tekkmortal
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2003
- Messages
- 1,534
- Reaction score
- 0
Defense begins its case in Peterson's double-murder trial
BY BRIAN ANDERSON
Knight Ridder Newspapers
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - (KRT) - Scott Peterson's defense team began calling their own witnesses Monday to attack prosecution claims that he killed his wife because he was strapped for cash.
There were also indications Peterson might also be called to testify.
After a week's delay of the trial, defense lawyer Mark Geragos' first move was to jab at suggestions that Peterson lied to hide the fact that he made multiple concrete anchors - which prosecutors say he used to sink his wife's body in San Francisco Bay.
Steven Gebler, an engineer with Illinois-based Construction Technologies Laboratory Inc., testified that concrete found next to the driveway of Peterson's Modesto house was similar to that used to make an anchor discovered in his fishing boat.
The testimony conflicted with that of Robert O'Neill, a petrographer who told jurors last month that concrete discovered near the driveway contained large rocks whereas the anchor did not.
Prosecutors tried to use O'Neill's testimony to show Peterson lied when he told his wife's brother, Brant Rocha, that he used the excess concrete from an anchor he made for a home project.
Modesto police detectives believe Peterson made four or five anchors and used them to weigh down his pregnant wife's body on Dec. 24, 2002, in San Francisco Bay. They discovered only one 8-pound anchor in the small fishing boat he said he used the day his wife disappeared.
Laci's remains and those of the couple's unborn son, Conner, turned up in April 2003 on the Richmond shoreline not far from where Peterson said he fished the day she disappeared.
Gebler acknowledged under cross-examination that he was not a petrographer and that only a small number of the samples that defense investigator Carl Jensen collected were analyzed.
Prosecutors had asked Judge Alfred Delucchi to bar Geragos from bringing in the testimony. Delucchi denied the motion Monday along with a standard defense request to dismiss the case due to a lack of evidence.
Hoping to neutralize a suggestion that Peterson killed for cash, Geragos also questioned a Los Angeles accountant who said the former fertilizer salesman was in good shape financially.
"Based on monthly income and expenses, it looked like they were spending less money than they were making," said Martin Laffer.
Citing Rocha's testimony, Laffer said Laci was worth more to her husband alive than dead because she stood to inherit a chunk of her grandparents' multimillion-dollar estate in several years. The money would not go to Peterson if she turned up dead, he said.
"From a financial standpoint," Laffer said, "he would have been better off if they were alive."
Several witnesses testified for the prosecution that Peterson appeared to be in financial hot water both personally and at work.
Prosecutors have indicated the Petersons planned to buy a more expensive house and that Laci did not plan to work after giving birth, suggesting the man was feeling money pressures.
The defense also went after prosecutor suggestions that Peterson secretly secured a mailbox from a local shipping and receiving store to communicate with his girlfriend Amber Frey.
James Caballero of Britz Fertilizer testified he told Peterson in November 2002 to get a post office box after someone broke into his company's mailbox and later tried to cash a check.
Prosecutor Rick Distaso used the opportunity to once again point out that Peterson was cheating on his wife, something they have said could have been his motive for murder.
The defense also appeared to be preparing their client to testify, asking Walnut Creek lawyer Michael Cardoza to play the role of prosecutor in a jailhouse cross-examination.
While refusing to reveal details of the interviews, Cardoza said he discussed the case with Peterson twice in the last week. He was not paid, he said, but happily agreed to the task.
"Who wouldn't want to talk to him?" Cardoza said outside the courtroom.
The trial resumes Tuesday.
---
BY BRIAN ANDERSON
Knight Ridder Newspapers
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - (KRT) - Scott Peterson's defense team began calling their own witnesses Monday to attack prosecution claims that he killed his wife because he was strapped for cash.
There were also indications Peterson might also be called to testify.
After a week's delay of the trial, defense lawyer Mark Geragos' first move was to jab at suggestions that Peterson lied to hide the fact that he made multiple concrete anchors - which prosecutors say he used to sink his wife's body in San Francisco Bay.
Steven Gebler, an engineer with Illinois-based Construction Technologies Laboratory Inc., testified that concrete found next to the driveway of Peterson's Modesto house was similar to that used to make an anchor discovered in his fishing boat.
The testimony conflicted with that of Robert O'Neill, a petrographer who told jurors last month that concrete discovered near the driveway contained large rocks whereas the anchor did not.
Prosecutors tried to use O'Neill's testimony to show Peterson lied when he told his wife's brother, Brant Rocha, that he used the excess concrete from an anchor he made for a home project.
Modesto police detectives believe Peterson made four or five anchors and used them to weigh down his pregnant wife's body on Dec. 24, 2002, in San Francisco Bay. They discovered only one 8-pound anchor in the small fishing boat he said he used the day his wife disappeared.
Laci's remains and those of the couple's unborn son, Conner, turned up in April 2003 on the Richmond shoreline not far from where Peterson said he fished the day she disappeared.
Gebler acknowledged under cross-examination that he was not a petrographer and that only a small number of the samples that defense investigator Carl Jensen collected were analyzed.
Prosecutors had asked Judge Alfred Delucchi to bar Geragos from bringing in the testimony. Delucchi denied the motion Monday along with a standard defense request to dismiss the case due to a lack of evidence.
Hoping to neutralize a suggestion that Peterson killed for cash, Geragos also questioned a Los Angeles accountant who said the former fertilizer salesman was in good shape financially.
"Based on monthly income and expenses, it looked like they were spending less money than they were making," said Martin Laffer.
Citing Rocha's testimony, Laffer said Laci was worth more to her husband alive than dead because she stood to inherit a chunk of her grandparents' multimillion-dollar estate in several years. The money would not go to Peterson if she turned up dead, he said.
"From a financial standpoint," Laffer said, "he would have been better off if they were alive."
Several witnesses testified for the prosecution that Peterson appeared to be in financial hot water both personally and at work.
Prosecutors have indicated the Petersons planned to buy a more expensive house and that Laci did not plan to work after giving birth, suggesting the man was feeling money pressures.
The defense also went after prosecutor suggestions that Peterson secretly secured a mailbox from a local shipping and receiving store to communicate with his girlfriend Amber Frey.
James Caballero of Britz Fertilizer testified he told Peterson in November 2002 to get a post office box after someone broke into his company's mailbox and later tried to cash a check.
Prosecutor Rick Distaso used the opportunity to once again point out that Peterson was cheating on his wife, something they have said could have been his motive for murder.
The defense also appeared to be preparing their client to testify, asking Walnut Creek lawyer Michael Cardoza to play the role of prosecutor in a jailhouse cross-examination.
While refusing to reveal details of the interviews, Cardoza said he discussed the case with Peterson twice in the last week. He was not paid, he said, but happily agreed to the task.
"Who wouldn't want to talk to him?" Cardoza said outside the courtroom.
The trial resumes Tuesday.
---
