Boat removed near Peterson trial site
Tumultuous jury deliberations break for Veterans Day
REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- A boat parked near the courthouse where Scott Peterson's double-murder trial is under way was towed away during the night, witnesses told CNN Thursday.
The 14-foot boat -- similar to one owned by Peterson -- was in a parking lot Wednesday that CNN contributor Nancy Grace said is owned by defense attorney Mark Geragos.
Inside the boat were four cement weights, a weight belt and a dummy. Signs were taped to its side -- one said, "RIP Laci and Conner, You Are Missed," while another read, "Murderer! Murderer!"
Some area residents placed flowers at the base of the boat.
Sources close to the case told CNN the boat was the same one used by the defense in a videotaped demonstration that the defense claims proves the boat would have capsized if a body were dumped overboard, as prosecutors contend happened.
The judge denied the defense request to have the video shown in the trial.
The jury was off Thursday in observance of Veterans Day. It is to resume deliberations Friday.
On Wednesday, Judge Alfred A. Delucchi dismissed the jury foreman without explanation, the second juror in two days to be tossed from the panel and the third since the trial began. The latest removal forced the panel to start over with deliberations for the third time. (Full story)
Three alternates remain available in the case.
Scott Peterson, 32, is accused of killing his 27-year-old pregnant wife, Laci, and her fetus nearly two years ago. Prosecutors contend he dumped her body, weighted down with homemade cement anchors, in San Francisco Bay.
The bodies washed ashore separately in April 2003, near where Peterson said he had launched his boat during a fishing trip on Christmas Eve.
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 Peterson 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.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said after the foreman's dismissal: "The point is that the judge is determined to keep this thing moving, and he's getting rid of jurors who are impediments."
Considering the months of time and effort put into the trial, Toobin said, Delucchi obviously wants to avoid declaring a mistrial.
David Mattingly contributed to this report.
