You can now watch Netflix's new miniseries on Laci and Scott Peterson. The American Murder: Laci Peterson is an investigative docuseries that looks into one of the most famous true crime cases from 2002.
The three-part series talks about different theories of what happened and even features Scott Peterson's first statement which he made in 2004 since his arrest.
Laci Peterson was a pregnant woman who was killed by her husband, Scott Peterson. She went missing in 2002 from their home in Modesto, California, after which Scott reported her missing.
Four months later, her body and the body of their unborn baby were found near San Francisco Bay, which resulted in Scott’s arrest after being charged with double murder in 2004. He was charged with first-degree murder of his wife and second-degree murder of his unborn child, Conor.
Scott Peterson has consistently denied killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn child. But he did admit in American Murder: Laci Peterson to having an affair with Amber Frey, a single mother and massage therapist.
Peterson, now 49, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors say Scott Peterson had motives to kill his wife and unborn child. They believe he did it to escape the responsibilities of fatherhood.
With his affair with Amber, they think Scott wanted to focus on her and their child instead of Laci.
Now, 20 years after the incident, director Skye Borgman released the true crime series American Murder: Laci Peterson, featuring insights from Laci's family, friends, Scott's relatives, and law enforcement officials to uncover the truth for the public.
Scott Peterson was sentenced to death by lethal injection, but in 2020, the sentence was overturned and reduced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In 2024, the Los Angeles Innocence Project took over his case and is currently reviewing it.
American Murder: Laci Peterson: What happened on the day that Laci went missing?
The day Laci Peterson disappeared, Scott Peterson allegedly went fishing at Berkeley Marina. He claimed to have left his house around 9:30 a.m., but his cell phone records show that he called home at 10:08 a.m. When he returned from the marina, he found his dog tied up in the backyard with no sign of Laci.
Scott reported his pregnant wife missing and cooperated with the investigation. The case became a huge media sensation, bringing his life to the public eye. During the five-month trial, the prosecutor tried to paint Scott as a man who didn't want to be a father and wasn't willing to pay child support.
However, Scott's sister-in-law, Janey, believes his story about a break-in across the street and thinks Laci might have gone to check it out.
Janey, along with Susan Caudillo and former ABC News producer Mike Gudgell, believe the burglary was never fully investigated. They believe there's a connection between the burglary and Laci's disappearance.
During an interview in the docuseries, Gudgell states.
“I don’t think the police looked at the burglary enough to understand the tie-in to Laci’s disappearance.”
The police linked Scott to the murder because they found a strand of Laci's hair on a pair of pliers in his boat. They think Scott threw Laci's body into San Francisco Bay. But Peterson still denies having any contribution to his wife’s murder. He said:
“If I have a chance to show people what the truth is, and if they are willing to accept it, it would be the biggest thing that I can accomplish right now — because I didn’t kill my family,”
How would Scott Peterson benefit from Laci’s murder?
According to the prosecution in American Murder: Laci Peterson, Scott Peterson wanted to be free from his marriage and the responsibilities that came with it, especially since his wife was pregnant.
He didn't want to be a father or pay alimony and child support if they got divorced. So, he decided to kill his wife and unborn baby to get out of it.
While married to Laci, Scott was secretly seeing Amber. Amber only found out that Scott was married after Laci disappeared. She said she didn't know Scott was married because he lied to her, saying he wasn't married and that her daughter Ayiana was enough for him.
Scott accompanied Amber on a family vacation while Laci was at a friend’s gathering.
When Amber discovered Scott's lies, she confronted him. He told her he had lost his wife and was taking his first holiday without her. He said his wife had passed away on December 9th, 2002, the same day he bought a new boat. But in reality, Laci was still alive on the day of 9th December 2002.
American Murder: Laci Peterson: Where is Scott Peterson now?
Scott Peterson is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He says he's innocent and believes authorities missed important clues about his wife’s disappearance and possible abduction.
After the release of American Murder: Laci Peterson, people were divided on whether Scott did it or not. Some think he's guilty; others think he's being unfairly blamed for Laci's murder. The Los Angeles Innocence Project group believes Scott has been wrongly accused and wants to clear his name.
Scott's new lawyers are working hard to reopen the case and retest the DNA evidence using the latest technology.
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Fans interested in the true crime genre can stream American Murder: Laci Peterson, which delves into a 2002 murder case on Netflix.
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