• The Berkeley Marina was not the only body of water Scott went to while Laci was missing. Publicized searches were held on multiple dates at multiple locations. Scott visited the Berkeley Marina, the San Luis Reservoir, and the Pittsburgh Marina on days they were being searched. Scott was actively involved in the search for his wife and visited these locations when search resources were being used there.

The above facts give reasonable explanations for why Scott went to the Berkeley Marina. To argue that he was returning to the scene of a crime is illogical. The prosecution alleged that Scott had dumped her body 2 miles north of the marina. If Scott had some concern about Laci's body being found, why would he be visiting the Berkeley Marina?

Scott's use of Rental Cars

The prosecution also implied that Scott was sneaking to the marina in “automobiles that weren't usually associated with him”. Scott used friend's vehicles as well as rental cars. We offer the following facts regarding Scott's use of rental cars:

• On December 26th, 2002, both of Scott's F150 4x4 crew cab and Laci's Land Rover were confiscated by the Modesto Police to be searched. Laci's Land Rover was returned to Scott on January 3rd of 2003. The Ford had a monthly payment of over $600 that Scott had to maintain even though the truck was in police custody. The vehicle was returned to Scott's family after his arrest by court order in the fall of 2003.

• From December 26th to January 3rd , while both his vehicles were in police custody, Scott either borrowed vehicles from friends or rented vehicles. Scott had the police drop off the Land Rover at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car on January 3rd . He returned the rental car he was driving to Enterprise and drove the Land Rover home. Laci's Land Rover was returned to Scott with multiple problems. Scott returned it to the Modesto Police for repair on January 15th . The Modesto Police made repairs to the vehicle and returned it to Scott on January 23rd .

• From January 3rd to January 15th , before Scott returned the Land Rover to the police to be repaired, Scott would rent vehicles if he was leaving Modesto due to the mechanical problems with the Land Rover. During this time, Scott had to rent a pick-up to take care of a delivery for work.

• From January 15th to January 23rd , the Land Rover was being repaired by the police so both vehicles were again in police custody again. Scott rented a Lincoln Town car during this week as his bosses were in town from Europe .

• From January 27th to January 29th , Scott rented a Dodge Dakota pick-up. He needed to move the items from the warehouse to his home and a storage unit.

• On January 29th, Scott traded in the Land Rover for a Dodge Dakota pick up. His only car rental after that date was on February 18th when the police confiscated his Dodge Dakota pick up for a day.

Not only did Scott have the police return the Land Rover to Enterprise Rent-A-Car on January 3rd, but the Enterprise facility is about 6 blocks from the Modesto Police Station. The facts do not support the prosecution's notion that Scott was trying to sneak around in “automobiles that weren't usually associated with them him”. The above facts are more than reasonable explanations for Scott's use of rental cars.

The Trade-in of Laci's Land Rover

On January 29th , Scott traded in their Land Rover for a 2002 Dodge Dakota pick up. We offer the following facts regarding the trade-in of Laci's car:

• Scott had asked several times for his truck to be returned to him (see Detective Grogan's testimony). It was not going to happen so Scott needed to make other arrangements because he needed a truck for work.

• The used, 2002 Dodge Dakota that Scott purchased on January 28th was worth less than the 2002 4x4 crew cab F150 the police had confiscated. The suggestion that Scott was uncaring and went to get a new truck while his wife was missing is unreasonable. Scott had a new truck before Laci went missing, but it was in police custody. Her car was traded in for the Dodge out of necessity.