Dear Viewers,
The preliminary hearing is in Day Eight. I am surprised that there are actually empty seats in the courtroom. I suppose this is because the first witness is a DNA expert--not seemingly exciting but extraordinarily important. The D.A. [District Attorney] wants to connect a hair in a pair of pliers found in Scott's boat to Laci--but the defense is challenging the type of DNA process used in this case. I bet when Amber takes the stand (tomorrow??) there will be a line around the block to get in.
Yesterday, we arrived in Modesto early enough for my producer and me to take a "road trip." We wanted to go back to Scott and Laci's house to examine what the defense is claiming about an FBI surveillance camera pointed at the house beginning last December and on going to the present.
When we arrived we met a neighbor of Scott's and Laci's. She said we just missed the men who had come hours earlier to remove a "box" from the pole directly across from the Peterson home. The neighbor showed us the pole and where the box was. She described it as white or gray and my estimate from her is that it was about five inches by ten inches. I took a close look at the pole. It was apparent that something had just been removed--there was a cut cord. The prosecution has suggested it might be phone related and not FBI camera related. At this point-- we don't know.
To give you an idea of what the cut cord looks like so that it is easier to understand, I photographed it. I am hoping to e-mail the pic to the website for you to see. The pole is directly across the street from the Peterson home. Incidentally, for what it is worth, the neighbor appeared very suspicious and seemed to think it was a camera and not phone related.
As an aside, Scott's parents are in court today, as they have been every day. --His siblings and their spouses are not. And thus, there are a great number of empty seats surrounding his parents. The empty seats seem to highlight the parents and thus the pain of the situation.
Of course Laci's family, across the aisle, is also consumed with pain and heartbreak but because they are surrounded by family and friends, it is not visually highlighted in the courtroom.
Greta
Watch On the Record with Greta Van Susteren weeknights at 10 p.m. ET
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