It’s a cornerstone of the American legal system and a virtual literary trope that people are presumed innocent until being proven guilty, but it sure was easy to assume the worst about fertilizer salesman Scott Peterson after his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner, mysteriously disappeared in late 2002.
After all, here was a man who told his mistress that his then-pregnant wife was already deceased, provided conflicting information about what he was doing the day she was reported missing, was spotting laughing at Laci’s candlelight vigil, and sold off her car in the weeks before her lifeless body was discovered. It was hardly the behavior of a devoted family man, and the public’s suspicions were confirmed when a jury found Scott guilty of double homicide in November 2004.
Watch American Murder: Laci Peterson on Netflix and Face to Face with Scott Peterson on Peacock
Two decades after his trial and conviction made national news, a pair of docuseries are renewing interest in Scott’s murder case. On Wednesday, Netflix released the three-part docuseries American Murder: Laci Peterson, featuring interviews with Scott’s former mistress, Amber Frey, and Laci’s mother, Sharon Rocha. Meanwhile, Peacock scored interviews with the Scott, himself, representing his first on-camera statements since before his arrest. Face to Face with Scott Peterson airs August 20.
Amid the extensive layers of the legal system, Scott’s appeals eventually earned a closer look as he waited out years on death row, setting up the once-unthinkable possibility he would get another shot at freedom. Now 51 years old, Scott continues to maintain his innocence, and recent updates offer a faint glimmer of hope he could be released. Here’s a comprehensive timeline of what’s happened in Scott Peterson’s murder case since that tragic December 2002 day when Laci went missing.
Laci Peterson’s Disappearance and Murder
December 24, 2002: Laci is reported missing
Scott tells police he last saw Laci, nearly eight months pregnant with their baby, at their Modesto, California home around 9:30 that morning before he left to go fishing. The report sparks a massive manhunt comprised of both regional and federal authorities and volunteer search teams. Scott quickly draws the scrutiny of investigators, who note his seeming lack of concern over his wife’s disappearance and his refusal to take a polygraph test.
January 24, 2003: Amber Frey reveals her relationship with Scott
Amber Frey, a massage therapist, tells reporters she began dating Scott two months earlier and was unaware that he was married. “When I discovered he was involved in the Laci Peterson disappearance case, I immediately called the Modesto Police Department,” Frey said, noting she reached out to authorities on December 30.
March 5, 2003: Laci’s case is reclassified as a homicide
Authorities offer no reason for the switch from a missing-person investigation other than a statement that notes they had “increasingly come to believe that Laci is the victim of a violent crime.”
April 13-14, 2003: The remains of a woman and fetus are found
One day after the body of a fetus is discovered on the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay, the decomposing body of a woman is found nearby, approximately two to three miles north of the Berkeley Marina where Scott said he went fishing the previous Christmas Eve.
April 18, 2003: Scott is arrested, and the bodies are identified as Laci and Conner
Peterson is apprehended in La Jolla, California, near the San Diego home of his mother and not far from the Mexican border. Along with sporting a dyed-blond hairdo and goatee, he is driving a car containing approximately $15,000 in cash, his brother’s ID, and multiple cell phones. Later that day, it’s confirmed the recently found bodies are those of Laci and Conner.
Scott Peterson’s Not Guilty Plea
April 21, 2003: Scott pleads not guilty
Prosecutors charge that Scott killed Laci at their house then used his recently purchased fishing boat to dump her body in the San Francisco Bay. In a brief arraignment at Stanislaus County Superior Court, Scott pleads not guilty to two counts of capital murder. He says he can’t afford a lawyer and is appointed a public defender.
May 2, 2003: Celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos joins Scott’s team
Geragos, who counted actors Winona Ryder and Robert Downey Jr. among his clientele and had recently been providing cable TV analysis of the Peterson case, announces he has been hired by the defendant’s family.
November 18, 2003: Scott is ordered to stand trial
Following 11 days of testimony from investigators, family members, and neighbors in a preliminary hearing, Judge Aldo Girolami determines prosecutors had shown probable cause and orders Scott to stand trial for the double homicide charges.
December 19, 2003: Laci’s mom files wrongful death claims
Laci’s mom, Sharon Rocha, files lawsuits as both an individual and the administrator of her daughter’s estate, seeking more than $5 million in damages from Scott. “She wants to make sure justice is done whether it’s in a civil court or a criminal court,” her lawyer says.
January 20, 2004: The trial is moved to San Mateo County
Conceding that overwhelming publicity and hostility had squashed the possibility of a fair trial in Peterson’s hometown, Judge Girolami announces proceedings will be transferred 90 miles away to San Mateo County.
Scott’s Murder Trial
June 1, 2004: Scott’s trial begins
The trial commences with the prosecution’s opening statement, which asserts that Scott sought a responsibility-free life by killing his wife and soon-to-be-born son. The following day, Geragos contends his client’s “boorish” behavior is hardly proof of murder and offers a preview of the medical evidence that points to the baby being born after Laci’s reported disappearance.
June 23, 2004: A juror is removed
Two days after juror Justin Falconer is spotted speaking to Laci’s brother outside the courtroom, Judge Alfred Delucchi dismisses Falconer. He also shoots down the defense’s request for a mistrial due to unfavorable news reports, noting, “We have to live with the media.”
August 10, 2004: Amber delivers her crucial testimony
Taking the stand for the first of her seven days of testimony, Amber Frey, represented by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, recalls the details of her fairytale first date with Scott. She goes on to relate his claims of being a widower and numerous other lies; 12 hours of recorded phone calls, played for the jury, bolster her accounts.
Legal analysts later pinpoint this testimony as a huge momentum-shifter for the prosecution. Prior to Frey’s statements, prosecutors were sputtering through a lack of firm evidence and mishandling some procedural matters.
October 21, 2004: The defense’s medical expert fumbles on the stand
Following through on his opening promise, Geragos calls on a medical expert who testifies that Conner died no earlier than December 29, 2002, indicating Laci was still alive after being reported missing. But the appearance ends badly for the witness, who concedes he relied on hearsay to pinpoint the date of a pregnancy test and, at one point, asks the cross-examining prosecutor to “cut me some slack.”
November 3, 2004: Jury deliberations begin and turn bumpy
After five months and more than 180 witnesses called to the stand, the jury is left to determine the fate of Scott.
On November 9, juror Fran Gorman is dismissed for misconduct—later revealed as conducting separate research—and is replaced by alternate Richelle Nice, whose name would resurface in appeals down the road. The following day, foreman Gregory Jackson is also removed, reportedly at his own request after repeated clashes with his fellow jurors.
November 12, 2004: Scott is found guilty
Despite the absence of a murder weapon or any physical evidence tying Scott to the deceased, he’s found guilty of first-degree murder for the death of Laci and second-degree murder for the death of Conner. The announcement sparks audible gasps in the courtroom, along with a roar of celebration from the crowd gathered outside.
Scott’s First Sentence and Appeals
December 13, 2004: The jury recommends a death sentence
Following 11 hours of deliberations, the clerk announces to a quiet courtroom that the six-man, six-woman jury had unanimously voted to “fix the penalty at death.”
March 16, 2005: The judge sentences Scott to death
Judge Alfred Delucchi sentences Scott to death by lethal injection, but his announcement is overshadowed by the emotion that erupts when Laci’s family is given the opportunity to speak. Parents from both sides yell, and Laci’s brother tells Scott that he had strongly considered shooting him. Scott, who sits stoically through the charged affair, declines to deliver a statement before being shipped off to San Quentin State Prison.
April 2009: Laci’s family foregoes the civil suit
Shortly before a scheduled hearing on April 30, 2009, it’s announced that Sharon and Dennis Rocha had dropped the wrongful death claim against their former son-in-law.
July 5, 2012: Scott files an appeal
In a 423-page document submitted to the California Supreme Court, Scott’s lawyer revives the complaint that intensive publicity had eroded the possibility of his client receiving a fair trial. He also claims Judge Delucchi had erred by excluding prospective jurors who opposed the death penalty but said they would consider imposing such a sentence. Another point argues certain evidence, such as the findings of a police dog with a poor track record of success, should never have been admitted as evidence.
November 24, 2015: Scott files a second appeal
The habeas corpus petition covers much of the same ground as Scott’s previous appeal, with one glaring difference: It includes the revelation that juror Richelle Nice, one of the late-trial replacements, had lied about an earlier involvement in legal proceedings by failing to disclose that she had once been threatened by her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend while pregnant. That experience, the defense argues, unfairly biased Nice toward wanting to convict Scott.
Scott’s Current Sentence
August 24, 2020: Scott’s death sentence is overturned
Agreeing with Scott’s argument that prospective jurors were improperly dismissed for their opposition to the death penalty but a willingness to adhere to it, the California Supreme Court overturns Scott’s death sentence. However, the court rejects the stance that he was unable to receive a fair trial and upholds the murder conviction. The ruling follows a June 2020 hearing regarding Scott’s 2012 appeal.
October 14, 2020: Scott’s convictions are ordered to be reexamined
Focusing on the “prejudicial misconduct” of juror Richelle Nice’s failure to disclose her previous legal entanglements, the California Supreme Court announces Scott’s case will be sent back to San Mateo County Superior Court to determine whether a new trial is needed.
October 23, 2020: Prosecutors announce plans to pursue the same course of action
A Stanislaus County spokesman says Assistant District Attorney Dave Harris intends to seek the death penalty for Scott again. Meanwhile, Scott’s lawyer Pat Harris, who worked alongside his client’s attorney Mark Geragos in the original trial, tells reporters: “An innocent man’s been sitting in jail for 15 years. It’s time to get him out.”
November 6, 2020: Scott declines a speedy trial
Appearing in a San Mateo Superior Court hearing via Zoom, Scott waives the right to speedy trial of the penalty phase of his case, setting the stage for a new chapter in his long-running legal saga.
December 8, 2021: Scott is resentenced to life in prison
A California judge resentences Scott, who was 49 years old at the time, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for Laci’s murder. The judge also ordered a concurrent sentence of 15 years to life for Conner’s death.
October 2022: Scott leaves death row for new prison
With Scott no longer in line for the death penalty, authorities transfer him from San Quentin State Prison to Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California. He remains there today.
December 20, 2022: Judge rejects Scott’s appeal for a new trial
A California Superior Court judge rules Scott won’t get a new trial based on his 2015 appeal that argued Nice lied during jury selection and was biased by her past legal experiences. Although the judge determines Nice did commit misconduct by falsely answering questions during jury selection, she rules those answers “were the result of a combination of good faith misunderstanding of the questions and sloppiness.” Ultimately, the judge finds Nice wasn’t set on convicting Scott prior to hearing the evidence.
Latest News: Scott’s Current Appeal
April 2023: Scott files a new appeal
According to two TV news stations in the Bay Area, Scott once again appeals his 2004 murder convictions in effort to prove his innocence.
January 18, 2024: Innocence Project joins Scott’s defense
Attorneys with the Los Angeles Innocence Project begin working on Scott’s case with his lawyer, Pat Harris, and are seeking evidence to investigate “his claim of actual innocence.” The team submits a court filing to gain access to material related to a house burglary that occurred across the street from the Peterson home around the time Laci went missing and requests approval for new DNA testing.
May 29, 2024: Judge orders limited DNA testing
A California judge presiding over Scott’s January 2024 court filing determines only one out of more than a dozen items should undergo DNA testing: a piece of duct tape found on Laci’s pants. Scott’s defense team argued “the [previous] limited testing offered inconclusive results,” according to NBC News. Despite the small victory, the ruling excludes a bloody mattress found in a burned van that’s connected to the 2002 neighborhood burglary from review.
Adrienne directs the daily news operation and content production for Biography.com. She joined the staff in October 2022 and most recently worked as an editor for Popular Mechanics, Runner’s World, and Bicycling. Adrienne has served as editor-in-chief of two regional print magazines, and her work has won several awards, including the Best Explanatory Journalism award from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. Her current working theory is that people are the point of life, and she’s fascinated by everyone who (and every system that) creates our societal norms. When she’s not behind the news desk, find her hiking, working on her latest cocktail project, or eating mint chocolate chip ice cream.
