CAN HE ESCAPE HIS LIES? (cover story)

PETERSON, Scott; PETERSON, Laci; GERAGOS, Mark

This article focuses on the trial of Scott Peterson, who is charged with murdering his pregnant wife. He walks into court each morning wearing his familiar nonchalant grin, as seemingly carefree as a man strolling to the first tee for a round of golf. But whether Scott Peterson is simply confident in the outcome of his murder trial--or perhaps just disconnected from the possible death sentence that hangs over him--is unclear. After four months of the prosecution presenting its case, defense attorney Mark Geragos is about to get his turn to sow more reasonable doubt that Scott murdered his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. The prosecution--which has been widely criticized for being lackluster and meandering--got a badly needed boost in the final weeks of its presentation with the arrival of the crisp and forceful chief deputy D.A. Birgit Fladager. Grogan conceded as well that, for all the supposed thoroughness of their investigation, the police had not even dusted the Peterson home for fingerprints. As Geragos begins his defense, the one thing that seems virtually certain is that the jury won't be hearing from Peterson himself. Meanwhile, for the two families at the center of the case, the Petersons and the Rochas, the grief over Laci and the months of legal maneuvering have created an emotional tinderbox. INSET: THE LACI DOZEN.