Emotions Swell At Peterson Trial

On May 11, 2003, Sharon Rocha had no reason to celebrate.

The daughter with whom she once traded hugs and cards was gone on that Mother's Day. Laci Peterson was dead and the man who once professed his love for the Modesto woman stood accused of her murder.

"The first Mother's Day I laid on the floor and cried most of the day," Rocha said this afternoon, sobbing uncontrollably. "She wanted to be a mother."

Speaking publicly for the first time in many months, Rocha and other relatives recalled during today's start of the penalty phase in Scott Peterson's trial the torment and devastation left after losing a loving daughter and smiling sister.

While millions worldwide have mourned the loss of Laci, prosecutors called only four people in their effort to send Peterson to death row. It was quick, emotional and last only a half day. There were nervous chuckles and a few smiles, but mostly tears.

But for Sharon Rocha, there was rage, too for the man convicted on Nov. 12 of killing Laci, 27, and her unborn son. And after too many days of silence, the anger proved too huge to stifle.

"Divorce is always an option — not murder," she shouted at Peterson from the witness stand.

Gasps rose up from the gallery as jurors wiped away tears. Prosecutor David Harris worked to steer Rocha back to her mission -- remembering what Laci brought to so many lives.

Rocha recalled the happier days of her daughter's cheerleading and junior high graduation. She explained such life events as photos of those moments were displayed on a screen.

Still, the trauma of Laci's Dec. 24, 2002 disappearance was too much to bear. She could not sleep, she said, for fear that her daughter would call.

"I didn't go to bed for weeks," Rocha said. "I couldn't get comfortable and warm [while] not knowing where she was.

"I was afraid I'd have nightmares about what happened to her. Was she scared? Did she know what was happening to her?"

The answers eventually came.

Scott Peterson, who sat without expression at the defense table a few feet away, was responsible for her pain, she said. Peterson was the man who hid the answers while she and countless others suffered, Rocha said. And it was the 32-year-old Peterson, she said, that left his loving wife in hellish condition.

"I couldn't believe it," Rocha said, recalling the day in April 2003 when dog walkers found Laci's remains and those of her baby along the Richmond shoreline. "It never occurred to me what condition she might be in."

There was no head or forearms. One leg was mostly gone.

Later, at the funeral, it all hit home, she said.

"I knew she was in the casket," Rocha said. "I knew her baby was in there. I knew she didn't have arms to hold him."

Onlookers in the courtroom sobbed. Jurors wiped away tears. Even reporters and sheriff's deputies accustomed to the cruelties of life grew glassy eyed.

"I think those jurors and everybody in that courtroom understands (Laci) was the lady with the bright smile," said San Mateo lawyer Dean Johnson, who is analyzing the case for reporters. "It was the most heart-wrenching thing you could imagine."

As CBS's Manuel Gallegus reports, Laci Peterson's brother, sister and stepfather each preceded her mother at the stand. Her brother Brent Rocha talked about how Laci always had a smile. Her sister Amy cried as she said she wanted to grow up to be just like Laci.

Her stepfather Ron told the jury how he looked forward to teaching Connor, Laci's unborn son, how to fish, Gallegus reports.

"I miss her very much. I try to remember the good memories we have of each other, but they're overshadowed all the time by how she died ... and maybe her knowing who did it," said Laci Peterson's older brother, Brent Rocha.

"I don't think I've ever heard her be more excited than the day she called me up to tell me she was pregnant," he said. "She was going to be a great mother."

It is especially hard during the holidays, most said. They last saw Laci alive during in the weeks leading up to Christmas. She was the family event organizer, bringing the family together during those important times, they said.

"A lot of it's been ripped away," Grantski said, choking up. "I don't know if it will ever be the same again. Part of our hearts are gone. Definitely my heart's gone."

Tuesday, the defense will begin working to undo the damage done today. They likely will try to show Peterson has never been in trouble before and deserves to be spared. They will seek a life prison term with no possibility of parole, calling Peterson's parents and others to help them do just that.

Los Angeles lawyer Mark Geragos, who told jurors in June that Peterson was "stone-cold innocent," literally will now be fighting for the man's life.

"I think, in a real way, this jury is going to try to make this family whole again," said James Hammer, a former prosecutor following the case. "I think that's the biggest hurdle Mark Geragos has to face."

Earlier Tuesday, the proceedings were delayed briefly as attorneys for both sides met with the judge behind closed doors to talk about a bartender's claim that he overheard a juror discussing the case in his bar, a defense source told The Associated Press.

Judge Alfred A. Delucchi did not excuse any jurors before the panel was called into court for the start of the penalty phase.

Courthouse administrator Peggy Thompson said the matter had been resolved. She declined to discuss the details, citing the judge's gag order.