A Deadly Game (47 page)

Espidia couldn't remember how the conversation started, but he and Scott were driving in a car when Scott began describing how he might kill someone. He said he would wrap the head in a plastic bag, then weight it down. He would throw the body into saltwater, so that the salt and the fish would eat away at the fingers, destroying the fingerprints. If you weighted the head, he said, the body would float upward. The fish and salt would eat away at the neck, eventually separating the head from the body. If a body were found without fingerprints or a head, Scott thought it could not be identified. Scott assured him that he would never do such a thing, Espidia said; these were just his thoughts.

Detective Brocchini would later testify about this call at trial. As he described the tip, he mentioned wrapping the head with duct tape as one of the things Scott described to Espidia. Since the report had actually said nothing about duct tape, Mark Geragos climbed all over the detective, accusing him of embellishing the story to make it an exact fit with the Peterson facts. Brocchini would later say he hadn't refreshed his memory about the tip before testifying and was simply confused, but Geragos scored points with trial watchers. Although it was a minor infraction, this was one of several embarrassing mistakes that would damage Brocchini's credibility during the trial.

While going through the property seized after Scott's arrest, Detective Buehler came across a tiny scrap of paper with a woman's name and phone number. The name, Natalie Mangura, matched that of a woman who had phoned the tip line the previous night. The twenty-eight-year-old Mangura told Buehler that she'd been house-sitting at the home of Anne Bird's parents in San Diego, and she knew that Scott was there on April 18, just hours before his arrest.

She first encountered Peterson on Monday evening, April 14, at about 11:00 P.M. when she arrived to find a two-door reddish Mercedes-Benz parked in front of the house. As she entered the house, she yelled, "Is anybody home?" Scott Peterson answered. Natalie had been advised that Scott might be staying at the residence temporarily, but she hadn't expected him until the following week. He quickly told her he could sleep downstairs and she could stay upstairs. Uncomfortable when he insisted, Natalie told Scott that she didn't need to stay overnight since the family cat had died. "Did you kill the cat?" Scott smiled. "No," she explained, the cat had died of natural causes. Before leaving, she gave Scott her cell phone number and asked that he contact her when he was leaving so she could resume her duties.

Natalie reported that Scott had been preparing his taxes when she arrived that night. She later learned from Anne that he used one of the homeowner's cars, a Lexus, to mail his taxes so that he wouldn't be recognized by the media or investigators.

Several days later, police received additional information about the Mercedes-Benz Scott was driving when he was arrested. Michael Griffin, a substitute teacher, had advertised a 1984 Mercedes-Benz in Auto Trader magazine, asking $5,000 for the car. On April 12, Scott Peterson responded to the ad and showed up to test drive the automobile. He then offered $3,600 cash and Griffin agreed. Scott left, returning just ten minutes later with thirty-six $100 bills. Scott produced the necessary DMV forms downloaded from the Internet. When Griffin examined them, he noticed that they'd been filled out in the name of "Jacqueline Peterson." He questioned this, yet Scott insisted it was correct. "It was kind of a 'Boy Named Sue' type name," Scott claimed. "That's what my parents stuck me with." He added that he went by the name "Jack."

Griffin told police that Scott appeared to be in a hurry. He couldn't produce any ID, but did recite what he claimed was a Florida driver's license number.

At trial, Griffin told the court that the double-edged dagger found in the car when Scott was arrested actually belonged to him.

He had forgotten to remove it when Scott took the car. But the balance of the very long list of recovered items belonged to Scott.

Police interviewed a second man, mechanic Mario Ruvalcaba, who said that a man named Scott had called him from a cell phone with an 858 area code about his car ad in the Auto Trader. The two arranged a meeting at Ruvalcaba's place of business.

"Scott was a tall white guy, about thirty years old, with blond hair and a goatee," Ruvalcaba recalled. "After the test drive, Scott said, 'Fine, I'll take it right now.' He seemed anxious to get the car and said he would pay cash.

"We filled out all the paperwork," Ruvalcaba continued. "I noticed that he put 'Jacqueline Peterson' on everything. I didn't see the name 'Scott' anywhere. I thought maybe he was gay, or a transsexual, and that Jacqueline was his female name."

There was one problem. Ruvalcaba needed to get Scott a copy of the "smog certificate" for the vehicle, and postponed the deal until eight o'clock the following morning. In the meantime, Ruvalcaba called another prospective buyer to let her know the car might be sold. The woman cried and carried on so much that Ruvalcaba agreed to sell it to her instead. "I phoned Scott to tell him that the deal was off, and he was really angry. He accused me of wasting his time." Later that day, Scott returned to Ruvalcaba's shop.

"I have the cash. I'll take the car right now," Scott announced. Ruvalcaba told him no, but Scott continued to push. After leaving, he phoned the shop again and said, "Are we dealing or not?" Very firmly, Ruvalcaba again said no.

On April 21, District Attorney Jim Brazelton, members of his staff, and investigators from the Modesto Police Department met with the Rocha family prior to Scott's arraignment. The district attorney informed them what to expect going forward. He could never have imagined the media firestorm that would rage throughout the proceedings. At 1:30 that afternoon, Scott stood impassively before the Honorable Judge Nancy Ashley of the Stanislaus County Superior Court.

He was clean-shaven, yet his thick hair was still a strawberry blond. His face revealed nothing as the charges were read: "On or about and between December 23, 2002 and December 24, 2002, defendant did commit a felony, murder, violation of Section 187 of the California Penal Code, in that the defendant did willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously and with malice aforethought murder Laci Denise Peterson, a human being. It is further alleged as to Count I Murder, that the defendant acted intentionally, deliberately and with premeditation." He was also charged with a second count of murder for the death of the unborn Conner Peterson.

Scott responded with four words: "I am not guilty."

The charge carried a special "enhancement" under California law alleging that he deliberately killed Laci and her unborn child with premeditation. The combination of charges meant that Scott was not eligible for bail, and if found guilty, he could face the death penalty.

During the proceeding Scott was assigned a public defender, even though McAllister had accompanied him to court. It would be another month before Mark Geragos took the case. Outside the courtroom, McAllister would not discuss why he was no longer representing Scott. Some pundits speculated that the reason was financial.

Following the arraignment, the Rocha family held an emotional press conference. With tears streaming down her face, Sharon praised the Modesto police. She recalled that from the moment she received Scott's Christmas Eve phone call, "I knew in my heart something terrible had happened to Laci and her son. My world collapsed around me." She said that Laci's killer "should be held accountable and punished for the tragedy and devastation forced upon so many of us. I can only hope that the sound of Laci's voice begging for her life, begging for the life of her unborn child, is heard over and over and over again in the mind of that person every day for the rest of his life." Ron Granski added, "I feel sorry for Jackie and Lee. They don't deserve this, but our family didn't either."

As Scott was led back to jail, police continued their interviews. Mike Richardson had been seen on television discussing Scott's new hair color, so he got another call. Mike explained that he had invited Scott to his ranch in Fillmore about three weeks earlier. When Scott arrived, Mike immediately noticed the color change. Scott said that he'd been swimming in his friend Aaron's pool in Mountain View and the chlorine had bleached his hair. Mike didn't ask any more questions, but was skeptical. This information prompted police to obtain a search warrant for hair samples and full body photographs and to test whether hair dye or pool chemicals lightened Scott's hair. Additionally, Heather Richardson told detectives that during her conversation with Scott, he admitted to an affair with a woman in San Luis Obispo while Laci was living in Prunedale. Although he did not name her, it was probably Janet Use, the woman who'd walked in on Scott and Laci in bed those many years ago. However, it might have been Katy Hansen, who was sitting next to Scott at graduation when a pretty brunette walked over and presented him with that flowered lei and a big kiss. Whichever girl it was, Scott seemed surprised that Laci hadn't told her.

Heather also recalled an argument between Scott and Laci after Scott's graduation from Cal Poly. She and Mike had attended a celebratory dinner with the couple afterward. Heather could tell that Laci was upset. When they left the restaurant, everyone drove to the house Scott was sharing with his three roommates. Laci and Scott went into the bathroom. Heather overheard her yelling at him. Scott did not respond.

"It sounded like he was just taking it," Heather said. Laci never explained why the two had been arguing, but at the graduation ceremony she commented that Scott had been living with the guys and "acting single."

Still, even if Laci knew about that affair, Heather did not believe she was told about Amber Frey.

Police also interviewed Jim Allen, the manager of the Torrey Pines Golf Club, where Scott had told police he was heading when he was arrested. Although Scott did not have a tee time reserved, said Allen, Lee Peterson was in the book on April 18 for a foursome at eight o'clock that morning. Only three golfers showed up that day, and Allen added another lone golfer to round out the group.

Detective Grogan also spoke to a technician, Denise Ducot, who said she worked with Kim McGregor at Valley Oak Pediatrics Center. According to Ducot, another coworker told her that McGregor was claiming a sexual interlude with Scott Peterson after Laci disappeared. The police found no further evidence of such a liaison.

In a similar vein, police also learned of a stripper at a club in San Diego who claimed to have had a short affair with Scott. The day before his arrest, she said, he asked her to run off to Mexico with him. Police thought the information was credible, but the woman was fearful of recrimination at work if she came forward. Such leads appeared to corroborate the detectives' suspicion that Scott was planning to leaving the country. Scott simply may have waited too long to get away because he did not expect the DNA identification of the bodies to occur so quickly.

On Friday, April 25, Deputy District Attorney Dave Harris and Detective Grogan met with members of Laci's family at Sharon Rocha's home to discuss the death penalty. Dennis, Sharon, Brent, and Amy Rocha, Ron Grantski, and family representative Kim Peterson all supported the death penalty as punishment if Scott was found

guilty.

During the meeting, Sharon mentioned Heather Richardson's recollection that Scott had once expressed that he didn't want to have children. Days later she heard Heather tell a TV reporter that Scott was looking forward to being a father, then read the same comment

in the Modesto Bee.

Sharon told Grogan that the family was planning to hold a memorial service for Laci and Conner on Laci's birthday, May 4, at 3:00 P.M. at the First Baptist Church in Modesto. Ron Grantski later contacted the detective saying the family had learned that Amber's sister, Ava, and her mother, Brenda McGhee, intended to show up. The family didn't want them there, and Ron asked Grogan to relay the information. While the family was very appreciative of the way Amber had handled her involvement, they feared her presence would sensationalize the solemn occasion. He also asked that Amber not attend. After the family meeting, District Attorney James Brazelton called a press conference to announce that "A decision has been made to seek the death penalty in the case of the people of California versus Scott Peterson."

Publicly, Laci's family had no comment.

On April 29, Grogan received a call from Rick DiStaso. The Public Defender's Officer had just informed DiStaso that defense attorney Mark Geragos had agreed to take Scott Peterson's case, pro bono. Geragos would be arriving on May 2, and all legal issues, upcoming motions, and the sealing of search warrants were on hold until then. While there was no question that Geragos was taking the case, it was unclear whether he had agreed to represent Scott free of charge. It has never been entirely clear what the financial arrangements were. Geragos repeatedly declined to disclose how much he was charging the family, but later told colleagues that he took the case for a "flat fee." The figure that circulated was $1 million, but that amount has never been confirmed.

On Larry King Live the following evening, the flashy defense counselor was a call-in guest. Although he declined to reveal whether he had agreed to take the case, he indicated that he'd met the players and was seriously considering it. "I can tell you that Scott's mother, especially, is a very compelling advocate for her son," Geragos told King. "And I've met with Scott, and I've talked with the public defenders. I was up in Modesto yesterday. And I'm going to sleep on it and make a decision."

"Mark, can you give us the balancing points? What's for and what's against?" King asked.