In 2004, in one of the crucial high-profile trials of the previous twenty years, Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his spouse, Laci Peterson, 27, and their unborn son, Conner, with whom Laci was eight months pregnant. Now, two totally different new docuseries on the case — Netflix’s American Homicide: Laci Peterson (launched August 14) and Peacock’s Face to Face with Scott Peterson (releasing August 20) take totally different approaches to Peterson’s conviction and unresolved questions on what occurred when Laci disappeared from their residence in Modesto, California, on Christmas Eve in 2002.
The following media frenzy over her disappearance drove nationwide headlines for months. In spring of 2003, the our bodies of each mom and son washed up in San Francisco Bay, just some miles from the place Peterson had gone fishing the day Laci disappeared.
It’s uncommon for a prison prosecution to have as a lot incriminating circumstantial proof pointing towards the guilt of a single particular person as prosecutors had within the case of Scott Peterson — “overwhelming proof” with “no different affordable clarification,” as one lawyer who adopted the trial described on the time. The invention included 42,000 pages of paperwork. The proof in opposition to Peterson included weeks of obvious planning, forensic proof together with mitochondrial DNA, and months of suspicious habits each earlier than and after the very fact. But ever since a controversial 2017 docuseries helped flow into the concept the case in opposition to Peterson was manufactured by a media circus moderately than the info of the investigation, websleuths have more and more latched on to and bolstered perception in Peterson’s innocence.
Final week, the Los Angeles Innocence Mission introduced that they’d taken on Peterson’s case, making a “declare of precise innocence that’s supported by newly found proof.” It’s unclear what that proof may be, however hypothesis has run rampant, primarily specializing in particulars associated to an notorious however unconnected theft that occurred throughout the road across the time of Laci’s dying.
So how did we wind up right here? It’s at all times wholesome for the justice system to bear scrutiny; in spite of everything, the courtroom has already discovered that Peterson’s penalty part was unjust. In 2020, Peterson’s authentic dying sentence was overturned as a consequence of improper jury choice, and he was resentenced to life with out parole. That’s arguably consequence, a case of the justice system self-correcting.
But the campaign for Peterson’s innocence appears to have little or no to do with justice and even the precise info of the case and extra to do with exterior influences — from the bandwagon impact to the outsize affect of some podcasters and the gamification of true crime itself.
A media circus doesn’t a false conviction make
Should you keep in mind something concerning the Scott Peterson case, you doubtless keep in mind the Amber Frey of all of it: Frey, Peterson’s girlfriend, discovered herself thrust into the middle of a high-profile crime and beneath a relentless media highlight after she got here ahead to police. Frey didn’t know Peterson was married; he had informed her weeks earlier than Laci’s disappearance that he had misplaced his spouse.
Frey was a star witness for the prosecution, a take-no-BS sort who cooperated with authorities for months and made recordings of her conversations with Peterson. These included a infamous cellphone name Peterson made to her on New Yr’s Eve whereas attending a candlelight vigil for his murdered spouse, through which he claimed to be in Paris, pretending the background noise of all Laci’s mournful supporters was coming from vacationers on the Eiffel Tower.
(Should you didn’t know that was an actual factor that occurred, then howdy and welcome to a very head-turning case.)
You in all probability additionally keep in mind the incessant media protection of this case on the peak of the 24-hour TV information cycle. Peterson’s notorious interview with Diane Sawyer, through which he laughed in all of the fallacious locations, led to limitless evaluation of his psychology and what it mentioned about his guilt or innocence. In the meantime, Frey appeared in an incendiary press convention, the place she mentioned the litany of lies Peterson had fed her each earlier than and after Laci’s disappearance.
Latest advocates for Peterson’s innocence have closely implied that the media created a false narrative of his guilt. This idea was a core a part of Peterson’s denied 2012 attraction, in addition to A&E’s inflammatory docuseries The Homicide of Laci Peterson. However there’s a distinction between media curiosity in a case and media manipulation of a case. Actually, a lot of the contemporaneous reporting on the Peterson trial was truthful and even sympathetic to the protection.
The truth is that no quantity of media sympathy may totally ameliorate the harm created by Peterson’s personal habits.
Scott Peterson by no means wanted the media’s assist to look responsible
Scott Peterson appeared to have the proper life: job, a fantastic, sensible spouse who adored him, and a child on the best way. However (cease us in the event you’ve heard this one earlier than) not all the pieces was because it appeared. Peterson had been dishonest on Laci with a string of girls since at the least the start of their five-year marriage. He didn’t need to be a father and informed family he was “hoping for infertility.” Including to the strain was the extreme monetary pressure he was beneath; his enterprise was failing, and two-thirds of his paycheck went towards paying off loans and curiosity on $20,000 in bank card debt.
On the morning of December 24, 2002, Scott Peterson claimed to have left Laci — his eight-and-a-half-month-pregnant spouse — getting ready to do some intense housecleaning, whereas he stopped off at his warehouse after which went fishing.
Peterson would later inform authorities that he determined to take an impromptu fishing journey to Berkeley Marina, round 90 miles away and previous a number of different extra handy our bodies of water. He had beforehand informed a number of neighbors and family that he deliberate to go {golfing} that day, and later lied to some of them about the place he’d gone. As a proof, he would declare to police that he determined it was “too chilly” to go {golfing}, so by his telling, he spontaneously determined to go sit in a ship on the windy bay in 40-degree climate as a substitute.
However nothing concerning the journey to the marina was spontaneous. Peterson, who was not a daily fisherman — he hadn’t had a daily fishing license since 1994 — started researching fishing boats to purchase on December 7, 2002. On December 8, he did in depth internet searches for fishing provides and tidal currents across the bay space, even zooming in on Brooks Island, the place authorities imagine he took Laci’s physique on Christmas Eve. He paid money for a small fishing boat on December 9 — the similar day that he informed Amber Frey that he had “misplaced” his spouse and that this could be his first Christmas with out her. On December 23, the day earlier than his supposedly unplanned fishing journey, he bought a fishing license legitimate for 2 days solely.
Though he initially lied and informed police he left residence on Christmas Eve at 9:30 am, cellphone data positioned him at or close to residence at 10:08 am, simply 10 minutes earlier than a neighbor discovered Laci’s canine working unfastened on the street and returned him to the Petersons’ yard. After finally driving to Berkeley Marina and fishing there for lower than an hour, he arrived again residence at round 4:30 pm, washed his fishing garments, ate some pizza, after which known as Laci’s mom to inform her that her daughter was “lacking.”
Regardless of the reams of circumstantial proof, direct proof within the case was scant. Peterson’s blood was discovered on the door of his truck, for which he gave conflicting explanations. A couple of drops of blood have been additionally discovered on their bed room comforter. Caught in a pair of pliers recovered from Peterson’s boat, police discovered hair matched to Laci’s by way of mitochondrial DNA testing, an inconclusive however nonetheless genetic match — however Laci allegedly by no means knew concerning the boat. Prosecutors additionally discovered proof that he’d made a number of cement anchors, solely one among which was positioned, and which they believed he used to overwhelm Laci’s physique.
Peterson’s odd habits continued after Laci disappeared. He made unusual statements to associates and family concerning the cuts on his hand; he displayed a prevailing lack of emotion; he appeared reluctant to take part in search events to search for her or press conferences about her.
His cooperation with police “was at all times conditional,” investigators informed Folks in 2005. “He was involved concerning the fallacious issues.” He made repeated non-fishing journeys to the marina, 90 miles away, solely to “stare into the bay” after which depart once more after a couple of minutes. This was in January, months earlier than Laci’s physique would finally be discovered within the bay.
The identical day their our bodies have been recognized, Scott Peterson dyed his hair, borrowed his brother’s picture ID, and headed for the Mexico border with over $10,000 in money. The ultimate jury wanted simply seven hours to convict him and in the end sentence him to dying.
Innocence advocates need to ignore a lot of the proof to make their case
The greatest argument Peterson’s defenders have that one other perpetrator dedicated the murders is {that a} housebreaking occurred simply down the road. Peterson and his advocates argue that the 2 perpetrators of that housebreaking, Donald Pearce and Steven Todd, burgled the home on the morning of December 24 and that within the course of, they kidnapped Laci Peterson. Since (in accordance with Peterson) Laci was strolling her canine that morning, his supporters sometimes imagine she should have run throughout the burglars in the midst of the theft, attracted their consideration, and been murdered because of this. They theorize that Pearce and Todd waited for a number of days after which dumped her physique within the area of the bay the place Scott Peterson went fishing on December 24, all as a way to body him for the homicide.
However this concept doesn’t stand as much as scrutiny, for quite a few causes. Even when we settle for the absurd speculation that two thieves would abduct and kill a pedestrian in broad daylight, do nothing about it for a day or two till their homicide sufferer turned headline information, after which danger driving 90 miles to dump the high-profile sufferer’s physique in an space the place they already knew police have been looking out, all to border a husband whom police already suspected, the timeline doesn’t work.
Laci went lacking on December 24. The robbers didn’t break into the neighboring home till the morning of the twenty sixth. Each Pearce and Todd have been investigated and cleared by investigators in 2003, and each cooperated totally with police. And even when the robbers may have lied about after they broke into the house, that nonetheless doesn’t work, as a result of the residents of the house they robbed, the Medina household, didn’t depart their home on December 24 till roughly 10:33 am based mostly on their cellphone data — practically a half hour after Scott Peterson left and quarter-hour after the canine was seen wandering the streets solo.
One other conspiracy idea was one initially touted by Peterson’s protection at trial: the concept Laci was killed as a part of a ritual sacrifice and that Conner was faraway from the womb alive. The primary cause such a ridiculous idea may emerge (a idea dismissed by media on the time as traditional satanic panic) is that the our bodies washed ashore at totally different instances; nevertheless, the pathologist who carried out the autopsies on each our bodies was assured that Conner died within the womb on account of his mom’s dying.
Among the many most typical causes individuals give for arguing that Laci was nonetheless alive and effectively on the morning of the twenty fourth is that a number of witnesses claimed to have seen her strolling her canine. However in accordance with investigators, none of these eyewitness studies have been constant or verifiable. Many have been based mostly on media studies of what Laci was sporting — studies that initially got here from Peterson, who claimed that Laci had been sporting black pants. When her physique was discovered, nevertheless, she was sporting khaki pants. This matched what her sister had seen her sporting the night time of December 23 — the night time authorities imagine Peterson murdered her.
How do we all know when somebody is responsible of homicide?
One of many pitfalls of dwelling in an period of superior forensic science is that it’s simpler for a protection to argue {that a} dearth of forensics should equate to a dearth of proof. However for many of human historical past, the first manner we’ve determined whodunnit is by accumulating good old school clues — that’s, circumstantial proof. Circumstantial proof isn’t at all times compelling, and it could actually typically be defined away successfully by a defendant. However the extra there may be of it, the much less affordable alternate explanations change into. In Scott Peterson’s case, he and his protection staff have prepared solutions for each piece of incriminating proof in opposition to him, aside from the most important query of all: Why is there a lot incriminating proof in opposition to him?
As a society, we pay a number of consideration to what it means to show one thing past an inexpensive doubt. We spend a lot much less time considering what unreasonable doubt may appear like. Maybe we needs to be paying extra consideration to the latter, if solely so extra instances like this one don’t squander an excessive amount of of our cultural time and a focus. The variety of true crime devotees and influencers who imagine in Peterson’s innocence could also be rising, however not each declare of innocence is constructed on rational considering.
To justify Scott Peterson’s habits, it’s a must to posit a set of extraordinary circumstances, together with that he simply so occurred to say his spouse’s demise to his girlfriend, coincidentally in the exact same week he abruptly evinced an curiosity in fishing for the primary time for the reason that ’90s, coincidentally shopping for the identical boat the place her hair would later be discovered, after he coincidentally went fishing in the identical area of the bay the place her physique would finally be discovered, all whereas coincidentally mendacity repeatedly about his personal actions. In a fictional situation, it may be enjoyable to think about that every one these particulars may very well be the results of some weird shock clarification. However in the actual world, a world the place murder by their intimate companions is a number one reason behind dying for pregnant ladies, we all know higher.
Or at the least we must always — if just for the sake of the subsequent Laci Peterson.
Replace, August 19, 11:36 am: This piece was initially revealed on January 29, 2024, and has been up to date with information of two new documentaries concerning the Laci Peterson case.