Scott Peterson's defense attorney raised the prospect Friday that Conner Peterson was born alive. The attorney, Mark Geragos, also questioned a detective about witnesses who reportedly saw suspicious men in Dry Creek Regional Park the day Laci Peterson was reported missing.
The defense contentions emerged in day 10 of Peterson's preliminary hearing on double-murder charges; testimony also raised questions about a single hair found attached to pliers in Peterson's fishing boat and about red paint scuffs on the boat.
The day was capped by the unlikely possibility that Geragos would subpoena Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey to tes-tify at the preliminary hearing.
Frey, who was Peterson's girlfriend when his wife disappeared and who taped his phone calls for police, is widely considered a key prosecution witness.
"Mr. Geragos has indicated to me that a final determination has not been made," Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred, said outside Stanislaus County Superior Court at the close of Friday's proceedings.
Geragos' ambiguous answer to Allred could simply be legal gamesmanship. The two have sparred repeat- edly in court and in comments to the media.
The defense only could call Frey as a witness if attorneys can demonstrate to Judge Al Girolami that her testi- mony could help the defense, legal observers said.
Geragos has subpoenaed Frey's phone records, Allred said Friday, suggesting that the move could be an attempt to harass her client.
The suggestion Friday that Laci Peterson's baby was born alive could provide insight into the line of questioning the defense will pursue if prosecutors call the medical examiner who performed the autopsy when the preliminary hearing resumes Monday.
Laci Peterson was about 32 weeks pregnant when she last was examined by an obstetrician on Dec. 23 -- the day before she was reported missing. Authorities have said they believe her husband killed her that night or the next morning.
Geragos used phrases such as "full-term infant" and "speculation that the baby was 38 to 39 weeks old" while questioning Mo- desto police Detective Phil Owen, who interviewed Laci Peterson's doctors and attended two autopsies of her remains.
Geragos called Owen as a defense witness to question him about the witnesses who reported seeing at least two suspicious men in Dry Creek Regional Park the morning of Dec. 24, the day Laci Peterson was reported missing.
Scott Peterson told police his wife was preparing to walk their golden retriever, McKenzie, in the park when he left that morning to go fishing in San Francisco Bay. Detective Al Brocchini testified earlier that Scott Peterson said his wife was mopping when he left about 9:30 a.m.
Peterson, 31, is charged with murdering his wife and their unborn son. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Their remains were found in April along the bay's eastern shore, a few miles from the spot were Peterson said he went fishing Dec. 24.
Owen acknowledged that he interviewed three people Dec. 27 with stories that Geragos said could "negate an element of the crime."
John and Karma Souza told the detective they saw a suspicious man in a puffy jacket and blue jeans who "popped out of bushes" as they jogged on a trail in East La Loma Park early that morning.
About 10:45 a.m. Dec. 24, Diana Campos, an employee of a nearby hospital, saw a pregnant woman walking a golden retriever with two men along a path in the park, Owen said. Campos described the woman as six to seven months pregnant with straight, shoulder-length hair, and the men as extremely dirty.
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