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Nearly 22 years after Scott Peterson was found guilty of murdering his pregnant wife, his legal team says “new evidence” could help overturn his conviction.
The 53-year-old’s attorneys with the Los Angeles Innocence Project (LAIP) say they’ve uncovered what they argue is new evidence that could undermine one of America’s most infamous murder convictions. They detail their findings in A&E’s new two-part docuseries, “Scott Peterson: The New Evidence.”
“When you initially have a missing person’s case, there are certain protocols, certain things that must be done, and that is to follow up on every possible lead to determine when and where the missing person was last seen,” Ninette Toosbuy, a retired LAPD detective who appears in the documentary, told Fox News Digital.
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“That wasn’t done in this case,” she said. “That alone, just that alone, got me very interested in looking deeper into the matter. I think that Scott Peterson does deserve a new trial. I think any individual who’s not given a fair trial to begin with deserves that. That is our system in the United States. A new trial would be the right course of action.”
But Laci Peterson’s mother, Sharon Rocha, isn’t buying it. Rocha, who has long rejected claims that Peterson was wrongly convicted, dismissed the documentary’s claims outright. “There is no new evidence,” People magazine reported. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Modesto Police Department for comment.
Prosecutors said Peterson murdered Laci, who was eight months pregnant, on Christmas Eve 2002 before dumping her body in San Francisco Bay. The remains of the 27-year-old and their unborn son, Conner, washed ashore months later. A jury convicted Peterson and sentenced him to death, though that sentence was later overturned. He is now serving life without the possibility of parole.
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The docuseries identifies 15 people who claimed they saw Laci walking her dog, McKenzie, on the morning of Dec. 24 — after the time Peterson told investigators he had already left home for a fishing trip in San Francisco Bay. Toosbuy said investigators’ handling of those reported sightings marked a turning point in the case.
“Why wasn’t this absolutely exhausted?” said Toosbuy. “Why wasn’t this followed all the way through? You’ve got witnesses, people in the neighborhood, who reached out to Modesto PD once they heard there was a missing person’s investigation going on.
“Basic missing person investigation 101 is to track down every one of those leads, interview them and determine whether they’re credible, whether they were actually in a position to have seen Laci. And if they, in fact, do seem to have been in a position, take them back to where they last saw her. Physically go to the area and take a look.”
“That wasn’t done,” Toosbuy said. “If you had witnesses who could confirm that they did see Laci at the park or in the neighborhood, and this would’ve been at the time after Scott already left for the marina, then that would’ve immediately excluded him as a suspect. If you have multiple people saying the same thing, then he could not have been the suspect or the murderer.”
Prosecutors have long argued that many of the reported sightings were unreliable or inconsistent.
Chris Pixley, an Atlanta-based defense attorney featured in the docuseries, said Modesto police largely disregarded the varying accounts, and Peterson’s defense team didn’t call any of the witnesses to the stand, People magazine reported.
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“You have to wonder whether the trial would have had a different outcome,” he said.
Peterson’s attorneys also say authorities didn’t fully investigate a burglary reported at the home of Rudy and Susan Medina across the street from the Petersons on the morning of Laci’s disappearance.
A burned-out van containing a mattress with what appeared to be bloodstains was found about a mile from Peterson’s home on Christmas Day. Peterson’s attorneys argued that Laci could have interrupted the robbery in progress and was then abducted and killed by the burglars.
Toosbuy believes Modesto Police zeroed in on Peterson as a suspect and quickly dismissed other theories.
“I think it’s bizarre that you find a van that was burned not far from Laci’s neighborhood and do not explore the possibility that it’s related,” said Toosbuy.
“I’m not saying that we know for sure it’s related. Of course not. However, it’s suspicious, and you’ve got a woman who’s now missing. Both of those things are unusual in a neighborhood like Modesto. You need to investigate whether there is a connection so that you can either eliminate the van or go further. It just leaves more questions than answers.”
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When asked how likely it is to obtain any DNA for testing today, Toosbuy replied, “I don’t know how much there is, and the courts would also have to OK it.”
“There are some legal procedural things that would have to take place,” she said. “But from an investigative standpoint, I think it’s really important that we find out what’s on that mattress, if the possibility is there.”
The two men convicted in connection with the Medina burglary denied involvement in Laci’s disappearance and were never charged in connection with her death. Prosecutors have maintained there was no evidence linking the burglars to Laci’s disappearance and said the Medina burglary occurred Dec. 26, after she disappeared.
Attorneys for LAIP have argued that only a small portion of the mattress fabric was tested for DNA, which they say is “insufficient to determine whether DNA from Laci and/or Conner was present.”
Court filings indicated prior testing did not identify Laci’s DNA on the portion of the mattress that was tested. LAIP has argued that the testing was incomplete.
Investigators later learned Peterson was having an affair with massage therapist Amber Frey. Peterson told her he was a widower facing his first holiday season alone.
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“Having an affair is not a nice thing,” said Toosbuy. “But having an affair does not automatically make you a murderer, either. It could make you a bad husband, but it doesn’t necessarily make you a murderer. Just because he made some bad decisions, that does not necessarily mean he’s the person who killed Laci Peterson.”
“I’ll be the first one to admit that there were things that he did that were really unwise, really dumb things,” she added.
The docuseries notes that Laci’s remains washed ashore in Richmond, California, and Conner’s body was found about a mile away. Hydrologist Ralph Chen testified that, based on wind data, Laci may have been placed in the water between Brooks Island and the Berkeley Marina, where Peterson said he was fishing. It’s believed Conner’s body separated from his mother’s in the water.
However, an expert retained by LAIP used Delft3D hydrodynamic modeling, which simulates wind and water movement, People reported. The expert concluded that Laci could have been placed in the shallows off Albany Bulb, a park accessible only by trail, miles from where Peterson said he went fishing.
There are also handwritten notes. At trial, prosecutors said Peterson purchased a fishing boat on Dec. 9, 2002, and secretly kept it in a storage facility because he intended to use the vessel to dispose of Laci’s body. Peterson’s attorneys said notes recovered from the home were reviewed by a forensic examiner and appear to indicate Laci knew about the boat and may have been buying equipment for it from marine supply stores.
In April, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hill denied Peterson’s latest petition, filed on his behalf by LAIP, to overturn his conviction.
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“Judge Hill recognized the most recent attempt to undo the jury’s verdict for what it was — nothing more than recycled, repackaged and rebranded arguments,” Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero said in May. “Laci, Conner and their family deserve the finality that justice promised them.”
Peterson’s attorneys plan to appeal to a higher California court.
“I do think there are some really compelling things that have come out of the Los Angeles Innocence Project’s efforts,” said Toosbuy. “Ultimately, everybody’s going to make their own decision about what was done, what was not done.”
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