The State - News from April 19, 1988

Attorneys in the San Diego retrial of a California Highway Patrol officer accused of murdering a college student began the tedious process of selecting a jury. Craig Peyer, a 13-year CHP veteran, is charged in the December, 1986, strangulation death of Cara Knott, a 20-year-old San Diego State University student whose body was found below a highway bridge in northern San Diego. In February, a jury deadlocked 7-5 for conviction. Jurors said they were skeptical of two key prosecution witnesses and unable to see a motive for the killing. Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman predicted that it will take about one month to seat a jury for the second trial because of extensive publicity about the case.