Woody Overton (17:39)
Only in iOS mobile apps. See guaranteed details@turbotax.com guarantees can you tell me a little bit about your background? Threat born in Birmingham, Alabama. I joined the Navy at 18 years old and spent 22 years in the Navy. I'm a Vietnam veteran. I left the military and I became I began teaching. I finally retired from teaching. Gargas during the course of your career, at some point were you located down in San Diego and head of, you know, dean of students for a particular school? Threat From 1985 to 1992, I was a dean of students at the University of San Diego High School. That's where I knew Scott. There it goes. What did as dean of students, what is your job? My job as dean of students was to keep order and discipline on the campus. School was approximately 1500 students. My job was to make sure that everyone did what they were supposed to do. Gary Guys and you, you didn't teach school. You were basically in charge of law and order, Is that correct? Correct. I taught for one semester and they made me vice principal after the first semester. So only taught very briefly. Gary goes. Scott was a student when you were there? Threat yes. Gary Guys and you left shortly after he graduated, is that correct? Threat I left in 1992, yes. Gary Guys during the three years that he attended high school, you were the dean of students, is that correct? Threat Yep. Garagaise, you remember him from when he was there? All right, I remember him in passing as dean of Students. Did not necessarily. They didn't necessarily come to talk to me or to have coffee with me, but my job was to stand in the middle of the school to make sure everyone knew that I was there. And in that process, I saw him passing many times. I saw him freakily during the school year. Yes. All right, guys, if he had been in trouble or troublemaker, things like that, would it have been more likely that you would have encountered him? Right. That is the most significant thing. The fact is, during his junior year, I don't remember him at all. In his senior year, I do remember him quite well. If there had been any problems, he would have been in my office. The factor that I can't say most significant, the whole time that I was there, he was never in my office for any disciplinary purposes. There it goes. You know a nun by the name of Sister Joan, right? Yeah. She was in charge of the Christian service project there. Here, guys. Okay. As part of the Christian service project, did that entail going to work at the orphanages in Tijuana? Threat. Exactly. Here, guys, Things like Habitat for Humanity and such kind of charitable endeavors. Threat. Exactly. Care guys, in talking with you, you are aware that Scott participated in those activities? All right, Yeah. I knew at the school, we gave the students time to go do the Christian service during the school day. It was significant that in that time, many students would not come back to school on time. They would leave at maybe 10 o'clock in the morning and required to be back at 1:00. Many students would come back late. But the things I recall mostly about Scott is that he did always come back on time. He was never late. He was punctual, he was reliable. He was responsible. Yes. Gary goes. Would that. Would that require, at that point, high schoolers actually crossing the border to go over to Mexico? Threat Actually, yeah. Went into Tijuana and they would spend maybe four or five hours there. In addition to that, Scott not only worked with the orphans in Tijuana, he worked locally with the mental retarded and the beach communities in San Diego on his own time, beyond the allotted hours in Tijuana. Care guys, is that a home or residential area for the threat mental retarded? I think they were young children who needed help. And I think that as Scott on the weekends would spend time helping them after he had finished the schoolwork and done his Christian service hours in Tijuana. Now, to graduate from the school, every student was required to do 100 hours of Christian service. So he did his Christian service hours in Tijuana and he would do his own volunteering outside of there in San Diego. Gary Goes, is that one of the reasons that you have a memory of him? Threat yes. Here. Guys, did you, during the time that you were there, was Sister Joan, the nun, particularly close with Scott that you were aware of? Right, exactly. I think he worked very closely in the Christian Service Project, and she was the director of the project, the Christian Service program, as well as the athletic program. The attendance programs were supervised under my office. That's why I knew her and knew of him. Sister Joan knew him quite well because she saw him in that capacity more readily than anybody else. I think Gary goes, was the other person that you could say that he was closest to. You mentioned that you supervised. I guess he kind of held the title athletic director. Threat yes. Garagos the other person that spent the most time with him, at least an authority figure, would have been David Thoni's threat, His golf coach. Yes. Garrigos. Thank you. I have no further questions. Holy y'all. I mean, come on, man. Ah, scorch. Score, score, score, score. I don't get it. But continuing, let's go to David Theones. It's T H O E N N E S. I don't know how to say that. It's definitely not a Louisiana name, but Garagos calls him to the stand and it's again, it's on December 6th, death penalty phase, and he's doing the direct examination. I'm, I'm just going to call him David because I can't say his last name. So he gets on the stand, Gargoyle says, good morning, Mr. David. David Good morning, gargoyles. You, as Dr. Threat just mentioned, you are a coach and teacher at uniha. They correct. Gary Guys. And my understanding that is that you taught there as well in world history, is that right? David yes. Yeah. Guys. And computer and typing. David Correct. How did you come to Uni High to teach at Uni High? David I was released from active duty in the Navy as a lieutenant in 1964. It's hard to find a job teaching in November, but I went up to the uni to see if maybe they needed substitute teachers or anything, and was hired and began in late November of 1964. Gary guys, did you start as a teacher there or as a coach? David As a teacher. As a teacher. At some point they appointed or anointed you basketball coach for JV Basketball. DAVID I was freshman in junior varsity basketball coach for eight or Nine years. At some point, did you become coach of the golf team as well? DAVID Meow. The golf in 1967, the golf coach retired or resigned and I was appointed golf coach at that point. Care, guys, at that point, had you ever golfed yourself? DAVID Very little. GARY Guys, did you end up having to teach yourself how to golf in order to become a golf coach? DAVID yes. You also just recently had heart surgery, is that correct? DAVID Correct. Six weeks ago, yeah. GUYS and you decided to come up anyway, is that correct? You wanted to testify? DAVID yeah. I felt that I owed Scott's parents and Scott GARGAS okay. Do you, do you remember when you first met Scott? DAVID I never had Scott in a class, but our first contact was when he tried out for the golf team his freshman year. GARGAS okay, when he tried out for the golf team his freshman year, did he make it? DAVID yes. GARRIGA Were you struck or what were your first impressions of him? DAVID I don't remember a whole lot about his freshman year. I know that he played in a few matches his freshman year from his sophomore year on. He was junior and senior and he was a starter and most valued player in his junior and senior year here. Guys, at some point on that team, I know you've been modest about it when I talk to you, that team, during those four years that he was on the team, it produced quite some good golfers, did it not? Name it. In fact, there is, yeah. I had three Southern California state champions in the girls division is Christy Er in the girls division, Phil Mickelson and Manny Zerma in the boys division. Garrigas. Some of those went on to the and still do play professionally, correct? DAVID yes. Here, guys, I asked you yesterday because I was candid with you. I don't play golf, but I have often heard to some degree you can. I mean, if you play a lot with somebody, you could tell several things about people's character, the personality trait. Would you agree with that? Nail it. I agree wholeheartedly with that, yeah. Guys, would you say that you spent a considerable amount of time with Scott Peterson over those years, that you were his coach? DAVID during the golf season, definitely also got to know Lee Peterson pretty well. He would. Before Scott was able to drive, Lee was always down there to pick him up. He came early. And Lee and I played together quite a bit during that time. Also, Scott and his mom and dad were gracious enough to invite me out to their club to play on several occasions. So I got to know all of them pretty well and I think I am able to judge character pretty much the Scott, Gary Guys, could I ask you when you saw him and I guess the best way you at some point instituted during that four years when he was there, naming a captain of the team, Is that correct? DAVID it's correct here, guys. Who was the first captain you ever named? DAVID Scott Gargis. You were the one who appointed him captain? DAVID yes. Garagos why was that? DAVID well, our campus was very close to the course that we played, Stardust Country Club, and the students would be let out early to get down and warm up before match. And in the well, I normally stayed until the end of school. By the time I got down to the course, the other team had arrived. Scott kind of took it on his own to kind of get the guys organized and, you know, get things done. So when I got there, there wasn't a lot of responsibility that I had. Scott kind of taking care of everything. You know, guys did the I mean, you would see him, you would see him play with either or coach him, all the interaction. Did you ever, what kind of impression did you have of him? DAVID Scott was an excellent player, I guess. Number one, I never saw Scott lose his temperature. A golfer with a tendency to hit a bad shot, and that's when their real personality starts to come out. Scott was able to, I mean, if he hit a bad shot, he went on, played the next one. He accepted responsibility for what he had done and he continued on here. Guys. Did he show you respect? DAVID Absolutely. Gary goes, in what kind of ways? DAVID Respect is kind of a hard thing to define. Scott gave his respect to anyone. We played in a league with a lot of inner city schools, and some of the players that Scott had to play against were really poor players. Scott was shooting in the 30s, they would be shooting in the 60s. You can become very impatient in a situation like that. I never saw any impatience out of Scott. I never saw him throw a club or yell or scream. Garrigos would he become when you say he wouldn't be impartial, would he go out of his way to do positive things with these kids who may not have been as skilled as he was, teach them anything, things of that nature? DAVID More so with his teammates, helping them on the driving range and on the putting green and those types of things? CARRIGUS did you see him interact with his parents as well? DAVID yes. Yeah. Guys. And can you tell me, was he respectful or devoted to them? I would say he was devoted to them. A lot of kids would go out on the weekends, on their own. SCOTT he played golf with his parents. Very devoted. GARAGOS I asked you yesterday about, I assume you have seen and coached over the year. How many, how many years were you there? Name it. I was at the University of San Diego high school for 39 years. I coached for 32 years on the golf team here. Guys, do you mentally at least put down on paper somewhere, at least in your brain, your kind of top 10 students or players of your career? DAVID yeah, I established what I call my all star team, and Scott is on that all star team, still is. After 32 years of coaching with an average of 14 kids on a team, I don't know what that comes out to, but Scott is in the top 10 of those. And not only does your score count to get into that, but your attitude toward the team and your assistance to the team, just your overall personality. Gary goes, I assume that he made your all star team. Yes. Gary goes well before any of this happened, is that correct? DAVID yes, There goes. If I were to ask you, is he also in your top 10 now, withstanding his aptitude for golf or ability to play golf, just in terms of what kind of young man he was, would he also make the top 10? David Absolutely. Gary Guys, you know, you are here today, you know why we're here today. And I assume that you perceive some great promise in Scott as his coach. DAVID yeah, he's one of the finest young men that I coach and I knew he would be a success in whatever he did. GARAGOS Is it, has it caused you great pain, what's happened here? DAVID yes, it's unbelievable to me. GARAGAISE why is that? DAVID I just can't imagine anything like this from the young man that I knew. GARY Guys, the jury has been is being asked to put him to death. Do you have a reaction to that? Name it. I'm definitely against it. GARY Guys, thank you. I have no further questions. Oh my God, Are you kidding me? Okay, he's on the all star team now, y'all. He's a such a wonderful person and just couldn't have cut his own flesh and blood out of his wife's stomach and threw him in the water like trash. But continuing on, try to get another one out of the way. And it's our Mr. Mark Garagos again. And the witness is Charles P. Courtney. This on December 6, 2004. Garagas Good morning, Mr. Courtney. Courtney Good morning, Gary Guys, you described yourself as an, I guess, a golf pro to me this morning. When I was talking to you, is that right? At Ritual we know what goes into the holiday season, the potluck planning, the gift giving, the spreadsheets. So this new year, take a moment.