Lori Ellsworth spoke up next. She and Laci were close; they spoke every couple of weeks, and she often attended dinner parties at the Petersons. Lori confirmed that Laci had seemed tired in recent days. It made no sense that she would have been walking McKenzie in the park on Christmas Eve. Nor did Lori believe that Laci would leave home without her cell phone at this stage in her pregnancy. Lori also described the couple’s golden retriever as a “barker,” and believed McKenzie would make noise if someone tried to approach his mistress.
Both women said they had never heard Laci discuss the couple’s finances but thought that she and Scott were doing fine, assuming that between them they were earning more than $80,000 a year. The women described the jewelry that Laci had recently inherited. The pieces were very important to Laci. She’d been wearing several of them in late November, when the women got together to watch The Bachelor. The jewelry was not really Laci’s style, but she refused to leave the pieces at home because she feared they might be stolen.
The detective asked about Laci’s mental state. He had heard rumors that Laci had been depressed. Both women disagreed. Although she was struggling with her physical limitations, which kept her from enjoying the holidays as much as she normally would, she knew the pregnancy would soon be over and her health would return to normal.
Both Stacey and Lori conceded that their family members’ opinions of Scott were becoming more divided as time went by, particularly as Scott’s flat affect contrasted ever more dramatically with Sharon Rocha’s fear and grief.
Buehler also interviewed Jake Zimmeht, a retired highway patrol officer, and Stacey’s boyfriend for the past four months. When he and Stacey had thrown a holiday party on December 14, he noted, Laci arrived alone. Her husband was at a business function, she said, and couldn’t attend. A photograph taken at that party of a very pregnant Laci in a festive red pantsuit would become a mainstay of media reports throughout this case. Although she was smiling brightly for the camera, I found something very sad about her eyes in that picture, as she sat alone in the large wicker armchair. As that photo was taken, another camera was snapping what would become an equally famous image—that of Amber Frey and Scott in formal attire at an event ninety-six miles away.
Zimmeht didn’t meet Scott until the day Laci went missing. When Scott phoned Stacey a second time that afternoon, the retired policeman remembered, he was weeping hysterically. Yet when they arrived at the Petersons’ a short time later, Zimmeht was surprised to see no sign that Scott had been crying. His eyes were not red or watery, nor did his face appear flushed. Zimmeht also got the impression that Scott was avoiding him, possibly because of his status as a former cop. Zimmeht expressed uneasiness about Scott, but he was sure Laci’s family would stand by their son-in-law in the absence of any clear proof that he was involyed.
The search of the Peterson home was in full swing when Detective Al Brocchini arrived there at eleven o’clock on the morning of December 27. Officers in protective hairnets, booties, and latex gloves were combing each room, looking for blood or other trace evidence that might suggest a struggle. Crime Scene Manager Rudy Skultety had instructed investigators to check baseboards, crevices, and lower portions of all furniture, since “there was a possibility that the house could have been cleaned.”
Upon entering the house, Brocchini gave detectives the two-day fishing license Scott handed over the previous evening. The issue date, 12/20/02, was written in red ink. The license had the numeral 2, indicating it was valid for two days. The effective dates, December 23 and 24, were obviously filled in at a later time. Detectives recorded the license into the crime scene evidence log along with dozens of other items they had seized.
Brocchini was anxious to locate the clothing that Scott had worn during his fishing trip. In the laundry area, he spied a green, long-sleeved shirt folded on top of a laundry basket. He recognized the article as the same green pullover he had seen in the washing machine on Christmas Eve. Underneath the shirt was the blue T-shirt he had observed, but the pair of blue jeans Scott had worn were not there.
Brocchini asked his team if they’d come across a pair of men’s denim jeans. One officer said he’d found a pair in the washing machine. The pants were dry, as if they had not yet gone through the wash cycle. Brocchini asked that they be processed as evidence.
Moving to the guest bedroom, where Scott kept his clothes, Brocchini checked inside the armoire. He found a second pair of jeans folded on top of several articles of clean clothing. The location suggested that this might be the pair Scott had just laundered. A closer inspection revealed “suspicious stains” on the front portion of the leg, and Brocchini also seized them as evidence.
He next looked for the tan camouflage jacket he had seen in Scott’s truck on Christmas Eve, but he could find neither the camouflage jacket nor the fishing lures. He did, however, locate the umbrellas that were wrapped in the tarp in the back of the truck. They were now in Scott’s backyard, leaning against a fence at the far end of the property. Three large umbrella stands were nearby. Brocchini wondered why Scott would load up the umbrellas in his truck but not the stands. The blue tarp that had been wrapped around the umbrellas was now in the patio shed, spread out beneath a power sprayer.
In a second, smaller shed on the south side of the residence, Brocchini found the tan canvas tarp among the garden tools. It seemed odd that Scott would risk damaging what looked like a valuable new boat cover by leaving a power tool on top of it. Sure enough, fuel had leaked onto the cover, and a strong gasoline odor permeated the air.
Brocchini knew that Scott had admitted making at least one additional trip to his workshop since Christmas Eve. “If he had planned on placing the umbrellas in his workshop on 12/24/02, why did he change his mind on 12/26/02?” Brocchini wrote. “It’s also unusual that this brand new boat tarp that was in the back of Scott’s truck on 12/24/02 was now placed in a shed under a leaking gas motor. This appeared completely out of character since most of Scott’s things are in very good condition and well cared for.”
When the canine units arrived, one possible motive for this “careless behavior” became apparent—the destruction of forensic evidence. The dogs searched the premises, including the front and backyards, the patio and large storage shed, and the crawl space below the house, but this produced no new leads. The smaller shed where the boat cover was stored could not be searched. “The interior of the shed reeked of gasoline even after the tarp had been re-moved,” Detective Rick House recorded. The dog handler told House that “absent a significant body part, the source of the odor would have to be removed and the shed would need to sit open for at least two days before the cadaver dog. Twist, would be effective in a search.”
Inside the residence, officers were confiscating items listed in the search warrant. A Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner was taken from the hallway closet and an upright vacuum was carefully wrapped to pre-vent any debris from escaping undetected.
In the master bedroom, sparsely decorated with wood and wicker, officers noticed several jewelry boxes atop the couple’s six-drawer dresser. They contained pieces of jewelry that matched items Scott said his wife was wearing at the time she disappeared, including two gold chains with clear stones, one gold watch with numerous clear stones on the face, and a white metal ring with blue and clear stones. All of these items were seized as well.
In a dresser drawer, investigators found five jewelry appraisals in the name of Robert Rocha, along with passports for Scott and Laci and her diary. The first entry was made on July 16, 2002, the last on December 1, 2002. What appeared to be a ripped up credit report from Experian was also catalogued.
Mosquito netting dangled from the ceiling above the Petersons’ queen-size bed. The fine, loosely knotted mesh was obviously more decorative than functional. A crime scene officer photographed the bed, capturing the chilling indentation in the duvet cover Brocchini had observed that first night. Pulling the feathery white comforter from the couple’s bed, the detectives ob
served two small spots that might be blood. They collected samples, then marked the cover as evidence.
Police also observed a wood and canvas hamper next to the dresser, but did not collect any of the dirty clothes it contained.
The double closet was filled with women’s clothes. Hangmg in the left corner were two shoe trees. Detectives had been advised that Laci would have worn white tennis shoes when walking the dog. A pair of ladies’ Ralph Lauren slip-on tennis shoes was in the closet. They were marked as evidence.
The guest bedroom closet was full of Scott’s clothes and his gun collection. Six rifles were removed from the closet, along with three ammo magazines and a number of twelve-gauge shotgun shells.
Investigators confiscated a second credit report from the trash, a TraveLodge envelope containing handwritten letters from the night-stand, and a notebook from atop the desk. The couple’s marriage license, mortgage files, and checkbooks were removed from the file cabinet, as was an insurance binder dated 6/25/01.
The officers seized two laptop computers, a Dell and a Compaq. A second Dell PC and an IBM Thinkpad laptop had already been collected from Scott’s warehouse. Computer forensic investigator Kirk Stockham would later identify the sites visited by both Scott and Laci and the different e-mail accounts they used. He would find that the two had visited a variety of websites, including eBay, remodeling sites, and new baby research. The other three computers were apparently used by Scott exclusively; they contained Scott’s pornography bookmarks, including bestiality and bondage-themed websites. Some of the titles were so prejudicial that they would never have been admitted at trial, including “Raping the Teacher” and “The Wife Confesses.” Given that Laci had worked as a teacher, the first title is especially chilling.
The forensic search of Scott’s computers would also reveal two websites Scott had visited on December 8, 2002. Stockham was able to retrieve a map that Peterson had called up—depicting a topical map of the currents and depths of the San Francisco Bay around Brooks Island.
“Peterson said after he launched his fourteen-foot aluminum boat with a fifteen-horse motor, he drove north out of the marina roughly two miles,” Brocchini later wrote. “Peterson claimed he could see Brooks Is-land from his boat. Peterson described Brooks Island as having a lot of debris and trash around it with a large sign indicating NO LANDINGS. Peterson said he was in the water between 45 minutes and an hour. The area Peterson described going [to] in his boat was the same area that Peterson had brought up on his computer on 12/8/2002.”
Investigators moved to the bright blue nursery, pausing momentarily over the tiny infant clothing laid out inside the crib, most with the price tags still attached. A white bag in a corner of the small room was full of women’s clothes. Some of the items appeared to be new; others looked like they were marked for the dry cleaner. Two pairs of stretch maternity pants were collected as evidence, as was a Sonogram picture, presumably of their son, Conner.
Four hairbrushes were collected from the bathroom, along with two Oral-B toothbrush heads.
In the dining room, a photographers’ flash illuminated the presents that lay wrapped beneath the Petersons’ Christmas tree. The Louis Vuitton wallet, nestled in a fancy brown gift bag, was the only gift taken for examination by crime lab personnel.
On top of the polished dining table, police found a Louis Vuitton purse containing a wallet and identification in the name of Laci Peterson. Officers collected the pocketbook as evidence.
In the bright yellow kitchen, the message light on the answering machine was flashing. The officers listened to two new messages and eleven saved ones. One of the detectives used a cassette player to pre-serve them. Once the messages were copied, the machine was unplugged and taken as evidence. Handwritten notes and jewelry receipts found on the counter were also seized, along with a wall calendar and a yoga schedule pinned to the refrigerator.
The popular book for soon-to-be mothers. What to Expect When You’re Expecting, was on the coffee table in the family room. Crime Scene Officer Doug Lovell vacuumed around the tables with special debris-collecting equipment.
The FBI Forensic Search Team examined the Petersons’ family room and the area near the washing machine for trace evidence. The investigators observed a small brownish-colored stain, believed to be a blood transfer, on the interior French door leading to the rear yard, and a brownish-colored spatter on the lower half of the water heater door. Two stains were found inside the door jamb. A presumptive test on two of the spots tested negative for the presence of blood, but police elected to collect all the samples anyway. Squares of all the carpets were also clipped.
Just outside the rear door was a built-in sink; there police found McKenzie’s brown leash. Two pairs of shoes, Timberland tennis shoes on the back porch and Donner work boots from the front porch, were tagged.
At 4:15 P.M., Detective Brocchini joined detectives at Scott’s ware-house office. The overhead fluorescent hghts illuminating the office space grabbed the detective’s attention. “On 12/24/02 at 2300 hours, when I was at the business with Scott Peterson, Peterson told me there was no electricity and I would have to use my flashlight or headlights to see inside,” Brocchini wrote in his report. “Det. [Henry ‘Dodge’] Hendee showed me two light switches, one inside the office and one inside the warehouse that turned on the fluorescent lights overhead making the whole inside of this business welllit.” To Brocchini, it was another sign of Scott’s bad faith. “I found it highly suspicious that Scott Peterson would not want me to have the lights on in the business when I was there inspecting his boat.”
The warehouse contained three distinct sections. The first was the office area, with a cluttered desk, two computers, a fax, and a phone. The second area was a large, open warehouse space, containing a large flat trailer, Scott’s fourteen-foot Sears fishing boat on its own trailer, a forklift, and numerous wooden pallets stacked high with a fertilizer product in plastic jars. It was impossible to get to the small bathroom in the rear of the business without climbing over pallets.
Brocchini observed “fresh dry ready-mix” concrete on the flatbed trailer. A one-gallon pitcher containing water and a mallet was nearby. More was on the floor in front of the trailer.
Checking inside the fourteen-foot aluminum boat, the investigator found the tan camouflage jacket he had seen in Scott’s truck on Christmas Eve. The jacket was now stuffed inside a green duffel in the bow of the boat, along with long lengths of nylon line and the two new fishing lures that he had seen on December 24. The shotgun shells from the truck’s toolbox were also inside the bag. He found the missing Big 5 bag and the sales receipt for the fishing tackle in a trash pail. It was clear Scott had been there after the taped interview the previous night. Brocchini wondered what else he might have done during his return trip. He was surprised he had not cleaned up the cement debris before police blocked access to the warehouse.
Examining the flatbed trailer in more detail, he noticed what appeared to be “four distinctive round impressions in the dry ready-mix.” The one anchor he found in the boat seemed to match the size of a water pitcher that was on the flatbed. The pitcher was about one-third full with murky water and ringed with gray residue, apparently from the ready-mix concrete.
“It appeared adding ready-mix to the water made these anchors,” Brocchini noted. “After the cement mold set, they were re-moved from the pitcher and set on the flatbed trailer. From the distinct circles on the trailer, it appeared at least four anchors were made. We could only find the one anchor that was inside the boat.”
That anchor had no line attached. It consisted of two separate and distinct colors, as if the cement was not properly mixed. The upper portion was gray, and seemed consistent with the powder sprinkled around the pitcher. The lower half was white, resembling the mix found inside the shop vacuum in the warehouse. Reexamining the rib line of the boat’s interior, he could come up with no reason the cement particles would be there, unless Scott had used the cement anchors to weigh
Laci’s body down and cement had crumbled off as she went over the side.
Detectives also discovered a pair of yellow needle-nosed pliers beneath the boat’s bench seat; clamped in the pliers was a black hair. A piece of red Hne was lying on the floor nearby. Detective Hendee, the crime scene manager, observed that the hair in the pliers appeared to be human. Placing the items into sealed bags, he marked them into evidence to be sent for DNA testing. “It’s unknown whose hair it was, but it was my understanding that Laci Peterson had black hair,” Detective Hendee noted.
During the search, Captain Chris Boyer waited outside the building with Deputy Eloise Anderson and the cadaver dog, Twist. Brocchini wanted them to examine the interior of the warehouse. Once inside, the animal “hit” on an area on the south side of the workshop, next to the boat. Brocchini watched as the canine “made a strong hit on the three milk crates that were on the ground against the south wall.” One of the crates contained a large roll of shrink-wrap; the other two held tie-down straps and other assorted items. The dog also had an “indication” on the bow of the boat, along the starboard, or right, side.
As the officers discussed the dog’s reaction, Brocchini saw someone open the garage next door and drive his truck inside. He walked over to speak with the man, who identified himself as Ron Prater.
Prater had been Scott’s neighbor on Emerald Avenue since August 2002. Although he knew Peterson by sight, he did not know his name. Scott kept to himself. In fact, although they worked mere feet away from each other, Prater said the two had never actually acknowledged each other. It was another example of a Scott Peterson many might not recognize: the supposedly congenial, neighborly young man who had never introduced himself to someone he saw on a regular basis. Maybe Prater just didn’t have anything Scott wanted or needed.
Prater and his boss were both working on the mornings of December 23 and December 24. He wasn’t certain which day he had seen Scott there, but thought it was either Monday or Tuesday. When he arrived for work between 8:30 and 9:00, Scott’s truck was parked, facing north, in front of his open garage door. Prater observed three green and white sacks stacked in the bed of the pickup, along the left side. He assumed they were some sort of fertilizer product.
A Deadly Game Page 11