Scott Peterson, convicted 20 years ago of killing his wife and unborn child, is asking for a retrial via more DNA testing on evidence. But a former prosecutor in California familiar with the case thinks it is unlikely.
On July 24, a judge ordered new DNA tests on a 15.5-inch piece of duct tape found in the bandana recovered from Laci Peterson’s pants at her April 13, 2003 autopsy. The MAT test on the tape, along with a score of other pieces of evidence will be conducted by Pure Gold Forensics, Inc., also soon as is reasonably practical.
The Los Angeles Innocence Project, a clinic that works to exonerate wrongfully convicted prisoners and free victims imprisoned for crimes they did not commit, picked up Peterson’s case earlier this year. Next, on August 20, Peterson will break his silence in a new Peacock documentary called “Face to Face with Scott Peterson.”
While his attorneys got Peterson’s death sentence overturned to life in prison without parole, their many appeals of his conviction have failed.
While the LA Innocence Project pleaded for Peterson, prosecutors in May delivered a 337-page court filing detailing their argument against his motion for DNA testing.
While the judge green-lighted Peterson’s request to test additional DNA samples, attorney Neama Rahmani of West Coast Trial Lawyers said it “doesn’t look likely” that he would get a retrial. Another person’s DNA would have to be present on the duct tape or some other evidence, Rahmani said.
Peterson’s sister-in-law Janey Peterson believes Laci faced off with burglars near her Modesto home. Laci was last seen on Christmas Eve 2002, and her remains were discovered in San Francisco Bay around four months after she went missing. Without two strands of Laci’s hair caught in the pliers from Peterson’s boat, there might not have been enough for his conviction.
Police claim Peterson dumped Laci’s body in the bay using his boat. Peterson said that he was out fishing in the bay when Laci had disappeared, which happened to be close to where her body was later discovered.
When Laci went missing, Peterson was cheating on her with massage therapist and single mother Amber Frey.
“A lot of it was ‘were his actions the actions of someone who lost his wife and unborn child,'” Rahmani recalled of the case. “The guy shows no remorse when she disappears, doesn’t help in the search, doesn’t participate in any of the visuals. He’s trying to get out of his marriage, he’s having an affair, he’s racked up debt — I feel that there is plenty of evidence that implicates Scott Peterson.”
Still, Rahmani said the LA Innocence Project would not be handling Peterson’s case if we didn’t “believe there is something here.”
Peterson’s trial lawyers, however, believe in his innocence to this day — as does Rahmani.
He also said that the upcoming Peacock documentary could sway opinion in Peterson’s favor. “PR matters a lot,” he said. “Scott Peterson, for a while, was one of the most hated men in this country… [But] public opinion can make a difference one way or another — [the documentary] could sway things potentially in his favor.”
“R. Kelly went down because of a documentary, Britney Spears came out of a conservatorship because of a documentary,” Rahmani continued. “The court of public opinion matters a lot. Every prosecutor in this country is elected or appointed by someone who was elected.”
