Post by Maggie on Apr 1, 2006 12:36:36 GMT -5
$250K reward for Laci Peterson's 'real killer'
Some are skeptical of offer made by husband's family
By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: April 1, 2006, 06:28:15 AM PST
A prosecutor and a juror who figured in Scott Peterson's death sentence scoffed at a $250,000 reward that Peterson's family and supporters offered Friday for information exposing "the true criminals."
"It's easy to offer that kind of money when they know they're never going to be called upon to spend it," said Birgit Fladager, one of three Stanislaus County prosecutors in the 2004 trial.
Peterson, 33, was convicted of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner. Their bodies were recovered on the east shore of San Francisco Bay nearly four months after Peterson's solo fishing trip the day his wife vanished, Christmas Eve 2002.
His parents and several other family members have maintained his innocence since Peterson, eight months pregnant, disappeared.
"All of us remain deeply committed to Scott's innocence and to finding Laci's real killer," Lee Peterson said in a news release.
Mike Belmessieri, one of the jurors who voted for Peterson's execution, affirmed Friday that the panel came to the right conclusion.
"Denial is a very, very powerful thing," Belmessieri said, referring to Lee and Jackie Peterson. "They need to click their heels three times and tell themselves they're not in Kansas anymore. As sad as it is, Scott did it."
Death sentences in California are automatically appealed and can take a decade or more to wind through the courts. Peterson's family hired lawyers specializing in execution appeals in hopes of speeding his release.
The Petersons' offer is the case's first "for information leading to an arrest and conviction," according to the Web site, ScottPetersonAppeal.org.
Other rewards were offered early in the case: $1,000 for information on a burglary across the street from the Petersons' Modesto home soon after the mother-to-be vanished, $500,000 for her safe return and $50,000 for recovery of her body.
Five people split the $50,000 reward in January 2005, a month after jurors recommended execution.
Marc Klaas, a victim rights advocate whose 12-year-old daughter, Polly, was murdered in 1993, called the reward offer absurd.
"Scott Peterson murdered his wife, the jury convicted him, he's sitting on death row in San Quentin and the less the world hears about this piece of garbage, the better."
Fladager, who is running for Stanislaus County district attorney, and Klaas questioned whether the Petersons put the money in an escrow account.
"If not," Klaas said, "how real is it?"
Attempts to reach Lee Peterson by telephone were unsuccessful.
Carole Carrington, who has extensive experience with large rewards in violent crime cases, said she feels for the Petersons but doesn't expect their offer to bear fruit.
Carrington's daughter and granddaughter and a young woman who was a family friend were murdered on a 1999 Yosemite sightseeing trip. Carrington subsequently set up a Modesto-based foundation that finances rewards throughout the United States for missing people.
"If (the Petersons) truly believe he's innocent, I can't blame them," Carrington said. "But I think the reaction of most people who followed the trial would be the same as mine: They're barking up the wrong tree.
"That's the way I felt about O.J. Simpson," Carrington continued, referring to the ex-football star. Simpson was acquitted in the murder of his wife and her friend, but was found responsible for their deaths in a civil lawsuit. Simpson's vow to pursue his wife's killer has been a standing joke on television talk shows.
"He's looking for his wife's murderer on every golf course in the country. I guess Scott Peterson would be too, if he could," Carrington said, recalling Peterson's fondness for the links. "Fortunately, he had a good jury."
Belmessieri, the Peterson juror, said he never has doubted that the panel arrived at the right verdict. Several others agreed in December interviews at the one-year anniversary of their death-sentence decree.
"The fact is, he killed his wife and kid," Belmessieri said. "Maybe (his parents) will die with the thought that their son couldn't do that because he's the golden boy, but he's not."
On the Net: ScottPetersonAppeal.org.
Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at 578-2390 or gstapley@modbee.com.
Some are skeptical of offer made by husband's family
By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: April 1, 2006, 06:28:15 AM PST
A prosecutor and a juror who figured in Scott Peterson's death sentence scoffed at a $250,000 reward that Peterson's family and supporters offered Friday for information exposing "the true criminals."
"It's easy to offer that kind of money when they know they're never going to be called upon to spend it," said Birgit Fladager, one of three Stanislaus County prosecutors in the 2004 trial.
Peterson, 33, was convicted of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner. Their bodies were recovered on the east shore of San Francisco Bay nearly four months after Peterson's solo fishing trip the day his wife vanished, Christmas Eve 2002.
His parents and several other family members have maintained his innocence since Peterson, eight months pregnant, disappeared.
"All of us remain deeply committed to Scott's innocence and to finding Laci's real killer," Lee Peterson said in a news release.
Mike Belmessieri, one of the jurors who voted for Peterson's execution, affirmed Friday that the panel came to the right conclusion.
"Denial is a very, very powerful thing," Belmessieri said, referring to Lee and Jackie Peterson. "They need to click their heels three times and tell themselves they're not in Kansas anymore. As sad as it is, Scott did it."
Death sentences in California are automatically appealed and can take a decade or more to wind through the courts. Peterson's family hired lawyers specializing in execution appeals in hopes of speeding his release.
The Petersons' offer is the case's first "for information leading to an arrest and conviction," according to the Web site, ScottPetersonAppeal.org.
Other rewards were offered early in the case: $1,000 for information on a burglary across the street from the Petersons' Modesto home soon after the mother-to-be vanished, $500,000 for her safe return and $50,000 for recovery of her body.
Five people split the $50,000 reward in January 2005, a month after jurors recommended execution.
Marc Klaas, a victim rights advocate whose 12-year-old daughter, Polly, was murdered in 1993, called the reward offer absurd.
"Scott Peterson murdered his wife, the jury convicted him, he's sitting on death row in San Quentin and the less the world hears about this piece of garbage, the better."
Fladager, who is running for Stanislaus County district attorney, and Klaas questioned whether the Petersons put the money in an escrow account.
"If not," Klaas said, "how real is it?"
Attempts to reach Lee Peterson by telephone were unsuccessful.
Carole Carrington, who has extensive experience with large rewards in violent crime cases, said she feels for the Petersons but doesn't expect their offer to bear fruit.
Carrington's daughter and granddaughter and a young woman who was a family friend were murdered on a 1999 Yosemite sightseeing trip. Carrington subsequently set up a Modesto-based foundation that finances rewards throughout the United States for missing people.
"If (the Petersons) truly believe he's innocent, I can't blame them," Carrington said. "But I think the reaction of most people who followed the trial would be the same as mine: They're barking up the wrong tree.
"That's the way I felt about O.J. Simpson," Carrington continued, referring to the ex-football star. Simpson was acquitted in the murder of his wife and her friend, but was found responsible for their deaths in a civil lawsuit. Simpson's vow to pursue his wife's killer has been a standing joke on television talk shows.
"He's looking for his wife's murderer on every golf course in the country. I guess Scott Peterson would be too, if he could," Carrington said, recalling Peterson's fondness for the links. "Fortunately, he had a good jury."
Belmessieri, the Peterson juror, said he never has doubted that the panel arrived at the right verdict. Several others agreed in December interviews at the one-year anniversary of their death-sentence decree.
"The fact is, he killed his wife and kid," Belmessieri said. "Maybe (his parents) will die with the thought that their son couldn't do that because he's the golden boy, but he's not."
On the Net: ScottPetersonAppeal.org.
Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at 578-2390 or gstapley@modbee.com.
