Scott Peterson Biography & Case Summary

**chris** · #21 ● 06-15-2008, 10:03 AM

As witnesses and family members pleaded for Scott Peterson's life during the penalty phase of his trial, jurors were given a chance to see the innocent, youthful side of the convicted murderer in these pictures. "He was a joy from the moment he was born," his mother, Jackie, tearfully told the panel

**chris** · #22 ● 06-15-2008, 10:13 AM

Detective Grogan and Scott Peterson.

**chris** · #23 ● 06-15-2008, 10:17 AM

Conversation between Scott Peterson and his brother Joe, secretly-recorded on April 18, 2003, just hours before Scott was arrested. Legal analysts say it helped both sides of this case. The defense says it shows that Scott had a golf game planned on the day of his arrest and was not planning to run away. On the other hand, legal analysts say Joe Peterson seemed more emotional and interested than Scott when they talked about the bodies washing ashore in Richmond. (The defense did not release the exact phone transcripts to the media, but here's a portion of the tape.)

Joe Peterson: Brother, what's up?

Scott Peterson: Oh, I can't lose these private investigators.

Joe: Oh, Gosh.

Scott: I lost them, then another one got me.

Joe: Oh brother.

Scott: So I don't think I should come play golf.

Joe: Scott, that just sucks man.

Scott: These guys, they know I'm on to them. I stopped
on the highway. They stopped behind me.

Joe: I'm sorry.

Scott: I think I better skip it, I don't think I want a picture of me in the press.

Joe: I know. You're right. Any indication when they may identify these bodies?

Scott: No.

Joe: No?

Scott: No, there's such much hype out there, it's just insane.

Joe: I've also heard they can identify them pretty darn quick, 2-3 days, you know.

Scott: Yeah, that's what I think.

Joe: I think they know already …. But they don't know how to go about
it or they're telling them to re-test them, I don't know ... Sorry Bro.

Scott: Thanks for the thoughts.

Joe: I know, God. I mean, all we do is pray. We pray and pray because we don't know what
else to do. Janey says I just feel like I want to sit down and talk to Scott for like hours.

Scott Peterson: Okay, you guys have a good time.

Joe Peterson: Bye.

**chris** · #24 ● 06-15-2008, 10:19 AM

Transcript - Detective Grogan and Scott Peterson The prosecution played an audiotape between him and Peterson, recorded on January 29, 2003, about a month after Laci vanished.

Detective Craig Grogan: All right. Well how are you doing?

Scott Peterson: I'm losin' it. I miss her- got so much to say that I haven't been able to function at
all – haven't called adult friends – I can't even talk but I'm trying. But I'm just a mess without her.

Detective Grogan: All right. Well, Scott. So you're okay. You're not gonna hurt yourself or anything, right?

Scott Peterson: Ah – I don't think I'll do that but I need her back. Tell me there's some leads –
tell me there's somethin' there – to look for.

Detective Grogan: I mean – you and I both know what happened to Laci.

Scott Peterson: Do you know what happened to her?

Detective Grogan: We both do.

Scott Peterson: Craig, I need to know what happened to her. And are you tellin' me you know what
happened to her?

Detective Grogan: Scott – I mean, let's be serious with one another.

Scott Peterson: Craig, tell me what – you know what happened to her – do you know where she is?

Detective Grogan: Well I know where we're looking for her.

Scott Peterson: Where?

Detective Grogan: I think we're probably gonna find her over there in the bay.

Scott Peterson: Oh.

Detective Grogan: It's a matter of time.

Scott Peterson: Craig – I had nothing to do with Laci's disappearance. Okay. Yeah. Hey, I'm gonna go.

Detective Grogan: Scott, what I'm offerin' ya is an opportunity here to end all of this nonsense.

Scott Peterson: I'm gonna find her, Craig.

Detective Grogan: Well – we're going to.

Scott Peterson: I mean we're gonna find her.

Detective Grogan: I want the door open between us. If you want to end all of this nonsense –
all you need to do is call me, all right? We can sit down, I will not treat you badly, you can tell
me what happened – we can get Laci back where she needs to be.

Scott Peterson: I knew it –

Detective Grogan: We can end all of this stuff for you – I mean, think about it. Really.

Scott Peterson: I'm not involved in my wife's disappearance. We're gonna find her . And I need your help
– doing that and I just hope you're following – your department's following the leads. I want to find her
– that's all there is to it. Yeah, I'm goin' now. Bye.

Detective Grogan: Good-bye.

**chris** · #25 ● 06-15-2008, 10:23 AM

January 16, 2003 The National Enquirer hits newsstands on this day - revealing Scott Peterson's relationship with Amber Frey. Laci Peterson's brother-in-law Brent Rocha confronts Peterson about the article.

JANUARY 16, 2003
Brent Rocha: Has anyone brought it up to your attention?

Scott Peterson: The article?

Brent Rocha: Yeah, well apparently…there's pictures of you and the girl…

Scott Peterson: Yeah.

Brent Rocha: So we know that's true, right?

Scott Peterson: Yeah, there was an encounter.

Brent Rocha: Okay. So I mean knowing that…I mean what can you tell me about my sister
to make me understand that you're telling the truth and that I can still support you?

Scott Peterson: Yeah, I mean, you know how happy we were together and that, you know,
never changed or wavers.

Brent Rocha: Right.

Scott Peterson: You know, I'm obviously devastated and I had nothing to do with her
disappearance and it's hard to…

Brent Rocha: And do you think that girl had something to do with it?

Scott Peterson: No, she didn't.

Brent Rocha: She didn't.

Scott Peterson: No, she couldn't have. She didn't know about Laci.

Brent Rocha: Okay. And then obviously there's no financial motive with the life insurance
because you're not gonna be able to collect on that, right?

Scott Peterson: I don't know, I hadn't thought about it.

Brent Rocha: Okay.

Scott Peterson: I guess not. Yeah, I don't care.

Brent Rocha: So then I'm just trying to understand. My point of view is your motive.
I mean, like were you happy to have this baby coming?

Scott Peterson: Oh, absolutely. Conner. Come on, you know that.

Brent Rocha: Okay.

Scott Peterson: I mean that would be wonderful.

Brent Rocha: Then, because I mean…it looks like they're out to nail you right now.

Scott Peterson: Oh, of course they are.

Brent Rocha: And…and we've been standing up for you.

Scott Peterson: I know it.

* Brent Rocha: Well, this is just the National Enquirer. It doesn't sound like any of the other
news media picked up on this. But it seems like there's a lot of detailed things in here. I don't
know where they got their information from, you know. Um…and some of this stuff like the life
insurance, I mean how's the Enquirer gonna find out about that?

Scott Peterson: Yeah. You know…and you asked…you know, and if you want to talk to our financial guy?

Brent Rocha: Oh, no,no. You know what, I'm just saying is how in the heck are they finding this stuff out.

Scott Peterson: I mean s***, this stuff can be found. I mean how many alien stories are in there?

Brent Rocha: I know, I know, it's probably half-truths.

* Scott Peterson: I'll do anything to get her back so…

Brent Rocha: I would love to have her back, Scott. You know, I miss her dearly.

Scott Peterson: Yeah, I want to get her back.

Brent Rocha: I don't care where she's at right now. I want her back one way or the other.

Scott Peterson: That's the way I am.

Brent Rocha: So you can tell me honestly, okay, I asked you earlier this morning…

Scott Peterson: Yeah.

Brent Rocha: You had nothing to do with this?

Scott Peterson: I had nothing to do with her disappearance, Brent.

Brent Rocha: Okay.

Scott Peterson: I wish I knew where she was.

* Brent Rocha: I mean what do you think happened to her? Because you know what, I have no idea.
First I thought the burglary, then I was thinking…and then I went down to the park and, you know, I
just don't understand what…I mean do you have any thoughts?

Scott Peterson: No, I mean the only thing…

Brent Rocha: I mean did you guys have any enemies at the business or anything. I know you guys
mentioned the pool guy.

Scott Peterson; Yeah, but, you know, I can't see him doing this. I mean a dispute over…

Brent Rocha: A grand?

Scott Peterson: $800 bucks or something, yeah, you know.

Brent Rocha: Yeah.

Scott Peterson: I don't know. The only two things I have, ideas, are still the robbery, you know.
They're gonna bring that up, right?

Brent Rocha: Yeah.

Scott Peterson: Am um…you know, just someone that knew her routine and when she was coming
back from the park or just leaving the house.

Brent Rocha: Okay.

Scott Peterson: You know, just pulled over and grabbed her, you know, or down at the park. I guess
that's a possibility too.

Brent Rocha: Yeah. Okay. Well, let's keep in touch so we can keep on the same page and all that.

Scott Peterson: Okay

**chris** · #26 ● 06-15-2008, 10:30 AM

A barrage of shocking secret phone recordings rocked the Scott Peterson trial, revealing the accused spouse slayer laughing at the search for his pregnant wife and breathing a sigh of relief when her body wasn't found. Among the lies and callous actions laid out in the blockbuster wiretap evidence were Scott:

* Laughing when he heard that investigators were searching for his wife in Washington state.

* Exhaling a whistle when told that rumors his wife had been found were untrue.

* Telling friends and family that he was out of town, when he was really hiding out and
secretly observing the site were investigators were searching for his missing wife.

* Lying to his mom about talking to investigators who were looking for her in
Washington — all in an apparent effort to get out of having to join their effort.

* Trying to sell the home he and his wife shared — while his kin
were still holding out hope she would be found alive.

The recordings were played on the 44th day of Peterson's trial, during the testimony
of prosecution witness Steve Jacobson, a Stanislaus County, Calif., DA's investigator.

Jacobson tapped Peterson's wireless phones in the weeks after Laci's Dec. 24, 2002, disappearance.
It was a time in which family members were hoping the woman might be found alive,
but in which police grew more and more suspicious that Peterson had killed her.

The bodies of Laci and her unborn child eventually washed ashore along the bay in mid-April 2003.
Prosecutors accused Peterson of dumping her remains in the bay during a Christmas Eve fishing trip.

One of his alleged lies came on Jan. 11, 2003, when fertilizer salesman Scott told people,
including his mother, that he was out of town in West Fresno. But according to the
phone records, Peterson was peddling another kind of manure that day.

Peterson was really at the Berkeley Marina, were searchers were hunting
for his wife's body. He went there and secretly spied on the search for his wife's
remains after hearing rumors that they had been found, prosecutors said.

The jaw-dropping revelation made Scott Peterson's mom, Jackie, burst into tears yesterday, as
prosecutors played a recording in which the defendant told her the alleged lie about his whereabouts.

In another recording, Peterson came off sounding callous and insensitive
to his family's pain as he reviewed voice mails from his mother.

In a coldblooded gesture, he deleted a recording in the middle of hearing his mother
suggest he attend a candlelight vigil. He also deleted a message without reaction in
which his mother said that a Laci sighting in Longview turned out to be someone else.

In contrast, when Peterson hears a voice mail message on Jan. 11, 2003,
from Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, saying the underwater sighting believed
to be a body had turned out to be an anchor, Peterson whistles, "Whew."

Then, on Jan. 31, Peterson is captured on wiretap sounding sincerely interested after learning from a
pal that police in Longview, Wash., were investigating a possible sighting of Laci in a convenience store.

But a short time later — when he apparently thinks no one is paying attention —
Peterson is captured on tape laughing as he listens to a voice mail from his
mother saying a family member was up in Washington putting up posters.

Peterson defense attorney Mark Geragos repeatedly objected, saying he wanted to have a hearing to
discuss prosecutorial misconduct, but San Mateo Superior Court Judge Alfred Delucchi pressed forward.

During cross-examination, Geragos also got Jacobson to admit he was suspicious of
Amber Frey. The investigator said he thought for a while that she might be involved.

"I was very suspicious of her behavior. I wanted to hear more
of her communications for myself," Jacobson said.

But the biggest event of the day was the playing of Peterson's tape. That included a call he
made to his buddy, Guy Miligi, in which he griped about the way 88 cops were searching the bay.

"So maybe they'll send 88 people somewhere else and start working," said Peterson, who
also told Miligi that he was in Bakersfield when he was really 218 miles away, near the bay.

During the conversation with Miligi, Peterson casually said that he had "finally got
the guts to open up Christmas presents last night . . . Laci got me a big ol' table saw."

On Jan. 22, less than a month after Laci's disappearance—Peterson told real-estate salesman Brian Argain
that he wants to sell his and Laci's house immediately — as well as all the furniture arranged by his wife.

"Kinda keep it quiet, all right?" Peterson asked, adding, "Can I sell it furnished?"

The other apparent lie that shook the courtroom yesterday — and brought his mother to tears
— was when Peterson was caught on tape telling his mom he was out of town when he was
really only yards from where investigators were hunting for the remains of his pregnant wife.

"Where are you?" Jackie Peterson asked on Jan. 11, 2003.

"West Fresno," Peterson responded. However, according to
Jacobson, Peterson was actually keeping an eye on the search.

Jackie Peterson appeared devastated as she listened to her son's deception played for
the court. She repeatedly dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, and later left the courtroom.

Peterson was also embarrassed yesterday by the Jan. 31 recording of him listening to a voice
mail from his mom, who was encouraged about a possible Laci sighting at a convenience store.

"Are you wanting to hop on a plane and go to Longview, Wash.?"
Jackie Peterson asks in the recording. "I am."

Peterson spiked the message and laughed.

**chris** · #27 ● 06-15-2008, 10:33 AM

When Laci Peterson's mother learned about Scott Peterson's affair with a masseuse, she angrily called her son-in-law and accused him of murder.

ROCHA: "Scott, this is Sharon, are you there? (Pause) Scott, pick up the phone if you're there.
I need to talk to you. Then call me at home...." (Long Pause) "Scott?"

PETERSON: Yeah.

ROCHA: Where are you?

PETERSON: Just left the Volunteer Center — I gave a couple interviews to the press and then —

ROCHA: Well — since you've managed to lose all of my confidence
in you what I wanna know is — where's my daughter at, Scott?

PETERSON: I wish I knew, mom. I wish I knew where she is.

ROCHA: (Overlaps above) Yeah you do know. You do know where she is and
I want you to tell me — where is Laci and her baby? Where did you put 'em?

PETERSON: Where is my wife and our child? I don't know.

ROCHA: "You killed my daughter, didn't you?"

PETERSON: "No I didn't, Mom."

ROCHA: "Stop lying. I'm tired of your lies."

Modesto Police decided to inform Scott and Laci Peterson's families of the fertilizer salesman's
relationship with the massage therapist when they learned that the National Enquirer was
going to break the news, according to a police report made available exclusively to Crier.

Police informed the couple's parents on the same day, but separately.

The report noted that up to that point, both families had "remained united in
their confidence" that Scott Peterson was uninvolved in her disappearance.

"Not wanting the family to be caught without this knowledge, it was agreed that it would
not impact negatively on the case and the potential prosecution of this case to inform them
of this information," Detective Jon Buehler wrote in a police report dated Jan. 16, 2003.

News of the affair triggered an emotional breakdown in Rocha, who
sobbed in front of police and said, "Why did he have to kill her?"

She didn't mince words when she contacted her son-in-law, who
now stands accused of murdering his wife and unborn son.

ROCHA: Yes you did (kill them) Scott. And I want to know — just let me bring my daughter home, okay?
That's all I want. I don't want anything else from you. I want you to tell me where my daughter is
— I want to be able to bury my daughter. Now would you tell me where she is Scott?

PETERSON: Don't know where she is. I want my wife —

ROCHA: (Overlaps above) Stop lying. I'm tired of your lies. You have looked me
in the eye- for weeks and been lying to me. You have looked me in the eye
for years and been lying to me and to Laci. Now where is she?

PETERSON: I wish I knew.

The conversation quickly escalated despite Peterson's repeated claims of innocence.

ROCHA: (Overlaps above) You don't know. Stop lying. For once in your life
take some responsibility and tell the Goddamn truth. Where is my daughter?

PETERSON:I want her home, mom and —

ROCHA: (Overlaps above) Shut up — don't tell me such stupid things. You tell me
where she is. Where did you put her? (Pause) Scott, tell me where she is — and you can
run away—you can go do whatever the f--- you want, but you tell me where my daughter is.

PETERSON: I'm sorry —

ROCHA: I have every right to know — where you put Laci.

PETERSON: We all have a right to know where Laci —

ROCHA: (Overlaps above) Quit lying to me. Don't bulls--t me. You tell me where she is.

PETERSON: We all want her home.

ROCHA: "You are such a f---ing liar. You make me sick, Scott, Tell me where
Laci is. I want to be able to bury my daughter. Now tell me what you did with her."

PETERSON: I want her and our child home —

ROCHA: Oh shut up. You're disgusting. Do you know there's not a person in this town who wants to
see your face? Now you tell me where she is and then you can get the hell out of here. Tell me
where she is. I want my daughter, Scott. That's all I want from you. I don't care what happens to you.