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Missing Pregnant Woman's Family Speaks Out
Aired January 24, 2003 - 17:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right.
I want to go to the news conference now in Modesto, California. The family of Laci Peterson at the microphones. Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This past month has been the most painful time I have ever experienced.
BRENT ROCHA, BROTHER: I think we all prepared statements so we could try get our message across. Otherwise we could definitely say it from the heart but we want to make sure what we said actually gets said.
I would like to take the opportunity of all of you being here on the one month anniversary of my sister's disappearance. I have prepared a written statement and will not answer any questions after the statement.
Couple of things I would like to confirm.
First of all, I would like to confirm that on January 16, 2003, by phone, Scott Peterson did admit to me that he was having an affair with a Fresno woman. Confronted him with this allegation after viewing pictures of him with this woman.
I would like Scott to know they I trusted him and stood by him in the initial phases of my sister's disappearance. However, Scott has not been forthcoming with information regarding my sister's disappearance and I'm only left to question what else he may be hiding.
Since Scott is no longer communicating with anyone in Laci's family and because we have so many questions that he has not answered, I am not -- no longer supporting him.
I am pleading with the person that took Laci to please disclose her location so that my family can have Laci back. You know what -- you know that you have made a terrible choice, whoever this person is. However, as you contemplate the evil that you have chosen, please return Laci to her family that loves her so much.
Laci, the last month has been the most disturbing and emotional time of my life. Your disappearance has completely changed my life as I once knew it. I miss your beautiful smile and your fun-loving personality. Every time we were together, I could feel the unconditional love between the both of us.
As your older brother, I only wish that I had the opportunity to be there to defend you from the person that decided to take you away from me. We talked about our children growing up together and spending summers at each other's house. Now that you and Conner have been taken away from me, I realize that my children will not have cousins to grow up with and family events will feel very lonely without you and Conner.
Wherever you may be, I hope you know how much I love you and how important you are to me. My search for you will never end.
I have two requests.
I would like to ask for the public's continued support in finding my sister so that the person responsible for her disappearance will receive the ultimate punishment.
I would also like Scott to fully cooperate with the Modesto Police Department. Thank you.
SHARON ROCHA, MOTHER: I'd like to thank all of you being here today and for respecting our request last week for time to spend alone with our family. We appreciate your support of our family's search and desire to find Laci.
I want to thank Kim Petersen with the Carole Sund Carrington Foundation, who has been working with all of you and relaying with our wishes to not conduct interviews this last week. We've had a very difficult time last week.
I also want to thank all of the volunteers, the police department, fire department, Brad Salsman and everyone at the Red Lion Hotel, the chaplains at the police department, all of my friends and family, the hundreds and thousands of people who have visited Laci's Web site and sent their prayers and everyone who has been involved with the search for Laci. The support we've received from everyone has been our salvation.
Since Christmas Eve, our one and only focus is to find Laci and to bring her home to us. I love my daughter so much. I miss her every minute of every day. I miss seeing her. I miss our talks together. I miss listening to the excitement in her voice when she talks to me about her baby. I miss not being able to share with her the anticipation of her approaching delivery date.
I miss listening to her talk about her future with her husband and her baby. I miss sharing our thoughts and our lives together. I miss her smile and her laughter and her sense of humor and I miss everything about her.
Someone has taken all of this away from me and everyone else who loves her. There are no words that can possibly describe the ache in my heart or the emptiness in my life. I know that someone knows where Laci is and I am pleading with you, please, please, let her come home to us. You can send an anonymous letter to the police department, telling them where she is or make an anonymous phone call to the police department tip line at area code 209-342-6166.
If someone out there has observed or possibly discovered on their property anything unusual or suspicious, no matter how minute or insignificant it might seem to you, please call the police department. This may be the missing link to finding Laci.
Please keep looking for Laci and help us end this nightmare. Thank you.
BLITZER: Heart wrenching, heart wrenching, heart wrenching. Very sad comments from the mother and brother of Laci Peterson, missing since Christmas Eve, the pregnant woman disappearance, a huge mystery. We heard dramatic comments, emotional comments from the brother, Brent Rocha, saying very clearly he can no longer support his brother-in-law, Scott Peterson. , saying that Scott Peterson did confirm to him in a phone conversation earlier this month that Scott was having an affair with another woman.
The mother, Sharon Rocha, appealing to anyone for information, anyone for information on the whereabouts of Laci Peterson.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 24, 2003 - 17:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right.
I want to go to the news conference now in Modesto, California. The family of Laci Peterson at the microphones. Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This past month has been the most painful time I have ever experienced.
BRENT ROCHA, BROTHER: I think we all prepared statements so we could try get our message across. Otherwise we could definitely say it from the heart but we want to make sure what we said actually gets said.
I would like to take the opportunity of all of you being here on the one month anniversary of my sister's disappearance. I have prepared a written statement and will not answer any questions after the statement.
Couple of things I would like to confirm.
First of all, I would like to confirm that on January 16, 2003, by phone, Scott Peterson did admit to me that he was having an affair with a Fresno woman. Confronted him with this allegation after viewing pictures of him with this woman.
I would like Scott to know they I trusted him and stood by him in the initial phases of my sister's disappearance. However, Scott has not been forthcoming with information regarding my sister's disappearance and I'm only left to question what else he may be hiding.
Since Scott is no longer communicating with anyone in Laci's family and because we have so many questions that he has not answered, I am not -- no longer supporting him.
I am pleading with the person that took Laci to please disclose her location so that my family can have Laci back. You know what -- you know that you have made a terrible choice, whoever this person is. However, as you contemplate the evil that you have chosen, please return Laci to her family that loves her so much.
Laci, the last month has been the most disturbing and emotional time of my life. Your disappearance has completely changed my life as I once knew it. I miss your beautiful smile and your fun-loving personality. Every time we were together, I could feel the unconditional love between the both of us.
As your older brother, I only wish that I had the opportunity to be there to defend you from the person that decided to take you away from me. We talked about our children growing up together and spending summers at each other's house. Now that you and Conner have been taken away from me, I realize that my children will not have cousins to grow up with and family events will feel very lonely without you and Conner.
Wherever you may be, I hope you know how much I love you and how important you are to me. My search for you will never end.
I have two requests.
I would like to ask for the public's continued support in finding my sister so that the person responsible for her disappearance will receive the ultimate punishment.
I would also like Scott to fully cooperate with the Modesto Police Department. Thank you.
SHARON ROCHA, MOTHER: I'd like to thank all of you being here today and for respecting our request last week for time to spend alone with our family. We appreciate your support of our family's search and desire to find Laci.
I want to thank Kim Petersen with the Carole Sund Carrington Foundation, who has been working with all of you and relaying with our wishes to not conduct interviews this last week. We've had a very difficult time last week.
I also want to thank all of the volunteers, the police department, fire department, Brad Salsman and everyone at the Red Lion Hotel, the chaplains at the police department, all of my friends and family, the hundreds and thousands of people who have visited Laci's Web site and sent their prayers and everyone who has been involved with the search for Laci. The support we've received from everyone has been our salvation.
Since Christmas Eve, our one and only focus is to find Laci and to bring her home to us. I love my daughter so much. I miss her every minute of every day. I miss seeing her. I miss our talks together. I miss listening to the excitement in her voice when she talks to me about her baby. I miss not being able to share with her the anticipation of her approaching delivery date.
I miss listening to her talk about her future with her husband and her baby. I miss sharing our thoughts and our lives together. I miss her smile and her laughter and her sense of humor and I miss everything about her.
Someone has taken all of this away from me and everyone else who loves her. There are no words that can possibly describe the ache in my heart or the emptiness in my life. I know that someone knows where Laci is and I am pleading with you, please, please, let her come home to us. You can send an anonymous letter to the police department, telling them where she is or make an anonymous phone call to the police department tip line at area code 209-342-6166.
If someone out there has observed or possibly discovered on their property anything unusual or suspicious, no matter how minute or insignificant it might seem to you, please call the police department. This may be the missing link to finding Laci.
Please keep looking for Laci and help us end this nightmare. Thank you.
BLITZER: Heart wrenching, heart wrenching, heart wrenching. Very sad comments from the mother and brother of Laci Peterson, missing since Christmas Eve, the pregnant woman disappearance, a huge mystery. We heard dramatic comments, emotional comments from the brother, Brent Rocha, saying very clearly he can no longer support his brother-in-law, Scott Peterson. , saying that Scott Peterson did confirm to him in a phone conversation earlier this month that Scott was having an affair with another woman.
The mother, Sharon Rocha, appealing to anyone for information, anyone for information on the whereabouts of Laci Peterson.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
