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1 Jan 2003 Scott's annual income Scott made $66K per year with Trade Corps.
1 Jan 2003 Scott & Amber's New Year's Eve call Scott called Amber at 12:01 am on Jan 1. Distaso played the last 5 minutes of the call in his OS on June 1, and the entire conversation during Amber's testimony on August 11. The transcript of the call is 42 pages (audio recording available).
2 Jan 2003 Scott asked for the Land Rover back Grogan testified that Scott asked for the Land Rover back. Scott told Grogan he thought maybe Laci was abducted for the baby, and asked Grogan if he thought when the baby was born, Scott would get half his family back. Grogan said he had tears in his eyes. Scott also provided Grogan proof that he purchased $13.08 in gas at the Chevron in Livermore.
2 Jan 2003 Berkeley Marina searched The search focused on the waters off the Berkeley Marina for the next few days. Police asked the public to help verify Scott's whereabouts on Christmas Eve day. They released pictures of his pickup truck, boat and boat trailer that they had impounded and pled for anyone who saw Scott in Berkeley to come forward. Eventually, witnesses came forward to say they saw Scott (or a similar truck/ boat) at the Marina or en route to the Marina. They are identified in the chronology events for Christmas Eve.
2 Jan 2003 Burglars arrested Police arrested two men, Steven Wayne Todd, 36, and Donald Glenn Pearce, 44, in connection with the burglary of the Medina home, 516 Covena Ave., and said neither was connected to Laci Peterson's disappearance. Todd led police to some of the stolen property, including the safe, jewelry and a weed-eater, according to a police report. From interviews with the burglars, the police concluded that the burglary took place at 6 a.m. on the 26th, and was not related to Laci's disappearance.
3 Jan 2003 Scott confronted with picture of him and Amber / Denied having an affair Det. Grogan received a fax from Amber of a picture of Scott and her taken at the Dec. 14 Christmas party. Grogan met with Scott, laid the picture in front of him, and asked, 'What is the deal with this? You were telling us no other woman.' Scott replied, 'that's supposed to be me?' Scott reportedly told Grogan that the girl looked like someone he went to college with. Grogan told Scott that if he was having an affair, he should tell him, it didn't mean he had anything to do with Laci's disappearance. Scott replied that he hadn't dated anyone else since his marriage to Laci. Later that night, Scott was at a family dinner, and he told Amy, Sharon, and other family members that the police had a picture of him with another woman. He said someone morphed it off the internet and it really looks a lot like him. The pictures included here are stills taken from the video-tape of Grogan's interview, People's 266.
3 Jan 2003 Scott explained to Grogan why he made a homemade anchor Scott had already told Grogan on December 30 that he used a 5-gallon plastic paint bucket purchased from Home Depot to make the anchor. At this interview, Grogan asked why he didn't just purchase an anchor. Scott said he got the idea for a homemade anchor from seeing some on rented boats in San Diego and explained the cost difference: $30 for an anchor, $3 for a bag of cement. Not until August 15, 2004, did Grogan confirm the accuracy of Scott's cost comparisons.
3 Jan 2003 Berkeley Marina search continued The search intensified in the Berkeley Marina overnight, as investigators took to the water for clues. "We're looking as many places we can. We're checking the coves. We're looking in the marinas. We're checking the rock walls -- all the various areas where the shoreline meets the water," said Sgt. Guy Craig of the Berkeley Police Department. "So far nothing."
3 Jan 2003 Karen Servas changed her timeline for finding McKenzie Karen Servas wrote a handwritten note to Det. Buehler to inform him that she changed the time she found McKenzie to 10:18 a.m., based on her Austin's receipt. She told Buehler that after she found the receipt, she timed herself going to Austin's, per the route she took, and then subtracted that amount of time from the time on the receipt. She attached the receipt to the note.
3-11 Jan 2003 Surveillance camera on Covena The LE had surveillance on Scott, but some of the detectives and members of the surveillance team realized that Scott could easily detect them on Covena. Sometime during the first week in January, they installed a closed-circuit television that was put on a pole, and was viewed from a van so somebody in a van could watch a screen of Scott's driveway. The surveillance equipment also had the capability to make recordings, and two video tapes were made. Brocchini, who testified about this surveillance camera at the Preliminary hearing, did not know when the equipment was taken down, but the ModBee reported neighbors saw some equipment being removed from line poles after the subject came up in the hearing. Brocchini also did not know whether the camera was furnished by the DEA or FBI.
Harvey Kemple followed Scott Kemple testified that sometime in early January he went to the Volunteer Center at the Red Lion to pick up flyers and while there asked Scott what direction he was going to hang up flyers, and Scott said he was going to Paradise Road. Still in the parking lot, Kemple observed Scott get into a pickup and decided to follow him, since he saw him turn in the opposite direction, not the way to get to Paradise Road. He followed Scott to the mall on Sisk Rd, but the mall was not yet open. Kemple observed Scott just sitting in the pickup for about 40-45 minutes and then Kemple left.
On a subsequent occasion, Kemple again followed Scott as he left the Volunteer Center. This time, Scott went to the Del Rio Country club and turned into the parking lot. Kemple testified that he had heard Scott was regularly going to the country club to golf from Denis Tobin and a woman named Stephanie that worked at the golf course.
4 Jan 2003 Sharon Rocha took possession of Laci's redesigned wedding ring Sharon Rocha, accompanied by Sandy Rickard, picked up Laci's wedding ring and all the stones she inherited from her Grandmother Rocha that were going to go into a redesigned wedding ring. Jewelry Receipt
4 Jan 2003 Berkeley Marina search continued Police divers again searched the water near the Berkeley Marina. Special dogs that can detect human scent in the water were used to survey the water and shortly before 3 p.m. a hit came back. "One of the teams detected that there might be something to look for and we at this point don't know if it's substantial. We've got the divers here and we'll go ahead and use them and check out the spot," said a spokesman from the Berkeley Police Department.
4 Jan 2003 Grogan interviewed Amy Rocha Detective Grogan interviewed Amy about what Laci was wearing on December 23rd and whether Amy knew Laci had a housekeeper. To the latter question, Amy said Laci talked about getting a housekeeper, but she did not know that she had. In her Preliminary Hearing testimony, Amy said she also told Grogan at this interview that Salon Salon had video surveillance, so a tape should be available with Laci on it and he should get it. In her trial testimony, she said the first time she discussed the video surveillance was on January 27, that the January 4 interview focused on where Amy was on the 24th, the Rocha inheritance and jewelry. She also told Grogan what happened the night before at dinner with Scott telling them about Grogan showing him the picture. On September 20, Fladager indicated this interview was 7 January.
5 Jan 2003 Scott went to the Berkeley Marina The LE surveillance team followed Scott between roughly 7:30 in the morning and 11:40 in the morning driving around in Modesto, in the Land Rover. About 11:42, he was followed back to his residence, where the surveillance units watched him go into his house. He came out about an hour later wearing different clothing, he got into a small silver Subaru that belonged to Aaron Fritz and that was parked in his driveway, and then the surveillance units followed him directly to the Berkeley Marina. He pulled into the Berkeley Marina boat launch area, stayed about five minutes, and then looked out over the Bay. Then he drove straight back to Modesto.
5 Jan 2003 Other area waterways searched Search teams were sent to Merced, Tuolumne, Calaveras, San Joaquin, Alameda and Mariposa counties. Besides scouring new areas outside Stanislaus County, approximately 16 officers and five dogs took a second look Sunday at several areas within the county that previously had been searched.
6 Jan 2003 Brocchini interviewed Eric Olsen Brocchini interviewed Eric on the 6th, and part of the interview was about the lunch Eric had with Scott on the 5th. He told Brocchini that Scott said the LE were still looking at him as the prime suspect, they had seized his car, gone into his house, and he didn't know what to do. Eric told Brocchini that after the 2 Dec phone call from Shawn, Scott told him, referring to Shawn, 'I shouldn't have met her, I did something stupid.' Eric said that conversation with Scott occurred on December 9.
6 Jan 2003 Scott went again to the Berkeley Marina The LE surveillance units saw Scott leave his house about 7:30 in the morning, he drove to the Red Lion, where he stayed there for about 45 minutes, then went to Kirk McAllister's office. From there he went to the Enterprise Rent-A-Car business on 7th and G Street. He rented a small red Honda, and he left his Land Rover in the Enterprise lot. From there he went to the Berkeley Marina. He parked just north of the boat launch, stared out into the bay about two minutes, then drove back. From this circular overlook, you can see Brooks Island, the areas where the bodies washed up. On the way back, the LE were not able to maintain constant surveillance the entire trip back to Modesto. Scott was stopping on the side of the freeway, making U-turns in the middle of blocks, pulling into parking lots and stopping, just briefly, and then taking off, and they were unable to follow him. They picked up surveillance again when he returned to the Volunteer Center before going to Enterprise at 5:18 pm to get the Land Rover. In cross examination at the Preliminary Hearing, McAllister suggested Scott was, or thought he was, being tailed by the media.
6 Jan 2003 Mines near LaGrange searched At the request of Officer Matt Ponce, Officer David Corder took his all-terrain vehicle to LaGrange, to the old bridge, to assist in the search of some mines. He saw the sand disturbed and some footprints at a mine shaft going into the mountain and crawled inside the mine shaft, but nothing found.
6 Jan 2003 DDA suspected Laci was mistaken for her A DDA who lived in Modesto but worked in Merced called the MPD January 6, 2003 because she was concerned that persons who threatened her might have mistaken Laci for her. 5'1", 140 lbs, dark shoulder-length hair, a reddish brown retriever named McKenzie, lived in Laci's neighborhood, and obviously pregnant at the time the threats were made. Follow-up on her tip was dropped when the attorney for the person who made the threat was a no-show.
6 Jan 2003 Scott told Amber about Laci Amber and Scott exchanged 6 phone calls, all of the calls from Scott to Amber. National Enquirer reported that Amber deliberately provoked Scott to admit Laci was his wife in phone calls on the 5th (3 calls were exchanged on the 5th). Amber kept telling Scott that her friends were trying to reach her with some very important news. However, the Enquirer incorrectly stated that the the call wherein Scott actually admitted his marriage to Amber took place on the 5th, whereas Detective Jon Buehler, in the Preliminary hearing, provided a transcript of the call, which occurred on the 6th. It is unclear from the information provided if the efforts to provoke Scott to admit Laci was his wife also occurred on the 6th, or on the 5th.
Scott called Amber late in the evening to tell her about Laci, and Amber taped the conversation, with Detective Jon Buehler listening in. He began by saying that he knew why Saki called her. (Saki was Amber's friend who later sold the pictures of Scott and Amber to People and National Enquirer.) In the conversation with Amber, Scott justified not having told her previously: "Well, I know I'm trying. I justify it to myself by saying no, she just found out about Dave, no she just had a fight with her sister, don't tell her. No, no, it was probably just weakness and hoping that I could hold onto you." Amber, obviously scripted, several times mentioned the "coincidence" between the story he told her on December 9, that he had lost his wife, and Laci now being missing. Absolutely missing from the conversation is any expression by Amber of concern for Laci or the baby. Scott says several times that he wants to protect her and her daughter from the media. According to National Enquirer, in this phone call Amber "blew up at" Scott. Her reaction was so strong that detectives worried that Scott would stop the phone calls.
Geragos, in his OS, read statements Scott made in a phone call with Amber on Jan 6 that are not in the transcript Buehler provided at the Prelim.
7 Jan 2003 Amber called Scott to make-up As reported in the National Enquirer, investigation sources said Amber called Scott, apparently to smooth things over after she "blew up" at him the day before when he admitted Laci was his wife. Investigation sources said "Amber had to talk her head off -- but she got Scott back on the hook." This is the only call between Scott and Amber on the 7th.
The Prosecution chose this conversation to be among those played for the jury. Transcript Scott says he still is hopeful he can have a relationship with Amber, though he knows it will take time to win her trust again. She challenges Scott to prove he wants her trust back by doing a media interview the next day.
7 Jan 2003 Scott has meeting with Modesto Chief of Police Scott told Amber in the Jan 7 taped phone conversation that he had a 5:30 pm meeting with Police Chief Roy Wasden and then was having dinner at Sharon's house. He said that was his 3rd meeting with Wasden. Scott also told Amber that Sharon was on anti-depressant drugs and emotionless, and he was worried about her.
7 Jan 2003 Search in Calaveras County Divers were back in the water, searching a river in Calaveras County for clues to Laci's disappearance. There was no word whether a blue tarp discovered over the weekend in the Berkeley Marina was connected to the case.
8 Jan 2003 Search returns to Berkeley Marina Modesto Police were back at the Berkeley Marina, using a borrowed search boat armed with an underwater camera to scour the waters below for any clues. Searchers first turned their attentions to the waters of the marina last weekend, but swift currents and murky waters hindered divers. Sonar gear did spot something unusual in the waters, but by the time divers entered the water, they could not locate what it might have been. If police found anything new on Wednesday at the Marina, they were not saying.
8 Jan 2003 Scott questions Amber's involvement In a conversation that Amber taped, Scott made a comment that sounded like he thought Amber might be involved in Laci's disappearance: Amber immediately caught the significance of that statement, and asked him to back up! He explained: Amber still thinks Scott is accusing her, and replies: Amber obviously interpreted his statements to mean Scott thought she was involved in Laci's disappearance. Later in the same conversation, Scott reveals his lack of concern that Amber is going to the police.
9 Jan 2003 Scott returned to the Marina LE surveillance noted that at 7:00 am Scott put some suitcases into the truck he had rented the day before. About 10:30 he left home and drove straight to the Berkeley Marina. Once there, he circled the parking lot, stopped, briefly stared out into the bay for a few minutes, and then drove away. From there he went to the San Luis O'Neill Forebay, and then to the Double Tree in Bakersfield, where he stayed the night. Divers were doing searches in both the Bay and the San Luis Forebay, and the ModBee had an article that morning about the search in the Bay.
9 Jan 2003 Sonar search found object, may be body After days of coming up empty in their search for Laci Peterson, the Modesto Police finally may have a clue as to what happened to the missing woman. A sonar search of water at the Berkeley Marina turns up a submerged object that may indicate a human body. But police say inclement weather and fatigue among the divers is preventing them from retrieving the object or investigating it any further until the weekend. Expert divers, veterans of many Bay water searches, questioned the decision to delay the recovery of whatever lies at the bottom of the Berkeley Marina. When asked if he still supports his son-in-law, Laci's stepfather, Ron Grantski, says he does, but adds "God Help Us" if Scott is somehow involved.
Scott told Amber on the 12th that he received a lot of calls from the media and also hate calls after this hit the news. He said he was told not to participate in the radio broadcast the next morning because the media would just spend the time accusing him, but he didn't say who gave him that advice. He did say Kim Peterson gave him the same advice.
9 Jan 2003 Marietta Wallace tip Marietta Wallace reported that her coworker, David, had been driving his truck on westbound 580 on Christmas Eve about 0300 hours, or 3:00 in the morning, and David told Wallace that he had seen a large bundle wrapped in a blue blanket, like a Mexican-motif-type blanket, in the back of a small boat that David said looked like Scott's truck and boat with this bundle in the back. Detective Brocchini followed up on the tip, figured out who David was, and had him down for a couple of interviews. Brocchini, suspicious that the Petersons were not relaying all tips received on their hotline to the police, called this exact tip in to see if it would be reported. He testified at the Preliminary hearing that it was not. Brocchini asked FBI agent Terry Scott to subpoena the Peterson tip line records to see what other tips had been received.
10 Jan 2003 Wiretap on Scott's phones A wiretap was placed on Scott's phones, and remained in place until February 4, 2003. Some legal experts suspect that the wiretaps intentionally targeted the press: "I suspect, to be perfectly frank with you, the reporter's conversations were the ones they wanted all along . . . That might be information that never made itself into a news story and therefore, was sealed in the reporter's notes and in the reporter's files. And the DA would have a very tough time trying to subpoena that or obtain a search warrant." Investigators initially reported logging 3,858 phone calls on Scott's home and cellular phones, plus the 176 that were later found stored on a computer. Many of these calls were from the media. For example, NBC's Jodi Hernandez in San Francisco made nearly 50 phone calls to one of Scott's cell phones just to arrange a single interview. 69 of the calls were between Scott and his attorney.
10 Jan 2003 Scott returned Amber's cards & pictures Scott told Amber in the Jan 12 taped conversation that he received the card and picture that she sent to the PO Box, and that he returned both it and the card and picture of her and Ayianna that she gave him as he left her on December 15.
11 Jan 2003 Scott lied about his whereabouts LE intentionally made it a big media story that divers would be going down on the 11th to recover the object found by sonar searches on the 9th--reportedly a body. They monitored Scott's whereabouts through his cell phone activity.
Around 10:30 he was known to be near the Berkeley Marina because he checked his voice mail and it was activated at the Berkeley Marina switch, but no one saw him. Later in the day he checked voice mail again in the Gilroy/Hollister area. The following calls were admitted as evidence to show Scott lied about his whereabouts. The following indicates the time of the call, the person Scott was talking to, and where Scott said he was compared to cell site locations. Click on the overview map to enlarge.
•People's 207A-2 & A-3 10:48 am, Jackie Peterson, west Fresno •People's 207A-5 12:55 pm, voice mail from Sharon Rocha (Scott whistled) •People's 207A-6 & A-7 12:56 pm, Sharon Rocha, Bakersfield •People's 207A-8 & A-9 1:01 pm, Lee Peterson, Bakersfield •People's 207A-10 & A-11 1:21 pm, Guy Miligi, coming home from Bakersfield •People's 207A-12 1:25 pm, voice mail to Mike Richardson •People's 207A-13 & A-14 1:31 pm, Heather Richardson, in Button Willow •People's 207A-15 2:02 pm, Robert Weaver, not specified
In the 12:56 call with Sharon, she mentioned wanting the police to find the blue pickup she said Kim McGregor reported seeing several times. Sharon surmised that someone might have been watching the house and took Laci for the baby.
Jan 2003 Police offered Scott a plea bargain Sometime in January, the police offered Scott a plea-bargain deal through his attorney, Kirk McAllister. If he led them to Laci's body, they would not seek the death penalty against him. Scott refused the offer.
11 Jan 2003 Grogan interviewed Rose Rocha, Brent's wife Detective Grogan interviewed Rose Rocha and asked her about Brent's whereabouts on December 23 and 24. She didn't tell Grogan about the comment Scott made, saying he had hoped for infertility when Laci was trying to get pregnant. She didn't mention that comment until her January 21 interview with Grogan, after Scott's affair with Amber became public knowledge. She told Grogan Scott's and Laci's relationship seemed happy, and had no knowledge of any plans to separate or divorce.
11 Jan 2003 Laci's baby shower The day that was to be Laci's baby shower. A search of the Berkeley Marina, where authorities had found an object using side-scan sonar, an object that might be a body, turned up an old anchor and no clues as to what happened to Laci. In Modesto, the news re-vitalized friends and family at the Peterson search center, but a friend who spent the day with Scott said he was worn out and emotionally fragile.
Scott told Amber he attended a couple of prayer groups at churches, and that he felt the positive energy. He hadn't been in Church for a long time, and had never seen organized religion through those eyes before. Some guys from the Rotary club had invited him. He also told her that when he called his parents, he learned that his mother was in the ER, the stress got to her all of a sudden, she started vomiting, and they had to put her on morphine.
12 Jan 2003 The hate calls Scott told Amber he regularly received a call about 2:00 a.m. from the same person that says: "Scott Peterson, you killed her. You're going to kill your mom now. She's on oxygen, you need to come clean and don't kill your mom." The one at 2:30 this morning said, "I'm sorry I blamed you. You had nothing to do with this. I'm so sorry that this has happened."
12 Jan 2003 Acts of kindness towards Scott Amid all the hate calls and media harassment, some were still showing acts of kindness towards Scott. He told Amber in a phone call later that day that he went to a special prayer service for Laci at the Big Valley Church. He was invited by Sergeant Cloward, who was leading the search. When Scott arrived, the church was full, so he went into the mezzanine area and was standing in the back for about 5-10 minutes when someone came and invited him to sit with his family. Scott described it as "the most beautiful thing, really . . . really kind of them." After that, he went to Berkeley to attend the baptism of his sister's child, Ryan.
12 Jan 2003 Taped phone call with Amber At 6:04, Scott called Amber. transcript & recording After Scott tells her about a couple prayer services for Laci that he's attended, his mother being in the ER from the stress, and the hate calls he has been receiving, Amber appears unsympathetic and quickly changes the subject to the lies he told her, which justify her suspicion of him. When Amber quizzed him about whether he intended not to see her until late January, he said he planned to tell her he came back earlier than expected from Europe and then resume his relationship with her, but continue married to Laci. When she asked if and when he ever planned to divorce Laci, he said he didn't want to do the broken record thing again. In all his calls with Amber, Scott steadfastly refused to discuss his relationship with Laci.
Interestingly, in this conversation, Scott told Amber his family knew about her, but she didn't believe him. Then he interrupted his conversation with her to tell his Mom, who had just arrived, that he was on the phone with Amber, but Amber merely says Uh-hum.
13 Jan 2003 The Rochas & Petersons on LKL On Larry King Live, the Rocha and Peterson families spoke of the idyllic relationship between Scott and Laci. Sharon said: "They just are really truly in love with each other. They do everything together. They're partners. They're a team. They love each other. They planned together, they play together. They're always smiling. They're just very happy, well-adjusted couple. Never been any indication, I never heard Laci say she was even angry with Scott for any reason at all."
13 Jan 2003 Scott terminated the warehouse lease Scott sent a letter to terminate the warehouse lease, with intent to vacate in 30 days.
13 Jan 2003 Jacobson's wiretap report: The Amber Problem Police Investigators had a meeting on January 13 to discuss the Amber Problem. Amber thought she was making secret calls to Scott, but LE had all of her phones tapped. Investigator Jacobson wrote the following in his wiretap report:
14 Jan 2003 First hint at selling the Covena home Scott asked Terri Western about selling the house. He told her, 'I really need to sell my house. I don't want Laci coming back to this house.' Terri didn't follow-up with Scott. He talked to Brian Argain about selling the house on the 22nd.
14 Jan 2003 Scott told Amber he cared about her 11:58 recorded conversation between Amber and Scott. Amber asked: 'Scott, why are you wanting a relationship with me?' Scott: 'Amber, I care about you.' Amber asked him to define 'care.' Scott answered: 'I worry more and desire seeing you happy. I worry about you. Desire to make you happy. I desire to help you if you need it. I desire to be, you know, something positive in your life, like a positive partner. I'd like to share things with you. And I think you are just, you know, splendid, for lack of a better word. It's amazing to learn from you, and to learn together. And that's my definition of caring.' Later in the conversation, she said, 'I am just so confused you still want to hold on to me, I mean, all this going on around you.' Scott: 'I mean I stated that I cared about you. I mean, you know where I'm coming from.' Amber said, 'You care?' Scott, 'that's all I can say, what's the matter?' Amber: 'You care about her? But I mean you don't love her? I don't understand why you want to hold on to me.' Scott: 'Don't you have a desire to hold on to people you care about. I can't give you any answers. Just let me say again, you know, that obviously I care about you, and I think you know the truth about me inside. It's a gift that you share that you talk to me. And I just hope that you will, you know, see that it's appropriate to do so. And if you ever care to share, please call me.'
Several times in the call, Scott tells Amber he won't call her anymore, but wait for her to call him. Finally, he asks her if he can call her, and she says, If you want to. After again pressing for her to say whether their conversations are positive for her, she responded, it depends on what you have say. Transcript & recording
14 Jan 2003 Scott at Sharon's house Scott told Amber in a taped phone call Jan 15, 9:47 pm that he was at Sharon's house the evening of the 14th, watching Date Line and On the Record with Greta. He said Greta's guests were a couple sturgeon fishermen. Sharon confirmed this in her trial testimony. She said the fishermen talked about using shrimp to fish for sturgeon, and she asked Scott what he used. Janey, Scott's sister-in-law, replied that Scott used a lure. Sharon said Scott made no response.
14-15 Jan 2003 Police met with Laci's family The Modesto Police met with the Rocha family in the afternoon of the 14th and again on the morning of the 15th, showing them pictures of Amber and Scott and telling them Scott had taken out a $250K double indemnity life insurance policy on Laci during the summer. They also told the Rochas that they believed Scott was responsible for Laci's disappearance and had blood evidence. The information LE gave to the Rocha family about the life insurance, however, was a lie. On January 10, Detective Owens had possession of the two insurance policies, each for $250K and one for Scott and one for Laci. The ModBee quoted a family source saying LE told them Scott had taken out the life insurance just that summer. The information they gave the Rochas about the blood evidence appears to be a lie, too. Brent Rocha said Sharon's attitude towards Scott made a drastic 180 degree turn.
MPD provided Sharon with a recording device Detective Grogan went to the Rocha home to install a recording device, and asked Sharon to record every conversation she or anyone in the house had with Scott. Sandy Rickard was present when Grogan installed the device. On cross examination, Pat Harris asked Rickard about the call Scott made to Sharon while Grogan was there. Harris indicated Scott wanted to go over to Sharon's to talk to her about the situation and what had happened, and that Grogan motioned to Sharon not to let him come over. Rickard said all she remembered was that Scott called while Grogan was there.
16 Jan 2003 Sharon & Ron accused Scott of murdering Laci In an emotion-filled phone call, Sharon accused Scott of murdering Laci and demanded he tell her where he put Laci, so she can bury her daughter. She says Scott can just run away once he tells her where Laci is. Ron Grantski joined the conversation to tell Scott that they have seen pictures and Scott's world is crumbling. Transcript
According to a Feb. 4, 2003 article by Daily News Staff Writer Leo Standora, Sharon was publicly claiming the breach between them and Scott was Scott's initiative.
16 Jan 2003 Scott admitted affair to Rochas Scott admitted his affair with Amber Frey to Brent Rocha, his first admission to Laci's family. That phone call was recorded by the wiretap. He also gave some local media interviews. Transcript
17 Jan 2003 Detective Brocchini called Mike Richardson At 6:40 am, Brocchini called Mike Richardson, a good friend of Scott's, and asked him if he read the ModBee. He wanted him to read an article running that day about Amber Frey and the $250K life insurance Scott took out on Laci. Brocchini suggested that Heather, Mike's wife, call Sharon Rocha for further information, and said that Scott was not welcome in any of Laci's friends' or families' homes. Later that day, Brocchini called Mike back to see if he had read the article and encouraged him to question Scott about Laci's disappearance. At the preliminary hearing, Brocchini said he had also contacted other friends of Scott's and Laci's with the intention of planting the seeds of suspicion and solicited their help to get answers to questions he was not legally allowed to ask Scott. He said he wanted them to let Scott know he was the one wanting the answers. Brocchini also talked to Aaron Fritz and Brian Argain, both of whom were friends of Laci. Defense attorney Kirk McAllister suggested in his cross examination that Aaron Fritz taped at least one of the calls Brocchini made to him, when Brocchini allegedly told Fritz that he would take Scott Peterson down.
17 Jan 2003 Breach between Scott and the Rochas The Rocha family confirmed that they have seen pictures of Scott and Amber. Scott spearheaded an effort to get missing-person fliers posted in Los Angeles, setting up a search center at the Doubletree Hotel. An organizer of the new outreach effort to find Laci says that people have been calling the Doubletree Hotel in Los Angeles and blaming the staff there for "supporting a murderer."
17 Jan 2003 Brent accused Scott In a phone conversation captured by the wiretap, Brent Rocha accused Scott of doing something to Laci. He says the evidence is stacking up and he won't get away with it. He specifically mentions Laci going to the Christmas party alone while he was at a Christmas party with Amber. Scott denies doing anything to Laci and says he wants her and his baby back. Brent also suggests that Susan, Scott's sister, and other family members are losing faith in him.
17 Jan 2003 Scott told Amber he had nothing to do with it Scott called Amber at 5:16 pm to tell her about the Rocha's accusing him of having something to do with Laci's disappearance. When she started quizzing him on where he and Laci were the 23rd, they had this exchange: Amber got the last word in on the call: Who else . . . who else is there to point fingers to . . . Who else? Who? Who? Can you answer that? Transcript
17 Jan 2003 Kristen Dempewolf hypnotized Dr. Dale Pennington interviewed Dempewolf and then hypnotized her. The purpose of the hypnosis was to help Dempewolf remember her encounter with Scott on Christmas Eve morning. Dempewolf's pre-hypnosis memory was preserved in a 2-page report on the January 9 interview by Detective Schmierer, a 3-page police report on the January 13 interview by Detective Rick House, and a video-tape of the January 17 pre-hypnosis interview by Pennington.
According to defense documents filed Feb 9, 2004, LE never asked Dempewolf to read and attest to the accuracy of the two police reports or sign a written statement in which she related her full pre-hypnosis recollection of the events. Pennington's interview of Dempewolf disclosed that prior to the hypnosis, she could not recall the date of the incidents, but during the hypnotic interview Pennington questioned her in a manner that required remembering the relevant date. Detective Stough "gave Dr. Pennington a brief on the burglary and on the reports of the suspicious van on or about the 24th of December 2002 in front of 516 Covena." After the briefing, Det. Banks took Pennington to the scene so he could view the area, raising concerns that Pennington could have unwittingly or intentionally given Dempewolf cues that would have permanently altered her recollection.
17 Jan 2003 LE asked Salon Salon for video tape In his Opening Statement, Distaso said this was the first LE learned that Salon Salon had a video surveillance setup. However, the tape for Dec. 23 had already been taped over.
17 Jan 2003 Brocchini watched the Martha Stewart shows To check out Scott's statement that the morning of Dec 24 Laci was watching the Martha Stewart show and one of the segments was about meringue, Brocchini ordered the tapes for both the 23rd and the 24th. He ordered the 23rd although by that time he had Nava's statement that Scott was not at home on the 23rd, and Ron Prater on Dec. 28 had told him Scott was already at the warehouse by 8:30 am the morning of the 23rd. When asked by Geragos to explain, Brocchini commented there were TVs everywhere. In the report he filed on Jan 21, Brocchini said Martha baked lemon butter cookies during the 1st segment, but no mention of meringue during any part of the show on the 24th. Brocchini testified that he thought it highly suspicious for Scott to describe Laci as wearing the same clothes she was wearing on the 23rd and that he claimed to be watching Martha Stewart with Laci and they talked about meringue, when meringue was not mentioned at any time in the show. This report was used by Jacobson in his affidavit to obtain a wiretap on Scott's phones.
17 Jan 2003 Brocchini interviewed Michelle Buer, Sweet Serenity Spa Brocchini did a phone interview with Buer, which he put into a report on Jan. 20. Brocchini wrote in his report that Buer said she was suspicious of Scott the first night and did not want to work on Laci's case because she thought Scott was responsible for Laci's disappearance. Buer testified that she did not tell Brocchini that and that she was not suspicious of Scott the first night. She said her suspicions began on Christmas Day, not the night before. She did help Rene Tomlinson on Christmas Day get more flyers printed at Ditto's. Tomlinson is a very good friend of Buer's, in addition to being one of Laci's best friends.
17 Jan 2003 Grogan interviewed Chris Johnson, Owner Salon Salon Johnson testified that he told Grogan about the Salon's surveillance and would check the videos to see if he could get hold of them. Johnson subsequently placed 2 videos on his manager's desk, Laurie Wesenberg, and asked her to review them for footage of Laci. She noted nothing relevant to the 23rd and placed the tapes back into the rotation cycle. She said they had already been taped over. Johnson said he first thought of the possibility Laci was captured on Salon's surveillance video when he heard that Copeland checked its video surveillance after someone reported seeing Laci in that store. Johnson also said that MPD inquired about Amy's timecards and her inheritance.
18 Jan 2003 Kristen Smart Case The Modesto Bee falsely reported that Scott is linked to the disappearance of Kristin Smart in 1996. "Investigators are not looking at Scott Peterson in connection with the disappearance of Kristin Smart," Sheriff Patrick Hedges said in a recorded statement." After consulting with investigators working on the Laci Peterson case, we have determined there is no basis to shift the focus of investigation in the Smart case." On May 3, the Globe reported an interview with Kristen's mother, who is asking for a thorough investigation of Scott's involvement in her daughter's disappearance.
18 Jan 2003 Jacobson suspected Amber According to the Jun 4 '04 Abrams Report, Investigator Jacobson defended more wiretaps, saying they would show Scott's further involvement and possibly Amber's involvement in Laci's disappearance. In an affidavit used to get wiretaps, Jacobson said Amber referred to Scott as "her rainbow or pot of gold."
19 Jan 2003 Covena home burglarized At 1:53 a.m., Amy Krigbaum saw a heavyish woman carrying some stuff out of the Peterson home, and called the police.
In the early morning hours, Kimberly McGregor entered the Peterson home, drank some alcohol and left with items in hand, including Laci's wedding dress. Geragos said she took "all kinds of clothes" and made a couple of trips to carry it all out. Some of the clothes were Scott's. She also took a video camera, and dumped both the camera and some of the clothes. When caught by the police, she lied about when she was there and what she took. LE turned her into an informant against Scott.
The police initially said the burglary was not related to Laci's disappearance, but in mid-July authorities claimed that it could be part of the case being prepared against Scott. Scott reported the burglary upon his return from Los Angeles on the 19th.
19 Jan 2003 Strange visitors to the Covena home At 3:00 am, Karen Servas saw some people mingling around in the front yard of the Peterson home, talking about I wonder if he's home or will he open the front door. They stayed about 3 minutes. Both Karen and Amy said they did not go into the house or into the backyard.
20 Jan 2003 The Red Paint from Buoy Number 6 Detective Phil Owen met officers Mark Larry and Greg Lattice at the Richmond Harbor Master Pier. Their assignment was to take a paint sample from the Richmond Turning Basin Buoy Number 6 and see if it matched with any paint transfer on Scott's boat. Owens said, "we discussed the possibility of the boat being tied to something in the Bay to steady the boat for the possibility of a body dump. . . . Based on that conversation, we discussed the possibility that there could be some sort of paint transfer on the trim of the boat." After getting the paint sample from the Buoy, Owens examined the boat. He did find some red paint transfer on Scott's boat, but it did not match the paint from Buoy Number 6.
20 Jan 2003 Scott's Private Investigator The police wiretap intercepted a 10:10 p.m. phone call between Scott and Amber, in which Scott told Amber that the National Enquirer had attempted to hire private investigator Gary L. Ermoian. Ermoian had already been hired by Scott through his attorney Kirk McAllister.
21 Jan 2003 Kim McGregor's polygraph Kim McGregor called Scott to tell her she had taken the polygraph and that it was easy. She said she was asked if she knew Scott and Laci before Laci's disappearance, and she said No. The denial registered as inconclusive, which surprised Kim, she told Scott, because she didn't really now them before.
21 Jan 2003 Scott suspected Dennis, Ron and Brent of being involved in the January 19 break-in Scott told Lee in a phone conversation that "they smashed up my French doors pretty good," and that he had to get them repaired. Scott said he thought Dennis Rocha might have done it while on a drunken binge, and speculated that Brent might be involved. Scott told Lee that he'd given the police Dennis' name as the number one suspect. Lee agreed that Ron Grantski could be involved, but Jackie didn't think so because Ron had called Lee that afternoon to say he hoped the two could still go fishing together. Scott replied, "this guy is a snake," and that he didn't have a "good past."
21 Jan 2003 Brocchini's report on Scott's inconsistencies In his January 21 report, Brocchini included a section called Inconsistencies, which was 3 paragraphs. One of the two inconsistencies he named is Scott's statement that the Martha Stewart show was about baking with meringue on the 24th, but when he viewed the video, he heard no mention of meringue.
21 Jan 2003 Grogan interviewed Rose Rocha for 2nd time Rose testified that this interview was the first time she told MPD about Scott's statement that he was hoping for infertility when Laci was trying to get pregnant.
22 Jan 2003 Scott again inquired about selling the Covena house Scott called Brian Argain to inquire about selling the house. Transcript The phone conversation lasted 4 minutes and was captured in one of the wiretaps. Scott asked Brian about getting together with him to discuss the possibilities. He wanted to put it on the market right away, as a furnished home, and wanted it kept secret from the media. Scott said, 'no way is Laci coming back to that place.' Brian said since LE had already searched the house, he didn't know of any reason why Scott couldn't sell it, but he would check for him. They arranged to meet for lunch the next day to continue the conversation.
23 Jan 2003 Scott met with Brian, but didn't discuss selling the house In a wiretapped voicemail to Brian, Scott confirmed that he met with Brian as arranged on the 22nd, but they didn't have an opportunity to discuss selling the house. Transcript Scott spoke with Brian again about selling the house on January 27.
24 Jan 2003 The Rochas withdrew support from Scott The Rocha family publicly withdrew support from Scott and said Scott has admitted the affair to them. Brent Rocha said "I trusted him and I stood by him in the initial phases of my sister's disappearance. However, Scott has not been forthcoming with information regarding my sister's disappearance. I'm only left to question what else he may be hiding."
24 Jan 2003 Amber went public Amber Frey admitted the affair in a news conference, accompanied by Modesto Police. The police say they brought Frey forward because the media had tracked her down. They say she is cooperating with investigators and is not a suspect. She was eliminated as a suspect, according to News 47, because she took and passed a lie detector test. According to the June 4 '04 Abrams Report, the polygraph examiner wrote: 'I asked the subject if she would suspect anyone of causing Laci's disappearance she stated she would suspect Laci's husband Scott Peterson because of the things he told during their relationship about being married.' This is the text of Amber's press announcement:
25 Jan 2003 Amber called Scott Amber and Scott exchanged 5 phone calls. According to FoxNews, a source close to Amber says Scott sometimes called her five to six times a night after she went public with details of their affair, and that he repeatedly asked to see her, offered her expensive gifts, and sent her expensive jewelry. The method and place of delivery might prove an interesting point in the case, according to the source.
2 of Scott's calls to Amber were admitted into evidence and played to the Jury. In the first, Scott tells Amber how brave she was and she has amazing character. Transcript In the second call, she talks about the media frenzy and he about his plans to do some media interviews. He referred to meeting with a "a bunch of media people" to decide what shows to do. Transcript
25 Jan 2003 Amber reached out to Laci's family & friends The day after publicly acknowledging her affair with Scott, Amber began reaching out to Laci's family and friends, apparently in an effort to convince them that she did not know Scott was married when she started dating him in November and to share their hopes for Laci's safe return. By March 14, Frey had reached out 53 times to people close to Laci, totaling nearly 6 1/2 hours of telephone time. More than half of these calls were with Lori Ellsworth, one of Laci's closest friends--at least 20 calls totaling nearly 3 1/2 hours of conversation. On January 28, the day Good Morning America aired Scott's public acknowledgement of the affair, Amber was on the phone with Lori for 90 minutes. Phone conversations over the six week period included 9 calls to Brent Rocha, 2 to Amy Rocha (both in February), two calls to the Grantski home phone, and two calls to Sharon Rocha's cell phone.
25 Jan 2003 Appearance on "America's Most Wanted" Ron Grantski confirmed that the police met with the Rocha family on January 15. He said they showed the family four pictures of Amber and Scott together, and told them Scott had taken out a $250K life insurance policy on Laci.
26-27 Jan 2003 Scott at the Berkeley Marina Documents entered as evidence in the Pre-Trial hearings said Scott made trips to the Berkeley marina on both the 26th and 27th of January, each time in a different vehicle. On the 26th, he drove the Rover to the Marina, circled around, and then drove south to Sunnyvale. On the 27th, he drove a Dodge pickup along a frontage road just north of the marina at about 3 pm, then circled back before going to San Francisco International Airport about six hours later. Geragos, in his OS, revealed that Grogan called Scott on the 26th to tell him, "She's in the Bay, we're gonna find her." Geragos said that if Scott had not gone to the Bay, Grogan would have said Scott didn't care.
27 Jan 2003 Sharon & her friends remembered incriminating things about Scott Sandy Rickard, Sharon's best friend, testified that the night before the Diane Sawyer interview, she and some other ladies were gathered with Sharon at Patty Amador's house for the purpose of trying to remember things about Scott. Patty called Grogan to tell him that she heard Laci was afraid of Scott because he was making concrete weights. Sharon made a call to Grogan to report remembering Scott had said Laci was missing when he called her on December 24. Sandy called Grogan to report that she remembered Scott coming up to her on the night of the 24th, with his hands raised, and saying that he wouldn't be surprised if they found blood in his truck.
27 Jan 2003 Scott told Diane Sawyer that he told Laci about Amber Scott began a series of national media interviews with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America (aired on the 28th). Scott says he told Laci about the affair in early December. Laci's family and friends reply that they don't believe Laci knew about the affair, or she would have told someone. Scott also said he didn't love Amber and can't explain why he had the affair with her or continued to see her after he told Laci about it. Distaso played a portion of this interview in his Opening Statement on June 1. Scott: 'our relationship, and that is inappropriate, was inappropriate, and I owe a tremendous apology to everyone, including Amber and her family. . . . This should have been brought forth by me.' Diane: 'When did you tell the police?' Scott: 'I told the police immediately.' Diane: 'When?' Scott: 'It was that first night.' Diane: 'you told them about her? . . . your wife found out about it?' Scott: 'I told my wife early in December.' Diane: 'Did it cause a rupture in your marriage?' Scott: 'it was not a positive, obviously inappropriate, but it was not something we weren't dealing with.' Diane: 'Was there a lot of arguing?' Scott: 'no, no I can't say that, that even she was okay with the idea, but it wasn't anything that would break us apart.' Diane: 'There wasn't a lot of anger?' Scott: 'nope.' Diane: 'Do you really expect us to believe that an 8 months pregnant woman finds out her husband is having an affair and is casual about it, is accommodating with it, makes peace with it?' Scott: 'Well, no one knows our relationship but us. At peace with it, not happy about it.' Diane: 'Why did you tell her?' Scott: 'it was the right thing.' Diane: 'And did you see her again after you told her these things?' Scott: 'yes.' Diane: 'You saw her but didn't tell her, didn't tell Amber?' Scott: 'No, no, definitely not.'
When Connie Chung asked Sharon Rocha if she believed Scott told Laci about the affair, Sharon said Laci was "a happy, upbeat person. We would have noticed a difference in her attitude, in her behavior. Whether she said anything to anybody or not, there would have been a definite and obvious difference in her attitude. And if she had known about it, I truly feel that she would have told somebody. If not have said something to me, she would have said something to at least one of her friends. And nobody was aware of it."
In his Jan 28 call transcript, Scott told Amber he was coached by "Waltona," who is Waltonia Manion, Janey Peterson's stepmother. The subject came up when he was explaining his "no" to the question did he love Amber. Scott said GMA cut out what he said about caring about Amber.
27 Jan 2003 Experts analyzed Scott's interviews Several experts who study words and behavior have analyzed Scott in these media interviews. Based on shifting eyes from side to side, changing past tense to present, and crying without losing composure, these experts say the interviews increase suspicion that Scott is guilty.
27 Jan 2003 Scott talked again with Brian Argain about selling the house In a captured wiretap conversation, Brian agreed to speak with his manager about Scott selling the house. Transcript Scott talked to Brian again on January 29.
28 Jan 2003 CA DOJ examined Scott's Llama hand gun Ronald Welsh, a criminalist with the California DOJ, testified on the results of his examination of the gun, which was given case number CV-02-10941. This is the gun that was removed from Scott's truck on the night of Dec. 24 by Brocchini. His initial observation of the gun was that the grips were missing and it had a lot of adhering material, like fibers and dust, just seemed like it was dirty. The gun is a Llama and is .22 Long rifle, which designates the cartridge type that is used not only in rifles but many different types of firearms, including small semi-automatic pistols, such as this one. Semi-automatic means that the firearm uses the energy from the cartridge to not only force the bullet out of the barrel, but also to uses some of that energy to cycle the firearm, which means that it extracts a spent cartridge case and eject it from the gun, and then loads a fresh cartridge, all using the power of the cartridge that was fired. The bullet is the actual projectile that comes out of the gun. A cartridge is composed of a cartridge case, gunpowder, primer, and a bullet. A striking mechanism in the firearm hits the primer, ignites the powder, and the expanding gases from the burning gunpowder push the bullet out. The power of the cartridge forces the top of the gun, which is called the slide, backwards. That extracts and ejects the empty cartridge case and also compresses a spring, and that spring returns the slide forward again, and it picks up a fresh cartridge from the magazine in the process. A magazine is a generic term for any mechanism used by a firearm to hold extra cartridges in the firearm. Scott's gun had 8 cartridges in the magazine when Brocchini seized it, the maximum capacity. This is a single action type of firearm, which means that the hammer has to be cocked, and then the hammer is released by a pull of the trigger; as opposed to a double action firearm where, if the hammer is down, you can pull the trigger and it will both cock and release the hammer. Welsh test fired the gun with similar ammunition from their reference collection and with 5 cartridges in the magazine. It fired all 5 times, with no function problems. He did a similar test with 4 of the cartridges that were in the magazine when it was booked into evidence, and the gun fired without function problems all 4 times. Welsh also said that if the gun misfired, it would leave an impression on the cartridge, and none of the 8 cartridges in the magazine when he received it had any such impression. Scott had told Brocchini that the gun misfired the last time he used it.
On cross examination, Welsh confirmed that the gun had no blood or tissue on it and had not been recently fired. Two rust stains that appeared to be blood was tested using LMG (Leuko Malachite Green) a chemical test for blood. When Welsh tried to remove the debris from inside the barrel, the first attempt took some force, but the second was easier. He said lead deposits would account for that.
According to Welsh's testimony, the chain of custody was:
29 Jan 2003 Scott sold Laci's Land Rover Scott traded in Laci's Land Rover for a pickup truck.
29 Jan 2003 Scott again talked to Brian Argain about selling the house In a captured wiretap conversation, Brian told Scott he would probably have to obtain a court order to sell the house since Laci's name is on the Deed. Scott then brought up the possibility of renting it, and Brian said he could have his Property Management group handle it. Brian was not to proceed, however, until he heard back from Scott. Transcript
29 Jan 2003 Grogan told Scott he knew what happened to Laci In a phone conversation captured by wiretap, Det. Grogan first played the sympathetic cop. Scott confided in Grogan about his frustrations with the media not helping to find his wife. Grogan asked a couple times if he is alright and told him not to do anything to hurt himself. Then:
30 Jan 2003 Buehler interviewed Laci's friends Buehler called a couple of Laci's friends together, including Stacey Boyers and Lori Ellsworth, after they learned about Amber to see what they remembered, looking back. One of the subjects of that interview was that Laci asked Scott to do a lot of the chores around the house. Lori thought it was so cool that Scott didn't get upset over that.
30 Jan 2003 Rita Cosby called Scott about the Longview WA sighting At 9:09 p.m., Rita Cosby, Fox News, called Scott to tell him about the Longview WA sighting. Transcript Scott told Cosby he knew about the sighting but didn't have any details. Cosby provided this detailed information to Scott:
31 Jan 2003 Washington police said sighting not Laci Police in Washington state reviewed surveillance tapes from a grocery store where a clerk said she may have spotted Laci Peterson, but said the tapes revealed nothing of significance.
31 Jan 2003 Scott called Washington about the sighting Scott's mom left a voice mail for him, asking if he was ready to jump on a plan to Washington to find out about the sighting, which was captured by the wiretap. The transcript for this call indicates Scott laughed, and is one of the editorial comments in the transcripts that Judge Delucchi advised the Jury to disregard and make their own judgment from what they heard on the tape recording.
At 10:11 am that same day, Scott called her back. They talked about the new tip lines as well as the Washington sighting.
31 Jan 2003 Scott consented to polygraph Detective Jon Buehler instructed Amber to ask Scott to take a polygraph the next time he called her. Scott called Amber at 7:06 p.m. and they talked for 25 minutes. 6 minutes after hanging up, he called again. In this second call, which lasted about 12 minutes, Amber told Scott, "You keep telling me how much you love me and want to be with me. But I have to know that you had nothing to do with Laci's disappearance. Will you take a lie detector test and put my mind to rest once and for all?" Scott did not yet consent. Within seconds, Amber called Buehler and talked to him for 12 minutes. They talked again at 11:40 p.m., followed by an immediate phone call from Amber to Scott to tell him, "If you'll take the polygraph, I'll come with you and take one to prove that I knew nothing about what has happened to Laci."
31 Jan 2003 Brocchini sent letter to Trade Corps attorney Brocchini was having an on-going discussion with Ross Lee, attorney for Trade Corps. On Jan 31, he sent Ross a letter and included the Jan 16/17 ModBee article about Scott taking out life insurance on Laci. It was a 2-page letter. | ||||
