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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With Don Clark

Aired April 19, 2003 - 07:00   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Modesto, California police say there are no other suspects in the Laci Peterson case. Her husband, Scott, is under arrest and is to be arraigned Monday or Tuesday. And joining us now from Modesto with more is CNN's Mike Brooks. Good morning to you, Mike.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Yes, last evening approximately 12:00 this morning, Heidi, Scott Peterson was returned here to Modesto, California. He was arrested yesterday afternoon in San Diego by Modesto police.

Now later yesterday afternoon, a press conference was held by the California Department of Justice. The attorney general there said that the remains that were found last Sunday and Monday in San Francisco Bay were positively identified as that of Laci Peterson and her full-term baby boy, Connor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL LOCKYER, ATTORNEY GENERAL, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: There is no question in our minds that the unidentified female is Laci Peterson. The unidentified fetus is the biological child of Laci and Scott Peterson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Now this was a collaborative effort by numerous law enforcement agencies here in California, but the main lead agency was the Modesto Police. Now Scott Peterson will be processed through the Stanislaus County Jail here in Modesto and he will appear in Superior Court here on Monday to be arraigned on charges of capital murder -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, what happens now, Mike? We know that the DNA match with Laci and her baby. But as far as evidence goes and building the case against Scott Peterson, where will investigators go on that?

BROOKS: Well, investigators said yesterday that they did not need a positive identification of the remains -- if the remains had not washed ashore, that they still had, and they feel that they had, a pretty rock-solid case against Scott Peterson. They have done numerous searches of his home, of his car, of his boat and they feel that they have a pretty good, rock-solid case against Scott and that they were going to go ahead with the case. And there are special circumstances now that this could be a death penalty because of the double homicide and the capital murder charges. Heidi?

COLLINS: And quickly, Mike, I just want to ask you -- I don't know what time you got there, yesterday I'm guessing, but did you see him? Did you happen to notice the change in his appearance that we've been talking about this morning?

BROOKS: Well, I've been here all day, was not here when he came in and arrived at Stanislaus County Jail, but the last search warrants that were done at Scott's home in February, he started to grow a beard. And the pictures this morning in the "Modesto Bee" and the pictures that we got from our affiliates show him with a full beard and his hair looks a little bit lighter. So, his appearance did change. When he was arrested yesterday, he was apparently arrested driving a Mercedes. Now who that car belonged to, we don't know. But it was in San Diego at an intersection. And they were concerned that he could be a flight risk and that's one of the reasons they went ahead and took him down and arrested him yesterday. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. Live in Modesto, CNN's Mike Brooks. Thanks for the update.

COOPER: Well, continuing on the story now, with Scott Peterson in custody, we want to get more on where the investigation goes from here and maybe what led up to the arrest. Joining us, former FBI lead investigator Don Clark. Don, good to see you again. Thanks for being with us this morning.

DON CLARK, FBI LEAD INVESTIGATOR: Good to see you, Anderson.

COOPER: Were you surprised by the timing of this arrest?

CLARK: Well, a bit surprised at how quick it was after the body was identified, Anderson. But, you know what? This is has really come to bear is the fact is there really was some significant evidence that came out of all of the searches that took place. And the police have gone through this very tediously and tried to piece all this together. And, obviously, they did because I think what the real tell-tale sign is that when he was arrested, he's actually charged with murder. And in many of these cases, sometimes the individual is arrested and charged with a lesser charge, meaning that there is more work to be done, perhaps.

COOPER: Not just murder, capital murder with special circumstances. For us laymen, talk a little bit about what that means.

CLARK: Well, and I'm not really totally familiar with the state of California law, but I do know that it's capital murder because there's been more than one murder that he's charged with. He's obviously charged with Laci's murder and he's charged with the unborn -- the baby Connor's murder as well, so which puts him in a capital status which could bring about it some type of death penalty later on.

COOPER: Yes, certainly eligible for the death penalty. I should point out that the prosecutor's office in California has not made a decision yet on death penalty. That remains to be seen, what's going to happen there.

Let's talk again about the timing of this arrest. Obviously, it would seem at least, that the discovery of Laci Peterson's body as well as the body of her son, Connor, brought this to the fore. But what was interesting about what came out of one of the press conferences yesterday is that the Modesto Police were saying the arrest was made before positive DNA identification was made. Did that surprise you?

CLARK: Well, that certainly did surprise me because, you know, without a positive identification of a body, it is very, very difficult to make a homicide case. And I know that from working with a number of homicide detectives throughout my career. There have been cases made, but without that, it's very difficult.

But, again, Anderson, it goes back to there must have been some significant evidence developed in the course of those searches. And we will find that out because he was immediately arrested on some type of probable cause, because he has not been indicted yet, which we'll find out a little bit more of the evidence and then subsequently when it goes to trial.

COOPER: So you're guessing, and it's just a guess at this point, but you think the evidence might have come from the searches as opposed to more than from the positive identification of the bodies?

CLARK: Oh, yes. I would certainly weigh in that the evidence came from the searches as opposed to just a positive identification from the body because that, to me, would just be one piece of the puzzle because these investigators have two things to do, Anderson. They have to collect and they have to connect -- collect that evidence and connect it together. And I don't think that just finding the body was that necessary piece. It had to be the other particles of evidence that they had picked up all along the route.

COOPER: I was talking to a forensic pathologist last night who was saying given the conditions the body found in -- being in the water and the like -- it may not be possible to find out the cause of death, the mode of death.

CLARK: Yes. That may be tough for prosecutors and the investigators trying to put this case together later on down the road. But if they've gone to this point, the cause of death may not end up being a significant point. It may be all of the facts, all of the points, leading up to, all the activities leading up to her actual disappearance. And that may be the overbearing point in terms of evidence.

COOPER: All right. Don Clark, always good to talk to you. Thank you for your perspective. I appreciate it.

CLARK: Thank you, Anderson.

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 19, 2003 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Modesto, California police say there are no other suspects in the Laci Peterson case. Her husband, Scott, is under arrest and is to be arraigned Monday or Tuesday. And joining us now from Modesto with more is CNN's Mike Brooks. Good morning to you, Mike.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Yes, last evening approximately 12:00 this morning, Heidi, Scott Peterson was returned here to Modesto, California. He was arrested yesterday afternoon in San Diego by Modesto police.

Now later yesterday afternoon, a press conference was held by the California Department of Justice. The attorney general there said that the remains that were found last Sunday and Monday in San Francisco Bay were positively identified as that of Laci Peterson and her full-term baby boy, Connor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL LOCKYER, ATTORNEY GENERAL, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: There is no question in our minds that the unidentified female is Laci Peterson. The unidentified fetus is the biological child of Laci and Scott Peterson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Now this was a collaborative effort by numerous law enforcement agencies here in California, but the main lead agency was the Modesto Police. Now Scott Peterson will be processed through the Stanislaus County Jail here in Modesto and he will appear in Superior Court here on Monday to be arraigned on charges of capital murder -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, what happens now, Mike? We know that the DNA match with Laci and her baby. But as far as evidence goes and building the case against Scott Peterson, where will investigators go on that?

BROOKS: Well, investigators said yesterday that they did not need a positive identification of the remains -- if the remains had not washed ashore, that they still had, and they feel that they had, a pretty rock-solid case against Scott Peterson. They have done numerous searches of his home, of his car, of his boat and they feel that they have a pretty good, rock-solid case against Scott and that they were going to go ahead with the case. And there are special circumstances now that this could be a death penalty because of the double homicide and the capital murder charges. Heidi?

COLLINS: And quickly, Mike, I just want to ask you -- I don't know what time you got there, yesterday I'm guessing, but did you see him? Did you happen to notice the change in his appearance that we've been talking about this morning?

BROOKS: Well, I've been here all day, was not here when he came in and arrived at Stanislaus County Jail, but the last search warrants that were done at Scott's home in February, he started to grow a beard. And the pictures this morning in the "Modesto Bee" and the pictures that we got from our affiliates show him with a full beard and his hair looks a little bit lighter. So, his appearance did change. When he was arrested yesterday, he was apparently arrested driving a Mercedes. Now who that car belonged to, we don't know. But it was in San Diego at an intersection. And they were concerned that he could be a flight risk and that's one of the reasons they went ahead and took him down and arrested him yesterday. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. Live in Modesto, CNN's Mike Brooks. Thanks for the update.

COOPER: Well, continuing on the story now, with Scott Peterson in custody, we want to get more on where the investigation goes from here and maybe what led up to the arrest. Joining us, former FBI lead investigator Don Clark. Don, good to see you again. Thanks for being with us this morning.

DON CLARK, FBI LEAD INVESTIGATOR: Good to see you, Anderson.

COOPER: Were you surprised by the timing of this arrest?

CLARK: Well, a bit surprised at how quick it was after the body was identified, Anderson. But, you know what? This is has really come to bear is the fact is there really was some significant evidence that came out of all of the searches that took place. And the police have gone through this very tediously and tried to piece all this together. And, obviously, they did because I think what the real tell-tale sign is that when he was arrested, he's actually charged with murder. And in many of these cases, sometimes the individual is arrested and charged with a lesser charge, meaning that there is more work to be done, perhaps.

COOPER: Not just murder, capital murder with special circumstances. For us laymen, talk a little bit about what that means.

CLARK: Well, and I'm not really totally familiar with the state of California law, but I do know that it's capital murder because there's been more than one murder that he's charged with. He's obviously charged with Laci's murder and he's charged with the unborn -- the baby Connor's murder as well, so which puts him in a capital status which could bring about it some type of death penalty later on.

COOPER: Yes, certainly eligible for the death penalty. I should point out that the prosecutor's office in California has not made a decision yet on death penalty. That remains to be seen, what's going to happen there.

Let's talk again about the timing of this arrest. Obviously, it would seem at least, that the discovery of Laci Peterson's body as well as the body of her son, Connor, brought this to the fore. But what was interesting about what came out of one of the press conferences yesterday is that the Modesto Police were saying the arrest was made before positive DNA identification was made. Did that surprise you?

CLARK: Well, that certainly did surprise me because, you know, without a positive identification of a body, it is very, very difficult to make a homicide case. And I know that from working with a number of homicide detectives throughout my career. There have been cases made, but without that, it's very difficult.

But, again, Anderson, it goes back to there must have been some significant evidence developed in the course of those searches. And we will find that out because he was immediately arrested on some type of probable cause, because he has not been indicted yet, which we'll find out a little bit more of the evidence and then subsequently when it goes to trial.

COOPER: So you're guessing, and it's just a guess at this point, but you think the evidence might have come from the searches as opposed to more than from the positive identification of the bodies?

CLARK: Oh, yes. I would certainly weigh in that the evidence came from the searches as opposed to just a positive identification from the body because that, to me, would just be one piece of the puzzle because these investigators have two things to do, Anderson. They have to collect and they have to connect -- collect that evidence and connect it together. And I don't think that just finding the body was that necessary piece. It had to be the other particles of evidence that they had picked up all along the route.

COOPER: I was talking to a forensic pathologist last night who was saying given the conditions the body found in -- being in the water and the like -- it may not be possible to find out the cause of death, the mode of death.

CLARK: Yes. That may be tough for prosecutors and the investigators trying to put this case together later on down the road. But if they've gone to this point, the cause of death may not end up being a significant point. It may be all of the facts, all of the points, leading up to, all the activities leading up to her actual disappearance. And that may be the overbearing point in terms of evidence.

COOPER: All right. Don Clark, always good to talk to you. Thank you for your perspective. I appreciate it.

CLARK: Thank you, Anderson.

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