8- KRIGBAUM / OWEN

1248
1 THE COURT: Overruled.
2 MR. DISTASO: Q. Were you familiar with whether or not
3 these people across the street opened or closed their blinds
4 on a regular basis?
5 A. Well, when the blinds were open, the house looked
6 lived in. When they were down, it looked like no one was
7 home. It just looked like no movement. So --
8 Q. Okay.
9 A. I always saw Laci coming in the side gate bringing
10 groceries and with the dog or there mowing the lawn, so --
11 MR. MCALLISTER: I'll object to that. Nonresponsive.
12 THE COURT: Sustained.
13 MR. DISTASO: Q. The -- I'm really only specifically
14 asking you about the blinds. If you're familiar with them,
15 fine. If you're not, tell me.
16 A. Yeah.
17 Q. But are you familiar with kind of what the practice
18 was of these people across the street from you --
19 A. Uh-huh.
20 Q. -- opening and closing their blinds throughout the
21 day?
22 A. They would open them. I would see them open.
23 MR. MCALLISTER: I would object to this as lack of
24 foundation.
25 THE COURT: Wait a minute. I'm sorry?
26 MR. MCALLISTER: Lack of foundation.
27 THE COURT: Overruled. You can answer that yes or no,
28 please.

1249
1 THE WITNESS: Yes, I would see the blinds open. I
2 don't know that they did it every day, but I would see the
3 blinds open pretty much on a regular basis. We'd open our
4 blinds, we'd look across the street, and they'd have their
5 blinds open, they would only be open, like, so much
6 (indicates). They wouldn't be open all the way.
7 MR. DISTASO: Q. Let me stop you. When you say "open
8 so much," you kind of made a hand thing. Can you give me
9 some estimate for the record how big?
10 A. Yes. I'd see them open like this much (indicates).
11 Q. All right. So what's that? 18 inches? 12 inches?
12 A. Yeah, 12 inches (indicates).
13 Q. Okay. And if you could, just take that red marker
14 and put on -- put on that diagram -- just draw in there
15 where the blinds -- the blinds we're talking about, the ones
16 that you can see from your house, where they would be. And
17 just write -- just draw a little line right there, write
18 "blinds."
19 (Whereupon, the Reporter changed stenographic
20 diskettes.)
21 MR. DISTASO: Okay. We're ready to go?
22 THE COURT: Yes.
23 MR. DISTASO: Q. Okay. Just for the record, you put
24 two little red lines on there, right, you wrote the word
25 "blinds"?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. On People's 80?
28 A. Yes.

1250
1 Q. Okay. And on the 24th of December, 2002, did you
2 notice whether or not the blinds were ever opened at all
3 during that day?
4 A. No. They did -- they were not open.
5 Q. So you did notice that?
6 A. Yes, I did notice.
7 Q. And they weren't open?
8 A. No.
9 Q. All right. Did -- at some point in that day, did
10 you -- were you made aware that there was some problem at
11 the Peterson home?
12 A. Just when Scott had come to the house and asked if
13 I had seen Laci that evening.
14 Q. Okay. Do you remember what time that was?
15 A. 5:30-ish.
16 Q. Okay. You said 5:30-ish?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Are you just kind of giving me a guesstimate?
19 A. Yeah.
20 Q. All right. That's fine.
21 And what -- what were you doing at that time?
22 A. Actually, getting ready to have family over for
23 dinner.
24 Q. And so the defendant came over to your house?
25 A. Yes.
26 Q. So --
27 A. We were cooking.
28 Q. Okay. You were cooking. Did you see him come up?

1251
1 A. No.
2 Q. And, what, he rang the doorbell?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. And what happened next?
5 A. I answered the door, and he asked if I had seen
6 Laci, and I told him no. I thought that they were out of
7 town, because the shades had not been up all day. I had
8 seen no movement. I don't know. That's pretty much what I
9 told him.
10 Q. Okay. And what -- did he say anything else at that
11 time? I mean -- let me just ask you this: Did he tell you
12 what he had been doing all day?
13 A. He had said that he was golfing all day, and that
14 he had tried to call her all day, so --
15 Q. And what did you tell him?
16 A. Like I said, I -- I hadn't seen any movement at all
17 in the neighborhood. I told him that the blinds hadn't been
18 up. And I told him that I saw the Christmas lights come on
19 at like 4:30-ish, right before I had to go back to the
20 store. So, actually, I probably got home at like 4:15,
21 so -- I had to go back to the store because I had forgotten
22 something, so I saw the lights come on right before I went
23 to the store, and --
24 Q. Okay.
25 A. -- only her car was there, so --
26 Q. Okay.
27 A. I didn't know if she was going to be alone -- we
28 had talked about it, my wife and I, "Well, is she gonna be

1252
1 home alone for Christmas?" I'd noticed the lights came on.
2 So that's what I told him. The lights came on, so I didn't
3 know if she was there or not.
4 Q. Okay. And who -- who else was at the home?
5 A. At my home?
6 MR. MCALLISTER: Ambiguous. Whose home?
7 MR. DISTASO: I'm sorry. Right.
8 Q. Who else was at your home that night?
9 A. Our son, Michael, Tara's son, and then Tara, Tara
10 Venable.
11 Q. Okay. And --
12 A. And I had family come over after, after he had come
13 over so -- because family, they were on their way over
14 pretty much, so --
15 Q. All right. Well, let me stop you.
16 So after the defendant came over to your house and you
17 had this conversation with him, then he left?
18 A. Uh-huh.
19 Q. Is that right?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. And then subsequently more family -- family came to
22 your house?
23 A. Yes. My dad.
24 Q. For Christmas Eve dinner or something?
25 A. Yes.
26 Q. Okay. And then -- and then I take it police and a
27 number of other people came to the house across the street,
28 right?

1253
1 A. Yeah. We ended up going to the park first, because
2 we went down there and gave Sharon a light, and then --
3 Q. Okay. Let me stop you. Just when you said Sharon,
4 you pointed. Are you talking about Sharon Rocha?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. All right. Go ahead.
7 A. We went down, and we had a flashlight, and we ended
8 up giving her a flashlight, and then she had asked us to
9 help. So I went back up, took my dad back, because he can't
10 walk very well, and I got Tara, and we came back down to the
11 park, because everybody was meeting down there, and they
12 were trying to get -- give everybody direction to scan the
13 park and walk a certain way and search it the right way, if
14 we were gonna do it. And then everybody just ended up doing
15 it completely wrong, it seemed like, and we ended up being
16 down there alone searching one side, so --
17 Q. All right. Let me stop you. So you and Tara were
18 down by yourself?
19 A. Yeah. Well, after -- after everybody ended up
20 splitting and leaving us during the search, so --
21 Q. Okay. And it was just the two of you down there?
22 A. Yeah. At the end, yes.
23 Q. And what about Michael?
24 A. Michael was at the house with my dad.
25 Q. All right. And then what happened next then? You
26 said everybody kind of split up. What happened next?
27 A. We came back to the house, and everybody was in
28 front of the Peterson house, and the police were there,

1254
1 so --
2 Q. While you were down at the park and it was just you
3 and Tara, did you see the defendant at all?
4 A. Yeah. He was in front of -- we ended up -- we were
5 walking, and there were people out scattered, and then we
6 ended up -- he was maybe from here to you from us --
7 Q. Okay. So, what, is that about 15 feet?
8 A. Maybe, if that.
9 Q. Okay.
10 A. Then Tara and I were talking and like, just kind of
11 like going over the situation, because it was kind of un --
12 unreal, unbelievable. So we were talking about it. And
13 then he was standing there, and then he had a flashlight,
14 and then he stopped and ended up walking with us -- uhm --
15 Q. Okay. Let me stop you.
16 When you keep saying "he," you're talking about Scott
17 Peterson, the defendant?
18 A. Yeah.
19 Q. Go ahead.
20 A. And then he walked with us for a short distance,
21 and then we -- I don't know where exactly he went, if he --
22 I think he went back to the house. They had called
23 everybody back to the house. And then we ended up -- we
24 kept walking. And we didn't know everybody was going back
25 to the house. We just didn't know if he was going back to
26 the house. Because the police were at the house, and they
27 were asking --
28 Q. Okay. Let me stop you. While you were -- how

1255
1 long -- you said you ended up walking with the defendant for
2 some period?
3 A. Maybe like a minute or two, if that. I don't -- I
4 don't even know how long it was.
5 Q. Okay. Did you ask him about the situation, what
6 was going on?
7 A. I did. But I don't think -- I asked him so many
8 questions at once that he didn't really have time to answer.
9 I was like -- I don't even remember exactly what I asked
10 him. I was like, you know, "Did you call" -- I mean, I
11 don't -- my adrenaline was rushing, because I was so nervous
12 for him. I felt so bad. I couldn't imagine myself in that
13 situation, so --
14 Q. Okay. And did he make any response to you to any
15 of these questions that you can remember?
16 A. I don't recall. I don't know.
17 MR. DISTASO: Okay. Nothing further, Your Honor.
18 THE COURT: Mr. McAllister?
19 MR. MCALLISTER: Thank you, Your Honor.
20
21 CROSS-EXAMINATION
22 MR. MCALLISTER: Q. This, obviously, was a very
23 upsetting situation that you found yourself actually
24 involved in if you're searching the park.
25 A. Oh, yes.
26 Q. A couple -- I wrote down a couple of the words.
27 You said "unbelievable," "unreal." I mean, you're getting
28 ready to have Christmas dinner with your family, and all of

1256
1 a sudden you're out at a park searching for a missing person
2 who is actually someone you know, if --
3 A. Yeah.
4 Q. -- if maybe only slightly.
5 Was it pretty upsetting?
6 A. Oh, yes.
7 Q. I mean, to you?
8 A. Oh, yes.
9 Q. And as you -- you gave us an impression of just
10 questions kind of gushing out of you, and you said that
11 Scott didn't answer them, but you had question on question,
12 apparently.
13 A. Uh-huh.
14 Q. Is that kind of a -- does that kind of give us a
15 window into your mental state at that point?
16 A. Yes, I was --
17 Q. Pretty excited?
18 A. -- I was -- I was nervous for him, so --
19 Q. Did he seem -- did he seem pretty upset?
20 A. Yeah. When he came to the front door, he seemed
21 distraught, yes.
22 Q. How did you -- and you've seen him before, right?
23 A. Uh-huh.
24 Q. How would you -- how did you know he was
25 distraught?
26 A. I don't know. You can just tell someone's
27 distraught, when they have adrenaline going through them and
28 they're scared or, you know, anxious, you can tell, and you

1257
1 kind of feed off that, so that's how --
2 Q. And you never -- you hadn't seen him in that state
3 before?
4 A. No.
5 Q. Now, had you had a lot of social contact with the
6 Petersons?
7 A. No. Just, just neighborly social contact.
8 Q. Right. I mean, you knew them to say hello to?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. But, for instance, had you ever socialized with
11 them in their home?
12 A. No.
13 Q. Or vice versa?
14 A. No.
15 Q. So, I mean, you were friendly with them?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. There wasn't any --
18 A. They've only come into the yard, and that's it.
19 Q. Okay. There wasn't ever any unfriendliness --
20 A. No.
21 Q. -- with your relationship either with Scott or with
22 Laci, right?
23 A. No. No.
24 Q. But you wouldn't describe yourself as, you know,
25 close friends who maybe --
26 A. No.
27 Q. -- called each other all the time or anything like
28 that?

1258
1 A. No, I didn't know their phone number, and they
2 didn't know ours, so --
3 Q. Well, that tells us something.
4 Now, you had described this -- you work nights, right?
5 A. It switched. I work days and nights. My schedule
6 flip-flopped during the same weeks sometimes, so --
7 Q. Pardon me.
8 It wasn't unusual that you would be waking up at 10:30
9 in the morning?
10 A. No.
11 Q. Because you -- because you often worked nights?
12 A. Yes. Sometimes, yes. Sometimes I'd wake up at
13 2:00 in the morning.
14 Q. Okay. And when you awakened this particular
15 morning, do you remember what it was that woke you up?
16 A. Sage, the dog right next door, and another dog.
17 But I didn't know which dog it was. It was a -- we know all
18 the dogs' barks in the neighborhood. They're pretty
19 familiar.
20 Q. And you've got a dog?
21 A. And we have a dog with a distinct bark, I might
22 add.
23 Q. And so when Sage went off, did your dog also start
24 barking?
25 A. No.
26 Q. Okay. But at least it woke you up?
27 A. Yes. It's right by my bedroom.
28 Q. Okay. And was that a dog -- which side of your --

1259
1 your house really doesn't show here, but it would be
2 farther -- the next house towards the park, or would it be
3 the house away from the --
4 A. My house is directly in front of their house.
5 Their house is set off to the left a little bit from our
6 house, so --
7 Q. Where the Sage dog was --
8 A. Oh, Sage is directly next to us --
9 Q. Okay. You indicated to the right hand --
10 A. Right.
11 Q. Towards the park?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. So, then, you heard that dog, you got up, and then
14 you took your dog out for its constitutional?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Do you remember the first time that you were asked
17 a question about what time that was by an officer?
18 A. The Christmas morning, I believe.
19 Q. Okay. Do you remember telling that officer that it
20 was 10:38 in the morning?
21 A. Yes, I do, 10:30 -- I think that's what time I said
22 I got up. It was 10:30-ish, we heard the dog barking, and I
23 was like out probably taking my dog within minutes to go
24 outside.
25 Q. Okay. So I mean 10:38 is a pretty specific time.
26 A. Yeah.
27 Q. Was that -- was that your best estimate at that --
28 A. At that point, probably.

1260
1 Q. -- point?
2 A. It's been a while, so --
3 Q. That's pretty close in time to when it happened,
4 right?
5 A. When the dogs bark -- well, that's what -- if
6 that's what I said then, I don't -- 10:38, yeah. It's been
7 a while. So my memory was probably a little bit better
8 then, so --
9 Q. Well, that's fine. But when you did tell them
10 10:38 --
11 A. Yeah, 10:38.
12 Q. -- a specific time, without saying 10:30-ish --
13 A. Yeah.
14 Q. -- 10:38 would have been your best recollection
15 back then, probably, when you went outside?
16 A. I would imagine, yes.
17 THE COURT: You said --
18 MR. MCALLISTER: At that point --
19 THE COURT: Wait a minute. You said 10:30-ish, right,
20 not 10:38?
21 MR. MCALLISTER: 10:38.
22 THE WITNESS: Yes, within minutes I have to take my dog
23 out to the restroom when I get up. I don't want to make her
24 hold herself.
25 THE COURT: To clarify, before the -- did you say
26 10:30-ish versus 10:38 or --
27 THE WITNESS: If -- I probably said -- I think I did
28 say 10:38. I remember saying that, you know. But it's been

1261
1 a while. So that's why I said 10:30-ish I got up, so -- I
2 don't -- I'm not normally, like, "10:38, I'm up now," you
3 know. It's kind of -- you know, I'm not being sarcastic,
4 I'm just saying --
5 MR. MCALLISTER: Q. Well, at any rate, when you talked
6 to -- do you know who Detective Brocchini is? Did you
7 ever --
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Okay. When you talked to him, you said 10:38 --
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. -- as your best estimate of when you got up.
12 At that point, I think you told us, you do not see --
13 did you actually go out the front?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. So you're out in the front, and you can see the
16 neighborhood at that point?
17 A. Uh-huh.
18 Q. You do not see Karen Servas, --
19 A. No.
20 Q. -- correct?
21 You do not see the Petersons' dog?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Have you -- do you know their dog? Have you seen
24 it?
25 A. Yes.
26 Q. It's a Golden Retriever?
27 A. Uh-huh.
28 Q. So it's not -- you don't see it when you go out.

1262
1 And you were only out a couple minutes and then went
2 back in?
3 A. Uh-huh.
4 Q. Now, and you were asked some questions about these
5 shades, and that would be on the front portion of the house
6 attached to the -- we're calling it a converted garage.
7 A. Uh-huh.
8 Q. Your hours, as you've told us, change so that
9 you're -- you were coming home to work sometimes, what, in
10 the later morning hours, if you go to work at 2:00?
11 A. It varies. Sometimes I come home 4:00, 5:00 in the
12 morning. Sometimes I would come home -- it varied.
13 Sometimes I'd be done by 1:00, 1:00 in the afternoon. It
14 just depends on what the schedule was. I was a fire
15 inspector, so seems they made a great schedule for me.
16 Q. Okay. So with the changes in those schedules, you
17 were not in a position to say the exact habits every day of
18 the Petersons in opening or closing their blinds, would that
19 be an accurate statement, in the mornings?
20 A. Exactly?
21 Q. Yeah.
22 A. I don't know exactly what they did every day.
23 Q. Yeah.
24 A. I only know what I exactly do every day. But I saw
25 their blinds open on a regular basis, so --
26 Q. Okay. And sometimes you were not there in the
27 early morning hours because you would still be at work --
28 A. Correct.

1263
1 Q. -- to know if their blinds were up or down, right?
2 A. Uh-huh.
3 Q. And was it -- from what you were saying, was it
4 Laci Peterson's practice to close the blinds when she was
5 leaving for some period of time?
6 A. I do not know that.
7 Q. You don't know that?
8 A. No.
9 Q. Okay. And correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not
10 the kind of nosey neighbor who makes the practice of knowing
11 the comings and goings and habits and customs of each of the
12 neighbors in the neighborhood --
13 A. No.
14 Q. -- is that an accurate statement?
15 A. That's accurate. I just knew -- their house is in
16 my plain view --
17 Q. Sure.
18 A. -- so, you know, when I saw both their cars there
19 or them outside, you know -- I do the dishes, and I see
20 their house.
21 Q. Right. Can't miss --
22 A. So I do the dishes a lot. I like to eat a lot.
23 So --
24 Q. But then at a later time -- and when you're --
25 you'd take the dog out, Laci Peterson's Land Rover was
26 there?
27 A. Yes.
28 Q. But Scott's pickup truck was not?

1264
1 A. No.
2 Q. Is that correct?
3 A. That's correct.
4 Q. When you -- later in the day -- and you were
5 doing -- you were going in and out after 12:30-ish, you were
6 going, doing errands, Christmas-Eve-type errands, right?
7 A. Uh-huh.
8 Q. Market, various things?
9 A. Yeah.
10 Q. And then you got home later in the afternoon
11 sometime after 4:00.
12 A. Uh-huh.
13 Q. And at some point after 4:00 you happened to notice
14 the Christmas lights on?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Now, what lights were those?
17 A. On the house. Christmas lights on the house.
18 Q. Hanging, like on the --
19 A. The ice -- yeah, they're like the icicles hanging.
20 Q. Okay. And those -- they -- the electric lights
21 were on?
22 A. Yes, they came on.
23 Q. And you had not seen them on --
24 A. They were not on.
25 Q. They were not on earlier in the day?
26 A. No.
27 Q. So the lights, the Christmas lights are on. Could
28 you tell if there were any other interior lights on shining

1265
1 through the shades or anything like that?
2 A. I could not tell.
3 Q. Okay. But when you noticed that, was Scott
4 Peterson's pickup there?
5 A. No.
6 Q. So the lights are on, but his pickup is -- we could
7 say still gone, because you haven't seen it -- your comings
8 and goings, you never did see the pickup until a later time
9 after 4:00 --
10 A. Uh-huh.
11 Q. -- would that be accurate?
12 A. Until I went to the store and came back and then
13 his truck was there.
14 Q. Okay. And then it was shortly after that that he
15 came over to ask you about Laci?
16 A. Uh-huh.
17 Q. Now, the -- he was asking you what you had seen
18 that day or if you had seen anything?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. And you answered -- the focus in that conversation
21 was not what Scott did that day, but, rather, if -- where
22 Laci was?
23 A. Right.
24 Q. Had you ever seen Scott go golfing?
25 A. No. I never noticed him with any clubs.
26 Q. Okay. But did you know from just your passing
27 acquaintance with your neighbors that he did golf?
28 A. No, I did not know.

1266
1 Q. And had -- was there any extensive conversation
2 about what he had been doing that day or was the focus on
3 Laci?
4 A. Well, I had asked him -- I don't know how I asked
5 him, but I'd asked him, and he said golfing, so -- because I
6 remember conversating (sic) with my wife, well, I would
7 never go golfing without her. And, plus, we didn't know he
8 was a golfer. So -- because my wife had taken lessons,
9 so --
10 Q. Did you ask him if that had been his plan that
11 day --
12 A. No.
13 Q. -- or do you remember the exact question and then
14 the exact answer that he gave you?
15 A. No. I just remember him saying he -- he was
16 golfing and he tried to call her all day, so --
17 Q. And was he pretty upset when he was saying this?
18 A. He -- he acted upset, yes.
19 Q. And you were getting pretty -- I mean, this is,
20 even at that point, pretty startling to you, wasn't it?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. And were you asking him about plans being formed,
23 or who had he called, or were neighbors going to be looking?
24 Was there any conversation like that at that point?
25 A. That wasn't the first time, though, because he had
26 left, and I shut the door, and I really didn't know what to
27 do. I had asked Tara, I'm like, "What do I do? You know,
28 do I go help him?" I had no shoes on, in the middle of

1267
1 making dinner.
2 And so I had gone back out there, and that's when I saw
3 him across the street. And I had asked him, you know, "Did
4 you check the pool? Did you check the car? Did you call
5 the phone to hear if it rang in the house?" I was just
6 doing -- asking things that I would do in that situation.
7 So that's when I started asking the questions.
8 Q. So you had gone back over to his house after you
9 kind of took stock of the conversation?
10 A. Actually, I yelled it from the edge of my lawn, and
11 he was across the street heading over towards Karen's with
12 the dog at that point, so --
13 Q. Okay. So, I mean, you -- these things didn't come
14 to you immediately as you're in the shock of just hearing
15 this, though, things that he ought to be doing, right?
16 A. No. I shut the door, and I was asking Tara,
17 because I had never been in that situation before, you know.
18 Q. And you were getting kind of upset at that point --
19 A. Oh, yes.
20 Q. -- about, "Gee, what should we do here?"
21 A. Definitely.
22 Q. And then you went back over and yelled these
23 suggestions to him?
24 A. Uh-huh.
25 Q. Did you ever see Laci walking the Golden Retriever?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. Do you remember about how many times?
28 A. I saw them walking the dog together, holding hands.

1268
1 I don't know how many times I saw them walk the dog. A few
2 times. I don't -- I don't recall exactly. It's hard to get
3 past the memory, because he walked the dog a lot after she
4 was missing. So that's when I saw somebody really walk the
5 dog every day. He was running the dog and walking the dog
6 every day.
7 Q. Okay. So the more recent --
8 A. So --
9 Q. The more recent picture that you have in your mind
10 is --
11 A. Uh-huh.
12 Q. -- kind of getting in the way --
13 A. Yeah.
14 Q. -- of what you may have -- but you do remember them
15 walking the dog together?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Holding hands?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Was that at a point when Laci was pregnant?
20 A. I don't believe so. Not showing, anyway.
21 Q. Okay. You didn't see any unusual vehicles in the
22 area when you took your dog out to relieve itself?
23 A. No.
24 Q. Is that right?
25 A. No, I didn't see anything.
26 Q. How about the 26th of December, the day after
27 Christmas, did you see any unusual vehicles that day in the
28 immediate neighborhood there of your house?

1269
1 A. Our neighborhood was filled with cars. So every
2 vehicle in the neighborhood was unusual. It was packed.
3 Q. Okay. Are we talking police? Are we talking
4 media? Are we talking both?
5 A. Both.
6 Q. Both?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. So it was just like a parking lot?
9 A. Yes, for months afterwards.
10 Q. And for months, that we know, for months
11 afterwards?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Yes. When -- now, we talked the months afterwards.
14 Did you ever have the opportunity to see what happened
15 whenever Scott arrived home or left home once the media had
16 descended on the neighborhood?
17 A. When he came home?
18 Q. Yeah.
19 A. Yeah. They'd go up and try to talk to him and film
20 him and -- they were filming the house even without him
21 there.
22 Q. Filming the house?
23 A. Yeah.
24 Q. The shark-feeding frenzy, wasn't it?
25 A. Filming the neighbors.
26 Q. And whenever he came or went, then they descended
27 on him and were wanting him to talk and --
28 A. Yes.

1270
1 Q. And just from your standpoint as a person who only
2 happened to live across the street, was that inconvenient to
3 you?
4 A. Oh, yes.
5 Q. Kind of feel like it robbed you of your privacy a
6 little bit?
7 A. Oh, yes.
8 MR. DISTASO: Objection, Your Honor -- hold on a
9 second. Objection. This is not really relevant.
10 THE COURT: Sustained.
11 (Whereupon, the witness' cellular phone was ringing.)
12 THE WITNESS: Sorry about that. That's on silent.
13 THE COURT: You can answer it.
14 THE WITNESS: Sorry. Our son. Gotta check in after
15 school.
16 MR. MCALLISTER: Q. How about this? When we're
17 talking about -- you're familiar or all too familiar with
18 Sage, the dog next door, but you also did mention another
19 dog barking.
20 A. Yes. We didn't know which dog that was, but then
21 we recognized the bark, because McKenzie didn't really bark
22 a lot. We never really heard him bark a lot. So -- but
23 when they came to tow the trucks, they had left the dog in
24 the backyard, and the dog was just going crazy when the
25 police walked up to the back fence. And so we heard that
26 familiar bark from that original day, and we're, like, "That
27 sounds like the same bark on that day that we didn't
28 recognize the other bark," because we knew all the dogs in

1271
1 the neighborhood, so --
2 Q. Sure. So what you're saying is the bark that was
3 unfamiliar to you on the 24th of December you later
4 recognized as being McKenzie?
5 A. Could have been, yes. Sounded familiar.
6 Q. Okay. And you hadn't heard him bark prior to the
7 24th?
8 A. Rarely. Maybe in the court -- I saw him bark from
9 the courtyard, and that's it, like when the mailman would
10 walk by. But rarely.
11 Q. Okay. So on the 24th, when you heard this other
12 dog that apparently is McKenzie, but -- how many times did
13 you hear that dog bark that morning as you were waking up,
14 getting up?
15 A. Just for a short period, when Sage was barking.
16 But I figured it was the mailman or like somebody walking
17 by, because any dog that walks by, Sage barks, let's it know
18 what's going on. I don't know.
19 Q. But normally Sage barking doesn't trigger McKenzie
20 barking?
21 A. No.
22 Q. Is that correct?
23 A. No -- yes. Yeah, that's correct.
24 Q. And when you got up, had Mr. Graybill, your -- do
25 you know your mailman?
26 A. No, I don't, actually.
27 Q. Okay. His name is Russell Graybill, by the way.
28 A. It changes -- really?

1272
1 Q. Yeah. It was back then.
2 A. Okay.
3 Q. Had your mailman, whatever his name may have
4 been, --
5 A. Okay.
6 Q. -- had he delivered the mail at the point where you
7 got up to take your dog out?
8 A. I have no idea. That was my day off. I didn't
9 check the mail.
10 MR. MCALLISTER: Thank you. No other questions.
11 THE COURT: Mr. Distaso?
12 MR. DISTASO: Just a couple follow-ups.
13
14 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
15 MR. DISTASO: Q. When you heard this second dog bark,
16 I mean, do you know that was McKenzie or not?
17 A. I don't know for sure. It sounded familiar. Like
18 I said, I heard it, what was it, when they had towed the
19 truck, and they left the dog there, and it was a pretty
20 distinctive bark. And I didn't think that that dog was like
21 that aggressive, because it was -- sounded aggressive at the
22 fence towards the police. So I just -- we just kind of
23 figured, the two -- Tara and I had both recognized it,
24 "Whoa, that sounded like the dog that was barking that day."
25 Q. Okay. And Mr. McAllister asked you a couple
26 questions about when the -- after this happened and the
27 media was kind of all around the house, and you said that
28 when Mr. Peterson would come -- I mean, would have come

1273
1 home, they'd kind of descend on him?
2 A. Uh-huh.
3 Q. Did you ever actually see him leave and then do the
4 same thing?
5 A. You mean him leave and them, like, chase him?
6 Q. Right.
7 A. Yeah. Yes. Yes.
8 Q. So they'd kind of chase after him?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. When he would get in his car, chase away, would
11 they get in their cars, drive after him?
12 A. Not that I saw, no. They would keep filming the
13 house.
14 Q. All right. So it was like when he would show up
15 around the house, they would want to talk to him or kind of
16 film him or whatever?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And then he would leave, and then he'd come back,
19 and they'd do the same thing?
20 A. Yes.
21 MR. DISTASO: I don't have anything else, Your Honor.
22
23 RECROSS-EXAMINATION
24 MR. MCALLISTER: Q. When Mr. Peterson would leave, and
25 the media was there, did you ever follow him to see if they
26 were or some of them were tailing him?
27 A. No. I never followed Mr. Peterson.
28 MR. MCALLISTER: No other questions

1274
1 MR. DISTASO: I don't have anything further.
2 THE COURT: You may step down. Thank you.
3 THE WITNESS: Thank you.
4 MR. HARRIS: People call Detective Phil Owen.
5 THE COURT: Phil Owen?
6 MR. HARRIS: Yes.
7
8 PHILIP OWEN,
9 called as a witness on behalf of the People, being first
10 duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
11
12 THE CLERK: Please have a seat and put the microphone
13 around your neck.
14
15 DIRECT EXAMINATION
16 MR. HARRIS: Q. Detective, can you go ahead and tell
17 us your full name and spell your last name for the record?
18 A. Philip Owen, O-W-E-N, one L.
19 Q. And what is your occupation?
20 A. Police detective at the City of Modesto.
21 Q. How long have you been employed by the City of
22 Modesto?
23 A. About 16 years.
24 Q. As your assignment as an employee of the City of
25 Modesto as a detective, were you assigned to assist in the
26 Laci Peterson's missing person investigation?
27 A. Yes.
28 Q. At some point in time during your assignment, did

1275
1 you receive the assignment to contact Laci Peterson's doctor
2 and obtain statements from people at that office?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. And did you contact people at that office?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Directing your attention to that particular --
7 those particular interviews, did you talk to a person by the
8 name of Cheryl Smith?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Where is Cheryl Smith employed?
11 A. She's employed at Dr. Yip's office.
12 Q. And is Dr. Yip an obstetrician?
13 A. Yes. He's an OB/GYN.
14 Q. And that particular office, from your
15 investigation, did you discover that that's Laci Peterson's
16 doctor?
17 A. Yes, I did.
18 Q. When you talked to Miss Smith, did she tell you
19 what her assignment was or what she did for Dr. Yip?
20 A. Yes. She was a nurse practitioner and she assisted
21 the doctor in the visits from the clients.
22 Q. Did she sometime take phone calls or answer phone
23 calls of patients?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Did you talk to her if she had received any phone
26 calls from Laci Peterson?
27 A. Yes, I did.
28 Q. And did she indicate to you if she had received a

1276
1 phone call in the relation -- relating to medical treatment?
2 A. Yes, she had.
3 Q. What did Miss Smith tell you Laci Peterson had
4 talked about?
5 A. That she had called in and stated that while she
6 was taking walks, she was having shortness of breath.
7 Q. And did Cheryl Smith indicate when this phone call
8 took place?
9 A. Yes, she did.
10 Q. And when was that?
11 A. I have to refer to my notes for the exact date.
12 Q. Did you write a report based on your interview of
13 Cheryl Smith?
14 A. Yes, I did.
15 Q. Would looking at that report help you?
16 A. Yes, it would.
17 Q. If you'd please look at your report.
18 A. She stated that Laci called in on two dates,
19 November 6th and November 8th.
20 Q. And that's in 2002?
21 A. Correct.
22 Q. Was Miss Peterson given some advice on how to
23 handle this shortness of breath?
24 A. Yes, she was.
25 MR. GERAGOS: Objection. Hearsay.
26 THE COURT: Overruled.
27 MR. HARRIS: Q. What was the advice that she was
28 given?

1277
1 A. She was told to walk later and to eat some food.
2 Q. Now, did she -- did Laci Peterson call the doctor's
3 office twice with the same complaint?
4 A. Yes, she did.
5 Q. And that was both on the 6th and the 8th of
6 November?
7 A. Correct.
8 Q. Did you also talk to Dr. Yip and the other doctor
9 in the office, Dr. Tow?
10 A. Yes, I did.
11 Q. And did you ask them about Laci Peterson and her
12 pregnancy?
13 A. I did.
14 Q. When you -- starting with Dr. Yip, did you talk to
15 Dr. Yip about when Laci first came in to be examined as part
16 of her prenatal care?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Did Dr. Yip indicate if they went through the
19 process of determining a due date for the baby?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. What did Dr. Yip indicate to you?
22 A. That they -- based on her cycle, they were able to
23 come up with a calendar date on when she was due. And then
24 they had a follow-up with a sonogram, and based on the
25 sonogram, they were able to come up with a due date. The
26 two due dates were within a week apart.
27 Q. Okay. So going back through this, when Dr. Yip
28 meets with Laci, they ask her when her last menstrual cycle

1278
1 was?
2 A. Correct.
3 Q. And from that, they were able to do some type of
4 gestational due date?
5 A. Correct.
6 Q. Did Dr. Yip indicate to you when the due date was?
7 A. He said around February the 10th, I believe. Yes.
8 Q. So the due date is estimated February 10th?
9 A. Correct.
10 Q. And a few weeks later, do they do some type of
11 procedure, an ultrasound, I believe you said?
12 A. Yes, sonogram.
13 Q. Sonogram?
14 And after that, did they indicate if they were -- kept
15 the same due date?
16 A. Yes. They said that the sonogram indicated the
17 size of the baby to be close enough, within a week of the
18 calendar, so they kept the due date as February the 10th.
19 Q. And do you recall when it was that that ultrasound
20 was performed?
21 A. I believe it was the 24th. 9-24-02.
22 Q. Did you also talk to Dr. Yip's partner, Dr. Tow?
23 A. Yes, I did.
24 Q. And did Dr. Tow examine Laci on December 23rd of
25 2002?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. When you talked to Dr. Tow, did you ask about the
28 examination of Laci Peterson on December 23rd?

1279
1 A. Yes, I did.
2 Q. And did Dr. Tow indicate to you if she examined
3 Laci and the baby at that time?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. What did Dr. Tow tell you?
6 A. Dr. Tow said that the heartbeat of the baby was
7 strong, was approximately 150, and that it was a viable
8 baby, and that if the baby was to be born on that day, that,
9 with some assistance, they wouldn't stop the delivery and
10 the baby would be born viable.
11 Q. As part of your interviews with the members of the
12 doctor's office or employees of the doctor's office, did you
13 also talk to a Karina Romas?
14 A. Yes, I did.
15 Q. And what was her assignment or occupation there?
16 A. She answered the phones.
17 Q. Did you ask her if she received any phone calls on
18 December 24th of 2002?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Did you ask her if she received any phone calls on
21 that date about Laci Peterson?
22 A. I did.
23 Q. What did she tell you?
24 A. She said she had not received any phone calls on
25 that date, the 24th.
26 Q. Did the -- did she indicate if the doctor's office
27 was open or what their hours were on the 24th?
28 A. Yes. They worked a half a day that day because of

1280
1 the holidays.
2 Q. After the doctor's office closed, what did they do
3 in terms of receiving messages?
4 A. They put the phone on an answering machine.
5 Q. Did you talk to another employee by the name of
6 Stacey Josephson?
7 A. I did.
8 Q. And was she assigned to check those messages after
9 the holidays?
10 A. She was.
11 Q. And when you talked to Miss Josephson, did she tell
12 you if she checked the recorder to see if there were any
13 messages involving Laci Peterson or from Scott Peterson?
14 A. Yes, she told me she checked and that there were no
15 phone messages from Scott Peterson or anyone regarding Laci.
16 Q. Did you learn from your interviews with the doctors
17 and staff that a Pap smear had been taken from Laci
18 Peterson?
19 A. I did.
20 Q. And were you assigned to try and track down that
21 sample potentially for evidence purposes at a later date?
22 A. Yes, I was.
23 Q. Were you able to track down that sample?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. And did you obtain it from some particular
26 business?
27 A. Yes.
28 Q. What business was that?

1281
1 A. Unilabs.
2 Q. And after you obtained this sample from Unilabs,
3 did you submit that to the Department of Justice?
4 A. Yes, I did.
5 Q. Prior to doing that, did you do anything with it?
6 A. I recovered the sample from Unilabs, I took it to
7 our property room, it was booked, and with a note to go to
8 DOJ as soon as possible.
9 Q. And when you say "it was booked," do you take it in
10 the same condition that you received it, or did you do some
11 type of bagging or evidence handling procedure with it?
12 A. Yes, I placed it in a evidence envelope and sealed
13 it, signed it and dated it.
14 Q. And did you assign that particular item a
15 particular number?
16 A. Yes, I did.
17 Q. What was that number or reference?
18 A. I would have assigned it a number one, that report.
19 MR. GERAGOS: I'm sorry. Which report?
20 THE WITNESS: It's the report I did under --
21 MR. GERAGOS: Does it have a Bates stamp on it in the
22 lower right?
23 THE WITNESS: Not mine. Sorry.
24 MR. GERAGOS: No?
25 May I approach?
26 Thank you.
27 MR. HARRIS: Q. Moving forward -- moving forward in
28 time and directing your --

1282
1 A. I'm sorry. Let me correct that. It would have
2 been labeled as P -- P6.
3 THE COURT: P as in Peter?
4 THE WITNESS: P, as in Paul, 6.
5 MR. HARRIS: Q. Moving forward in time, after that
6 particular item was booked and submitted to the Department
7 of Justice, were you contacted on April 14th of 2003?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And after being contacted, did you go to some
10 location over in the Bay Area?
11 A. Yes, I did.
12 Q. Could you tell the Court where it was that you
13 went?
14 A. I went to Point Isabela.
15 Q. I'd like to have marked --
16 THE COURT: 126?
17 THE CLERK: There's several. Starting with 126. 126
18 to 133.
19 (Whereupon, People's Exhibits 126 through 133 were
20 marked for identification.)
21 MR. HARRIS: Q. Now, detective, I'm going to put this
22 chart up here, and we'll start kind of in reverse order.
23 Looking at what's been marked as People's Number 133 for
24 identification, do you recognize that?
25 A. Yes, I do.
26 Q. And can you tell the Court what that is?
27 A. That is a aerial photograph of the
28 Berkeley/Richmond area. It shows in the lower right corner,

1283
1 shows the Berkeley Marina. Further up, it shows Golden Gate
2 Fields. Further on the right, it shows Point Isabela. And
3 then to the left is Brooks Island. And above that is
4 Richmond.
5 Q. Starting with what you were first talking about,
6 the Berkeley Marina, that's in the lower right corner where
7 there's some -- some things that kind of stick out in the
8 water. Is there a notation that indicates Berkeley Marina
9 there?
10 A. Yes, on the map it said Berkeley Marina.
11 Q. And then there's a -- moving counterclockwise of
12 the aerial photograph, is there a box that indicates where
13 you went to on this particular date on the 14th?
14 A. Yes. It's identified as -- on the map as Laci
15 Peterson recovery site.
16 Q. All right.
17 A. And there's a yellow dot.
18 Q. And does that particular spot represent the
19 location that you went to on the 14th of April?
20 A. Yes, it is.
21 Q. Showing you the next photographs, starting with
22 People's Number 128 and 129, can you describe for the record
23 what 128 is?
24 A. 128 is an aerial photograph of Point Isabela, which
25 includes the shoreline and Costco, which is right near
26 there.
27 Q. All right. And is 129 a closer up, somewhat
28 moving-in view of the aerial photograph from 128?

1284
1 A. Yes, 129 is looking in a northern direction and is
2 a closeup of Point Isabela.
3 Q. Now, looking at that particular photograph,
4 People's Number 129, towards the center of the photograph
5 there is some type of driving circle, a concrete circle
6 that's there?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. And to the left of that circle are there some
9 trees?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. If you were to follow out going to the left in that
12 particular photograph from the trees towards the shoreline,
13 is there a small kind of yellow dot on that particular
14 photograph?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. What is -- what is that yellow dot in the
17 photograph representative of?
18 A. The yellow dot is actually a yellow tarp that was
19 used to cover the body.
20 Q. And that's the body of Laci Peterson?
21 A. Correct.
22 Q. Now, showing you what has been marked as People's
23 Number 126, is this again a closeup or a more closeup aerial
24 view of the Berkeley Marina?
25 A. Yes, it is.
26 Q. And looking at this particular photograph, towards
27 the -- somewhat of the top center portion of this, does that
28 indicate where the boat ramps are at the Berkeley Marina?

1285
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Showing you People's next in order, Number 127, do
3 you recognize this photograph?
4 A. Yes, I do.
5 Q. And is that a more closeup view of those same boat
6 ramps from the Berkeley Marina?
7 A. Yes, it is.
8 Q. Now, detective, when you went to that area that's
9 depicted on the photographs, the aerial photographs up
10 there, did you observe the body of Laci Peterson?
11 A. Yes, I did.
12 Q. Observe the condition that it was in, how it was
13 clothed?
14 A. Yes, I did.
15 Q. Were you assigned to go to the autopsy that
16 occurred?
17 A. Yes, I was.
18 Q. Now, looking at the next two photographs that you
19 have in front of you, is there a photograph that depicts the
20 location and condition of Laci Peterson as she was found on
21 the 14th?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Which item number is that?
24 A. 130 shows the condition she was at the high
25 watermark on Point Isabela, and Number 131 shows a closeup
26 of the abdomen area of Laci.
27 Q. Now, the 131 photograph, was that taken at the
28 autopsy?

1286
1 A. Yes, it was.
2 Q. And did you witness the autopsy?
3 A. Yes, I did.
4 Q. When the body was found -- when Laci's body was
5 found, did you notice if there was any tape around the body
6 or tape about the body?
7 A. Yes, I did.
8 Q. Can you describe for the Court that?
9 A. There was a piece of duct tape that was attached to
10 the groin area of the pants.
11 Q. And about how long, if you could estimate, was that
12 piece of tape?
13 A. 12 to 18 inches.
14 Q. And does that -- is that visible in Photograph
15 Number 131?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. At the autopsy, did you examine or look at the
18 pants?
19 A. I did.
20 Q. And were you assigned to do some follow-up with
21 regards to those particular pants?
22 A. Yes, I was.
23 Q. I want to go back through this. The pants that was
24 found on Laci Peterson's body on the 14th of April, can you
25 describe those to the Court?
26 A. The pants that I found on her were a tan-colored
27 pants with a drawstring, a zipper and a button, that had a
28 pin tuck on it.

1287
1 Q. And is that some type of sewing or fabric term?
2 A. Pin tuck would be like a sewed stitching like
3 almost a crease on the front of the pants that would run the
4 length of the legs.
5 Q. Did you examine those pants to see if there was
6 some type of maker's tag?
7 A. I did.
8 Q. And did you find one?
9 A. Yes. It was identified and labeled as Motherhood,
10 with a number, which was a style number of the pant.
11 Q. Did you contact representatives of Motherhood
12 Maternity to find out if they had those pants still?
13 A. Yes. I contacted Phillip Williams, who is the
14 asset protection agent, and asked him if I could somehow
15 obtain a pair of pants or a photograph of the pants based on
16 the style number that I had.
17 Q. And were you supplied a photograph?
18 A. I was.
19 Q. Looking at the next in order, I believe that would
20 be People's Number --
21 MR. GERAGOS: 132.
22 MR. HARRIS: Q -- 132?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Is that the photograph that you were supplied of
25 the pants that were found on Laci Peterson?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. Did you also obtain an actual pair of pants from
28 Motherhood Maternity?

1288
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Did you compare the actual pants, the photograph,
3 with the maker's tag that you found in the pants on the body
4 of Laci Peterson?
5 A. Yes, I did.
6 Q. And did they match?
7 A. They did.
8 Q. And the color of those pants, were they also tan?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Did you also talk to the authorized representative
11 from Motherhood Maternity about whether Laci or Scott
12 Peterson had an account?
13 A. I did.
14 Q. What did they tell you?
15 A. They stated that they had records showing Scott and
16 Laci Peterson had an account with their business.
17 Q. And did they indicate if those particular pants
18 that are depicted in that photograph, Number 132, had been
19 purchased under that account?
20 A. Yes, they did.
21 Q. What did they indicate?
22 A. Stated that they had a sales receipt showing that
23 those style of pants with that style number was purchased
24 from the Modesto store under that account.
25 Q. Belonging to either Laci or Scott Peterson?
26 A. Correct.
27 Q. Now, the photographs before you and the aerial
28 chart up there, do those accurately depict the areas that

1289
1 they represent?
2 A. They do.
3 MR. HARRIS: People have no further questions.
4 MR. GERAGOS: Could I defer cross until tomorrow
5 morning? We were going to go, I thought, until 4:00 today.
6 I was expecting Hendee, and I brought those materials with
7 me and not Owen.
8 I do have two other exhibits that I wanted to mark that
9 I could do right now that I referred to before.
10 THE COURT: Any objection?
11 MR. DISTASO: No, the exhibits are Modesto Bee articles
12 that are downloaded from the Internet. It has the posted
13 date, so I'm not objecting now to them coming in.
14 THE COURT: What's the identification number?
15 MR. GERAGOS: Yes, Defendant's next in order.
16 THE CLERK: AA.
17 MR. GERAGOS: AA, which is the, "Dogs and divers go to
18 work in the San Francisco Bay," January 5th. And the
19 January 9th article would be BB, "Searchers return to the
20 Berkeley Marina," is the first sentence.
21 THE COURT: What about the one you marked before?
22 MR. GERAGOS: AA is this, and that's the 5th.
23 THE COURT: These are not going to be offered, because
24 I assume you have one off the Internet?
25 MR. GERAGOS: Yes.
26 MR. DISTASO: That's fine, Your Honor.
27 THE COURT: So it's AA, BB and what?
28 THE CLERK: That's it.

1290
1 MR. GERAGOS: That's it, AA and BB, the 5th and the
2 9th.
3 THE COURT: BB is the 9th?
4 MR. GERAGOS: Yes.
5 THE COURT: No objection to those being introduced,
6 then?
7 MR. DISTASO: No, Your Honor.
8 (Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibits AA & BB were marked
9 for identification.)
10 THE COURT: You may step down. Be back tomorrow
11 morning at 9:30.
12 Anything else, then?
13 MR. DISTASO: No, Your Honor.
14 THE COURT: See you tomorrow morning at 9:30.
15 Defendant's remanded.
16 THE BAILIFF: Remain seated.
17 THE COURT: Do you know who they're going to call
18 tomorrow?
19 MR. GERAGOS: I do not. I assume I'll be told.
20 MR. DISTASO: I'll tell him.
21 (Evening recess: 3:50 p.m.)
22 ---oOo---
23


				*PH Transcript* *8- KRIGBAUM / OWEN*



	TRANSCRIPTS 1-MARGARITA /AMY \| 2-AMY/SHARON/LEE/EVERS \| 3-EVERS/CROSS \| 4-FBICAM/BROCHINI DIRECT/ \| 5-BROCHINI/CROSS/FBI-CAM/CROSS \| 6- BROCHINI CROSS \| 7- BROCHINI CONT'D \| 8- KRIGBAUM / OWEN \| 9- OWEN CROSS/OSWALT \| 10- OSWALT CROSS \| 17TH- DR. PETERSON/EXAMINER \| 17TH- AFTERNOON= HENDEE \| 18TH- JACOBSON / WRAP