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Authors: Catherine Crier
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him to work from an office in Fresno, but he and Laci had selected Modesto because her family was nearby.
Next, Scott described the three days leading up to Laci's disappearance. He could recall nothing out of the ordinary, he said. He'd occupied himself with yard work, a little golf, and some gym time at the Tony Del Rio Country Club, eating at home, and renting movies.
On Monday, December 23, Scott arrived at his office about ten o'clock and worked until two in the afternoon. Laci went to her noon maternity yoga class, and later that afternoon Scott joined her for an OB/GYN appointment. Scott told the police that the baby's heart rate was 150 beats per minute. They'd asked the doctor to reveal the child's sex months earlier because "Laci could not wait." Scott dropped Laci at home, went to the gym from four to five in the afternoon, stopped by his office for the mail, then returned home.
Early that evening, they'd taken a trip to Salon Salon, where Laci's sister worked as a stylist. Amy cut Scott's hair while showing Laci how to trim his hair at home. Scott didn't mention that Laci had brought her own curling iron along to the salon for some individual instruction-seemingly a minor detail, yet one that would become relevant at trial in determining whether Laci was alive the next morning: The Petersons' housekeeper told police that she'd put the curling iron in the cabinet when she cleaned on the twenty-third, yet official photographs revealed that it was resting on the sink the morning Laci disappeared. Scott's defense team would use the picture to argue that Laci was obviously alive that morning, and used the iron to style her hair. Yet the prosecution was able to show that she'd actually removed it from the cabinet the night before when she took it to the salon.
After the haircut, the couple got some pizza at Mountain Mike's, watched The Rookie on tape, and were in bed at the usual time.
Scott then described the crucial morning hours on December 24. Laci was already up, he said, when he got out of bed around 8 A.M. Scott recalled that she was marinating French toast in Grand Marnier for the Christmas brunch. Remember, there was never any testimony about the contents of the Peterson refrigerator to confirm or deny this assertion. Had the officers checked the refrigerator, it could have helped to prove or disprove Scott's story about their activities that morning.
Scott told the investigators that Laci was wearing a plain white long-sleeved pullover shirt with a crew neck, and black maternity pants with an elastic waistband. Once again he repeated her schedule-the plan to walk McKenzie, go grocery shopping, then bake gingerbread that afternoon.
Despite her casual attire, Scott said, Laci was wearing a pair of diamond earrings, a gold and diamond wristwatch, and a diamond solitaire around her neck; some of the items, he said, she'd recently inherited from her grandmother. Her wedding ring was at a local jewelry store being reworked to include her grandmother's stones. The cost of this work was to be one of Scott's Christmas gifts to Laci. If there were other presents, they were never found. The police who'd checked the presents under the Petersons' tree were especially attentive to any gifts from Scott to Laci. After all, if you're planning to kill your wife, why spend money on presents she'd never open?
Scott next described Laci's normal exercise routine to the officers. She would walk in the morning after "the frost." Entering the park from the north end of Covena Avenue, she would turn right or eastbound toward the tennis courts, then complete a half-mile loop before returning home. The walk generally took about forty-five minutes, he said, and she always took McKenzie with her. The dog wasn't particularly protective of Scott, but Laci was a different story. He told Brocchini that he'd once warned the "pool guy" not to get between her and the dog. Laci didn't generally carry pepper spray or a cell phone with her
Next, Scott described the three days leading up to Laci's disappearance. He could recall nothing out of the ordinary, he said. He'd occupied himself with yard work, a little golf, and some gym time at the Tony Del Rio Country Club, eating at home, and renting movies.
On Monday, December 23, Scott arrived at his office about ten o'clock and worked until two in the afternoon. Laci went to her noon maternity yoga class, and later that afternoon Scott joined her for an OB/GYN appointment. Scott told the police that the baby's heart rate was 150 beats per minute. They'd asked the doctor to reveal the child's sex months earlier because "Laci could not wait." Scott dropped Laci at home, went to the gym from four to five in the afternoon, stopped by his office for the mail, then returned home.
Early that evening, they'd taken a trip to Salon Salon, where Laci's sister worked as a stylist. Amy cut Scott's hair while showing Laci how to trim his hair at home. Scott didn't mention that Laci had brought her own curling iron along to the salon for some individual instruction-seemingly a minor detail, yet one that would become relevant at trial in determining whether Laci was alive the next morning: The Petersons' housekeeper told police that she'd put the curling iron in the cabinet when she cleaned on the twenty-third, yet official photographs revealed that it was resting on the sink the morning Laci disappeared. Scott's defense team would use the picture to argue that Laci was obviously alive that morning, and used the iron to style her hair. Yet the prosecution was able to show that she'd actually removed it from the cabinet the night before when she took it to the salon.
After the haircut, the couple got some pizza at Mountain Mike's, watched The Rookie on tape, and were in bed at the usual time.
Scott then described the crucial morning hours on December 24. Laci was already up, he said, when he got out of bed around 8 A.M. Scott recalled that she was marinating French toast in Grand Marnier for the Christmas brunch. Remember, there was never any testimony about the contents of the Peterson refrigerator to confirm or deny this assertion. Had the officers checked the refrigerator, it could have helped to prove or disprove Scott's story about their activities that morning.
Scott told the investigators that Laci was wearing a plain white long-sleeved pullover shirt with a crew neck, and black maternity pants with an elastic waistband. Once again he repeated her schedule-the plan to walk McKenzie, go grocery shopping, then bake gingerbread that afternoon.
Despite her casual attire, Scott said, Laci was wearing a pair of diamond earrings, a gold and diamond wristwatch, and a diamond solitaire around her neck; some of the items, he said, she'd recently inherited from her grandmother. Her wedding ring was at a local jewelry store being reworked to include her grandmother's stones. The cost of this work was to be one of Scott's Christmas gifts to Laci. If there were other presents, they were never found. The police who'd checked the presents under the Petersons' tree were especially attentive to any gifts from Scott to Laci. After all, if you're planning to kill your wife, why spend money on presents she'd never open?
Scott next described Laci's normal exercise routine to the officers. She would walk in the morning after "the frost." Entering the park from the north end of Covena Avenue, she would turn right or eastbound toward the tennis courts, then complete a half-mile loop before returning home. The walk generally took about forty-five minutes, he said, and she always took McKenzie with her. The dog wasn't particularly protective of Scott, but Laci was a different story. He told Brocchini that he'd once warned the "pool guy" not to get between her and the dog. Laci didn't generally carry pepper spray or a cell phone with her
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