Christmas 2002 was supposed to be a special one for the Peterson family. Scott Peterson and his wife Laci were expecting their first child, a son they named Connor, and all was well until Christmas Eve when Scott reported Laci as missing.
According to Scott’s statement, Dec. 24, 2002, started like a regular day. He claimed he left the house that morning to go fishing and went back to their Modesto, California, home in the afternoon to find Laci gone. Scott looked for his wife and checked with family and friends but no one had seen her or knew where she was. Before 6pm that same day, a missing person report was filed.
The investigation and search for Laci Peterson
A manhunt for Laci ensued while an investigation into her disappearance was ongoing, and authorities on the regional and federal levels worked on her case. Civilian volunteers also helped with the search for the missing mother-to-be, who was due to give birth in February 2003. Meanwhile, authorities were zeroing in on Scott, who was seemingly indifferent toward the situation. As is common with cases like this, investigators typically look at the people closest to the victim to eliminate them first. Scott, however, refused to take a polygraph test.
In January 2003, a woman named Amber Frey came forward and told authorities that she was Scott’s girlfriend of a few months. Scott was having an affair, but Amber wasn’t aware that he was married. Laci’s case gained attention from the media and according to Amber, she contacted authorities as soon as she realized that she was romantically involved with the missing woman’s husband. “Scott told me he was not married. We did have a romantic relationship. When I discovered he was involved in the Laci Peterson disappearance case, I immediately called the Modesto Police Department,” Amber stated.
In March 2023, authorities announced that based on their investigations, they were changing Laci’s case from a missing person to a homicide. It wasn’t clear at that point what prompted them to do that, but the Peterson home and Scott’s vehicles and personal belongings were searched just a month prior. The police statement said they believe Laci was “the victim of a violent crime.”
Scott Peterson’s arrest
In April 2003, Laci and Connor’s remains were found on the shores of San Francisco Bay, just a few miles from where Scott said he went fishing on the day of Laci’s disappearance. Investigators had been surveilling Scott for months, and he was aware he was being observed and even acknowledged the presence of officers at times by waving at them. Authorities knew that Scott had intentions of fleeing, so they arrested him before he could do so.
Scott had been staying with his mother in San Diego, and he was on his way to a golf course when he was arrested. In his vehicle, they found several pieces of clothing, six pairs of shoes, a tent, camping gear, and a water purifier. There were also three mobile phones, Viagra pills, a gun, and about $15,00o in cash. Scott also had bleached hair and a goatee, and he seemed like he had plans to disappear for a while. “The guy is like James Bond without a secret agent mission,” one of the detectives said.
The trial
Scott was charged with two counts of felony murder with premeditation and special circumstances, and he pleaded not guilty. During the trial, the prosecution stated that Scott killed Laci in their home and tossed her body into the bay. The defense, however, argued that investigators focused on Scott when Laci could have been abducted and killed by someone else while walking their dog on the day she disappeared.
Scott’s trial lasted for five months, and the jury found him guilty of the first-degree murder of Laci and the second-degree murder of their unborn son. Scott was sentenced to death, but it was overturned in 2020, and his sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2021.
Scott Peterson’s statements after almost two decades in prison
Scott has maintained his innocence throughout the years and has agreed to an interview for a docuseries titled Face to Face With Scott Peterson. In the interview, Scott said that he regrets having an affair. “It was about a childish lack of self-esteem, selfish me traveling somewhere, lonely that night because I wasn’t at home,” he stated. Another regret he has is not testifying during his trial, and he’s firm in saying that while he did cheat, he didn’t kill Laci and their son.
In January 2024, the Los Angeles Innocence Project took on Scott’s case, and they are putting forward the theory that burglars kidnapped and killed Laci. They also requested for new DNA tests to be done on several pieces of evidence, which the prosecution said had already been done. Of the 14 DNA retest requests, the judge only granted one — a piece of duct tape that was recovered from Laci’s body. It isn’t clear where Scott’s case will go, but for now, it looks like he’ll continue serving his sentence.