While the case dominated the headlines from 2002 through 2005, a new development has somewhat flown under the radar due to the dystopian news cycle of the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic. What is Scott Peterson doing now? Why may Scott Peterson get a new trial? Find out all the necessary details, but please be warned that much of this information is disturbing and potentially triggering.
Who is Scott Peterson and what did he do?
Scott Peterson’s wife, Laci, who was eight months pregnant, was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2002. Scott reportedly told authorities that he went fishing and that when he came home to their Modesto, Calif., residence, Laci was gone. Investigators recalled to CBS News that Scott wasn’t exactly forthcoming, showed little emotion and didn’t ask as many questions as usual for an innocent spouse of a missing person. Vigils and search parties were held for Laci, and financial rewards were offered for information on her whereabouts. Scott was photographed laughing and smiling at one vigil. In the weeks between Laci’s disappearance, the Associated Press reported that Scott sold Laci’s car and tried selling their house and turned their unborn baby’s nursery into a storage room; Scott was reported to be in debt before Laci’s disappearance. In January 2003, massage therapist Amber Freycame forward and said she and Scott had been having an affair since November 2002, when she alleges he told her he was single. Authorities found two bodies in San Francisco Bay days apart in April 2003: Laci and Laci and Scott’s unborn son Conner. Scott was arrested less than a week later and charged with two counts of felony premeditated murder with special circumstances; the two counts were because of a California law that states any fetus over eight weeks old that dies in a homicide is considered a second victim. Scott pleaded not guilty. In September 2003, Laci’s family filed a civil suit against Scott to prevent him from profiting by telling his story about Laci’s murder. That December, Laci’s mother Sharon Rocha filed a separate $5 million lawsuit against Scott for the deaths of Laci and Conner. Because of the massive publicity surrounding the case, the trial was moved to San Mateo County, Calif., and cameras were barred from the courtroom. The trial officially went underway on June 1, 2004. June 21, 2004, juror No. 5 Justin Falconer was seen speaking to Laci’s brother, Brent Rocha, at a courtroom security checkpoint; Falconer was dismissed from the jury a week later. In August 2004, Frey took the stand and said that Scott told her not just that he was single, but that he was a widower. She also alleged that he lied about his travels and where he lived. After Frey learned the truth of Scott’s life, she cooperated with police to record conversations with him, and the prosecution played some of the audio recordings in court. Jury deliberations in the case began on Nov. 3, 2004, and nine days later, Scott was found guilty of first-degree murder for Laci’s death and second-degree murder for Conner’s. The jury found that “special circumstances” applied to the murders, which impacted his sentencing: First-degree murder typically has a 25-to-life sentence with chance for parole and second-degree murder 15-to-life, but the special circumstances meant that Scott could be sentenced to death or to life without parole. In December 2004, after passionate pleas from Laci’s family, jurors recommended that Scott be sentenced to death. At his official sentencing in March 2005, Judge Alfred Delucchi officially sentenced Scott to death for the slayings. In October 2005, a judge awarded Laci’s $250,000 life insurance policy to her parents. In 2009, Laci’s family dropped their wrongful death lawsuit against Scott. Scott maintains his innocence.
What did Scott Peterson do to his wife?
Laci Peterson’s cause of death has never been determined because when her remains were so decomposed when they were found, forensic pathologist Dr. Brian Peterson (no relation to the couple) testified in court. Authorities alleged that Scott killed Laci in their home before decapitating and dismembering her body and disposing of it with a bag of cement in San Francisco Bay from his fishing boat. Dr. Peterson speculated that it was possible Laci died from strangulation or smothering, which wouldn’t have left behind forensic evidence. It also remains unknown whether Conner was born alive after Laci’s murder or if the fetus died before being expelled from her body. Scott denies all allegations against him and wept in court when autopsy photos were shown.
Has Scott Peterson been put to death?
While Scott Peterson was sentenced to death in December 2004, he was never put to death—and now he won’t be. In December 2021, Peterson was resentenced to life in prison without parole. The Associated Press reported that the California Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that jurors in Peterson’s trial were not properly screened for bias regarding the death penalty. Prosecutors declined to pursue the death penalty for a second time, reportedly in part to spare Laci’s family the trauma of yet another trial.
Where is Scott Peterson now?
Peterson was in California’s San Quentin State Prison on death row, but since his sentencing was overturned, he was transferred to San Mateo County Jail. In February 2022, proceedings began to determine whether Peterson was eligible for a new trial based alleged on juror misconduct, the Associated Press reported. In March 2022, his attorneys claimed (via the Associated Press) that they were having trouble getting in touch with Peterson while he was in San Mateo. Hearings concluded in regards to the juror misconduct claims in late March, and proceedings will continue through June 29, 2022, when California Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo will accept the submission for a decision at yet another later date. According to the Associated Press, if Peterson does get a new trial, his attorneys will present new evidence in court that burglars were in the vicinity on the day Laci went missing, as well as witnesses who claimed to have seen Laci alive the day of her disappearance. They will also submit evidence alleging that the fetus of their unborn son Conner survived for “at least another five to six days” after Laci went missing. Frey also agreed to testify if Peterson gets a new trial.
Why is Scott Peterson getting a new trial?
It remains to be seen whether Peterson will actually get a new trial. That said, the reason he may potentially receive a new trial is because of one juror in the original case: Juror No. 7, Richelle Nice, nicknamed “Strawberry Shortcake” for her bright red-dyed hair. Nice is accused of lying about her bias in her jury questionnaire, specifically when asked if she was ever the victim of a crime or involved in a lawsuit. Nice reportedly failed to disclose that in 2000, she had a restraining order against her then-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, alleging at the time that woman’s threats made Nice “really [fear] for her unborn child.” Nice was also accused of not disclosing that she accused her boyfriend of beating her in 2001. In a sworn declaration obtained by the Associated Press, Nice claimed that she didn’t see herself as a victim, nor did she consider a restraining order to be a lawsuit. Nice’s attorney told the Associated Press, “Most of the substance of [the questionnaire] is correct, but not all, and some of it is a matter of how you interpret stuff,” adding that her sworn declaration was “more assertive.” Testifying on the stand in February 2022, Nice told the court that her then-boyfriend’s ex didn’t actually threaten Nice’s unborn baby, explaining, “I was being spiteful. She wasn’t going to deliberately hurt my child, but if we fought and rolled around like some dummies on the ground … I was in fear I would lose my child doing something stupid like that.” In terms of her domestic violence allegations against her ex, she told the court that her ex didn’t hit her, but that she punched him—and that when he called the police on her, it backfired and ended up with him getting in trouble instead. She said that police may have arrested her ex because they saw a cut on her lip that she claimed was from the orthodontic braces she was wearing at the time. Shareen Anderson, who produced a documentary called The Murder of Laci Peterson about the Peterson case and trial, alleged that Nice and other jurors discussed writing a book about the experience during the trial, according to the Associated Press. Nice, along with six other jurors, contributed to a book after Peterson’s first trial called We, the Jury: Deciding the Scott Peterson Case, released in 2007. Anderson later walked back her claim, saying her memory was “fuzzy” in regards to whether Nice and the other jurors discussed a book deal before or after the conclusion of the trial. Nice was also accused of being in a bad financial situation and borrowing $1,000 from another juror, which she denied. She and Peterson exchanged 17 letters after the trial, which she has said was an effort to gain closure and even a potential confession from the convicted murderer—but he has maintained his innocence in the case. Peterson’s attorneys have accused Nice of being biased against Peterson from the start and called her a “stealth juror.” When asked on the stand if she had ill feelings toward Peterson, Nice said (via The New York Post), “Before the trial, I didn’t have any anger or resentment towards Scott at all. After the trial, it was a bit different because I sat through the entire trial and listened to the evidence.” She also said she “absolutely” only decided the verdict based on the facts and information presented in court, not in the media nor anywhere else.
When will Scott Peterson be released?
As it stands now, Peterson will be behind bars for the rest of his life. However, if he receives a new trial and is acquitted of the murders of Laci and their unborn son Conner, he will be a free man. It will not be determined whether he’ll have a new trial until the juror misconduct investigations are closed, which won’t happen before late June 2022. Next, can’t get enough true crime? Here are the 36 best true crime shows, ranked!
