Wanted ‘Inside Scoop’ : Officer Says Peyer Grilled Her on Knott Death Probe

Four days after Cara Knott was killed, Craig Peyer relentlessly grilled a San Diego police officer about the homicide investigation and opined that the young woman’s death could have been accidental, the officer testified Wednesday.

Officer Jill Ogilvie said that Peyer, a former California Highway patrolman, told her that Knott’s Dec. 27, 1986, strangulation near the Mercy Road exit off Interstate 15 could have resulted from “a situation that got out of control.”

In fast-paced testimony concluding the sixth day of Peyer’s retrial on charges that he murdered Knott, Ogilvie said her discussion with Peyer occurred after the state patrolman radioed San Diego police for backup assistance in questioning two suspects in the homicide.

Peyer ‘Very Nervous’

Ogilvie said she met the CHP officer near Mercy Road and that, while her partner interviewed the suspects, a “very nervous” Peyer peppered her with repeated queries about the murder investigation.

“He wanted to know what the inside scoop was,” Ogilvie said, noting that Peyer tugged at her sleeve impatiently when she did not respond quickly. “He wanted to know details. I told him I didn’t know . . . (but) he was very persistent.”

At one point, Ogilvie said Peyer asked her about a rumor, later proved false, that a piece of ear had been found in Knott’s mouth. Ogilvie responded that she had also heard the rumor.

Peyer then “took his hands and tugged his ear lobes and said, ‘Well, I’ve got both of mine,’ ” Ogilvie testified.

Interest in Evidence

Peyer showed a particular interest in physical evidence that had been recovered and in what detectives could prove with evidence such as hair, skin and tissue, Ogilvie said. When she explained what conclusions can be drawn from material found under a victim’s fingernails, Ogilvie said Peyer began cleaning his fingernails and said, “You can get all that much, huh?”

The conversation grew tense, Ogilvie testified, when she told Peyer that she figured Knott had been thrown off the west side of the old U.S. 395 bridge. According to Ogilvie, Peyer ridiculed her conclusion and said Knott had been thrown off the east side of the span.

The Dec. 31 discussion ended abruptly after Ogilvie said she hoped whoever killed Knott “would die a slow and painful death.” Ogilvie said Peyer “immediately got angry with me. He said, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know what happened down there. . . . It could have been a situation that got out of control.’ ”

Sped Off in Cruiser

The patrolman then sped off in his CHP cruiser and almost collided with oncoming traffic, she said.

Peyer, 38, is accused of pulling Knott’s Volkswagen over at the Mercy Road exit, strangling her, and throwing her body from the U.S. 395 bridge. Knott’s body was found in a ravine below the bridge, and her car was parked nearby, with the keys in the ignition and the window partly rolled down.

Jurors in Peyer’s first trial deadlocked after seven days of deliberations. The former patrolman, a 13-year veteran until he was fired after a CHP investigation of the case, has been free on bail for more than a year.

The retrial has featured several new witnesses, one of whom testified that she saw a CHP cruiser pull over a light-colored Volkswagen at Mercy Road the night Knott disappeared while driving home to El Cajon from her boyfriend’s house.

Described Stop

On Monday, Traci Koenig of Rancho Bernardo said she and her fiance witnessed the stop while driving south on I-15 between 8 and 9 p.m. Koenig, who said she decided to tell police her story when the first trial ended in a hung jury, could not provide any description of the CHP officer but said the Volkswagen had a lone female occupant.

Defense attorney Robert Grimes spent an hour Wednesday in a meticulous cross-examination of Koenig, who has said she can recall details of Dec. 27 because of entries she makes daily in a calendar.

In an effort to cast doubt on Koenig’s testimony, Grimes attempted to point out inaccuracies in the calendar. One discrepancy concerned the date Peyer was arrested. Koenig testified Monday that she was watching television with her parents when word of Peyer’s arrest was broadcast and that her family had a conversation that night about what she had seen. She said the date was Jan. 14.

Arrested Next Day

But Peyer was actually arrested the next evening. Later, under questioning by Deputy Dist. Atty. Paul Pfingst, Koenig said she had confused Jan. 14 with Jan. 16 because she worked the late shift both nights and the entries in her calendar were similar.

Grimes also raised questions about why Koenig waited so long to tell authorities about witnessing the stop. Koenig said she empathizes with the Knott family: “I put myself in (their) position, and, if that would have happened to me, I know my parents would want someone to come forward, even if it was late.”

Grimes then asked whether that thought had occurred to her in 1987. Koenig said: “Yes, it occurred to me.”

Koenig’s parents also testified Wednesday. Therese and Richard Reichner said Traci arrived home after her 10 p.m. curfew the night of Dec. 27 and told them about seeing the CHP stop in an effort to switch the focus off of her tardiness.

Worried About Trauma

The Reichners also testified that they discouraged their daughter from becoming involved in the case because they were worried about the trauma it might cause her and because they believed prosecutors already had sufficient witnesses.

Under cross-examination by Grimes, Richard Reichner recalled in detail his daughter’s account of the traffic stop but could not recall much else about the conversation they had the night of Dec. 27.

Grimes’ questioning also revealed that Reichner’s memory about the night the family learned Peyer had been arrested differed from his daughter’s. Koenig said she had gone to work after viewing part of the evening news, but Reichner recalled that his daughter had watched the entire program and stayed home the rest of the night.

Minor Differences

There were also minor differences between Therese Reichner’s recall and that of her daughter. According to Mrs. Reichner, Koenig told her she and her fiance had spent part of the Dec. 27 evening parked at a special spot in Mira Mesa where they frequently went for privacy.

But Monday, Koenig said she did not tell her mother about “our spot” until some time later.

Another witness, a co-worker of Koenig’s at the Bernardo Dental Center, testified that she encouraged Koenig to contact police in late February after jurors deadlocked in Peyer’s first trial. Cheryl Nicholas said that, when Koenig mentioned seeing a CHP car stop a Volkswagen Beetle at Mercy Road the night Knott vanished, she urged her colleague to step forward as a witness. Later that day, Koenig called police.

Also Wednesday, Curtis Boiles, who encountered Peyer the day Knott’s body was discovered, said the patrolman reacted with shock when he learned that Boiles knew the Knott family.

Boiles testified that he was working as an armored car guard at the time and that the vehicle broke down on northbound Interstate 15 Dec. 28. While discussing the case with Peyer and a San Diego police officer, Boiles said he mentioned that Knott was “like a cousin” to him.

“(Peyer) was startled,” Boiles said. “His speech pattern became quivering, stuttering at times. He became very excited about the investigation.”

Boiles said Peyer told him that he routinely patrolled the deserted Mercy Road off-ramp but that “for some reason” he had not visited the area the previous night. After a while, Boiles said, Peyer went to his patrol car and sat there “just staring at the steering wheel” and “looking disturbed” for 10 minutes.

Barry Drummond, Boiles’ partner in the armored car, provided a similar account of Peyer’s mood change. Drummond also testified that he saw vertical scratches on Peyer’s right cheekbone.