Sixteen Years Later, Family Of Scott Peterson Claims New Evidence Proves Innocence
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Sixteen years after the Laci Peterson murder case captured national headlines, family members say they have evidence that shows her husband Scott Peterson is innocent.
Scott Peterson's sister-in-law, Janey Peterson, made the claims Monday afternoon on the Dr. Phil show. There is no question in Janey's mind that Scott is an innocent man.
To prove it, she points to a mailman and the police department's own timeline for what she calls the truth. Janey even went head to head with former CBS13 reporter Gloria Gomez who exclusively spoke to Scott Peterson about the case.
"He should not be sitting on death row with this many unanswered questions," Janey said.
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Steadfast on her defense, Janey told Dr. Phil the family has new evidence that proves he did not kill his pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son Connor.
"There's no time for Scott to commit this crime. Scott has been wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and son," she said.
Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002. Her body, along with her unborn son, washed ashore in Richmond four months later.
Scott, Laci's husband, was convicted and sentenced to death for the double murders. He currently resides in San Quentin prison on death row.
Now 16 years later, Janey claims police failed to follow up with 14 witnesses, including a mailman who she calls critical to the case.
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"The mailman signed an affidavit that said if Mackenzie was inside or out in the yard, he would bark at the mailman. And on December 24th, the mailman came by and Mackenzie was not on the property," Janey said.
Former CBS13 reporter Gloria Gomez interviewed Scott Peterson. Dr. Phil asked Gomez if there was anything odd that stood out to her.
"He was very particular about me taking off my shoes when I first approached the house, so that was odd," Gomez said.
But Janey claims Gomez's reporting was inaccurate, and coupled with shoddy police work, helped convict Scott in the court of public opinion.
"He's on death row because he asked Gloria Gomez to take her shoes off," Janey said.
Gomez refuted Janey's comments on the show.
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"But at the end of the day, that body was discovered where Scott Peterson went fishing. That you cannot deny," Gomez said.
The Peterson family is now pushing for a new trial, and only time will tell if they'll be successful.
When Dr. Phil asked Gomez if she thinks Janey's new evidence creates doubt about who is responsible for the crime, she said, "the jury got it right."