A Happy Couple
Laci and Scott peterson were a wonderful couple according to family and friends. Laci's smile captivated everyone around her, and she could not be more in love with Scott if she wanted to.
Laci loved horticulture and made a living out of it, while Scott worked as a fertilizer salesmen. The couple lived a quiet life in Modesto, California, alongside their beloved dog. The two were very outgoing, and Scott loved fishing and playing golf.
Trying For A Baby
Laci and Scott met in college and dated for two years before getting married in 1996. They enjoyed their life as a married couple without children for several years but in the year 2000 they started trying for a baby.
But this wasn't easy. They kept trying and trying with no luck and they even thought about trying fertility treatments. Luckily, Laci became pregnant in 2002, and she could not be happier.
Christmas Eve
Laci was eight months pregnant on Christmas Eve 2002, and she and Scott were planning on spending a quiet Christmas alone at home, just the two of them.
That morning, the couple had breakfast together and, according to Scott, Laci left at around 10:00 am to walk the dog while Scott went fishing in the San Francisco Bay. Sadly, that would be the last time he would ever see his wife.
Scott's Version Of Events
When Scott realized his wife was nowhere to be seen, he called the police and gave them his version of events. According to him, he left for the San Francisco Bay at around 10:00 am and Laci went to walk their dog.
However, their neighbors had different stories. One neighbor said that she saw their dog outside Scott's house with a leash on but nobody was around, and another neighbor said that he ran into Scott that morning and he told him he was going to play golf, not go fishing.
Coming Home
Scott allegedly stopped by his warehouse to do some work before taking his boat to the marina. He had a receipt proving that he arrived there at 12:00 pm, and he said that the boat ride to the Bay took at least an hour.
He was fishing there for around four hours and at 4:00pm, he decided to head back. He called Laci several times and left voice messages for her, but she never answered. When he arrived home, he found the dog outside with a leash on alone but he didn't think much of it, thinking that maybe Laci just forgot about it.
Reported Missing
Scott then took a shower and called Laci's mom to see if Laci was with her at around 5:00 pm. One thing that rubbed her mother the wrong way was that Scott told her straight away that Laci was missing. Sure, she had been gone for a few hours, but why would he just assume she was missing? Maybe, Scott knew more than he claimed to.
He then called 911 and reported her missing, and that's when the search for Laci began. The police also searched the Peterson house, but found nothing. They also went to Scott's warehouse, but Scott didn't want them to search it.
The Investigation
Scott told the police not to go to his warehouse because the power was out and it was dark, so they wouldn't be able to see anything. But when they arrived, they found out this was not true. The power was working just fine, so they inspected the warehouse and his boat.
The police found nothing, however. There was something odd about Scott, so even though they had no evidence against him, the police asked him to take a polygraph test, yet he refused. This did not make him guilty, of course, but it did seem suspicious.
Missing
At this point, the police believed that Laci was missing but alive. They figured that maybe she went outside to walk the dog and maybe fell and injured herself, since she was so heavily pregnant.
Posters were put up all over Modesto, but Scott insisted that only pictures of Laci alone be put up. He did not want a picture of himself anywhere, which rubbed people the wrong way. On December 31st, a candle light vigil was held for Laci.
The Vigil
The community really came together for Laci at the vigil. Over 1,000 people attended the vigil and prayed together, hoping that Laci would be found soon, alive and well. Scott attended the vigil, but he was still nowhere to be seen.
He was in attendance, but he did not give a speech or stay with Laci's family during the duration of the vigil. He was somewhere in the crowd though, and he was seen on his phone a lot, as if he wasn't interested at all. Needless to say, this made him look even more suspicious.
The Media
As the days went by, Laci's case gained more and more media attention and therefore, Scott did too. The media slowly became obsessed with pointing the finger at Scott because he seemed so suspicious, so they stationed reporters outside his house 24/7.
Soon, the public also became suspicious of Scott, mostly because he seemed completely uninterested in her disappearance and did not want the police to search his warehouse or take a polygraph test.
Amber Fry
Eventually, all the media attention surrounding Laci and Scott led a woman named Amber Fry to come forward with crucial information about Scott. One day, she picked up a newspaper and read a story about the case and was shocked by what she read.
The story mentioned Laci's husband, Scott, and featured a picture of him, which she recognized instantly: it was her boyfriend! However, she had no idea that her boyfriend was married, and that his pregnant wife was missing.
A Double Life
Amber thought Scott was the perfect man. Scott told her he was a wealthy businessman who often traveled around the world, and she had no reason to doubt him. The two didn't see each other very often but when they did, it was magical.
The two had been dating for months when one day, Scott told Amber that he had a secret he hadn't told her. He told her that he had been married before but she had died, and this Christmas was going to be the first Christmas without her. This happened 5 weeks before Laci went missing.
Red Flags
When Amber found out the truth about Scott, she realized something was wrong. She went straight to the police and told them everything she knew, which made Scott even more suspicious because now he had a motive to get rid of Laci: he wanted to start a new life with Amber.
Amber agreed to let the police set up a device on Amber's phone so that her conversations with Scott could be recorded, and what the police found was chilling.
The Call
One of the many calls that the police recorded happened on December 31st during the candle light vigil for Laci. Remember that Scott was nowhere to be found that day? Well, it turns out he was on the phone with Amber during the whole event.
Not only that, but he told Amber that he was actually celebrating New Year's Eve in Paris during a business trip. He sounded happy and told Amber all kinds of stories, all while attending a vigil for his missing wife.
A Hated Man
When news of Scott's affair and lies leaked to the media, all hell broke loose. Not only did the media turn on him, but also the public and Laci's family. At this point, people feared the worst: Scott had probably killed Laci because he wanted to have a life with Amber.
Scott did several interviews and tried to clear his name, but people hated him. Yet, there was no evidence and Laci was nowhere to be found, so he could not be charged with anything. Because Scott owned a boat and went fishing the day she disappeared, the police searched the San Francisco Bay hoping to find Laci's body.
The Searches
The police searched the Bay several times and, oddly enough, Scott "secretly" watched the police from afar every single time. He rented cars so that he would not be recognized, but the police could not be fooled and knew that Scott was carefully watching the searches.
The searches led to nothing and for months, it seemed as though nothing would ever be found - that was until April, 2003. On April 13, the remains of a baby washed up to shore at the San Francisco Bay.
A Heartbreaking Discovery
Just a day after the body of a baby had washed up to shore, the body of a woman appeared at the Bay too. Both bodies were very decomposed, and the woman's body had actually split into different pieces due to decomposition.
It was later confirmed that these were the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn child who she was planning to name Connor. The way the bodies were found, although extremely gruesome, did shed a light on how they lost their lives.
Her Body
The fact that Laci's body was in pieces led police to believe that she had weights tied to her extremities to prevent her body from floating, which is also why her body hadn't been found for months. But as time went by and her body decomposed, her limbs got detached from her torso, allowing it to float to shore.
The remaining body parts were later found, and it was clear that this had been no accident. She had been murdered, and the killer and purposefully tied weights to her body so that it could never be found at the bottom of the water.
Connor
As we know, Laci was pregnant at the time of her death, yet her baby was found a day before her body was found. This was possible due to a phenomenon known as coffin birth, which occurs when a pregnant woman passes away.
After a while and due to decomposition, the body of the pregnant woman ejects the fetus just like in a regular birth, so that's why their bodies were separated. Needless to say, this gruesome discovery made news all over the country, and there was only one suspect: Scott Peterson.
Running Away
After Laci and Connor's bodies were found, Scott was ready to run away. Luckily, the police were faster, and arrested him before he could escape. They searched his car and found a lot of evidence that suggested his guilt.
He had $15,000 in cash, multiple cellphones, camping gear, a gun, and his brother's ID in his car, suggesting he was ready to go on the run. Not only that, but he had dyed his hair blond, suggesting that he was trying to conceal his identity. Could this guy look any guiltier?
Arrested
Someone who is not guilty of the murder of his wife and unborn child would be a mess of tears, but not Scott. He was emotionless, and only seemed worried about regaining his freedom rather than finding who killed his wife.
Scott was charged for two murders, Laci's and Connor's. But this would not be an easy case because all evidence was circumstantial. Yes, Scott seemed extremely guilty, but there was no direct evidence that he had actually done it.
The Trial
Scott had no criminal record and was known by family and friends as a very friendly, kind man. Yet, Laci's body had been found on the same spot were Scott was proved to be fishing that day on his boat.
Not only that, but he had a motive: his affair. He had even told Amber Fry that his wife was dead, on top of so many other lies! While the public believed that Scott was guilty, he had his family's full support.
The Case
The police put together their case for Scott's trial, and their theory stated that Scott probably strangled or suffocated his wife and drove her to his warehouse. There, he tied all her limbs to anchors and dumped her body in the San Francisco Bay, hoping her body would not float.
Because he strangled her, there was no blood to be found and he easily cleaned all potential evidence off his boat. The defense, on the other hand, claimed that all evidence was circumstantial and that Scott was innocent. Not only that, but the media was biased and demonized Scott, brainwashing the juror's minds.
The Outcome
Despite the lack of concrete evidence, Scott was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 2005. Laci's family and most of the public and media were relieved and finally got some closure, but there were still those who believed that there was reasonable doubt of Scott's guilt.
Scott attempted to appeal the verdict several times and on August 24, 2020, 15 years after his conviction, Scott's death penalty was overturned. His conviction still stands, but he is currently trying to get a new trial and still claims his innocence. Do you think he's guilty?