Could Duct Tape Be Smoking Gun?

POSTED: 7:34 AM PST November 3, 2003
UPDATED: 10:55 AM PST November 3, 2003

MODESTO, Calif. -- Authorities have found similarities between duct tape found with the remains of Laci Peterson and her unborn son and strips used to post a missing person's flyer on pole earlier this year, a source close to the case told KTVU on Monday.

Reporting on Mornings On 2, Ted Rowlands said the source told him Scott Peterson's fingerprints were found on the tape used to anchor the search poster to a pole in Modesto. However, the source did not believe that prosecutors would introduce the evidence during the ongoing preliminary hearing, but would wait until trial.

Video


Ted Rowlands Reports On The Prosecution's New Findings

The source also did not know what effect the months in the waters of the San Francisco Bay would have on the tape and the ability of scientists to determine if the two samples were exact matches.

Meanwhile, Peterson's defense team was expected to call their own DNA expert to the stand on Monday to counter testimony given by an FBI expert last week, At issue is a strain of hair – allegedly that of Laci Peterson's – found in a pair of pliers discovered in Scott Peterson's boat.

The hair is considered important to the case against the Modesto fertilizer salesman because it links Laci Peterson with her husband's boat. At the time of her Christmas Eve disappearance, Scott Peterson claims he was fishing off the Berkeley Marina in San Francisco Bay.

That fishing trip was the focus of testimony on Friday,

Laci Peterson's sister testified on Friday that Scott Peterson said he had golf plans on Christmas Eve, throwing into question his story about going fishing the day his pregnant wife vanished.

Amy Rocha, a hairdresser, said she cut Scott Peterson's hair Dec. 23 and that he had offered to pick up a gift basket for their grandfather near the country club where he was a member.

Video


Ted Rowlands: Emotional Testimony From Sharon Rocha And Lee Peterson




"He said he was going to be out that way golfing," she testified. "I assumed all day."

Peterson, 31, told police he last saw his wife about 9:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve as he left to go fishing near Berkeley. He told them he returned to Modesto late that afternoon, shortly before family members reported Laci Peterson missing about 6 p.m.

On the third day of a preliminary hearing to determine if Peterson will stand trial for the slaying of his 27-year-old wife and unborn son, prosecutors began laying the foundation for Laci Peterson's disappearance with testimony from the last people to see her alive.

Among them, Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, told a jammed courtroom that she thought "the world" of Scott Peterson before last Dec. 24.

Peterson Case Special Section



She recalled Peterson calling at 5:17 p.m. on Christmas Eve to say her daughter was missing.

"I was getting really scared by then when he said 'missing.' He didn't say she wasn't home or he couldn't find her. He said 'missing."'

She and others described a happy but weary-looking Laci Peterson who was "ecstatic" and looking forward to having her first child.

Housekeeper Margarita Nava said she cleaned the family's modest single-story house the day before the disappearance was reported. Nava said Laci Peterson seemed tired after shopping for groceries, but otherwise appeared much as she had the three previous times she cleaned the house.

"Like all the other days I had gone she was content," Nava said. "She looked happy."

Scott Peterson's father, Lee Peterson, also took the stand, saying, "I proudly say Scott's my son."

Peterson recalled talking with his son between noon and 2 p.m. last Christmas Eve. Asked by prosecutor Rick DiStaso if Scott Peterson said he was going fishing, he said no.

Lee Peterson said he didn't know his son owned a boat, but added it wasn't unusual for Scott Peterson not to tell him about major purchases, including a motorcycle and a pickup truck.

Sharon and Amy Rocha also testified they had never seen Scott Peterson's hair blond like it was he was when arrested last April in San Diego.

Authorities have speculated that Peterson, who had also grown a beard and was carrying $10,000 in cash, planned to flee to Mexico.

The bodies of his wife and unborn son washed ashore in April, about three miles from where Peterson said he was fishing. Prosecutors may argue that Peterson used the boat to throw his pregnant wife's body in San Francisco Bay.

http://www.foxreno.com/news/2604850/detail.html

Copyright 2003 by FOXReno.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.

If the duct tape matches that which allegedly was found with Laci, this would be the first solid evidence against Scott I've seen.

I wonder how the defense can explain it away? I don't think they can.

If that's the only PHYSICAL evidence they've got, it doesn't seem like much to me.

The hair isn't as incriminating as many would like it to be, either. If, say, the pliers came from their home toolbox, her hair could have already been in it when he took it to the boat.....

I'm getting impatient to see the evidence that they promised would "open some eyes"......

In the case of DNA, it was good enough and solid enough in the Danielle van Dam case to use, why not use it in this case??

That fishing trip was the focus of testimony on Friday,..."
All of the above is in PRELIMENARY HEARING thread. Transcripts on the TRANSCRIPT thread as soon as possible.

So either Scott forgot about the gift basket or was going to pick it up after he came home and didn't... forget the gift basket he was looking for Laci.

(1) Regarding the duct tape, possible connection but would suppose that same duct tape is on sale and available throughout Modesto or could have been taken by someone who ransacked the Peterson home and/or truck.

(2) The 'smoking gun' could also depend on what Scott Peterson purchased when he stopped at the convenience store on his way to the bay area and would depend on IF his fingerprints were held preserved in salt water on the duct tape found on the baby.

Anything is possible however, the tracking K-9 failed to scent Laci in/on Scott's 14 ft. fishing boat.

EDITED to add: Please view this thread various explanations: http://www.webbsleuths.com/dcf/DCForumID105/731.html

IF that was duct tape that was found on the Peterson baby was from a duct tape roll owned by the Peterson's (...and could very well have Scott's fingerprints on ), however WHO removed it from where it was kept? Many 'IF's' regarding the duct tape IF in fact it was 'duct tape'.

Both AUDIO CASSETTE TAPE and ADHESIVE TAPE (not specifically duct tape, just adhesive) has been mentioned in connection with Conner's body (around his neck)...both of which sound like debris in the water to me (JMO).

And, by the way, I've been thinking about all the specutation about the tape supposedly being used to strangle him--a rope, sure, but TAPE? I've never heard of anyone being STRANGLED with TAPE? Seems crazy to me- more trouble than it would be worth... If you wanted to use TAPE to kill anyone, even a baby, wouldn't it make more sense to just tape their mouth and nose shut? Tape doesn't make a very good strangulation tool....

According to reports I have heard, the duct tape was in fact duct tape and it was found on Laci's body. The manufacture has already been identified and is the same manufacture as duct tape that was found on posters that supposedly Scott put up. According to Henry Lee and the engineer from the manufacture, the tape itself cannot be matched to a specific roll, however, fingerprints can be removed from the tape, even after having been in the water. So, if there are fingerprints on the tape from Laci's body and fingerprints on the tape from the poster, then those could be analyzed and compared. Dr. Lee did say the only way the tape could be matched to a specific roll would be if the torn edges matched.

Now, as for the "tape" found around Conner's body, it is my understanding that it was plastic strapping tape. Recently on Animal Planet, they showed a manatee that had the same type of tape wrapped around and imbedded in its body, which had been picked up from the water. The vets removed the tape. This then leads me to believe that possibly this type of tape is often floating debris in the water and is not that unusual to find it attaching itself to objects.

If so I could offer a theory IF it came from the Peterson's personal property, however that bay is a mass of tape, duct tape, string, rope, metal cans, glass and all sorts of garbage...and possibly many bodies and body parts.

Since my question was posed ( post #6 ), there have been answers on this thread. I repeat this was the first time that I can recall that duct tape was found ON Laci's remains, however I could have missed those important reports...I might add, I could have posted the reports myself...( quickly because real life beckons )

Since you might have heard official reports that 'duct tape' was found on Laci's remains. Might I ask on which part of her remains was the duct tape found ?

I had heard-read tape (of some sort) was visibly found wrapped around the babies neck and he also had a visible cut on his shoulder.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/88344p-80416c.html

Laci's kin retrieve her stuff

By MAKI BECKER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Laci Peterson

Scott Peterson's parents accused their former in-laws of trespassing yesterday after Laci Peterson's family went into the couple's former home and took out truckloads of the dead woman's mementos.
The bizarre scene underscored simmering tensions between the families since Scott Peterson has been accused of murdering Laci Peterson and her unborn baby, Conner.

Laci Peterson's relatives entered the suburban Modesto home one day after lawyers hammered out a deal that would allow them to visit next week.

But Laci Peterson's family members and their friends arrived yesterday morning and began loading pickup trucks with furniture - including the white rocker Laci Peterson had planned to use to lull her baby to sleep - and boxes of goods.

Scott Peterson's attorneys were furious with Laci Peterson's relatives, including her mother, Sharon Rocha, accusing them of trespassing.

The Rochas' attorneys told the Modesto Bee the accusations were "ridiculous."

Scott Peterson's mother, Jackie Peterson, told the Bee, "I have a lot of empathy for Sharon but she does not have a right to go in our house and take what she wants."

Also yesterday, ABC's "Good Morning America" reported that it had obtained a copy of Laci Peterson's sealed autopsy report, which showed her ribs were broken, her maternity bra was torn or cut and a long strip of duct tape was found between what's left of her legs.

Laci Peterson's remains were found badly decomposed and her head, arms and parts of her legs were missing. But her torso has yielded some tantalizing clues of who killed her and her unborn son - and when.

Forensic experts say it's possible that if the duct tape had been used to bind her body before it was dumped into the San Francisco Bay, there's a chance the adhesive glue still bears the fingerprints of her killer.

"I don't know after three months in the water but I would not dismiss the possibility until I've checked it ," said Dr. Werner Spitz, a forensic pathologist.

Caffeine in system

The report also said she had caffeine in her system. If the levels are high, and Laci Peterson had a habit of drinking coffee at a certain time of day, "that might tell you what time of the day this occurred," Spitz said.

Laci Peterson's body washed ashore in Richmond, Calif., on April 14 - just a couple of miles away from where her husband, Scott Peterson, said he was fishing Dec. 24.

Cops believe Scott Peterson killed his pregnant wife in their home on Dec. 23 or 24 and then dumped her body while on his alleged fishing trip, according to a police document.

Scott Peterson, now charged in the murders of his wife and unborn son, says he is innocent.

ABC's story came a day after MSNBC reported the coroner's findings on Baby Conner's remains that showed that the infant's neck was wrapped in plastic tape.

"By releasing the autopsy reports the court will allow the media to see what the actual facts are," Deputy District Attorney David Harris wrote in a motion filed Thursday.

A judge is expected to make a ruling on unsealing the documents next week.