San Diego : Peyer Loses Bid for Venue Change in Murder Trial

Craig Peyer, a former California Highway Patrol officer, will be tried for murder in San Diego, a Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday after denying a new defense request for a change of venue. An attorney for Peyer said he will not appeal the ruling.

“As far as I’m concerned, the publicity issue is behind us,” said Judge Richard Huffman, who added that a preliminary screening of potential jurors has left a jury pool with a “broad cross-section” of people who can give Peyer a fair trial in San Diego County.

Jury selection in the case began eight days ago, when attorneys for both sides and Huffman began screening prospective jurors to find out how much they knew about the widely reported case.

Peyer, 37, is charged with the Dec. 27, 1986, strangulation of Cara Knott, 20, a San Diego State University student. Peyer was on duty at the time. The woman’s body was found in a creek bed below a bridge near the Mercy Road off-ramp and Interstate 15.

Defense attorney Robert Grimes had argued for a new trial site on Nov. 6, but the motion was denied by Huffman. However, at that time Huffman said he would allow Grimes another opportunity to argue for a change of venue during jury selection.

Except for two people, all of the possible jurors screened since last week said they were familiar with the case. Several who were retained as possible jurors said they felt that Peyer was guilty of the murder but swore they could be fair and impartial in deciding Peyer’s fate.

“Almost everyone (in the jury pool) has been exposed to it,” Grimes said Tuesday. The attorney said he would appeal the judge’s ruling to the 4th District Court of Appeal.

The general questioning of potential jurors will begin today and a jury may be selected by as early as next week. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks. Peyer, a 13-year CHP veteran, was fired in May and is free on $1 million bail.