Jurors ask to view evidence

By JOHN COTÉ
BEE STAFF WRITER

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11:30 a.m.: REDWOOD CITY - Jurors in Scott Peterson’s murder trial asked to view a series of evidence items this morning, including photos of Laci and Conner Peterson’s remains and autopsy photos.

Judge Alfred Delucchi has sealed most of the requested evidence items. They include autopsy photos for Laci Peterson’s unborn baby, Conner, recovery site photos for both Laci and Conner Peterson’s remains, and aerial photos of San Francisco Bay where the two bodies were found separately along the shoreline in April 2003.

“The jury has resumed deliberations, so we’ll see what happens,” Judge Alfred Delucchi said shortly before 10:30 a.m. Jurors - who have been deliberating for more than 10 hours over three days - are deciding whether Peterson should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole in the slayings of his wife and unborn son.

Jurors can consider the factors of the crime, as well the testimony of 39 defense witnesses who pleaded for the 32-year-old Modesto man’s life.

Prosecutors have labeled him “the worst kind of monster,” contending he strangled or smothered his pregnant wife around Christmas Eve 2002 in their Covena Avenue home.

The evidence request came as there were indications the jury was in dispute. The judge was polling jurors individually in chambers at one point in the morning, a source close to the case said. Deliberation times released by a court official indicate a 20-minute break in the talks from 10:05 to 10:25 a.m.

Attorneys in the case went into Judge Alfred Delucchi’s chambers around 9:20 a.m. A court reporter also was seen emerging and then returning to chambers. Some time later, the jury was observed seated and chatting in a separate courtroom. Moments later, a bailiff brought an additional chair into the judge’s chambers.

Delucchi could be polling jurors on the strength of their feelings on the one of two possible sentences Peterson faces. A unanimous verdict is required for a sentence. If the jury is deadlocked, the judge can declare a mistrial.

In such an event, prosecutors could attempt to retry the penalty phase in the case. Doing so would be a costly and time-consuming process that some legal analyst consider impractical. If prosecutors elect not to retry the penalty phase, Peterson’s sentence defaults to life in prison without parole.