What started as a college romance ended in murder and mystery.
1994 – Scott Peterson and Laci Rocha met in 1994 while both were in college at California Polytechnic State University. They married two years later. In 2002, Laci became pregnant. The two lived in Modesto, California and planned to raise their unborn son Conner there.
Laci Peterson missing
December 24, 2002 – Scott Peterson says on Christmas Eve morning he left his pregnant wife alone to go fishing about 90 miles away at Berkeley Marina. He says Laci planned to walk the couple’s dog, McKenzie, and mop the kitchen floor. When Scott returned home hours later, he says he found McKenzie there alone, still on a leash, but with no sign of Laci. That evening, Laci’s stepfather called the police to report her missing.
Looking for Lazio
Family, friends and volunteers launched a massive search for Laci Peterson.
Scott Peterson was interviewed by police in the early hours of Christmas Day. Now-retired Modesto Police Detective Jon Buehler says Scott didn’t seem as interested as one might expect. “Oftentimes, a victim who’s been left behind asks us a bunch of questions … And we didn’t get anything from him,” Buehler told “48 Hours.”
Amber Frey
December 30, 2002 – Less than a week after Laci Peterson disappeared, Modesto detectives raced to investigate an intriguing lead: A Fresno massage therapist named Amber Frey revealed she had been dating Scott Peterson for more than a month. She told police that Peterson had lied to her and said he was single.
Secret recordings
Former detective Buehler notes, “His memory was fantastic. It was almost like a script from a Hallmark TV show or something.” Amber Frey remembered every detail of their romantic dates, down to what they wore. Hoping to find clues that can lead them to the missing woman, the detectives ask Frey to tape the phone calls between her and Scott Peterson, and she agrees.
Affair revealed
January 24, 2003 – In an explosive press conference a month after Laci Peterson’s disappearance, Amber Frey publicly reveals her affair with Scott Peterson. “I am so sorry for Laci’s family and the pain this has caused them,” he said. “And I pray that he comes back safely, too.”
Before Frey went public, Peterson had told her in a recorded call that he was in Paris when he was actually in Modesto while the search for Laci was still ongoing. Finally, Scott admitted to her, “I lied to you that I’ve been traveling.” Those recorded calls would later become part of a damning case against Peterson.
bodies found
April 13 and 14, 2003 – Two bodies are found on the shores of San Francisco Bay. They are later identified as Laci Peterson and her unborn child. The two bodies were found about a mile apart.
Scott Peterson arrested
April 18, 2003 – Authorities found Scott Peterson on a golf course in San Diego and arrested him. Authorities found a wad of cash, her brother’s ID card and several cell phones inside the vehicle. Days later, Peterson pleaded not guilty to two counts of capital murder.
Trial and error
June 1, 2004 – Scott Peterson’s trial begins in San Mateo County, California. Because of the great publicity, the trial was moved from Modesto to Redwood City in San Mateo County. The decision was made because the judge decided it would be difficult for Peterson to get a fair trial too close to home, where emotions were running high.
High suspicions
August 10, 2004 – In what many consider a major turning point in the trial, Amber Frey took the stand for the first time to tell the jury about her relationship with Scott Peterson, a secretly married man, and all the lies she told him. Frey painted a picture of a dishonest man who could tell untruths with ease, damaging his credibility.
Jurors heard the lies for themselves in those recorded phone calls Frey made.
Justice for Laci and Conner
November 12, 2004 – Scott Peterson was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Laci and second-degree murder in the death of his unborn son Conner. The crowd outside cheers.
Peterson Jurors
March 16, 2005 – Four months after his conviction, Scott Peterson is sentenced to death. In a press conference, juror number 7, Richelle Nice, [pictured center] called Peterson a “moron” and remarked “San Quentin is your new home,” referring to the prison where he would serve his sentence. Nice was nicknamed “Strawberry Shortcake” during the trial because of her hair color.
Death sentence overturned
August 24, 2020 – After two appeals, Scott Peterson’s death sentence was overturned by the California Supreme Court after ruling that the judge in the original trial made an error when jurors were chosen for the trial. The result of that error, Peterson’s supporters say, was that the jury was stacked with death penalty jurors. Peterson, shown here in 2018, will now receive a new trial for the sentencing phase only.
The court upheld their murder convictions.
Juror number 7
October 14, 2020 – The California Supreme Court orders a lower court to reexamine Peterson’s murder convictions and decide whether he should get a new trial. Scott Peterson’s supporters say it all comes down to the actions of that juror once nicknamed “Strawberry Shortcake” — Richelle Nice, pictured here in 2005.
During jury selection, prospective jurors filled out a questionnaire asking if they had ever been in a lawsuit in the past and if they had been a victim of crime. Not checked nice. “It’s pretty clear … that he lied right to our faces about his own situation,” Peterson’s current attorney, Pat Harris, told “48 Hours.” In fact, Nice was involved in two domestic disputes in the past. But prosecutors say that when Nice filled out that questionnaire, she didn’t lie, she just didn’t think her past experiences were relevant to the questions and didn’t see herself as a victim. A lower court will now consider whether Peterson will get a full new trial. Richelle Nice declined to speak to “48 Hours.”
New evidence?
March 7, 2021 – CBS News’ Jonathan Vigliotti interviewed Scott Peterson’s sister-in-law, Janey Peterson, about her “war room” of evidence she says proves his innocence. He claims witnesses saw Laci walking through the neighborhood near Peterson’s home after the time Scott said he went fishing. If this is true, then Scott could not have killed Laci.
Scott Peterson’s attorney explains, “There’s been a lot of criticism that we didn’t call some of the witnesses who saw Laci that day,” and that the thought process at the time was that “some of the witnesses who saw her didn’t have great – the memories or they had against – they contradict each other”.
Retired Detective Jon Buehler says there are no witnesses who saw Laci alive that morning. He says there were other young women in the neighborhood who were pregnant and looked like Laci, and that “it would be very easy for someone to mistake one of those three girls for Laci.” Still, Janey Peterson insists Scott is innocent.
A robbery
Perhaps more important to a new defense case is what Janey Peterson believes really happened to Laci. He points to a burglary he believes happened the same day Laci disappeared, right in front of Peterson’s house. Scott Peterson supporters theorize that Laci confronted the robbers and it ended badly. But police quickly arrested the thieves, Steven Todd and Donald Pearce, pictured here in a 2003 Modesto Police Department news release.
Awaiting a decision
April 27, 2021 – Scott Peterson appeared in court remotely for a status hearing on a new death penalty trial.
December 8, 2021: Scott Peterson was convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the death of his wife and unborn child.
2024: The Los Angeles Innocence Project took up Peterson’s fight for a new trial. A California judge has since granted his defense team access to previously undisclosed evidence, as well as permission to do additional DNA testing.
Peterson and his supporters maintain that the wrong man is in prison for the deaths of Laci and Conner. According to Detective Buehler, “Well, I guess it’s possible. But you know, there are still people who believe the Earth is flat, too.”