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Search for Laci Peterson

Aired April 15, 2003 - 15:13   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A series of grim discoveries to tell you about on the shores of San Francisco Bay. Authorities want to know if the remains of a woman, a baby boy and a bone found there are connected to the disappearance of Laci Peterson.
For the latest on all this, we go to CNN's Paul Vercammen, joining us from Richmond, California -- hello, Paul.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Miles.

As this mystery continues to unfold, they are looking into the possible links of, first, the skeletal remains of a female that were found in the East Bay near the town of Richmond. They're also trying to find out -- what they are reemphasizing is a full-term male baby's remains that were found. And now the latest development yesterday near the Berkeley Marina, the same marina where Scott Peterson, Laci Peterson's husband, went fishing on Christmas Eve.

Someone walking through that area found a bone. They do not know if this bone belonged to a human being. The person actually took the bone with them home, but now the authorities here Contra Costa County at the coroner's office have the bone. And they're trying to determine if there is a link. There have been reports that the female's body that was found was not only missing its head, but reports also said that it was missing both legs.

So, the suspicious might be that this bone could be linked to that. And they are now trying to determine just how much of a link there is. And, as we said, the bone was found by someone just walking around the Berkeley Marina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY LEE, SPOKESMAN, CONTRA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: At 12:30 this morning, the coroner's office received a phone call from the Oakland Police Department. Apparently, yesterday, an Oakland resident was out walking his dog. This was 2:30 in the afternoon, walking his dog in the area of the Berkeley Marina. This individual came across a bone. He took possession of that bone. He took it home and he notified the authorities. And the Oakland Police Department contacted us. We have custody of that bone here at the coroner's division.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: Now, the coroner will be looking into the possibility link, as we said, between that bone. The autopsies on the bodies has been completed here in Contra Costa County. They spent about four hours looking over the body. And they say there's no obvious cause of death. And that's why they need to continue their investigation.

They are going to bring in what's called an expert in illuviating damage. And they talked a little bit about this person would do. They'd be able to tell just how long the bodies had been in the water. They might be able to tell what sort of trauma there had been to the bone. Let's just say it turns out that the head is indeed missing. They could then determine whether or not it was severed or if it had just fallen off.

And, again, this person has been contacted. But this expert, this forensic pathologist in a highly specialized area has not yet arrived Contra Costa County. And I should say, again, that they are an expert in illuviating damage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: It's a specialist in what's called illuviating damage. And, essentially, that person will analyze the body and should be able to tell us roughly how long that body has been in the water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: Now, we expect the next big news in the story to come out of Modesto later on this afternoon, where, at 4:00 p.m., the Modesto Police Department is going to put on a news conference.

What's interesting about this is, the Contra Costa County authorities here say that they are not going to actually release the details of the autopsy. They are deferring to other authorities. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens here.

Reporting live from Modesto, I'm Paul Vercammen -- now back to you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, Paul, just quickly, that sort of leaves us hanging just a little bit. Do you have a sense that they are going to release something definitive at this news conference? Perhaps they have some sort of DNA match, for example?

VERCAMMEN: Well, we think it's way too early for the DNA match. As you know, sometimes they can get the DNA matches rather quickly. I'm under the impression that they have not received enough information yet in the area of DNA. That can take a long time. However, the buzz seems to be that they strongly feel that this is linked to the Laci Peterson case. So we expect some sort of announcement. And it could be a major announcement in just a few short hours -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: And just quickly, any word from Scott Peterson today?

VERCAMMEN: I have not seen any sign of Scott Peterson in terms of videotape. Don't forget, I'm almost 100 miles to the north of Modesto. We do have a crew in Modesto right now. And they say they've been by the house and the lawn sort of seems overgrown and that sort of thing.

So, no one has seen Scott Peterson that I know of, but I'm not in the best position to make that call.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Paul Vercammen, Richmond, California, thank you very much. We'll be watching that one very closely for 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 15, 2003 - 15:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A series of grim discoveries to tell you about on the shores of San Francisco Bay. Authorities want to know if the remains of a woman, a baby boy and a bone found there are connected to the disappearance of Laci Peterson.
For the latest on all this, we go to CNN's Paul Vercammen, joining us from Richmond, California -- hello, Paul.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Miles.

As this mystery continues to unfold, they are looking into the possible links of, first, the skeletal remains of a female that were found in the East Bay near the town of Richmond. They're also trying to find out -- what they are reemphasizing is a full-term male baby's remains that were found. And now the latest development yesterday near the Berkeley Marina, the same marina where Scott Peterson, Laci Peterson's husband, went fishing on Christmas Eve.

Someone walking through that area found a bone. They do not know if this bone belonged to a human being. The person actually took the bone with them home, but now the authorities here Contra Costa County at the coroner's office have the bone. And they're trying to determine if there is a link. There have been reports that the female's body that was found was not only missing its head, but reports also said that it was missing both legs.

So, the suspicious might be that this bone could be linked to that. And they are now trying to determine just how much of a link there is. And, as we said, the bone was found by someone just walking around the Berkeley Marina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY LEE, SPOKESMAN, CONTRA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: At 12:30 this morning, the coroner's office received a phone call from the Oakland Police Department. Apparently, yesterday, an Oakland resident was out walking his dog. This was 2:30 in the afternoon, walking his dog in the area of the Berkeley Marina. This individual came across a bone. He took possession of that bone. He took it home and he notified the authorities. And the Oakland Police Department contacted us. We have custody of that bone here at the coroner's division.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: Now, the coroner will be looking into the possibility link, as we said, between that bone. The autopsies on the bodies has been completed here in Contra Costa County. They spent about four hours looking over the body. And they say there's no obvious cause of death. And that's why they need to continue their investigation.

They are going to bring in what's called an expert in illuviating damage. And they talked a little bit about this person would do. They'd be able to tell just how long the bodies had been in the water. They might be able to tell what sort of trauma there had been to the bone. Let's just say it turns out that the head is indeed missing. They could then determine whether or not it was severed or if it had just fallen off.

And, again, this person has been contacted. But this expert, this forensic pathologist in a highly specialized area has not yet arrived Contra Costa County. And I should say, again, that they are an expert in illuviating damage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: It's a specialist in what's called illuviating damage. And, essentially, that person will analyze the body and should be able to tell us roughly how long that body has been in the water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: Now, we expect the next big news in the story to come out of Modesto later on this afternoon, where, at 4:00 p.m., the Modesto Police Department is going to put on a news conference.

What's interesting about this is, the Contra Costa County authorities here say that they are not going to actually release the details of the autopsy. They are deferring to other authorities. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens here.

Reporting live from Modesto, I'm Paul Vercammen -- now back to you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, Paul, just quickly, that sort of leaves us hanging just a little bit. Do you have a sense that they are going to release something definitive at this news conference? Perhaps they have some sort of DNA match, for example?

VERCAMMEN: Well, we think it's way too early for the DNA match. As you know, sometimes they can get the DNA matches rather quickly. I'm under the impression that they have not received enough information yet in the area of DNA. That can take a long time. However, the buzz seems to be that they strongly feel that this is linked to the Laci Peterson case. So we expect some sort of announcement. And it could be a major announcement in just a few short hours -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: And just quickly, any word from Scott Peterson today?

VERCAMMEN: I have not seen any sign of Scott Peterson in terms of videotape. Don't forget, I'm almost 100 miles to the north of Modesto. We do have a crew in Modesto right now. And they say they've been by the house and the lawn sort of seems overgrown and that sort of thing.

So, no one has seen Scott Peterson that I know of, but I'm not in the best position to make that call.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Paul Vercammen, Richmond, California, thank you very much. We'll be watching that one very closely for 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