scott called Brocchini 1:15 am Scott called Brocchini, but Brocchini testified that he didn't remember getting that call. The cell phone records show a duration of 1 minute.
Christmas Day Scott called Brocchini about the gun 2:14 am Scott called Brocchini to ask him if he had taken Scott's gun from the pickup. Brocchini replied, yes, he had. Scott said that was fine, he just wished Brocchini had told him. Brocchini replied that it was illegal to have a loaded gun in the glove box and he was going to put it into evidence. The call duration was 2 minutes.
Christmas Day Search continued at the Park 3:45 am When he finished his regular shift (4 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.), Officer John Hodson was asked to work overtime and dispatched to the Dry Creek Park to continue the search for Laci. He, CSO Hodson, and Officer David Mullens went down into the Park at the pumphouse and started searching from the pumphouse west along the path. Hodson took the river side, and Mullens took the other side, and the CSO drove the police car with the lights on so they could see. They met Lt. Bruce Able and Sgt. Scott Heller, who were working their way towards them. They then worked eastward from the pumphouse to the end of La Loma Park, where there is a public restroom, and where the tennis courts are. Hodson checked the restrooms, but found nothing. They also searched the pumpstation. Along the riverbank, Hodson encountered some homeless shelters. He announced himself and the people came out to greet him. He searched their encampments and their property. They did complain that it was the third time that night they had been turned over by people looking for Laci. The encampments were within a quarter to a third of a mile west of the path that leads into the Park from Covena. The encampments are just about four or five hundred yards from the hospital on Scenic Drive, where Diane Campos worked. Hodson pointed out the route from the Covena path into the park, over the footbridge, down along Scenic, back across another footbridge into Kewin Park, up the stairs to Edgebrook, and then to Covena.
Christmas Day The Search expanded When Officer David Corder, a member of the K-9 dog unit, came on duty at 6 am, he was told they had been searching the park through the night, and asked to use his K-9 to search the park and surrounding areas. Officer Gonzalez had been in the park all night with his K-9 and told Corder what areas had already been searched. He (without the dog), Officer Fisher, and several other officers searched some of the streets and alleyways around 500 Covena. They started at intersection of Covena and Edgebrook and walked the front yards all the way down Highland. They actually walked back into some of the yards to see if someone had gone back there and was injured, but did not go into any of the houses or backyards. They came back and went through the alley, which runs behind Highland, came back out Santa Barbara, down Encina, and then one block north on Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Rowland and Covena, and down one block, which is Roble, in that area. They went back to area where Covena meets the park and searched areas difficult for people to get into. He took the dog along the southern edge of the park, that joins backyards with lots of shrubbery and bushes. The dog is trained to search out human scent. They searched eastbound all along the southern edge to where El Vista crosses the park. He worked the dog along the southern edge of the creek bed, whatever brush was safe to work, all the way to Kewin Park. He noticed quite a bit of water in the creek, and some deep spots, so he requested Sgt. Beffa to have the fire department search with their raft or zodiac. Beffa and his team entered the creek near the tennis courts and searched all the way to Kewin park. Corder then resumed his dog search along the southern edge of the park in Kewin Park back to the foot path at Covena.
During his search, Corder saw some officers talking to some transients in the hospital area, below Scenic a little west of where it intersects with Coffee. There is a path that leads from the foot bridge in the park to Scenic, and it’s 50-75 yards from the bridge to Scenic.
Christmas Day Friends setup a volunteer center at the Covena home Lori Ellsworth, Stacey Boyers and others arrived early in the morning to distribute the flyers made at Ditto's during the night.
Christmas Day Scott called Brocchini again 9:55 am Scott called Brocchini, and they talked for one minute. 10:53 am Scott called Brocchini again, and they talked for 4 minutes
Christmas Day Detective Grogan assigned to the case The officers involved in the previous night's activities decide they need a full-time detective to investigate. Grogan is assigned the case because he is the next homicide detective in rotation. Grogan interviewed Scott on Christmas Day from 1:30 till 4:00-4:30, with agent Mansfield from CA DOJ present, which was not taped by video or audio. Grogan said he specifically asked Scott if he or Laci had an extramarital affair, or if there were suspicions of extra marital affairs. Scott said no.
Christmas Day MPD Press Conference MPD held the first press conference to notify the public of Laci's disappearance. Family members were present but did not speak.
Christmas Day Amber called Scott Amber says she called Scott to wish him a merry Christmas, thinking he was in Maine with his family. She said Scott "romanced" her during the call. Phone records show Amber called Scott 4 times on Christmas Day. The two exchanged a total of 7 calls.
Christmas Day Scott's whereabouts Witnesses had different accounts of where Scott was on Christmas morning. Brent Rocha gave three different accounts in his interviews. In the first, he said Scott was unaccounted for from 9:00-12:00 Noon, in the second that he saw Scott around 11 am, and in the third report that he joined with Scott at 10:30 to go hang flyers in the neighborhood. In his trial testimony, he said the latter is the most accurate. Brent also said that Scott went to the warehouse that morning to get some duct tape to use in putting up the flyers later that morning, and was gone about 2 hours. At a later date, LE asked Brent to show him where Scott had used the duct tape.
Karen Servas, in her testimony at the trial, said she knew that Scott was out putting up flyers with friends.
Christmas Day 2 witnesses reported seeing Laci on Park footbridge 12 Noon - 1:00 pm Susan Aquino, Laci's maternal aunt, testified that while she and her husband Bill were at the Peterson home on Christmas morning, two police officers came to the door to tell Scott that two witnesses at the Park said they thought they saw Laci the day before walking across the footbridge. Aquino said she asked Scott what he thought, and he said it wasn't Laci, because she didn't walk that way. Aquino and her husband were the only two who heard Scott's comment, even though other people were at the house. She also admitted she did not know those other people and she did not even know Scott.
Christmas Day Scott interviewed by Grogan and Mansfield 1:30-4:30 pm. Grogan interviewed Scott on Christmas Day from 1:30 till 4:00-4:30, with agent Mansfield from CA DOJ present, which was not taped by video or audio. Grogan said he specifically asked Scott if he or Laci had an extramarital affair, or if there were suspicions of extra marital affairs. Scott said no.
Christmas Day Massive search for Laci Modesto police and firefighters carried out a massive and futile search along Dry Creek. Her family offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to her safe return. Sharon Rocha was in the Covena Home on December 25th, and said she did not notice anything "unusual." Janet Kenworthy saw Scott on Christmas Day, as she was walking her dog in the park. "He reaches in his coat, pulls out a flier and says, 'My wife's missing,'" Kenworthy recalled. "He about broke down in front of me. I did see tears, retain-your-composure efforts." Kenworthy was especially touched, she said, to learn that the missing woman was pregnant. She said she gave Scott a hug. "I would have sworn at that time that he was innocent," Kenworthy said.
Christmas Day Karen Servas at the Peterson's home 5:00 pm Karen Servas went to Scott's house to watch the 5 o'clock news out of Sacramento because her Direct TV service did not provide local channels. Lee and Jackie were there, and she described both as really upset and said that Lee was crying. She described Scott as calm, but explained that she had seen him earlier that day and that he seemed to be in shock and was speaking in a flat tone. She said Renee Tomlinson and her husband were also there. Scott invited her to join them for dinner, but she declined because she was vegetarian and she had packing to do. About ten minutes after she left, Scott called her and said he had found some cheese tortellini, and so she joined them for dinner. After the dinner Scott said he was upset with the police because they took his gun and some rags off the washer the night before without telling him.
Christmas Day Stacey Boyers observed Scott vacuuming After passing out flyers, Stacey Boyers went to the Covena home probably after 5:00 p.m. to bring a picture to Renee Tomlinson. Boyers observed Scott vacuuming the area in front of the washer and dryer. She said he was vacuuming that area the whole time she was there. When she reported this to the police, it raised their suspicion that Scott was still doing some clean-up.
Christmas Day Scott asked Brocchini about cadaver dogs 7:20 pm Scott called Brocchini to ask him if they were using cadaver dogs to look for Laci in Dry Creek Park. Brocchini told Scott he hadn't considered her being dead yet, so they hadn't used cadaver dogs. They talked for 5 minutes.
26 Dec 2002 Eric Olsen resigned from Trade Corps Eric was offered a job at Sun West on Nov. 26, and notified Sun West on Dec 23 that he would take the position. He didn't want to resign right before Christmas, so he waited until the 26th to notify Scott by email. Eric said he left Trades Corps because of promises, such as health insurance, that were not kept. He also said that Scott was not getting things done for the company.
26 Dec 2002 Ron quizzed Scott about an affair Ron told Greta Van Susteren: "I -- I talked to Scott two days after Laci was missing, and I -- I asked him then. I said, you know, if you -- if you had an affair, was seeing somebody, I think this is time to say something because I know the police are going to bug you about your fishing story, and he said, no, no problem. And so I let it drop." Ron testified that it was the afternoon of the 26th when he quizzed Scott. Ron also testified that it was a day or two after the 24th when he first learned Scott had a boat, because someone asked if he knew about the boat.
26 Dec 2002 Dennis Rocha concluded Scott murdered Laci According to the Globe (Laci's Dad Tells All, May 2003), Dennis went to see Scott on the 26th to get some answers. From this brief encounter, Rocha concluded that Scott murdered Laci.
Rocha was paid $12,000 for this interview.
26 Dec 2002 Command Post setup in La Loma Park The Command Center for the investigation was at the MPD. A Command Post was also setup in the Park, to organize the search and accommodate individuals who would come and give tips personally. Ronald Cloward was put in charge of the Command Post. The CP consisted of a trailer with computer and communications equipment. It was located near the tennis courts. The search on the 26th included the City of Modesto checking the manhole covers, the pond in the park searched by divers, and the Fire Dept. running a boat along the creek, working from the bridge to fisherman's club.
26 Dec 2002 Red Lion Search Center opened A volunteer center opened at the Red Lion Hotel distributed thousands of fliers. Scott would open the center almost every morning at 7 am. He would not let the media come into the center until 9:30 am, at which time he usually left to distribute flyers. He also instructed friends and workers not to distribute any pictures of Laci that included him. He said he wanted the focus to be on Laci, not on him.
26 Dec 2002 Amber called Scott 14 times Amber called Scott 14 times, according to Mark Geragos OS. Geragos said that Amber was upset with Scott because he was not calling her. No detail has yet been provided about these calls. She testified that she called that many times because she was anxious to thank him for the Christmas gift he sent.
26 Dec 2002 Scott consented to the search; but a warrant obtained anyway Scott told both Brocchini and Grogan that he consented to the search of the house and warehouse, they didn't need to get a search warrant. He told Grogan that he had trust issues with the MPD, specifically he didn't think it was an accident that Brocchini left his keys in Scott's truck or his notebook in the boat on the night of the 24th. Grogan testified that he obtained a search warrant because there was evidence of a clean-up.
26 Dec 2002 MPD Press Release At 3:30 p.m., the MPD made this press release:
26 Dec 2002 523 Covena secured in preparation for search warrant 5:00-5:30 p.m. Detective Rick House secured the residence at 523 Covena in preparation for execution of the search warrant. The warehouse was also secured. Detective Skultety said this occurred about 2 hours before he arrived on the scene about 7-7:30 to execute the warrant.
26 Dec 2002 Medinas returned home from LA to find their home burglarized Susan Medina testified at trial that she and her husband returned home from LA in late afternoon on the 26th. She said as they were passing the MPD on G street, they noticed police cameras and her husband told her to call her son to see why Modesto was on TV again. She made the call to her son at 4:12 p.m. When the reached Edgebrook and Covena, entrance onto Covena was blocked by a police barricade, and her husband had to show identification to prove they lived on the street. They noticed the dolly on the front lawn, the leaf blower was on the cement pad in the back yard, and the French doors were wide open. Only some of the rooms were ransacked. They found the glove and hammer on their bed, which was just a few feet from where the safe was kept. Medina reported the burglary to the police in front of her house, who were there to help execute the search warrant on 523 Covena. Most of the items stolen were in the safe. The key and the combination to the safe with in an envelope labeled "monthly allowance," along with some money. Some of the money was taken, but 2 twenty dollar bills and the key and the combination were left in the envelope.
Officer Wend said he responded to the burglary report about 4:45 or 4:50 p.m. Wend said the dolly was approximately 25 feet from the street. Wend described the burglary as "a pretty typical door-kick, grab what you can and take off with it. I mean, it wasn't, there was only one room that was really ransacked, and that was the master bedroom. And it wasn't ransacked a lot. Some things were taken off the top shelf in the bedroom, in the bathroom. In the master bedroom a drawer had been opened and a jewelry box had been laid, laid out." The safe was approximately three feet tall by two and a half feet wide by two and a half feet deep. The point of entry was through a gate on the south side of the Medina property. The clue that it was a forced entry was the boot print by the lock, and the door standing open. The boot print was like moist dirt transferred to the door, but Wend couldn't tell from its composition how long it had been on the door. Mr. Medina had placed a chair up against the doorknob, as an extra precaution, and the burglars moved the chair out of their way. A lot of valuables in the house were not touched, such as TVs, VCRs, a vase containing $800 cash and jewelry out on a counter. The keys to the Mercedes parked in the drive were hanging in the kitchen, but the car was undisturbed. Wend left the forms for the Medinas to fill out, documenting everything that had been taken, and then had nothing more to do with the investigation of this burglary.
26 Dec 2002 Bloodhounds look for Laci When officers released a bloodhound (scent dog) in front of the Peterson home, the dog did not go to the dirt path that leads to La Loma Park. Instead, the hound led police to houses around the corner, then south to Yosemite Boulevard and eventually to Santa Rosa Avenue near E.&J. Gallo Winery. Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies, who supplied the bloodhound, concluded the search when the dog began nosing around some Dumpsters. Police searched with flashlights and climbed in, but it was not known what, if anything, they found. Other sources say that several bloodhounds were used and the dogs "went in a multitude of directions." In mid-October, the prosecution revealed that "two dogs followed a track that led from a "known location" -- apparently the Petersons' Covena Avenue home -- to San Francisco Bay. "According to scent dog experts, the dogs can track a scent even if the person is in a moving vehicle. The scent falls off the person onto the ground and can be traced by dogs in a process called "leapfrogging"--where one dog goes miles ahead on the last known trajectory and tries to pick up the scent.
Chris Boyer, Captain of the Search and Rescue team, conducted a standard missing person's interview with Scott. Grogan was present. Scott told Boyer McKenzie was clean, but his leash was dirty, like it was dragged through mud; he didn't know where Laci walked, but she would have been wearing one of his jackets; he gave a description of what Laci would wear when she went walking; he said Laci would not typically wear anything in her hair, and wasn't that morning. Grogan was writing down notes and Scott said he was happy Grogan was documenting the interview and what was taken. Boyer volunteered to give Scott a receipt, and Scott said yes, he would like one.
26-27 Dec 2002 2nd search of the Covena home Detective Rudy Skultety, the 523 Covena crime scene manager for this search warrant, said he arrived at the residence about 7:30 p.m. on the 26th. The house had already been secured by Detective Rick House. Because they arrived so late in the day, their focus on the 26th was to search for forensic evidence and signs of a struggle. Skultety assumed the house had been "cleaned-up" by Scott, so he instructed all who participated to look at baseboards, creases, lower portions of furniture. Scott had been seen vacuuming the area in front of the washer and dryer on Christmas Day, so Skultety assigned CSO Doug Lovell to use a special vacuum cleaner to vacuum the area and collect the debris. The search on the 27th would focus on finding and collecting the items specifically mentioned in the search warrant.
The FBI participated in this search and was assigned the washer and dryer area and the living room area. They used luminal, a chemical spray that can be used with an alternative light source to find trace evidence such as blood, even if extensive cleaning up had been done. Rumors spread that the mop Scott allegedly used to clean the kitchen floor had Laci's blood and vomit, which proved to be false. Various media reported that authorities obtained a warrant when Scott Peterson would not voluntarily allow them to search the home, which was disproven through Detective Grogan's trial testimony. Detective Brocchini noted that the patio umbrellas that were in Scott's truck the night of the 24th were in the backyard, leaning up against the back fence. The brown canvas boat cover was in a small shed used to house some lawn equipment. In his OS, Distaso said the boat cover was so soaked in gasoline that the officers hung it across the back fence to air it out. He noted that gasoline degrades human biological material and human scent. However, the State did not present an expert witness during the trial to backup Distaso's claim. The tarp found in Scott's truck on the night of the 24th was in a shed covered with fertilizer products, which Distaso said acts as a degrading factor for human remains and human scent. However, the State did not present an expert witness during the trial to backup this claim. The police seized several items that were in Scott's truck on the night of the 24th and which were then located in the warehouse and the boat. Detective Hendee was also involved in the 2-day search of the Covena residence. He personally searched every room of the home looking for forensic evidence. The jewelry Scott said Laci was wearing the morning of the 24th was found in the master bedroom. The blouse Laci was wearing on the 23rd at Salon Salon was found in Laci's hamper (but was not identified by Amy at that time). The police impounded Laci's Land Rover sport utility vehicle and Scott's Ford F150 pickup. 2 computers from the home were also seized. The prosecution's theory of the crime has been pieced together using information salvaged from one of the computers taken during this search, which included detailed SF Bay tide research as well as information about the date-rape drug GHB.
27 Dec 2002 Buehler interviewed Stacey Boyers and Lori Ellsworth Buehler gave Boyers and Ellsworth an update, saying they were examining possible scenarios: one involving a stranger entering the home and abducting Laci; the other involving Scott. Buehler reported that both friends thought it was more likely that Scott was responsible. Boyers told Buehler about seeing Scott "doing an unusual amount of vacuuming" in the laundry area on Christmas evening and Scott's explanation that Lace was "extremely clean." Both said neither Laci nor Scott were "clean freaks." Boyers also told Buehler that when Scott was required to leave the home the previous night as the search warrant was executed, he said he was growing "angry," and didn't like being taken out of his "comfort zone." Neither one believed there was trouble in the marriage. Boyers said Laci had never expressed mistrust of Scott and was not the jealous type. She had never heard Scott and Laci quarrel or complain. (Crier, A Deadly Game, pp. 87-89).
27 Dec 2002 LE interviewed witnesses about suspicious people At 10:15 am, Detective Phil Owens interviewed Diana Campos, who believed she saw Laci and McKenzie in the park, accompanied by suspicious looking men. At 12:05 p.m., he interviewed John and Karma Souza, who reported seeing three suspicious men in the park early Christmas Eve morning. Owens testified at the Preliminary hearing that he thought the reports were not going in the right direction.
27 Dec 2002 Scott called Grogan about 2 tips At 11:22 am, Scott called Grogan to report two tips from individuals who had come to the Volunteer Center at the Red Lion. One was a tip about a purple Tempest auto with Arkansas plates, and the other an employee at the olive grove near Covena. He called back within the same hour to see if anyone had followed up on the tips. He also asked about the searches being conducted that day, and if they were using equestrian units.
27 Dec 2002 Officer dispatched to investigate suspicious behavior at a vacant house Officer Corder was dispatched to 344 Covena, which is one block down from Encina. A person passing out fliers walked up to the house and thought they saw someone run to the back of the house. It was a vacant house under renovation. Corder peered through the windows on all sides. A van was parked outside that looked like it hadn’t been driven for some time. Buehler asked about it, and so Corder went back to the house on February 27, 2003, and the house was in the same condition.
27 Dec 2002 2-day search of Covena home concluded The police and the FBI concluded their search of the Covena home. The blouse Laci was wearing on the 23rd at the Salon Salon was reportedly in Laci's hamper. Detective Hendee concluded his search of the Covena home and then went to the warehouse to search it and the boat. He first had Joyce Smith go in and videotape the warehouse, and then Denise Ducot took photographs. The dog team, including Twist, was sent in next. Hendee then did his search of the warehouse and the boat. In addition to the hair in the pliers and the cement on the trailer, Hendee also found a loose, brown shoestring on the bottom of the boat, very close to the pliers. Investigators also went to the Berkeley Marina to investigate his claim that he was fishing. Sgt. Michael Zahr, supervising the investigation, said that authorities had no solid reports of sightings of Laci.
27 Dec 2002 The hair in the pliers Detective Hendee found a single 5- to 6-inch, black-colored hair in a pair of needle-nose pliers at the bottom of Scott's boat, underneath the middle bench seat that runs the width of the boat and partially behind the metal center anchoring support bracket for the seat. Mitochondrial DNA testing showed the hair could not have come from Scott, but may have come from Laci. Mitochondrial testing, a less exact method than traditional nuclear DNA testing, is often used on old, degraded or extremely small samples of hair, fingernails or bone. Hendee said the hair went through the pliers, and then a bit of it looped back in towards it. So there's a little bit of a loop in there, and then it had gone underneath the prong or the needle-nose part, so that the hair went through there, and (he thought) it looped back just barely into the prong. Hendee did not measure the hair. He called some of the other detectives over to look at the pliers and hair, and had photographs taken of it. He then collected the hair as evidence by putting the pliers into a brand new evidence envelope, moved the handles apart, pulled the pliers back out, saw that there was no hair attached, looked in and saw what appeared to be one hair, then sealed the evidence envelope.
27 Dec 2002 The cement anchors Detective Hendee examined the flat pull trailer in Scott's warehouse and identified 5 areas on the trailer where there had been cement powder, looks like cement powder poured out onto the trailer or spilled onto parts of the trailer. He also noted areas with less powder, voided areas. On the trailer was a one-gallon clear pitcher. The cement anchor in the boat fit into this pitcher. Scott said he made one cement anchor from a 90-lb. bag of cement. In his OS, Distaso said experts will say that the cement in all of the rings match the cement in the anchor, and that the remainder of the 90-lb. bag was never found.
In his direct examination of Det. Hendee, D. Harris presented as evidence the picture of Brocchini placing the boat anchor into the plastic pitcher and concluded it was a perfect fit. He also showed various pictures of the trailer with placards marking where Hendee said he saw distinctive circular void spots where it appeared other anchors were made using the pitcher. On cross examination, Geragos demonstrated that the boat anchor did not make a perfect fit in the pitcher and was noticeably missing a dimple on its bottom to match the dimple in the inside bottom of the pitcher. He also questioned whether Hendee saw the circles because they were really there or because he already believed Scott made 5 anchors, not just 1.
At the trial, Robert O'Neil, a petrologist, testified that the pitcher and the anchor were sent to him for examination, along with some of the powder on the trailer and other concrete samples. He reporeted to Det. Grogan that the pitcher was definitely not the mold for the anchor. That jogged Grogan's memory: Scott had told him he used a 5-quart paint-mix pail purchased from Home Depot to make the anchor. Grogan purchased one himself, sent it to O'Neil for comparison, and it was a perfect match for the anchor. O'Neil also testified that the powder on the trailer and the anchor were a match.
After the search at the house concluded, Grogan wanted to get a sample of the concrete in Scott's driveway. Since Skultety was already gone, he sent Brocchini to collect the sample. Grogan wanted to determine if the concrete was made out of the same cement and aggregates as the anchor.
27 Dec 2002 The chicken wire LE seized a roll of chicken wire. Scott told LE that he used some of the chicken wire to put around the base of the trees, to keep the cat from scratching the trees. They dug up around one of the trees, and it did have chicken wire around it. They also observed the cat scratching around the tree. LE had entertained the idea that Scott wrapped Laci in chicken wire, and that was reported to the media.
Under cross examination, Grogan admitted to Geragos that the chicken wire didn't play a part in Laci's disappearance.
27 Dec 2002 The cadaver dog The search of the warehouse and boat included a cadaver dog named Twist. Eloise Anderson, Twist's handler, reported that Twist showed no interest in the office area of the warehouse. Much of the warehouse area was inaccessible to the dog and the chemical smell made searching very difficult. The dog worked to the back of the warehouse and into the bathroom twice with no alerts or interest. She put her into the boat where she showed mild interest but no alerts. When I worked her in the front of the warehouse area she showed interest in some containers under a small workbench. She checked several times in each container, along the edge of the workbench where she could reach and along the edge of the boat closest to the workbench. She demonstrated frustration by barking but did not go to her full alert or pinpoint a particular spot. Anderson's report was not authorized for release by her lieutenant until January 21, 2003, and was not included in a sworn affidavit used by Investigator Jacobson to obtain a search warrant for a wire-tap on January 10, 2003.
27 Dec 2002 Scott's financial records seized Besides seizing Scott's personal and business computers, LE also seized his financial records. Brocchini reviewed the records and noted that Scott had several checks made out to himself. He sent info to Trade Corps suggesting Scott was embezzling from them, and got them to initiate an investigation. LE took the Trade Corps checkbook and would not let Scott write checks to make payroll or other obligations. This came out in the cross examination of Eric Olsen, but a specific date for the seizure was not given.
27 Dec 2002 Plea for psychic help Anthony Rocha posted a plea for psychic assistance to find Laci: PLEASE HELP WE REQUEST YOUR PSYCHIC ABILITY TO HELP IN LOCATING LACI. LAST SEEN IN MODESTO CALIFORNIA AT DRY CREEK PARK ON DECEMBER 24, 2002 RESPONSE OR INFO:209-838-2937. Nationally renowned psychic Noreen Renier says that sometime in January Jackie Peterson hired her to help find Laci. Renier's visions support the prosecution theory that Scott murdered Laci, and Renier says she has sent a copy of her report to the Modesto Police. Other psychics volunteered their help or posted their visions on the Internet. Lady Lee published her profile of Laci and Scott's and Laci's compatibility, as well as her visions on this case, which suggest Scott is innocent, but that he knows the murderers.
28 Dec 2002 Trimble searched Berkeley Marina for Laci Trimble was used to track for Laci's scent at the Berkeley Marina. They first ran him around the bathroom area and one of the launch areas. Trimble did pick up a scent on another launch ramp, and indicated end of trail near one of the pylons.
28 Dec 2002 Modesto wetlands searched The search moves to 4,000 acres of wetlands along the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers, 10 miles west of Modesto.
28 Dec 2002 Reward at $500,000 The reward in the case grew to $500,000. The fact that no credible information was ever received on tip lines - even when the award was boosted to $500,000 - kept investigators focused on Scott. "Had anyone known about where Laci was, had any information about where she was and if she was alive, we would have heard about it," Police Chief Roy Wasden said.
28 Dec 2002 Karen Servas found her Austin receipt Karen Servas, while in Sante Fe, New Mexico, received a voicemail from Scott asking if she could be more specific as to the time she found McKenzie because they wanted to know if the Medina burglary had anything to do with Laci's disappearance. Earlier that day as she was doing the laundry, she found the Austin Christmas store receipt in her pants pocket. It was timed at 10:34 a.m. December 24, 2002. Servas then backtracked through all of the motions from when she found McKenzie through completing her purchase at Austin's, to determine how long it would have taken her. She then subtracted that from 10:34 to arrive at 10:18, and then advised Detective Buehler that her corrected time for finding McKenzie was 10:18 a.m. This is the handwritten note she sent to Buehler on January 3, 2003.
28 Dec 2002 Sharon asked Scott to tell her what happened on the 23rd - 24th Sharon testified at the trial that she took Scott by the arm and asked to be alone with him. She shut the door and said, let's go through this, tell me what happened, exactly what happened to Laci, what she was doing. He told Sharon Laci was sitting on her bench in front of the mirror styling her hair the way Amy had showed her the day before, and she looked so cute.
29 Dec 2002 Office Hicks takes McKenzie for a walk in the Park Officer Ron Cloward testified that Officer Hicks was assigned to take McKenzie for a walk, and Scott consented. Hicks took McKenzie into the Park from the Covena path, but Cloward did not know specifically where Hicks walked McKenzie in the Park. The intent was to see if McKenzie reacted or barked at anything.
29 Dec 2002 Susan elected to be Scott's spokesperson Scott said in some of his later media interviews that keeping him out of the media was a deliberate decision calculated to keep the media interested in Laci's disappearance. Ron Grantski testified that a family meeting took place on or about the 29th and Susan was chosen by vote to be the spokesperson instead of Scott. Ron personally heard Scott say he didn't want to go in front of the media, that it was about Laci, not him.
29 Dec 2002 Grogan interviewed Sharon Rocha & Ron Grantski together Grogan conducted a joint interview with Sharon and Ron. The interview started earlier in the day, then they had a break and reconvened about 2:15. Sharon told Grogan that Laci usually got up about 7 am, ate breakfast, walked the dog every day or every other day, made a daily visit to the grocery store, did some cleaning chores in the afternoon, visited with friends or her sister, occasional manicure, started preparing for dinner about 6:00 or 6:30. Laci cooked most of the meals herself, and fashioned herself a good cook. When asked by Grogan, Ron couldn't say how much Laci and Scott paid for their home and neither he nor Sharon could say if Laci routinely locked the doors when she went out. Ron also said in this interview that there were times when he thought Scott should have been mad at Laci, but wasn't, and Scott was very supportive when Laci said she wanted to be a stay-at-home Mom. Ron characterized Laci as the most stubborn person he's ever known.
29 Dec 2002 Amber discovered Scott is Laci's husband Shawn and Amber were together at a birthday party on the 29th at Shawn's uncle's house. About 30 people were there. Geragos asked Shawn if Amber was there with anyone, and Shawn said she was alone. He asked if Dr. David Markovich was there, and Shawn said no. He also asked if Shawn knew a Harold Jackson or Harold Brooks, and if he was at the party. Shawn said she did not know a Harold Jackson. Shawn said Amber received a phone call. Phone records show that she received two calls, the first at 1:24 am. Shawn testified that she didn't know who the call was from. Geragos asked her if it was from Richard Byrd, and Shawn said she didn't know a Richard Byrd. Amber, in her testimony, confirmed that it was Richard Byrd that called her and told her that Scott was married to the missing Modesto pregnant woman. Shawn said it probably was already after midnight, but as soon as Amber found out, she called the police hotline. They didn't hear back from the police, so Amber called back again in the morning. Amber testified that Richard Byrd was at Doug Sibley's house (where the party occurred) from 2-11 pm.
30 Dec 2002 Amber called the police tipline Det. Brocchini testified that Amber's call to the tip line included this information: On Dec 5, Scott told Amber he lost his wife, on Dec. 9 he told her he lied to her about being married, and he lost his wife, Scott was going to Paris, the last night he spent with her was Dec 14, he claimed he lived in Sacramento, the next day he was going to Arizona the next day and flying out of SFO, that she spoke to Scott twice on Christmas day, and that he called her every day since Christmas, he was going to Boston to catch a flight to Paris, he missed his flight and would call her again at 7:00, getting ready to board his flight, he would call her later to explain the time difference, he was getting a European phone number which would be forwarded to 499-8427. Amber's phone records shows she made a total of 3 calls to the Modesto police on the 30th, and 2 calls to Scott (time not reported). She would call authorities more than 200 times in the next six weeks, totaling more than 20 hours of conversation. Frey's perception of Scott changed around the time Laci disappeared - just over a month after they began dating - and a private investigator, who was one of her clients, offered to look into Scott's background, her father, Ron Frey, told People. His help became unnecessary after Scott Peterson appeared on TV the next day with reports of his missing wife. In another source, credit for identifying Scott is given to Ava Frey, Amber's sister, who lived just a few blocks from the Petersons. Police believe Scott had other extramarital affairs, but no names or dates have been provided. According to some sources, Scott's defense does not plan to argue against these claims, but rather to use them to suggest that Amber was nothing special to Scott.
30 Dec 2002 Byrd with Amber & Shawn Amber testified that Richard Byrd was with her and Shawn Sibley, at Amber's home, on the morning of the 30th, but left before Brocchini and Buehler arrived.
30 Dec 2002 Brocchini & Buehler interviewed Amber & Shawn Brocchini was standing behind the tip desk when Amber's call came in, and he took the call. Brocchini and Buehler met with Amber on the 30th in Madera, which is northwest of Fresno on Highway 180. Shawn Sibley was with Amber at the time. Amber told Brocchini she tried to call him earlier in the middle of the night, but he wasn't there, so she called the tip line. She said she met Scott November 20th, and he said he wasn't married at the time. Later, about December 9th, she found out he was married and confronted him, and he told her that he had lost his wife and that this would be the first Christmas holiday without her. She said Scott was still calling her--she heard from him on the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th. He was telling her he was out of the country and he would be able to be with her more exclusively January 25. She played a recorded phone message from Scott, which he made on December 16, so they could be certain it was the same Scott Peterson.
Amber also told Brocchini and Buehler about Dave Gardanelli:
Brocchini and Buehler went with Amber to Radio Shack to purchase recording equipment and authorized her to tape phone calls between herself and Scott. A couple detectives were often present when Amber received calls from Scott, particularly Jon Buehler. He would give her notes on what to say or ask. In these first few weeks, they generally wanted her to just let Scott talk--talk which did not yet admit Laci's existence but centered on his trip in Europe. Sharon Hagan from the Department of Justice also assisted, but Brocchini did not know what her title was.
30 Dec 2002 Grogan interviewed Sharon Rocha and Ron Grantski
Grogan interviewed Sharon Rocha
and Ron Grantski and asked for Laci’s and Scot’s daily schedule
30 Dec 2002 Taped phone calls between Amber & Scott The Prosecution entered in as evidence two phone calls between Scott and Amber that marked the beginning of her cooperation with the police. The calls, one at 5:01 pm and one immediately after at 5:03 pm, show that Scott is carrying on the charade of being on his holiday/business trip.
30 Dec 2002 Scott denied the Amber relationship to LE Court Document filed by the DA on February 23, 2004 says Scott "never told the police of his relationship with Amber Frey and denied that relationship to them on December 30, 2002." The document does not state what explanation LE gave Scott for how they found out about Amber.
30 Dec 2002 Det. Holmes interviewed Peggy O'Donnell At 2:38 pm, Det. Holmes interviewed Peggy O'Donnell at her business, which neighbors the Trade Corps warehouse, as part of a canvas of the warehouse area. He showed her photos of both Scott and Laci. She had seen Scott on one occasion when he let her use his forklift to move some items. She said Laci Peterson had come to her business and asked to use the bathroom on either 12/20 or 12/23. She believes this was late afternoon, however, she could not be sure? Peggy said Laci went to her and asked her to use her restroom. Peggy thought she had seen Scott's truck at the warehouse several times either late morning or late afternoon. Holmes showed her a picture of the boat, and she said she had never seen it.
31 Dec 2002 Laci's Croton watch pawned in Modesto While cross examining Victoria Brooks, co-owner of the Brooks Pawn & Jewelry shop in Modesto, Geragos introduced a pawn receipt for a Croton watch pawned at The Pawn Shop, also in Modesto, on December 31. Geragos intended to get more information about the pawn receipt into evidence, but Distaso objected. He did succeed in getting the receipt marked as an exhibit and pose a hypothetical question about the watch being pawned. In his cross examination of Robin Rocha, Geragos established that the Croton watch was not among Laci's jewelry when the police asked her to identify what was missing.
31 Dec 2002 Amber began her undercover work Amber called Scott twice, once at 11:42 am and then at 2:59 pm. Scott called Amber at 11:35, 3:05, 4:18, and 4:20. He is telling her that he is in Brussels. In these conversations, investigation sources say, Scott "sweet-talked Amber, keeping up the pretense that he was a widower and he loved her. 'She had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming, You liar!'"
31 Dec 2002 Candlelight vigil for Laci Scott is criticized for not sitting at the front with the Rocha family, and for "laughing" with friends. However, in the initial weeks, the couple's family and friends staunchly stood behind Scott. Laci's brother, Brent Rocha, said that Scott loved his wife too much to ever harm her. Her friends said he was a devoted husband. "Scott is devastated," Laci's stepfather, Ron Grantski. "I know what we're going through, but he's got double. The press is questioning him, but all he wants to do is find his wife." The vigil started at 4:30 and Scott was on the phone with Amber at 4:12.
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