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Hypnotized Peterson witness reportedly tells of van

By John Coté
The Modesto Bee
(Published Saturday, September 13, 2003, 4:33 AM)


MODESTO -- A woman who underwent hypnosis told police she saw a suspicious tan van parked across the street from Scott and Laci Peterson's home the day Laci Peterson was reported missing, according to a report of the witness's account obtained Thursday.

The witness is the second person to undergo hypnosis in the investigation.

A doctor hypnotized Diane Jackson at the Modesto Police Department in an attempt to draw out more details.

In a statement to police, Jackson also provided information that conflicts with authorities' version of a burglary that happened around the time Laci Peterson disappeared.

Jackson said Thursday she could not comment publicly about the sighting because members of Scott Peterson's defense team have informed her she will be subpoenaed as a witness, bringing her under a sweeping gag order imposed in the double-murder case.

But according to the report, Jackson told police she was driving to her home in Modesto's La Loma neighborhood at 11:40 a.m. on Dec. 24 when she saw three men standing near a tan van parked in front of 516 Covena Ave., directly across the street from the Peterson home. One rear van door was open, the other ajar.

That house was burglarized while residents Rudy and Susan Medina were out of town.

Authorities said the home was burglarized on Dec. 26 at 6:30 a.m., according to police reports. The thieves made off with two firearms, tools and a safe containing jewelry, according to the reports.

On Jan. 2, authorities arrested two men, Steven Wayne Todd, 36, and Donald Glenn Pearce, 44, in connection with the burglary and said neither was connected to Laci Peterson's disappearance.

Todd led police to some of the stolen property, including the safe, jewelry and a weed-eater, according to a police report.

"We're confident in our minds that we have resolved one crime," Modesto police detective Doug Ridenour said shortly after Todd and Pearce's arrest, "and now we can get back to focusing on Laci's disappearance." That search came to an end in April when Laci Peterson's body and that of her unborn son were found.

Scott Peterson told police he last saw his wife at about 9:30 a.m. that day as he left for the bay and she prepared to walk their couple's golden retriever.

Peterson, 30, was arrested charged with two counts of murder.

Police discounted reports of a suspicious van in the neighborhood, saying it belonged to landscapers.

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