Kobe Bryant and Scott Peterson

Was there a rape? Was there a murder?

We might be sick of the Bryant and Peterson trials and hoopla. A future Kaitlyn Mae will enjoy Grandmother's insight to it all as it currently occurs.

09/26/2004

Celebrities in Crime: Kobe Bryant and Scott Peterson
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Grandmother has decided to take a moment and document the currently ongoing sagas of the trials of Kobe Bryant, rapist and basketball star of the L.A. Lakers, and Scott Peterson, fertilizer salesman and wife murderer.

Not that Grandmother has any preconceived notions or anything, sweet Granddaughter.

Here’s what Grandmother knows thus far on this day of our Lord.

Kobe Bryant invited some sweet young chickadee up to his room then proceeded to have sex with her against her will. Some call this rape.

Only this case is the weirdest of the weird, from prosecutor to victim.

Colorado, where the rape occurred, has a “rape shield” law which prohibits identification of rape victims by name. But darn doesn't Bryant’s defense attorney say her name right out loud in the court room and even more unbelievable, the court system posts some documents on their web site, also with the victim’s name exposed. Although Grandmother is told that everyone except Grandmother, all the way over here in Delaware, knows the victim’s name.

The victim, as it turns out, had consensual sex with other partners the day after the rape by Bryant. At least that is how the facts are being transmitted, who knows with CBS and everything.

Finally, the victim declined to prosecute and I can’t blame her. The dragons representing Bryant showed their teeth when they released her name. This girl was going to be dragged through a mud hell she could never imagine.

And perhaps rightfully so, says Grandmother. Just perhaps, as I don’t mean it. But it certainly is suspect a rape victim engaging in sex so soon after a rape. I know it shouldn’t have nothing to do with anything and yet, if I were sitting on the jury and this little factoid came out, well I might believe the victim was raped but I wouldn’t believe it beyond a reasonable doubt.

So Kobe Bryant is probably going to give the victim some sort of financial settlement but I’ll always believe him guilty. Though Grandmother has had to dig to get all the facts, I think the fact that Bryant at first lied about having sex, then said it was mutual, then described the type of sex he liked to the police as justification for his act. Oh yeah, this fact was rumored all about but was never verified due to lack of a trial. There’s a whole lot more to Bryant’s story than is widely known to the public.

Which is probably how it should be and frankly, a monetary settlement to the victim is the fairest outcome without taking away a man’s freedom with so much reasonable doubt.

Now the Scott Peterson trial has been shoved in front of our national face for so long that the entire country is about sick of it. Even a true crime buff such as Grandmother, Kaitlyn.

But it’s one of the more interesting true crimes of the past 20 years I assert. Laci Peterson was 8 months pregnant when she suddenly turned up “missing”. Her husband sounded the alarm and good people volunteered to search.

Then begins a long odyssey of boat anchors, fishing trips on Christmas Eve, phone calls to mistresses, and smiling lies to the American public.

One of the interesting things about this trial is that joke of a camera hog, Mark Geragos. Geragos was the attorney for Susan Hubbel, Clinton’s buddy in crime in White Water.

Grandmother bets Geragos took the Peterson case for no cost. Because Mark Geragos can sniff out a good case with lots of TV face time as well as anyone on the planet.

Turns out ole Scott had a love interest outside of his marriage, one Amber Frey, a sweet thing but as stupid as a rock in my shoe. She believed Scott loved her after one date. And maybe Scott did love Amber, so much in fact that he had to kill his unborn child and albatross wife to be with Miss Frey.

Grandmother supposes that Kaitlyn Mae might one day read one of the many true crime accounts of this case bound to be written. Granddaughter might well have some of her mother once removed’s curious passion about normal people that commit murder out of the blue.

For now, Grandmother has documented the current thought and climate in which these trials are taking place.

Maybe someday…NAH. Maybe someday, Kaitlyn, Grandmother will tell you all about the OJ trial.