Nancy Grace Gives Rapid Fire Answers connected True Crime Cases

To look astatine Scott Peterson before Christmas Eve successful 2002 was to spot a young, handsome household man, a 30-year-old fertilizer salesman surviving in Modesto, Calif., who was astir to go a first-time dad.

To look astatine him astatine astir immoderate clip since is to spot 1 thing: a murderer.

Scott was resentenced to beingness successful prison without the anticipation of parole connected Dec. 8, 2021, successful the deaths of his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son, the culmination of a 15-year effort to get him disconnected of decease row.

But the 50-year-old mislaid his bid for a caller trial, a justice ruling Dec. 20—almost 20 years to the time aft Laci disappeared—that though a juror had provided answers to a tribunal questionnaire that were "false successful definite respects," she was not "motivated by pre-existing oregon improper bias" and her beingness connected the assemblage didn't forestall Scott from getting a just trial, per documents obtained by NBC Bay Area. 

Scott tin entreaty the ruling. His defense squad has posited that Laci was killed erstwhile she walked successful connected burglars, after her hubby had near the location for the day.

"I couldn't consciousness my feet connected the floor. I couldn't consciousness the seat I was sitting in. My imaginativeness was adjacent a small blurry," Scott, recalling the infinitesimal helium was convicted, was heard saying connected an audio signaling successful the 2017 A&E docuseries The Murder of Laci Peterson. "And I conscionable had this weird sensation that I was falling forward—and guardant and down and determination was going to beryllium nary extremity to this falling guardant and down, similar determination was nary level to onshore on.

"I was staggered by it. I had nary thought it was coming."

What happened to Laci Peterson?

It was Laci's stepfather who archetypal reported her missing aft she vanished connected Dec. 24, 2002, amid the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations. Scott told police that his 27-year-old wife, who was 8 months large with a lad they'd already named Conner, had been planning connected walking their aureate retriever astatine a nearby parkland when he past saw her, earlier helium near to spell fishing at the Berkeley Marina. He had near her a voicemail aboriginal that day, telling her helium was connected his mode home.

Laci's purse was astatine their house, and truthful was the dog.

What did Scott Peterson bash aft woman Laci disappeared?

Scott theoretically should person been distraughtly pleading for immoderate accusation astir his wife's disappearance, tirelessly combing the country for her with the constabulary and countless volunteers. But aggregate accounts painted him arsenic quiet, polite and acting oddly removed from the proceedings. "She volition beryllium giving commencement existent soon," helium reportedly told investigators astatine the time. "We request to bring them location and I deliberation that's the champion mode we tin bash it all."

Reflecting connected however they built a lawsuit against Scott, Modesto Police Detective Jon Buehler told People successful 2005, "We've been doing homicides for a while. When you comparison Scott's demeanor with different radical we've dealt with, helium didn't adjacent registry connected the standard arsenic acold arsenic seeming concerned. And erstwhile [fellow detective Al Brocchini] played the portion of that lame-o connection that Scott near connected Laci's phone—'Hey, beautiful, I'm connected my mode backmost from fishing. Pick up the handbasket astatine Vella Farms. I emotion you, sweetie,' oregon words to that effect—it conscionable seemed truthful insincere and false, similar helium was making this telephone to marque america deliberation helium was successful emotion with her.

"But anybody who has been joined for 5 years knows determination aren't excessively galore radical who speech to their spouse similar that aft that magnitude of time. It didn't mean that helium did it; it conscionable meant we needed to enactment him a small spot person and wide him."

Within 2 weeks of Laci's disappearance came the allegations that Scott had been having an affair, and that helium had taken retired a $250,000 beingness security argumentation connected his wife. He called the reports "a clump of lies," explaining that helium and Laci each carried the aforesaid magnitude of beingness insurance.

When was Scott Peterson's matter with Amber Frey exposed?

Then, on Jan. 24, 2003, 27-year-old single ma Amber Frey came guardant to accidental she'd precocious had an affair Scott—and that erstwhile they met connected Nov. 20, 2002, helium told her helium was unmarried. Days before Laci disappeared, she said, helium told her helium was really a widower. Frey said she contacted constabulary connected Dec. 30 aft she saw her person connected the news. 

With each web angling for a portion of the story, Scott picked ABC News' Diane Sawyer to beryllium down with, tearfully admitting that the matter had been "inappropriate," but that helium had confessed to Laci, they had enactment it down them and helium had thing to bash with her disappearance. Scott's household joined him for the 2nd half of Good Morning America's two-part exclusive. (Telling Sawyer that Frey was his lone indiscretion would travel backmost to haunt him, arsenic would his assertion that helium voluntarily told constabulary astir Frey.)

Another candlelight vigil was held connected Feb. 10, 2003—Laci's due date—in the parkland wherever she was expected to person gone to walk the dog.

"I adjacent get requests to interrogation the inmate who cuts [Scott's] hair," a Stanislaus Sheriff's Department spokesperson told Vanity Fair for an August 2003 article that was much astir the media frenzy than the execution itself.

"Every clip we enactment [the story] on, the ratings spike," Fox News' Bill O'Reilly also told VF. "It's the lone happening keeping Larry King connected the air. We bash Laci Peterson each 15 minutes and spot the numbers spell up. It's a communicative that resonates with women particularly."

According to the Washington Post, by June 30, 2003, the Peterson case had been featured 79 times on Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show, 40 times connected MSNBC's The Abrams Report, 38 times connected Fox's Hannity & Colmes, 38 times connected MSNBC's Countdown, 37 times connected Fox's top-rated O'Reilly Factor, 34 times connected CNN's Larry King Live and 20 times connected MSNBC's Hardball.

"They appeared to beryllium a young joined mates with their full aboriginal up of them, and she disappeared. That got radical hooked," MaryLynn Ryan, managing exertion of CNN/US astatine the time, told the paper, rejecting the perception that the web was milking the case. "People person go invested successful knowing the result of what happened to her."

A fewer months aft Dean Cain played Scott Peterson successful the Lifetime movie The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story, the proceedings yet began successful June 2004. Geragos scored a tiny triumph successful getting the venue moved retired of Modesto and to Redwood City aft successfully arguing his lawsuit couldn't perchance get a just proceedings successful a metropolis that had been consumed with Laci's disappearance and death.

What happened aft Scott Peterson's execution trial?

The proceedings lasted 9 agelong months, including the punishment phase, and outgo the metropolis and region a reported $4.1 million.

It took the jury, aft 2 jurors had to beryllium removed and replaced with alternates, 9 hours to scope a verdict: blameworthy connected 2 counts of superior murder, for Laci and Conner.

Judge Alfred A. Delucchi sentenced Scott Peterson to decease connected March 16, 2005.

"You are going to pain successful hellhole for this, you are," Laci's father, Dennis Rocha, yelled successful tribunal erstwhile fixed the accidental to code Scott, the New York Times reported from the scene. "Your beingness is done."

Describing Scott's demeanor the greeting of his sentencing, proceedings juror Mike Belmessieri told the NY Times, "Scott came successful with a large large grin connected his face, laughing, it was conscionable different time successful paradise for Scott, different time that helium had to spell done the motions. Scott had nary emotion connected his face. Scott was being Scott."

The justice rejected a defence question for a caller trial, Scott was ordered to wage $10,000 successful restitution for ceremonial expenses and, with that, tribunal was adjourned. The inmate was subsequently transferred to San Quentin State Prison's decease row.

What was Scott Peterson's beingness similar connected decease row?

California hasn't executed anyone since 2006 and portion voters successful 2018 rejected an accidental to abolish the decease punishment successful the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium connected executions erstwhile helium took office.

For 15 years astatine San Quentin, Scott's location was a 41-square-foot cell, minus a a reported five hours a time for workout and different recreation, specified arsenic playing basketball or board games. Prison spokesperson Samuel Robinson told Fox News successful 2012 that Scott got on with different inmates and unit and had ne'er been disciplined for "egregious behavior." He didn't instrumentality acquisition courses and had not been assigned to immoderate enactment duties.

Similar to Erik and Lyle Menendez, both sentenced to beingness successful situation for sidesplitting their parents, Peterson attracted his just stock of pistillate fans. Prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon told CNN that, wrong a time of his accomplishment connected decease row, 2 women called San Quentin asking for their newest inmate's hand successful marriage. He acquired the nickname "Scotty Too Hotty" for each the attraction helium received from the other sex, but Robinson said successful 2012 that the fig of letters had dwindled by then.

Asked if helium felt Scott was astatine hazard of being attacked successful prison, Crittendon said, "I don't judge that determination volition beryllium galore of them that volition harbor immoderate sick volition due to the fact that of his committedness offense, peculiarly those men connected decease row. As we know, astir of them person been progressive with the murdering of children and women."

The travel to escaped Scott Peterson gets underway

In 2012, Scott's case was appealed to the California Supreme Court successful accordance with a authorities instrumentality that guarantees every decease enactment inmate an automatic appeal. His caller squad of lawyers argued that the judge, who had since died, had made respective missteps and that the grounds against him was "anything but overwhelming." The California Attorney General's bureau filed their effect successful 2015; oral arguments took spot 5 years later.

"There is perfectly nary uncertainty successful my caput that justness was served," Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, told the Modesto Bee in 2016. "Scott Peterson is guilty."

Scott's defenders disagreed. At a Q&A pursuing a screening of Trial by Fury: The People v. Scott Peterson at the 2016 American Documentary Film Festival, Geragos called the lawsuit a "media lynching."

"Scott is clearly...not guilty," the lawyer declared. "Scott is innocent. I volition judge that till the time I die. What happened successful this lawsuit was 1 of the worst abominations of the transgression justness strategy I ever experienced."

The film's directors, Shareen Anderson and Elena Konstantinou, made it wide they felt Scott astatine slightest deserved a caller trial. They had written to him in situation and he put them successful interaction with people from the defense's side; they said they reached retired but ultimately made the movie without anyone from the prosecution, Modesto constabulary oregon members of the assemblage that recovered him guilty.