Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Scott Peterson Still Under Suspicion in Disappearance of Wife Laci

Aired January 18, 2003 - 07:27   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to tell you about the latest with the situation in California, where Laci Peterson's family is appealing to her husband to come forward if he knows anything about her disappearance, this after new revelations in the case involving the young pregnant woman, who hasn't been seen since Christmas Eve.
CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It wasn't long after Laci Peterson disappeared that there were questions about husband Scott. He said he went fishing the day his wife vanished. But police refused to eliminate him as a suspect.

Now sources close to the family say Modesto police showed them pictures of Scott Peterson with another woman with whom he was allegedly having an affair. They also told the family he took out a $250,000 life insurance policy on his wife.

KIM PETERSEN, FAMILY SPOKESWOMAN: Laci's stepfather asked Scott if he had a girlfriend. Scott told him no, and Ron believed him. Now, however, they believe that he has lied to them about this and possibly other things as well.

DORNIN: "The Modesto Bee" reported that police told the family the discovery was why they felt Scott Peterson might be involved in his wife's disappearance.

Meantime, Scott Peterson had planned to open another volunteer center for his wife in Los Angeles over the weekend. Those plans have been canceled, and in a phone interview with affiliate KTVU, Peterson said he's angry over "The Bee"'s reporting and plans to take matters into his own hands.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SCOTT PETERSON, LACI PETERSON'S HUSBAND (on phone): Well, it's a bunch of lies in the article, so what are you going to do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what's your plan now?

PETERSON: I'm going to come back to Modesto and open up my own volunteer center and find my wife and my kid. (END AUDIO CLIP)

DORNIN: When the headlines hit, the volunteer center in Modesto shut down. Modesto police chaplin Don Crooker was there every day and says many like him felt betrayed.

DON CROOKER, MODESTO POLICE CHAPLAIN: Devastated. Unbelievable. And, you know, believe me, chaplains cry.

DORNIN: Modesto police have no official comment on the state of the investigation.

From the beginning, Laci Peterson's family stood behind her husband, always choosing to talk about the good times.

SHARON ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S MOTHER: They were always happy together. I've never heard either of them say anything against the other that's -- I've never heard them argue or even heard about an argument. They were a happy, happy couple.

DORNIN: Trust based on a belief that is now eroding.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Modesto, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Wife Laci>


Aired January 18, 2003 - 07:27   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to tell you about the latest with the situation in California, where Laci Peterson's family is appealing to her husband to come forward if he knows anything about her disappearance, this after new revelations in the case involving the young pregnant woman, who hasn't been seen since Christmas Eve.
CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It wasn't long after Laci Peterson disappeared that there were questions about husband Scott. He said he went fishing the day his wife vanished. But police refused to eliminate him as a suspect.

Now sources close to the family say Modesto police showed them pictures of Scott Peterson with another woman with whom he was allegedly having an affair. They also told the family he took out a $250,000 life insurance policy on his wife.

KIM PETERSEN, FAMILY SPOKESWOMAN: Laci's stepfather asked Scott if he had a girlfriend. Scott told him no, and Ron believed him. Now, however, they believe that he has lied to them about this and possibly other things as well.

DORNIN: "The Modesto Bee" reported that police told the family the discovery was why they felt Scott Peterson might be involved in his wife's disappearance.

Meantime, Scott Peterson had planned to open another volunteer center for his wife in Los Angeles over the weekend. Those plans have been canceled, and in a phone interview with affiliate KTVU, Peterson said he's angry over "The Bee"'s reporting and plans to take matters into his own hands.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SCOTT PETERSON, LACI PETERSON'S HUSBAND (on phone): Well, it's a bunch of lies in the article, so what are you going to do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what's your plan now?

PETERSON: I'm going to come back to Modesto and open up my own volunteer center and find my wife and my kid. (END AUDIO CLIP)

DORNIN: When the headlines hit, the volunteer center in Modesto shut down. Modesto police chaplin Don Crooker was there every day and says many like him felt betrayed.

DON CROOKER, MODESTO POLICE CHAPLAIN: Devastated. Unbelievable. And, you know, believe me, chaplains cry.

DORNIN: Modesto police have no official comment on the state of the investigation.

From the beginning, Laci Peterson's family stood behind her husband, always choosing to talk about the good times.

SHARON ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S MOTHER: They were always happy together. I've never heard either of them say anything against the other that's -- I've never heard them argue or even heard about an argument. They were a happy, happy couple.

DORNIN: Trust based on a belief that is now eroding.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Modesto, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Wife Laci>