Lawyers To See Laci's Remains

A California judge has signed an order allowing defense lawyers to examine the remains of Laci Peterson and her unborn son. Prosecutors say the move is not unusual in a murder case.

An autopsy report in May indicated a significant cut on the baby's body and plastic tape wrapped around the neck. The defense has suggested a satanic cult committed the murders.

Scott Peterson is accused of murdering his wife and unborn son. The case has generated national attention since the pregnant, 27-year-old Peterson disappeared Christmas Eve.

Scott Peterson said he last saw his wife when he went fishing at Berkeley Marina. But Modesto police arrested him on two murder counts in April after the bodies of Laci Peterson and the baby washed up separately in San Francisco Bay.

The satanic cult theory is the second attempt by defense lawyers to introduce an alternative theory of the crime.

They earlier tried to link Laci Peterson's death to another pregnant California woman who was murdered, but a judge ruled earlier this month that Scott Peterson's lawyer will not be able to view investigation files from that unsolved murder.

Peterson's lawyers wanted to know more about the killing of Evelyn Hernandez, a pregnant woman whose body was found in the San Francisco Bay, in their attempt to find what they call the "real killers" of Laci Peterson.

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami ordered authorities to give the autopsy report and photos to Peterson lawyer Mark Geragos, but nothing else. The judge called the contents of the investigation files "highly speculative."

Hernandez, a 24-year-old single mother, disappeared in May 2002 with her unborn son, Alex. Her torso was found on the San Francisco side of the bay on July 24, 2002.

San Francisco police said the two cases had no connection and that turning over their files to Peterson's lawyer could jeopardize the investigation by revealing witnesses and tipping off the suspect.

In what could be another theory, the Modesto Bee reports Geragos in court filings Tuesday claimed to have uncovered "exonerating evidence" pointing to the "true killers."

Peterson, 30, a fertilizer salesman, has been charged with two counts of murder and could receive the death penalty if convicted. He has pleaded innocent.