Defense Starts Its Challenges in Peyer Case

In the first day of defense testimony in the Craig Peyer murder trial Thursday, several co-workers contradicted the testimony of a key prosecution witness who said that he saw a California Highway Patrol officer stop a Volkswagen on the Mercy Road off-ramp on the night that Cara Knott was killed.

The witness, Robert Calderwood, is a milkman from Fallbrook who testified last Friday that the southbound CHP patrol car stopped the light-colored Volkswagen beetle about 8:30 p.m., minutes after police said Knott got on Interstate 15 for the drive home to El Cajon from her boyfriend’s Escondido house.

Different Story Told

On Thursday, however, four of Calderwood’s co-workers, testified that Calderwood told them a different version of what he saw on Mercy Road and when he saw it.

Peyer, a 13-year CHP veteran, is charged with killing Knott on Dec. 27, 1986. Police said she was strangled on the Old U.S. 395 bridge near Interstate 15 and the Mercy Road off-ramp between 9 and 10 p.m. Her body was thrown 65 feet into a dry creek bed, where it was discovered by San Diego police the next morning. Knott’s car was found parked about three-tenths of a mile from where her body was found.

The prosecution rested Thursday, and the defense began its case to prove Peyer’s innocence. Defense attorney Robert Grimes also attempted to suggest that somebody else may have killed Knott. He produced four witnesses who told of a scruffy white man who was lunging at cars, trying to hitch a ride, while standing on the Escondido on-ramp that Knott took to get onto Interstate 15.

Grimes began Peyer’s defense by calling Calderwood’s co-workers in an attempt to discredit the milkman’s damaging testimony. Anita Undheim, office manager at Hollandia Dairy in San Marcos, said Calderwood began asking questions about the Knott killing about two weeks ago.

On Jan. 19, Calderwood was reading a newspaper story about the Peyer trial and came into her office, Undheim said.

“He wanted to know the date (of the killing),” Undheim said. “He came into the office looking for a calendar. He wanted to know when it happened.”

According to Undheim and co-worker Carole Trousas, Calderwood said he saw a “suspicious” CHP vehicle speeding away from the Mercy Road area early Dec. 28 while starting his milk delivery. Calderwood begins his deliveries between 3 and 5 a.m., Trousas said.

When Undheim told him that Knott was killed between 9 and 10 p.m., Calderwood answered, “Haven’t you ever heard of returning to the scene of the crime?” Trousas said.

Maribel Flores said that on another occasion, Calderwood walked into the dairy’s cafeteria reading a newspaper story about the Peyer trial, looking for a date. Calderwood told other employees that he saw the CHP car while delivering milk, but Ray Kinkead, a former dairy employee, said that Calderwood did not began the route that could have taken him over Mercy Road until June 15, 1987, six months after Knott died.

Calderwood took over Kinkead’s route, which covers North Island and Coronado. While training Calderwood, Kinkead said, they discussed the Knott killing on at least two occasions, but Calderwood never mentioned that he had seen a CHP car stop a Volkswagen at the Mercy Road off-ramp.

Calderwood testified as a surprise witness, after contacting law enforcement officials for the first time a few days earlier. In his testimony, Calderwood said that in the year that he waited before stepping forward to testify, he only discussed what he saw on Mercy Road with Betty Bahnmiller, a Navy employee at North Island.

Besides seeing the CHP car stop the Volkswagen on the Mercy Road off-ramp, Calderwood testified that he again saw a CHP car speeding away from Mercy Road, near where Knott was killed, about one hour later.

Police said that Knott purchased gasoline at a station on Via Rancho Parkway at 8:27 p.m. before heading home. Three young women and a retired Navy pilot testified Thursday that they saw a shabbily dressed man standing on the on-ramp near the station leading to southbound Interstate 15 trying to hitch a ride.

Each witness said that the man waved money in the air and lunged at their cars. They reported the incident to police after learning of Knott’s death. Kim Vito, a student, said she was waiting for the light to change to get on the on-ramp when she noticed the stranger.

“I saw a hitchhiker waving money and jumping in front of cars. . . . He jumped in front of my car and I had to swerve to the right,” Vito said.

Ronnie Joe Hartinger said the man “obviously was in a big rush.”

Grimes also called a security guard to discredit the testimony of another surprise witness who testified Wednesday that she saw Peyer stop a light blue Volkswagen on the Mercy Road off-ramp on the night that Knott was killed. Michelle Martin, a one-time security guard, is the only witness who has placed Peyer at the crime scene.

John Womack, Martin’s former boss, said that she has a tendency to “fantasize.” Womack, who admitted disliking Martin, said she was fired for being lazy and for poor job performance.

“In my opinion, I don’t think she’s too accurate,” Womack said.

Thursday’s session also featured an unsuccessful attempt by the prosecution to get Dr. Norman Sperber, a forensic dentist, to testify. It was not clear what Sperber’s testimony would cover, because Superior Court Judge Richard D. Huffman locked out the press and public while Sperber was questioned about his qualifications as an expert witness on this case by both sides.

But Sperber’s dental assistant said prosecutors had asked him to testify about bruises found on Knott’s neck. The autopsy report made no mention of any teeth marks or bites.

After listening to about an hour of testimony behind closed doors, Huffman ruled that Sperber could not testify, and Sperber and his assistant were led out through a back door to avoid reporters.

Over the past three weeks, almost two dozen young women testified for the prosecution that Peyer stopped them on the darkened Mercy Road off-ramp in 1986 for minor traffic violations. All of the stops were lengthy, one lasting an hour and 40 minutes. The women testified that Peyer let them go without giving them tickets and that at other times he stopped them for speeding but just gave them minor “fix it” tickets.

The women said Peyer never touched them nor asked for dates.

Capt. Lee Denno, Peyer’s former commanding officer, testified for the prosecution Thursday that the unusual stops violated a number of CHP directives. Denno criticized Peyer for making the stops in darkened areas, forcing the women to back up on the freeway shoulder and ordering them down the off-ramp and for falsifying traffic tickets.

However, CHP Sgt. Richard Dick, a direct superior of Peyer’s, said the CHP officer was “one of the most productive” in the area. Dick praised Peyer as a “high mileage officer” and a “good beat officer.” Peyer wrote between 200-250 tickets a month, while the average CHP officer wrote between 90-100 tickets, Dick said.

Before Knott was killed, there was no policy against forcing women motorists to stop in darkened areas like Mercy Road, Dick said.

“It probably wouldn’t be highly recommended, but it would be better than stopping on the over crossing,” Dick said. “ . . . Normally, the main consideration is a safe location out of the traffic flow.”

Long Traffic Stops Not Routine

Most traffic stops should not take more than 10 minutes, Dick said. But he testified that in his 21 years as a CHP officer, he has made several routine stops that stretched to 40 minutes. He added that a CHP officer who averages 30-40 minutes per stop could not write between 200-250 tickets a month, like Peyer did.

Prosecutors have pointed out that most of the young women stopped by Peyer on Mercy Road were stopped for minor violations like faulty lights. On Thursday, Dick said that CHP policy stresses that officers should be especially watchful of cars with faulty lights, brakes and tires in order to reduce highway accidents.

A minor controversy arose Thursday when Grimes asked Huffman to allow him to review the personnel file of San Diego Police Officer Jill Ogilvie. Ogilvie testified that she and another officer met Peyer on Mercy Road a few days after Knott’s death and he exhibited more than a casual interest in the killing.

According to Ogilvie, Peyer pressed her for the “real scoop” about the department’s investigation into the killing. Peyer told her that Knott’s death could have been an “accident” or “a situation that got out of control,” Ogilvie said.

After the policewoman’s testimony, Grimes said he got two anonymous calls from persons who attacked her credibility. According to the callers, there was a report in Ogilvie’s file written by a senior police officer who questioned her reputation and ability to be truthful and honest.

Grimes subpoenaed Ogilvie’s file but was challenged by an assistant city attorney, Grant Telfer, who represented the Police Department. Telfer said that giving the file to Grimes would be an invasion of Ogilvie’s privacy.

As a compromise, Huffman offered to review the file to see whether such a report existed. After reviewing the file, Huffman said there was a one-page report with the name of a person interviewed, who apparently offered negative comments about Ogilvie.

Huffman ordered Telfer to make the report and the name of the person interviewed available to Grimes.