27y.o. Pregnant Laci Denise Rocha Peterson (2002)

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Laci Denise Rocha Peterson was born in Modesto, California. Her parents, Dennis Robert Rocha and Sharon Ruth Anderson, met in high school and married shortly after graduation.
Their first child, Brent Rocha, was born in 1971. Laci was the couple's second child, born in 1975. She grew up on her family's dairy farm in Escalon, CA,[1] and she was a cheerleader in junior high and high school. After graduating high school, Laci attended California Polytechnic State University. She lived with her then boyfriend, Kent Gain (as of 2007, serving a life sentence in prison for assault on a woman - Grace Ho), but the couple later broke up. While at California Polytechnic, Laci met Scott Peterson, a fellow student, at a small restaurant in Morro Bay called Pacific Cafe. He came off as a nice, clean-cut young man, and no suspicions were raised then. The relationship soon became serious.[3] By December 1996, they were engaged, and they married on August 9, 1997, a few months before Laci's graduation. For the first two years or so of their marriage, they delayed trying to have children, but in December 2000, they decided to try for a pregnancy. It took longer than expected, and it was later reported that Scott said he "hoped for infertility." Sharon stated in her book that she did not think Laci knew about this. Finally, on the verge of scheduling fertility tests, Laci and Scott Peterson conceived naturally in mid-2002. The baby was due on February 10, 2003. They decided to name him Conner Latham Peterson.

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Disappearance

Apart from her husband, the last person known to have spoken to Laci before her disappearance was her mother, who talked to her by telephone on December 23, 2002. Shortly after 10:00 the following morning, a neighbor found the family dog, McKenzie, running loose in the neighborhood, wearing a collar and muddy leash. Laci's 1996 Land Rover Discovery SE sport utility vehicle was in the driveway, and her purse (containing her keys and cell phone) was hanging in the bedroom closet. When Scott Peterson returned home from a fishing trip that evening, Laci was not there. He washed his clothes, ate some cold pizza, and took a shower. At that point, he called Sharon Rocha to ask if Laci was with her.

Police were called by 6 p.m., and an immediate search of the park and surrounding areas ensued. Police, family members, and neighbors searched widely on foot, in all-terrain vehicles, patrol cars, and sport utility vehicles, with helicopters equipped with search lights and heat sensors, and with water rescue units, search dogs and horseback teams.[4] Law enforcement agencies from several counties became involved. Police immediately suspected foul play, doubting Laci would vanish on Christmas Eve without contacting anyone. At a press conference, detective Al Brocchini said, "That is completely out of character for her"

A US$25,000 reward was offered, later increased to $500,000. Posters and ribbons and fliers circulated, and the LaciPeterson.com website was launched. Friends, family and volunteers set up a command center at a nearby hotel to record developments and circulate information, and over 1,000 volunteers signed up to distribute information and help search.[6] Critics alleged that this was another example of missing white woman syndrome, and that other cases of similar calibre were being ignored by the media and the community.[7][8]

From the start, Peterson was reluctant to talk to the press; at one point, he stormed out of a family press conference when reporters asked if the police considered him a suspect. Laci's brother, Brent Rocha, defended Scott, claiming that Scott was too distraught to make public statements about Laci, and adding that that did not mean he was involved in her disappearance. "No way," Rocha said. "Absolutely not." Laci's family maintained Scott's innocence,[9], and volunteers said that he joined their efforts at the command center every day.

It was later revealed that Scott Peterson had had numerous extramarital affairs, the most recent with a massage therapist named Amber Frey. Frey informed the police that, two weeks before Laci's disappearance, Peterson had told her that he was a widower, having "lost his wife." During the trial, audio recordings of Peterson and Frey's telephone conversations were played, and the transcripts were publicized. The contents were damning for Peterson's character defense. They revealed that in the days after Laci went missing, Peterson claimed to be celebrating the holidays in Paris. One of the phone calls to Frey had been made while he was at Laci's New Year's Eve candlelight vigil.

On April 13, 2003, the decomposed body of a late term male fetus, his umbilical cord still attached, was found on the San Francisco Bay shore near Richmond, north of Berkeley. One day later, the body of a recently-pregnant woman washed to shore one mile away from where the baby's body was found. The woman's cause of death was impossible to discern; due to decomposition, the body was decapitated, armless, and legless. DNA tests verified they were the bodies of Laci Peterson and her son, possibly separated by coffin birth.

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Aftermath

Scott Peterson was arrested on April 18, 2003 in La Jolla, California in the parking lot of a golf course, where he claimed to be meeting his father and brother for a game of golf. At the time of his arrest, Peterson was carrying $15,000 in cash, had four cell phones, camping equipment, a gun, a map to Frey's workplace that had been printed the day before, Viagra, and his brother's driver's license.[1 His hair and goatee had been dyed blonde. The police took this as an indication that Peterson had planned to flee.

The death of Laci and her son led to the United States Congress passing the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which is widely known as Laci and Conner's Law. On April 1, 2004, Sharon Rocha and Ron Grantski were in attendance at the White House when President George W. Bush signed the bill into law.[11]

In late 2005, a Stanislaus County judge ruled that Peterson was not entitled to collect on his late wife's $250,000 life insurance policy, having been convicted of her murder. Under California state law, criminals may not profit from insurance policies. On December 19, 2005, the money was given to Laci's mother, Sharon, as the executor of Laci's estate.[12]

In 2006, Laci's mother, Sharon, wrote For Laci : A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Justice a biography and memoir about the life and death of her daughter. On 27 December 2006, an anonymous couple announced plans to buy the Modesto house where Laci was believed to have been killed.[

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Laci Peterson Said Killed Before Holidays

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Laci Peterson 's fetus likely died around Dec. 23, 2002, a day before the pregnant schoolteacher was reported missing, an expert testified Wednesday in the murder trial of her husband. Prosecutors allege that Scott Peterson killed his wife on or around Dec. 24, 2002, in their Modesto home, then dumped her body into the bay.

Her remains and that of her fetus washed up in April 2003, not far from the marina where he launched his boat on Christmas Eve for what he claims was a solo fishing trip.

Peterson's lawyers maintain someone else abducted and killed Laci.

Dr. Greggory DeVore, an expert in fetal medicine, said he was asked by prosecutors to examine Laci's medical records and bones taken from the dead fetus to help determine when it died.

The age of the fetus is important because prosecutors claim it was expelled dead from Laci's decaying corpse. Defense lawyers maintain the baby was born alive after Laci vanished, proving that her husband could not be the killer given the baby's due date of Feb. 10.

The coroner who performed the autopsy on the fetus estimated its age at death to be about nine months, or full term. A forensic anthropologist testified previously that the fetus' age was between 33 and 38 weeks.

DeVore said the Dec. 23 death date for the fetus was an average taken from several different examinations. The fetus could have also died on Dec. 21 or Dec. 24, he said. He estimated the fetus' age at its time of death to be about 33 weeks and one day.

DeVore never physically examined Laci Peterson before her death.

On cross-examination, defense lawyer Mark Geragos quickly pointed out the "varying results" from different doctors regarding the age of the fetus, and noted DeVore's opinions were simply based on averages and estimates.

"We know that two out of three of these calculations are wrong, is that correct?" Geragos asked, noting that Laci Peterson's baby was still alive when she visited her doctor on Dec. 23.

DeVore agreed but defended his estimates.

Geragos also noted to the obviously flustered DeVore that a test using another scientific method would indicate the fetus died on Dec. 28.

On Tuesday, Modesto police Detective Craig Grogan said police had more than enough reason to suspect Scott Peterson was involved in his pregnant wife's disappearance, and that her body lay somewhere in San Francisco Bay.

Grogan ticked off the list of reasons in rapid succession, providing jurors with the first detailed narrative of the murder case against Peterson in the 17-week trial. Grogan's account had jurors leaning forward in their seats, scribbling notes.

He explained each point:

Tracking dogs at the marina indicated Laci Peterson's scent was there.

Scott Peterson told police he was at the marina.

Peterson had a two-day fishing license that was purchased on Dec. 20 and filled out for Dec. 23 and 24.

The fishing tackle in Peterson's boat was freshwater tackle.

Peterson told some witnesses on the night Laci vanished he had been golfing all day. "We considered that possibly was what his initial alibi was meant to be," Grogan said.

Peterson loaded large umbrellas into the back of his pickup truck that Christmas Eve morning. "It would enable him to be able to explain to anyone seeing him load something in his truck."

Grogan then looked toward the jury as he completed the list.

"The ultimate conclusion was that Laci Peterson's body was in San Francisco Bay and that we needed to search there," Grogan said.

Despite all these clues, Grogan noted that police remained open to other possibilities. "We had a policy that if someone called in and said they knew where Laci Peterson's body was ... that we would go there and search it."

Grogan was due back on the stand later Wednesday.

www.lacipeterson.com

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Agent: Peterson Altered Look Before Arrest
Thu Sep 23,2004

Scott Peterson altered his appearance and loaded his car with cash in the days before he was charged with murdering his pregnant wife, an agent with the state Department of Justice testified.


Special Agent Alex Quick, who tailed Peterson just before his arrest on April 18, 2003, a few days after the bodies of his wife and her fetus were found, testified Wednesday at Peterson's double-murder trial.


Quick, one of up to 10 agents who followed Peterson, told jurors that the former fertilizer salesman had altered his appearance, bleaching his dark hair and eyebrows blonde and growing a thick goatee.


The agent said he began following Peterson at about 7 a.m. on the day of Peterson's arrest. Peterson drove "erratically" north from San Diego into Orange County, and it appeared that Peterson knew he was being followed, he said.


"He made an exit off the freeway and immediately got back on," Quick said, adding that Peterson later made an obscene gesture toward him.


Peterson continued driving several more hours and was eventually arrested near San Diego. Police found a large quantity of cash in his car, Quick said.


On cross-examination, defense lawyer Mark Geragos noted one of the first things Peterson asked authorities was if "they found my wife and son."


Geragos also pointed out that Peterson immediately told police he had about "$10,000 cash" in the car.


Earlier Wednesday, an expert testified that Laci Peterson
's fetus likely died around Dec. 23, 2002, a day before she was reported missing.


Prosecutors allege that Scott Peterson killed his wife on or around Dec. 24, 2002, in their Modesto home, then dumped her body in San Francisco Bay. Her remains and that of her fetus washed up in April 2003, not far from the marina where he launched his boat on Christmas Eve.


Dr. Greggory DeVore, an expert in fetal medicine, said he was asked by prosecutors to examine Laci's medical records and bones taken from the dead fetus to help determine when it died.


The age of the fetus is important because prosecutors claim it was expelled dead from Laci's decaying corpse. Defense lawyers maintain the baby was born alive after Laci vanished, proving that her husband could not be the killer given the baby's due date of Feb. 10.

The coroner who performed the autopsy on the fetus estimated its age at death to be about nine months, or full term.

DeVore said the Dec. 23 death date for the fetus was an average taken from several different examinations. The fetus could have also died on Dec. 21 or Dec. 24, he said.

On cross-examination, Geragos quickly pointed out "varying results" from different doctors regarding the age of the fetus, and noted DeVore's opinions were simply based on averages and estimates.

"We know that two out of three of these calculations are wrong, is that correct?" Geragos asked, noting that Laci Peterson's baby was still alive when she visited her doctor on Dec. 23.

DeVore agreed but defended his estimates.

Geragos noted to the obviously flustered DeVore that a test using another scientific method would indicate the fetus died on Dec. 28.

"I kind of disagree with that," DeVore said.

Geragos said DeVore's initial estimate was Dec. 25. DeVore said that was based on preliminary calculations.

The defense lawyer then again sought to discredit DeVore's findings by questioning his method of determining the death date using the date of conception, estimated at two weeks after Laci's last menstruation.

"You're assuming ... that the date of conception was May 20, correct?" Geragos asked.

DeVore looked at a calendar.

"Yes," he replied, adding that it was only an average.

"If the actual conception was prior to that or after ... how does that affect your opinion?" Geragos prodded.

"Well, you'd have to adjust accordingly," DeVore replied.

Defense lawyers maintain someone else abducted and killed Laci.
on Friday 11-11-04 Scott Peterson was found GUILTY of 1st degree murder of his wife Laci Denise Rocha Peterson and 2nd degree murder of their unborn son Conner Peterson.

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maverick1862 said:

Laci Denise Rocha Peterson was born in Modesto, California. Her parents, Dennis Robert Rocha and Sharon Ruth Anderson, met in high school and married shortly after graduation.
Their first child, Brent Rocha, was born in 1971. Laci was the couple's second child, born in 1975. She grew up on her family's dairy farm in Escalon, CA,[1] and she was a cheerleader in junior high and high school. After graduating high school, Laci attended California Polytechnic State University. She lived with her then boyfriend, Kent Gain (as of 2007, serving a life sentence in prison for assault on a woman - Grace Ho), but the couple later broke up. While at California Polytechnic, Laci met Scott Peterson, a fellow student, at a small restaurant in Morro Bay called Pacific Cafe. He came off as a nice, clean-cut young man, and no suspicions were raised then. The relationship soon became serious.[3] By December 1996, they were engaged, and they married on August 9, 1997, a few months before Laci's graduation. For the first two years or so of their marriage, they delayed trying to have children, but in December 2000, they decided to try for a pregnancy. It took longer than expected, and it was later reported that Scott said he "hoped for infertility." Sharon stated in her book that she did not think Laci knew about this. Finally, on the verge of scheduling fertility tests, Laci and Scott Peterson conceived naturally in mid-2002. The baby was due on February 10, 2003. They decided to name him Conner Latham Peterson.

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