Juror in Scott Peterson's 2004 murder trial "relieved" convicted killer denied a retrial
A judge denied convicted killer Scott Peterson's petition for a retrial in the 2004 murders of his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son.
The decision was focused on one of the 12 jurors in the initial trial. Peterson had alleged she was biased, but a judge ruled Tuesday she was not.
Mike Belmessieri was one of the 12 jurors who convicted Peterson of murder. He has been watching Peterson's request for an appeal, centered on a different juror, Rochelle Nice, nicknamed "strawberry shortcake" for her hair during the trial.
"I was relieved. Given the way the state of things are today, who knows what they're going to come up with," Belmessieri said. "For me, I didn't see Rochelle as being anything but involved in the deliberations. She participated in them, we had discussion, it was respectful."
Peterson alleged Nice intentionally lied in a juror questionnaire by writing she had never been the victim of a crime when she had filed a restraining order four years before in a domestic violence case.
The judge determined Nice was sloppy in her answers, but not biased.
"So even if we make a mistake, say something that's not accurate, it can be proven that it really wasn't with a bias or a purpose. OK, then it's going to be really hard to find an error," Sacramento-based Attorney Mark Reichel said.
The judge's ruling comes nearly 20 years after Laci Peterson went missing on Christmas Eve 2002. The heart-wrenching case drew sadness and outrage around the world.
"Scott Peterson, have no doubt, have no doubt, that Scott Peterson is exactly where he belongs. Eighteen years, 18 years he sat there, and I hope he sits there until the day he dies," Belmessieri said.
Peterson still has several appeals he can make to the state Appellate Court and then to the Supreme Court.