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CNN Live Today

Talk with 'Time' Magazine's Jill Underwood

Aired April 21, 2003 - 10:40   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.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: "Time" magazine reporter Jill Underwood conducted that interview, and she joins us now live. Jill, good to see you this morning.
First question is, how soon after the arrest did you get a chance to speak with the family, because their bitterness certainly came through in this interview?

JILL UNDERWOOD, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Right. Well, the arrest, as you know, was Friday evening. And I talked to them yesterday morning, early in the morning.

HARRIS: Did at any time during the conversation with them, did you get the sense they had even contemplated or prepared themselves for the possibility of Scott being arrested?

UNDERWOOD: No. You know, they weren't talking, as you know, to anybody. And I think what finally made them talk, first of all, it was a holiday weekend, and they didn't want the media there. But they're very frustrated and very disgusted by the way Modesto Police have been handling this case. They say there are all kinds of witnesses that have been discredited by Modesto Police, and it's just brought them such frustration that they felt like they wanted to talk to one outlet, get it over with. As you can see during a lot of the tape, Mrs. Peterson is on oxygen, and she -- it's hard for her to continue talking for long periods of time.

HARRIS: Yes, they basically took the police apart throughout this interview. I mean, they said something about feel like they were being treated fast they were in Nazi Germany. They said basically, as well, that they believe the police department made up their minds like eight hours into the investigation.

UNDERWOOD: Yes, they say they bungled it and went backwards from there. Right away, they pointed out to one specific detective. What they also say is, you know, this is not -- Laci is not the only person missing from that area who happens to be pregnant. They say there are two other pregnant women whoa are still missing, and another pregnant woman's body was found in that Bay Area in January.

So they say there are a lot of parolees in the area. Why are police not looking into that? They also say every single thing we've been noticing over the past couple months, Scott selling the car, looking to sell the house, the insurance policy, all has a logical explanation.

HARRIS: Yes, and that's the part that may be hard for someone who is on the outside to swallow. They do come up with what they think perfectly logical reason why all of these things would happen.

Let me bring up this one quote that we did pull out of the interview, because It seems as though they seem deluded when they said this, because they are saying this is the reason why would they believe the police screwed the whole thing up. Here they say, why would he, Scott, go 80 miles fishing, buy gas and food along the way, have a receipt of the dock and tell police exactly where he went fishing, and the body would be there. That does not make sense.

To me, I read that and think, well, here is someone, obviously they're in pain and they're in love with this guy, their son. But they must -- they may be somewhat deluded here.

UNDERWOOD: I wouldn't say deluded. I think that as any parent would, they want to believe their son. I think they do believe their son. And in their minds, every single thing has a logical explanation. For example, the arrest happened on Friday, because police said that they feared Scott would flee to Mexico. He did have $10,000 in the car, he changed his appearance, et cetera.

HARRIS: Did they explain that, though, the appearance change, and the cash as well?

UNDERWOOD: Well, they did not, because that was toward the end of the interview, and they really wanted to say what they wanted to say and be done with it. We were able to get some questions in to them, as you saw, but what they say is Scott had gone to Mexico before. Police knew where he was at every moment. They say they put a device on the car to monitor where he was. His attorney knew where he was every moment. So did they. He had just been to Mexico six weeks prior. He's from San Diego. The border is close. People go to Mexico, and it's not unusual for him to go. But that he would never run away from this, that he is grieving, though it might not seem like it as are they. They say police have been longed to divide and conquer the families, and they say they out and lied to them.

HARRIS: So they say also here they're going to pursue this thing. What do they mean by that?

UNDERWOOD: He didn't elaborate on that. But I think they're saying is that they are going to continue looking into those other missing women. They're going to find out why police are not taking the other witnesses who they say saw Laci after Laci's mom, which was supposed to be the last person who talked to her. They want to know why police have discredited those witnesses. So what they're saying is they're going to look into every one of the suspicions they have.

HARRIS: Jill Underwood, nice job, and a fascinating interview. Appreciate you coming in and sharing some more with us about all that. Good luck to you.

UNDERWOOD: Thank you. Thank you.

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







Aired April 21, 2003 - 10:40   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: "Time" magazine reporter Jill Underwood conducted that interview, and she joins us now live. Jill, good to see you this morning.
First question is, how soon after the arrest did you get a chance to speak with the family, because their bitterness certainly came through in this interview?

JILL UNDERWOOD, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Right. Well, the arrest, as you know, was Friday evening. And I talked to them yesterday morning, early in the morning.

HARRIS: Did at any time during the conversation with them, did you get the sense they had even contemplated or prepared themselves for the possibility of Scott being arrested?

UNDERWOOD: No. You know, they weren't talking, as you know, to anybody. And I think what finally made them talk, first of all, it was a holiday weekend, and they didn't want the media there. But they're very frustrated and very disgusted by the way Modesto Police have been handling this case. They say there are all kinds of witnesses that have been discredited by Modesto Police, and it's just brought them such frustration that they felt like they wanted to talk to one outlet, get it over with. As you can see during a lot of the tape, Mrs. Peterson is on oxygen, and she -- it's hard for her to continue talking for long periods of time.

HARRIS: Yes, they basically took the police apart throughout this interview. I mean, they said something about feel like they were being treated fast they were in Nazi Germany. They said basically, as well, that they believe the police department made up their minds like eight hours into the investigation.

UNDERWOOD: Yes, they say they bungled it and went backwards from there. Right away, they pointed out to one specific detective. What they also say is, you know, this is not -- Laci is not the only person missing from that area who happens to be pregnant. They say there are two other pregnant women whoa are still missing, and another pregnant woman's body was found in that Bay Area in January.

So they say there are a lot of parolees in the area. Why are police not looking into that? They also say every single thing we've been noticing over the past couple months, Scott selling the car, looking to sell the house, the insurance policy, all has a logical explanation.

HARRIS: Yes, and that's the part that may be hard for someone who is on the outside to swallow. They do come up with what they think perfectly logical reason why all of these things would happen.

Let me bring up this one quote that we did pull out of the interview, because It seems as though they seem deluded when they said this, because they are saying this is the reason why would they believe the police screwed the whole thing up. Here they say, why would he, Scott, go 80 miles fishing, buy gas and food along the way, have a receipt of the dock and tell police exactly where he went fishing, and the body would be there. That does not make sense.

To me, I read that and think, well, here is someone, obviously they're in pain and they're in love with this guy, their son. But they must -- they may be somewhat deluded here.

UNDERWOOD: I wouldn't say deluded. I think that as any parent would, they want to believe their son. I think they do believe their son. And in their minds, every single thing has a logical explanation. For example, the arrest happened on Friday, because police said that they feared Scott would flee to Mexico. He did have $10,000 in the car, he changed his appearance, et cetera.

HARRIS: Did they explain that, though, the appearance change, and the cash as well?

UNDERWOOD: Well, they did not, because that was toward the end of the interview, and they really wanted to say what they wanted to say and be done with it. We were able to get some questions in to them, as you saw, but what they say is Scott had gone to Mexico before. Police knew where he was at every moment. They say they put a device on the car to monitor where he was. His attorney knew where he was every moment. So did they. He had just been to Mexico six weeks prior. He's from San Diego. The border is close. People go to Mexico, and it's not unusual for him to go. But that he would never run away from this, that he is grieving, though it might not seem like it as are they. They say police have been longed to divide and conquer the families, and they say they out and lied to them.

HARRIS: So they say also here they're going to pursue this thing. What do they mean by that?

UNDERWOOD: He didn't elaborate on that. But I think they're saying is that they are going to continue looking into those other missing women. They're going to find out why police are not taking the other witnesses who they say saw Laci after Laci's mom, which was supposed to be the last person who talked to her. They want to know why police have discredited those witnesses. So what they're saying is they're going to look into every one of the suspicions they have.

HARRIS: Jill Underwood, nice job, and a fascinating interview. Appreciate you coming in and sharing some more with us about all that. Good luck to you.

UNDERWOOD: Thank you. Thank you.

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