Woman Resembled Knott, She Says : Peyer Witness Recounts Struggle in White VW

A defense witness testified Tuesday that she saw a car matching Cara Knott’s Volkswagen and a woman resembling Knott struggling in the back seat with a man while the vehicle was driven toward the Mercy Road off-ramp of Interstate 15 on the night Knott was killed.

Susan Lambert, a Municipal Court clerk, appeared as a witness in the murder trial of former California Highway Patrol Officer Craig Peyer, who is charged with the murder in the strangulation of Knott, 20. The young woman testified briefly for the defense and was subjected to a lengthy and vigorous cross-examination by prosecutor Paul Pfingst, who suggested that the woman dreamed up the incident or may have mixed up dates.

According to Lambert, she left a friend’s house in Poway on Dec. 27, 1986, at 9:20 p.m. and was southbound on I-15 when she spotted a white Volkswagen. She said the car contained a man and woman in the front seats and a “sandy blond” woman in the back seat who was “wrestling around” with another man. The car exited at Mercy Road, she said.

Time of Incident

Lambert said that she witnessed the incident at about 9:30 p.m., about the same time that police said Peyer killed Knott and threw her body off the Old U.S. 395 bridge near the same off-ramp. Although Lambert said she witnessed the incident for “about 10 seconds” and at night, she offered detailed, but often contradictory, testimony.

Lambert, who said she has degrees in criminal justice and psychology, said at first that the blonde appeared to be jousting and having fun in the back seat, while the driver and his woman companion were laughing. Later, she said that the blonde’s companion “was kind of teasing her” and “she looked upset.”

At one point, Lambert seemed to be identifying the blonde as Knott. Lambert said there was enough illumination from freeway light posts for her to look inside the Volkswagen that was driving alongside. She described the blonde as “real pretty” and added that “they showed a picture of her on television.”

Lambert said she saw a picture of Knott after her body was recovered Dec. 28, 1986.

Pfingst pressed Lambert about when she arrived at her friend’s home and how long she was there, but the woman’s recollection was hazy. “I think we were watching television, but mostly talking and not paying attention,” said Lambert.

She also was unsure about what she did before going to her friend’s house. At first Lambert said that she is a Buddhist and had spent part of the afternoon “chanting” with other Buddhists on Point Loma. She said she chants twice a day--in the morning and in the afternoon or evening.

But, under continued questioning by Pfingst, Lambert later said that she could not remember if she chanted before or after visiting her friend. However, she insisted that she remembered leaving the friend’s house at 9:20 p.m.

Later, Pfingst asked Lambert whether she remembered telling her mother that she had seen Latinos riding in the Volkswagen or that she had seen the vision in a dream.

‘Seemed So Real’

“The events seemed so real in your mind they didn’t go away,” Pfingst said. “. . . Do you remember having a conversation like that with your mother?”

“I don’t remember details (about conversations with my mother),” Lambert said.

Pfingst continued the questioning and asked what television program was on when Lambert arrived home that Saturday night. She said that “L.A. Law” began moments after she arrived. However, Pfingst pointed out that “L.A. Law” is broadcast on Thursday night and wondered if Lambert saw the white Volkswagen on Thursday night, Dec. 25.

“If ‘L.A. Law’ was not playing that Saturday night (when Knott died) that means you would have seen it on Thursday night. Is that correct?” Pfingst asked.

“Yes,” Lambert replied.

The woman said that she waited “a few days” before calling police about the incident. A police investigator talked to her on one occasion but never contacted her again, Lambert said. Defense attorney Robert Grimes asked her why she decided to call police.

“Because I wanted to help the Knott family,” she said.