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CNN Live Saturday
Search for Laci Peterson Continues
Aired January 18, 2003 - 16:19 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: More news here, in Modesto, California, there is new information about what may have once been an old investigation into a disappearance reportedly linked to Scott Peterson. You might recall his wife Laci Peterson has been missing since last month.
Let's turn to Paul Vercammen in Modesto for an update on this. So, it really sounds like this investigation into his wife's disappearance is now focusing on other crimes?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's true in just a sense. Of course prosecutors here throughout the Modesto area and investigators are looking throughout California for any possible links.
And there was a story circulating earlier today in a local newspaper that perhaps Scott Peterson was at least being looked at as a possible link to the disappearance of a 19-year-old women, then 19 years old, at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, her name is Kristin Smart (ph), and that case goes all the way back to 1996.
Well, just a short while ago, the Sheriff's Department in San Luis Obispo County said they have established absolutely no link between Scott Peterson, Laci Peterson's husband, and the Kristin Smart case in San Luis Obispo County.
And also, I talked with another investigator in that county on the phone and he said that there's another suspect and that case is very much still active, but that suspect is the person that they would be focusing on so, again, no ties in that case. That was pretty much generated by a report in the "Modesto Bee" earlier this morning.
Now meanwhile here in Modesto, it used to be that you saw family members of Scott Peterson, both his own family and of course Laci Peterson's parents and her sister standing staunchly behind their man. Now, there is sort of a rift here in Modesto.
What you're seeing now is many of the volunteers and friends and supporters of Laci Peterson are distancing themselves from Scott after a report that the police here in Modesto had told Laci Peterson's parents that Scott Peterson was having an affair with a woman from the Fresno area.
Meanwhile, the command center that was set up by the volunteers here in Modesto, that is now down. Also, there was some talk this weekend in Los Angeles that they would set up a command center and try to get the word out in the streets of L.A. by posting flyers. That also will not happen.
Reporting live from Modesto, I'm Paul Vercammen, now back to you Carol.
LIN: All right, very quickly Paul, it seems like you know these leaks certainly could serve to malign the man's character. I mean he's not been charged with any crime. Police aren't saying they're necessarily focusing the investigation on him. But do you think that at least putting it out there through local media that he might be a suspect in another crime is a pressure tactic to get him to cooperate more fully?
VERCAMMEN: Well, it's possible but I think what's happening here is that detectives are just flushing out every possible link if they can. You may have seen it. They went down a list of 200 other possible people in the area that could have been linked to her disappearance. I'm talking about people with convictions in various other crimes.
And so, they are just flushing out everything to try to see if they can come up with something to find Laci Peterson. Naturally, the San Luis Obispo connection, if you can look at California geography, Smart, the girl Kristin Smart is from Stockton.
You've got Mr. Peterson, Scott Peterson being from Modesto. A lot of students from the San Joaquin Valley go to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, so maybe they were just kind of looking into that for some possible connection.
But as we said before they have established no link so this is just a case of turning over every stone and whether or not they call Scott Peterson a suspect or not is irrelevant. Clearly they will try to look into any connection of the crime involving him.
LIN: Right, but the fact it got out, you know it wouldn't be the first time where a man's character was the next victim in an investigation. We'll see what happens. Thank you very much Paul Vercammen reporting live in Modesto.
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 January 18, 2003 - 16:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: More news here, in Modesto, California, there is new information about what may have once been an old investigation into a disappearance reportedly linked to Scott Peterson. You might recall his wife Laci Peterson has been missing since last month.
Let's turn to Paul Vercammen in Modesto for an update on this. So, it really sounds like this investigation into his wife's disappearance is now focusing on other crimes?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's true in just a sense. Of course prosecutors here throughout the Modesto area and investigators are looking throughout California for any possible links.
And there was a story circulating earlier today in a local newspaper that perhaps Scott Peterson was at least being looked at as a possible link to the disappearance of a 19-year-old women, then 19 years old, at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, her name is Kristin Smart (ph), and that case goes all the way back to 1996.
Well, just a short while ago, the Sheriff's Department in San Luis Obispo County said they have established absolutely no link between Scott Peterson, Laci Peterson's husband, and the Kristin Smart case in San Luis Obispo County.
And also, I talked with another investigator in that county on the phone and he said that there's another suspect and that case is very much still active, but that suspect is the person that they would be focusing on so, again, no ties in that case. That was pretty much generated by a report in the "Modesto Bee" earlier this morning.
Now meanwhile here in Modesto, it used to be that you saw family members of Scott Peterson, both his own family and of course Laci Peterson's parents and her sister standing staunchly behind their man. Now, there is sort of a rift here in Modesto.
What you're seeing now is many of the volunteers and friends and supporters of Laci Peterson are distancing themselves from Scott after a report that the police here in Modesto had told Laci Peterson's parents that Scott Peterson was having an affair with a woman from the Fresno area.
Meanwhile, the command center that was set up by the volunteers here in Modesto, that is now down. Also, there was some talk this weekend in Los Angeles that they would set up a command center and try to get the word out in the streets of L.A. by posting flyers. That also will not happen.
Reporting live from Modesto, I'm Paul Vercammen, now back to you Carol.
LIN: All right, very quickly Paul, it seems like you know these leaks certainly could serve to malign the man's character. I mean he's not been charged with any crime. Police aren't saying they're necessarily focusing the investigation on him. But do you think that at least putting it out there through local media that he might be a suspect in another crime is a pressure tactic to get him to cooperate more fully?
VERCAMMEN: Well, it's possible but I think what's happening here is that detectives are just flushing out every possible link if they can. You may have seen it. They went down a list of 200 other possible people in the area that could have been linked to her disappearance. I'm talking about people with convictions in various other crimes.
And so, they are just flushing out everything to try to see if they can come up with something to find Laci Peterson. Naturally, the San Luis Obispo connection, if you can look at California geography, Smart, the girl Kristin Smart is from Stockton.
You've got Mr. Peterson, Scott Peterson being from Modesto. A lot of students from the San Joaquin Valley go to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, so maybe they were just kind of looking into that for some possible connection.
But as we said before they have established no link so this is just a case of turning over every stone and whether or not they call Scott Peterson a suspect or not is irrelevant. Clearly they will try to look into any connection of the crime involving him.
LIN: Right, but the fact it got out, you know it wouldn't be the first time where a man's character was the next victim in an investigation. We'll see what happens. Thank you very much Paul Vercammen reporting live in Modesto.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
