Months ago, I reported on MSNBC that Scott Peterson had a number of girlfriends while he was married to Laci. Neither side in the case challenged this fact, but new details have come out about one particular alleged affair.
According to a criminal investigative analysis done by the California Bureau of Investigation, a woman named Janet reported she had an ongoing sexual relationship with Scott Peterson. Just like his affair with Amber Frey, Janet said she was unaware Peterson was married. Janet claimed he took her to social events as well.
According to the report, Janet found out Peterson was married when “she unexpectedly visited a house Scott shared with several other men and found Scott and Laci in bed together.”
I think that this information actually may help the defense more than the prosecution. Mark Geragos’ team can say, “Look he had had an affair before. He didn‘t go and kill the person. Laci‘s family didn‘t know about this affair either, the same way they didn‘t know about Amber Frey.”
Dean Johnson, former San Mateo County prosecutor agrees that this investigation could feed into a defense argument. “Laci never went missing after these affairs were discovered,” he said.
This news comes on Day 26 of the trial. On Monday, a Modesto police detective said another suspect actually confessed to the crime, but because of the man’s mental problems, Detective Ray Coyle discounted the claim. The suspect’s sister also provided an alibi.
“False confessions by nut cases in these high-profile cases are very common,” says Johnson. “As a matter of law, you can‘t base a murder conviction solely on a confession. And if Scott Peterson had had an alibi that was as good as that offender, then Scott Peterson would have been eliminated as a suspect, as well.”
