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Shelly Reiman
Witness for the Defendant: Penalty Phase December 8, 2004
Direct Examination by Pat Harris P. HARRIS: Shelly, if you would just tell us where are you living now? REIMAN: Fillmore, California. P. HARRIS: That's near where? REIMAN: That's in Ventura County. P. HARRIS: What do you do there? REIMAN: I'm an accountant, but I stay home with my children. And I do the book work on the side. P. HARRIS: And where did you go to college? REIMAN: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. P. HARRIS: Are you married currently? REIMAN: Yes. P. HARRIS: What's your husband's name? REIMAN: James Reiman. P. HARRIS: I want to explain to the jury, you have a relationship with Scott sort of in two ways. First of all, you did know him in college as somewhat of a casual friend; is that right? REIMAN: Yes. P. HARRIS: How did that come about? REIMAN: My cousin, Mike Richardson, was great friends with Scott and Laci. And we would he see them, casual barbecues, parties, that type of thing. P. HARRIS: So you know both Scott and Laci in college? REIMAN: Yeah. P. HARRIS: You would see them on casual occasions? REIMAN: Yeah. Just casual occasions. Usually at Mike and Heather's house. I would see Laci on campus, that type of thing. P. HARRIS: Later on you would -- you moved back to Ventura. Is that also where Mike and Heather live? REIMAN: Yes. P. HARRIS: And would Scott and Laci come down on occasion to see them? REIMAN: Yeah. Usually it was couple times a year, usually birthday parties for Chloe and Ramey's birthday party, Mike and a Heather's children. They always had an annual Christmas party that Scott and Laci has came to. P. HARRIS: Did you also have a connection -- we just saw Tom Beardsley. Do you have a connection there? REIMAN: Yeah. He is my stepfather-in-law. P. HARRIS: Would you have -- would you have an opportunity to see Scott on occasion when he would come for business purposes when he would come to Ventura County? REIMAN: Yeah. Typically he would stay with Mike and Heather. And we were all really close. So we would have barbecues when he was down. I would say we would see him once a month, maybe once every six weeks when he was in town. Normally we would get together just, casual barbecue, one house or the other. Just kind of hang out and visit. P. HARRIS: What was -- just in general terms, personality traits, what was the Scott Peterson you knew like? REIMAN: The Scott I knew was a very gracious, caring person. He always seemed to be upbeat, happy. He took time out of his day to always talk to me every time I saw him. He would always make a point to have a genuine conversation with me, which, you know, it strikes a person, because we weren't extremely good friends. He was friends of my cousin, and we were more casual acquaintances. And we would see each other periodically. But whenever I saw him, I always walked away with a good feeling, because we always had a great conversation together. P. HARRIS: You told me that it was a difficult decision for you to come and testify here today. I would like you just to kind of -- if you would explain why that was, why that is. REIMAN: Well, I have a husband, I have two children. And this proceeding has turned into a media circus. And I just didn't really want to be sucked in. As everyone knows, it's a high pressure situation. And I wasn't sure that it was something I wanted to do. But thinking about Scott and the consequences, I just felt like it was something that I needed to do. P. HARRIS: Specifically you told me you felt -- you felt like there was a story you wanted to share with the jury about Scott, that you felt showed something about his personality, who he was. And you felt like they ought to know. So if you would, if you would just share that story, I would appreciate it. REIMAN: It seems minor, you know, at the time. But one of the barbecues we had at our home, everyone was outside. I was in cooking. My daughter, who was two-years-old at the time, was inside. And I don't know if Scott came in to get a drink or what. But somehow my daughter sucked him in. And I just remember seeing him in my daughter's room sitting on the bed talking to her. And it struck me, because most adults that you introduce your children to, I always introduce myself and my two sidekicks. I have two children now. And most adults just say, "Hi". And Scott had a way of getting down at their level and speaking to them. And as a mom with one child at the time, you are very protective of your child, and you notice things like that. You notice things that someone is giving your child that ten seconds of fame. He got down on his haunches, was talking to her. And she sucked him into her room. And he -- it wasn't long. And it really wasn't a big deal, but it struck me, because he gave her that little piece of attention that obviously she needed at the time. So -- P. HARRIS: You told me about a -- where your husband called you when Scott had visited and was excited about his own child, and the birth. REIMAN: Yeah. This was in December. And I had a -- my husband and I had a son in September. And just so happens that we had named our son Conner. This is why I remember this. And my husband called me after he saw Scott at Tom Beardsley's office. And he was saying that he was talking to Scott. He was so excited about being a father. And they just kind of -- James just -- my husband shared some stories about being a father, and how neat it was. And he told Scott how that was going to -- that was going to be. And he just seemed genuinely excited and thrilled -- I mean scared. What person isn't scared before they have their first child? But genuinely excited and thrilled for the upcoming events of their son. P. HARRIS: You talked about why you decided to come. And obviously you know why we are here. You have been very honest about your relationship with Scott. He's somebody you know somewhat as casual friend. Would this, in your mind, even given your relationship, would Scott's -- putting Scott to death affect you? REIMAN: Yeah. I mean not directly, obviously. There are many other people that's going to effect way more than me. But it's just going to be an extremely sad day if that's what happens. It's not going to bring back Laci. It's not going to bring back Conner. All it's going to do is add another tragedy to this horrific event. I just don't see the good in it. P. HARRIS: Thank you, Shelly.
Cross Examination by David Harris D. HARRIS: Just briefly. Miss Reiman, you used the term the Scott that you knew. I just want to ask you briefly about that. During these conversations this December, after your child was born, did Scott you know ever talk to you about Amber Frey? REIMAN: No. D. HARRIS: Did he ever tell you that he was telling Amber that he didn't want to have children? REIMAN: No. D. HARRIS: I have no other questions. |