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Van inspected in Peterson case
From David Mattingly
MODESTO, California (CNN) -- A brown van has been taken to a crime lab where it has been examined in connection with the Laci Peterson murder case. The van first came under suspicion four days after Peterson's disappearance from her Modesto home on Christmas Eve 2002. A statement made to police describes a sexual assault and satanic ritual in the van and an advance warning of a Christmas Day murder. The owners of the van allowed it to be towed to a state crime lab on Friday, according to Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazelton. The defense team for Laci Peterson's husband, Scott, has advanced the theory that the people responsible for the alleged rape in the van are also responsible for her slaying. Scott Peterson, 30, is awaiting trial on two counts of murder for the deaths of his pregnant, 27-year-old wife and their unborn son. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted. Police investigated the van and its owners and decided they were not involved in Laci Peterson's disappearance or death, and the district attorney continues to state the owners have been cleared of any involvement. "Several people associated with the van were investigated, interviewed, and excluded as not having any involvement in the disappearance of Laci Peterson. None of these persons has been arrested," Brazelton said in a statement Tuesday. A defense source said Wednesday the team is convinced of its theory because its own investigator has examined the van and found important clues, including duct tape and other tape inside the van, stains that could be blood stains, and a satanic image etched in the van's glass. Stanislaus County authorities have not confirmed any of these findings. The initial report was made to Modesto Police December 28. In it, a sexual assault counselor says a woman claimed to her that she was raped by two men and two women in a brown van. As part of the rape, the woman allegedly told the counselor, a satanic ritual was conducted. "The victim said that during the ritual, the group mentioned a Christmas Day death, and that she would read about it in the paper," the police statement reads. The rape allegedly happened about a week and a half before Laci Peterson went missing. Modesto Police said they checked out the report and found a brown van parked near a reservoir. Police investigated two couples associated with the van and determined they had no involvement in the Peterson case. That finding was made in part because the woman who came forward to say she was raped appeared to have mental problems, the counselor said. CNN spoke Wednesday to the counselor, who says that based upon what she knows about this particular investigation, the counselor is now certain that police made the right determination about the van and the two couples. The defense has contended that police focused entirely on Scott Peterson in their investigation and were quick to dismiss what the defense believes were other credible leads.
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