Although Scott Peterson was initially convicted of murder in 2004, only recently has a judge declared Peterson needs to be re-sentenced. Peterson was hit with two counts of first-degree murder for killing his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and the couple’s unborn son, Conner.
Scott Peterson’s wife, Laci, suddenly went missing on Christmas Eve 2002 when she was eight months pregnant. Scott claimed that he was fishing alone and had left Laci behind in Modesto, California. Scott claims that Laci was taken and killed as she was walking her family dog.
However, Scott’s mistress, Amber Frey, promptly contacted authorities after seeing Scott’s face on the news. Frey, who was giving a chilling testimony during the trial, described how Scott claimed to her that he was a widower after she learned that his pregnant wife had vanished suddenly. Frey taped telephone conversations with Scott in order to gather crucial evidence. Scott was found guilty and sentenced to death.
In August 2020, Scott Peterson’s death sentence was overturned, much to the nation’s surprise. The decision to overturn Peterson’s death conviction was made by the California Supreme Court, which stated the trial judge “made a series of clear and significant errors in the jury selection.” Apparently, these errors “undermined Peterson’s right to an impartial jury at the penalty phase.”
Even though Peterson’s sentence was overturned, he was by no means a free man as his murder convictions stayed in place. Instead, Peterson was forced to sit on San Quentin’s death row without a sentence. On Wednesday, a California judge ruled Scott Peterson would be sentenced in November to life in prison without the possibility of parole, removing him from death row, but ensuring he’ll remain bars for the brutal killings.
A month ago, Scott Peterson’s sister-in-law Janey Peterson claimed to have evidence Scott was not guilty. “There’s evidence that was completely ignored that shows Laci was alive after he left for the day,” Janey noted. During Scott’s trial, a neighbor testified seeing the couple’s dog outside at 10:15 the morning Laci disappeared. Janey stated that the dog was not there when the mailman arrived at their house at 10:30.
This evidence was never heard in court, and Janey believes it’s proof Laci was out walking the dog after Scott left the house. Janey’s theory is that Laci had a confrontation with a group of men who were robbing the house across the street the morning she went missing. However, the same theory was already presented in court as part of Peterson’s trial, and the court rejected it. Scott Peterson must now wait until October 10, when he will be back in court to have his formal re-sentenced.