An Offensive Look at a Fight for Life
I have previously written about Amber Frey's book Witness for the Prosecution of Scott Peterson. Well, the book's out, she IS on a press tour, and commentary and controversy have ensued:
The cover of Amber Frey's new book about her involvement in the Laci Peterson murder investigation is "extremely hurtful and offensive to Laci's mother and her family," an attorney for the slain Modesto woman's mother said Monday.
"Displaying a picture of Laci on the cover of Amber Frey's book portrays a lack of respect and insensitivity towards Laci and Laci's family and friends," Adam Stewart said.
"In addition to that," Stewart said, "having Amber's picture positioned between Laci and Scott is extremely hurtful and offensive to Laci's mother and her family."...
The cover of Frey's book, "Witness for the Prosecution of Scott Peterson," depicts a color photo of her, blonde hair flowing as she leaves the Redwood City courtroom after testifying in Peterson's double-murder trial.
A smaller, black-and-white photo of Laci Peterson appears over one shoulder, and Scott Peterson's photo is on the other side....
Frey's father, Ron Frey, dismissed the notion that his daughter was seeking to profit from her role in the case, but said he is sensitive to the concerns of Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha.
"It's always important to have it appropriate to Mrs. Rocha," Ron Frey said. "To offend them with a book, that's the last thing anybody should do. … If it was my book and it offended Mrs. Rocha, I'd change the cover. Keep in mind, I don't speak for Amber, Gloria or Regan Books."...
Ron Frey said he didn't think his daughter was involved in the cover design. Writing a book about her involvement in the case was cathartic for his daughter, he said, not a bid to cash in.
"This is a way of getting it out of her system," Frey said. "The more she talks, the better it is for her. This has been a nightmare."
Frey said he didn't know when his daughter started writing the book -- which is being released less than a month after jurors returned with a death recommendation -- and said he had no information about financial compensation.
"If she's going to live this luxurious lifestyle, that's not appropriate in the least," Frey said. "I don't think she's going to do that."
Frey said his daughter may donate book proceeds to charitable causes.
Despite early reports of slow sales, it now appears that the book is selling well.
The memoir of the star witness in the infamous Scott Peterson murder trial has been disappearing off the shelves at Bay Area bookstores, retailers report....
Bookstores in San Francisco reported selling out of the book, which appeared on shelves Tuesday amid a string of television interviews of Frey.
Some shops still had copies as of Wednesday, though they hoped Frey's interview Wednesday with Oprah Winfrey would spur more sales. At San Francisco's A Clean, Well-Lighted Place for Books, about 20 copies remained at noon.
Among the string of television interviews was one with Oprah:
Wednesday on "Oprah," Amber Frye shared her emotional story of how she was deceived....
[I]n an emotional sit-down with Oprah, Frey admitted it's still hard to look at Peterson.
"I become very emotional," she said.
In her book, Frey tells how she was introduced to Peterson by a girlfriend and how she quickly fell for him.
"I thought he was handsome. I was impressed. I'm thinking he's an ambitious young man with a lot of potential," Frey said.
She also said how she quickly came to trust Peterson -- to the point of allowing him to pick up her daughter at school after the third date.
Once Frey's best friend found out that Peterson was married, she confronted him. But he told Frey that he had been married, but his wife passed away. She believed him.
Frey went to explain how she eventually learned about Lacy (sic) Peterson and that she was missing, and how Frey agreed to turn state's witness against Peterson.
Frey said that on the day Peterson was arrested, he was carrying a cache of weapons, $15,000 and a map to Frey's office.
More on that last statement:
Oprah revealed that Peterson had a filet knife, a double-edged dagger, a folding saw, duct tape and a map to Frey's house in his car when police arrested him.
ABC7 legal analyst Dean Johnson says the discovery proves how much danger Frey was in.
Dean Johnson: "I think that's very frightening. I think that tells me what we've suspected all along, which is that when Amber Frey was working with police, she was risking her life."
However, this story differs from earlier speculation about Scott Peterson's plans when he was arrested:
Authorities feared Scott might flee if they waited to arrest him until after identification of the corpse. When he was apprehended close to the Mexican border, Scott was carrying a large sum of cash and his brother’s passport. He had dyed his hair blond and grown a beard.
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