More than two decades after Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son, Conner, many people are not convinced that he actually committed the killings.
In light of the Los Angeles Innocence Project’s motion seeking a new trial on behalf of Scott, veteran legal analyst and defense attorney Chris Pixley investigated the case in A&E’s docuseries Scott Peterson: The New Evidence.
Keep reading to learn about the biggest bombshells revealed in part one of the docuseries, which premiered on Thursday, July 16.
Inside Scott Peterson’s Arrest
After Laci was last seen on December 24, 2002, Conner’s body was found in the San Francisco Bay on April 13, 2003, and Laci’s body was found nearby on April 14, 2003. Scott was then arrested for their murders on April 18, 2003, and he was convicted on November 12, 2004.
Scott was originally sentenced to death, but was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2021 because potential jurors were improperly dismissed. He remains behind bars at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California.
The Los Angeles Innocence Project’s Arguments for Scott Peterson’s Appeal
“Scott Peterson always maintained his innocence. And now the Los Angeles Innocence Project is arguing to the federal court that the constitutional basis of his conviction is not viable and that he was wrongfully prosecuted and convicted. First they’re arguing that new fetal biometric science suggests that Laci Peterson likely didn’t die on December 24, 2002. That she may not have died for many days or even weeks later,” Pixley explained in the docuseries. “If they’re right, that means that Scott Peterson is innocent.”
The LAIP’s second argument is that “new computational hydrodynamic modeling suggests that if Laci Peterson’s body had been placed in the bay in the location where Scott Peterson was fishing, her body and Connor’s body would not have been recovered where they were.”
Additionally, the organization is “challenging the integrity of the investigation.”
Visiting Scott Peterson and Laci Peterson’s Home
During the docuseries, Pixley and retired officer Ninette Toosbuy went to the Peterson’s house to understand the scene of the alleged crime. They noted that the area was very “open,” which would have made it hard for Scott to place Laci’s body into the trunk of his pickup truck without being seen by a neighbor. However, that is what police claimed he did.
Police Argued That Scott Peterson Dumped Laci Peterson’s Body During a Boat Ride
The Modesto Police Department initially argued that Scott killed Laci at their home, put her body in his car and drove her to a marina so he could drop her body in the water during a boat ride.
“The boat is problematic in a number of ways. First of all, if Peterson drove this shallow bottom boat from his warehouse to the Berkeley Marina with his wife’s body in the back, the state’s theory requires Scott to have used a boat cover to conceal Laci’s body. But the physical evidence doesn’t support that argument,” Pixley said. “The LAIP says that the boat straps show no real sign of wear and tear.”
Pixley added that it was visible at the time of day that Scott went out on the boat, making it likely he would have been seen with the body if he had it with him.
Pixley and Toosbuy both agreed that police quickly determined detectives believed Scott committed the murders because he didn’t follow all of their orders and he acted differently than Laci’s other loved ones.
However, the LAIC argued that police were “focused with tunnel vision on Scott Peterson right out of the gate.”
Scott’s former attorney, Mark Geragos, agreed and said, “They had tunnel vision that it was Scott to any logical, rational explanation otherwise.”
Inside Scott Peterson’s Interrogations
Scott was interrogated the same day that Laci went missing and the tape was released to the public. The state argued that Scott did not appear to be grieving or concerned during the interrogation, and he even took a phone call during it.
“What the public hasn’t been made aware of was that that phone call was coming in from Laci’s sister, Amy,” Pixley said.
Toosbuy said that police likely already knew they believed he was the suspect during his first interrogation.
Pixley added that Scott’s “cooperation with the police was significant,” noting that “he agreed to multiple interviews on the day of her disappearance.”
“Peterson also agreed to turn over to them all of his devices … he agreed to give them a lie detector test,” Pixley continued, noting that he never took a lie detector test because his father felt uneasy about it.
Scott Peterson Was Having an Affair Before Laci Peterson’s Death
Scott initially didn’t tell police he was having an affair with Amber Frey at the time Laci disappeared. However, Pixley argued that Scott being a cheater didn’t make him a killer.
“The fact that Scott Peterson cooperated with the police, extensively on the day of his wife’s disappearance and the days that followed, lays groundwork for a previous argument that this guy was doing everything he could to find his wife,” Pixley said.
Police Claimed That Scott Peterson Kept the Purchase of His Boat a Secret
Geragos said the theory that Scott took out the boat to get rid of Laci’s body “never made any sense.”
Prosecutors argued that Scott bought the boat with the “purpose of murdering his wife and using the boat to deposit her body in the San Francisco Bay.” However, Scott claimed he bought it for his father-in-law as a Christmas gift and he allegedly took it out on the day of Laci’s disappearance to test it out.
In 2024, the LAIC found handwritten notes in the Peterson’s home about the boat that were allegedly written by Laci and were never given to the defense team.
“If true, that means that not only was she aware of the boat, but that she participated in the purchase of accessories for the boat. And if she knew about Scott’s boat, the whole argument at the time of the trial that he premeditated her murder and purchased the boat in order to carry out the disposal of her body is false,” Pixley said.
Pixley recruited the help of an independent handwriting examiner, who confirmed the note was likely written by Laci.
Scott Peterson Was Accused of Dropping Laci Peterson’s Body in the Water
Pixley further reflected on the police’s theory that Scott dropped Laci’s body in the water during a boat ride. He explained that new science “challenges” the police’s arguments that the bodies washed up in a place that made sense for where Scott would have allegedly dropped them.
“The Los Angeles Innocence Project makes the argument that the new tidal science changes this case and undermines the reliability of the verdict here,” he said, noting that new tidal science “places the bodies being inserted in the bay from a shallow water location, like the Albany Bulb.”
Pixley went on to note that there’s “no suggestion Scott Peterson was at the Albany Bulb” and there’s “no suggestion that he drove his car out in that direction” at the time of Laci’s disappearance.
Laci Peterson’s Disappearance Was Considered a ‘Timeline Case’
Pixley said that Laci’s disappearance was considered a “timeline case.”
“The state established their entire timeline on the basis of the testimony of one person, Karen Servas, the Petersons’ neighbor. But was Karen Servas’ testimony as critical as prosecutors made it out to be?” Pixley asked.
Servas found the Petersons’ dog, McKenzie, unattended with her leash attached on the front yard on the morning of December 24. She placed the dog in the Petersons’ backyard before she went on errands.
The state argued that Laci must have been dead on the morning of December 24, which was why she didn’t take McKenzie out on her morning walk. “The state never addressed how McKenzie got a leash on in the first place, why she was out in the front yard or any alternative timeline that would’ve involved Laci preparing to go for a walk and being called back into the house,” Pixley said.
Chris Pixley Questions the Modesto Police Department’s Investigation
Pixley argued that the Modesto Police Department wasn’t qualified to handle the case because murder was uncommon in the area.
He also said that they didn’t follow up with many witnesses. “Fifteen witnesses came forward with eyewitness sightings of Laci. The sheer number of eyewitnesses, that’s compelling,” Pixley said. “The witnesses placed Laci Peterson walking her dog in her neighborhood after the time that Scott Peterson would’ve left for his warehouse and for the Berkeley Marina. The majority of the witnesses contradict Scott’s and the state’s timeline of events.”
“That’s not something you can dismiss, but it was actively being dismissed by the investigators,” Pixley said, adding that the findings “challenge” if it was a “thorough investigation” because witness testimonies were dismissed.
Pixley went on to speak to several of the witnesses, who corroborated that police never followed up to discuss their version of events when they saw Laci walking McKenzie on the day of her disappearance.
The case will continue to be broken down when part 2 of Scott Peterson: The New Evidence airs on A&E on Friday, July 17, at 8 p.m. ET.
