The Disappearance of Laci Peterson
.jpg)
Let me just jump right into this one, because this was one case I was very passionate about. I was glued to it from the second it was reported, following right through the trial and conviction... I don't know if it had to do with the fact that I had two fairly young children at the time; but this case burned immensely within...
Scott Peterson!!! Does his name ring a bell? If not, don't worry; I am about to give you all a refresher course on this tragedy and trial that ensued...
Laci Peterson (nee Rocha), who was born in 1975, was 8 months pregnant and was reported missing on December 24th, 2002. Who made the report? Her husband, Scott Peterson who claimed to see his wife for the last time on the 24th around 9:30 am, when he was leaving to go fishing at the Berkley Marina. Laci was going to more or less, laze around the house since she ws very pregnant, and only walk their dog. A neighbour found their dog wandering the street, and returned him to their enclosed backyard around 10:30ish that morning. Scott called and left a voicemail for Ladi, saying it wsa 2:15pm and he was leaving the marina.
Scott came home, showered, seen the dog in the backyard and went to inquire around the neighbourhood, if they have seen Laci. (At this point, Scott had alredy begun screwing up his lies, telling people he had been golfing, not fishing). It wasn't until Scott called her mother, Sharon that there was a missing person's report filed... this occurred around 6pm.
Modesto PD arrives and instantly they feel something is off with Scott, but that didn't mean they believed he did anything; he was just acting too calm. He was also acting arrogant , then polite and distant. With all this in mind he was NOT acting like a man who was worried about his missing and very pregnant wife. Laci's family surrounded Scott with love, defending him in every way they could... BUT...
In mid January 2003, it was revealed that Scott was having an affair with a woman named Amber Frey. It was kind of Amber who blew this case wide open. When she discovered that Scott was a person of interest (POI), she contacted the police on December 30, 2002 revealing that she had a relationship with Scott since mid November. Scott initially said he was single, then 2 weeks before Laci went missing, Scott told Amber he was a widower and this would be his first Christmas without his wife.
In mid January Modesto PD revealed to Laci's family that Scott was having an affair; a few days later, they all withdrew their support for Scott. Amber went into a media press conference, explaining that she was helping the PD in any way she could, including (people found out later) she called Scott in hopes of him confessing to her.
In the meantime, from the day Laci was reported missing, the police had been doing huge searches along Dry Creek; over 30 officers were involved and 900+ people helped in searching as the story went nation-wide. In April, a couple was walking their dog and discovered a full term baby boy on the shore of San Francisco Bay; it was revealed the cord and placenta were nowhere to be found. The following day, Laci's badly decomposed body was found, no head, no arms and most of the legs gone.
The debate to this day, is whether Conner, the infant was born or still in uterus when he died. The Police felt Scott was acting sketchy and put a tracker on his vehicle... and rightly so...
Scott was on his way to Mexico, to evade police and criminal charges. He had dyed his hair blonde, taken his brother's ID, had $15000 USD, 12 Viagara pills, 4 cellphones, camping and survival gear... and had an app open for directions to Tijuana. Scott was arrested on April 18, 2003 (and I remember this day well... I even wept with Laci's family... the pain and relief at the same time was intense).
Trial and Conviction up next....
~Phoenix
(Originally posted in my other blog ~ Ramblings of a Canadian Gypsy Phoenix)
Comments
Post a Comment