Experts: Peterson Has Psychopath Traits
By KIM CURTIS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Every day of his six-month murder trial, Scott Peterson marched into the courtroom with his head held high. He smiled at his family, took his seat and paid close attention, often whispering to his lawyers or taking notes.
Given a chance to defend himself in the murders of his pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son, the slick, handsome salesman with the megawatt smile had nothing to say.
His demeanor seemed to infuriate jurors and many trial watchers, who came to see Peterson as a manipulative, pathological liar with a grandiose sense of self and an inability to empathize.
Experts say this absence of emotion is the hallmark of a psychopath.