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CNN Live Saturday

Interview with Kendall Coffey

Aired November 01, 2003 - 14:16   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.


JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: More suspicions are raised in court in the Laci Peterson case. Scott Peterson is accused of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. At his preliminary hearing, witnesses testified about a last-minute fishing trip by Peterson.
CNN's David Mattingly has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since the early weeks of Laci Peterson's disappearance, scrutiny of her husband's questionable behavior has kept Scott Peterson under intense public suspicion. And in court, more questions now about why Peterson didn't tell his closest relatives about purchasing a fishing boat two weeks before Laci disappeared.

Scott, appearing to get emotional as his own father, Lee Peterson, took the stand, saying Scott said nothing of owning a boat even during a phone call on Christmas Eve. The elder Peterson said the call came between noon and 2:00 p.m., around the time Scott claimed to be fishing.

Prosecutors also tried to cast down on Scott's claim that he last saw Laci as she was preparing to walk the family dog. Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, said the pregnant Laci complained of fatigue, back pain, morning sickness, swollen feet, and had once said she became ill while walking and thought she would pass out.

Laci's sister, Amy Rocha, also on the stand, saying Scott Peterson failed to pick up a gift basket as promised on Christmas Eve. She said Peterson claimed he planned to play golf, not go fishing.

(on camera): Also heard from, the Peterson's maid, questioned about cleaning materials she used December 23rd and about the position of window blinds. Her testimony is considered very important, as she is the last known witness to see Laci alive in the house where police believe she could have been killed.

David Mattingly, CNN, Modesto, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARL: For a more on the Peterson hearing and the other legal cases making news, we're joined by former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey, who is in Miami. So, Kendall Coffey, we just heard this question of Laci -- of Scott Peterson's father, who, of course, strongly supports his son in all of this, taking the stand and saying he knew nothing about this boat. On balance, does the father's testimony hurt Scott Peterson?

KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: It hurts a little bit. And also the fact that he had a conversation again between 12:00 and 2:00 on December 24th. Scott says nothing about fishing.

The fishing was the alibi, Jon. And we're seeing inconsistencies about it. Not just the day before he said he was going golfing, but how about the fact when the police officer questioned about what kind of fish he was fishing for? He couldn't give an answer. And if there are fishermen on the jury, that's probably something that's going to trouble them quite a bit.

KARL: How important is that alibi to his defense? Pretty central, isn't it?

COFFEY: Well, the alibi is central. And of course, as we know, the prosecution starts with the fact that the two bodies were found very, very close to where Scott Peterson says he was fishing. So it isn't going to take a lot, especially in the context of a preliminary hearing, to convince the judge that there's at least probable cause to bind Scott Peterson over for trial.

KARL: OK. Another question is DNA evidence. The prosecution wants to use it. The defense is strenuously objecting.

Is this DNA evidence questionable? Should it be used?

COFFEY: Well, I think it's probably going to get in. Mitochondrial DNA testing has been allowed by virtually every court around the country that's looked at it in the last year or two. Fair question, though, how significant is it if in fact there's a single strand of hair that somehow made it to Scott Peterson's boat?

After all, the defense is going to argue that a husband very naturally might have the hair of his wife or of other family members on his clothes. So I don't think that is as big as some of the other questions that are now being raised as the prosecution put its witnesses on the stand during this preliminary hearing.

KARL: OK. How about Amber Fry, another central figure in this case? Will she or will she not take the stand? What do you think?

COFFEY: It's beginning to look like she would, because I would assume the prosecution would want to use the tapes rather than take the chance of putting one of their star witness on the stand and being subjected to what could be a scorching cross-examination.

One of the things that we're really looking for now, Jon, is what is going to be the prosecution's theory? Was this some terrible, horrible argument between Scott and Laci Peterson on the night of December 23rd, where he lost it and killed her without intending to before then? Or was this something that was premeditated, being planned for weeks?

And ultimately, the prosecution isn't going to be able to have it both ways. They're going to have to decide which way to go. As we watch this preliminary hearing over next week, we may get a sense of which of those paths, the planning for weeks or the sudden losing it the night before the alleged fishing trip, which way is the prosecution going to go. And we'll find out pretty soon, I hope.

KARL: OK. And we only have about a minute left. But let's switch coasts. Go to the D.C. sniper case.

We had some incredibly emotional victim testimony today, including the testimony of the man who saw his wife shot in the head, one of the sniper's victims. What effect will all that emotional testimony have on the actual case?

COFFEY: It's devastating, Jon. And what they're doing is they're producing so much of it, that it's going to be clear that this horrible, mind-boggling series of murders couldn't have been principally the doing of a 17-year-old, Malvo. That this was something that could have only been so horrible so cruel that it was orchestrated by John Muhammad.

And that's important, because they don't have a lot of direct forensic evidence putting Muhammad's finger on the trigger. That's why I think they want to paint the complete picture to make sure that at the end of this the jury is not only willing to render a conviction, but they're also willing to return a death sentence with respect to John Muhammad.

KARL: OK. Kendall Coffey, always a pleasure. Thanks for joining us on this Saturday afternoon.

COFFEY: Thanks, Jon.

KARL: Take care.

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 November 1, 2003 - 14:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: More suspicions are raised in court in the Laci Peterson case. Scott Peterson is accused of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. At his preliminary hearing, witnesses testified about a last-minute fishing trip by Peterson.
CNN's David Mattingly has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since the early weeks of Laci Peterson's disappearance, scrutiny of her husband's questionable behavior has kept Scott Peterson under intense public suspicion. And in court, more questions now about why Peterson didn't tell his closest relatives about purchasing a fishing boat two weeks before Laci disappeared.

Scott, appearing to get emotional as his own father, Lee Peterson, took the stand, saying Scott said nothing of owning a boat even during a phone call on Christmas Eve. The elder Peterson said the call came between noon and 2:00 p.m., around the time Scott claimed to be fishing.

Prosecutors also tried to cast down on Scott's claim that he last saw Laci as she was preparing to walk the family dog. Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, said the pregnant Laci complained of fatigue, back pain, morning sickness, swollen feet, and had once said she became ill while walking and thought she would pass out.

Laci's sister, Amy Rocha, also on the stand, saying Scott Peterson failed to pick up a gift basket as promised on Christmas Eve. She said Peterson claimed he planned to play golf, not go fishing.

(on camera): Also heard from, the Peterson's maid, questioned about cleaning materials she used December 23rd and about the position of window blinds. Her testimony is considered very important, as she is the last known witness to see Laci alive in the house where police believe she could have been killed.

David Mattingly, CNN, Modesto, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARL: For a more on the Peterson hearing and the other legal cases making news, we're joined by former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey, who is in Miami. So, Kendall Coffey, we just heard this question of Laci -- of Scott Peterson's father, who, of course, strongly supports his son in all of this, taking the stand and saying he knew nothing about this boat. On balance, does the father's testimony hurt Scott Peterson?

KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: It hurts a little bit. And also the fact that he had a conversation again between 12:00 and 2:00 on December 24th. Scott says nothing about fishing.

The fishing was the alibi, Jon. And we're seeing inconsistencies about it. Not just the day before he said he was going golfing, but how about the fact when the police officer questioned about what kind of fish he was fishing for? He couldn't give an answer. And if there are fishermen on the jury, that's probably something that's going to trouble them quite a bit.

KARL: How important is that alibi to his defense? Pretty central, isn't it?

COFFEY: Well, the alibi is central. And of course, as we know, the prosecution starts with the fact that the two bodies were found very, very close to where Scott Peterson says he was fishing. So it isn't going to take a lot, especially in the context of a preliminary hearing, to convince the judge that there's at least probable cause to bind Scott Peterson over for trial.

KARL: OK. Another question is DNA evidence. The prosecution wants to use it. The defense is strenuously objecting.

Is this DNA evidence questionable? Should it be used?

COFFEY: Well, I think it's probably going to get in. Mitochondrial DNA testing has been allowed by virtually every court around the country that's looked at it in the last year or two. Fair question, though, how significant is it if in fact there's a single strand of hair that somehow made it to Scott Peterson's boat?

After all, the defense is going to argue that a husband very naturally might have the hair of his wife or of other family members on his clothes. So I don't think that is as big as some of the other questions that are now being raised as the prosecution put its witnesses on the stand during this preliminary hearing.

KARL: OK. How about Amber Fry, another central figure in this case? Will she or will she not take the stand? What do you think?

COFFEY: It's beginning to look like she would, because I would assume the prosecution would want to use the tapes rather than take the chance of putting one of their star witness on the stand and being subjected to what could be a scorching cross-examination.

One of the things that we're really looking for now, Jon, is what is going to be the prosecution's theory? Was this some terrible, horrible argument between Scott and Laci Peterson on the night of December 23rd, where he lost it and killed her without intending to before then? Or was this something that was premeditated, being planned for weeks?

And ultimately, the prosecution isn't going to be able to have it both ways. They're going to have to decide which way to go. As we watch this preliminary hearing over next week, we may get a sense of which of those paths, the planning for weeks or the sudden losing it the night before the alleged fishing trip, which way is the prosecution going to go. And we'll find out pretty soon, I hope.

KARL: OK. And we only have about a minute left. But let's switch coasts. Go to the D.C. sniper case.

We had some incredibly emotional victim testimony today, including the testimony of the man who saw his wife shot in the head, one of the sniper's victims. What effect will all that emotional testimony have on the actual case?

COFFEY: It's devastating, Jon. And what they're doing is they're producing so much of it, that it's going to be clear that this horrible, mind-boggling series of murders couldn't have been principally the doing of a 17-year-old, Malvo. That this was something that could have only been so horrible so cruel that it was orchestrated by John Muhammad.

And that's important, because they don't have a lot of direct forensic evidence putting Muhammad's finger on the trigger. That's why I think they want to paint the complete picture to make sure that at the end of this the jury is not only willing to render a conviction, but they're also willing to return a death sentence with respect to John Muhammad.

KARL: OK. Kendall Coffey, always a pleasure. Thanks for joining us on this Saturday afternoon.

COFFEY: Thanks, Jon.

KARL: Take care.

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