REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – After a third day of deliberations, jurors in Scott Peterson's murder trial retired to a hotel where they are prohibited from discussing the case and are not allowed visitors.
The jurors are only permitted to watch sports and movies from a court-approved selection on television until they resume deliberations Monday.
Judge Alfred A. Delucchi (search) has reversed course and barred live television coverage of the verdict, citing concern for the families of Peterson and his wife, Laci, whom he is accused of killing around Christmas Eve 2002.
The verdict will be captured on a live audio feed, which radio and TV stations will be allowed to broadcast.
On Friday, jurors asked to review some evidence, including the boat prosecutors allege Peterson used to dispose of his wife's body, a source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
On Thursday, they asked to review evidence including photographs taken at the Petersons' home in the days after Laci vanished.
The judge had earlier said he would allow live TV coverage of the verdict. His reversal came after attorneys on both sides objected.
"I think we're interested more in this verdict as a spectacle rather than for the public's confidence in the judicial system," Delucchi told an attorney for the media. "I'm not here to orchestrate this trial. I'm here to try this case."
Peterson is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his pregnant wife and her fetus. Defense lawyers say someone else abducted and killed the Modesto woman, then placed the bodies in the water. Peterson could get the death penalty.
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