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Peterson's Attorneys May File Burglary Charges
Aired May 30, 2003 - 15:32 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: More now from Modesto, California, where things are get getting curiouser and curiouser. Self-described friends of Laci Peterson's family staged an apparent raid on the home of Laci and Scott Peterson, taking loads of personal effects. It's a confusing scene to say the least.
David Mattingly here to help us sort this all out. David, what do we know now?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, according to an attorney representing the Rocha family -- that is Laci Peterson's family, they had a green light, a -- quote -- "a green light" from the district attorney here, well over a month ago, to enter the house and retrieve items that were not related to the defense of Scott Peterson.
That's why, today, we saw friends of the Rocha family entering the Peterson home on Covena (ph) Avenue here in Modesto. They were taking out items such as clothing and furniture. There was some wicker furniture, looked like baby items they were taking out as well. Earlier in the week, the attorney for the Rocha family had put out a letter arguing that the Rocha family had not been able to get access to the house because the Peterson family had changed the locks and changed the alarm code on the house.
In fact, when people came in today, they accidentally set off the alarm. Police arrived at the scene, but after a short conversation, no one had anything to say or report to police, and there was no report done.
Now, a short time ago, a member of the defense team showed up at the house as well. He was very upset. He said that they had plans, the defense team had plans to go through the house and videotape in detail the house and the evidence in the house. They said they had an agreement with the D.A. and with the family that no one would go into the house until Tuesday after the videotaping was complete.
Now, remember the defense team is trying to build their own defense by doing their own investigation. So, essentially, this house, early on, was considered the place where Laci Peterson was killed, so it's important to the defense team to go through there and collect their own evidence, collect their own videotaped evidence as they wanted it.
But now people have come in and taken items out. They're very upset with what is happening, and one attorney for the defense team tells me they may seek criminal charges, burglary charges, against the people who went into the house -- Miles. O'BRIEN: Wow, OK. So now we're facing the possibility of burglary charges here. Let me ask you this, though, David. If the defense says it needs that house preserved as it was, but there's no presumption that there is a solid chain of evidence there, could that really be submitted in court, whatever they were to gather there?
MATTINGLY: That's true, but if you remember very early on, when search warrants were first executed in the case, it was indicated that police believed that Laci Peterson's life was taken at that residence before her body was taken away. So that location very important to the defense if they want to build their own scenario, their own investigation that shows that someone else is responsible for this crime and not Scott Peterson. So their argument now is, if someone came in without their authorization, took items out of the home without their authorization, then, in a sense, what they were treating as a crime scene has now been tainted. That's why they may be seeking criminal charges for the people who went in and took items out.
O'BRIEN: So I guess it's whether there is a presumption that it was a crime scene, per se, that will be key here?
MATTINGLY: Well, the crime scene tape went down at that house a long time ago, and the house had alternately been treated as a shrine with people in the neighborhood coming by and leaving things on the front lawn. It was a place for the public to gather.
In recent months -- or recent weeks, the Peterson family has been in charge, along with the defense attorneys. They -- in fact, they were there just last week cutting the grass in front and inside the house that we know of. They were treating that house as an important piece of evidence in their investigation.
O'BRIEN: CNN's David Mattingly, thank you very much. Keep us posted on that. We'll see if those burglary charges are, in fact, filed and pressed there in Modesto, California.
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 May 30, 2003 - 15:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: More now from Modesto, California, where things are get getting curiouser and curiouser. Self-described friends of Laci Peterson's family staged an apparent raid on the home of Laci and Scott Peterson, taking loads of personal effects. It's a confusing scene to say the least.
David Mattingly here to help us sort this all out. David, what do we know now?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, according to an attorney representing the Rocha family -- that is Laci Peterson's family, they had a green light, a -- quote -- "a green light" from the district attorney here, well over a month ago, to enter the house and retrieve items that were not related to the defense of Scott Peterson.
That's why, today, we saw friends of the Rocha family entering the Peterson home on Covena (ph) Avenue here in Modesto. They were taking out items such as clothing and furniture. There was some wicker furniture, looked like baby items they were taking out as well. Earlier in the week, the attorney for the Rocha family had put out a letter arguing that the Rocha family had not been able to get access to the house because the Peterson family had changed the locks and changed the alarm code on the house.
In fact, when people came in today, they accidentally set off the alarm. Police arrived at the scene, but after a short conversation, no one had anything to say or report to police, and there was no report done.
Now, a short time ago, a member of the defense team showed up at the house as well. He was very upset. He said that they had plans, the defense team had plans to go through the house and videotape in detail the house and the evidence in the house. They said they had an agreement with the D.A. and with the family that no one would go into the house until Tuesday after the videotaping was complete.
Now, remember the defense team is trying to build their own defense by doing their own investigation. So, essentially, this house, early on, was considered the place where Laci Peterson was killed, so it's important to the defense team to go through there and collect their own evidence, collect their own videotaped evidence as they wanted it.
But now people have come in and taken items out. They're very upset with what is happening, and one attorney for the defense team tells me they may seek criminal charges, burglary charges, against the people who went into the house -- Miles. O'BRIEN: Wow, OK. So now we're facing the possibility of burglary charges here. Let me ask you this, though, David. If the defense says it needs that house preserved as it was, but there's no presumption that there is a solid chain of evidence there, could that really be submitted in court, whatever they were to gather there?
MATTINGLY: That's true, but if you remember very early on, when search warrants were first executed in the case, it was indicated that police believed that Laci Peterson's life was taken at that residence before her body was taken away. So that location very important to the defense if they want to build their own scenario, their own investigation that shows that someone else is responsible for this crime and not Scott Peterson. So their argument now is, if someone came in without their authorization, took items out of the home without their authorization, then, in a sense, what they were treating as a crime scene has now been tainted. That's why they may be seeking criminal charges for the people who went in and took items out.
O'BRIEN: So I guess it's whether there is a presumption that it was a crime scene, per se, that will be key here?
MATTINGLY: Well, the crime scene tape went down at that house a long time ago, and the house had alternately been treated as a shrine with people in the neighborhood coming by and leaving things on the front lawn. It was a place for the public to gather.
In recent months -- or recent weeks, the Peterson family has been in charge, along with the defense attorneys. They -- in fact, they were there just last week cutting the grass in front and inside the house that we know of. They were treating that house as an important piece of evidence in their investigation.
O'BRIEN: CNN's David Mattingly, thank you very much. Keep us posted on that. We'll see if those burglary charges are, in fact, filed and pressed there in Modesto, California.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
