REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Scott Peterson strangled or smothered his pregnant wife not simply to be with his lover, but to rid himself of an unwanted child and to pursue life as a freewheeling bachelor, a prosecutor contended Monday during closing arguments.

“The reason he killed Laci Peterson was Conner Peterson was on the way,” prosecutor Rick Distaso told jurors. “Things were going to change. No more of this running around, living this double-life thing.

“He wants to live the rich, successful, freewheeling bachelor life. He can’t do that when he’s paying child support, alimony and everything else,” the prosecutor said. “He didn’t want to be tied to this kid the rest of his life. He didn’t want to be tied to Laci for the rest of his life. So he killed her.”

The defense was to begin its closing arguments today, with jurors expected to begin deliberations as early as Wednesday.

Peterson is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and the fetus she carried. Prosecutors claim he killed her on or around Christmas Eve 2002. Defense lawyers claim someone else abducted and killed Laci.

D.C.: Medicare’s cancer coverage

The Bush administration announced a proposal Monday to expand Medicare coverage for certain clinical trials for cancer drugs and pay cancer doctors to measure patient reaction to potent medication. The government also would pay for PET scans, or positron emission tomography, for cervical cancer and for studies of effectiveness of the scan for other cancers, Medicare chief Mark McClellan said.

Hinckley’s request opposed

Federal prosecutors Monday opposed a request by John Hinckley Jr., President Reagan’s assailant, to have more overnight visits at his parents’ home in Virginia, saying they fear that he has been deceptive about his relationship with a former girlfriend, with whom Hinckley is prohibited from making contact with while on his unescorted trips. The judge said he set that condition because Hinckley has developed delusional feelings toward women, notably when he believed that shooting Reagan would impress actress Jodie Foster.

Coast Guard choppers in peril

The number of engine malfunctions on the Coast Guard’s workhorse helicopter has increased dramatically as efforts to install safer motors have fallen behind schedule, the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general’s report said Monday. The Coast Guard has restricted use of the 84-aircraft Dolphin fleet, or HH-65s, because of safety concerns related to the engine malfunctions.