Phone Calls Continue to Show Amber Frey Grilling Scott Peterson

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 17, 2004   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Phone Calls Continue to Show Amber Frey Grilling Scott Peterson Email this article
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by Paul Nowak
LifeNews.com Editor
August 17, 2004

Redwood City, CA (LifeNews.com) — The first two days of this week’s testimony in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial consisted of more recorded phone calls between Peterson and his mistress, Amber Frey.

After learning that her lover was married and that it was his pregnant wife that had disappeared, Frey secretly cooperated with Modesto police by taping her calls with Peterson. Tuesday was the fifth day the tapes were played for the jury, and cross-examination of Frey is expected to begin on Wednesday.

Using some scripted inquiries to find out if Peterson was involved in Laci’s disappearance, and apparently struggling herself to understand the revelation of Peterson’s dishonesty, the some 300 phone conversations revealed more of Peterson’s evasiveness, but little evidence of his involvement in his wife’s disappearance.

At one point, the idea of Frey being involved crossed his mind.

"I had nothing to do with this … and I just, you know, I hope that you … are not … involved to any degree," said Peterson on a tape heard Monday.

"How … back up! … Back up to that statement," Frey angrily responds.

"You know, what I mean by that is, obviously, you’re not involved … but I mean, I don’t want … you to have any repercussions from people," Peterson says.

Frey repeatedly inquired if Peterson had anything to do with his wife’s disappearance, while Peterson insisted he did not, and even sounded hurt, to the point of tears at times, by the suggestion.

Frey herself expressed her dismay, following the revelation that Peterson was married, and that he was not traveling in Europe as he said he was shortly after Laci disappeared.

"Is it written all over me, you know, sucker or something," Frey shouted at Peterson during the same conversation. "You’ve lied to me the whole time I’ve known you, so how can you say you even care?"

"I’m not an evil guy … I lied to you … but I’m not an evil person," Peterson said on the tapes.

On Tuesday, jurors heard conversations suggesting that Peterson suspected his phones were being tapped, but not that Frey’s were. He also pleaded for a second chance from Frey, and for a secret rendezvous with her.

In early February, Peterson called Frey from a pay phone, informing her that he would be in Sacramento that night. When Frey asked why, he was evasive, just as he was about the details of his relationship with his wife.

"I can tell you but not on these phones," Peterson said, evidently unaware Frey’s phone was being monitored.

Peterson begged Frey to meet with him.

"I just know that if we got to sit down … I think of how both of us could be experiencing something so unbelievable that I think it would help both of us," said Peterson.

"I just don’t see how that would be possible," Frey says.

A few minutes later, Peterson calls back. His sobbing can be heard throughout the call.

"I thought I could come to wherever you are," he says.

"I can’t have you come to my house, Scott," Frey replies.

"You know I’m not a monster, Amber," he says.

Peterson suggested that they meet at a friend’s home in Lake Arrowhead in the mountains about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

"We just need to see each other, Amber, at least for a couple of hours," Peterson says.

"You have to understand you’re obviously being followed by the media and who knows who else," Frey responds.

"Is there some way for us to see each other, Amber?" Peterson asks.

"At this point, all I could see is it just damaging me even more," Frey says.

"I just need to tell you how much I care about you … And I desire so much to be, you know, for the rest of our lives, your best friend, your biggest comfort, and the second-most joy in your life," Peterson told Frey. "Obviously, I still think it would be great if we could see each other."

On another call, Peterson expresses frustration that Laci’s family "is accusing me of having something to do with it now."

The jury was dismissed early on Tuesday so attorneys could meet with Judge Alfred Delucchi for an evidentiary hearing.

The prosecution has been putting forth a case based on Scott Peterson’s erratic behavior, affair, and alleged secret purchase of a fishing boat that could have been used to dump Laci’s body into the San Francisco Bay.

Peterson’s defense attorney, Mark Geragos, claims that the prosecution has no murder weapon, no eyewitnesses, and a case built entirely on circumstantial evidence. He has put forth explanations for Peterson’s strange behavior as well as theories that a satanic cult or men with a tan van abducted Laci on the morning of December 24, and attacked investigators for doing sloppy work and focusing on Peterson exclusively.

Scott Peterson has pleaded innocent to the double murder charges. The case has received national attention and spurred the passage of numerous unborn victims laws.

The laws allow prosecutors to charge criminals with two crimes when they kill or injure an unborn child as a result of attacking a pregnant woman.

Laci’s mother, Sharon Rocha, has become and outspoken advocate of Unborn Victims Laws, both for individual states and the entire nation.

President Bush signed a federal Unborn Victims of Violence Law in March. Rocha had voiced her support of the bill, and had criticized members of the Senate, including presidential hopeful John Kerry, who returned to Washington from the campaign trial to vote against the bill.

According to the National Right to Life Committee, 30 states have unborn victims laws, most recently Kentucky and Virginia, and 18 cover mothers and their unborn children throughout pregnancy.