What's happening today in the Scott Peterson case? Updates 2024

A new true crime special is being broadcast exclusively on Peacock: Convicted murderer Scott Peterson protests his innocence in the 2002 double murder that kept the country on tenterhooks.

Peterson, 51, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of his pregnant wife, 27-year-old Laci Peterson, and the couple's unborn son, Conner. Laci disappeared from the couple's home in Modesto, California, on Christmas Eve 2002, four months before her and Conner's bodies were discovered on the shore of San Francisco Bay.

Scott Peterson, whose extramarital affair and financial problems became widely known during the investigation, was eventually found guilty of premeditated and intentional murder. He was sent to San Quentin's death row in 2005 before his sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2021. He continues to deny any involvement in the deaths of his wife and son.

Scott Peterson will give his first interviews in decades in the new three-part Peacock documentary series. Face to face with Scott Peterson, Premiere on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.

One of the main points of the motion for a new trial was a burned-out van that was discovered about a mile from the Petersons' home on Christmas Day — the day after Laci Peterson was last seen alive. Inside, an investigator reported, there appeared to be a mattress with possible blood stains, according to the LA newspaper.

The LAIP suspects that someone may have kidnapped the pregnant mother while she was walking her dog in the La Loma neighborhood on Christmas Eve. The organization also claims it has evidence from the owner of the van that there was no mattress in the vehicle before the theft.

Prosecutors, however, argued that evidence from the van had been examined in recent years but had produced no results. They said a new trial would only cause further unnecessary suffering to Laci's loved ones, calling the request a “fishing expedition,” according to San Francisco Bay. KRON TV.

Related to the van theory is the advocacy group's claim that investigators in Laci Peterson's disappearance focused so much on the husband as the prime suspect that they overlooked a burglary that occurred across the street from the Petersons' home around the time of Laci's disappearance.

An exact date of the break-in could not be determined because the homeowners were out of town between December 24 and 26, 2003.

In May 2024, San Mateo County Judge Elizabeth M. Hill denied new tests for the mattress, but allowed new tests on a piece of tape found on Laci Peterson's pants when she was found dead, as reported Oxygen.comThe tape was “folded upon itself” and contained human DNA, according to LAIP, although “no DNA profile could be established” at the time.

Attorneys for both sides agreed to the tests being conducted by Redlands-based laboratory Pure Gold Forensics, The Modesto Bee.

Were burglars responsible for the murder of Laci Peterson?

On July 16, 2024, Scott Peterson appeared in the courtroom virtually from prison, where attorneys continued to present new evidence in Peterson's latest hearing. Mitchell claimed there were phone calls from prison with “critically important information” supporting the theory that Laci Peterson was kidnapped and murdered after witnessing the alleged burglary.

During the initial investigation, Scott said he was fishing in San Francisco Bay, about 90 miles from home, when his wife disappeared.

According to court documents filed by LAIP, Correctional Officer Xavier Aponte provided affidavits that he listened to recorded phone conversations between brothers Shawn Tenbrink and Adam Tenbrink dating back to January 2003, days after Laci Peterson's disappearance. KRON TV.

“Adam explained that 'Laci Peterson had seen Todd and others. [sic] “I asked him to commit a burglary in the neighborhood,” the court documents state.

Lawyers said the men were referring to Steven Todd, who was charged with the burglary in January 2003.

Another unnamed accomplice stated that Todd called him from the burglary house and “asked him to help him move a heavy safe out of the house,” LAIP officials wrote. A second confidential prison informant stated in June 2024 that he had been hanging around several California prisons and collecting independent statements from men allegedly associated with the Modesto Hardcore Skinheads that “Laci Peterson was killed by her 'buddies' who were committing 'burglaries' with an 'old white garbage truck.'”

Ahnna Reicks, assistant district attorney for Stanislaus County, called the allegations “prison rumors.”

“They're asking for anything and everything except the kitchen sink,” Reicks said of Peterson's legal team, according to NBC affiliate Sacramento ^ “KCRA-TV: The Return of the Old Man”. “How is that reasonable?”

In ongoing hearings, Peterson's lawyers have requested about 600 pieces of evidence that they say prosecutors did not present during the first trial. Mitchell said they constitute “a mountain of exculpatory evidence” that “has never been examined and does not exist, has been suppressed or lost or disappeared.”

Mitchell added that prosecutors “flatly refuse to comply,” according to the Sacramento affiliate.

Reicks insisted that Peterson's team would not necessarily get the items just because they wanted them.

A judge has 90 days to decide on the decision.

Laci Peterson's relatives react to update on Scott Peterson case

During the July 2024 hearing, prosecutors read a statement from Laci Peterson’s mother, Sharon Rocha, in her own attempt to keep Scott Peterson behind bars, as published by ^ “KCRA-TV: The Return of the Old Man”.

“Laci was murdered by the man she loved with all her heart,” the statement said. “The man she believed would love and protect her.”

Rocha said her former son-in-law's “numerous” attempts to gain his freedom felt like “tearing open the crust” each time.

“Laci's family and friends are also in prison because of his selfish actions. We will never be released from our prison, no matter what happens in the future,” the press release continued. “Laci and Conner are gone forever. Our lives have changed because he murdered them. Why is he allowed to keep trying to overturn his conviction when other courts have already denied evidence? This is not justice for Laci and Conner. He is guilty of murdering them. When will this finally end?”

Laci Peterson's relatives expressed “tremendous relief” in late 2022 when lower courts upheld Peterson's conviction. His lawyers claimed at the time that one of the jurors, Richelle Nice, had failed to disclose a history of domestic violence before trial. However, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo ruled that Nice had not committed any misconduct as a juror, accordingly CBS News.

More information about the case, including Scott's version of events, will be featured in the three-part true crime special. Face to face with Scott Peterson, Premiering Tuesday, August 20, 2024, exclusively on Peacock.