Former prosecutors played like a fiddle

On February 10, 2003, Conner's due date, Nancy Grace stood in for Larry King to cover the vigil being held by Laci's friends and co-workers and to discuss Scott's recent actions. The full transcript is here.

First very noticeable error on Nancy's part is her insistence that Scott tried to sell the house within the first week after Laci's disappearance, then narrowing it down to within 5 days.

GRACE: You know, a lot has been made just recently of the fact that it has come out that within the first week that Laci, his wife, his pregnant wife went missing, he spoke with a realtor about putting the house up for sale. Any explanation from him as to why he wanted the house sold?
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GRACE: Mark, I'm OK with the vehicle. I'm OK with that. I'm asking you about why sell the house in the first -- try to sell the house the first five days she goes missing?

Nancy appears to believe every negative thing she hears about Scott, without bothering to try to verify sources or documentation. Or does she just cook this stuff up on her own?

This is the truth, Nancy.

DISTASO: Well, let me ask you this. I want to ask you about a conversation some time while the Volunteer Center was still in operation. Did you have a conversation with Mr. Peterson about selling his home?
WESTERN: Yes, I did.
DISTASO: And can you describe for the jury what that, just take them through whole thing. What happened?
JUDGE: Really, that calls for a narrative answer.
DISTASO: Okay.
DISTASO: I mean what, let's just start at the beginning. What time of day was it that you had this conversation?
WESTERN: It would have been fairly early in the morning. I don't remember the exact time.
DISTASO: And what happened? Did you go to the Volunteer Center?
WESTERN: Yes, I did. As I did every morning. I was either the first one or one of the first that had arrived. And Scott was there that morning, and he was visibly upset. So I sat down next to him while he was going through the e-mails on the computer. And I said, "Scott," you know, "Are you okay?" And he said no. He goes, "I need to talk to you about selling the house. I can't have Laci come back here."
DISTASO: And what did you respond to him, if anything?
WESTERN: I responded with, "Well, Scott, I understand. However, now is not the time nor the place to discuss this."
DISTASO: And did he mention that to you again about selling the house?
WESTERN: No, he did not.
DISTASO: Okay. Do you remember what day that conversation took place?
WESTERN: You know, I'm almost certain it was on the 14th of January. I know it was somewhere in the second week of having the Volunteer Center open.
DISTASO: Let me just show you a report, see if that refreshes your memory about that. Just the date that this conversation occurred. Just read this one line to yourself.
GERAGOS: I'm sorry, what you are you showing her?
DISTASO: 1686.
GERAGOS: Thanks.
WESTERN: Okay.
DISTASO: Does that refresh your memory about what day it was?
WESTERN: Yes.
DISTASO: Okay. What date was that?
WESTERN: January 14th.

Laci disappeared on December 24, and the conversation with Terri Western occurred on January 14 -- that's not within 5 days, Nancy; that's not within the first week, Nancy. If the case against Scott was so strong, why all this need to exaggerate the truth and repeat outright lies?

The second thing I noticed is the idiotic exchange between Nancy and Wendy Murphy, another former prosecutor. Nancy has already mentioned that she understands selling the car, but Murphy doesn't. Murphy actually uses the fact that the police are keeping Scott's truck as evidence of Scott's state of mind. She further states that the police wouldn't still have his truck if there wasn't a need, in other words, some compelling evidence in it.

MURPHY: Mark, let's at least put the apology show off until we get the need to do that show. Look, you know, I'm so tired of hearing his excuse for why he needed to sell the car that he needed it for work, because what's really important about his state of mind is that if he's truly innocent, he waited a little bit, a while, while the truck was impounded so the police could do their tests and so on -- if he was truly innocent, he'd be expecting to get it back very soon. It's the fact that he had to go and get another one that tells us what his state of mind is. They're not letting that truck go for a reason.
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MURPHY: If he were innocent, he would have his truck back by now. The fact that he doesn't is evidence against him.

Is Murphy really that ignorant? Has she no awareness that she's being played like a fiddle? Or is she a willing accomplice to their nasty art of convicting Scott before he's even been arrested? Are those tactics she used as a prosecutor to secure convictions?

We know from the testimony of lab technicians that there was no evidence incriminating for Soctt in that truck. None whatsoever. Keeping it was simply a ploy to create a financial hardship for Scott and coerce him into doing something that would look incriminating. Just one of the MPD's dirty tricks. The police continued to keep it long after what they were told that what they thought was evidence wasn't. In fact, they had to be ordered by the Court to release the truck back to Scott after the Preliminary hearing.

Nancy Grace and Wendy Murphy sound so much alike, we should just call them Nancy Murphy, or Wendy Grace. Since Nancy is the show's host, I'll go with Nancy Murphy.

Nancy Murphy then turns to the opinions of a forensic psychiatrist and of course, the renowned Mark Klaas who is the All-Knowing expert on everyone who has a family member missing. Klaas I can write off - he's just an ordinary citizen who went through a horrible experience and now thinks he knows it all. But the forensic psychiatrist is a professional who should know better than to evaluate someone without a personal interview with that person and relying on hearsay information. Here he is, Dr. Welner, taking everything that Nancy Murphy is saying to be the gospel truth, and using that rabidly biased and grossly incorrect information to make judgments about Scott. It should be considered malpractice.

Ted Rowlands corrected Nancy Murphy about the timeline for trying to sell the house, but Nancy Murphy wasn't interested in being corrected.

ROWLANDS: He told me that he checked into selling the house three weeks after Laci was reported missing. That's what he told me. And I've heard that there has been one week. But he said three weeks.

Let's see, there are 31 days in December and Laci disappeared on December 24, so that's one week in December, and the 2 weeks in January from January 1 to January 14 -- well, by golly, that is 3 weeks. 1 + 2 = 3.  Once again, the truth comes from Scott.

After being blasted by Mark Geragos, the other guest on the show, for convicting without evidence, Nancy Murphy interrupts him with this:

Let's get back to the facts.

And Ted Rowlands gave her some facts:

ROWLANDS: Well, you know if we knew that, that's what we would be talking about an this show, I'm sure. Modesto Police, the department has to have something else because from the beginning they have focused all of their attention on Scott Peterson.

If they don't have anything more than we know, then they have really been acting inappropriately in pursuing this case. Which, by the way is really what the Peterson family believes is the case, that they have been -- they had a one-tract mind, innappropriately and have ignored all other leads.

Nancy Murphy has no reply for Rowlands, she just redirects her attention to Dr. Welner, who so graciously gives Nancy Murphy what she desperately needs to reject Rowlands' wisdom and common sense and continue to convict Scott.

WELNER: Well, there's no violence. There's no history of violence here. There isn't an upset crime scene. And so, whatever happened to her, if it happened in the home, if he was involved, it happened cleanly. It happened in a calculated way. It happened in a premeditated way. So, in a forensic psychiatric investigation, if it was done in this case, the most meaningful piece of evidence is nothing that's been discussed to this point, but would be signs that he was already beginning his readjustment before she disappeared.

GRACE: Excellent point.

No comment for Rowlands' excellent and true observation, but gooing and gushing all over this malfeasant's utter nonsense.

Near the end of the show, Nancy Murphy made this statement to Mark Geragos:

Let me go to you, Mark Geragos. Before you launch into a defense of Scott Peterson who isn't indicted, who isn't accused, who is not a suspect, we all get that, what would your advice to be him at this point?

No you don't get it, Nancy Murphy. I don't think you are capable of getting it. You said, in both of your identities, that you will have a show to admit you are wrong if proven wrong:

GERAGOS: Well, either that, but there's going to be a lot of pundits, there is going to be a lot of pundits who are going to have to apologize for convicting this guy.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: I'll be the first one in line, Mark. I'll be the first one in line.

WENDY MURPHY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: I'm in line, too.

But what will you do to restore the losses experienced by Scott and his family, much of it your doing? You both publicly prosecuted Scott, and you carry much of the burden of his conviction. You eagerly believed every titillating lie you heard about Scott and not only passed them on, over and over, but often exaggerated them.

Your wrongful public conviction of Richard Ricci, absolutely innocent in Elisabeth Smart's kidnapping, taught you nothing.  No, you don't get it, and I don't think you ever will.

A formidable barrier

In order for Conner to have washed ashore, he had to cross a formidable barrier -- the southern breakwater. Rick Distaso foisted People's 100 on the Court, the jury, and the public in the hopes that seeing all this water on the Conner Recovery Site would convince all that Conner could easily wash ashore.

People's 100 is a fraud because it does not represent the Conner Recovery Site as it looked on April 13, 2003, the day the State alleged Conner washed ashore.  People's 100 was taken at a water level of 6.39 feet, and the HH tide on April 13, 2003 only reached 5.87 feet.  [NOTE:  NOAA's High/Low verified stats for April 13, 2003 give 5.87 ft as the HH; its 6-minute verified data gives 5.88 ft as the highest water level reached.  I don't know why the difference in their records, but it only amounts to one-tenth of an inch.]

Nor does it do anything to enlighten the Court, the jury, or the public about the south breakwater that Conner had to pass over to be found where he was.  The combination of that massive breakwater and Conner's placement relative to the debris line is formidable evidence that Conner did not wash ashore.

I was at the Conner Recovery Site on December 23, 2010, arriving at the south breakwater at 7:39 a.m., PWL 3.16 feet.  The site was very soggy from the previous day's exceptionally high tide of 7.61 feet.  This photo shows what the site looks like at that water level.  The grass in the northern 2/3 of the site is about 2 1/2 feet tall, and with the exception of an isolated blade here and there, it is completely covered, so the entire site is immersed in over 2 1/2 feet of water.  That line you see about half-way up on the right side, just below the landscape, is what is still visible of the south breakwater.  Click to enlarge.  

First, let's review some basic facts.  The NOAA Richmond (Station ID: 9414863) is the station to use when determining water levels at the Conner site.  Its datum shows the MHW (average of all high tides) is 5.45 feet (17.02 minus the MLLW of 11.57), and its MHHW (average of all higher-high tides) is 6.05 feet (17.02 minus 11.57).  This is the verified water data from the NOAA Richmond station for April 11-13, 2003.  You can see that the storm on the 12th did indeed create a storm surge, which is accounted for in the difference between the red line and the blue line on the chart, but the surged water levels didn't even reach the MHHW of 6.05, so they still were lower than average HH tides.    

Historic Tide Data
Station Date      Time Vrfy HL
DCP#:                        1
Units:                    Feet
Data%:  MLLW     Local   1.667  
Maximum:                  5.87  
Minimum:                 -0.20  
------- -------- ----- ------- 
9414863 20030411 02:18    3.03  L
9414863 20030411 07:36    4.84  H
9414863 20030411 14:36   -0.20  LL
9414863 20030411 22:12    4.96  HH
9414863 20030412 03:06    2.88  L
9414863 20030412 08:42    5.76  HH
9414863 20030412 15:36    0.38  LL
9414863 20030412 22:36    5.57  H
9414863 20030413 04:00    2.39  L
9414863 20030413 10:00    5.87  HH
9414863 20030413 16:24    0.12  LL
9414863 20030413 23:12    5.68  H

Now back to December 23, 2010.  The tide was low enough when I arrived that I could get some good photos of the south breakwater as the water level rose to the 5.87 ft HH on April 13, 2003.  On the 23rd the winds were very mild, which enables us to see the actual water level produced by the rising tide.  Strong winds will increase the wave action, which will put a bit more water on the site than a calm day, but which also would add considerable hazard to a delicate, decomposed baby trying to cross the breakwater.  

The south breakwater has three parts:  a lower rock bed that extends out about 20 feet to the south, followed by a short slope of larger rocks, and then an upper rock bed about 15-20' deep of rocks of varying sizes that sits on the mudflat.  This upper rock bed appears to be slightly mounded along its west-east center line, at least in some places.  These photos taken on December 13, 2005, with lower water levels show the extent and composition of the lower bed, which appears to have a row of larger rocks at its southern edge.

The focus always is the stretch of breakwater directly in front of the grass section where Conner was found, as he had to come over that section if he washed ashore.  

These first 6 photos were taken on the 23rd at 7:45 a.m., PWL 3.22 feet, Winds N 1.1-2.5 mph.  They pan from the south to the west.  Brooks Island is visible in the last 3.  If you compare them with the above photos, you will see that the lower rock bed is covered, with some of the larger rocks still protruding or barely under the surface.

  

The next three photos show close-ups of the upper rock bed.  The rock indicated in the first picture will give you an idea of the size of the rocks in this bed.  Photos taken at 7:46-7:48 a.m., PWL 3.23-3.25 feet, Wind N at 1.1-2.5 mph.

9:30-9:32, PWL 4.77-4.81 feet, Wind from the NW at 1.8 mph, gusts to 3.8.  The first photo shows the water line along the breakwater to the west, with a clear view of Brooks Island to the left.  The last photo shows that the water among the rocks doesn't extend all the way through the upper rock bed.

9:37 - 9:38 a.m., PWL 4.90-4.91 feet, the water is making it all the way through the upper rock bed.  Wind from NW at 1.3 mph, with gusts 3.1 mph.

9:46 a.m., 9:42 a.m., PWL 4.97 ft., Wind from the North at 2.0 mph, gusts 3.1 mph.  The two rocks in the previous photo are shown prominently in this photo.  The rock on the left measured 2'4".

9:46 a.m., PWL 5.07 feet, Wind from the NW at 1.8 mph, gusts 2.5.  The grass is saturated and matted down -- not just from the 7.61 HH tide the previous day, but from the series of very high tides.  The grass usually stands about 6 inches tall and is quite thick.  The chart showing the tides for the previous days follows.

 These HH tides were well above the MHHW of 6.05 feet.

9:53 a.m., PWL 5.24 feet, Winds from the NNE at 1.1 mph, with gusts 2.2.  The tape measure you see was used to measure the distance to the rock that sits on the grass, which was frequently featured in the photos from the October 6, 2010 field trip.  The distance is approximately 7 feet.  You can see in the first picture that the Bay water level is now pretty even with the mudflat.

9:54, PWL 5.26 ft., Wind from the NNE at 1.1 mph, gusts 2.2

9:57 a.m., PWL 5.32 ft., Wind from the NNE at 1.1 mph, gusts 2.2.

9:58 a.m., PWL 5.34 feet, Wind from the NNE at 1.1 mph, gusts 2.2.  

10:11 a.m., PWL 5.59 feet, Wind from the N at 1.1 mph, gusts 1.8 mph.  I was off doing other things and didn't catch the water level at 5.45, the MHW for the Richmond station.  5.59 feet is 1.68 inches above 5.45 feet. 

10:15 a.m., PWL 5.65 feet, Wind from the NW at 1.1 mph, gusts 1.6 mph.  

10:28 a.m., PWL 5.82 feet, Wind calm, gusts 3.4 mph.  The HH tide on April 12, 2003 produced a water level of 5.76 feet, almost 3/4 of an inch below this water level.  At the time of the HH tide on April 12, the NOAA reported winds of 26 mph, gusts 32; UC Berkeley Richmond field station reported 20 mph, gusts 32; and Point Isabel reported 18 mph, gusts 27.  UC Berkeley Richmond field station is the closest site to the mudflat.  Add those strong, gusty winds to this mix of rocks still showing, with many more just under the surface, and you don't have a decomposing baby in one piece, with the only damage being a tear across the abdomen.  This upper rock bed is about 15-20 feet deep.  The waves break against the rocks.  That's why it's called a breakwater.  I mention this because some have suggested that the stronger winds during the storm would have been a benefit to Conner.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The two white flags show the possible locations for Conner's body; the one to the left by manual measurements and the one on the right by laser measurements.

10:29 a.m., PWL 5.83 feet, Wind from the N at 1.1 mph, gusts 3.4.  I didn't luck out to get photographs at exactly 5.87 feet, the water level of the HH tide on the morning of April 13, 2003, that the State argued washed Conner ashore.  This water level, 5.83, is just 1/2 inch below 5.87.  On April 13, 2003, at the HH tide NOAA Richmond station reported winds of 17 mph, gusts 21; UC Berkeley Richmond field station reported 14 mph, gusts 23; and Point Isabel reported 17 mph, gusts 25.  Strong, gusty winds that break waves against these rocks.  

10:37 a.m., PWL 5.95 feet, Wind calm, gusts 1.1 mph.  5.95 feet is almost an inch above 5.87, the HH tide on April 13, 2003.

Conclusion

For Conner to wash ashore, he had to cross the formidable south breakwater.  That's a cold, hard fact.  People's 100 was foisted on the Court, the jury, and the public to convince all that it would be an easy thing for Conner to wash ashore.  The photos above prove that the rocks still exposed and the rocks lurking just beneath the surface combined with strong, gusty winds would make this a very treacherous journey.  Add this to the undeniable fact that Conner was where he should not have been -- north of the debris line -- and you have formidable evidence that Conner did not wash ashore.  The only other way he could get there was to be put there by human hands, and that fully exonerates Scott Peterson.