When Scott Peterson was convicted of murder in 2004, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who doubted the verdict. By all accounts, it seemed that the man had killed his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson (nèe Rocha).
But after 20 years of what seems to be an open and shut case, Peterson has never wavered. He still maintains his innocence and in the intervening years, opinions on the court case have changed drastically. In a new documentary on Peacock entitled Face To Face With Scott Peterson, filmmakers revisit the details of the case in addition to new interviews with Peterson himself that may throw doubt into this true crime story.
Is Scott Peterson guilty?
It is quite common for the victim’s romantic partner to be the suspect, and at the time of his wife’s death, Peterson’s demeanor was questionable at best. During the investigation, authorities uncovered the suspect’s infidelity with Amber Frey. Laci’s body also cast a dark shadow over Peterson’s innocence. She and her unborn child were discovered washed up on shore close to where Peterson claimed to have been fishing. And while authorities issued an arrest warrant — and discovered Peterson with several different cell phones and his brother’s drivers license on the border of Mexico — this was all circumstantial. As much as it seemed he was the obvious culprit, no hard evidence tied Peterson to the death of his wife. In the past decades, he has maintained his innocence as stated in the documentary.
“I regret not testifying [at my trial], but if I have a chance to show people what the truth is, and if they are willing to accept it, it would be the biggest thing that I can accomplish right now — because I didn’t kill my family.”
According to Time Magazine, the Los Angeles Innocence Project has recently become involved in this case. In 2023, Peterson made his desire for further investigation known to the entity that fights against wrongful convictions. Peterson claims that potential evidence was not given the proper attention.
“Mr. Peterson’s been waiting for 20 years for police reports and audio recordings and video recordings that should have been provided. We are eager to get our investigation underway.”
Modesto Police have also received criticism for focusing too much on Scott and not looking into other suspects. Peterson notes in the documentary that he feels the police had already made up their minds about his alleged guilt before they had arrived on the scene. Another theory is that Laci had encountered a burglary in progress which led to her death.
Two convicted burglars were questioned but nothing came out of that theory. Peterson’s best chance at a new trial is for the Innocence Project to produce more evidence for DNA testing. As of the release of Face To Face, Peterson is still a convicted murderer in the eyes of the law. But the court of public opinion is another matter, and there seem to be more questions than answers in this infamous case.