This week in crime history - May 27-June 1; Explorer
Jedediah Smith was murdered by Comanche’s on the Santa Fe Trail (May 27, 1831);
Writer R. Foster Winans’ conviction for securities fraud was upheld on appeal
(May 28, 1986); Actor Woody Harrelson’s father arrested for murder (May 29,
1979); The son of Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin was murdered in New York
City (May 30, 1997); W. Mark Felt was revealed as being the Watergate Scandal’s
“Deep Throat” informant (May31, 2005); Benedict Arnold was court martialed
(June 1, 1779); Scott Peterson’s murder trial began (June 1, 2004).
Highlighted Crime of the week –
On June 1, 2004, Scott Peterson’s murder trial began. He
was accused of murdering his wife Laci and the couple's unborn son. On
Christmas Eve 2002, Peterson’s pregnant wife Laci, disappeared from Modesto,
California. The case captivated millions across America and saturated national
media coverage for nearly two years. When initially questioned about his wife's
whereabouts, Peterson claimed that Laci had disappeared sometime after leaving
the house to walk their dog and after he left on a fishing trip to nearby San
Francisco Bay. About one month later, Amber Frey, a 28-year-old massage
therapist from Fresno, California, came forward to tell police that she'd had
an affair with Scott Peterson, shattering his image as a devoted husband to his
pretty and pregnant wife. As police continued to search for Laci and clues that
might explain her disappearance, Scott Peterson sold her sports-utility
vehicle, leading to suspicions that he might be trying to get rid of evidence.
On April 13 and 14, 2003, the bodies of Laci and her baby
were found near the marina where Scott Peterson kept his boat. Within a week, Peterson
was charged with two counts of murder, with the special circumstances, which
opened the door for prosecutors to seek the death penalty. He was arrested in
San Diego carrying large amounts of cash and his brother's passport, and with a
new hair color and cut, seemingly on the verge of running from police. Soon
after pleading not guilty to the charges, Peterson retained the legal services
of well-known celebrity attorney Mark Geragos. His trial began on June 1, 2004.
Over the course of the next 19 weeks, prosecutors introduced 174 witnesses and
hundreds of pieces of evidence designed to paint Scott Peterson as a cold and
heartless man who continued to lie and cheat on his wife even as he appeared on
television feigning despair over her disappearance. The prosecution's case was
hampered, however, by the fact that they had no eyewitness to the crime and had
not found a weapon. Meanwhile, Geragos worked to convince the jury of an
alternate scenario in which someone else had murdered Laci while she was
walking the dog, then framed Scott after learning of his alibi from the news.
Peterson did not take the stand in his own defense. On November 12, 2004, after
seven days of deliberation, Peterson was convicted of the first-degree murder
of his wife and the second-degree murder of his unborn son. On March 16, 2005, he
was formally sentenced to death by lethal injection. He remains on death row in
California's San Quentin prison.
His book
can be purchased at Amazon through the following
link:
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