PETERSON TRIAL Focus put on body disposal

CITY, Calif. (AP) -- Prosecutors in Scott Peterson's murder trial are focusing on how they allege he disposed of his pregnant wife's body.
In rambling testimony ranging from evidence to the search for remains in San Francisco Bay, Modesto police Detective Henry "Dodge" Hendee told jurors Tuesday he collected suspected samples of blood from Peterson's pickup truck.
However, it has not been said in court whether the samples actually were blood. In previous testimony, relatives said Peterson told them he had cut his hand and that police would likely find blood in the truck.
Hendee said he also collected as evidence a "claw hammer" and cement chunks from the back of Peterson's truck. Prosecutors alleged seven weeks ago during opening statements that Peterson used homemade cement anchors to weight his wife's body down.
Prosecutors then turned to their only piece of physical evidence presented so far -- a single strand of dark hair found on a pair of pliers in Peterson's boat.
Hendee said he noticed the hair while examining and collecting items from the warehouse where Peterson stored the boat prosecutors allege he used to dispose of his wife's body. During Peterson's preliminary hearing, experts testified that DNA testing indicated the hair likely came from Laci Peterson.
Prosecutors claim Laci never knew about the boat and that her husband purchased it weeks earlier for the sole purpose of disposing of her body.
Peterson insisted he told his wife about it and a witness told police Laci Peterson visited the warehouse after the boat had been purchased. That, the defense contends, could explain how the hair got on the boat -- if it indeed belonged to Laci, a point the defense has not conceded.
Earlier in the day, an evidence technician who examined Scott Peterson's body for scratches or bruises after Laci vanished testified he found nothing unusual.
Doug Lovell of the Modesto Police Department said he wanted to see whether there was evidence Peterson had been involved in a struggle, as police became increasingly suspicious Peterson was responsible for his wife's disappearance.