Opened Transcripts Shed New Light on Peyer Murder Trial

A forensic dentist barred from testifying in former California Highway Patrolman Craig Peyer’s two murder trials would have told jurors that a rope found in the trunk of Peyer’s CHP cruiser matched strangulation marks found on Cara Knott’s neck, court transcripts unsealed Tuesday showed.

The dentist, Norman D. Sperber, also was prepared to testify that a bruise on Knott’s forehead could have been caused by a blow from a flashlight similar to one used by Peyer, according to the documents.

In addition, the transcripts reveal details surrounding the mysterious dismissal of juror Mark Kirkendall midway through Peyer’s second trial. After jurors deadlocked in Peyer’s first trial, the documents show, Kirkendall told a co-worker he was glad Peyer “got off” because he believed he was innocent.

Change of Venue Dropped

The unsealed material also shows that Peyer’s defense attorneys--who asked that both of their client’s trials be moved out of San Diego County because of extensive publicity--abruptly withdrew the request after the district attorney’s office agreed to relocate the second proceeding.

Peyer, 38, was convicted June 22 of first-degree murder in the death of Knott, a San Diego State University student. The 20-year-old Knott disappeared the night of Dec. 27, 1986, while driving home from her boyfriend’s house along a section of Interstate 15 patrolled by Peyer. Her strangled body was found the next morning in a ravine near an off-ramp where the patrolman often ticketed women motorists, many of whom testified that Peyer engaged them in lengthy personal conversations during traffic stops.

A 13-year CHP veteran at the time of his arrest in January, 1987, Peyer is being held at the downtown County Jail pending his sentencing July 20. He faces a term of 25 years to life in state prison.

Numerous Hearings

Both of Peyer’s trials featured numerous hearings on witnesses, jurors and evidentiary matters that were closed to the press and public by Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman. On Tuesday, Huffman made available more than 450 pages of transcripts from those sessions. It was unclear how much of what transpired behind closed doors remains sealed.

The debate over Sperber began on Feb. 3, during Peyer’s first trial, when the prosecution announced plans to introduce the dentist’s testimony.

During closed hearings, Sperber said his analysis of photographs of Knott’s neck and of the yellow rope found in Peyer’s patrol car led him to believe the rope could have been the murder weapon. Sperber, whose specializes in the analysis of bite marks, said the bruising on Knott’s neck had a “spiraling pattern” consistent with the twisted coils of the rope.

Marks Matched

Sperber, a San Diego dentist and consultant for the county coroner’s office, also said he measured the distance between the marks on Knott’s neck and compared it with the spacing between the twisted strands of the rope. The distances were identical.

Huffman, however, barred the testimony. During the first trial, the transcripts indicate, he cited concerns that the prosecution had unveiled the evidence more than a year after first discovering Sperber’s possible contribution to the case. The judge suggested that the delay violated court orders requiring prosecutors to alert the defense to witnesses they plan to subpoena.

In the second trial, Huffman also prevented Sperber from taking the stand, based in part on questions he had about the accuracy of the dentist’s measurements.

Focus on Dismissed Juror

The bulk of the unsealed transcript material focuses on the dismissal of juror Kirkendall, an account clerk at the county’s Department of Revenue and Recovery. Kirkendall was excused and replaced with an alternate juror on June 6 after a series of closed hearings that spanned two weeks and sparked a flurry of speculation among those monitoring the trial.

The transcripts show that, on May 16, prosecutors received a call from a colleague of Kirkendall’s who said the juror had expressed “very, very firm views” on the case following the mistrial in February.

Stella Krautheim testified in closed session that Kirkendall had expressed a “sure attitude” that Peyer was innocent and had made it clear to her that he had “made up his mind about the case.”

Krautheim, who was among five of Kirkendall’s colleagues secretly called into court on the matter, also said her co-worker had expressed doubts about some of the prosecution’s evidence and had argued that two dozen women who testified that they were stopped by Peyer embellished their stories because they “wanted to get on TV.”

Denied Request

Initially, Huffman denied a request by prosecutors that Kirkendall be removed from the jury. After hearing additional testimony, however, he sided with Deputy Dist. Atty. Paul Pfingst, finding that Kirkendall “willfully failed to reveal a bias toward this case, which will affect his ability to fairly and impartially examine the evidence and the credibility of witnesses.”

Defense attorneys appealed the ruling to the 4th District Court of Appeal, but the justices found Huffman had discretion to take the action, and Kirkendall was replaced by alternate juror Raymond Thomas.

Other previously secret information made public Tuesday concerned efforts by the defense to discredit a key prosecution witness, Traci Koenig. Koenig and her husband, Scott, testified that they saw a CHP car stopping a car like Knott’s on Interstate 15 the night Knott disappeared. They said the traffic stop occurred at about the same time Knott would have been traveling in the area.

Fabrication Suggested

Robert Grimes, one of Peyer’s attorneys, suggested that the Koenigs had fabricated their story and sought to raise doubts about the veracity of Traci Koenig’s testimony by revealing that she has a misdemeanor criminal record. Koenig pleaded no contest last year to charges of petty theft for under-ringing merchandise for friends while employed at Mervyn’s department store.

Grimes argued that such a “pattern of dishonest behavior” and the fact that she was serving probation for the offense were relevant to jurors assessing her credibility as a witness.

Huffman, however, ruled the introduction of her criminal record would be misleading and confusing for jurors and would require a lengthy discussion of the case against Koenig. Grimes also challenged that ruling at the court of appeal and lost.

Changed His Mind

Tucked away elsewhere in the volumes of transcripts is the revelation that Grimes changed his mind about moving Peyer’s trial out of the county after prosecutors agreed to the idea.

Grimes said Tuesday that he renewed the change of venue motion prior to the second trial with the expectation that Huffman would deny the request as he did before the first trial. When Pfingst said the district attorney had no objection, the defense rethought the strategy.

“The (district attorney) had always been publicly opposed to the move, so we were a little upset with them for not being more open and honest,” Grimes said. “Also, by that point we were just a few days away from trial and we had our witnesses all lined up. I’m not sure what our position would have been had it occurred earlier in the game.”

Grimes added that the fact that his client’s first trial ended in a hung jury played a role in the decision.