The Laci Peterson Case

Laci and Scott woke up together on Christmas Eve 2002. Laci opened the curtains and made breakfast for the two while watching a brand new episode of Oprah. After eating breakfast, Scott then left to go fishing, and Laci went to walk their dog. Later on that day, a neighbor found the dog walking alone in the front of the house with its leash still attached with mud all over it. The neighbor then let the dog inside the backyard and left the situation alone. When Scott returned home to an empty house, he assumed that Laci went to her parents' house. Scott then called her parents to confirm her whereabouts, and, when the parents answered the phone, they believed that Laci was with Scott. Laci’s father then called the police and reported a missing person. Immediately, the news was all over this missing person case because she was eight months pregnant with their son, Connor. As the missing person case started, the police were suspicious that Scott could be a potential suspect. Traditionally, in most missing persons cases, the person who is close to the victim is the one who caused the crime. Scott met the police at a nearby park where Laci could have gone missing. Scott was given many opportunities to come forward with information about Laci’s disappearance, which he did, but Scott refused to take the scheduled polygraph test and continued to do so throughout the investigation. Throughout the investigation, the case was blowing up on every news station in California, and, later on, in the whole world; everyone was talking about the case except for one person. Detectives who on the case described Scott as unconcerned, relaxed, and somewhat happy, almost relieved. As the media began to write their stories on information that was being leaked, people believed that Laci was murdered by a Satanic Cult, burglary that went wrong, or Scott, who was trying to free himself of the life he had created.

Good Morning America's famous interviewer, Diane Sawyer, interviewed Scott Peterson. In the interview, Scott was caught in an immediate lie. Scott had claimed that he told the police about his affair and stated that he told the police that even Laci knew and she was okay with it. In the interview, Scott kept referring to Laci in past tense, which caught the viewer's and detective's attention because Laci and Connor were not determined dead. On April 13, 2003, two locals found a mutilated decomposed body washed ashore and immediately believed it was Laci. A few feet away from the first body was an infant in the same bad condition as the first body. Within days, a DNA test confirmed the bodies belonged to Laci and Connor. An arrest warrant was then put out for Scott Peterson. He had been staying in San Diego to get out of the media light. When the police went to arrest him, they found him with freshly dyed hair on a golf course. In his car was $10,000 cash, camping gear, his brother’s ID, four cell phones. The police believed that he was planning to run away near the Mexican border. Scott was arrested on April 18 and was arraigned on the 21st, being charged with two counts of murder. The family of Laci was trying to get the death penalty for Scott, and the district attorney concurred. After long months, Scott was found guilty on November 12, 2004, of first-degree murder of Laci Peterson and second-degree murder of Connor Peterson. In December 2004, the jury sought the death penalty, and the judge agreed. To this day, Scott claims that he is innocent and is currently in San Quentin State Prison on death row. When the bodies of Laci and Connor were found, President Bush signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, also known as “Laci and Connor’s Law,” which criminalized harming a fetus when assaulting a pregnant woman.

New information has come forward on August 24, 2020: California’s Supreme Court overturned Scott’s death sentence. California’s highest court announced on October 14, 2020, that it was sending Scott’s case back to San Mateo County for re-examination. Scott’s family released a statement after hearing the news claiming that they believe that as the court takes a closer look they will find enough evidence to warrant a reversal of Scott’s conviction. The family looks forward to Scott being granted a new trial in the coming months. The court ended up overturning Scott’s case, but, with no change in conviction, the court released a statement: “We reject Peterson’s claim that he received an unfair trial as to guilt and thus affirm his convictions for murder. But before the trial began, the trial court made a series of clear and significant errors in jury selection.” Many are relieved, especially the family of Laci, that he will not have the chance to walk free.