My Life and Times

News Home - Help

Scott Peterson Convicted of Murdering Wife
Fri Nov 12, 6:13 PM ET
By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Scott Peterson (news - web sites) was convicted Friday of murdering his pregnant wife and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay in what prosecutors in the made-for-cable-TV case portrayed as a cold-blooded plot to escape marriage and fatherhood for the bachelor life.
AP Photo
AFP
Slideshow: Laci Peterson Case

Scott Peterson Guilty of Wife & Baby's Murders(AP Video)

Peterson, 32, could get the death penalty. The former fertilizer salesman was convicted of one count of first-degree murder for killing his wife, Laci, and one count of second-degree murder in the death of the son she was carrying.
Peterson stared straight ahead with no show of emotion as the verdict was read, then looked at each of the jurors as they were polled to confirm their decisions. The jurors looked serious, and none appeared to look back at Peterson. Cheers broke out among the hundreds of onlookers who gathered outside court — some of them pumping their fists in celebration upon hearing the news on the radio.
Laci Peterson (news - web sites)'s mother, Sharon Rocha, sobbed as the verdicts were read, and her son Brent wrapped his arm tightly around her. Laci's friends in the gallery, arms around each other, cried. Sobs and loud sighs could be heard in the courtroom. After the jury was dismissed, prosecutor James Brazelton reached forward and patted the shoulder of the lead detective, whose testimony in the case proved pivotal.
The verdict came after a five-month trial that was an endless source of fascination to the tabloids, People magazine and the cable networks with its story of an attractive, radiant young couple awaiting the birth of their first child, a cheating husband, and a slaying for which prosecutors had no eyewitnesses, no weapon, not even a cause of death.
The verdict followed a tumultuous seven days of deliberations in which two jurors were removed for unspecified reasons and the judge twice told the panel to start over.
The jury of six men and six women was told to return Nov. 22 to begin hearing testimony on whether Peterson should die by lethal injection or get life in prison without parole. Peterson faces the death penalty because he was convicted of multiple murders.
Laci Peterson, a 27-year-old substitute teacher, was eight months pregnant when she vanished around Christmas Eve 2002. Four months later, her headless body and the remains of her fetus were discovered along the shoreline about 90 miles from the couple's Modesto home — not far from where her husband claims he was fishing alone the day of her disappearance.
Peterson was soon arrested in the San Diego area, more than 400 miles from home, carrying nearly $15,000, his hair and goatee bleached blond.
Police never were able to establish exactly when, how or where Laci died.
At trial, prosecutors presented 174 witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence, from wiretapped phone calls to videotaped police interrogations, depicting Peterson as a liar and a philanderer who was sweet-talking his girlfriend, massage therapist Amber Frey, at the same time he was trying to show the world he was pining for his missing wife.
Prosecutor Rick Distaso told the jury that Peterson could not stand the thought of being trapped in a "dull, boring, married life with kids," and either strangled or smothered his wife and dumped her weighted-down body overboard from his fishing boat.
"He wants to live the rich, successful, freewheeling bachelor life. He can't do that when he's paying child support, alimony and everything else," Distaso said. "He didn't want to be tied to this kid the rest of his life. He didn't want to be tied to Laci for the rest of his life. So he killed her."
The jury heard how Peterson had bought a two-day ocean-fishing license days before his wife disappeared, yet claimed his fishing trip was a last-minute substitution for golf because of blustery weather. Prosecutors also offered evidence suggesting he used a bag of cement mix to make concrete anchors to sink his wife's body into the bay.
After a day off for Veterans Day, jurors resumed deliberations Friday at the end of a chaotic week in which the judge removed two members of the panel. The final 12 members deliberated for about 8 hours Wednesday and Friday before reaching their verdict, which the judge prohibited from being broadcast on television.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers remain under a gag order that prevents them from commenting.
A huge crowd massed outside the courthouse in Redwood City, where the case was moved after defense attorneys argued Peterson had been demonized in his hometown of Modesto to the point that he couldn't get a fair trial. "He's a sicko. He needs to fry," said Bob Johnston, 42. "I wanted to see that justice was served."
As the courtroom emptied, throngs of well-wishers cheered Laci's Peterson's family. Gwendolyn Kemple, a distant relative of Sharon Rocha, was crying and shaking, saying "We're just elated."
Outside the courthouse, someone in the crowd booed Jackie Peterson, Scott's mother, before the family was rushed away by police. Someone else in the crowd shouted "SHE didn't kill her!"
Peterson never took the stand in the trial. His lawyers argued that he was the victim of a frame-up. They suggested that someone else — perhaps homeless people, sex offenders or suspicious-looking characters spotted in the neighborhood — abducted Laci Peterson while she walked the dog, then killed her and dumped the body in the water after learning of Peterson's fishing-trip alibi.
Peterson's lawyers also offered evidence that the fetus may have died days or weeks after the disappearance, when Scott was being watched closely by the police and the media.
And they explained his lies and inconsistent statements about his affair and his activities around the time of the disappearance as the mutterings of a man in the midst of a breakdown over his missing wife.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos acknowledged the jurors probably hated Peterson, and pleaded with them not to convict him simply because the prosecution had made him look like a "jerk and a liar."
Geragos also noted the lingering questions about how Laci died. "Maybe the logical explanation for the fact that we have no evidence of her struggling in that house, dying in that house is because it didn't happen in that house," he said.
In addition, Geragos said police found that someone had used a computer in the Petersons' home on the morning Laci vanished — after authorities contend Laci was already dead — to search Web sites for a scarf and a sunflower-motif umbrella stand. He suggested the user was Laci Peterson.
The story proved irresistible to the cable networks, which almost every night brought in experts to pick apart the two sides' legal strategies and expound on some of the soap opera aspects of the case, which included hours of secretly taped calls in which Peterson spun out elaborate tales to Frey.
Frey herself testified, saying that Peterson told her during their affair that he had "lost his wife." But she said that in all their recorded conversations, he repeatedly professed his love for his wife and never said anything to incriminate himself in her slaying.
Story Tools
Email Story
Post/Read Msgs
Formatted Story
Ratings: Would you recommend this story?
Not at all 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 Highly
Copyright © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2004 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.Questions or CommentsPrivacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright Policy - Ad Feedback

November 12, 2004OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
The Road From HereBy ABDULLAH II
Amman, Jordan
From time to time, history holds moments of great potential, when we can look forward with hope even as we experience crisis and uncertainty. In the Arab-Israeli conflict, just such a moment may be here. With the sad passing of Yasir Arafat, Palestinians have lost a leader who kept their hope of independence alive for more than half a century. Now, an opportunity exists to honor the best of that legacy, in a new drive for progress and peace, in a part of the world that has seen too much bloodshed.
Today the Arab-Israeli conflict remains the world's central challenge. Israelis and Palestinians both need an end to its bitter violence. So do the global millions who suffer the collateral damage: ongoing extremist violence and deep cynicism about international justice.
In 2002, Arab countries took a bold step forward, committing themselves to a two-state solution that includes security guarantees for Israel to live in peace with its neighbors; a sovereign and democratic Palestine; and a process that leads to a comprehensive settlement, addressing the Syrian and Lebanese tracks.
The two-state solution recognizes what I and my late father, King Hussein, have long argued. For lasting peace, Israel must be fully integrated into the entire region, from Morocco to Yemen. But this depends on creating an independent Palestinian state, whose people are, at last, able to live in dignity and hope. Unless this happens, there will be no regionwide acceptance of Israel and no real peace.
In 2003, the parties agreed on the road map to peace. The United States and the eight leading industrialized nations are also on board. But the process has been trapped in an ongoing cycle of violence. Now, events provide fresh opportunities. New Palestinian leadership can carry forward the vision of a viable, independent Palestine by delivering on the reforms that statehood involves: competent governance, investments in public welfare, fighting corruption, tougher security against terrorism and a real partnership at the peace tables.
In Israel, the government can recommit to the road map and move swiftly to withdraw from Gaza and take other confidence-building measures that will refute the charge that its recent policies are intended to sideline the peace process and further divide people. Both sides can now make the compromises that a comprehensive, lasting and just peace requires.
Just as important, with its elections over, the United States can now refocus on this critical issue. The world's most powerful, most visible democracy has a chance to send a strong message to the region's people, especially its youth - a message of deeds, not words. That means fulfilling the promise of a rebuilt, violence-free, democratic and sovereign Iraq. And in the spiritual heart of the region it means leading the peace process and insisting that both sides engage in genuine dialogue and live up to their commitments spelled out in the road map - one that President Bush has said could lead to the creation of a Palestinian state next year.
Americans know how important it is to reach the world's Muslims. In the aftermath of 9/11, American leaders pledged that the war on terror was not a war on Islam. They acknowledged Islam's commitment to peace and recognized the great contributions of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims. They called on people of all faiths to stand together, and called on all nations to join the United States in its fight.
And for good reason. We can't win the war on terror if we don't act together. We Muslims were the first targets of the extremists, whose stated goal is to bring down moderate governments and stop the growth of democratic civil society. My country has played a significant role in the global alliance against terrorism, and more: we have led a regional effort for reform and development to counter the voices of hatred and cynicism. International reports have ranked our country first in the region in educational reform. In the economy, we have encouraged growth and opportunity; in public life, we have emphasized human rights and good governance.
My country's vision is of a modern civil society rooted in Arab-Islamic values. The Koran teaches: "Be just: that is next to piety." As a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be unto Him, I am committed to the struggle for tolerance and progress. I believe Jordan's path shows what a homegrown Arab-Islamic model can accomplish in fostering development, combating extremism and providing new hope.
At the end of the day, the success of regional reform depends on a renewed commitment to peace and progress, supported by a courageous America. That achievement will bring global healing. Perhaps now, in a moment shaped by both loss and hope, the time has come.
Abdullah II is king of Jordan.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top