The coronor’s office announced it will be several days – or even weeks – before the dismembered body of a woman discovered on a muddy eastern shore of San Francisco Bay can be identified.
Police believe the body could be that of Laci Peterson, the pregnant woman who vanished from her Modesto, Calif., home on Christmas Eve, although officials say it will be at least several days before they can confirm the identity.
 Laci Peterson in July 2002 |
The petite female body, discovered about 11:45 a.m. yesterday morning, was said to be missing the head and legs. The torso was clothed in maternity wear, and it was apparent she had been pregnant, an anonymous official told the local Contra Costa Times.
A tip from a citizen Sunday led Richmond, Calif., police to the body of a baby that had washed ashore near the town’s marina. The woman’s body was found less than two miles away from the infant, a full-term baby boy with its umbilical cord still attached.
“There is no obvious cause of death. That will require us to take it to the next step, and what that means is we need to do more testing and analysis,” Contra Costa County Coroner spokesman Jimmy Lee told reporters at a press conference.
Lee said the coroner completed the autopsy on the woman’s body at 10 p.m. last night. Additional testing will be done, that includes the use of DNA, to determine the woman’s identity and whether the baby found is her’s.
In addition, an outside expert is being brought in to assess how long the body may have been in the water.
Lee said he was unaware of any other missing-person cases involving a pregnant woman.
Peterson, 26, was last seen alive on the morning of Dec. 24 when her husband Scott Peterson left to go fishing in the Bay Area.
He told police he fished at the Berkeley Marina and could not find his wife when he returned. Today’s discovery was just north of the Berkeley Marina.
Peterson said he had returned home Christmas Eve to find only the family dog with its leash still attached. He said his wife planned to take the dog for a walk in the park, but searches of the area turned up no clues.
 Police congregate near shoreline in Richmond, Calif., after bone discovered by dog walker (photo: Mark DuFrene/Contra Costa Times) |
At today’s press conference, Lee announced the additional discovery of a bone near the shore of the Berkeley Marina.
The coroner’s office got a call just after midnight from the Oakland, Calif., police department that a resident walking their dog yesterday afternoon came across the bone, took it home and notified them.
The coroner’s office is conducting tests to determine whether the bone is human, and if it is, whether it is related to the woman’s remains.
Initially treated as a missing persons case, detectives reclassified Laci Peterson’s disappearance as a homicide investigation in early March.
While investigators say they have no suspects, Modesto policy have searched Scott Peterson’s home and vehicles and seized two family computers.
“We of course feel bad for whoever it is,” Scott Peterson’s mother, Jackie, told the Modesto Bee. “We pray for Laci’s sake, because we still don’t want to give up.”
Laci Peterson’s family disavowed her husband after he admitted to an affair with a Fresno woman.
Ron Grantski, Laci’s stepfather, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the family is now going through a full range of emotions as they await word on identification.
“It’s hard to explain,” Grantski said. “You want it to be, you don’t want it to be. We gotta have closure, but this isn’t the closure we want.”
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WND Staff