Scott Peterson returned to a courtroom recently in the latest development since he was convicted almost two decades ago for the murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn child on Christmas Eve in 2002.
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Innocence Project took up Peterson’s case, requesting to review some of the evidence that was used during his trial. Paula Mitchell with the Innocence Project said that there were ‘alarming deficiencies’ in what was presented during Peterson’s day in court.
TIP filed motions in the case for a post conviction discovery, sealed court records, DNA testing and exhibits that support the DNA testing. Some of the items requested by the defense are to go along with the theory that Peterson’s death was connected to a string of home burglaries in the couple’s neighborhood in Modesto. According to this theory, Laci Peterson witnessed a crime in progress, was abducted and then her body was left in the bay near where Scott had been fishing in order to implicate him based on information in the media.
One of these items is a cloth from a mattress that was booked into evidence after it was recovered from an orange van that was found ablaze in the Peterson neighborhood.
Why the cloth? Legal analyst Paula Canny states that if Laci’s DNA is on that cloth, it could corroborate the defense’s theory. ‘If that’s her DNA, it means Scott didn’t kill her,’ Paula said.
Other items include a work glove and hammer, as well as a Target bag and duct tape found near her body.
After a brief status conference, a few hearings were scheduled. A hearing on a motion to seal proceedings will take place on April 16th 2024. Another hearing on the DNA motions was scheduled for May 29th of the same year. The hearing regarding discovering proceedings will take place on July 15th 2024.
Peterson will be attending these hearings via Zoom from Mule Creek State Prison, where he has been incarcerated for almost 20 years.
KCRA states that ‘Scott Peterson was found guilty in a San Mateo Court after the remains of Laci and her unborn son Conner were found in the San Francisco Bay in 2003.
Peterson told investigators he had gone to fish in Berkeley, a few miles from where the remains ended up surfacing.
In December, Peterson’s request for a new murder trial was denied. Peterson alleged the resulting trial that gripped the world was tainted by a rogue juror who lied about her own history of abuse to get on the panel that initially sent him to death row.
Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo found there was no evidence to support the defense claim that Juror No. 7, Richelle Nice, committed misconduct during jury selection.’
Stay tuned with us at the Evidence Room for ongoing updates about this case. For more, check out our blog.
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