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Margarita Nava
Preliminary Hearing October 31, 2003
Direct Examination by Rick Distaso DISTASO: Ma'am, would you state your full name and spell your name for us, please? And could you spell that? NAVA: Margarita, that's capital M-A-R-G-A-R-I-T-A, Nava, capital N-A-V-A. DISTASO: And, ma'am, were you the housekeeper of Laci and Scott Peterson, and their house was located at 523 Covena Avenue in the city of Modesto? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: And how many times did you clean their house? NAVA: What do you mean how many times? DISTASO: How many times did you go to their house and work for them as their housecleaner? NAVA: It was the fourth time. DISTASO: Okay. And when you say "it was the fourth time," was it the fourth time on December 23rd, 2002? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Did -- can you tell the Court what you did on the 23rd of December in cleaning their house? Can you just take the Court through what you did, what rooms you cleaned and what you did? NAVA: On getting there, I gather up my cleaning supplies, and I begin by dusting. First I cleaned the bathroom, then the bedrooms, and the living room, and the entry, because they had -- where the dining room is. DISTASO: Okay. Let me stop you. Did you -- when you cleaned the living room, did you vacuum the carpets? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Did you vacuum all of the rooms in the house or just the living room? NAVA: The whole house. DISTASO: And in the living room, is the floor carpeted? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: And are other rooms -- are the bedrooms carpeted or a different type of flooring? NAVA: The house has wood, entirely of wood, and the 5 dining room has a carpet, and so does the living room. DISTASO: And what about the -- what is the flooring in the kitchen? NAVA: It has tiles. DISTASO: And what about in the entryway? NAVA: The main one has wood. DISTASO: What about the one in the back of the house? NAVA: You mean the pool? DISTASO: No, the -- is there -- is there -- hold on. Is there a entryway leading from the pool into the house -- or the pool area into the house? NAVA: That one was made of wood. DISTASO: After you vacuumed the whole house, what did you do next to clean the house? NAVA: Well, I mopped the floors. DISTASO: Okay. And what parts of the house did you mop? NAVA: The entire house. Inside. DISTASO: When you were at the house on the 23rd, did you see the dog? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Did you hear the dog barking? NAVA: Yes. He would always bark when I got there. DISTASO: Did -- while you were at the house on the 23rd, did the dog ever come into the house? NAVA: At no time. DISTASO: Did you ever see the cat when you were at the house, or a cat? INTERPRETER: Excuse me? DISTASO: Did you ever see a cat when you were at the house? NAVA: Huh-uh. No. DISTASO: Did you see on the 23rd of December, did you see Laci Peterson at the house? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Next in order. CLERK: Exhibit 44. JUDGE: 44? CLERK: 44. (Whereupon, People's Exhibit 44 was marked for identification.) DISTASO: Miss Nava, is this a picture of Laci Peterson? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Okay. And is this a fair representation of how she looked when you saw her on the 23rd? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Was Laci Peterson at the house the entire time you were there cleaning? NAVA: She was there part of the time, but she went out a couple of times. DISTASO: Okay. Do you know where she went? NAVA: She came back with bags from the grocery store, or from the store where she had gone to run errands would be more accurate. DISTASO: What time did you arrive at the house? NAVA: At 8:30. DISTASO: And what time did you leave the house? NAVA: At 2:00 exactly. DISTASO: When you left the house at 2 o'clock, was Laci Peterson at the house? NAVA: (In English) Yes. Sorry. (Through the Interpreter) Yes. DISTASO: And just for the record, this is still -- we're still talking about December 23rd, correct? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: At any time when you were at the house on the 23rd, did Laci Peterson take the dog for a walk? NAVA: No. DISTASO: During the other times when you were at the house -- this was the fourth time, correct? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: During the other three times that you were there, did you see Laci Peterson at the house on those times? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: How often did you clean Laci Peterson's house? How often? What was the interval? NAVA: Once every 15 days. DISTASO: During those -- the other times, not on the 23rd, but on the other times that you were at the house, did you -- did the dog ever come into the house? NAVA: No. DISTASO: During those other times that you came to the house, did you hear the dog barking? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Now, let's go back to the 23rd. On the 23rd, did you have a chance to see how Laci Peterson was acting or how she was feeling? Did you get a chance to see her and observe her? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: And can you describe what her -- can you describe what her demeanor was? How was she acting on that day? NAVA: Like all the days or other days that I had gone, she was content. She looked happy. DISTASO: Did she seem -- did she seem tired at all? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: And can you -- why -- why did you think she was tired? NAVA: She would walk very slowly, and a lot of times she would be on the couch with her feet up reading. DISTASO: And did she do that -- was she walking slowly and tired and have her feet up on the couch reading, did she do that all the times you were there at the house? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Could you tell when you saw her that she was pregnant? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Going back now to when you were cleaning the house on the 23rd, what types of chemicals did you use to mop the floor? NAVA: Just water and a little bit of Pine Sol. DISTASO: What time -- do you know the exact date the very first time that you cleaned the -- Laci Peterson's house? INTERPRETER: The date your -- DISTASO: The date, the very first time. NAVA: No. DISTASO: But you do know that this is the fourth time? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: And you had cleaned the house on intervals of every 15 days? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Just one more question. When you cleaned the house, did you also clean the windowsills on the outside? NAVA: Just one door at the entrance, a small door. DISTASO: Did you -- the towels that you used to clean the door, did you put those -- where did you put those? NAVA: Okay. I look -- I put -- I put them in the mopping bucket on top of the washing machine. DISTASO: Did you put those towels actually inside the washing machine? NAVA: Never. DISTASO: And was that your standard practice when you would clean the door -- the doorways with the towels? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: No further questions. JUDGE: Mr. Geragos? GERAGOS: Thank you.
Cross Examination by Mark Geragos GERAGOS: Good morning. NAVA: Good morning. GERAGOS: Did you have a set day of the week that you cleaned? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: What day was that? NAVA: I don't remember. GERAGOS: Okay. And would you come on that day, then miss a week, then come the following week? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: And was that Monday? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. So you would start -- if we went backwards for the period of time and skipped every other week, we could figure out, if we went back four times, the first day you worked there, right? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Now, when you would get to the house on those four times, was the house a mess? NAVA: No. GERAGOS: Did it look like somebody had been cleaning in between the times you got there? NAVA: No. GERAGOS: Did you have a -- was the floor dirty when you would get there? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Did it look like dogs or cats had run through the house? NAVA: There was hair. GERAGOS: Okay. Was there inside of the house, anywhere in the house, a dog bed or a cat bed? NAVA: Yes, in Laci's bedroom. GERAGOS: Okay. And was there also a small water bowl in the bathroom? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Look like something you would put out for a cat? NAVA: Yes. When I would go, I would fill it with water. GERAGOS: For the cat? NAVA: I don't know for -- I don't know whether it was for the cat or not, but I would see it there, and I would -- and I would fill it with water, because I also do that in other homes. GERAGOS: Okay. Is it uncommon or is it unusual for people to put their dogs outside when you come to clean? NAVA: Yes, they do put them outside. GERAGOS: And that's so the dogs won't get in your way while you're mopping or cleaning up the house; isn't that correct? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Now, on the 23rd, on that Monday, what time did you arrive? NAVA: 8:30. GERAGOS: Did you drive there or did somebody drive -- drop you off? NAVA: I arrived in my own car. GERAGOS: Okay. Do you remember where you parked? NAVA: On that particular day, the 23rd? GERAGOS: Yes. NAVA: On the driveway, by the fence, the other neighbor, the next-door neighbor's or -- GERAGOS: As you pull into the driveway, there's a -- there's a fence that blocks the end of the driveway; isn't that correct? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: And you pull up the car to that -- roughly to where that fence is; is that right? NAVA: I left it -- I left it by the edge, on the driveway, but not all the way in, not inside, because Laci's car is always there. GERAGOS: Okay. And when you did that, how long after you got out of the car did you hear the dog bark? NAVA: How much -- how long, how much time? GERAGOS: Well, let me ask it a different way. Did you -- did the dog bark once you got out of the car or did the dog bark once you went into the yard? NAVA: When I got out of the car. GERAGOS: Okay. And then did you walk through the gate to get into the yard to go to the front door? NAVA: I never went in through that backside. I went in through the front door, the main entrance, always, I always did. GERAGOS: And when you did that, did you see the dog? NAVA: You can't see it from the outside, but when I went inside, and I put down my bag, you can see the dog, you can see the dog, and it's barking. GERAGOS: Okay. When you went into the house, the dog was barking; is that right? NAVA: A little. GERAGOS: Okay. After that, it stopped? NAVA: Laci would always say to it, "Stop, McKenzie, stop." GERAGOS: Okay. Then at that point, on the 23rd, I'm talking just about the 23rd, Laci was there when you arrived; is that right? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: And what was Laci wearing? NAVA: I don't recall. GERAGOS: Okay. Anything that could refresh your memory as to what she was wearing? NAVA: The only thing that I have in my mind was what she almost always used to wear, a black pair of pants and a white blouse. GERAGOS: Right. You had a -- my investigator -- or actually, I take that back. One of the police investigators, Detective Brocchini, interviewed you, didn't he? Is that right? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: And you told him that she was wearing a -- that you remembered a white long-sleeved shirt; is that correct? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: And she most probably also was wearing black stretch-type maternity pants? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Did you do the laundry also at the house? NAVA: No, never, never did. GERAGOS: Did you ever see Laci on the -- during the four times that you were there wearing zippered pants? NAVA: No, because her blouse would cover all of her belly. GERAGOS: Okay. And she was pretty big at that point, wasn't she? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. And so that you -- the only thing that you could see her wear would be stretch pants that she could put on around her belly; is that correct? DISTASO: Actually, Your Honor -- JUDGE: Wait before you answer. DISTASO: I'm going to object. It actually misstates the testimony. She says -- she basically says she wasn't able to see what type of pants that were being held up. GERAGOS: I'm on cross-examination. I don't misstate testimony when you're on cross-examination. DISTASO: Well, actually, you can. JUDGE: Rephrase the question. GERAGOS: You describe these pants that you saw as black stretch pants; isn't that correct? NAVA: Well, I recall that I said that they were black, but I don't recall whether they were stretch or not, because I didn't get to see them. GERAGOS: Okay. Now, the black pants that she wore, did they have -- do you know what a stirrup style is? NAVA: What's a stirrup? GERAGOS: With the -- on the bottom of the pants that the -- they go around -- NAVA: I don't recall having seen that. GERAGOS: Okay. Do you remember if the pants cut off below the knee? NAVA: No. It was a normal kind. GERAGOS: Normal length meaning down by the ankle? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. And you said that she left at one point after you got there, she left the house? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Approximately what time did she leave the house? NAVA: I do not recall. GERAGOS: Okay. How long was she gone? NAVA: 45 minutes, maybe, an hour. GERAGOS: Okay. When she came back, she was carrying bags of groceries? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: And probably four or five bags of groceries? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. And she would go out to the car, carry the bags of groceries, bring them inside and put them in the kitchen; is that correct? NAVA: She arrived with two at first, and I helped her to take them into the kitchen. GERAGOS: Then after the two that she arrived with first, then what did she do? NAVA: She went back for the other two. GERAGOS: Okay. NAVA: Or five, maybe. I don't know. GERAGOS: You didn't go out to the car to get the bags of groceries, did you? NAVA: No. GERAGOS: Okay. So she was apparently in good enough shape that she could go shopping, load up the car, bring the groceries back, and unload them into the kitchen, right? NAVA: Well, yes. GERAGOS: Okay. Now, after she unloaded the five bags of groceries and come back from the -- presumably from the market, did she then at a certain point leave the house again? NAVA: I don't really recall. GERAGOS: Okay. You do recall telling the detective, however, that whatever clothes she was wearing that day she wore up until 2 o'clock when you left? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. You also remember that after she came back from the grocery store, she made herself something to eat; is that correct? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. And you also remember when you were cleaning that day that there was jewelry out on top of the counter in the bedroom? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: The -- as far as you know, from 8:30 to whenever she left to go to the market, did you ever see Laci watching TV? NAVA: After she got back from the store? GERAGOS: Before she went to the store, she didn't watch TV, correct? NAVA: No, she didn't. GERAGOS: After she went to the store, came back, she made herself something to eat; is that right? INTERPRETER: I'm sorry. Repeat your question. GERAGOS: After she went to the store and came back, then she made herself something to eat? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: And when she made herself something to eat, did she then go in and watch TV? NAVA: Yes. The kitchen is next to the living room, and so, you know, she would take her plate with the food, and then she would go into the living room to watch TV while eating. GERAGOS: Okay. At some point, Scott came home; isn't that correct? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. Do you remember Laci leaving the house at about 1 o'clock? NAVA: I do not recall. GERAGOS: Okay. And do you remember what jewelry, if any, she was wearing on that day on the 23rd? NAVA: No. GERAGOS: Okay. Did you -- when you were cleaning, did you clean the blinds? Are there blinds in the house? NAVA: The house does not have any blinds. I don't know if you -- if there are -- if you use the same name or – but they're made of cloth. GERAGOS: Okay. And were the -- did you clean those or did you open them or do anything with them? NAVA: I just -- I dust them, I roll them up or pull them up, and I clean the windows. GERAGOS: So when you got there at 8:30, sometime after 8:30 you had to pull them up in order to clean the windowsill; is that correct? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. And when you arrived at the house, Laci was up and awake; is that correct? NAVA: Okay. Whenever I would -- all the times that I got there, she was -- she had showered, she had changed, and she had -- was well-dressed. GERAGOS: All by the time of 8:30 when you had arrived? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Can I have just one moment, Your Honor? When you would mop the house, where would you put the mop after you were done? NAVA: Outside so that it would dry. GERAGOS: And did Laci ask you to do that? NAVA: I do not recall. GERAGOS: Do you remember talking to an investigator named Mr. Ermoian? NAVA: I do not recall. GERAGOS: Okay. Laci was very happy about the baby, wasn't she? NAVA: Very happy. GERAGOS: And she told you that Scott was also happy about the baby, didn't she? DISTASO: Your Honor -- objection, Your Honor. Calls for hearsay. JUDGE: Sustained. GERAGOS: Well, the -- did you use rags in order to clean up the house or dust or do things like that when -- for instance, when you were cleaning the windowsill, would you use rags? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. And after you were done with those rags, what would you do with them? NAVA: I would put them in the bucket and take them to the washer. GERAGOS: Okay. And then -- so the rags in the bucket would go to the washing machine each time, right? NAVA: I imagine so, because each time I got there, they were clean. GERAGOS: So somebody would have washed the rags and then put them away; is that right? NAVA: She told me that I could leave them there and that she would wash them. GERAGOS: Okay. And then you would put the mop outside so it would dry outside; is that correct? NAVA: Yes. GERAGOS: No further questions. JUDGE: Any redirect? DISTASO: Yes, Your Honor.
Redirect Examination by Rick Distaso DISTASO: Miss Nava, did you ever use bleach in your cleaning of the house? NAVA: Just to clean the bathroom, but -- yes. DISTASO: And on the 23rd, when you got to the -- when you got to the house, was the defendant present? NAVA: I do not recall. DISTASO: Okay. And just for the record, do you recognize the defendant as he sits here at the end of the defense table? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Okay. And that's Scott Peterson, whose house you used to clean, correct? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: Your Honor, just for the record, identifying the defendant. JUDGE: So noted. DISTASO: Now, Miss Nava, talking about the blinds in the house, there were numerous blinds throughout the whole house, correct? GERAGOS: Objection. Misstates the evidence. Assumes facts not in evidence. Leading. JUDGE: Sustained, all of them. DISTASO: DISTASO: Okay. Did the house have a lot of windows? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: And did the windows that were -- did the windows have coverings on them? NAVA: Some were or some had. DISTASO: On the windows to the front of the house, did they have covers on them? NAVA: No. DISTASO: The windows to the side of the house, did they have covers? NAVA: Exactly where? DISTASO: Okay. When you were talking about cleaning the blinds, what rooms -- what room were you talking about? NAVA: I would just dust them off, the bedrooms or those of the bedrooms and the living room. DISTASO: And were those the only rooms that you were involved in cleaning the coverings or the blinds? NAVA: Yes. DISTASO: When you arrived at the house on the 23rd, do you remember if the window coverings in the bedrooms were open or shut? NAVA: Shut. DISTASO: And what about the window coverings in the living room? NAVA: They too were shut. DISTASO: No further questions, Your Honor. JUDGE: Any recross? GERAGOS: Can I have just one moment? No further questions. DISTASO: Actually, Your Honor, one more question. JUDGE: All right. DISTASO: A couple more, actually. I'm sorry. DISTASO: Miss Nava, when you said the blinds were shut, were they completely closed or partially closed, or can you describe that for us? And I'm asking you about the bedroom first. NAVA: Completely shut. Though, sometimes there was one in the living room open. DISTASO: Now, the living -- when you say "the living room," on the 23rd, in the living room, were the blinds completely shut or partially shut? NAVA: They were shut. DISTASO: Okay. When you say "the living room," what room in the house are you describing? GERAGOS: Objection. Vague. JUDGE: Overruled. NAVA: Can you repeat the question, please? DISTASO: When you're talking about the living room, do you -- what furniture was in the living room? Describe that for me. NAVA: There was the couches -- there were the couches and here was the television, there was the fireplace, and the washers. DISTASO: Okay. Thank you. And when -- did anyone open the blinds in the living room before you left the house? NAVA: Can you repeat that for me? DISTASO: Did anyone, did you or anyone else open the blinds in the living room before you left the house? NAVA: I don't recall. DISTASO: Nothing further. JUDGE: You stated the washers were in the living room; is that correct? NAVA: Yes. They were covered over by large doors. JUDGE: Any recross? GERAGOS: No. JUDGE: You may step down. DISTASO: And, Your Honor, may Miss Nava be excused? JUDGE: Any objection? GERAGOS: No objection. JUDGE: You're free to go. Thank you. |