Prosecution's case is expected to close soon

BEE STAFF REPORTS

E-Mail

Comments (0)

Text Size:

tool goes here

1:45 p.m.: REDWOOD CITY - Three days before telling him to buzz off in February 2003, Amber Frey apparently sent Scott Peterson a note reading in part, “This has been so hard. I can only hope that this all comes to an end soon,” according to evidence revealed this morning.

The prosecution’s case in his double-murder trial, in its 19th week of testimony, is expected to close soon - perhaps today, the judge said.

Prosecutors’ last witness, Modesto police Detective Jon Buehler, began testifying this morning; defense attorney Mark Geragos got in about 10 minutes of cross-examination before the lunch break.

Buehler served as the police handler for Frey, Peterson’s girlfriend right before his pregnant wife disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002. Buehler said Frey would report to him after secretly taping phone conversations with Peterson from Dec. 30, 2002, to Feb. 19, 2003.

Frey’s Los Angeles attorney, Gloria Allred, scribbled notes from her seat in the audience this morning. Frey testified in August, when recordings were played for jurors.

The romance supports a motive for murder, authorities say. Defense attorneys don’t dispute the infidelity, but say it doesn’t prove their client killed Laci Peterson and the couple’s unborn son, Conner.

This morning, Buehler also walked jurors through the many items recovered from Scott Peterson’s newly purchased used Mercedes when he was arrested near San Diego on April 18, 2003.

The items included a photo of him in a white dress shirt and tie, seated close to a smiling and waving Laci Peterson, as well as the note from Frey, dated Feb. 16, 2003.

In the message, Frey encouraged Peterson to read the book “A Purpose-Driven Life,” writing after each chapter as suggested and returning the book and notes to her in 40 days. She would do the same, sending him her writings, she indicated.

“I’m praying for you,” she wrote.

The car, which Peterson bought in the name of his mother, Jackie, yielded proof of help from other family members, including:

His brother’s driver’s license.

His sister-in-law’s credit card.

His mother’s gas card.

A $130 check from another sister-in-law dated six days before.

As previously revealed, Peterson also carried in the car much camping and survival equipment, including a backpack, water purifier, recently purchased fishing rod and snorkel-mask set, hammock, at least three knives, a folding saw, shovel, hatchet, rope, grill and a box of single-edge razor blades. Much had been purchased a month earlier.

And he had nearly $15,000 in cash and four cellphones, Buehler testified.

Peterson also had a map printed from the Internet showing directions to Frey’s workplace in Fresno, Buehler said.

Geragos asked the detective if it had occurred to him that Peterson might have printed the address so he could comply with Frey’s wish to send each other their copies of the book.

The attorney also suggested that Peterson had his brother’s identification to secure a lower green fee afforded area residents at a golf course.

Cross-examination of Buehler will continue - and possibly conclude - this afternoon. The defense will begin calling witnesses Tuesday.