Aaron Fritz

 

Witness for the Defendant:  Penalty Phase

December 2, 2004

 

Direct Examination by Pat Harris

HARRIS: Good morning.

FRITZ: Good morning.

HARRIS: Mr. Fritz, I want to just start first with a little background as to how you came to know Scott Peterson. You obviously testified here before, so the jury is aware that you do have a friendship with Scott Peterson. Tell me a little bit, first of all, where was your, you originally are from Indiana, is that right?

FRITZ: Yes, I am. I grew up in Indiana. I moved out to California right when I was starting high school in San Diego.

HARRIS: What grade were you in when you moved there?

FRITZ: I was just graduated 8th grade, so I was getting ready to go into my first year of high school.

HARRIS: So you would have been a Freshman, right?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: And what school was that?

FRITZ: University of San Diego High School.

HARRIS: Where is that located?

FRITZ: It's located in San Diego just across the street from the University of San Diego. It was oftentimes referred to as Uni High.

HARRIS: When you used the term Uni High, that's what you are referring to?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: This is a four year school, 9, 10, 11, 12?

FRITZ: Yes. The school was, like I said, it was associated with the University of San Diego, across the street. Both of which were run by the Diocese of San Diego Catholic School. And 10th through 12th grade.

HARRIS: Did you go all four years there?

FRITZ: I guess it's actually 9th through 12th grade. Yes, I did.

HARRIS: Were you a year behind Scott Peterson in school?

FRITZ: Yes. He was a Sophomore when I started. I was a Freshman.

HARRIS: Did you meet him when you were a Freshman?

FRITZ: Yes, I did.

HARRIS: How did you meet him?

FRITZ: We both played on the golf team. And I believe that's how I originally met him early in the year.

HARRIS: Okay. Were you the new kid in school at that point?

FRITZ: I was actually just moved from Indiana. I didn't know anybody in California. I didn't know anybody in the school. We literally just moved there couple of weeks before school started. So University of San Diego High School was north county in San Diego. Kind of attracts people from all over the county. It's not like the normal. Being a parochial school, people came from all over the county. So not only did I not know people in my neighborhood, I didn't know people in the school. And Scott was one of the first people that I got to know.

HARRIS: He befriended you early on?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: What initially were your initial impressions of Scott when you met him?

FRITZ: Well, first of all, I think he realized that I was new to the area, new to the school, and everybody was new to the school. Freshman pretty much came with cliques of friends already in place. I didn't have that being from Indiana. And he was very gracious, and very welcoming, and always invited me to have lunch with his friends, hung out together. Just kind of made me feel welcome.

HARRIS: Was that unusual since you were a Freshman and he was a year older?

FRITZ: Absolutely. As a Sophomore, with his own group of friends, and this new kid from out of town, it was really not a lot of people kind of stepping out and being that inviting and that welcoming, and that just encouraging to the hang out with their own group. So it was very warm welcome for me as a new person in the school.

HARRIS: I'm going to just briefly take you quickly through the entire length of your relationship, then we'll go back. You ended up knowing him all the throughout high school, is that right?

FRITZ: Yes, I did.

HARRIS: Then when he went off to college, did you go to the same college?

FRITZ: No. I came up to Northern California to go to school. And actually he had left high school the year before I did. Because we were an, I was a year behind, I believe, so we weren't as in touch on a daily basis would like be like we were during school.

HARRIS: Did you later resume your friendship?

FRITZ: Yes. Yes. He originally went to Arizona and then came back to California I believe following year and lived in San Luis Obispo area where he went to community college. There and then also the university. And when he moved back to California, I was oftentimes driving home from for holidays.

HARRIS: Where were you going to school?

FRITZ: I was going to school here in Northern California, Santa Clara University. So he was half way between where I lived, where my family lived, and my school. So I was oftentimes driving for holidays and things like that. So wherever we had a chance, we would coordinate and meet up for dinner. I would stay over on the way home or on the way back to school.

HARRIS: When he moved to Modesto, did your friendship continue at that point?

FRITZ: Actually strengthened. Being in Modesto is a lot closer to the Bay Area here where I live. And we were able to spend a lot more time together, because we had about an hour, hour and half drive, as opposed to three or four hours or more, as in the earlier period.

HARRIS: So, in all, you have known, your friendship has spanned about 17, 18 years, is that right?

FRITZ: About 17 years.

HARRIS: You stayed at least in contact throughout all that period?

FRITZ: Yes, we have. Even when he was living in Arizona and I was in Northern California, he came to visit me in college up at Santa Clara a couple of times. I went down to visit him a number of times in the San Luis Obispo area.

HARRIS: Let me go back now to high school. When you were in high school, you were on the golf team, right?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: Did you travel together on the golf team, go different places?

FRITZ: Within reason. The team, it sort of played within San Diego County. Was also just a probably no more than a 45 minute drive. But oftentimes the team traveled together, and we would go out to a tournament for the day.

HARRIS: Taking classes together?

FRITZ: Yeah. We took Advanced Placement Physics together. We had AP Chemistry together. We had a number of classes that we studied for together. And I can't remember what other ones, but several classes. And did a lot of things outside of school as well.

HARRIS: What things did you do outside of school?

FRITZ: Southern California has got a lot of great things for junior golfers. So we played in junior golf during the summer. The summer that I was, second summer I was in California, we began going out to the desert, Desert Junior Golf Association had great tournament. Usually be a two or three day tournament for all the kids. And we would, nobody else in their right mind wanted to play golf in Palm Springs during the summer because it was 115, 120 degrees. We would go out there for tournaments. And Scott and I often went together. And an lot of times actually he would drive. Because, like I say, I was younger, he had a car before I did. He had a license before I did.

HARRIS: Did you also have the opportunity to spend time at each other's homes?

FRITZ: Yes. I stayed over at his family's home many times. And oftentimes, like I said, he was the one with the car, and the one who was kind of helping me out and giving me a ride after practice, or whatever. So he would have dinner with my family. And I got to know Jackie and Lee Peterson during that time. And he also got to know my parents very well.

HARRIS: Let's talk about that for a second. Your parents, what are your parents' names?

FRITZ: Connie and Paul Fritz.

HARRIS: And when you say he got to know them, did he develop a relationship with your parents?

FRITZ: Instantly. Scott was one of the few people that my friends, or my parents, excuse me, my parents took to immediately. They have, they are amazing. And they have a lot of really interesting life experiences. And you can sit down and have dinner with them and kind of learn a lot over a five minute span. But over, I think there was a lot of respect for my parents that Scott had. And he recognized that their, the life experiences that, things, a lot of things that they did and talked about, and talked about regularly, even now, are the kind of things that he was interested in. I mean, for instance, both my parents have traveled quite a bit throughout their lives. And they are also both older than most of my peers' parents are. So they have had, they have owned companies, and they have owned their own businesses. They have traveled all over the world. And they have got a lot of interesting stories to tell. Kind of consider them to be some of the smartest people I know.

JUDGE: Can we do this by question and answer?

HARRIS: Did they, how do they feel about Scott?

FRITZ: They love Scott. They love Scott very much. Scott oftentimes would go out of his way to do things for them, check in on them. Like I said, he was in school in the middle of Northern California, and I was up away in school as well. He would oftentimes stop in and check on this them.

HARRIS: Would that be when you weren't there?

FRITZ: I didn't have to be there. I mean I kind of had an open invitation to his home, which was great. And he, obviously my parents made it known to him that he was welcome there any time, for whatever reason.

HARRIS: Did he develop a friendship with your parents?

FRITZ: Very much so.

HARRIS: Do you have an a little brother?

FRITZ: Yes, I do.

HARRIS: What's his name?

FRITZ: Nicholas.

HARRIS: How much younger is he?

FRITZ: He's six years, I believe six years my junior.

HARRIS: Did Scott also develop a friendship with Nicholas?

FRITZ: He did. Scott was in, he was like a brother to me. Nicholas also, being I think he was in third grade, was kind of the younger brat brother, I guess, of your friend that you don't want to do things with. That wasn't always the case. Scott was always encouraging him to do things with us, and to join us, whether it was just going out to do something fun, or whatever it was. He was always asking about Nick. Always curious about how Nick was doing. Always sincerely interested in how he was.

HARRIS: What would you say that you cherished about Scott as a friend, obviously a close friend. What did you cherish about him as a friend? What did you find to be his traits?

FRITZ: How many days do we have? I have got a lot of things to talk about that I cherish. Scott's the kind of friend that I would want, if I ever have a child, to have a friend like Scott. He's been the kind of person that's there no matter what. He's been there when you don't even think you need somebody else there. Just truly sincere. Truly very, very gracious and very, very thoughtful. There is a lot of people I think that are friends that you kind of know in little bits and pieces of your life. We have known each other than for 17 years, and few people have had the impact as a peer in my life, other than my parents, and a couple of choice very good friends that Scott has been for me.

HARRIS: When you were at school, I want to make sure I understand this. You can explain it. Uni school has a kind of a volunteer program. It's a class that you take, is that correct?

FRITZ: Uni is, like I said, it's a diocesean school. They have a lot of sisters and priests who are part of the faculty. And they encourage across the board for everybody to become involved in service work and community work. There was a couple of different groups, one of which I belong to, with the campus ministry. There were other groups: Students Against Drunk Driving, that was Mothers Against Drunk Driving. There was a service class that was, I think, sponsored by a sister, Sister Joan Kiley.

HARRIS: Were these things that you were required to be involved in?

FRITZ: There are a couple of things that if you signed up for them, they were treated like a class where you were expected to do certain things. I know Scott, for instance, was involved in the service class that Sister Kiley was heading up.

HARRIS: When you say Sister Kiley, who is that?

FRITZ: Sister Joan Kiley was a sister and a teacher at Uni High who, in addition to being a sister, taught various religious classes.

HARRIS: Okay. Did she have a relationship with Scott?

FRITZ: Very much so. I know that he enrolled in her service class, I believe it was his senior year, so that would have been my junior year. And I forget how long the actual class lasted, but it encouraged, and part of the program was to volunteer and work with people at some of the senior centers, the retirement homes in the area. Oftentimes went down to the orphanage, or probably more than one, but one orphanage I'm sure in Tijuana, Mexico. Being in San Diego, we did a number of volunteer projects in Mexico. And Scott was very involved in that.

HARRIS: When you say he was very involved, obviously you are saying he had a class?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: Did he go beyond that class?

FRITZ: Actually, like I said, he developed quite a relationship with Sister Kiley. And after his class was over, I know a number of times that I knew he didn't have the obligations to the class, but I would ask him to do something socially, or whatever, after school, that he had other plans. And it turned out that he was actually volunteering to drive other students in the next class that Sister Kiley had going down to Tijuana strictly on a volunteer basis. He got involved in the beginning and continued doing it throughout the rest of his time at the school.

HARRIS: Would you say he was doing more than the average student?

FRITZ: Absolutely.

HARRIS: Much more?

FRITZ: Much more. He was doing a lot of work. I mean I know that, again, I was doing different things than he was, so I was, and it wasn't something he told me about unless I kind of dragged it out of him. That's not something he was doing for any recognition or anything. But service class was one thing. Going to the senior homes and visiting with elderly folks was another thing that I know he did a number of times. They had another program where they would go and read and spend time with mentally handicapped children. And they, I don't know how often that was. I know it wasn't, I don't think it was often as going to Tijuana to the orphanage, but was it was something that he did that I'm aware of.

HARRIS: You are also aware he was involved in the SADD program?

FRITZ: Yes. As a volunteer for SADD. He was one of the designated drivers. And so if anybody in the school was partying and drinking, they would, they had a number that they should call if they needed a ride home. So he was a volunteer, and would take, and I have actually been with him on at least one occasion where he was volunteering and was kind of on call. So that evening took some people home from parties.

HARRIS: You said, a minute ago you said in many cases you would have to drag it out of him. Now we were talking last night, you said, told me specifically that it was not phony. In fact, I think you said, I want to make sure I have this accurately. If he were a phony he would do the minimum and brag about it a lot. That is not the way he did it, unless you heard about it from others and drag it out of him. If you want to hear about the good things he did, he would downplay the positive things he had done to help other people. Is that an accurate statement?

FRITZ: Very much so.

HARRIS: How would you find out about these things that he was doing?

FRITZ: Like I say, we were very close, and so we spent a lot of time together. And when they were conspicuous absences of him not being able to, whether it be practice golf, or do something fun, that I think was probably typical of high school students at the time, I would bug him and find out what he was doing. How come you couldn't make it? Where are you going? What's so important that you can't do this? Then I would find out that he went after school outside of the required requirements to join one of the volunteer programs, or to work with Sister Kiley, as an example.

JUDGE: These been marked.

HARRIS: Yes.

JUDGE: Defendant's 9H.

HARRIS: These are 9H-1 through 9H-7.

JUDGE: 1 through 7.

Photographs Marked as Exhibit D9H1-7 for identification.

HARRIS: Show you some photographs there and just take a look. You talked about the work you did at the orphanage in Tijuana. Did you also, at different times, go down there as well?

FRITZ: I did, as a volunteer. Not with Scott. But if we ever, we never crossed paths on the same day, for instance.

HARRIS: Is that the orphanage you are referring to?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: That's the one in Tijuana? Show you another picture. Now, is that the one that you and Scott were going to, one of the ones that you were visiting?

FRITZ: Yes, it was.

HARRIS: Show you a picture of, can't get a very good look at it there. But when you were looking at it, is that Scott Peterson there?

FRITZ: Yeah, that is. That's Scott.

JUDGE: What's the number of that?

HARRIS: D9H-4.

JUDGE: Okay.

HARRIS: Again those pictures are somewhat dark. Again in Tijuana?

FRITZ: Yes. That's Sister Kiley in the background.

HARRIS: Sister Kiley is the,

FRITZ: You can't really see it very well. Top left of the picture in the back.

HARRIS: Right here?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: Was he also encouraging other people to go down and do volunteer work, to get involved more than was required?

FRITZ: Yes, he was. Yes, he was. As an example, just being a fun person to hang out with, and a person who was, I think, a good role model, after the class was over to volunteer and take people down, I think he had a Jeep Wrangler at the time. And it was always kind of fun to go, you know, down there with him, because he would, it was always a fun experience. He made it not only the journey, but the reason for the trip was always made a little extra. And so people who wouldn't otherwise be encouraged to do something like that oftentimes would be encouraged by Scott.

HARRIS: Is that a kind of a common theme you see throughout Scott's life, that he always liked to do extra things?

FRITZ: Absolutely. Without question.

HARRIS: We'll get a little more to that later. But I just want to ask you one other question about the volunteer work. You were, obviously you were on the golf team. Scott was pretty good golfer, wasn't he?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: And at one point he was Captain of the golf team, right?

FRITZ: That's correct.

HARRIS: I think it's safe to say that he had at least enough talent to play golf in college, and possibly go on with a career, is that a fair statement?

FRITZ: Yeah. I think a lot of us wanted to at least think about being able to pursue golf as a career.

HARRIS: Did you see that, as he got more and more involved in the volunteer work, that it actually came at the expense of his golf game?

FRITZ: He was, like I say, he was very busy with the various activities. It was open times after school. And after school is the only time that you have to practice. So there was no doubt that the other fun activities he would be involved in after school, or practicing for your various teams, including golf, you couldn't do both. So it was clear to me that there was a lot of, there was certainly sacrifice. It was because he was doing something else that he loved doing. Probably good sacrifice.

HARRIS: If you would, I want to show you three more pictures. May not even remember these. Do you recognize those pictures?

FRITZ: Yes, I do.

HARRIS: What is that?

FRITZ: That's Scott and I, I'm wearing a red bow tie.

HARRIS: Do you remember where that was taken?

FRITZ: I don't recall.

JUDGE: What's the number of that?

HARRIS: His high school graduation? Were you an usher?

FRITZ: Oh, that's right. That's right. Explains the bow tie.

HARRIS: That also at the graduation?

FRITZ: Yes, it was.

HARRIS: And that as well?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: You talked about the fact that you had, Scott often visited your home, and you often visited his. So you had the opportunity to meet Jackie and Lee, is that correct?

FRITZ: Yes, I did.

HARRIS: And have you also continued a friendship with them?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: Over the years?

FRITZ: Yeah.

HARRIS: Continued to talk to them even through this trial?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: What was your impression of Scott's home life when you saw him interact with his parents?

FRITZ: He was certainly very mature and, I think, given more responsibility than most people our age. His parents, if they were away, they never saw any problem with him being home without them. They were always encouraging of having me certainly over to their home. And, like I said before, it was kind of an open invitation. So just kind of having an open door policy for me as a friend was certainly very comforting and nice to have.

HARRIS: Did you see him interact with his father?

FRITZ: Yes. I actually probably saw more interaction with Jackie just because, like I said, in high school we probably, Lee was probably more of the time at work during the day when I would be over at the house, or what have you. Yes, he always actually demonstrated a kind of a neat respect for his dad.

HARRIS: Neat,

FRITZ: He calls him "Chief", is one interesting note.

HARRIS: You say you saw him interact with Jackie there. What was their relationship like from what you observed?

FRITZ: I think, like a lot of high school kids, there was definitely the, you know, very interested, if I'm very interested in having my own independence as a student or as a teenager. So she was always there for him, but always allowing him to have his own independence as well. So it was kind of a nice combination. But, more importantly, was the fact that she completely trusted him and would not hesitate to, you know, I guess, let him have privilege to go places or do things, and invite me along, or what have you. That was probably more so than I think most of my peers had. It was just kind of a friendship in addition to parent-child relationship.

HARRIS: You mentioned the maturity, trustworthiness, that this also something that your parents had in Scott as far as your relationship with him?

FRITZ: In terms of maturity?

HARRIS: In terms of the trustworthiness they put in Scott.

FRITZ: Yeah. Like I mentioned before, we would go out to play in the Desert Junior Golf Tournaments, which were about two hours away out in the desert area. And generally they would go with me. Like a two or three day tournament. The only person I was ever allowed to go with without supervision, I guess, would be with Scott. If Scott was driving, it was fine.

HARRIS: Why was that?

FRITZ: Like I said before, they have a, they kind of had an instant respect for each other. I think they understood that he was very conscientious and very caring. And the way that he treated me when I was new, through the time that we have been friends all these years, has always been that of somebody who's respected them and very much been very sincere. So I think that that was reciprocated with maybe additional responsibility, if you will, in taking care of me, if you will, kind of like an older brother.

HARRIS: When you talked to me, you said, you described Scott's generosity as endless. What did you mean by that?

FRITZ: It is. There wasn't a time that he wasn't on his way over to get together, or a party, or anything like that, that he wasn't calling ten minutes before he got there to find out if he could pick up ice, or if he could pick up something, or if he need, if there was anything you forgot, you know. He was always there early to help out. He was always there late to help clean up. And his, like I said, in the same way that his parents have extended kind of the open invitation to their home, he and Laci did the same anything in their home. And being an hour and half two hours away, living here in Northern California, it was always great to be coming back, Modesto was kind of a midway point for coming back and forth to Lake Tahoe, and so it was oftentimes the case where we would be going through the Modesto area and stop by and visit, or be invited to stay overnight if it was too late, or whatever.

HARRIS: Okay. As far as when you were in high school, would he often volunteer to take you home, those kind of things, give you rides when he didn't have to?

FRITZ: We both lived in north county in San Diego. Even though it wasn't necessarily on the way, he oftentimes volunteered to take me home after practice, which obviously went usually until dark, after school. My parents were starting a new business, and they were pretty busy. And my mom when she wasn't working with my dad, was oftentimes taking care of my little brother who was in a school closer to home. So recognizing that it was inconvenient for them to have to pick me up at school that was thirty minutes away from our house, he very regularly took me home, and offered to do so without that, he would kind of offer those things up before they even became an issue.

HARRIS: We have talked about a lot of your sort of interaction within the high school. Let me move on. As the two of you get older, you mentioned you went to separate colleges, but you stayed in contact, is that right?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: Would you go see him in San Luis, or would he come to Santa Clara and see you?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: Were you aware of his financial situation when he was in college, in his job situation?

FRITZ: He was a hard worker. And that was something I really respected about Scott. I think, you know, coming from a privileged background, I think a lot of people can kind of rest on the laurels and just sit and see the comfort and enjoy that and let it be. But I would go down to visit Scott at San Luis, and he was working three jobs I know for much of the times he was there. He worked at the golf course, which was good because we were able to get out on the golf course. He worked at the restaurant, at least one, at a time. And he was also working as, I think, part owner of a business with his family in the San Luis area. All of which I had seen him at different things simultaneously, different jobs.

HARRIS: You mentioned he came from a fortunate background. By the time he had grown to be a teenager, his parents had done well in their business. Did he ever exude an arrogance? Was he ever arrogant to other people, rude?

FRITZ: No. He was the opposite. I guess if you were from a background like that, it might be expected that you could easily be arrogant. But he wasn't. And very much the opposite is, he was always very caring and very, his conscientiousness was very contagious.

HARRIS: As he, later in life as you moved on, you became aware he went to work for a company called TradeCorp, is that right?

FRITZ: Yes.

HARRIS: That was a European company?

FRITZ: European company. I think they were based in Spain or Portugal.

HARRIS: Were you aware what his jobs entailed, what he was doing on a regular basis?

FRITZ: It was interesting, because I understood the job allowed him to live, within reason, pretty much anywhere in California. He told me that they wanted a representative in California that could travel and essentially service the various agricultural communities within the state. And being aware from both Laci's family and Scott's family, Modesto was an opportunity for them to move and work for the company without, and be central.

HARRIS: Are you aware that part of his job entailed going around different fertilizer companies, talking to them about new products, that kind of thing?

FRITZ: I think it was going out to a lot of the farms as a representative for fertilizer companies. That was part of it. So a lot of times I would call him, a lot of times, because we were both on the road different times, we would call and just check in on each other on our cell phones. And so it wasn't uncommon for him to just give me a call in the middle of the day, ask how things are going, what I was up to, and vice versa, me calling him. I would catch him out in the middle of the field having lunch with workers on the farm. Just having kind of a break on the tailgate of the pickup truck. And other times I would catch him, he would be making a presentation to a group in San Francisco.

HARRIS: Did he seem comfortable in both of those,

FRITZ: Very much so.

HARRIS: situations?

FRITZ: Very much so. Kind of like a Renaissance kid standing in front of you. He worked well with people of all statures. He was comfortable. And whether it was the Four Seasons, whether it was out in the fields in the farm, he was just a very sincere person with whoever he was dealing with.

HARRIS: You mentioned to me he would very gladly do anything, no matter how menial. What did you mean by that?

FRITZ: Given the spectrum of what that job encompassed, I mean it was everything from visiting with people and understanding what their problems were on the job site, on the farm, to traveling back to Europe and doing training or presentation to different parts of the world, it was not, on a personal level, it wasn't difficult for him to drop whatever he was doing and help you out, fix your car, or help you. No matter how busy he was he always made time to give you a hand, and did that regularly for me.

HARRIS: Was he in your wedding?

FRITZ: Yes, he was. He was a groomsman in my wedding. And that was kind of interesting, because he was actually in Europe on business, and came back early. And it was kind of a tough trip, I know, because he left early and he got, I think he had to fly back to California before flying to the northeast where our wedding was. And somewhere, he came back from Europe, met up with Laci, and then they both came to New Hampshire for our wedding.

HARRIS: Did, you had a chance to see him on numerous locations after he was married, is that right?

FRITZ: Yes. Very much so.

HARRIS: Did you at one point take a trip to Hawaii with Scott and Laci?

FRITZ: Yeah. My wife and I had a use of a condo in Maui for a week. And we invited Scott and Laci to join us for that trip. And that was one big trip. That we oftentimes spent time at their home, and vice versa.

HARRIS: Did you ever see him lose his temper with Laci?

FRITZ: No, never.

HARRIS: Did you ever see Scott Peterson lose his temper pretty much over anything?

FRITZ: No. He was always very even-keeled. That was one of the things I respected. Something that you definitely take to the golf course with you as a true attribute. It's something that, that is something is picked up from his family. I think there is a lot of, a lot to be said for the strength and the ability to kind of keep calm during times when you are competing in tournaments and things like that. A lot of people would throw clubs, get all angry, and obviously lose their composure. That wasn't something he did. He was very good, and very composed, and very professional, almost.

HARRIS: You mentioned the word inner strength. He had a very much an inner strength. What did you mean by that?

FRITZ: I think anybody who knows Scott closely as I do realizes that he has a sense of faith and a sense of strength that kind permeates who he is. It's the type of thing that most people don't get to know unless you know somebody very closely. But that the way he interacts with people, the way he takes a genuine interest in people, the way that he treats my parents, the way that he has treated my little brother. Not just courteous, but generous and compassionate, certainly beyond his years. There is a lot of, a lot of wonderful experiences that I have, and he's always been very strong, very stable person that I have always looked to as a role model.

HARRIS: You actually told me last night in times, your own times you would question how you should act, what would you do?

FRITZ: I would, sometimes I would think about what Scott would do in a certain situation. Like I say, as kind of a, from the day I met him to throughout our friendship, the Scott Peterson that I know is the kind of person that you respect and admire. And if you find yourself, if I found myself in a situation wondering, gosh, you know, what to do, he was the kind of person that I would try to emulate.

HARRIS: We talked a little bit about the possibility of him being executed. What would that mean to you?

FRITZ: It would be a horrendous tragedy. It would be a terrible loss of a friend, of a brother figure in my life, of a person who I think has brought a little bit of, who I am you truly believe is the product of my wonderful parents, my surroundings, my environment, and your peers. My peers. And he is certainly one that has contributed to who that is. And I'm very proud of that. And certain that he's had that impact on many others, not just myself, because that's the kind of person he is.

HARRIS: You have seen him have a positive impact on other people?

FRITZ: Absolutely. He's had positive impact on everybody he meets.

HARRIS: Do you believe these if he stays alive, even in prison, he continues to have a positive influence?

FRITZ: Absolutely. I think there is lots of people in this world with a lot of restrictions, or a lot of handicaps or limitations, that have done amazing things with their lives, and have done amazing things, not just for themselves, but for a lot of other people. And I think that Scott's continuing to be with us would have an impact on, possibly a very positive impact on a lot of people. And I think you can do that from behind bars if need be. You would eradicate the possibility of that ever being available for the rest of the world to witness if he wasn't here.

HARRIS: Thank you. That's all I have.