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Convicted killer Scott Peterson lost his bid to claim his murdered wife Laci Peterson's $250,000 life-insurance money – which has been awarded to Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Roger Beauchesne ruled on Friday after a protracted court battle.
The jurist had previously awarded Rocha the money in October, but set aside his ruling after Scott's attorneys sought a time extension so they could argue the case, the Associated Press reports.
Peterson's attorney, Pat Harris, is now arguing that the insurance money should not be transferred to Rocha while his client's death penalty case is on appeal. Peterson, who was convicted in the Christmas Eve 2002 killings of his pregnant wife, Laci, and the fetus she carried, is currently on death row in San Quentin. He maintains his innocence.
Rocha's attorney, Adam Stewart, argued that Rocha should not be kept waiting for the funds. "We have a felony conviction," Stewart said. "That is evidence the court can look at."
California law states that people who kill their spouses forfeit their inheritance rights. The California Supreme Court automatically reviews death-penalty cases in a process that can take decades.
A British multimillionaire wants to give his family estate to a blood relative, but since he doesn't have children of his own, he's using DNA testing to find for a long-lost family member in the United States.
Sir Benjamin Julian Alfred Slade, 7th Baronet of Slade, is the last-known member of the Slade line, and he's looking for someone to whom he can bestow his 16-room mansion. "Indeed I did learn to roller-skate in this room," Sir Benjamin said while giving a tour of his home. "And it was very handy for bicycle races. It was quite exciting, having to avoid holes and things like that."
The Maunsell house — which sits on a 330-acre estate — has been the ancestral home of the Slade family since 1772. Sir Benjamin inherited the home in 1982, and since then an ongoing project has been under way to restore the home to its original condition. He's is hopeful that his efforts will be appreciated by a potential heir yet to be discovered contingent on the findings through DNA testing.
"Basically we need an American with energy, with plenty of bucks, who can run this place, so I can have an easy life really," Sir Benjamin said.
There is at least one potential ideal candidate to uphold the Slade traditions — both financially and genetically.
Taylor Slade of Williamston, N.C., already owns 3,300 acres of farmland and a profitable cotton gin.However moving to a mansion in England isn't exactly what he had in mind.
"I really had not thought about moving to England and my children probably would not be very good about it," Taylor Slade said.