RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

For the most up-to-date analysis, go to our blog:  Justice for Scott Peterson

This is a collapsible index which you can use to drill down to the information you want to see.  To see how it works, click on Part One:  Analysis of the evidence â, and a number of items will appear.  Then click on Alleged Motive â, and the active links will appear.  Click on Alleged Motive again, and it will collapse.  Click on Part One:  Analysis of the evidence again, and it will collapse.  In this way, you can drill down for any of the five major categories. 

We will be adding more items to this page as part of our on-going research and analysis.  Notice of new pages added will be given in our blog. 

If your browser restricts this webpage from running scripts or ActiveX controls, click to see the options, and then click to allow blocked content.  Otherwise, the Index will not expand and collapse.  If you cannot find what you are looking for, use the Search SII function on the Help Page. 

• Part One:  Analysis of the evidence â

  • Alleged Motive â

    • Scott did not want Conner

    • The affair with Amber Frey

    • No Financial Motive

  • Alleged Premeditation â

    • Premeditated I - The Alibi

    • Premeditated II - The Secret Boat and Internet Searches

  • December 24 activities â

    • Scott's timeline for the 24th

    • 9:48 a.m. Martha Stewart Living meringue segment

    • 10:08 a.m. Voicemail

    • Karen Servas Timeline â

      • Karen Servas Timeline Fact Sheet

      • Karen Servas:  The Real Story

      • Karen Servas:  The Faulty Timeline

      • Mike Chiavetta's sighting disputes the Karen Servas timeline

    • Laci's Clothes

    • Laci Sightings â

      • Laci's Walk:  An examination of 5 credible sightings

      • Laci Sightings Were not a Priority

      • The Hidden Harshman Tip

    • Medina Burglary â

      • The Medina Burglary

      • Laci Peterson, the Medina Burglary and Occam's Razor

      • Todd and the Bicycle

      • The Aponte Tip â

        • Fact Sheet

        • The Aponte Tip - Exculpatory Evidence Withheld

        • The Reward for Silence:  Shawn Tenbrink

    • The Mailman's Timeline

    • Scott's cell phone activity (confirms Scott's whereabouts on Dec 24 and normal usage for a holiday)

    • 911 Call to report Laci Missing

    • Searches & Interviews â

      • Park and local neighborhood searches

      • 523 Covena -- 4 Walk-throughs & evidence collected

      • Dogs Used in the Investigation

      • Interview with Brocchini

    • Time of Death / Conner's Age â

      • Conner's Age Proves Scott's Innocence

      • Conner's Maceration is not consistent with a 3.5 month intrauterine retention

      • Science:  The Good, the Better, and the Junk

      • Dr. Devore's Curious Calculations

      • Understanding the Importance of Dr. March's Testimony:  The "Trying to Get Pregnant" Culture

      • Understanding the Importance of Dr. March's Testimony:  The "Adjusted Due Date"

      • Rigor Mortis

  • Investigation â

    • MPD Press Releases

    • MPD Investigative Highlights

    • MPD Case Information

    • Local Searches

    • Dogs Used in the Investigation

    • Laci Sightings Were not a Priority

    • 290 Sex Registrants & Parolees

    • The Pawned Croton Watch

    • The Tracy Tip

    • The Mystery Map

    • Kim McGregor and the video camera

    • Peterson Home Video

    • The Longview WA sighting

    • The Setup -- January 11-19

    • Search Warrants â

      • December 26-27, looking for trace evidence and evidence of a clean-up â

        • 523 Covena

        • The Warehouse

        • Sears Gamefisher Boat

        • The 2002 Ford Truck

        • The 1966 Land Rover

      • February 18-19, looking for evidence of a soft-kill and Laci's clothes â

        • 523 Covena

        • Laci's Clothes

      • Media efforts to get search warrants unsealed

    • Bay Searches

    • Surveillanceâ

      • Pole Camera and Ground Surveillance

      • GPS Surveillance

    • Wiretaps & other tape-recorded conversations â

      • The Amber tapes

      • Phone call between Brent Rocha and Scott Peterson, Jan 17, 2003

      • Phone call between Sharon Rocha and Scott Peterson, Feb 13, 2003

      • Stanislaus County Wiretap No. 2

    • Computer Forensics

    • MPD's lies to the Rocha family & friendsâ

      • Jan 15 visit to the Rochas

      • Brocchini's efforts to sow the seeds of suspicion

    • False Memoriesâ

      • Effect of Misinformation on Memories

      • Sharon Rocha interview on Larry King Live

    • Lies & Gross Exaggerations in the Media

    • Theories on where Scott dumped Laci's bodyâ

      • Dr. Ralph Cheng asked for assistance in locating Laci's body

      • Ralston Theory

      • April 2 interview with Boyd Stevens, San Francisco ME

    • Scott's Character & Behavior â

      • Scott said "Laci is Missing" when he first called Sharon

      • The Life insurance policy

      • Not wanting Conner

      • Affair with Amber

      • Secret boat purchase

      • Not telling anyone about Amber

      • Romancing Amber instead of looking for Laci

      • Not cooperating with the investigation

      • Not taking a polygraph (lie detector test)

      • His whereabouts on January 11

      • Trying to sell the house

      • The Longview WA sighting

  • The Bodies are found â

    • Conner â

      • Autopsy

      • Examined by Forensic Anthropologist

      • Conner's Age proves Scott's innocence

      • Conner's Maceration is not consistent with a 3.5 month intrauterine retention

      • Conner did not wash ashore

      • The plastic tape/twine around Conner's neck

      • The material over Conner's left ear

    • Laci â

      • Autopsy

      • Examined by Forensic Anthropologist

      • Laci's Clothes

      • Location and position of Laci's body

      • Exonerating evidence from Laci's Autopsyâ

        • Two fractured ribs

        • Punctured scapula

        • Frayed 9th rib & frayed fundus

        • The missing neck

    • Identification of the Bodies

    • Who moved the bodies, and Why?

    • More Bay Searches for anchors and missing body parts

  • Appellate Issuesâ

    • Prosecutorial Misconduct

    • Juror Misconduct â

      • The boat rocking incident

      • A Jury Hostile to the Defense 

      • The Jury did not begin deliberations after two jurors replaced

    • Judicial Errors

    • Junk Science

    • Exonerating evidence not discovered and presented at trial

• Part Two:  Articles and Editorials â  For more articles and editorials, go to Justice for Scott Peterson blog

  • 3 Strikes and you're Out!

  • A New Prejudice

  • Amber Frey:  Illusions and Fantasy

  • Conner's "Victim" Status Questionable

  • Dear Mr. Stapley

  • Dr. Keith Ablow:  Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson

  • Ex Judge Crier in the Dock (Critical review of her book:  A Deadly Game)

  • Grogan's Fallacies

  • Is Marlene Obsessed with this Case?

  • Is Scott a Nice Guy?

  • Journalistic Irresponsibility at its Height

  • Judge Delucchi: Definitely Not a good Judge of Character

  • Juror 5 Decision

  • More Questions about my Motivation

  • Objection! (Critical review of Nancy Grace and Catherine Crier)

  • One more reason not to commit adultery

  • Other suspects:  A Serial Killer?

  • Points to Ponder

  • Presumption of Innocence

  • Sharon Rocha interview on Larry King Live

  • Something's Bugging Me!

  • Steven Jacobson:  When does no evidence = no guilt?

  • Straight Answers

  • The Case against Scott Peterson

  • The Death Knell?

  • The Effect of Misinformation on Memory

  • The Flea Circus

  • The Illusion of Evidence

  • The Interrogation and the Hair:  Who is really on trial here?

  • The Jury:  A scapegoat for the Law

  • The Laci Peterson Murder: How It Has Affected Us All

  • The Lynching of Scott Peterson

  • The Misinformation on Maternal Homicide – Part 1

  • The People Rest

  • The Rush to Judgment

  • The Scarlet Letters

  • The Surveillance Team

  • The Tarp, the Tomb, and Citizen Q

  • The Tests don't lie

  • The Whole Picture

  • The unEvidence

  • Understanding the Importance of Dr. March's Testimony:  The "Trying to Get Pregnant" Culture

  • Understanding the Importance of Dr. March's Testimony:  The "Adjusted Due Date"

  • Vernell Crittendon

  • Was Laci Online? 

  • What could he do?

  • What's this case all about?

  • When will the games end?

  • Why Scott Peterson is NOT guilty!

  • Witness:  For the Prosecution

  • Words of Wisdom from the Quintessential Detective

• Part Three:  Research on related subjects; Important Links â

  • Anatomy of a Criminal Trial

  • Appeals Process (California Criminal Code)

  • Black and Gray Market Babies â

    • Black & Gray Market Babies

    • Switched, Stolen, Black Market Babies & The Baby Brokers

    • Bessie Bernard:  Black Market Baby Broker

    • Ruby Hightower

    • Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks

    • Dr. Katherine Morris Cole

    • A Secret History - Black Market Babies in Phillipsburg, Kansas During the 1950s

    • The Butterbox Babies

  • Controversial issue of fetal homicide arises in Laci Peterson case

  • Criminal Justice changes recommended by the Illinois Commission

  • Decomposition in 300 feet of cold water in 23 days

  • Decomposition studies

  • Do Court Reporters own the transcripts?

  • Does Caffeine pass through the placenta?

  • Encase Legal Journal (Report which includes:  Court cases involving Encase software, how Encase facilitates the authentication and admission of electronic evidence, and collection and preservation of electronic evidence)

  • Fear Factor:  How far can Police go to get a Confession?

  • High Court Warns About Test for Reasonable Doubt

  • Home Invasion Gang (HIG)

  • Intimate Partner Violence

  • Judicial Bench - Stanislaus County Superior Court Judges

  • Justice: 'Serious flaws' in death penalty

  • Law prof: Presumption of innocence eroding

  • Memory for Faces and the Circumstances of Encounter

  • Missing Women in Modesto area

  • Mistrial - California

  • New Study Shows “Catastrophic” Effect of Stress on Eyewitness Accuracy

  • NOAA Tides & Currents, Richmond CA Station ID: 9414863

  • Ocean definitions

  • Pregnant Women Murdered by their Husbands/Lovers

  • Pregnant Women murdered or abducted for their unborn babies

  • Prison gang case puts role of FBI informants under scrutiny

  • Sanger Report:  Comparison of the Illinois Commission Report on Capital Punishment with the Capital Punishment System in California

  • Shift in Reasonable Doubt Jeopardizes Presumption of Innocence

  • Statistics on spousal murders: Dispelling the myths

  • UC Berkeley Richmond Field Station - Bay Area Air Quality Management District

  • Unborn Victims of Violence Act:  In Connor's Name

  • Unlocking Innocence:  International Conference on Avoiding Wrongful Convictionsâ

    • Absolutely Certain, Absolutely Wrong:  A Case of Eyewitness Misidentification

    • Janet Reno on Wrongful Convictions

    • The Plight of the Wrongfully Convicted

    • Conference Report (Marlene Newell & Candace Marra)

    • Unlocking Innocence Conference website

    • Action is the Key to Unlocking Innocence

  • Who Passed on the Genes?  Key DNA May Be From Dad After All

• Part Four:  Field Trips to the Crime Scenes & Related Sites â

  • Albany Bulb

  • Berkeley Marina - July 11, 2004

  • Carmel - September 2005

    Where Laci and Scott vacationed with Lee and Jackie Peterson December 16-19, 2002

  • Modesto â

    • July 1, 2004

      Purpose: To personally visit the familiar sites: Covena neighborhood, Trader Joe's, Big 5 Store, Union Gospel Mission, and the Path to the Park.

    • October 11, 2004

      Purpose: To get more pictures of various sites of interest, including the Peterson house and neighborhood, the Park, and Fast Eddy's, where the stolen Peterson's camcorder was found.

  • Point Isabel (Laci Recovery Site) â

    • July 11, 2004

      Purpose:  To get a feel for the location and to identify exactly where Laci's body was found.  We did not have enough information to correctly identify the location, but I did get some good pictures of the area, and some of them border the location.

    • December 13, 2005
      Purpose: To identify the precise location where Laci was found. 

    • May 27, 2006
      Purpose: To determine the exact location and position of Laci's body.

  • Richmond Jetty (Conner Recovery Site) â

    • July 11, 2004

      Purpose:  To see the Conner site for ourselves, and to identify the exact location of Conner's body as indicated by Soler's diagram, People's 101.

    • September 5, 2004

      Purpose:  To monitor a high tide equivalent to the high tide that allegedly washed Conner ashore, to see if Conner could have washed ashore.

    • December 5, 2005

      Purpose:  To correctly identify the location Conner was found; to capture on film a rising tide equivalent to the April 13, 2003 high tide; and to determine if Conner could have washed ashore from any direction. 

    • December 13, 2005

      Purpose:  To determine at what water level the Jetty fills with water, as in People's 100, and to capture another rising tide in case the water levels on December 5 were lower than predicted.

    • December 18, 2005

      Purpose:  To capture on film a storm equivalent to the storm on April 12, 2003, and thus see firsthand the effects a storm has on the dynamics of the Jetty. 

    • July 15, 2006

      Purpose:  (1) To observe if an object comparable in size to Conner could pass through the rocks under conditions that existed on the morning of April 13, 2003.  (2) To observe where the object would land if it did pass through the rocks.  (3) To observe the way objects are deposited by the tide under conditions similar to those of April 13, 2003.

    • October 6, 2010

      Purpose:  (1) To observe whether People's 100 accurately represents the Conner Recovery site at high tide.  (2) To observe what happens to debris objects as the tide recedes.  This is a very large PDF of over 150 pictures, so be patient while it loads. 

• Part Five:  Charts and Maps created as part of the research and analysis â

  • Maps with points of interest identified.  16 maps/charts that were included in earlier versions of SII.