Brent Rocha Testimony
Maggie
inherit $700,000+, which gives Scott even less of a motive to kill her--Conner
was his ticket to almost a million bucks. If he'd just waited until the baby
was born to kill Laci, he'd be sitting pretty--a rich widower. Just confirms
the lack of premeditation, IMO. If Geragos uses this info correctly (and he
almost certainly will), it probably takes the death penalty off the table.
From KRON:
Laci's Brother: Scott Had Job Problems
Posted: June 8, 2004 at 12:29 p.m.
REDWOOD CITY (BCN) -- Laci Peterson's brother testified today in a Redwood
City courtroom that Scott Peterson had admitted to having job troubles in the
months just prior to Laci's disappearance.
Brent Rocha, Laci's older brother, testified in the double murder trial of
Scott Peterson that his former brother-in-law had confided in him during a pool
party in the summer of 2002.
"He wasn't doing good in his job," Brent testified Scott told him. "He was
down, kind of quiet."
Under cross-examination by Defense Attorney Mark Geragos, Brent Rocha provided
details of the multi-million dollar trust that Laci would have been a
beneficiary of had she lived. The trust, valued at more than $2.3 million in
2002, came from the estate of Laci's paternal grandparents. The trust was
structured in a way that only the grandchildren or their offspring would be
able to collect the inheritance. The death of Laci and her unborn son Conner
meant that only Brent and Amy Rocha would be beneficiaries.
"As far as you can tell, there's absolutely no financial motive for Scott
Peterson to do anything to Laci or Conner especially during that eight week
period," between Laci's disappearance and Conner's due date, Geragos said.
"Yes," Brent Rocha said.
Scott Peterson is accused of murdering his eight-months pregnant wife Laci and
their unborn son Conner in December 2002. The trial was moved from Modesto,
where the couple lived, to Redwood City due to extensive pretrial publicity.
Geragos is scheduled to continue cross-examining Brent Rocha after the court's
afternoon break.
Maggie
"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty
rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that
each individual is accountable for his actions." --Ronald Reagan
Bradley K. Sherman
Maggie <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote:
>beneficiary of had she lived. The trust, valued at more than $2.3 million in
>2002, came from the estate of Laci's paternal grandparents. The trust was
>structured in a way that only the grandchildren or their offspring would be
>able to collect the inheritance. The death of Laci and her unborn son Conner
>meant that only Brent and Amy Rocha would be beneficiaries.
>
Ahem. And their alibis are?
--bks
Scorpi...@attnospam.net
wrote:
I must admit that this trial is throwing out some pretty interesting
info. I'm amazed we didn't hear about this from the G or his
spinsters.
--
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our
number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
~ George Bush Jr. 2001-09-13
"I don't know where he (bin Laden) is. I have no idea and I really
don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
~ George Bush Jr. 2002-03-13
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
news:20040608160953...@mb-m22.aol.com...
> Sounds to me like the original stories were wrong and Laci, *alone*, was due to
> inherit $700,000+, which gives Scott even less of a motive to kill her--Conner
> was his ticket to almost a million bucks. If he'd just waited until the baby
> was born to kill Laci, he'd be sitting pretty--a rich widower. Just confirms
> the lack of premeditation, IMO. If Geragos uses this info correctly (and he
> almost certainly will), it probably takes the death penalty off the table.
Pfft. It does no such thing. The evidence of premeditation is far more
persuasive than conjecture about how Scott might have been able to
inherit big $$$ by waiting a few years.
Geragos cross is weak here. Brent never claimed financial motive that
I can tell.
Why didn't the DA dig out what Scott's "job problems" were? At least,
what Scott told Brent they were.
RstJ
Maggie
>news:20040608160953...@mb-m22.aol.com...
>> Sounds to me like the original stories were wrong and Laci, *alone*, was
>due to
>> inherit $700,000+, which gives Scott even less of a motive to kill
her--Conner
>> was his ticket to almost a million bucks. If he'd just waited until the
>baby
>> was born to kill Laci, he'd be sitting pretty--a rich widower. Just
confirms
>> the lack of premeditation, IMO. If Geragos uses this info correctly (and
>he
>> almost certainly will), it probably takes the death penalty off the table.
>
>Pfft. It does no such thing. The evidence of premeditation is far more
>persuasive than conjecture about how Scott might have been able to
>inherit big $$$ by waiting a few years.
***Not a few years. Two months. Until the baby was born.
mos...@nsnet.pns.ca
>On 8 Jun 2004 16:32:21 -0400, b...@panix.com (Bradley K. Sherman)
>wrote:
>
>>In article <20040608160953...@mb-m22.aol.com>,
>>Maggie <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote:
>>
>>>beneficiary of had she lived. The trust, valued at more than $2.3
>million in
>>>2002, came from the estate of Laci's paternal grandparents. The
>trust was
>>>structured in a way that only the grandchildren or their offspring
>would be
>>>able to collect the inheritance. The death of Laci and her unborn
>son Conner
>>>meant that only Brent and Amy Rocha would be beneficiaries.
>>>
>>
>>Ahem. And their alibis are?
>>
>> --bks
>
>I must admit that this trial is throwing out some pretty interesting
>info. I'm amazed we didn't hear about this from the G or his
>spinsters.
But did Scott know about the inheritance?
M
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
> >"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
> >news:20040608160953...@mb-m22.aol.com...
> >> Sounds to me like the original stories were wrong and Laci, *alone*, was
> >due to
> >> inherit $700,000+, which gives Scott even less of a motive to kill
> her--Conner
> >> was his ticket to almost a million bucks. If he'd just waited until the
> >baby
> >> was born to kill Laci, he'd be sitting pretty--a rich widower. Just
> confirms
> >> the lack of premeditation, IMO. If Geragos uses this info correctly (and
> >he
> >> almost certainly will), it probably takes the death penalty off the table.
> >
> rstj said:
> >Pfft. It does no such thing. The evidence of premeditation is far more
> >persuasive than conjecture about how Scott might have been able to
> >inherit big $$$ by waiting a few years.
>
> ***Not a few years. Two months. Until the baby was born.
>
>
> Maggie
Where are you getting that from?
RstJ
Maggie
***The article said that Conner would have inherited if Laci had died.
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
It doesn't say *when* he would have inherited. Or are you suggesting
that he would have inherited as an infant? That would give Scott effective
control over the cash, yes--provided Conner could in fact inherit before
a certain age.
RstJ
Michael Snyder
> Sounds to me like the original stories were wrong and Laci, *alone*, was due to
> inherit $700,000+, which gives Scott even less of a motive to kill her--Conner
> was his ticket to almost a million bucks. If he'd just waited until the baby
> was born to kill Laci, he'd be sitting pretty--a rich widower. Just confirms
> the lack of premeditation, IMO.
Lack of motive. Less probable culpability.
> If Geragos uses this info correctly (and he
> almost certainly will), it probably takes the death penalty off the table.
> From KRON:
>
> Laci's Brother: Scott Had Job Problems
> Posted: June 8, 2004 at 12:29 p.m.
>
> REDWOOD CITY (BCN) -- Laci Peterson's brother testified today in a Redwood
> City courtroom that Scott Peterson had admitted to having job troubles in the
> months just prior to Laci's disappearance.
> Brent Rocha, Laci's older brother, testified in the double murder trial of
> Scott Peterson that his former brother-in-law had confided in him during a pool
> party in the summer of 2002.
>
> "He wasn't doing good in his job," Brent testified Scott told him. "He was
> down, kind of quiet."
That could describe anybody on a bad day.
> Under cross-examination by Defense Attorney Mark Geragos, Brent Rocha provided
> details of the multi-million dollar trust that Laci would have been a
> beneficiary of had she lived. The trust, valued at more than $2.3 million in
> 2002, came from the estate of Laci's paternal grandparents. The trust was
> structured in a way that only the grandchildren or their offspring would be
> able to collect the inheritance. The death of Laci and her unborn son Conner
> meant that only Brent and Amy Rocha would be beneficiaries.
Suspects! New ones, at that. They each gained about 1/3 mil
or more from Laci's death.
Michael Snyder
> On 8 Jun 2004 16:32:21 -0400, b...@panix.com (Bradley K. Sherman)
> wrote:
>
>
>>In article <20040608160953...@mb-m22.aol.com>,
>>Maggie <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>beneficiary of had she lived. The trust, valued at more than $2.3
>
> million in
>
>>>2002, came from the estate of Laci's paternal grandparents. The
>
> trust was
>
>>>structured in a way that only the grandchildren or their offspring
>
> would be
>
>>>able to collect the inheritance. The death of Laci and her unborn
>
> son Conner
>
>>>meant that only Brent and Amy Rocha would be beneficiaries.
>>>
>>
>>Ahem. And their alibis are?
>>
>> --bks
>
>
> I must admit that this trial is throwing out some pretty interesting
> info. I'm amazed we didn't hear about this from the G or his
> spinsters.
Umm, we did. It came out under cross-examination of Brent by Garagos.
Michael Snyder
> "Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
> news:20040608160953...@mb-m22.aol.com...
>
>>Sounds to me like the original stories were wrong and Laci, *alone*, was due to
>>inherit $700,000+, which gives Scott even less of a motive to kill her--Conner
>>was his ticket to almost a million bucks. If he'd just waited until the baby
>>was born to kill Laci, he'd be sitting pretty--a rich widower. Just confirms
>>the lack of premeditation, IMO. If Geragos uses this info correctly (and he
>>almost certainly will), it probably takes the death penalty off the table.
>
>
> Pfft. It does no such thing. The evidence of premeditation is far more
> persuasive than conjecture about how Scott might have been able to
> inherit big $$$ by waiting a few years.
That would be the secret evidence, which the DA is still sitting on?
Is he planning to wait until closing arguments to reveal this compelling
evidence?
tinydancer
"Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)" <robert...@yahoo.com> wrote
in message news:%Yqxc.21137$Sw.2151@attbi_s51...
Considering the restrictions put on the grandchildrens trust, I would
suspect the same would apply to any 'great-grandchildren'.
td
>
>
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"tinydancer" <tinyd...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:SHtxc.1377$JF6...@bignews5.bellsouth.net...
What's up w/that anyway? All this time, and nobody breathed a word.
2.3million is a lotta bucks. But why was it being held until Laci was
30?
I wonder what other provisions were on that money, and whether Scott
ever had much of a chance at getting control of it even if Laci were still
alive.
RstJ
tinydancer
Especially since Laci's dad, not Grantski but her biological father, never
seemed to trust snotty much. Since the inheiritance came from *his*
mother/parents, I'd guess they'd heard Dennis' suspicions/thoughts on
snotty.
td
>
>
Cliff and Linda Griffith
>
> M
Well, of course! I don't know if it has anything to do with Laci's death or
not, but after that length of time of a marriage, you *know* Scott knew
about it.
Linda
Patty
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
news:20040608160953...@mb-m22.aol.com...
: inherit $700,000+, which gives Scott even less of a motive to kill her--Conner
: was his ticket to almost a million bucks. If he'd just waited until the baby
: was born to kill Laci, he'd be sitting pretty--a rich widower. Just confirms
: the lack of premeditation, IMO. If Geragos uses this info correctly (and he
: almost certainly will), it probably takes the death penalty off the table.
: From KRON:
One of the reasons why they moved back to Modesto in 2000 was to be
closer to family, including her paternal grandfather who was ill at the time.
Her paternal grandmother died in 1998.
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"tinydancer"<...>
> Especially since Laci's dad, not Grantski but her biological father, never
> seemed to trust snotty much. Since the inheiritance came from *his*
> mother/parents, I'd guess they'd heard Dennis' suspicions/thoughts on
> snotty.
>
> td
I wish someone would explain the mechanics of this inheritance
because as it stands, it looks like Scott quite deliberately screwed
himself out of 700k.
RstJ
Michele317
a few guesses:
---laci didn't know exactly how much it was, and therefore scott didn't know
how much it was.
---laci was already suspicious of scott's free-spending ways and kept the
inheritance a secret, intending to reveal it to him only after they had a child
(i.e., treat it as the child's trust fund, so it wouldn't encourage scott to
buy more country-club memberships).
---the inheritance was structured like a trust and could only be accessed when
laci's child hit a certain age (neither amy nor brent seemed to be spending as
if they had almost a million in the bank from their grandparents, so perhaps
the money was intended to be an education fund for the great-grandchildren).
Patty
Peterson told family `I understand your suspicion of me'
By Jessie Seyfer
San Jose Mercury News
In taped phone conversations with Laci Peterson's brother, Scott Peterson seemed dejected
over his wife's disappearance, sometimes slipping into tears.
Peterson denied some of the rumors floating around, such as that he killed his wife for
insurance money, according to transcripts of the calls, which defense attorney Mark
Geragos read in court this afternoon.
``All this blood and life-insurance stuff,'' Peterson said. ``None of it's true.''
Laci Peterson's brother, Brent Rocha responded: ``I just want my sister back.''
``I do too,'' Peterson said.
In another conversation, Peterson said, ``I understand your suspicion of me. . . . We've
got to find her, that's the only thing important to me now.''
Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant, disappeared Dec. 24, 2002, and the
conversations were taped in early 2003.
When Rocha asked Scott Peterson whether he had been truly excited about the baby, he said,
``Oh, absolutely.'' Peterson began to cry in another instance when talking about the
unborn child who was to be named Conner, according to the transcripts.
Prosecutors hope to convince the jury that Peterson killed his wife Laci so that he could
be with his mistress, Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey, and that he did not want
children. Peterson's attorneys contend that he was a loving husband who did indeed stray
but was sincerely excited to be a father and raise a child with his wife.
Testimony today from Laci Peterson's relatives and close acquaintances seemed to
alternately support both the prosecution and defense.
In the morning, her stepfather Ron Grantski took the stand, as did her brother, Brent.
Both discussed how they had confronted Scott Peterson about his lies early on.
Just days after Laci Peterson disappeared, her stepfather Ron Grantski told Scott
Peterson, ``I think your Berkeley fishing trip is a fishy story.''
Peterson had told police and relatives that on Dec. 24, he had gone fishing at the
Berkeley marina and had come back to find his house empty and his wife gone. Prosecutors
believe he dumped his pregnant wife's body in San Francisco Bay that day.
``Did you go somewhere else?'' Grantski testified he asked Peterson. ``Did you have a
girlfriend? Because it's going to come out, and when it comes out it's going to look a lot
worse. He said no and turned and walked away.''
At first, Grantski said he did not believe Peterson was involved in Laci Peterson's
disappearance, and even defended him to reporters. Yet as time wore on, Scott Peterson
seemed to avoid talking to family members, and seemed to resist explaining himself,
Grantski said.
On Jan. 15, police showed Grantski and Sharon Rocha, Laci Peterson's mother, a picture of
Scott Peterson with another woman. The family agreed to begin taping phone calls to and
from Scott Peterson, and on the next day there was another pivotal confrontation.
In court, Geragos read a transcript of that conversation, possibly to show his client was
concerned about finding his wife despite clear suspicion from relatives.
``If you've got anything left in you, you'd better tell us where she is,'' Grantski asked
Peterson. ``Police are going to be seeing you soon. Your world is crumbling.''
``I wish I knew, Ron,'' Peterson said. ``We all want to know. My world is done without
Laci and my child. We all want her back and I'm sorry you guys feel that way. The only
important thing is getting her back.''
Laci Peterson's brother took the stand mid-morning, and described how he had demanded
answers from Peterson after he read about Peterson's affair in a tabloid.
``I said Scott, did you see this article?'' Brent Rocha recalled, on the stand. ``At first
when I asked him that day he denied it. Then he admitted it.''
Peterson assured Rocha that his mistress couldn't have been involved in Laci Peterson's
disappearance.
``Scott, how did you know she had nothing to do with it,'' Rocha said he asked.
Peterson replied, according to Rocha: `` `There was no way she could have had anything to
do with it. She didn't even know Laci existed.' ''
Peterson explained that he only told Frey about his wife after she disappeared, Rocha
said.
When news of suspicious cement rings reached the media, Rocha said he demanded answers
from Peterson again.
Authorities had found several cement rings in Peterson's boat trailer and believe he may
have used cement to weigh his wife's body down when disposing of her. Peterson has
contended he used the cement to make a small anchor for his boat.
``I said, what's the deal with that?'' Rocha said. ``He said, `Oh yeah the police have
asked me about that.' ''
Peterson said he made one anchor and used the rest of the cement on his driveway.
Rocha testified in the afternoon that when police originally asked him who could have
wanted to harm his sister, he thought of Kent Gain, Laci Peterson's ex-boyfriend, because
he had heard Gain was abusive with her while they dated. Gain has reportedly been serving
a prison sentence for shooting another girlfriend since 1999.
Also in the afternoon, Brent Rocha's wife Rose Rocha testified that once, before Laci
Peterson disappeared, she had asked Scott Peterson how he felt about becoming a father,
and he replied: ``I was kind of hoping for infertility,'' she said. Rocha admitted it was
possible Peterson had been joking, but she said she wasn't sure because he wasn't laughing
when he said it.
Sandy Rickard, Laci Peterson's mother's best friend, took the stand and said that on Dec.
24, she approached Scott Peterson, and without prompting, he told her, ``I wouldn't be
surprised if they find blood on my truck because I cut my hands all the time because I'm
an outdoorsman, a fisherman,'' Rickard recalled.
Rickard said she was ``perplexed'' by the comment.
More prosecution witnesses will testify tomorrow.
Phoenix
tinyd...@nowhere.com says...
>
> "Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)" <robert...@yahoo.com> wrote
> in message news:yYtxc.17136$HG.10311@attbi_s53...
> >
> > "tinydancer" <tinyd...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
> > news:SHtxc.1377$JF6...@bignews5.bellsouth.net...
> > >
> > >
> > > suspect the same would apply to any 'great-grandchildren'.
> > >
> > > td
> >
> > What's up w/that anyway? All this time, and nobody breathed a word.
> > 2.3million is a lotta bucks. But why was it being held until Laci was
> > 30?
Not uncommon. Wait till the kids have gotten their ya-yas out, started
a family, needed the extra cash for something important.
> >
> > I wonder what other provisions were on that money, and whether Scott
> > ever had much of a chance at getting control of it even if Laci were still
> > alive.
Probably not the money itself, but he could freely use the purchases
from said funds. He could get half the house bought with that money
unless Laci kept it in her name exclusively (and maybe even then.)
> >
> >
> > RstJ
>
>
> Especially since Laci's dad, not Grantski but her biological father, never
> seemed to trust snotty much. Since the inheiritance came from *his*
> mother/parents, I'd guess they'd heard Dennis' suspicions/thoughts on
> snotty.
Maybe. What I think is interesting is that the grandparents passed on
giving Dennis the dough. Maybe they paid for his farm before they died?
(smart thing to do, too.)
These grands sound like pretty sharp folks, so what I'm thinking is that
Lace must have gotten some funds right after they died in the form of a
gift. I don't know what it's called, but a certain amount of money can
be given to a beneficiary immediately upon the death of the giver, and
it isn't taxed.
There's a limit to the amount that can be given. But since we're
examining the minutiae of Laci's life, I'd like to know if she received
a gift like this and whether it was used for Scott's CC membership.
bel
>
> td
> >
> >
>
>
>
Patty
"Michele317" <miche...@aol.combover> wrote in message
news:20040609005331...@mb-m26.aol.com...
: >> Especially since Laci's dad, not Grantski but her biological father, never
Well, Amy isn't 30, and no one really knows Brent's spending habits since
he's not on trial.
Plus the grandfather was still alive in 2002, remember it was the fruit basket
for the paternal grandfather that Amy asked Scott to pick up. on Christmas
Eve.
Maggie
>never
>>> seemed to trust snotty much. Since the inheiritance came from *his*
>>> mother/parents, I'd guess they'd heard Dennis' suspicions/thoughts on
>>> snotty.
>>>
>>> td
>>
>>I wish someone would explain the mechanics of this inheritance
>>because as it stands, it looks like Scott quite deliberately screwed
>>himself out of 700k.
>>
>>
>>RstJ
>
>a few guesses:
>---laci didn't know exactly how much it was, and therefore scott didn't
>know
>how much it was.
***Doubtful. The grandparent had died over two years before and the estate was
almost certainly pretty much settled. She would have had to have a pretty good
idea of how much money she was in line for.
>---laci was already suspicious of scott's free-spending ways and kept the
>inheritance a secret, intending to reveal it to him only after they had
>a child
>(i.e., treat it as the child's trust fund, so it wouldn't encourage scott
>to
>buy more country-club memberships).
***My guess about how that relationship worked is that Laci was a giver and
Scott was a taker. I'd bet almost anything that she had fully informed him of
her financial situation, perhaps using it to justify quitting work when she
did. And I'll say it again--the country club membership was as much for Laci
and the baby as it was for Scott.
>---the inheritance was structured like a trust and could only be accessed
>when
>laci's child hit a certain age (neither amy nor brent seemed to be spending
>as
>if they had almost a million in the bank from their grandparents, so perhaps
>the money was intended to be an education fund for the great-grandchildren).
***How in the world would we know how Amy and Brent were spending their money?
Michele317
i thought this grandfather had died in 1999?
Maggie
>Well, Amy isn't 30, and no one really knows Brent's spending habits since
>he's not on trial.
>
>Plus the grandfather was still alive in 2002, remember it was the fruit
>basket
>for the paternal grandfather that Amy asked Scott to pick up. on Christmas
>Eve.
***Couldn't be. If Laci died before the grandfather, she was never due to
inherit anything. Not to mention that you posted earlier tonight that the
grandmother died in '98 and the grandfather in '02.
Maggie
>>basket
>>for the paternal grandfather that Amy asked Scott to pick up. on Christmas
>>Eve.
>
>***Couldn't be. If Laci died before the grandfather, she was never due
>to
>inherit anything. Not to mention that you posted earlier tonight that the
>grandmother died in '98 and the grandfather in '02.
**I meant '00, but I see Michele thought it was '99. In any case, the
grandfather was good and dead before Laci disappeared.
Michele317
>>---laci didn't know exactly how much it was, and therefore scott didn't
>>know
>>how much it was.
>
>***Doubtful. The grandparent had died over two years before and the estate
>was
>almost certainly pretty much settled. She would have had to have a pretty
>good
>idea of how much money she was in line for.
unless it was in real estate, jewelry, stock... i'm sure they knew it was a
'good amount' of money, but perhaps it hasn't been fully squared away yet.
>>---laci was already suspicious of scott's free-spending ways and kept the
>>inheritance a secret, intending to reveal it to him only after they had
>>a child
>>(i.e., treat it as the child's trust fund, so it wouldn't encourage scott
>>to
>>buy more country-club memberships).
>
>***My guess about how that relationship worked is that Laci was a giver
>and
>Scott was a taker. I'd bet almost anything that she had fully informed
>him of
>her financial situation, perhaps using it to justify quitting work when
>she
>did. And I'll say it again--the country club membership was as much for
>Laci
>and the baby as it was for Scott.
i disagree on the club, but really i was just using that as an example of an
extravagant expenditure. it wouldn't surprise me if she hadn't told him a
dollar amount, just 'i'll be inheriting enough money to pay for conner's
education' or somesuch. i'm still up in the air as to the dynamics of the
scott/laci relationship.
>>---the inheritance was structured like a trust and could only be accessed
>>when
>>laci's child hit a certain age (neither amy nor brent seemed to be spending
>>as
>>if they had almost a million in the bank from their grandparents, so perhaps
>>the money was intended to be an education fund for the great-grandchildren).
>
>***How in the world would we know how Amy and Brent were spending their
>money?
well, amy's cutting hair for a living, and she didn't own the salon, which is
something i'd guess would be a good place to invest inherited money. nothing
i've heard about either of them suggested to me that they lived in fabulous
neighborhoods, or took great long holidays, or drove expensive cars, but as i
said, i'm just guessing from what i've seen and heard of them.
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"Patty" <r...@what.com> wrote in message
news:6de5e135f23e1b64...@news.teranews.com...
> Posted on Tue, Jun. 08, 2004
> Peterson told family `I understand your suspicion of me'
> By Jessie Seyfer
> San Jose Mercury News
>
>
> In taped phone conversations with Laci Peterson's brother, Scott Peterson seemed
dejected
> over his wife's disappearance, sometimes slipping into tears.
>
> Peterson denied some of the rumors floating around, such as that he killed his
wife for
> insurance money, according to transcripts of the calls, which defense attorney
Mark
> Geragos read in court this afternoon.
>
> ``All this blood and life-insurance stuff,'' Peterson said. ``None of it's
true.''
Blood? What blood stuff?
<...>
> On Jan. 15, police showed Grantski and Sharon Rocha, Laci Peterson's mother, a
picture of
> Scott Peterson with another woman.
Which is curious. Amber had been cooperating with LE since Dec 19. So what
took them so long to get the pictures and show them to the Rochas?
<....>
> Sandy Rickard, Laci Peterson's mother's best friend, took the stand and said
that on Dec.
> 24, she approached Scott Peterson, and without prompting, he told her, ``I
wouldn't be
> surprised if they find blood on my truck because I cut my hands all the time
because I'm
> an outdoorsman, a fisherman,'' Rickard recalled.
>
> Rickard said she was ``perplexed'' by the comment.
I share her perplexity. Because it's yet to be explained exactly
what Scott was doing that he cut his hand, or why he didn't take
the time to bandage it before going to his truck. I suppose it's
possible he cut his hand out in the truck doing something.
RstJ
Patty
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
: >"Michele317" <miche...@aol.combover> wrote in message
Amy and Laci only share one set of grandparents.
From Amy's Prelim:
Q. Now, did -- was there an item that needed to be picked up for a Christmas breakfast
from a place called Vella Farms?
A. Actually, it was an item for our grandfather, it was a basket, gift basket for a
Christmas present.
Q. Okay.
A. Yes, it was supposed to be picked up.
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"Michele317" <miche...@aol.combover> wrote in message
news:20040609005331...@mb-m26.aol.com...
Well, let's hope the DA or Geragos puts someone on the stand to explain
this because we're talking about a considerable sum of money. I'm guessing
it was structured in such a way that Scott would not find it easy to plunder
the trust while Laci was alive. Of course, it'd probably be impossible with her
dead. So perhaps this trust meant little or nothing to him.
Nah. I bet he spent lots of time spending that money in his head...
RstJ
Patty
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
: >>Plus the grandfather was still alive in 2002, remember it was the fruit
: >>basket
: >>for the paternal grandfather that Amy asked Scott to pick up. on Christmas
: >>Eve.
: >
: >***Couldn't be. If Laci died before the grandfather, she was never due
: >to
: >inherit anything. Not to mention that you posted earlier tonight that the
: >grandmother died in '98 and the grandfather in '02.
:
: **I meant '00, but I see Michele thought it was '99. In any case, the
: grandfather was good and dead before Laci disappeared.
:
: Maggie
No, I said he was very sick in 2000. He was still alive Xmas 2002.
Which means this may have just been her grandmother's trust fund
and there was more money to come.
Maggie
>Amy and Laci only share one set of grandparents.
>
>From Amy's Prelim:
>
>Q. Now, did -- was there an item that needed to be picked up for a Christmas
>breakfast
>from a place called Vella Farms?
>A. Actually, it was an item for our grandfather, it was a basket, gift basket
>for a
>Christmas present.
>Q. Okay.
>A. Yes, it was supposed to be picked up.
***Dennis Rocha had been married to Amy's mom for quite a while--maybe long
enough for Laci to consider Amy's grandparents part of her family (I
dunno--trying to understand this). Could the gift basket have been for her
mother's father?
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"Phoenix" <...>
> Probably not the money itself, but he could freely use the purchases
> from said funds. He could get half the house bought with that money
> unless Laci kept it in her name exclusively (and maybe even then.)
Except everything, house, cars, business, probably even the cellphones
were all in Scott's name.
<...>
> Maybe. What I think is interesting is that the grandparents passed on
> giving Dennis the dough. Maybe they paid for his farm before they died?
> (smart thing to do, too.)
Perhaps Dennis controls the money? Kind of a family lodestone that
gets passed down from generation to generation and used as needed,
while keeping the money invested so it continues to grow. That would
be a prudent arrangement, allowing for housing, education, etc for
succeeding generations while preventing any one generation from taking
it all and pissing it away on things like, oh, failed fertilizer business
ventures.
>
> These grands sound like pretty sharp folks, so what I'm thinking is that
> Lace must have gotten some funds right after they died in the form of a
> gift. I don't know what it's called, but a certain amount of money can
> be given to a beneficiary immediately upon the death of the giver, and
> it isn't taxed.
>
> There's a limit to the amount that can be given. But since we're
> examining the minutiae of Laci's life, I'd like to know if she received
> a gift like this and whether it was used for Scott's CC membership.
>
> bel
Another possibility. Scott gets a taste of a big inheritance. Wants more.
A lot more. Laci won't (or can't) get any more from the trust fund, so
Scott...kills the golden goose?
Or perhaps more subtle--Laci goes "missing," Scott remains officially
married to her, and receives some kind of scheduled payments against
the day Laci is "found" (which is never, so the payments keep coming).
I dunno. It's all speculation. But in the space of one day Laci and Conner
went from being a potential drain on poor Scotty's bank book, to being a
veritable gold mine. It's truly strange that no reporter ever found out about
this.
RstJ
Patty
By Brian Anderson
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Redwood City - Hours after his wife was reported missing, Scott Peterson acted oddly,
avoiding eye contact with family and telling his mother-in-law's best friend that police
might find blood on his truck, jurors were told today.
Dozens of people milled around outside Peterson's Modesto house after Laci Peterson's
mother sounded the alarm that the pregnant woman was missing on Dec. 24, 2002. Scott
Peterson had said he returned home from a day trip to the San Francisco Bay to find Laci
gone.
He was staring straight ahead and was careful to not look anyone in the eye, said Brent
Rocha, Peterson's brother-in-law. He seemed like he was in "outer space," Rocha said.
Laci's mother Sharon Rocha was hysterical. She was crying and could barely stand without
assistance, Brent Rocha said, describing a scene he said was tense and chaotic.
Sharon Rocha's best friend, Sandy Rickard, who had driven her to Peterson's house that
night, said the man walked over to her and delivered some unusual words after they
arrived.
"He put up his hands and said 'I wouldn't be surprised that they find blood on my truck
because I cut myself frequently,' " Rickard testified today.
Peterson attributed any injuries to his regular fishing or hunting outings, Rickard said.
Police did later find a small amount of blood inside the truck.
Suspicion landed on Peterson very early in the investigation. Detectives quizzed him on
his whereabouts, what his wife was wearing and wanted to see a boat he had been in that
day. Peterson had planned to golf on Christmas Eve in Modesto, but changed his plans that
morning -- something that caught the attention of more than just investigators.
"I wanted to talk to him about his fishing trip to Berkeley," Ron Grantski, Sharon Rocha's
longtime companion, testified today. "I said, 'I think your Berkeley fishing trip is a
fishy story. If you have a girlfriend or something, you better get it out now because it's
going to come out.' "
Peterson denied during the Dec. 26 or Dec. 27 conversation having an affair before walking
away, Grantski said. Nearly three weeks later, Modesto police told him and Rocha about
Amber Frey, the Fresno massage therapist Peterson had been romancing for more than a month
before Laci turned up missing.
She was Peterson's motive for murder, prosecutors have said.
Under cross examination, Grantski said he, too, was fishing on Christmas Eve at almost the
exact same times as Peterson, but in different places. Like Peterson, Grantski said, he
did not tell anyone that he was planning to go fishing that afternoon.
As police widened their investigation, their suspicions grew. They learned from Rose Marie
Rocha, Brent Rocha's wife, that Peterson might not have been as excited about being a
father as he led some to believe.
"We were talking about pregnancy and having a family," she said. "I said, 'Are you ready
for this?' And he looked at me and said, 'I was kind of hoping for infertility.' I was
kind of shocked by what he said."
Rose Marie Rocha said she could not tell whether he was joking.
Brent Rocha testified, though, that Peterson told him he was excited about his new life as
a father.
"I said, 'Are you happy to have this baby?' " Rocha testified. "He said, 'Absolutely. I
mean, Conner, come on you know that.' "
The Petersons planned to name their son Conner.
The remains of what would have been the couple's first child and those of Laci washed
ashore in Richmond April 14-15, 2003. Police arrested Peterson days later, charging him
with two murder counts for which he is on trial. He has said he is innocent.
The trial resumes Wednesday.
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
Doesn't this imply that the living grandfather is Sharon's father, and
not Dennis'?
I need to clear my mind here. The inheritance was coming from Dennis'
family and that grandfather was already dead. Have I got that correct?
RstJ
Maggie
***Hmmmm. The grandmother could have passed her entire estate to her husband
tax free on her death and that's what most people do. If she made bequests of
more than $2.3 million, that amount would have triggered estate taxes and rich
people *hate* to pay estate taxes. Perhaps this isn't an inheritance at all.
It sounds more like a generation-skipping trust set up to save on estate taxes,
which would mean it had probably been around for years. I'd love to know more
about how all this was set up.
Patty
:
: "Patty" <r...@what.com> wrote in message
Yes it was coming from Dennis' family but it hasn't been proved that
his father was already dead in 2002. And Amy and Laci were half
sisters, Dennis was their biological father, soit could not have been
Sharon's father. He was not Amy's biological grandfather.
Patty
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
: >"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
: >news:20040609012240...@mb-m25.aol.com...
: >: >>Plus the grandfather was still alive in 2002, remember it was the fruit
: >: >>basket
: >: >>for the paternal grandfather that Amy asked Scott to pick up. on Christmas
: >: >>Eve.
: >: >
: >: >***Couldn't be. If Laci died before the grandfather, she was never due
: >: >to
: >: >inherit anything. Not to mention that you posted earlier tonight that
: >the
: >: >grandmother died in '98 and the grandfather in '02.
: >:
: >: **I meant '00, but I see Michele thought it was '99. In any case, the
: >: grandfather was good and dead before Laci disappeared.
: >:
: >: Maggie
: >:
: >
: >No, I said he was very sick in 2000. He was still alive Xmas 2002.
: >Which means this may have just been her grandmother's trust fund
: >and there was more money to come.
:
: ***Hmmmm. The grandmother could have passed her entire estate to her husband
: tax free on her death and that's what most people do. If she made bequests of
: more than $2.3 million, that amount would have triggered estate taxes and rich
: people *hate* to pay estate taxes. Perhaps this isn't an inheritance at all.
: It sounds more like a generation-skipping trust set up to save on estate taxes,
: which would mean it had probably been around for years. I'd love to know more
: about how all this was set up.
:
: Maggie
Here's more from the Contra Costa Times:
Scott Peterson had no motive to kill his pregnant wife Laci solely to get at a trust fund
that could have, in years to come, provided Laci Peterson with nearly $1 million, the
woman's brother acknowledged today.
Brent Rocha testified that his sister would have received about $160,000 when she turned
30 and another $766,000 in years to come if she had not been slain.
In only about 21/2 years, she would have received a third of proceeds from the sale of her
grandfather's house, he said, with the other two thirds going to him and his and Laci's
half sister Amy Rocha.
Brent Rocha, a co-trustee of his grandfather's estate, said the roughly $2.3 million total
value of the trust also would have been split three ways pending the death of Dennis
Rocha, father of Laci, Brent and Amy.
Under questioning by defense attorney Mark Geragos, Brent said Scott Peterson was to
receive no part of the estate if Laci was to die. Conner, if he had been born before Laci
died, would have been the beneficiary.
With both dead, Laci's share of the trust will be split between Brent and Amy, Brent Rocha
said.
Geragos worked to counteract a subtle suggestion by prosecutors that Peterson would have
benefited financially if his wife was dead. Answering questions from prosecutor David
Harris, Brent Rocha testified that Laci and Scott Peterson had nice possessions and that
he wondered how they were able to pay for that on Scott's $66,000 annual salary.
"Sometimes, my wife and I wondered how they got all the nice things in their house," Brent
Rocha said, pointing out the he and his wife were just scraping by. "His bar was stocked
with all the premium liquors."
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
I think he was, since other stories say the inheritance was pending
the death of Dennis Rocha.
Laci, Amy, and Brent are all mentioned as being Dennis Rocha's children.
That would make Amy Laci's full sister. So why is she referred to as a
half-sister?
Maybe the stories are garbled. I thought Grantski was her father. It doesn't
make a lot of sense for Amy to be living with Sharon if she's the child of
Dennis and some other unknown wife.
RstJ
Maggie
>That would make Amy Laci's full sister.
***You're forgetting that people have two parents.
So why is she referred to as a
>half-sister?
***Because Laci and Amy have different mothers.
>Maybe the stories are garbled. I thought Grantski was her father.
***Grantski is nobody's father (no one we know, anyway).
It doesn't
>make a lot of sense for Amy to be living with Sharon if she's the child
>of
>Dennis and some other unknown wife.
***Who said she was living with Sharon?
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
> >Laci, Amy, and Brent are all mentioned as being Dennis Rocha's children.
> >That would make Amy Laci's full sister.
>
> ***You're forgetting that people have two parents.
I forgot about Dennis' other wife.
>
> So why is she referred to as a
> >half-sister?
>
> ***Because Laci and Amy have different mothers.
>
> >Maybe the stories are garbled. I thought Grantski was her father.
>
> ***Grantski is nobody's father (no one we know, anyway).
>
> It doesn't
> >make a lot of sense for Amy to be living with Sharon if she's the child
> >of
> >Dennis and some other unknown wife.
>
> ***Who said she was living with Sharon?
>
>
> Maggie
Nobody. I didn't realize she wasn't living with Sharon. They always
seem to show up together in the story, so I made an unjustified assumption.
RstJ
Patty
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
: >"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
From Modbee 12/06/03
Robert Rocha
Aug. 2, 1926 -- Dec. 2, 2003
Robert "Bob" Rocha, 77, of Oakdale died Tuesday at Oak Valley District Hospital.
Mr. Rocha was a native of Gilroy. He lived in Escalon from 1946-95, then in Oakdale for
eight years. He was a dairyman for 37 years. He also rode and bred cutting horses and was
very active in the Portuguese community.
He is survived by his children, Dennis Rocha of Escalon, Sharon Rocha of Rio Linda and
Robin Maria Rocha of Oakdale; brother, Joe Rocha of Oakdale; sisters, Betty Mericle of
Escalon, Emily Burkheart of Gilroy and Barbara Stetbons of Madera; and three
grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Rocha; and a granddaughter.
The rosary will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday during visitation from from 4 to 8 p.m. at Lakewood
Funeral Home, Hughson. A funeral will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with
burial at Lakewood Memorial Park.
Patty
:
: "Patty" <r...@what.com> wrote in message
Amy's mother's name is Nancy and I think she, like Sharon, is
also divorced from Dennis Rocha.
Patty
: :
:
: From Modbee 12/06/03
:
: Robert Rocha
: Aug. 2, 1926 -- Dec. 2, 2003
:
: Robert "Bob" Rocha, 77, of Oakdale died Tuesday at Oak Valley District Hospital.
:
: Mr. Rocha was a native of Gilroy. He lived in Escalon from 1946-95, then in Oakdale for
: eight years. He was a dairyman for 37 years. He also rode and bred cutting horses and
was
: very active in the Portuguese community.
:
: He is survived by his children, Dennis Rocha of Escalon, Sharon Rocha of Rio Linda and
: Robin Maria Rocha of Oakdale; brother, Joe Rocha of Oakdale; sisters, Betty Mericle of
: Escalon, Emily Burkheart of Gilroy and Barbara Stetbons of Madera; and three
: grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Rocha; and a granddaughter.
:
: The rosary will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday during visitation from from 4 to 8 p.m. at
Lakewood
: Funeral Home, Hughson. A funeral will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with
: burial at Lakewood Memorial Park.
I also remember from an early People Magazine article that her father was late to her
wedding so her grandfather gave her away.
From the LA Times:
I love you very much. We want you home," said Peterson's father, Dennis Rocha.
A small, powerfully built man wearing steer roping boots and pressed jeans, Rocha said his
dark-haired daughter was his "spitting image," favoring his Portuguese ancestry.
He recalled the first seven years of his daughter's life on the 350-acre dairy, and caring
for 600 Holsteins.
Much of the support for Peterson comes from the farming community of Escalon, where the
Rocha family raised milk cows for 50 years.
OzzieAnnie
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
> >"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
> >> Sounds to me like the original stories were wrong and Laci,
*alone*, was
> >due to
> >> inherit $700,000+, which gives Scott even less of a motive to
kill
> her--Conner
> >> was his ticket to almost a million bucks. If he'd just waited
until the
> >baby
> >> was born to kill Laci, he'd be sitting pretty--a rich widower.
Just
> confirms
> >> the lack of premeditation, IMO. If Geragos uses this info
correctly (and
> >he
> >> almost certainly will), it probably takes the death penalty off
the table.
> >
> rstj said:
> >Pfft. It does no such thing. The evidence of premeditation is far
more
> >persuasive than conjecture about how Scott might have been able
to
> >inherit big $$$ by waiting a few years.
>
> ***Not a few years. Two months. Until the baby was born.
>
>
> Maggie
>
> "We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society
is guilty
> rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American
precept that
> each individual is accountable for his actions." --Ronald Reagan
Then the baby alone would have inherited the money (if Scott waited
to kill Laci after she gave birth), and likely the child's
inheritance would have gone into a trust fund just as it did for
Laci until she turned 30. Don't you think? If so, I guess Scott
could then have killed the kid in order to inherit sooner, but
eventually somebody'd have caught on to old Scott, don't you think?
I betcha Scott knew about that inheritance before he ever got
married. In the end he just couldn't hack it tho, probably because
he never counted on a kid coming along (if we can believe the
stories that early on neither Scott nor Laci wanted children).
Regardless of anything else, for whatever reason, he couldn't bear
the idea of having a child.
In any case, goes a ways toward explaining why neither Scott nor
Laci were too worried about accumulating a little bit of debt.
Thx very much for posting this story, Maggie.
OAnnie
OzzieAnnie
"Maggie" <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
This post cracks me up!lol! This is one confusing case.
OA
OzzieAnnie
In light of above... makes me wonder if Scott was going to tell
folks he went fishing locally. He told some people he went
fishing... And then he learned his Grantski had also gone fishing -
locally. So suddenly Scott thinks he can't name a local fishing
spot, 'cause maybe that's were Ron was, so then Scott is sort of
"forced" into naming where he really did go - to the Berkeley
Marina. Hmmm.
OA
Maggie
>Then the baby alone would have inherited the money (if Scott waited
>to kill Laci after she gave birth), and likely the child's
>inheritance would have gone into a trust fund just as it did for
>Laci until she turned 30. Don't you think?
***Actually, probably not, as far as the 30 business goes. It all depends on
how it was set up and there are very specific rules for generation skipping
trusts in order for taxes to be avoided. I'm pretty sure (but my info is sort
of dated) that the person setting up the trust cannot place restrictions on
heirs beyond the grandchildren. What that might mean is that a grandchild
could inherit his portion when his now-dead parent's 30th birthday had passed.
That would be my best guess w/o knowing more about the set up.
If so, I guess Scott
>could then have killed the kid in order to inherit sooner, but
>eventually somebody'd have caught on to old Scott, don't you think?
>
>I betcha Scott knew about that inheritance before he ever got
>married. In the end he just couldn't hack it tho, probably because
>he never counted on a kid coming along (if we can believe the
>stories that early on neither Scott nor Laci wanted children).
>Regardless of anything else, for whatever reason, he couldn't bear
>the idea of having a child.
***I still don't think it was premeditated, but I'm sure the baby introduced
tensions that wouldn' have been there otherwise.
>
>In any case, goes a ways toward explaining why neither Scott nor
>Laci were too worried about accumulating a little bit of debt.
***yep.
Patty
From Modbee 12/06/03
Robert Rocha
Aug. 2, 1926 -- Dec. 2, 2003
Robert "Bob" Rocha, 77, of Oakdale died Tuesday at Oak Valley District Hospital.
Mr. Rocha was a native of Gilroy. He lived in Escalon from 1946-95, then in Oakdale for
eight years. He was a dairyman for 37 years. He also rode and bred cutting horses and was
very active in the Portuguese community.
He is survived by his children, Dennis Rocha of Escalon, Sharon Rocha of Rio Linda and
Robin Maria Rocha of Oakdale; brother, Joe Rocha of Oakdale; sisters, Betty Mericle of
Escalon, Emily Burkheart of Gilroy and Barbara Stetbons of Madera; and three
grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Rocha; and a granddaughter.
The rosary will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday during visitation from from 4 to 8 p.m. at Lakewood
Funeral Home, Hughson. A funeral will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with
burial at Lakewood Memorial Park.
=====================
Michele317
>
>Scott Peterson had no motive to kill his pregnant wife Laci solely to get
>at a trust fund
>that could have, in years to come, provided Laci Peterson with nearly $1
>million, the
>woman's brother acknowledged today.
>Brent Rocha testified that his sister would have received about $160,000
>when she turned
>30 and another $766,000 in years to come if she had not been slain.
>
>In only about 21/2 years, she would have received a third of proceeds from
>the sale of her
>grandfather's house, he said, with the other two thirds going to him and
>his and Laci's
>half sister Amy Rocha.
>
>Brent Rocha, a co-trustee of his grandfather's estate, said the roughly
>$2.3 million total
>value of the trust also would have been split three ways pending the death
>of Dennis
>Rocha, father of Laci, Brent and Amy.
>
>Under questioning by defense attorney Mark Geragos, Brent said Scott Peterson
>was to
>receive no part of the estate if Laci was to die. Conner, if he had been
>born before Laci
>died, would have been the beneficiary.
so if the baby was delivered alive, then laci was killed, then conner was
killed, does conner's share pass to scott?
Patty
By GARTH STAPLEY and JOHN COTÉ
Modesto BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: June 8, 2004, 03:10:25 PM PDT
2:36 p.m., PDT: REDWOOD CITY - Scott Peterson mugged for video cameras
when he was in the mood, but begged off pleading through television
cameras for his pregnant wife's safe return, her brother testified
this morning.
Brent Rocha also said Scott Peterson told him he used part of a large
bag of cement on driveway work. Authorities contend he made anchors to
weigh down the body of his wife, Laci Peterson, in San Francisco Bay
after murdering her Dec. 23 or 24, 2002.
Rocha agreed, however, with defense lawyer Mark Geragos that Scott
Peterson could have benefited financially if his son, Conner, had
lived.
The boy would have received his mother's share of a $160,000
inheritance, Rocha said.
The bodies of mother and son were recovered in April 2003 along the
bay shore less than two miles from where Peterson said he fished alone
the day his wife vanished. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty;
a second week of testimony began Monday.
Rocha, a state Department of Justice analyst in Sacramento, said he
and his wife pondered how the Petersons could afford items such as a
house in a nice neighborhood, jacuzzi, swimming pool, new cars and a
bar "stocked with all these premium liquors."
Prosecutors' intent in asking was less than clear. But under
cross-examination, Rocha agreed that his brother-in-law performed some
upgrades himself, including building a backyard brick barbecue.
Rocha, the fourth of Laci Peterson's immediate family members to take
the witness stand, looked and pointed at his brother-in-law when asked
to identify the trial's double-murder defendant.
Other points Rocha made:
Scott and Laci Peterson used money from Peterson's parents for a down
payment on their Covena Avenue home.
The Peterson's golden retriever, McKenzie, was protective around
strangers. That could cast doubt on the defense theory that someone
nabbed Laci Peterson as she walked the dog after her husband left to
fish.
Scott Peterson took him golfing four or five times and made it clear
that was his main hobby, but he never invited his brother-in-law to
fish.
At a pool party, Peterson confided in Rocha that he wasn't happy with
his fertilizer sales job and hoped that associates he was interviewing
"would be better salespeople than he would be."
His wife had an interest in her grandfather's estate, estimated at
more than $2 million. But Scott Peterson would not share that
interest.
Rocha led police to neighborhood locations where he and his
brother-in-law used duct tape to affix reward posters.
After the two hung the posters Christmas morning, Rocha said,
reporters came to the La Loma neighborhood home. Rocha asked his
brother-in-law to talk to them.
"I said we needed to get the message out," Rocha testified. "Scott
said he didn't want to talk to the media."
A day or two later, Peterson told him he thought he was being followed
by police in dark-tinted Dodge or Chrysler vehicles, and by media.
Though Peterson's parents, Lee and Jackie, sat with family members on
a trailer stage at a New Year's Eve candlelight vigil for the missing
woman, her husband was nowhere to be seen. He called Rocha during the
event and said he would watch from the crowd with friends.
Prosecutors have said he dialed his girlfriend, Amber Frey, 10 minutes
before the vigil was scheduled to start. Rocha and other family
members said they knew nothing about the affair until police clued
them in Jan. 15, 2003.
Rocha said he asked Peterson whether Frey could have had anything to
do with Laci Peterson's disappearance. Peterson said Frey "didn't even
know Laci existed," Rocha testified.
Rocha described a "surreal, chaotic" scene at his sister's home soon
after she disappeared, with police, volunteer searchers and media
swarming.
Peterson stood alone in his driveway, Rocha said.
"My perception was, he was kind of staring straight ahead, not making
eye contact with anyone," he said. "I tried to approach him. It was
just, kind of, a really tense situation at that moment." The next
morning, Peterson answered the door in a towel, with wet hair, Rocha
said.
Continued cross-examination is scheduled this afternoon.
Maggie
>so if the baby was delivered alive, then laci was killed, then conner was
>killed, does conner's share pass to scott?
***Yes, a child's heir is his parent *if*, in this case, the inheritance from
the grandparent was no longer in trust. If it was in a trust, the terms of the
trust apply.
Scorpi...@attnospam.net
<grif...@charter.net> wrote:
>> But did Scott know about the inheritance?
>>
>> M
>
>Well, of course! I don't know if it has anything to do with Laci's
death or
>not, but after that length of time of a marriage, you *know* Scott
knew
>about it.
>
>Linda
>
Just like you know Lacy would have told people about Amber if she
knew????
--
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our
number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
~ George Bush Jr. 2001-09-13
"I don't know where he (bin Laden) is. I have no idea and I really
don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
~ George Bush Jr. 2002-03-13
Child
> What's up w/that anyway? All this time, and nobody breathed a word.
> 2.3million is a lotta bucks. But why was it being held until Laci was
> 30?
Probably because her grandparents wanted to be sure she would be mature
enough to spend the money wisely.
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"Patty"<...>
> Other points Rocha made:
>
>
> Scott and Laci Peterson used money from Peterson's parents for a down
> payment on their Covena Avenue home.
As I never seriously doubted.
>
> The Peterson's golden retriever, McKenzie, was protective around
> strangers. That could cast doubt on the defense theory that someone
> nabbed Laci Peterson as she walked the dog after her husband left to
> fish.
Pfft.
>
> Scott Peterson took him golfing four or five times and made it clear
> that was his main hobby, but he never invited his brother-in-law to
> fish.
Well, finally an example of something Scott did with in-laws other than
put up w/them. Must have been why Brent was so supportive of him
early on. Golf buddies and all that.
>
> At a pool party, Peterson confided in Rocha that he wasn't happy with
> his fertilizer sales job and hoped that associates he was interviewing
> "would be better salespeople than he would be."
?? Associates? Was he interviewing people to replace him, or work
for him? I'd like to hear more about this part.
<...>
> Rocha led police to neighborhood locations where he and his
> brother-in-law used duct tape to affix reward posters.
> After the two hung the posters Christmas morning, Rocha said,
> reporters came to the La Loma neighborhood home. Rocha asked his
> brother-in-law to talk to them.
>
> "I said we needed to get the message out," Rocha testified. "Scott
> said he didn't want to talk to the media."
Scott felt the focus needed to be on Leanna...ur...Laci.
>
>
> A day or two later, Peterson told him he thought he was being followed
> by police in dark-tinted Dodge or Chrysler vehicles, and by media.
Snort. This is proof of what? He *was* being followed.
<...>
> "My perception was, he was kind of staring straight ahead, not making
> eye contact with anyone," he said. "I tried to approach him. It was
> just, kind of, a really tense situation at that moment." The next
> morning, Peterson answered the door in a towel, with wet hair, Rocha
> said.
Scott takes a shower. Ooooh. Suspicious!
C'mon, Distaso. Don't end testimony on a weak note like this.
RstJ
yaffaDina
What -- you're not seriously suggesting that murderers don't shower,
are you?
yD :)
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
<....>
> > > "My perception was, he was kind of staring straight ahead, not making
> > > eye contact with anyone," he said. "I tried to approach him. It was
> > > just, kind of, a really tense situation at that moment." The next
> > > morning, Peterson answered the door in a towel, with wet hair, Rocha
> > > said.
> >
> > Scott takes a shower. Ooooh. Suspicious!
> >
> > C'mon, Distaso. Don't end testimony on a weak note like this.
> >
> > RstJ
>
> What -- you're not seriously suggesting that murderers don't shower,
> are you?
> yD :)
Oh, they seem to have a preoccupation with it if Scott's any example.
But offering bunk like Scott taking a shower Christmas Day is not
proving a case. It's annoying the jury with irrelevant detail. Leave
that to Team P.
RstJ
Libbertine
>From Modbee 12/06/03
>
>Robert Rocha
>Aug. 2, 1926 -- Dec. 2, 2003
>
>Robert "Bob" Rocha, 77, of Oakdale died Tuesday at Oak Valley District
>Hospital.
>
>Mr. Rocha was a native of Gilroy. He lived in Escalon from 1946-95, then in
>Oakdale for
>eight years. He was a dairyman for 37 years. He also rode and bred cutting
>horses and was
>very active in the Portuguese community.
>
>He is survived by his children, Dennis Rocha of Escalon, Sharon Rocha of Rio
>Linda and
>Robin Maria Rocha of Oakdale; brother, Joe Rocha of Oakdale; sisters, Betty
>Mericle of
>Escalon, Emily Burkheart of Gilroy and Barbara Stetbons of Madera; and three
>grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Rocha; and a
>granddaughter.
>
Man, this case and family tree is confusing. Okay, so Sharon Rocha is listed
in this obitituary (for Dennis Rocha's father) as being one of Robert Rocha's
children. Is this (a) a mistake in the obit, (b) a coincidence that Dennis
Rocha has a sister and an ex-wife both named Sharon, or (c) <drumroll> is this
case going to get even juicier when we find out that Dennis and Sharon Rocha
are siblings as well as former spouses? Maybe that's why she didn't have to
revert to her maiden name when they divorced. Okay, don't attack me, folk; I'm
just kidding about (c), although there are so many weird tidbits with this
case, almost nothing would surprise me anymore.
More interestingly, though, in terms of the inheritance, is who is this fourth
grandchild who was apparently cut out of the trust? The obituary says that
Robert Rocha is survived by THREE grandchildren (Brent, Amy and __________?)
and was preceded in death by a granddaugher (Laci). Who is the fourth
grandchild, and why are we hearing that the inheritance was only to be split
only between Brent, Amy and Laci? Who am I forgetting?
Maggie
***I'm betting the "three grandchildren" thing is just an error because
everything else seems to point to there being only two surviving grandchildren.
We know Dennis had only the three children and the daughters are likely to
have never married, or if they did, never had children (because they're still
Rochas and divorced women w/ children usually keep the husband's name).
Cliff and Linda Griffith
> : From Modbee 12/06/03
> :
> : Robert Rocha
> : Aug. 2, 1926 -- Dec. 2, 2003
> :
> : Robert "Bob" Rocha, 77, of Oakdale died Tuesday at Oak Valley District
Hospital.
> :
> :
Rio Linda and
> : Robin Maria Rocha of Oakdale; brother, Joe Rocha of Oakdale; sisters,
Betty Mericle of
> : Escalon, Emily Burkheart of Gilroy and Barbara Stetbons of Madera; and
three
> : grandchildren.
Sharon Rocha??? So, does Dennis have a sister *and* an ex-wife named
Sharon? Cuz the Sharon Rocha who is Laci's mother wouldn't be a child of
Bob Rocha.
I'm assuming Rio Linda isn't just another name for Modesto. (Shouldn't that
be "Rio Lindo"?)
Lind-a
Cliff and Linda Griffith
> ***Hmmmm. The grandmother could have passed her entire estate to her
husband
> tax free on her death and that's what most people do. If she made
bequests of
> more than $2.3 million, that amount would have triggered estate taxes and
rich
> people *hate* to pay estate taxes. Perhaps this isn't an inheritance at
all.
> It sounds more like a generation-skipping trust set up to save on estate
taxes,
> which would mean it had probably been around for years. I'd love to know
more
> about how all this was set up.
>
> Maggie
Well, I can give you an example. It might be a similar situation, since
there are several divorces and half-siblings in the Rocha family, as there
were in mine. My father was married to K., with whom he had two sons. K.
divorced him, he married my mother, I was born, and my mother divorced him.
(Then Daddy and K. remarried and stayed together until my father's death.)
My father had one sister, and she only had one child. Daddy said he didn't
want to be "punished" for having had three kids, when his sister only had
one; so he didn't want their mother's Estate to be divided between the two
of them. (That would've meant that his half would be divided into thirds to
be passed on to us, and my cousin would get his mother's entire amount.) So
Daddy convinced his mother to set up her Estate into a Trust: at her death,
her Estate was divided between her son and her daughter, and what they
inherited would be set up as Trusts, as well. They would receive the
interest from the Trusts, but the corpus would remain intact. When the
first one died (my father), his Trust was divided among all four of *his
mother's grandchildren*. Then when my aunt died, her Trust was divided
among all four of *her mother's grandchildren*. Of course, my father and my
aunt had other monies that went to their respective spouses and children;
this "Grandmother's Trust" thing was just for distributing our grandmother's
money.
This may be as clear as mud [sorry about that!], but it sounds kind of like
what the Rocha grandmother may have done.
I don't remember if we had to pay Estate taxes or not. If we did, I figure
maybe they were deducted before we got the final disbursements? Or
something.
Linda
Patty
"Cliff and Linda Griffith" <grif...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:10cfq6l...@corp.supernews.com...
: "Patty" <r...@what.com> wrote in message
Must be another daughter. Rio Linda is just north of Sacramento and is not
a suburb or subsection of Modesto. Robin Maria Rocha is in her early 40s,
so there's about 15 years between Robin and Dennis. Sharon must be
somewhere in the middle between the two. "Rio Linda" must have been
given its name by gringos.
Cliff and Linda Griffith
> michele said:
> >so if the baby was delivered alive, then laci was killed, then conner was
> >killed, does conner's share pass to scott?
>
> ***Yes, a child's heir is his parent *if*, in this case, the inheritance
from
> the grandparent was no longer in trust. If it was in a trust, the terms
of the
> trust apply.
I dunno. Some Wills specify that a beneficiary has to live for a stated
period of time (months?) before inheriting. Then some others have an
age-requirement like 18, 21, 30, etc., probably in an attempt to keep the
heir from blowing millions on skateboards or lattés. Wouldn't it depend on
how the decedent had set up the Will?
Linda
Cliff and Linda Griffith
news:egnec0lt5280618is...@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 22:50:17 -0500, "Cliff and Linda Griffith"
> <grif...@charter.net> wrote:
>
> >> But did Scott know about the inheritance?
> >>
> >> M
> >
> >Well, of course! I don't know if it has anything to do with Laci's
> death or
> >not, but after that length of time of a marriage, you *know* Scott
> knew
> >about it.
> >
> >Linda
> >
>
> Just like you know Lacy would have told people about Amber if she
> knew????
No. Did I say that? Maybe I did, but I can't imagine it.
Linda
Phoenix
says...
You explained it very well. We have something similar in our family,
where my mother receives all the interest from a trust set up by her
father. The trust will be dispersed to all the grandchildren upon her
(god forbid) death.
>
> I don't remember if we had to pay Estate taxes or not. If we did, I figure
> maybe they were deducted before we got the final disbursements? Or
> something.
I think that this sort of trust avoids estate taxes somehow, or a good
portion of them anyway. And the will was probated in no time at all
since my mother and all the grandkids were pre-signed as beneficiaries
to the trust.
bel
Sarah Monroe
>Sharon? Cuz the Sharon Rocha who is Laci's mother wouldn't be a child of
>Bob Rocha.
>
Why not? My husband had a sister named Sarah.
Gms
A question for today too.
"Are you better off now than you were four years ago?'' Ronald Reagan 1980
Cliff and Linda Griffith
news:20040610065753...@mb-m29.aol.com...
> >Sharon Rocha??? So, does Dennis have a sister *and* an ex-wife named
> >Sharon? Cuz the Sharon Rocha who is Laci's mother wouldn't be a child of
> >Bob Rocha.
> >
>
>
> Why not? My husband had a sister named Sarah.
>
I was just thinking it was either a misprint or "quite a coincidence". But
then, names do seem to go by generations: there were a lot of Lindas born
around 1947, and a lot of Jennifers and Jeremys born in '76. (And for some
reason, "Jeremy" was pronounced "Germy", at least around here. I wondered
why any moderately-clean parent would name a child "Germy".)
Linda
Patty
> Posted on Tue, Jun. 08, 2004
> By Jessie Seyfer
> San Jose Mercury News
>
>>
> Laci Peterson's brother took the stand mid-morning, and described how he had demanded
> answers from Peterson after he read about Peterson's affair in a tabloid.
>
> ``I said Scott, did you see this article?'' Brent Rocha recalled, on the stand. ``At first
> when I asked him that day he denied it. Then he admitted it.''
>
> Peterson assured Rocha that his mistress couldn't have been involved in Laci Peterson's
> disappearance.
>
> ``Scott, how did you know she had nothing to do with it,'' Rocha said he asked.
>
> Peterson replied, according to Rocha: `` `There was no way she could have had anything to do with it. She didn't even know Laci existed.' ''
>
> Peterson explained that he only told Frey about his wife after she disappeared, Rocha
> said.
>
Scott, poster boy for the National Enquirer.
From the National Enquirer 6/28/04:
A hushed court heard how an Enquirer scoop sparked a furious showdown
between Scott Peterson and Laci's older brother Brent Rocha.
Brent told the jury about the day in January 2003 - with Laci missing
for three weeks - when he called Scott and asked him if he'd read the
new issue of The Enquirer, carrying an exclusive story revealing his
secret affair with Amber Frey for the first time.
"He went to the store to get one," said the 33-year-old analyst for
the California Department of Justice.
Frosty
>
>Well, let's hope the DA or Geragos puts someone on the stand to explain
>this because we're talking about a considerable sum of money. I'm guessing
>it was structured in such a way that Scott would not find it easy to plunder
>the trust while Laci was alive. Of course, it'd probably be impossible with her
>dead. So perhaps this trust meant little or nothing to him.
>
>Nah. I bet he spent lots of time spending that money in his head...
I think it's very possible that Scott thought he'd get the trust fund $$$ even
if Laci and Conner died/were killed. He tried to sell the house when Laci was
just "missing", so we've got a track record of his ignorance in financial
matters.
Speaking of ignorance in financial matters, I don't know anything about these
things. What bearing do trust funds have in divorce/alimony/child support
situations? Would Scott not have had to pay child support/alimony, or have had
to pay a whole lot less, given the amount of the trust fund that would've went
to Laci/Conner? Could he have even gotten a piece of that had they divorced?
If any one of these situations is possible, that puts a whole new paint-job on
things.
Frosty
Madelin McKinnon
> "Patty" <r...@what.com> wrote in message news:<6de5e135f23e1b64...@news.teranews.com>...
> > Posted on Tue, Jun. 08, 2004
> > Peterson told family `I understand your suspicion of me'
> > By Jessie Seyfer
> > San Jose Mercury News
> >
> >>
> > Laci Peterson's brother took the stand mid-morning, and described how he had demanded
> > answers from Peterson after he read about Peterson's affair in a tabloid.
> >