Featured Fact: Scott's Timeline page 3

Tuesday, December 24th, 2002 continued...  

Featured Fact:
When the police initially watched the Martha Stewart episode from Dec. 24th they did not notice the meringue being mentioned. The police deemed Scott a liar and used this one "lie" alone as the basis for their search warrants, tracking devices on his vehicle and wire taps on his phones. In prosecutor Distaso's opening statement, he said, "Martha Stewart didn't cook anything with meringue on the 24th." He was followed by defense attorney, Mark Geragos who showed that meringue and cookies were mentioned on Martha Stewart on the December 24th episode of Martha Stewart, just like Scott said. In his closing statements Rick Distaso said,

"You know, remember the Martha Stewart thing and the meringue. You know what? I'm going to tell you straight up, that was an embarrassment to me personally because I told, because I stood up here in opening statement and told you something that wasn't correct. I told you there was no mention of meringue in that Martha Stewart tape. And you know what? We were wrong."

Just to recap, what Scott said was true and what the prosecution said "wasn't correct, We were wrong."

(see defense attorney, Mark Geragos' opening statement, Distaso's opening and closing statements)

Featured Fact:
The actual time that cookies and meringue were mentioned on Martha Stewart on December 24th was 9:48am. The Martha Stewart transcript for December 24th, 2002 is listed as People's exhibit #82.

Scott said:
Laci's plans for the day included walking the dog, going to the store to buy groceries, and making Gingerbread cookies for that evening. She needed groceries for the cookies and for the French toast they were going to serve at their Christmas Brunch. In one conversation Scott calls it "Cordon Bleu" French toast, in another he calls it "Grand Marnier" French toast. At one point, Scott mentioned that Laci had to marinate the French toast.

Featured Facts:
The recipe is actually Creme Brule French toast. The recipe includes Grand Marnier and calls for the bread to be marinated anywhere from 8-24 hours. The photo of the kitchen below shows the recipe standing up on the counter. To the right is the recipe is standing on the counter to the right of the mixer. Click the thumbnail to enlarge the recipe.

Scott said:
The range of estimates that Scott gave seven different sources as to when he left home.

Featured Fact:
Approximate time Scott left home per his cell phone records. Given his estimates ranging from 9:30-10:30, he was accurate. (See Ivestigator Jacobson testimony)

The prosecution again used this as an opportunity to call Scott a liar. In the closing argument, right after stating how embarrassed they were about Martha Stewart, they go on to call him a liar again. Since the Martha Stewart segment aired at 9:48, that would mean that Scott was still home at that time. He had estimated to some people that he left around 9:30, so Distaso says the following:

"...nobody at 12 minutes to ten says they're leaving at 9:30, so he's lying about that."

(See Distaso's closing argument)

Scott said:
He drove from home to the warehouse

Featured Fact:
Scott is on his cell phone for 1 min 21 seconds somewhere between his home and his office. He's checking his voicemail. Based on cell tower records, he is probably pretty close to home when the call begins at 10:08. The drive from Scott's home to the warehouse is 3.1 miles and an estimated 9 minutes per Yahoo maps.(523 Covena, Modesto to 1027 N Emerald, Modesto)

Scott said:
He logged onto his computer at work, checked his e-mail, then sent an e-mail to his boss who had left him a voicemail.

Featured Facts:
Computer forensics showed Scott continuously logged onto his work computer for 26 minutes. He checked e-mail, sent e-mail, and looked up instructions on how to assemble a wood working tool called a mortiser. (See Detective Wall testimony)

Scott said:
From when he logged off the computer to when he left the warehouse, Scott said he cleaned up the office a bit, assembled the mortiser, unloaded some tools from the tool box in the bed of his truck, cut his knuckle on the tool box, got some of his blood on the driver's side door of his truck, hooked up the boat and left.

Featured Facts:
The photographs below taken during the December 27th search show the mortiser assembled and sitting on the trailer in Scott's warehouse. The box and Styrofoam are sitting next to it. He had received the mortiser via UPS on December 20th. (See Brocchini testimony)
Forensic testing showed one drop of Scott's blood on his car door. (See Criminalist William Hudlow testimony)

Featured Fact:
Neighbor and friend, Kristen Reed, saw Scott's truck in their
driveway. She did not see Scott. (See Detective Brocchini testimony)

Scott said:
Scott said the Today Show was on the TV then Martha Stewart. He remembered seeing something on Martha Stewart that morning about meringue and cookies.

Scott said:
Scott said Laci was mopping the floor. He put the mop bucket near front door for Laci so she wouldn't have to lift it. He last saw Laci wearing black pants, a white shirt, ring, watch, necklace, earrings, unsure of shoes.

Featured Fact:
As outlined last month, Laci's body was found in khaki capris. The reasonable explanation that points toward innocence would be that Laci changed her clothes after Scott left. Testimony showed that Laci had changed her clothes three times the day before. (See testimonies of Margarita Nava, Tina Reiswig, Amy Rocha)

Scott said:
Scott was asked why he backed his truck into the driveway. He told the police that some tools had been stolen out of the tool box in the bed of his truck, and he needed to load some patio umbrellas into the bed. He was going to store them at the warehouse. When asked why the umbrellas were still in the bed of the truck at the end of the day, Scott said he forgot to unload them at the warehouse.

Featured Fact:
Neighbor Kristen Dempewolf claimed she saw Scott in the bed of his truck that morning. She estimated she passed Scott and Laci's house around 9:20-9:40am. Kristen did not notice Scott until he called a greeting out to her. Kristen was not allowed to testify because she was inappropriately hypnotized.

Featured Fact:
Computer forensics later showed Scott was logged onto his computer by 10:30. This leaves a 13 minute window from when he arrives at the warehouse to when he logs onto the computer. This time window must include parking his truck, unlocking and entering the pedestrian door and turning on his computer.

Scott said:
He saw a couple people at the warehouse complex that morning.

Featured Facts:
The diagram below shows how full the warehouse was. There was a flat, open trailer and the boat trailer parked just inside the roll up door. There was no room for Scott to pull his truck into the warehouse and close the rollup door so that his truck could be hidden from view.

People's Exhibit #55

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