Featured Fact: Alleged Lies, page 2
The prosecution alleged that Scott was lying when he said that he'd been in touch with the Longview Police Department regarding a reported sighting of Laci that came in. The prosecution insinuated that Scott knew Laci was dead and therefore made no attempt to follow up on the tip.
In late January of 2003, a female clerk reported seeing Laci in a grocery store in late December of 2002. While questioning Investigator Jacobson during the trial, the prosecution attempted to use the following four phone calls from the wire tap to call Scott a liar in regards to the Longview, Washington tip:
Scott received an incoming call from Rita Cosby discussing the tip. Investigator Jacobson testified that this was the first recorded wiretap call where Scott is heard discussing the tip, but it is clear from what Scott says to Rita that he was already aware of the tip prior to this call.
Scott PETERSON: Hello.
Rita COSBY: Hey, Scott, it's Rita Cosby.
Scott PETERSON: Hi, Rita.
Rita COSBY: Hey, did you hear about this thing in Washington State?
Scott PETERSON: Yeah, definitely.
Rita COSBY: This is amazing. I just wanted to make sure you got all the latest information. I mean this is really incredible.
Scott PETERSON: Well, I just heard that there was um,...I don't have all the details I don't think.
Rita COSBY: I can't tell you...I can tell you at least what I know that um...
Scott PETERSON: I would appreciate it.
Scott speaks with friends, Aaron and Heidi Fritz, and tells them that he has been in touch with the Longview Police Department. (The prosecution said this was a lie.)
Jan. 31, 2003 at 9:28am
Scott tells his mom, Jackie Peterson, that he has talked to the Longview Police Department. (The prosecution said this was also a lie.)
Jan. 31, 2003 at 10:02am
Scott called 411 from his cell phone and was connected with a Rendy Jacobs of the Longview Police Department. The length of the call was four minutes and fifty-four seconds. The call showed on his phone bill as a directory assistance call. The entire call was not captured by the wire tap because it was interrupted by an incoming call.
The prosecution alleged that this was the first call that Scott made to the Longview Police Department. They implied that Scott knew it wasn't Laci so he had not immediately followed up like he said. They stated the following in their closing argument:
Scott made a call to his attorney, Kirk McAllister. This call could not be recorded on the wiretap because of attorney/client privilege.
Jan. 30, 2003 at 4:47pm
Right after hanging up with his attorney, Scott made a call to 411. It is a two minute and nine second call for which there is no audio from the wire tap. The data on this call is identical to the call Scott made the next day to 411 where he was connected with the Longview Police. Because of the call's duration, Investigator Jacobson testified that it was most likely a call that was connected.
The following series of events further help outline Scott's conversations about the tip and his efforts to follow up on it:
Within five minutes of hanging up with the Longview Police Department, Scott called his mom again. He told her that he had just talked to the Longview Police again and they had told him that they had 50 hours of tape to look at.
Feb. 1, 2003 at 1:06pm
Scott said the following while on the phone with Amber:
"But if it was even close to her description I need to see that tape because I'm gonna know better than anyone else if it's her or not. And frankly the police aren't even looking for her so they may not have even looked at it. So it's absolutely worth any effort if there's a chance."
Feb. 3, 2003 at 2:49pm
Scott talked with the Longview Police again. Detective Jacobs told Scott that he had reviewed the tapes and Laci was not on them. He also told Scott that a copy of the tapes would be sent to the Modesto Police Department. The length of the call was two minutes and four seconds.
Feb. 3, 2003 at 3pm
Within ten minutes of hanging up with Detective Jacobs of the Longview Police, Scott called the Modesto Police Department. He left a message for Lieutenant Aja regarding the Longview tapes.
Feb. 3, 2003 at 3:33pm
Lieutenant Aja returned Scott's phone call. Scott requested to see the tapes from Longview when they arrive. He apologized to Lieutenant Aja about saying he wouldn't trust anyone else, but for his own peace of mind he wants to view the tapes himself.
Feb. 18, 2003
While the second search warrant was being executed on Scott's home, he asked Detective Grogan if the Modesto Police Department had received the Longview tapes. Detective Grogan (the lead detective on the case) didn't know whether or not the tapes had been received by MPD. Detective Grogan also told Scott that someone had viewed the tapes and that the witness had failed a voice stress analysis and left the interview. Scott said asa member of Laci's family, he should be allowed to view the tapes. In court, Detective Grogan testified that the tapes were never provided for Scott to review and to his knowledge, no one from the Modesto Police Department ever viewed the tapes from Longview.
The above facts show that it is inaccurate to call Scott a liar with respect to the Longview, Washington tip. The facts also show Scott made multiple attempts to follow up on the tip with both the Longview Police and the Modesto Police.
As we stated at the beginning of the article, we do intend to cover the lies that Scott did tell in an upcoming Featured Fact. You can help us be as thorough as possible by contacting us at if there are any specific lies you would like us to address.
The Alleged 'Longview' Lies:
ScottPetersonAppeal.Org
