Juror dismissed in Peterson trial
Alternate added as jury begins deliberations anew
REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- A juror was dismissed Tuesday from Scott Peterson's double-murder trial and replaced by an alternate, forcing the panel to start deliberations over.
Judge Alfred Delucchi brought in each juror and interviewed them individually before deciding to dismiss juror No. 7, an Asian woman in her 40s or 50s who worked as an electric-company auditor.
No explanation was given for her dismissal, but sources told CNN the juror was accused of conducting independent research, which is forbidden because jurors are supposed to consider only the information they hear presented in court.
Jurors had been deliberating since last Wednesday whether Scott Peterson killed his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son.
The alternate who replaced juror No. 7 is a woman in her late 20s or early 30s.
Tuesday marked the second day in a row Delucchi has summoned jurors. Monday, he reread instructions about putting aside personal biases to reach a verdict. Tuesday, he told the panel of six men and six women to decide the case from the facts and the law -- "and no other source."
"The fact that he reiterated it sends us a little bit of a signal that perhaps there was an improper source at play in the deliberations," legal analyst Chuck Smith said.
After dismissing the juror, Delucchi told the jury to return to deliberations and to "keep in touch." A couple hours later, the jury adjourned for the day without reaching a verdict.
Peterson showed little emotion in court Tuesday.
Four alternates remain in the case. Another juror was replaced four weeks into the five-month trial.
Peterson is accused of killing his wife on December 23 or 24, 2002, and dumping her body, weighted with homemade cement anchors, into San Francisco Bay.
The bodies washed ashore separately in April 2003, near where Peterson said he had launched his boat during a fishing trip the day his wife disappeared.
If convicted of first-degree murder, to which he has pleaded not guilty, Peterson could be sentenced to death.
Jurors have the option of convicting him on the lesser charge of second-degree murder if they decide the slaying was not premeditated. A conviction on that charge could mean a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
The option of the lesser charge was a victory for prosecutors because evidence against Peterson was largely circumstantial, and undecided jurors might have an easier time returning a second-degree conviction.
Gag order applies
Under the judge's gag order, the former juror is not allowed to speak publicly about the case for the duration of the deliberations.
An employee of Pacific Gas and Electric, the dismissed woman said in jury questioning that she had followed the case "moderately" before being called for jury duty and acknowledged that she was puzzled about a motive, according to CourtTV.com. She described herself as a "crusader."
Her replacement is a mother of four children, all of them boys. She has cried several times during the trial, including once when she saw the autopsy photographs.
The alternate, who has nine tattoos, is a colorful character. But her independence may not bode well for the prosecution.
"This woman looks like a very individual kind of person ... which I like as a person, but as a prosecutor you don't want people to stand out," said Jim Hammer, a former prosecutor.
