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American Morning

Laci Peterson Case

Aired April 21, 2003 - 08:04   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In northern California now, Scott Peterson scheduled to make his first court appearance today. He could be indicted possibly later today or tomorrow on Tuesday on capital murder charges in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn child.
His parents, meanwhile, defending their son, blasting police for -- quote -- "bungling the investigation." Scott Peterson is being held in isolation, a six-foot by nine-foot maximum-security cell.

Sheriff's Department spokesman Kelly Huston is in Modesto outside the Stanislaus County courthouse with us live this morning.

Nice to see you, Kelly, good morning to you.

KELLY HUSTON, STANISLAUS CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT. SPOKESMAN: Good morning -- Bill.

HEMMER: Did you consider Scott Peterson a flight risk?

HUSTON: That wouldn't be our jurisdiction. The police department, of course, said that they believed he was and that's why they made the decision to arrest him and book him into our facility here in Modesto.

HEMMER: Yes, some have suggested his behavior changed lately. What more can you add to that?

HUSTON: You know, I've only seen the reports on television about Scott. I haven't been involved in the investigation. We've taken it from the point of actually putting him into our custody facility and now moving him forward through the court process, along with the district attorney's office.

HEMMER: Kelly, what can you tell us about the evidence that apparently in some report says is quite substantial, yet it was only late Friday evening in southern California when he was brought back there?

HUSTON: You know, again, I wish I knew some details to be able to share it with you about the evidence in this case. What I can tell you, though, is that Scott, here in our maximum-security custody facility, is going to be treated just like any other inmate we have. And we're going to try to use extra security precautions to make sure that he's able to be arraigned today or this afternoon as quickly as possible. And then, of course, the judge in court will make a determination as to what his future will be. HEMMER: Can you say for certain that will happen today or may it slide to Tuesday?

HUSTON: It's possible it could move until 8:30 tomorrow morning, and of course that's a decision that is made between the court and the district attorney's office and the police department. They combine their information together and then decide how much they have to go forward with an arraignment. Most likely, it will be today at 1:30 here in Modesto.

HEMMER: Kelly, can you shed light on the cause of death for Laci Peterson?

HUSTON: You know, unfortunately, that's another detail I don't know. The jurisdiction that would be determining cause of death of Laci and their unborn son, Connor, would be in Contra Costa County. And the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department has a coroner's facility there, much like we do here. We all have pathologists who then make those determinations. And I'm not sure if Contra Costa will be determining that or has come out publicly with that.

HEMMER: Kelly, can you tell us if they're still searching the waters where that body washed up?

HUSTON: My understanding is that there is additional searches for evidence planned. Where specifically they're be -- they're going to be doing that, I'm not sure. I think the police department may have some more information about that later on this afternoon after the family holds their anticipated press conference.

HEMMER: All right, Kelly, final point here, Lee and Jackie Peterson, the parents of Scott Peterson, quoted in "TIME" magazine. I'll put it up on the screen for our viewers. "You have a district attorney calling this a slam-dunk before there's even an arraignment. I'm feeling like I'm living in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. I am just sick of this." What do you say to the parents of Scott Peterson at this point?

HUSTON: Well, I can't speak on behalf of the police department, but what I can say on behalf of the sheriff's department and most everybody is 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 of these families to be dealing with and they're going to be in for the long haul through the process of the court system here 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.

HEMMER: Kelly Huston, live in California, thanks for talking with us.

HUSTON: Thank 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 21, 2003 - 08:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In northern California now, Scott Peterson scheduled to make his first court appearance today. He could be indicted possibly later today or tomorrow on Tuesday on capital murder charges in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn child.
His parents, meanwhile, defending their son, blasting police for -- quote -- "bungling the investigation." Scott Peterson is being held in isolation, a six-foot by nine-foot maximum-security cell.

Sheriff's Department spokesman Kelly Huston is in Modesto outside the Stanislaus County courthouse with us live this morning.

Nice to see you, Kelly, good morning to you.

KELLY HUSTON, STANISLAUS CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT. SPOKESMAN: Good morning -- Bill.

HEMMER: Did you consider Scott Peterson a flight risk?

HUSTON: That wouldn't be our jurisdiction. The police department, of course, said that they believed he was and that's why they made the decision to arrest him and book him into our facility here in Modesto.

HEMMER: Yes, some have suggested his behavior changed lately. What more can you add to that?

HUSTON: You know, I've only seen the reports on television about Scott. I haven't been involved in the investigation. We've taken it from the point of actually putting him into our custody facility and now moving him forward through the court process, along with the district attorney's office.

HEMMER: Kelly, what can you tell us about the evidence that apparently in some report says is quite substantial, yet it was only late Friday evening in southern California when he was brought back there?

HUSTON: You know, again, I wish I knew some details to be able to share it with you about the evidence in this case. What I can tell you, though, is that Scott, here in our maximum-security custody facility, is going to be treated just like any other inmate we have. And we're going to try to use extra security precautions to make sure that he's able to be arraigned today or this afternoon as quickly as possible. And then, of course, the judge in court will make a determination as to what his future will be. HEMMER: Can you say for certain that will happen today or may it slide to Tuesday?

HUSTON: It's possible it could move until 8:30 tomorrow morning, and of course that's a decision that is made between the court and the district attorney's office and the police department. They combine their information together and then decide how much they have to go forward with an arraignment. Most likely, it will be today at 1:30 here in Modesto.

HEMMER: Kelly, can you shed light on the cause of death for Laci Peterson?

HUSTON: You know, unfortunately, that's another detail I don't know. The jurisdiction that would be determining cause of death of Laci and their unborn son, Connor, would be in Contra Costa County. And the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department has a coroner's facility there, much like we do here. We all have pathologists who then make those determinations. And I'm not sure if Contra Costa will be determining that or has come out publicly with that.

HEMMER: Kelly, can you tell us if they're still searching the waters where that body washed up?

HUSTON: My understanding is that there is additional searches for evidence planned. Where specifically they're be -- they're going to be doing that, I'm not sure. I think the police department may have some more information about that later on this afternoon after the family holds their anticipated press conference.

HEMMER: All right, Kelly, final point here, Lee and Jackie Peterson, the parents of Scott Peterson, quoted in "TIME" magazine. I'll put it up on the screen for our viewers. "You have a district attorney calling this a slam-dunk before there's even an arraignment. I'm feeling like I'm living in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. I am just sick of this." What do you say to the parents of Scott Peterson at this point?

HUSTON: Well, I can't speak on behalf of the police department, but what I can say on behalf of the sheriff's department and most everybody is 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 of these families to be dealing with and they're going to be in for the long haul through the process of the court system here 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.

HEMMER: Kelly Huston, live in California, thanks for talking with us.

HUSTON: Thank 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