MODESTO, Calif. -- Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, has a simple request -- she'd like to sit at her late daughter's Modesto kitchen table and drift back mentally to happier times of preparing holiday meals or getting ready for a birthday celebration.
But those dreams currently are on hold.
Speaking for the first time in weeks, Laci Peterson's family appeared on the Fox News show "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" on Tuesday night. When asked what surprised her most so far in the murder prosecution of Laci's husband, Scott Peterson, Sharon was quick to answer.
"I think how little rights the victims actually have," she said. "That's it…the very little rights victims have."
When asked what she most wanted to do now, Laci's mother said she would like to visit her home.
"It's Laci's house," Sharon Rocha said. "I'd just like to go into Laci's house and sit down and feel her presence. Everything about it (Laci's house) is Laci. It's her memories."
Laci's stepfather, Ron Grantski, told Fox News that the Peterson defense team has stopped the family from having access to the house.
"We've asked (the attorneys) four times," Grantski aid. "They've changed the locks and the alarm number and everything else. The last we heard is that they don't think it's the right time. I don't think it's their decision to make -- if it's the right time or not."
Grantski said the family had faxed attorney Mark Geragos' team "two-three times and talked to them once. We received a fax form back from them so we know they know we want to (visit the home)."
On Thursday, the Rochas hired Modesto lawyers Adam Stewart and Albert Clark to help them gain permission to visit the house and collect her wedding dress, jewelry and other mementos.
In a prepared statement, the Modesto lawyers said Sharon had tried unsuccessfully to collect some of Laci's belongings, including her journals, a food processor and a watering can that said "Laci's Garden."
"They need to have the freedom and opportunity to sit in her chair that she used to sit in, to walk on the floor she used to walk on, to sit in Conner's room in the rocking chair Laci had purchased to rock him in, and just to have the opportunity to feel her presence," the lawyers wrote.
There was an unconfirmed report late Thursday that Geragos had spoken with the lawyers and had worked out an agreement to let the Rochas visit the house and remove some items. But the Rochas' lawyers could not immediately be reached by phone to confirm the deal.
The last member of the Rocha family to visit the inside of the home was likely Amy Rocha -- Laci's sister. Modesto police brought her in when they staged a massive two-day search of the ranch style home two months ago.
Amy Rocha has only said they wanted her there to identify some items, but has never divulged any more details.
However, rumors have spread that Scott Peterson may have given his former mistress Amber Frey some jewelry that belonged to Laci. Fox News Senior Correspondent Rita Cosby, appearing Wednesday on KTVU's Mornings on 2, said a source has confirmed the rumor.
She said it was all part of Peterson's courtship of Frey -- a courtship that continued after Laci's disappearance and Frey's coming forward to reveal the relationship publicly.
"I know a lot of the phone calls were him trying to frantically find her," said Cosby quoting her sources. "There were a couple times he called her 5-6 times a night. He basically called her every night for a month after she came forward (to publicly say she and Peterson had had an affair)."
"He was also still trying to romance her," Cosby continued. "Which is very surprising. After all this he was saying he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. And (he) even wanted to go on a vacation with her."
"She said 'Look, I want to go on a vacation by myself or with my friends.' He was trying to offer to pay for that vacation and also to buy her gifts. Which is pretty astounding given the circumstances."
Elsewhere, it appeared that Modesto prosecutors have decided not to convene a grand jury in the case. Instead, there will be a preliminary hearing scheduled to start on July 16. Veteran San Francisco defense attorney Bob Moore said on Wednesday's KTVU Mornings on 2 that that was a break for Peterson.
"I think it's (not having a grand jury) very good for the defense," Moore said. "In a grand jury setting, you don't get a chance to put on a defense and you don't have a chance to be in a courtroom. Therefore, you don't get a chance to cross-examine. So a grand jury can make it very tough for a defense."
Moore also said it was unlikely that Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami would toss out the charges because a police investigator listened in on a phone call between Peterson and his defense attorney.
"Theoretically, that's possible (that the case could be tossed out)," Moore said. "I think they (the defense) will file a motion to dismiss, but I don't think any judge is ever going to throw this case out based on the fact some investigator listened to a protected communication."
"As I understand it, it's pretty clear that none of the prosecutors have listened to that. For that reason, it won't happen. There may be some sanctions and obviously that information will not come in as evidence."
The next court hearing in the case was scheduled for June 6th at which time Girolami would rule on whether or not a gag order would be issued in the case.
Peterson was being held without bail on charges he murdered his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn son, Connor. In court on Tuesday, prosecutors once again told the judge they were seeking the death penalty in the case.
The badly decomposed bodies of Laci and Connor washed up last month on the shoreline of a San Francisco Bay waterfront park.
Peterson has told authorities he went fishing at the nearby Berkeley Marina on Christmas Eve, the day Laci -- who was eight months pregnant at the time -- disappeared from the couple's Modesto home.
He was arrested in San Diego days after the bodies were recovered.
Copyright 2007 by KTVU.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.