Thousands Come To Remember Laci

Instead of celebrating her 28th birthday and her first as a mother, thousands of people gathered in Modesto yesterday to remember Laci Peterson and what she might have been.

Most of the mourners had never even met the brown-hair, brown-eyed woman with the dazzling smile who was last seen just before Christmas.

Peterson´s body and that of her unborn son were found last month. Her husband has been charged with their murders. At the memorial, Peterson was described as a gourmet cook who reveled in the company of friends and family and looked forward to motherhood. Her brother, Brent Rocha, said his sister would have wanted no sadness on the day of her memorial. Rocha says Peterson once said she wanted people to be happy when they remembered her.