http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/02/pe...ial/index.html
REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- The baby of murder defendant Scott Peterson was born alive, his attorney declared Wednesday, saying the baby's umbilical cord had been cut.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos in his opening statement declared Peterson "stone cold innocent" of the murders of his wife, Laci, and her near-term fetus.
The defense attorney said that debris found on the fetus was not kelp, as the prosecution had said, but electrical tape. "It's a man-made material and the baby's ear is folded over," Geragos said.
He added that the fetus' umbilical cord had been cut. "This baby was born alive -- take a look at the umbilical cord."
Peterson, 31, is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Peterson has pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, Peterson could be sentenced to death or to life in prison without parole.
Geragos asserted that Peterson could not have killed his pregnant wife because the fetus she carried was born alive, The Associated Press reported.
"The evidence is going to show that (Laci) was alive on December 24 when Scott went to the marina," he said according to the AP. Prosecutors have said Laci Peterson was killed on or before that day.
The AP said Geragos indicated he will call experts to testify that the fetus was older than it would have been if it died at the same time as Laci Peterson, and that the umbilical cord was cut in such a way that the child must have been removed from her while still living.
The AP reported that prosecution experts will testify that the fetus was expelled after Laci Peterson's corpse was dumped into San Francisco Bay.Geragos also ridiculed the prosecution's case, calling it weak and lacking evidence linking Peterson to his wife's killing.
"This is a murder case, and there has to be evidence in a murder case," Geragos told the six-man, six-woman jury.
He cited bags of evidence seized in searches of the Peterson house and warehouse and lab tests on those clothes and duct tape. "What did they find?" he asked. "Zip. Nothing. Nada. Not a thing!"
Geragos: Peterson looking forward to fatherhood
Geragos painted a picture of a man who, though he was embroiled in an affair with Amber Frey, a former massage therapist, was looking forward to the birth of their son and was making long-term plans for the family.
The lawyer also challenged prosecutor Rick Distaso's claim that Scott Peterson did not want to be a father.
Geragos said Scott Peterson had supported Laci's attempts to become pregnant by rearranging his work schedule so that they could have sex when she was ovulating. When she did become pregnant, he accompanied his wife to every doctor's appointment, Geragos said.
Laci Peterson was nearly eight months pregnant when she was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2002. Her body and that of the couple's unborn son washed up along the shore of San Francisco Bay in April 2003.
Prosecutors say Peterson killed her and dumped her body in the bay even as he was pursuing the affair with Frey, who has told authorities she did not know Peterson was married.
Peterson told investigators his wife was alive when he left their Modesto home to drive to the Berkeley marina, and go fishing in his new boat.
Geragos accused police of failing to pursue evidence that would have led them to the real killer or killers.
In an allusion to the lack of direct evidence the prosecution said it would present, Geragos said, "What you will hear in this case is that there is direct evidence in this case: It is of the eyewitnesses who saw her walking the dog that day. She was alive when Scott went to the marina, she was gone when he got back. It will show that he is not guilty, and stone cold innocent."
He disputed the prosecution claim that Peterson did not like to fish.
"This man, Scott Peterson, has been an avid fisherman since he was 3 years old. ... He even went fishing with Laci on their first date."
After Geragos' opening statement Wednesday, the first witness, housekeeper Margarita Nava, was called to the stand. The housekeeper told jurors how she cleaned the home the day before Laci disappeared, including using Pinesol and Clorox to mop the floors of the bathrooms.
Prosecution: Behavior inconsistent
During his opening statements Tuesday, Distaso presented the chain of events that led to Peterson's arrest shortly after a decapitated, female body washed up on a San Francisco Bay shore. The day before, a dead, male fetus was discovered in the same area.
Distaso also described what he said were inconsistencies in Peterson's behavior: Peterson told a neighbor and then a relative of his wife that he had been golfing on Christmas Eve 2002, but told investigators that he had been fishing. (Full story)
Judge Alfred Delucchi last year ordered the trial moved to Redwood City from Modesto, where the couple lived, due to intense publicity.
CNN's Ted Rowlands and Chuck Afflerbach contributed to this report.
strange twist in Lacy Peterson murder case
