Peyer Jury Has Asked to Again Hear What Seven Witnesses Said

Jurors in the murder trial of former California Highway Patrol Officer Craig Peyer requested Friday that the testimony of seven prosecution witnesses be read to them on Monday, when they continue their deliberations.

Included in the testimony that the jurors want read to them is the testimony of two key, controversial witnesses, one of whom placed Peyer on the Mercy Road off-ramp on the night that San Diego State University student Cara Knott was killed.

Peyer, a 13-year CHP veteran, is charged with killing Knott, 20, on Dec. 27, 1986. Police said she was strangled after a struggle 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 found the next morning. Knott’s car was parked about three-tenths of a mile from where the body was found.

Controversial Testimony

Jurors will rehear the testimony of Robert Calderwood, a milkman who testified that he saw a CHP car stop a light-colored Volkswagen on the southbound Mercy Road off-ramp at about 8:30 p.m. Knott was driving a white Volkswagen on the night she was killed. Calderwood’s testimony was contradicted by several defense witnesses.

During his first appearance on the witness stand, Calderwood testified that on his return trip northbound on I-15 about an hour later, he again saw a CHP car, this time leaving the site where Knott’s body was found. However, several of his co-workers testified that he told them that he saw the CHP car leaving the scene early in the morning the next day, while he was on his milk route.

Calderwood took the stand on two additional occasions to clarify his testimony. During his third appearance, Calderwood admitted that there had been substantial errors in his initial testimony. But Calderwood stood by his story that he saw a CHP car stop the Volkswagen at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 27, 1986.

Identified by Witness

Michelle Martin was the only witness who put Peyer on Mercy Road on the night of the killing. Martin, a former security guard, testified that she saw Peyer stop a light-blue Volkswagen at about 8:30 p.m. at the off-ramp. The defense attempted to discredit Martin’s testimony by producing two witnesses who testified that she was fired from her job as a security guard because she was lazy and unreliable. One witness said that she had a tendency to fantasize.

Both Martin and Calderwood testified as prosecution witnesses and volunteered their testimony more than a year after the killing.

The testimony of David Gonzalez and Shana Bulger also will be read to the jury. The two testified that they had driven to the darkened Mercy Road off-ramp to park on the night of the killing. Gonzalez and Bulger said that when they arrived at the off-ramp at about 9:45 p.m., they saw Knott’s car parked in the same spot where it was discovered by police the next morning.

Dwayne and Ann Clinkscales testified that they were riding in a limousine that broke down on the southbound Mercy Road off-ramp on the night of the killing. The couple testified that the car broke down at about 8:45 p.m. Ann Clinkscales testified that while they were parked on the off-ramp she saw a black-and-white police car leave the area “real fast.” Dwayne Clinkscales said that he saw the same police car but he testified that it was white.

The jury also asked to hear the testimony of John Moughan, the limousine driver. He testified that the car broke down at about 9 p.m.