Peterson Carried $10,000 in Cash

Scott Peterson had $10,000 in cash with him when he was arrested in connection with the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, a law enforcement official said Saturday.

The revelation could help explain authorities’ concern that Peterson would flee, possibly to Mexico, before they could arrest him on Friday.

The law enforcement official who spoke Saturday asked not to be identified.

Law enforcement officials revealed no other new information about the investigation, leaving unanswered questions about motive and what links Peterson to the killings.

Inside the Modesto jail Saturday, Peterson was locked down, alone in a maximum-security cell as a sheriff’s deputy stood watch 6 feet away. Peterson asked if he could get a haircut. And nearly a week after the skeletal remains of his pregnant wife, Laci, washed ashore in San Francisco Bay, and a day after his arrest, he seemed to be a bit frightened.

“He appeared calm, nervous, perhaps a little scared,” said Kelly Huston, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. “He also appears like how you would expect someone to appear who has never been in jail before.”

Peterson looked thinner in a booking photo that showed him with a beard and lighter hair. The midnight booking had been caught by television and still cameras through the slats of open blinds as he removed his belt and shoes for deputies.

Outside the Modesto home he once shared with his wife, crowds were drawn unabated throughout the day, covering practically every inch of the lawn with flowers, teddy bears, toys, candles and balloons.

They used words tinged with grief and anger over a case that has riveted their farming town since Laci Peterson’s disappearance on Christmas Eve.

“It’s a big loss for Modesto,” said Tami Kraus, 53, who knows Laci’s family. “The thought of him doing something like this is beyond my comprehension.”

Peterson, 30, a fertilizer salesman, has not yet been charged with the death of his 27-year-old wife and their unborn son, Connor, whose remains also were found on the bay shore last week.

He is expected to be arraigned early this week in the double homicide, charges that could lead to the death penalty.

Fearing that Peterson might flee, authorities arrested him Friday near a La Jolla golf course, a day after investigators positively identified the remains of his wife and unborn son.

He had been staying recently at his mother’s home near San Diego, and authorities had been tracking him for months.

Although police declined to say he was a suspect, Peterson had come under scrutiny after he admitted to having an extramarital affair.

Kirk McAllister, Peterson’s attorney, who has a downtown office not far from the jail in Modesto, did not respond to phone calls Saturday.

Peterson was given a standard orange jail jumpsuit and has received no special treatment, Huston said. He was told that he would get a haircut when the rest of his jail wing did.

Also, Huston said, Peterson was told that a counselor was available to him if he wanted to talk. “He didn’t respond,” Huston said, “but his eyes welled up and it looked like he was going to cry.... Obviously, we are concerned about his mental health.”

As of Saturday afternoon, Peterson had not met with his lawyer, but spoke with him by cell phone after the arrest.

Angry onlookers had assembled along a block-long stretch of 12th Street leading up to the jail Friday after news of Peterson’s arrest was made public.

By nightfall, police estimated that up to 300 people lined the street, waiting for Peterson to arrive.

As the two-car convoy pulled into the jail driveway at 11:50 p.m., some in the crowd began shouting “Murderer!” One person held a sign reading “Repent.”

Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino watched the arrival from his restaurant across the street, the Mediterranean Market & Grill. On Saturday, he tried to put in perspective his community’s emotional reaction, suggesting that residents feel betrayed by Peterson.

These are people who helped search for Laci Peterson in the winter chill, he said.

They attended vigils for her and distributed thousands of fliers about her disappearance, giving many a tangible, emotional link to the ordeal. All this unfolded under national media attention.

“My guess is what they are feeling is that they were misled by Scott Peterson. If they believe he is guilty, then surely they must feel deceived,” Sabatino said.

“I think early on, everybody, including Laci’s family, wanted to believe that Scott had nothing to do with this.”

After initially supporting him in the weeks after Laci’s disappearance, the family of the substitute teacher with a gleaming smile came to later believe he had a role in her disappearance, and they had publicly pleaded with him to come forward with any information.

On Saturday morning, Peterson’s booking photo was pasted to an outside wall, evoking sneers from passersby throughout the day.

Julie Hernandez, 29, stared at the mug shot and concluded that Peterson was probably trying to hide under the lightened hair and beard. “He was on the run, that’s what I think,” she said.

A 26-year-old man who played football at Downey High School, where Laci Peterson had been a cheerleader, tried to explain the depth of anger:

“She is so well-known and she was eight months pregnant,” he said. “And then he goes and has an affair. Why didn’t he just divorce her and pay child support? He didn’t have to do this.”

Laci Peterson’s family was secluded Saturday and had said earlier that they would not comment until after the Easter weekend. They said they would talk on Monday afternoon.

Times staff writer Stephanie Chavez contributed to this report.