Cara Knott

Although Peyer has his first opportunity for parole at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, the chances of him actually being released are slim, officials said.

"It's highly unlikely that a lifer would get a parole date from an initial hearing," said Bill Sessa, a spokesman for the state's Board of Prison Terms.

Mark Adams, an attorney who represented Peyer in an unsuccessful federal court appeal last year, said neither attorneys for Peyer nor Peyer's family would make any comments about his case.

Former District Attorney Paul Pfingst, the prosecutor who won the conviction of Peyer, said he considered it "incredible" that Peyer would even be eligible for parole after just 15 years in prison.

"The reality is I can't imagine any group of people anywhere in America who would let that man go after serving such a short period of time for what he did," Pfingst said.

Cara Knott murdered

Two days after Christmas 1986, Cara Knott was driving from her boyfriend's Escondido home to her El Cajon home when Peyer, a 13-year CHP veteran, pulled over her white 1967 Volkswagen Beetle on the then-desolate, dark Mercy Road.

Peyer had stopped dozens of young women at that location in the months before Knott's murder and engaged in sometimes lengthy conversations with the women about personal matters, stated a federal magistrate judge's report in 1997 that recommended denying Peyer's request for a new trial.

Knott's parents and her boyfriend began looking for her after she failed to return home by 10:30 p.m., more than two hours after she left Escondido. About 2 a.m., the family located Knott's car and called police, who discovered her body under the Old Highway 395 bridge, the judge's report said.

Today, a frontage road leading to the site and a freeway bridge overlooking the area are named for Cara Knott. The location near where Knott was found is home to a memorial garden of oak trees to honor her and other victims of violent crime ---- the result of efforts spearheaded by her father, Sam Knott.

Sam Knott became a tireless advocate for crime victims after his daughter's murder and ironically, ended his life near where hers was taken. He died of a heart attack in 2000 after picking up trash at the oak park.

Those who knew Sam Knott attribute his death to Peyer's actions as well, Joyce Knott said.

"It was a slow, agonizing death for Sam over the years," Joyce Knott said.

Peyer convicted

The jury at Peyer's first trial deadlocked 7-5 in favor of a guilty verdict. After a second trial in June 1988, the jury convicted Peyer, 38 and a Poway resident at the time, of first-degree murder.

Pfingst, the prosecutor at Peyerís second trial, hypothesized to jurors that Cara Knott was apprehensive about her safety and had an altercation with Peyer that got out of hand and put Peyerís marriage and career at risk.

The prosecutor told the jury that Peyer had to decide whether to let Knott go and risk losing everything he cared about or kill her, according to an excerpt of a trial transcript.

Peyer did not testify at either of his criminal trials. He told a probation officer after his conviction that he had long conversations with women he stopped on Mercy Road because he loved people. He said he ordered drivers to the isolated location off the freeway for safety reasons.

The highway patrolman denied killing Knott, the probation officerís report stated. His wife and parents continued to support him after his conviction, the probation report stated.

Witnesses saw scratches on Peyer's face after Cara Knott's disappearance. Fibers on the bridge, Peyer's gun and his left boot matched fibers from Knott's purple pants, the federal magistrate judge's report said.

A spot of blood on Knott's sweat shirt matched Peyer's blood type and tests excluded 98.4 percent of the population as the source of the blood. A blood spot on Knott's left boot matched Peyer's blood in tests that excluded 99.4 percent of the population, the report said.

In August 1988, Peyer was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Since then, state and federal courts have rejected Peyer's appeals, most recently in 2002 when a federal appeals court upheld a U.S. District Court judge's ruling denying Peyer's request for a new trial.

Mom speaks for victim

Peyer now faces his first chance at regaining his freedom at the upcoming parole hearing.

Joyce Knott said she believes she needs to speak for her husband and her slain daughter at the hearing.

Joyce Knott said she plans to discuss what happened to her daughter as well as Cara Knott's hopes and dreams.

"She was a bright young woman," Joyce Knott said. "She just had a lot to contribute."

Cara Knott was studying to become a teacher and wanted to get a doctorate in education. She loved animals and was artistic, interests she likely would have used to enhance her teaching, Joyce Knott said.

Cara Knott also used to take walks with her mother and talk about getting married and having children. She always noticed when someone appeared to be left out and would talk to them, Joyce Knott said.

"She was probably one of the most considerate people I've ever known," Knott said of her daughter.

County residents remain considerate toward the Knott family as well, she said.

People still recognize her name and ask Joyce Knott if she is related to Cara. Several people have sent letters to the parole board in advance of Peyer's hearing. Joyce Knott expressed her thanks to those who sent letters to the board.

"I know it means a lot," Joyce Knott said.

Panel weighs Peyer's parole

Comments from the Knott family, Peyer, his attorney, and a representative from the district attorney's office are among the materials a three-person panel will consider in deciding whether to set a parole date, said Sessa, the spokesman for the Board of Prison Terms.

Two commissioners from the nine-member board and a senior staff member working for the board will make up the panel that will decide whether to grant Peyer parole, Sessa said.

Sessa said the parole panel generally considers several factors ---- including an inmate's behavior in prison, any educational or vocational accomplishments he has had while in custody, and comments from the victim's family ---- to help it determine whether an inmate has served enough time for the crime and if he would pose a threat to the community if released.

Deputy District Attorney Joan Stein, who helped Pfingst prosecute Peyer and will be the district attorney's representative at the parole hearing, said Peyer's record in prison "doesn't show any big negatives."

However, Peyer's crime is "so above and beyond" a typical murder, if there is such a thing, that he should not be given parole, Stein said.

Recent history indicates that Peyer is not likely to be granted parole at his hearing.

In five years under former Gov. Gray Davis, 14,000 parole hearings were held for 6,000 inmates serving life in prison in California. Of those, parole dates were given to 370 inmates, 294 of whom were convicted of murder, Sessa said.

Davis allowed only eight of the 294 murderers scheduled for parole to be released, Sessa said.

About 18 inmates serving life have been given parole dates since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took office. Schwarzenegger has reversed 12 of those, ordered one back for further review by the full Board of Prison Terms, and allowed five parole dates to remain in place, Sessa said.

California is one of only three states that allow the governor to overturn the parole board's decisions to grant parole, Sessa said.

The three-person panel can deny parole for a period of up to five years, but more often inmates are allowed to seek parole again in one or two years, Sessa said.

Joyce Knott said even going to the prison for the hearing will be nerve-racking, but that she never contemplated not attending Peyer's first parole hearing.

"It's kind of terrifying to think about it, really," she said. "I wish he didn't have to be there. Then again, I hope that he's intimidated by what we have to say."

Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 or smarshall@nctimes.com.