True Crime and Killers

Between killings, some serial killers need something to remind themselves of how powerful they are. Many keep some personal item of the victim as a trophy of the kill, what investigators call “tokenism.” This can be a wallet, necklace, driver’s license, shoe, or some other object, and the killer handles it when alone to relive the killing and reassert his mastery over his victim. Masturbation usually accompanies tokenism, because it brings the power and satisfaction of the kill back to the murderer.

Some serial killers take body parts as trophies. Jerry Brudos, a serial killer who operated around Salem, Oregon, cut off one victim’s feet, mounted them on a base, and kept them on his mantle as a constant reminder of his power. Edmund Kemper took the head of one of his female victims and used it as a masturbatory aid in the shower. 

Some serial killers empower themselves by becoming cannibals, as the 1920s killer Albert Fish did with a ten-year-old girl he had abducted. The consumption of human flesh has the same meaning for serial killers as it has for centuries to cannibals in the jungles of South America: As Bellevue psychiatrist George Chase once put it, “they orally incorporate” the powers of the victim via cannibalism, or at least they try to. 

Laci & Scott Peterson 

On December 23 or 24, 2002, Peterson murdered his wife, Laci, while she was eight months pregnant with their unborn child (who was due on February 10, 2003) who was to be named Conner; the exact date and cause of death for Laci and Conner were never determined. He initially reported her missing on Christmas Eve.

Scott held press conferences and had wide support from the Peterson family and his home community of Modesto, California. He claimed that he had been fishing at the Berkeley Marina at the time of the disappearance, which turned out to be near the area where the bodies of his wife and unborn son washed up.

Peterson was not a prime suspect immediately, largely because Laci’s family and friends maintained their faith in his innocence until later. Later, when it became known that he’d had numerous affairs, the latest with a massage therapist named Amber Frey, a woman he had lied to numerous times (he told her that his wife had died the Christmas before Laci went missing), the media and law enforcement attention grew. Frey was a key witness in the case because she agreed to tape their phone conversations secretly in hopes of getting him to confess.

However, Peterson did not confess to Frey (or to any other person). He not only claimed innocence in numerous tapes, but even questioned Frey about her possible involvement. It has been reported that Scott knew of the taping, but this has never been proven.

On April 14 2003, the body of an infant boy washed ashore at the San Francisco Bay, followed on the next day by a partial female torso missing its hands, feet, and head which was later identified as Laci’s.

Autopsies were performed, but due to decomposition the method of death was never determined. Some prosecutors and people from the media speculated that Laci may have been suffocated or strangled; the FBI and Modesto Police Department forensic searches of the couple’s home, Scott’s truck, the tool box in the back of his truck, his warehouse and his boat only turned up only one piece of forensic evidence, a single hair.

Peterson was arrested on April 18, 2003, in La Jolla, California, in the parking lot of the Torrey Pines Golf Course, where he said he was meeting his father, brother, and friend for a game of golf. At the time of his arrest, Peterson was in possession of the following non-golf specific items: approximately $15,000 in cash; four cell phones; multiple credit cards belonging to various members of his family; an array of camping equipment, including knives, supplies for warming food, tents and tarps and also a water purifier; a dozen pairs of shoes; several changes of clothing; a t-handled double-edged dagger; a MapQuest map to Frey’s workplace (printed the previous day); a shovel; rope; 24 blister packs of sleeping pills; Viagra; and his brother’s driver’s license.

His hair and goatee had been dyed blond, although he claimed the lighter hair color was the result of chlorine from swimming in a friend’s pool. The pool’s owner later testified that, to his knowledge, Peterson had never swum in his pool, or made use of his hot tub.

Prior to his arraignment, Peterson had been represented by criminal defense attorney from Modesto, California, Kirk McAllister. McAllister had met with Peterson prior to Peterson’s arraignment. When Peterson was arraigned, he told Judge Nancy Ashley that he could not afford the services of a private attorney.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Kent Faulkner was also one of the attorneys assigned to the case. Subsequently, Peterson indicated that he had sufficient funds to hire private counsel and attorney Mark Geragos, who had done other high-profile criminal defense work.

On January 20, 2004, due to increasing hostility to Peterson in the Modesto area, a judge moved Peterson’s trial from Modesto to Redwood City, California.

The trial began in June 2004 and was followed closely by the media. The lead prosecutor was Rick Distaso, and Geragos led Peterson’s defense.

Prosecution witness Amber Frey engaged her own attorney, Gloria Allred, to protect her from the news media. 

Peterson’s defense lawyers based his case on the lack of direct evidence, and downplaying the significance of circumstantial evidence. They suggested that the remains of the fetus were that of a full-term infant, and theorized that someone else had kidnapped Laci, held her until she gave birth, and then dumped both bodies in the bay. However, the prosecution’s medical experts were able to prove that the baby had never grown to full term, and died at the same time as his mother. Geragos suggested that a Satanic cult kidnapped the pregnant woman. 

On November 12, 2004 the jury convicted Peterson of first-degree murder with special circumstances for killing Laci and second-degree murder for killing the unborn baby she carried. The penalty phase of the trial began on November 30 and concluded December 13 when the twelve-person jury recommended a death sentence for Peterson.

In later press appearances, members of the jury stated that they felt that Peterson’s demeanor—specifically, his lack of emotion, and the phone calls to Amber Frey in the days following Laci’s disappearance—indicated that he was guilty. They based their verdict on “hundreds of small ‘puzzle pieces’ of circumstantial evidence that came out during the trial, from the location of Laci Peterson’s body to the number of lies her husband told after her disappearance.” They also decided on the death penalty because they felt Peterson betrayed his responsibility to protect his wife and son.

On March 16, 2005, Judge Alfred A. Delucchi formally sentenced Scott Peterson to death, calling the murder of his wife “cruel, uncaring, heartless and callous”. The prescribed method of execution was lethal injection. He also denied the defense’s request for a new trial (which was based on evidence of juror misconduct and media influence) and ordered Peterson to pay $10,000 towards his wife’s funeral.

On March 17, 2005, Scott Peterson arrived at the San Quentin State Prison. San Quentin overlooks the bay where Laci’s body was left and houses the men’s death row. He joined 643 other inmates there awaiting death by lethal injection in California. His case is currently on automatic appeal.

Peterson’s affair with Amber Frey was never presented to the jury as a probable motive for the crime. However, the prosecution did present the affair as indicative of Peterson’s bad character. Another scenario that was considered but ultimately ruled out was Scott’s fear of having an unattractive, unhealthy child.

‘’I don’t lose sleep over what I have done or have nightmares about it.’’

Laci & Scott Peterson 

On December 23 or 24, 2002, Peterson murdered his wife, Laci, while she was eight months pregnant with their unborn child (who was due on February 10, 2003) who was to be named Conner; the exact date and cause of death for Laci and Conner were never determined. He initially reported her missing on Christmas Eve.

Scott held press conferences and had wide support from the Peterson family and his home community of Modesto, California. He claimed that he had been fishing at the Berkeley Marina at the time of the disappearance, which turned out to be near the area where the bodies of his wife and unborn son washed up.

Peterson was not a prime suspect immediately, largely because Laci’s family and friends maintained their faith in his innocence until later. Later, when it became known that he’d had numerous affairs, the latest with a massage therapist named Amber Frey, a woman he had lied to numerous times (he told her that his wife had died the Christmas before Laci went missing), the media and law enforcement attention grew. Frey was a key witness in the case because she agreed to tape their phone conversations secretly in hopes of getting him to confess.

However, Peterson did not confess to Frey (or to any other person). He not only claimed innocence in numerous tapes, but even questioned Frey about her possible involvement. It has been reported that Scott knew of the taping, but this has never been proven.

On April 14 2003, the body of an infant boy washed ashore at the San Francisco Bay, followed on the next day by a partial female torso missing its hands, feet, and head which was later identified as Laci’s.

Autopsies were performed, but due to decomposition the method of death was never determined. Some prosecutors and people from the media speculated that Laci may have been suffocated or strangled; the FBI and Modesto Police Department forensic searches of the couple’s home, Scott’s truck, the tool box in the back of his truck, his warehouse and his boat only turned up only one piece of forensic evidence, a single hair.

Peterson was arrested on April 18, 2003, in La Jolla, California, in the parking lot of the Torrey Pines Golf Course, where he said he was meeting his father, brother, and friend for a game of golf. At the time of his arrest, Peterson was in possession of the following non-golf specific items: approximately $15,000 in cash; four cell phones; multiple credit cards belonging to various members of his family; an array of camping equipment, including knives, supplies for warming food, tents and tarps and also a water purifier; a dozen pairs of shoes; several changes of clothing; a t-handled double-edged dagger; a MapQuest map to Frey’s workplace (printed the previous day); a shovel; rope; 24 blister packs of sleeping pills; Viagra; and his brother’s driver’s license.

His hair and goatee had been dyed blond, although he claimed the lighter hair color was the result of chlorine from swimming in a friend’s pool. The pool’s owner later testified that, to his knowledge, Peterson had never swum in his pool, or made use of his hot tub.

Prior to his arraignment, Peterson had been represented by criminal defense attorney from Modesto, California, Kirk McAllister. McAllister had met with Peterson prior to Peterson’s arraignment. When Peterson was arraigned, he told Judge Nancy Ashley that he could not afford the services of a private attorney.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Kent Faulkner was also one of the attorneys assigned to the case. Subsequently, Peterson indicated that he had sufficient funds to hire private counsel and attorney Mark Geragos, who had done other high-profile criminal defense work.

On January 20, 2004, due to increasing hostility to Peterson in the Modesto area, a judge moved Peterson’s trial from Modesto to Redwood City, California.

The trial began in June 2004 and was followed closely by the media. The lead prosecutor was Rick Distaso, and Geragos led Peterson’s defense.

Prosecution witness Amber Frey engaged her own attorney, Gloria Allred, to protect her from the news media. 

Peterson’s defense lawyers based his case on the lack of direct evidence, and downplaying the significance of circumstantial evidence. They suggested that the remains of the fetus were that of a full-term infant, and theorized that someone else had kidnapped Laci, held her until she gave birth, and then dumped both bodies in the bay. However, the prosecution’s medical experts were able to prove that the baby had never grown to full term, and died at the same time as his mother. Geragos suggested that a Satanic cult kidnapped the pregnant woman. 

On November 12, 2004 the jury convicted Peterson of first-degree murder with special circumstances for killing Laci and second-degree murder for killing the unborn baby she carried. The penalty phase of the trial began on November 30 and concluded December 13 when the twelve-person jury recommended a death sentence for Peterson.

In later press appearances, members of the jury stated that they felt that Peterson’s demeanor—specifically, his lack of emotion, and the phone calls to Amber Frey in the days following Laci’s disappearance—indicated that he was guilty. They based their verdict on “hundreds of small ‘puzzle pieces’ of circumstantial evidence that came out during the trial, from the location of Laci Peterson’s body to the number of lies her husband told after her disappearance.” They also decided on the death penalty because they felt Peterson betrayed his responsibility to protect his wife and son.

On March 16, 2005, Judge Alfred A. Delucchi formally sentenced Scott Peterson to death, calling the murder of his wife “cruel, uncaring, heartless and callous”. The prescribed method of execution was lethal injection. He also denied the defense’s request for a new trial (which was based on evidence of juror misconduct and media influence) and ordered Peterson to pay $10,000 towards his wife’s funeral.

On March 17, 2005, Scott Peterson arrived at the San Quentin State Prison. San Quentin overlooks the bay where Laci’s body was left and houses the men’s death row. He joined 643 other inmates there awaiting death by lethal injection in California. His case is currently on automatic appeal.

Peterson’s affair with Amber Frey was never presented to the jury as a probable motive for the crime. However, the prosecution did present the affair as indicative of Peterson’s bad character. Another scenario that was considered but ultimately ruled out was Scott’s fear of having an unattractive, unhealthy child.