Testimony Set to Resume in Scott Peterson's Murder Trial
NGUYEN: Nearly a week after the sexual assault case against Kobe Bryant was dropped, the accuser's lawyers are speaking out. Today on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING, the attorneys talked about how important Bryant's statement was in this case.</s>L. LIN WOOD, ATTY. FOR BRYANT'S ACCUSER: Bryant admits that looking at the evidence, hearing her attorneys, and hearing her testify that he recognizes that she sincerely believes that this was a non-consensual encounter. That's a remarkable admission. Remember, this started off, Bill, with Kobe Bryant having to publicly admit that he committed adultery. He initially told the police that he had no sexual encounter with our client. And now it ends, in effect, the criminal case with Kobe Bryant having to issue a public apology directed directly to this young girl and to her family.</s>NGUYEN: The accuser is planning to sue Bryant for unspecified damages. Now to another case. Testimony is set to resume this morning in Scott Peterson's murder trial. The focus this week will be on DNA evidence and the prosecution's effort to prove Peterson used his boat to dump his wife, Laci's body. CNN's Rusty Dornin is in Redwood City, covering the trial, and joins us now with the latest. Hi there, Rusty.</s>RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, it's mitochondrial DNA, found on a hair in Scott Peterson's boat. Prosecutors are claiming it's Laci Peterson's. It's one the most controversial pieces of evidence, and of the new physical piece of evidence that prosecutors have. But before we get into that, let's bring you up to date on what's been going on in the case. As prosecutors try to build their circumstantial case, try to use the lies Scott Peterson was telling family and friends, and the many trips he made to the Berkeley Marina to point to his guilt. The defense, on the other hand, says Peterson's odd behavior was due to the worry about his wife had disappeared, and also to the relentless pursuit by the police and the media.</s>DORNIN (voice-over): It was a game of cat and mouse. That's how one undercover Modesto police officer described the surveillance of Scott Peterson in the weeks following his wife Laci's disappearance. Peterson made three trips to the Berkeley Marina, where he told police he went fishing the day his wife disappeared. Prosecutors say it was to visit the scene of the crime, perhaps out of fear his wife's body would surface. But the defense says the trips to the Bay were prompted by the news media.</s>CHUCK SMITH, LEGAL ANALYST: Brought out the fact that there were news reports that were broadcast. The police department was letting the word out that there were searches going on, and that it was appropriate, or OK for Scott Peterson to be going to these locations, to see if something might be found to discover where his wife might be.</s>DORNIN: Officers testified Peterson rented different cars and often drove erratically. Defense attorney Mark Geragos maintains Peterson was trying to escape the prying press. The officers testified Peterson did spend a lot of time putting up "missing" posters for his wife. Earlier last week, a dog handler testified the tracking dog shown here picked up Laci Peterson's scent at the end of a pier in the Berkeley Marina. The defense then confronted the handler with this tape, showing the dog failed to track a subject in a situation similar to the technique used for Laci Peterson, and targeted the photographer as the subject. The dog later picked up the search subject's scent. Up this week, DNA testimony, the controversial hair found on pliers that prosecutors say places Laci Peterson in her husband's boat, when they claim she didn't know he had one.</s>DORNIN: Mitochondrial DNA testimony, frankly, was rather mind numbing, during the preliminary hearing. We had five days of it. There's only expected to be two days of that this week, and it will be later in the week. Today, first up should be some so-called filler witnesses. One of those is expected to be Scott Peterson's father, Lee. Back to you.</s>NGUYEN: All right, thank you, Rusty Dornin, in Redwood City, California today. So you say you've got one of Elvis' nose hairs or maybe a first edition "Spider-man" comic book? Well, you know where you can go to unload it these days, eBay of course. Up next, meet a man who says you can practically make a living dealing on the web giant if you know how. Stay tuned.