Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Husband Faces Arraignment

Aired April 21, 2003 - 13:00   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: We begin in Modesto, California, where the husband of the pregnant woman who vanished Christmas Eve is about to be arraigned for her murder and that of the couple's unborn child. You know the names by now, Laci Peterson, she was 7 1/2 months pregnant when she disappeared Christmas Eve. Her husband, Scott, arrested on Friday. The other name, Conner, the unborn child whose body was found near the mother's on San Francisco Bay.
To catch us up on the latest, we turn to CNN's Mike Brooks standing by in Modesto.

Mike, what are we going to see in court today?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, in a few moments, Scott Peterson will walk from the Stanislaus County jail, where he's hailed in the maximum security tier. He will be escorted by deputies under the tunnel to the courtroom, where he'll stand in front of Judge Nancy Ashley and enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty in the alleged murders of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner.

Now, as this is going on, his parents are still supporting him. Yesterday in San Diego, the Peterson family issued a statement of support for their son, Scott. Part of the statement was as follows, "Our time of mourning and grief and is compounded by the accusations made against Scott. We believe in his innocence, and he has our total and unwavering support."

This morning, we spoke with Stanislaus County spokesperson Kelly Huston. He talked about how cases like this can really put a lot of grief on both families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY HUSTON: This is a difficult time not only for Laci Peterson's family, but Scott Peterson's family. As you can imagine, having your son facing capital murder charges is quite a shock, especially a shock to Scott. In this particular case, he's not been in a custody facility. This is a really difficult tragedy for both thee families to be dealing with. And they're going to be in for the long haul through the process of the court system in California, and our hearts go out to both families. Despite any personal feelings anybody may have about the guilt or innocence of anybody, this is a real tragic event for both families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Earlier this morning, we saw Scott's attorney, Kirk McCallister, entering the courthouse. Now a little -- just moments ago, he was coming back out, heading back to his office, and I asked -- tried to talk to him, but he said, I'll do my talking in court. He basically had nothing to say.

We have been trying all week to talk with Kirk McCallister about the strategy he may use to try to defend Scott, but he will not speak to the media at all.

It should be pointed out, Miles, that Kirk McCallister was retained by Scott early on in the disappearance of Laci, very early on, right after they did the search warrant of his house, right two days after she disappeared December 26th. That's when they did the first search warrant. Again, she disappeared, as we know, on December 24th -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Mike,Scott Peterson, when he was arrested, had altered his looks, had $10,000 on cash on him reportedly. I presume the court would look at that as a potential risk of flight. Is it unlikely he will get bail?

BROOKS: Well, on these charges alone, it is unlikely he would get bail, Miles. But as we've seen the pictures of Scott, the last time we saw him was back on the second search of his house on February 18th, and he started to grow a beard then. Now we see him with a full beard, his hair has been lightened looked like he even lightened his beard a little bit. He lost a bit of weight. And with this reportedly $10, 000 in cash in his car, they did believe he was a flight risk.

In fact, Modesto Police said in a press conference right after his arrest they in fact believe he was a flight risk, and being so close to Mexico, they decided to go ahead and make the arrests right then -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Quickly, Mike, do you have the sense they have a pretty good case against him, just on the face of it?

BROOKS: Well, the Modesto Police said that even if they had not found the body of Laci Peterson, they were going to arrest Scott and proceed with the case. They feel they have a rock-solid case, and it should be a very interesting trial, once it comes to trial, to see what evidence they do have against him.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Mike Brooks in Modesto, California. Thank you -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, to talk more about the case, we're also joined by our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. He's in New York.

Jeffrey, Mike Brooks mentioned the term rock solid with regard to the case. What do you think? Are you surprised?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That was not the words that would come to my mind. I think, you know, the D.A.'s office and the police, perhaps to their credit, have been tight mouthed about the case, about what their evidence is.

But what we do know is that there is no eyewitness to this murder, there is no murder weapon, there is no cause of death proved. This is a defendant with no criminal record.

Sure, the husband is always the suspect, and I think by far most incriminating fact here is that the body of Laci Peterson and her unborn son were discovered 80 miles away from their home, right by where Scott Peterson admitted being on the day she disappeared. That's a very damaging fact. But rock solid, open and shut case, doesn't look that way to me.

PHILLIPS: All right, a cause of death has not been determined yet. How unusual is it, or is it not unusual to charge somebody with capital murder charges when you don't even have a cause of death?

TOOBIN: It's unusual, but it's not unprecedented. There have been murder prosecutions with no body at all, with no definitive iron- clad proof that the victim is even dead. So there have been all kinds of murder prosecutions. But it is more difficult to prove a case when you don't have a cause of death medically ascertained.

PHILLIPS: What is it that the police and investigators have to be able to charge him with capital murder charges?

TOOBIN: Well, I think the discovery of the bodies so near to where he was in a location that where she had no reason to be, you have the issue of motive, the fact that he was the husband, who was having an extramarital affair. There is a possible financial motive, in terms of insurance policy that had been purchased.

But in terms of physical evidence, tying Scott Peterson to this crime, I don't know what it is. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but it is not available to the public yet.

PHILLIPS: So, his parents, Scott Peterson's parents, coming forward and saying this investigation has been bungled, and they think it's totally unfair for the D.A. to come forward and say, hey, this was a slam dunk, what do you think? Do the parents, they've got the right to say this, don't they?

TOOBIN: They certainly have the right to say it, and I think, you know, parents being parents love their children, no matter what. I wouldn't put a lot of stock in it in determining whether he's really guilty or innocent. But certainly the conduct of the police will be scrutinized carefully by the defense in this case. There's a lot we don't know. There's a lot to learn. Maybe it will be positive, maybe it won't.

PHILLIPS: Final question quickly, Jeffrey, he could face the death penalty, couldn't he?

TOOBIN: He could. They have charged him with murder with special circumstances, makes him eligible for the death penalty. Under California law, it makes him ineligible to be released on bail. He is not going anywhere, no matter what, after today's arraignments. PHILLIPS: Our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, thank you very much.

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 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin in Modesto, California, where the husband of the pregnant woman who vanished Christmas Eve is about to be arraigned for her murder and that of the couple's unborn child. You know the names by now, Laci Peterson, she was 7 1/2 months pregnant when she disappeared Christmas Eve. Her husband, Scott, arrested on Friday. The other name, Conner, the unborn child whose body was found near the mother's on San Francisco Bay.
To catch us up on the latest, we turn to CNN's Mike Brooks standing by in Modesto.

Mike, what are we going to see in court today?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, in a few moments, Scott Peterson will walk from the Stanislaus County jail, where he's hailed in the maximum security tier. He will be escorted by deputies under the tunnel to the courtroom, where he'll stand in front of Judge Nancy Ashley and enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty in the alleged murders of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner.

Now, as this is going on, his parents are still supporting him. Yesterday in San Diego, the Peterson family issued a statement of support for their son, Scott. Part of the statement was as follows, "Our time of mourning and grief and is compounded by the accusations made against Scott. We believe in his innocence, and he has our total and unwavering support."

This morning, we spoke with Stanislaus County spokesperson Kelly Huston. He talked about how cases like this can really put a lot of grief on both families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY HUSTON: This is a difficult time not only for Laci Peterson's family, but Scott Peterson's family. As you can imagine, having your son facing capital murder charges is quite a shock, especially a shock to Scott. In this particular case, he's not been in a custody facility. This is a really difficult tragedy for both thee families to be dealing with. And they're going to be in for the long haul through the process of the court system in California, and our hearts go out to both families. Despite any personal feelings anybody may have about the guilt or innocence of anybody, this is a real tragic event for both families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Earlier this morning, we saw Scott's attorney, Kirk McCallister, entering the courthouse. Now a little -- just moments ago, he was coming back out, heading back to his office, and I asked -- tried to talk to him, but he said, I'll do my talking in court. He basically had nothing to say.

We have been trying all week to talk with Kirk McCallister about the strategy he may use to try to defend Scott, but he will not speak to the media at all.

It should be pointed out, Miles, that Kirk McCallister was retained by Scott early on in the disappearance of Laci, very early on, right after they did the search warrant of his house, right two days after she disappeared December 26th. That's when they did the first search warrant. Again, she disappeared, as we know, on December 24th -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Mike,Scott Peterson, when he was arrested, had altered his looks, had $10,000 on cash on him reportedly. I presume the court would look at that as a potential risk of flight. Is it unlikely he will get bail?

BROOKS: Well, on these charges alone, it is unlikely he would get bail, Miles. But as we've seen the pictures of Scott, the last time we saw him was back on the second search of his house on February 18th, and he started to grow a beard then. Now we see him with a full beard, his hair has been lightened looked like he even lightened his beard a little bit. He lost a bit of weight. And with this reportedly $10, 000 in cash in his car, they did believe he was a flight risk.

In fact, Modesto Police said in a press conference right after his arrest they in fact believe he was a flight risk, and being so close to Mexico, they decided to go ahead and make the arrests right then -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Quickly, Mike, do you have the sense they have a pretty good case against him, just on the face of it?

BROOKS: Well, the Modesto Police said that even if they had not found the body of Laci Peterson, they were going to arrest Scott and proceed with the case. They feel they have a rock-solid case, and it should be a very interesting trial, once it comes to trial, to see what evidence they do have against him.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Mike Brooks in Modesto, California. Thank you -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, to talk more about the case, we're also joined by our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. He's in New York.

Jeffrey, Mike Brooks mentioned the term rock solid with regard to the case. What do you think? Are you surprised?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That was not the words that would come to my mind. I think, you know, the D.A.'s office and the police, perhaps to their credit, have been tight mouthed about the case, about what their evidence is.

But what we do know is that there is no eyewitness to this murder, there is no murder weapon, there is no cause of death proved. This is a defendant with no criminal record.

Sure, the husband is always the suspect, and I think by far most incriminating fact here is that the body of Laci Peterson and her unborn son were discovered 80 miles away from their home, right by where Scott Peterson admitted being on the day she disappeared. That's a very damaging fact. But rock solid, open and shut case, doesn't look that way to me.

PHILLIPS: All right, a cause of death has not been determined yet. How unusual is it, or is it not unusual to charge somebody with capital murder charges when you don't even have a cause of death?

TOOBIN: It's unusual, but it's not unprecedented. There have been murder prosecutions with no body at all, with no definitive iron- clad proof that the victim is even dead. So there have been all kinds of murder prosecutions. But it is more difficult to prove a case when you don't have a cause of death medically ascertained.

PHILLIPS: What is it that the police and investigators have to be able to charge him with capital murder charges?

TOOBIN: Well, I think the discovery of the bodies so near to where he was in a location that where she had no reason to be, you have the issue of motive, the fact that he was the husband, who was having an extramarital affair. There is a possible financial motive, in terms of insurance policy that had been purchased.

But in terms of physical evidence, tying Scott Peterson to this crime, I don't know what it is. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but it is not available to the public yet.

PHILLIPS: So, his parents, Scott Peterson's parents, coming forward and saying this investigation has been bungled, and they think it's totally unfair for the D.A. to come forward and say, hey, this was a slam dunk, what do you think? Do the parents, they've got the right to say this, don't they?

TOOBIN: They certainly have the right to say it, and I think, you know, parents being parents love their children, no matter what. I wouldn't put a lot of stock in it in determining whether he's really guilty or innocent. But certainly the conduct of the police will be scrutinized carefully by the defense in this case. There's a lot we don't know. There's a lot to learn. Maybe it will be positive, maybe it won't.

PHILLIPS: Final question quickly, Jeffrey, he could face the death penalty, couldn't he?

TOOBIN: He could. They have charged him with murder with special circumstances, makes him eligible for the death penalty. Under California law, it makes him ineligible to be released on bail. He is not going anywhere, no matter what, after today's arraignments. PHILLIPS: Our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, thank you very much.

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