Sept. 8
CALIFORNIA:
Expert: Hair on Peterson boat consistent with brush strands
2 strands of dark hair found on Scott Peterson's boat could not have come
from him and are consistent with strands taken from his slain wife's
hairbrush, a prosecution expert testified Wednesday.
Karen Korsberg, an FBI trace evidence expert, took the stand as testimony
turned to the hairs, a key piece of physical evidence to bolster the
prosecution's contention that the boat was used to dispose of Laci
Peterson's body.
Korsberg said her tests excluded the possibility that the hairs, found on
a pair of pliers on the boat, came from Scott Peterson. She said they were
consistent with the hair on his pregnant wife's brush.
Laci Peterson, eight months pregnant, vanished just before Christmas 2002
from the couple's home in Modesto. Her remains and that of her fetus were
found on the shore of San Francisco Bay several months later.
On cross-examination, Korsberg acknowledged that she was unaware of a
pubic hair collected from duct tape found on Laci Peterson's remains and
never compared that to the samples she was given from Laci's hairbrush.
Korsberg said she forwarded the two hairs to another FBI lab for further
testing, a technique known as mitochondrial DNA. Defense lawyers have
attacked the mitochondrial testing, calling it the unreliable subject of
"raging debate" among scientists.
Defense lawyers also have attacked the way police collected the hairs from
the pliers. Detectives testified that they took one hair from the pliers,
but months later discovered 2 strands inside the evidence envelope.
Sarah Yoshida, a state criminalist, testified Tuesday that she found no
signs of blood or tissue on 2 pairs of Peterson's pliers seized by police,
including the tool where the hair was discovered. Under cross-examination,
she said the pliers were rusty and showed no signs of recent use.
Prosecutors say the hair found on the boat is significant because, they
contend, Laci Peterson was never on the boat and was even unaware her
husband had bought one.
Prosecutors allege Peterson killed his wife in their Modesto home on or
around Dec. 24, 2002, then drove to San Francisco Bay and dumped her body
from his boat. Peterson says he went on a fishing trip that day and
returned home to discover that his wife was missing.
Defense lawyers contend someone else abducted and killed Laci, then framed
their client after learning of his widely publicized alibi.
Also Tuesday, prosecutors presented evidence intended to bolster the
prosecution's contention that police exhausted all leads in their
investigation of Laci's disappearance. Two investigators said that they
pursued a tip that Laci Peterson was being held in a rural area about 30
miles from her home.
Modesto police officer Eric Beffa testified about an anonymous tip police
received in early January 2003, just weeks after the disappearance, that
Laci was being held captive near Tracy, a suburb west of Modesto.
On cross-examination, defense lawyer Mark Geragos noted the tip also
included mention of a van.
Neighbors of the Petersons told police they saw a "suspicious" van with
three men in the area around the time Laci Peterson vanished. It's a
detail Geragos has continually brought up as he works to create reasonable
doubt.
(source: Associated Press)
