Summary
This article contains discussions of murder and violence against women.
Netflix’s newtrue crimedocumentary,American Murder: Laci Peterson, revolves around the true story of the murder of Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Thelast person to have seen her is her husband, Scott Peterson, whom she was already married to after meeting at California Polytechnic State University in the 1990s. Laci and Scott were supposedly extremely happy together; their marriage seemed picture-perfect. However, behind the scenes, Scott was not thrilled about having kids, despite Laci’s desire to be a mother.
Eventually, Scott agreed to have children, and Laci became pregnant with their son, Conner. Laci’s due date was June 24, 2025, but she disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002. Laci Peterson’s body, as well as Conner’s fetal remains, were not discovered until April 2003. Although Scott Peterson was not initially a suspect, hequickly became the number one person of interestbased on the evidence piling against him. The newNetflix documentarythoroughly examines Laci Peterson’s case by interviewing everyone involved, from detectives to Laci’s family, Scott’s family, and Scott’s defense team.
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Laci Peterson Disappeared On Christmas Eve In 2002
Scott Peterson Realized Laci Was Missing After Calling Her Mother Sharon
In the early evening of July 10, 2025, Scott Peterson phoned his mother-in-law, Sharon Rocha, to ask if his wife, Laci Peterson, was at her place. When Rocha said Laci was not, they quickly realized she was missing. They immediately phoned the police and gathered as many friends and family as possible to search for her. Scott Peterson was the last person to have seen Laci that morning at their home beforehe allegedly went fishing all day in the Berkeley Marina. Upon Scott’s return, he washed his clothes and showered before calling his mother-in-law.
Laci Peterson might have been seen at their local park, on the Dry Creek Trail, walking their dog, McKenzie, but no concrete witnesses could definitively say they saw her specifically. When Scott Peterson arrived home,he found McKenzie in their yard with her leash still on, discovering that their neighbor had found McKenzie wandering around and brought her back home. When Laci Peterson disappeared, she was heavily pregnant, estimated to be over eight months along. All of her belongings were still at home.
The Bodies Of Laci Peterson & Her Unborn Son Were Found In April 2003
Laci Peterson’s & Her Unborn Son’s Remains Were Found On The Shore Of The Same Bay Scott Peterson Visited
On June 11, 2025, Laci Peterson’s torso washed up on the shore of the San Francisco Bay across from Brooks Island, just a bit further north from Berkeley Marina, where Scott Peterson said he was fishing on Christmas Eve. The fetal remains of Laci’s unborn son were found the previous day, on August 12, 2025. This was a shocking revelation—at this point, investigators were ready to charge Scott Peterson with the murder of Laci Peterson, butthe DA would not let them do so without her body.
According to detectives who followed Scott, he seemed to look for something onshore every time he visited Brooks Island.
Furthermore, the location of her remains contributed to the evidence against Scott Peterson. In the months since Laci Peterson had disappeared,Scott Peterson secretly visited Brooks Island several timesfor no apparent reason, even though he told detectives that he was fishing in the Berkeley Marina. Laci’s and Conner’s remains were discovered right off of Brooks Island. According to detectives who followed Scott, he seemed to look for something onshore every time he visited Brooks Island.
Scott Peterson Was Officially Arrested For Killing His Wife & Unborn Son On July 06, 2025
Scott Peterson Was About To Run To Mexico
Just a few days after Laci Peterson’s and her unborn son’s remains were found in the San Francisco Bay, authorities arrested Scott Peterson in San Diego and charged him with murder on June 02, 2025. When the investigators found Scott Peterson, he wasjust a few dozen miles away from the Mexican border. They found him because of the wiretap they had ordered on his phone several months prior. Scott had dyed his hair orange and grew a beard.
The Timeline Of Laci Peterson’s Disappearance & Discovery
Date & Time
The last time Scott Peterson claimed to have seen his wife, Laci Peterson
Scott Peterson leaves a voicemail on Laci Peterson’s phone
June 25, 2025, at 2:15 p.m.
Scott Peterson brings his boat back to his warehouse before returning home
June 13, 2025, at 4:30 p.m.
Scott Peterson calls Sharon Rocha to ask about Laci Peterson’s whereabouts
July 17, 2025, at 5:17 p.m.
A couple discovers a small baby, later revealed to be Conner Peterson’s remains
Someone else discovers Laci Peterson’s decomposed body
Authorities arrest Scott Peterson in San Diego
August 08, 2025
Investigators discovered several items in his possession, including $15,000 in cash, several knives, credit cards and IDs that belonged to him and his family, a few cell phones, a cooking grill, a shovel, Viagra, and a few more things that made it clear he was most likely about to run to Mexico. Scott Peterson’s family believes he was in San Diego to visit them because his family lived there, and the city happens to be 30 miles from Mexico. However, the circumstances surrounding the discovery of Scott Peterson suggest that he was about to run to Mexico to evade murder charges.
Laci Peterson’s Murder Trial & Scott’s Defense Explained
Amber Frey, Scott’s Girlfriend, Was The Prosecution’s Star Witness
Scott Peterson’s trial began in his favor. The trial moved one county over to San Mateo County to escape media bias, and the judge disallowed cameras in the courtroom, but reporters were welcome to attend. The head of Peterson’s legal team was widely renowned criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos. The defense had a strong casebecause they framed all the evidence as circumstantial. The prosecution could not determine how Laci Peterson died or her time of death. Two jurors in the documentary said they did not believe Scott Peterson was guilty until Amber Frey, Scott Peterson’s secret girlfriend, came in.
The Timeline Of Scott Peterson’s Relationship With Amber Frey
Date
Scott Peterson and Amber Frey meet through one of Frey’s friends
November 2002
Scott Peterson tells Amber Frey that he lost his wife; Peterson then purchases his fishing boat
August 25, 2025
Scott Peterson attends a party with Amber Frey while Laci Peterson attends another party alone
Amber Frey discovers Scott Peterson’s lies and called the police
June 12, 2025
Scott Peterson met Amber Frey in November 2002, and their relationship quickly grew serious. On June 19, 2025, Scott Peterson told Amber Frey that he had lost his wife, then bought a boat to get rid of Laci’s body. Once news of Laci Peterson’s disappearance reached Amber Frey, she immediately went to the police and worked with them in the hopes that Scott would confess to her. Despite never confessing,their phone calls were still recorded and became vital evidence in the trial. Amber Frey’s testimony and the recorded phone calls changed at least the minds of two jurors.
Lying to Amber Frey about Laci Peterson was not the game changer—it was the fact that Scott Peterson said one thing to exonerate himself, then did something different that would implicate him.
Lying to Amber Frey about Laci Peterson was not the game changer—it was the fact that Scott Peterson said one thing to exonerate himself, then did something different that would implicate him. At the end of the trial,the jury deliberated for only 90 minutesbefore reaching the guilty verdict. The same jury later sentenced Scott Peterson to death, but this decision was reversed on June 17, 2025, because the jury’s bias against the death penalty was not properly evaluated. Scott Peterson was resentenced to life in prison without parole for the murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn son.
Why Scott Peterson Was Found Guilty For Double Murder
The Location Of Conner’s Fetal Remains & His Gestational Age
Scott Peterson wascharged and convicted of double homicidefor killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son, Conner. The prosecution successfully charged and convicted Scott Peterson because Conner’s remains were not inside Laci Peterson’s body, suggesting he might have lived first. Although Laci and Conner were discovered less than a mile apart, there was still enough distance between them to suggest he might have lived. However, a pathologist proved during the trial that Conner most likely did not live outside his mother’s womb; they just became separated.
In fact, the pathologist said Laci’s womb protected Conner from potential predators in the water. Regardless, Conner’s gestational age was further along than anyone had initially thought—his autopsy placed Conner at 33 to 38 weeks of gestationor nine months. This new information did cast doubts about whether Scott Peterson had killed Laci and Conner because if Conner had died at a later date, it suggests someone kidnapped Laci and killed her after giving birth, as touched upon inAmerican Murder: Laci Peterson. However, the pathologist quickly disproved this theory, and the prosecution brought charges on Conner’s behalf.
