Frey Called Peterson a Liar, Tapes Show

Massage therapist Amber Frey accused Scott Peterson of deceiving the nation, calling him a pathological liar, in recorded conversations played during his murder trial Monday.

Peterson admitted lying about being married but continued to deny any involvement in his pregnant wife’s disappearance on Christmas Eve 2002.

“I loved Laci, no question,” he told Frey. “She doesn’t deserve to be missing.”

Intimate conversations between Peterson and Frey turned hostile as she pressed him for details about his marriage, his lies and where he was before his wife vanished. At times, Frey broke down in tears while she talked on the phone to the man who seduced her in late November 2002 with champagne and roses.

Frey, a key prosecution witness, began testifying last week, drawing large crowds to the Redwood City courthouse.

Defense attorney Mark Geragos is expected to cross-examine her later this week.

Laci Peterson’s body washed up on the shore of San Francisco Bay in April 2003. Authorities arrested her husband, a fertilizer salesman from Modesto, and charged him with murder. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors allege that he murdered his wife and unborn baby, and imply that, at least in part, he did so to be with his new love interest.

Geragos, however, maintains that his client is innocent and that there is no physical evidence linking him to the killing.

On Monday, jurors followed transcripts of the occasionally garbled conversations, recorded after Frey went to police as volunteers were searching for Laci Peterson. The lengthy conversations reveal details about Peterson’s dishonesty and infidelity but do not include a confession. Frey, who was seated in the second row of the courtroom, cried during part of Monday’s court session.

“Unlike Scott Peterson, Amber Frey does have emotions,” her attorney, Gloria Allred, said outside court. “She does have feelings.”

Legal observers said Frey came across as credible and vulnerable in the conversations from January 2003.

Former San Mateo County prosecutor Dean Johnson, who has been closely following the case, said it’s unclear whether Peterson realized that he was being recorded.

But he probably knew that Frey was a potential witness, Johnson said, so he was cautious not to say anything to incriminate himself.

Michael Cardoza, a defense attorney who is also following the case closely, said jurors appeared to be getting bored by the recordings, which were somewhat repetitive of others played last week.

During the conversations, Frey explained her confusion and frustration, while Peterson called her an “amazing, kind, loving person” and apologized for mistreating her.

He told her he wanted to continue a relationship with her and that he would treat her young daughter as his own.

“I’d have to be out of my mind,” she told him.

Frey also confronted Peterson about being the last one to see his wife alive and pointedly asked if he knew where she was. He said he did not.

At one point, Frey asks: “Should I be in fear of my own life?”

Peterson answers, “Not from me, Amber.”

Peterson also said he told his wife about Frey after their first date and that she was not distraught over his affair.

“I’m still again having a very hard time thinking in Laci’s shoes,” Frey responded. “My husband has a girlfriend and I’m pregnant with his child.”

Outside court, Allred expressed disbelief about Peterson’s comments.

“What pregnant woman do you know who would be fine with her husband having a girlfriend?” Allred asked. “Who is he kidding?”