Judge removes Peterson juror

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – A juror in the Scott Peterson murder trial who apparently did her own research on the case was removed and replaced with an alternate Tuesday, and the judge ordered the panel to start over with its deliberations.

“We’re going to send you back. Start all over again and keep in touch,” Judge Alfred A. Delucchi told the panel on the fifth day of deliberations.

It was not immediately clear what the woman did to get kicked off the jury. A source with close knowledge of the case told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity she had apparently disobeyed the judge’s orders to consider only the evidence presented at the trial.

“You must decide all questions of fact in this case from the evidence received in this trial and not from any other resource,” the judge said.

The judge removed the juror after meeting behind closed doors with lawyers in the case.

A day earlier, Delucchi lectured the jury about the importance of deliberating with an open mind.