Two new documentary series focus on murder of Laci Peterson, her husband Scott's conviction
The public's thirst for true-crime cases is likely behind the fascination with the 2002 murder of pregnant Laci Peterson and the 2004 conviction of her adulterous husband Scott, which are featured in two new documentary series.
Netflix's three-part docuseries "American Murder: Laci Peterson," premiered Aug. 14. The episodes revisits the sensational story that held a nation in its grip from when Laci disappeared from her Modesto home on Christmas Eve to Scott's pleas for help to find her, and on to tragic news of the discovery of Laci's remains and her unborn son's fetus in Richmond. Director Skye Borgman takes viewers through the crime and the punishment, and features a most rare interview with Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, along with Laci's friends and Scott's former girlfriend Amber Frey.
The other documentary series made for Peacock, "Face to Face With Scott Peterson," was directed by Shareen Anderson and Po Kutchins and focuses on the almost 20-year-old conviction of 51-year-old San Diego native Peterson. The three-part docuseries that premieres Aug. 20 addresses the LA Innocence Project's efforts to get Peterson a new trial and features the convicted killer in his first interview since 2003.
The series also includes interviews with detectives and others involved in the case, as well as an interview with Scott's sister-in-law Janey Peterson, who has maintained Scott's innocence.
While Peterson was sentenced to death in March 2005, the California Supreme Court overturned that sentence in 2020 after finding that potential jurors were improperly dismissed. Peterson was then resentenced to life in prison without parole in 2021.
The now 51-year-old Peterson and his defense team have continued to fight for a new trial.
The efforts of the nonprofit LA Innocence Project that started early in 2024 are built around their claims there is evidence that the former fertilizer salesman did not kill Laci and their unborn son. Attorneys filed motions earlier this year seeking that DNA evidence be retested. Judge Elizabeth Hill of the San Mateo County Superior Court only granted one of 14 requested pieces of evidence to be retested—a piece of duct tape found on Laci's remains during her autopsy.
In July, Peterson's defense asked for more than 600 pieces of evidence from the Modesto Police Department dating back to 2002 and the years after.