Verdict and Ongoing Legal Appeals

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As soon as Amber Fry showed up, people were like, He's guilty. He is guilty. He's guilty. Scott Peterson has been found guilty of first degree murder Peterson is where he deserves to be. You can't justust pick Scott as the default. Because you don't know what else it could have been. It's Scott Peterson's voice and he tells his story State of California versus Scott Peterson, where the jury and above entitled cause find the defendant Scott Lee Peterson guilty of the crime of murder of Lacey D Des Peterson proper verdict first I was crazy like ing Horrible itical ration I feelr my pet on the floor Thank from Chairiff thiren Asion was even littleurry that have to wear'atient. Ford in toalan. Paris There be no end to this falling forward nowt like there was no flor to land This office is where we keep everything related to Scott's case. We keep the trial transcripts, we keep the case discovery here This board represents the details of the day My name is Janie Peterson, and I am Scott and Lacy Peterson's sister in law constantly evaluating the information we have from different perspectives. It's been eighteen years and there should be answers to questions. I think if people step back and look at the evidence in this case, they're going to see, this crime isn't solved The story of Lacey Peterson's disappearance made news soon after she disappeared.? This is Christmas Eve, two thousand two. It became national newews pretty A California man is anxiously waiting to hear word on the mysterious Christmas Eve disappearance of his pregnant wife Llaca Denise Peterson is eight months pregnant. She's considered a high risk missing person under suspicious circumstances. I love my daughter so much I miss her every minute of every day I started reporting on it right away when she was a missing person the day after Christmas. I think that what caught everybody's imagination was Lacey Peterson. and her picture, people saw this photo of this missing woman with the big smile and the brunette hair, eight and a half months pregnant. Lacey was last seen by her husband Scott She was walking her dog possibly in the area of East Laloma Park Dry Creek. He saw her at nine thirty in the morning before he went fishing. and shortly thereafter she went on her walk. No one has seen her since. The community mobilized immediately. As soon as Lazy disappeared, people were helping to search for her. got there I was pretty shocked. They already had people making fllyers. I mean, they were going door to door, they were in the park. Lacey went missing Christmas Eve. She's twenty seven years old and she is over eight months pregnant. Scott Peterson was this good looking I'm young husband was about to have a baby. And That's a guy lot of people can relate to. She is carrying their first child She's just weeks out from birth. I mean, at this point, the baby, Connor, is viable. Had she given birth within days of her disappearance, he would have lived. Scott and Lacey Peterson, I mean it' right out of A romance novel. They were both at school together and they met and she fell head over heels in love. And that was it. They were college sweethearts. Lisy is very headstrg. She wass born in Maine She was a tarist and she fit the description to a T Once she made up her mind She was going to do it, and that's all there was to it. There was no change in her mind Describe your son for me Subscribe Scott Peterson Gos, whereere should I start? He was very affectionate J just a really kind, you know, swet little guy. Never in trouble of any kind. He's too good to believe, almost. She saw him at the little cafe that he worked at in Mar Bay. And before she left that eighties, she had written her phone number down on a piece of paper and given it to the other server to give to Scott. And when he gave it to Scott, Scott just looked at it and threw it in the garbage because he thought it was kind of a joke. until she came back As I said, she wasn't intimidated about anything How did you know you were in love Driving along highighway. I remember vividly And for no reason, I was just fun Thats the biggest myile And she asked me what the heck are you smilother about And whole thing was that she was there But when I met him, I was impressed. He was very likable He was a gentleman, he just he was a very nice person They were just starting out. They had been married not very long. They had bought the house a couple of years earlier. Lacey was a homemaker. I mean, she loved to cook and her home was she was fastity, was it You see the photos of them all smiles. Lacey by all accounts, was just a bundle of energy and was always concerned about helping other people. He was a fertilizer salesman. He had a decent job. He's in the cigar club. He's in the wine club. He belongs to the country club. He wants to be that rich guy with a trophy w He was still in his twenties, he was about to turn thirty. How did Scott feel about the fact that he was going to be a father? Very excited She called us at seven AM in the morning when she took the test. And I said, How do you know? She said, I took the test. I said, Those aren't always accurate. you know And she said, Yes it is, yes it is because they had been they tried for three years to have a child. Yes And I remember the last time I saw Lacey ine and I was sitting side by side and Scott was sitting on the floor And we were Wing TV in. She said the baby was kicking, so I put my hand on her stomach because I'd never felt him kick She leaned over to me and said, Mom, she says, Scott doesn't like to do this. She said, I asked him You don't feel my stomach when When the baby kicks and he never wants to touch my stomach That really really bothered me and And that was the last time I saw her. sameame set when she got pregnant with Connor Things started going sideways It breaks my heart because She was trying so hard to have this perfect home for Baby Conor to come into And she had no idea It was a house built on sand That was sinking quickly No idea. Law enforcement zoned in on Scott immediately may have been to the detriment of opportunities missed. Our family has known since the beginning that Scott is innocent. There was a burglary across the street from the Peterson's house directly across the street. So you have someone who goes missing in this window of time, and you have a felony occurring in this window of time to think that they're not related,'s a difficult thing to ignore We began a media search with D Cark. And he's like, Well, have you tried Kadavergog? I mean, it threw me, I'm like, theadavergogs. Scott, I hadn't considered her dead y settings are usually quite boring just part of their mind Sty Peterson was last seen walking her dog about ten thirty on Christmas Eve morning After that, she simply disappeared. eleven twenty two. We started an investigation on the twenty fourth about five forty seven PM. That's when I heard about it. I didn't know nothing about it until I was having my Christmas Eve dinner when I got the call And then I drove down. The first person you focus at in a homicide investigation is the person closest to the victim and the last person to see the victim. And of course, boom, boom, we got both of those with Scott. He claims that he woke up in the morning and he and Lacey had breakfast together. They watched the Martha Stewart showh on television. They were together, she ate Cereal. She got dressed. She curled her hair. She put her shoes on He thought maybe he was going to play golf, but because it was rainy and cold, he decided not to play golf, but to go fishing. She leashed up her dog She walked out her gate and she went on a walk Remember This is december twenty fourth Christmas is the next day They're gonna all have a family dinner that night Scott finished fishing that day at some point in the afternoon and made a phone call to Lacey. G beautiful. won'll be able to get to Villa Fms to get that basket for pom We knew we wouldd get this message and our door out there. O sce of it, we lo it fact ow. Scott's telling me, when I interview him, I went fishing I tried to call my wife three times. I called her cell phone, I called her house And I'm driving home from Berkeley and achine answer so I think' something's up Then I get home, her car is in the driveway So my energy thatade McKin bec came run en up to me I just assum that She assumed that her mom had come to pick her up. They had plans for dinner that night with her mother, Sharon and her stepdad Ron. and So when Scott arrived home, he was not alarmed So what does he do? Well, he goes over to the washing machine, he takes all the clothes out, he takes all his clothes off and washes them. Then he gets some pizza out. He drinks some milk and eats some pizza I've been ex in such a rush tonight I have a piece of piecea alive in the shower. Once out of that, I went in the bedroom dress some nicer clothes back in the kitchen and I noticed that there was a message. And it was a message from Lacey's stepdad Ron. Scott asked if Lacey was there. I learned Lacey was missing when Scott called that evening and asked if she was at her house And of course, I said no. It's not here And Immediately, he came back with saying that she was missing. And I remember feeling that just a little agitated. about that word, the word that he used missing. I was like, how can you be missing? She's not missing. Then I asked if he called her friends called me back again and nobody had seen her basically It became the moment when Scott realized Lacey wasn't where he thought she was As soon as I told Chareon tryry to go for a walk I remember running around in the park and yelling her name and There's nothing worse than living up a trash can looking for your child. to sa her body is in a trash can, but I remember doing that When it's happening to somebody else, you think That's a horrible thing to happen to those people. and you think that you can imagine how they feel You know' No idea what tos find I mean, everything, every From that minute on Your life is completely changed She didn't turn up at the park where she would have walked the dog. She was not in the neighborhood. Her body was nowhere. She was nowhere There was no evidence of a struggle. The exterior of the house was secure, no evidence of tampering or forced entry. We didn't find any fingerprints that were present in the house that didn't belong there. There was nothing that was missing from the house TV was still there, all the normal things that burglars will take quickly so that they can get out of there So What scenario does that leave? An unknown assailant grabs her in a park where there are other people and spirits her away Typically that is not how an unknown assailant murder occurs. The murder goes down the body is left on the scene and bam Chiller' gone So of course, the placeice start looking at him Well, I suspected Scott when I first met him I didn't mean he did it but I was a little bit thrown off by his Cm ool demean On Christmas Eve, he was cooperative. In my mind, I'm not even thinking he did it yet. but am documenting all this stuff. When we get to his shop to look at his bow, Scott tells me We have no power in the shop. mean and there's no life This shop is in a strip mall And it's it's the middle of the night. There ain't nobody there. It's just us. And so I'm not even thinking that's suspicious. I just okay. There's no power. You might open in the door, I'll put my headlights in. I want to look at the boat So I put my headlights in and I take four or five pictures, you know of the boat And then later, I called MID and I talked to the supervisor to find out when the power was out for that area. the power is never out for that area So he was questioned for over seven hours the first night that Lacey went missing. Continued to talk to police. when he got in the boat and took off, he didn't go very far about three found a little island kind of therever landing too dump his wife's body in broad daylight. It just defies logic. Whoever has her, please please, please let her go. Bring her back. We love her so much You want a back Please b us h back This show is sponsored by Bombas. 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Listen to Doror Death the cowboy, wherever you get your podcasts, or binge the entire series right now only with Audible Okay to h the But take h to bough Yeah decid to, you know, find their eer We've done a lot of missing person cases and I don't recall ever asking the husband or the wife to come down to the station and sit through a video interiew So today She told you what she wass going to do for the day And what was that take the dog for a walk and then she' going to the store to buy for Christmas morning, breakfast tomorrow She's going make ginger bread cookies for tonight He was calm. His demeanor wasn't urgent. He didn't have that sense of urgency you would expect that you saw from other people. you guys't had problems. very problems He is good. He been married four years. Yeah. He just doesn't seem like the guy whose wife is missing. in the initial hours where normally you would think the husband would be like, stop talking to me. get out there and find my wife. You know, I didn't do it. Leave me alone, but he just didn't he hadn't something about him and the way he was answering questions, his demeanor was suspicious. Okay, did you d straight there get your boat in, how long can you stay to are A like an hour and a half or so. Do you have a map for that area wouldould you just weigh in I remember asking him about the boat. ask him when did to buy the boat hisis answer to that question was He was a surprise for Bad They didn't tell me when bought it It was a surprise garage. Which made no sense at all, of course. Those are the kind of answers I would get to questions I ask Never a straight answer A media search par and river areas, waterways, vacant lots, vaced buildings, abandoned cars, abandoned barns. I want to make sure that everything's been checked. Tipline telephone number is three hundred four two sixty one. The Modesto pololice had issued a press release that Lacy was missing and in that press release, they publicized what Scott's alibi was They said that he was fishing In the San Francisco Bay Area, I was absolutely stunned that they had released Scott's alibi. And I remember thinking, you know, We don't know who has her. We don't know what their intent is. And if their intent is to harm her, they're gonna go put her body in the bag. Whoever has her, please, please, please let her go, brring her back. We love her so much. We We want her back Please conf let us out of our back The room is packed, and we got the chief up there talking about her and the fact that Scott went fishing. And man, the hand started to come up, he went fishing. Where didd he go fishing at? And he got up and walked out. Scott did. And so we obtained a search warrant for his house. And we went in and he was reading the newspaper at the dining room table. So we give him this form and it says, I give consent for us to search all that stuff. And all he has to do is sign it And we can search And he picks it up, he reads it and he's like You don't expect me to sign this without lawyer man Well We weren't sure, but we have a search warrant He's like He looks at right and me he says Ow, where's the trust I mean, that's what he says to me. Where's the trust? Scott Peterson wanted to give off the impression that he was being completely forthcoming and help. Police But there were lines that he drew Scott was always in the background. He was adamant that his photo not be put on posters, that pictures of him not be taken. He didn't want their picture at all. Everything of her and him had to come down off the wall. It only could be pictures of her. But the way he took it down he was, o We had this wall in there when you first walked in, there was this wall and we had pictures of her everywhere. And he would make sure every picture of him was down off the wall. Daily, Daily. We would put more up, they would come down Let me go to you, Jackie Peterson. Where is Scott tonight? I would imagine he would be out begging the viewers to help in the search for his wife He is and he has. and he is with friends this evening that have been searching all day. There is a lot of questions on why I have not been in the media media will put, I believe the emotional stuff out there for a couple days and then the story will get dropped for something else. Those our thoughts that if If I was to hold back from the media the media would continue to come because Frankly, cameras, reporters, they want something they can't get right away. This was our way of keeping the media coming back for us. He's as smooth as they get. Yeah doesn't seem to get rattled seems authentic So many people say Christmas Eve, you have a very pregnant wife. Did you decide to go fishing? My day was open to for I go fishing and I chose fishing that day, which is So say made tight Ibviously regret now, you know I decide to stay home He was nervous, he was under the spotlight, He was being questioned, and he hid a terrible secret. These searches started, I believe it was the end of December or thereabouts. They were also doing searches in the freshwater reservoirs up in the Sierraras. came to the base searches, that was pretty widely publicized becausecause Scott had maintained that you know, his alibi was he went fishing, you know at the Berkeley Marina, launching his boat He said he went to the bay proof he went to the bay We believe she was in the bay. so we're searching the bay So to believe that Scott's guilty, you have to believe that Someone bought a bra new boat that they'd never had in the water before and then took this boat to the busiest marina on the San Francisco Bay, you know to dump his wife's body in broad daylight It just defies I'm a very cynical person when it comes to spouseou Mystery I always blame the husband And I am almost always right I start with the presumption that the husband But there were alternative theories. One is she was kidnapped by a satanic ct. Another one was a burglary that was across the street from the Peterson home. You had a neighbor, Diane Jackson who saw three men in a van. front of the Medina home onn december twenty fourth At about eleven forty in the morning. I was coming down Kolvina towards the park going past Lacey on one side and Medina's on the other. I just looked over and there were three guys on Medina's property and a van out front and it The only reason it caught my eye is that They turned around looked at me, sort of made me think feel a little bit uncomfortable. When this information came out, immediately there was a sense that, okay, maybe Lacey who is walking the dog came across this burglary and that's what happened to her. This was a viable explanation. Maybe she confronted the burglars, something happened and they kidnapped We caught the guys that went in there and broke into that house and interviewed them and they talked about the abduction. They said, We don't want our hands are clean on that. Also, there are people who say they saw her walking her dog at a time after Scott Peterson left to go fishing. And if so, then obviously she wasn't dead in the back of his truck when he left. We had a tip line up twenty fourty seven As far as the tips are concerned, some of the people who actually saw Lacy that they should have talked to, they never did talk So These are the people who were calling in responding to the police. People are seeing Lacey walk the dog after he left O dter pololice Dpartment or the investigators, they never came to ask me anything On the day after Christmas, when after I talked to the motorcycle policeman and gave him my statement that I had seen the dog in the park Nothing was followed up after that. I just figured people who knew better than I I knew more about the case had pretty much made a decision that what I had to say wasn't all that relevant. Anyone saw her after ten o'clock. then that let Scott out. And that would be horribly incoming. Then the Venessesta Police Department would have to admit, we have no idea who killed this beautiful pregnant woman? We actually found the pregnant lady with a golden retriever that walked her dog on that day. the conclusion was that was not Lacey It appears that the description was somewhat different and we're not sure it was her And yet at the same time, They're having press conferences And they're saying we cannot confirm she was walking the dog So they're creating a public perception that Lacey didn't walk her dog, which leaves them free to say that Scott was the last person to see his wife alive I mean it's sure the police needed to look at other possibilities But they needed to stay on Sott. They needed to do what they did. spent a great deal of time with the police and been forthcome with the police in every instance. Is it possible they think you know where she is I think a lot of people believe that Are you afraid police will arrest you I know there is There's no basis for I had nothing to do. So there's no possible evidence or anything like that. There's absolutely no physical evidence at all that Scott committed this crime. We pretty much dealt with all of the Satanic cultts, the dog walkers The only thing we couldn't eliminate was Scott I'm Lacy's mother in law and Scott's mother. and I want to thank all of you for the love and outpoing So now there's a big memorial for Lacey in the Medesto, Canelwi Memorial. thank everybody for coming out here tonight, Lacey. We'd be so happy to see she had so many friends and supporters. And just keep looking for Lacey. L don't about. There were a lot of people who came to that pitel in the park Lord, tonight, we lift Lacey Peterson to father. I do remember, I didn't see Scott the entire evening. He was there, apparently, but I didn't see him The only thing I saw were the pictures in the media from him that night. never saw him. They asked about the candleight vigil that we held in the park And they asked, why weren't you on that stage family And frankly, because this ist about us to be out in front of the camera. It's about us to work towards bringing home the one person who's hurting the most of it pce for our family is missing right now We are kindling a fire In this cold world, full of hatred and selfishness, our little blaze may seem to be unveiling There's a vigil. G on Be Lacey, a candlelight vigil And I said, Well, where's the husband Well, I'll tell you where he was. He was off in the corner talking on the phone to his mistress, Amber Frey And she recorded Andammer cle' caring there. And my near the eper toower near saw this been real Earlier this week, the Medesa Police Department was made aware of an article that was to appear in the National Inquirer revealing new information regarding Lacey's case Out of respect for the family, the police department felt they should provide the information to them directly, so they wouldn't have to read it in the media At that time, the family members were shown very recent pictures of Scott and a girlfriend Okay, first of all, I met Scott Peterson november twentieth, two thousand two Scott told me he was not married We did have a romantic relationship I am very sorry for Lacey's family ain that this is cars And I pray for Her safe return as well C contacted Medestical Police Department on Monday december thirieth, two thousand two He met with detectives and gave information about the relationship with Peterson has been limited. suspect in Lacey Peterson disappar Amber Fry was a single mother who was fixed up with Scott Peterson. through a friend She was his girlfriend, and she thought she had met the man of her dreams. could be wonderful I could care for you. I was just starting my career in massage therapy. You know, my daughter was very young, very small, and a single mother He was good looking, he was nice, he was funny and A atttentive to me. I feel like we had a connection, that conversation was easy He was courting her. They had a whirlwind romance In the few weeks they knew each other Ver first night Scott meets her hotel and basically he's smooth, but he gets her to go upstairs with him just for he can take a quick shower and change and then they can go to dinner. Well, upstairs is, you know, I don't know, four or five dozen roses and some chocolate strawberries and some champagne That was the start of the relationship. You know, when you look forward to hearing from somebody and seeing them again and that, you know, that excitement's there and you could, you know You know, it all felt very good. She really thought she had Mr. Wright. I really liked him and felt really good about where things were going and our conversations and time spent together Unfortunately Scyt. had an infidelity problem and he traveled in conjunction with his work, and that created opportunity for him. and his own words are that he was weak. I remembered asking him if he hadd ever been married. He said, no. But that wasn't true, of course. And as it turns out, Amber's friend who introduced her to Scott found out that he was married and confronted him and said, If you don't tell Amber, I will So Scott did tell N. Scott New Amber For sixteen days when he got caught being married He was very emotional. and said that this would be the first holidays without her And he was crying at that point I took it as She died, didn't know how if accident or answer I had no idea. I didn't cry to ask. He just said it was painful. and so I had asked if he was ready relationship and he said yes. She was obviously a girl who had been duped. She was a girl that thought she was going to meet a nice guy and the nice guy turned out to be Scott Peterson, who was a married man with a missing wife C Well you, took it to a whole another level in terms of deceit She didn't know about Scott and Lacey missing until her friend told her, Hey, that guy you brought to the Christmas party he is on TV every And so I went to the other room and called the Medesto Police Department hotline that they had. I was in shock I mean, I literally was in shock I'm standing behind our clerk and she's typing and I'm watching and it's Scott Peterson is my boyfriend. We've been dating exclusively. He said he wasn't married. and I'm like Beab is Is that lady on the phone? Yeah. And so I talked to her and it was Amber Frery and couldn't get any words out for a while. And I was like, it is him. Like this is him. I'm like, okay Don't go nowhere I'm going to come visit you right now. Amber Fry started cooperating with police as soon as she learned that the man of her dreams was really a married man whose wife had disappeared and he had been lying to her all along. I buy her a tape recorder with some cassette tapes and a wire that can hook onto her phone And I told her, O, if he ever calls, just push these two buttons and just talk normal. The phone rings and it's Scott Peterson. I'm like, that's him. Showtime girl. Ever. Hey, happy N here. H me I want to call you. Thank you What they heard On december thirty first, two thousand two was a Scott Peterson who, while a candlelight vigil is being held for his missing wife and he's attending it, is also on the phone with Amber Freide being recorded unbeknownst to him, telling her that he's in Europe I my ne the Eel toower New Yor saiceer than real The crowd is huge. Hge. He was right down the street where the vigil was second It was Incredibly bizarre. You've got this guy's wife is missing. The entire country is looking for her And he's not only keeping his girlfriend at bay, he's entertaining her with these outlandish lies Think about this, if his wife comes back and everyone in the world knows that Scott was cheating with Amber Fry, he's tearing his family apart. It's like the end of his family The last thing that he wants innocence bar guilty is for Amber Frey to get involved. And he would have told her anything. He would have said he was in Borneo on an expedition if it kept her away. I kind of remember the area here I not do that all but I'll jp down to the main square It kind of neat the don't big church in the background Yeah, I don't even really Because she provides a motive for why now Why is he killing his wife now? It was almost like, aha. He killed Lacey to be with this woman. Instantly, as soon as Amber Fry showed up, people were like, he's guilty. He is guilty. For me I was the opposite. I thought, o my gosh, this explains it. This is not a killer. He's a cheater. It wasn't just that he'd had an affair It was that he was continuing to pretend as if his wife wasn't missing. You were more worried about her than you were Lacey. How dare you To commit a crime like this, you have to have a screw loooose at the very least. And those Amber Fry tapes made it seem like Scott Peterson has a screw loooose. Scott, why you answer some questes? I thought nobody saw it at the Berkeley Marina and nobody saw Lacey walking the dog, huh? He now is enemy number one Everybody hates Scott Peterson. Did you murder your wife My name is Jamie Peterson. My brother in law Scott has been on death row in California since two thousand five So ever since that time, we've We've just consistently taken every step that we can take to prove he's innocent. Our family was very surprised and disappointed to find out that Scott had been unfaithful to Lacey All of a sudden, Amber Fryy lays out her story to the world Amber for I' prepared to give a statement and she will not accept any questions, Miss. Amberry. The story gets elevated From a media perspective, when Amber Fry comes out. I literally was having a panic attack and I was like, I can't breathe, I can't breathe. When I discovered he was involved in thepp or the Lacey Peterson disappearance case, I immediately contacted the Modesto Police Department. It was just so scary because I'm putting myself out there I am a single mother, a twenty three month old child I ask to respect my privacy than you The press conference was short. She didn't answer any questions. But she was a sympathetic and credible person That changed everything. Not only changed it for Lacey's family, but also it just ignited the media firestorm and took it to a whole notother level. She's asked to have her privacy respected. We are going to do that I'm not going to comment about Amber, her private life. Amber wants to be able to go on with her life. It was so hard. The media was labeling me as the mistress. And I was pretty much out there on my own for months. Reitas lack a story to solicit An emotion from them. loveo, hate, anger, sadness. And unfortunately, this was one case that provided all of that. The Raches turned on Scott. They closed the volunteer center down, and they said that Scott was not truthful and they were urging him to come out and tell the truth about everything I would like Scott to know that I trusted him and stood by him in the initial phases of my sister's disappearance However, Scott has not been forthcoming with information regarding my sister's disappearance And I'm only left to question what else he may be hiding Do it make you think that indeed he may have had something to do with what happened to I think it raises questions for all of us Scott needs to come forward and answer the questions that are put to him. Once Amber Freide came out suddenly Scott Peterson had a lot of explaining How you doing in person? How you love to? is austra obviously. Scott. Scott. He'ott you anything to say? Scott, is there anything you want to say today? It was a tsunami, a frenzy. He was the most hated man in America at that time. He started receiving a lot of animosity from the public in general, from media. He was on the tabloids every week You have to understand he was. Virtually run out of town.cot any? W got a second? Scott. It's Scott media following him. Can you take it a polygphest? pounding him every day He had shock jocks lined up in front of his house with bull horns, screaming murderer. How come nobody sawed the Berkeley Marina and nobody saw Lacey walking the dog. He was tired of the tabloids and the networks and everybody hounding him wherever he went. I'm sorry, this has been pad journalism. We apologize, St You for asking qued questions about all the untruths you told So when you've heard that he was seeing another What did you think What do you think now No, it was surprising. It was disappointing I mean, that's the reality of life. Men have affairs. womomen have affairs When their wives are eight and a half months pregnant men do we've learn Fidelity made a strer role in So die with that And of that just add so much to what I feel. He has to die knowing that Everyone stopped looking for Lacey because he was having an affair the entire country thought that He was guilty and responsible for Lacey's disappearance. So the Peterson family urged him to get out there, do some interviews and get people looking for Lacey again I am going to speak to the press. com wee on debating on when it should be It done because Tuesday is the state of the union address I want maximum coverage This morning, an exclusive interview with Scott Peterson, breaking his silence in the case of his missing pregnant wife I think everybody sitting at home wants the answer to the same question Did you murder your wife? No, no S on had absolutely nothing to do with her disappearance. You use the word murder And right now Everyone's looking for a body And that's a hardest say because that is not possible resolution for us And I know that fish has turned to me because of the inappropriate, romantic that I had with Amber Fy then. Did your wife find out about it I told my wife when early December A lot of arguing. that that would break us up wasasn't a lot of anger Do you really expect people to believe that an eight and a half month pregnant woman learns her husband has had an affair and is stly And Casual about it accommodating makes a peace with it Well, I'm Yeah, I mean you don't know. No one knows our relationship but us. There's no way that Lisy knew about it and would not have told us. Not all of us, but one of us and said Oh my god I need to leave Scott. Much less be okay. and be okay with it I don't buy it. I don't buy that one at all. No. We make no excuse for Scott's behavior in that sense. We make no excuse for the things that he said to Amber, But unfortunately a lot of that is being used to convict him of murder. And really what all of that is is evidence of adultery. There was one report that a neighbor had seen you loading something into a vehicle. I'll have to stop if you ask for more detail questions about their investigation I knew he had killed her. I knew she was dead I'll never know what happed I know that, but att that was needed to have her back And That was one of the things that was just so Asolutely frustrating is because you know somebody knows where she is But he won't tell you Ryan Reynolds here from MintMobile with a message for everyone paying Big wireless way too much. Please for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just fifteen dollars a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile. com slash switch. Upront payment of forty five dollars for three month plan, equivalent to fifteen dollars per month required intro rate for three months only, then full price plan options available taxes and fees extra. Safal turns at MintMobile. com Ready to advance your future in criminal justice or investigations? At the University of New Haven's Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, our online graduate programs are built for working professionals. Study criminal justice, forensic invvestigative genetic genealogy, or specialized investigations programs in areas like digital forensics, financial crimes, and cyber intelligence Learn more at newhaven. edu slash grad In the second week of April, there was a big storm, big thunderstorm in San Francisco. The Contra Cross the County Conner has arrived at the scene and has now recovered the remains of the victim The police always believed that Scott Peterson had weighted down Lacey's body with anchors that he made But she broke free of the anchors because of the storm On Monday, a badly decomposed adult torso was found in a marina in Richmond, California, not far from where Scott Peterson said he had been fishing at the time of Lacey's disappearance. A mile away, another Grizzly discovered, the body of an unborn baby boy. My understanding is they're making arrangements to have the autopsy performed I knew that they were hoping to find Lacey. You know, they felt that if we had her body, then they would be able to arrest him and move forward. And I was very concerned about that that if she never appeared that Maybe they wouldn't be able to arrest him Maybe they wouldn't be able to prosecute him. with not enough evidence. What can you tell us about what Modesto police have gathered so far from the body? We're still trying to find out the identity of the body. And one of the key questions we're trying to answer right now is whether or not there's any relationship between the adult female and the baby male that was found from two days ago It'ust not knowing is just unbearable He says, I came out of the Berkeley Marina, went right to that Brooks Island. There was a sign there that said no landing. I mean he told me he was there and that's where the bodies come up I believe it was premeditated. He planned it When the bodies came up, what it did is it automatically injected a big sense of urgency in the case. I just thought, we gott to find Scott right now. We knew he was in San Diego at the time. Did have a tracker on his car down there? San Diego was pretty darn close to the Mexican border. Scott knew the area pretty well. I mean, that's where his parents lived. That's where he lived. So it wasn't like he was going to have to get on map quests and try and figure out a way to get to, you, Tijuana. So I was concerned that he was going to disappear where they had the opportunity to arrest Scott is driving all over San Diego area. He driving quickly. He was driving eighty miles an hour on the freeway and he would slam his brakes on and pull over. I mean, it got to the point where we had a helicopter ost. I mean, he was driving so erratically and evasively They were unmarked vehicles No one was attempting to pull him over He thought he was being followed by members of the media. He probably spent three and a half to four hours driving around try to sh We need to end this, we need to take him in custody, even though we don't yet have the DNA results. And that's when Scott was by the exit at Tory Pines, and they turned on the red and blue lights and stopped him right there at the entrance When Scott realized it was law enforcement, he immediately pulled over And was arrested. Earlier this week, East Bay Park Authorities discovered two bodies. There is no question in our minds that the unidentified female is Lacey Peterson The unidentified fetus is the biological child of Lacey and Scott Peterson I don't feel that I need to know what happened, exactly what happened. That is not going to make me feel better in any way, knowing exactly what happened. But I didn't need her to come home This is a tragedy that is affecting many lives. Scott Peterson has been arrested. There are no other suspects in this case We ended up finding out on the news. We're not only finding out that he's arrested, we're also finding out that Lacey and Connor were gone. So it was a tough Tough socking, soccking day I went out once the vehicle was there to do the inventory search on it. and it's just a whole bunch of stuff in the car. The guy had like, I don't know, fourteen, fifteen thousand dollars cash. He had his brother's ID. He has camping supplies, some ropes, some knives, fifteen pairs of shoes and hiking boots, and a shovel and fishing poles. And Scott Peterson couldn't have done anything to make himself seem more guilty then to Dy his hair, have some disguises and a ton of cash anywhere near the Mexican border He is not disguising himself to evade law enforcement. He had a lot of things in his vehicle pretty much become nomadic your rest and hair colors had changed and what was your objective in coloring your hair Oh, I wanted anonymity. You know, I waserful left on our associle people sit on me. So yeah, I changed my hair color and I wasn't recognized and it was appod really. Lace and Connner were found on a Sunday to Monday. And Scot was arst of a Fray. Good Friday as a matter of fact. just emberaced her. He will be booked into the Stanlesflach County jail when he arrives. He'll be charged with capital murder. Once we heard that Scott had been taken into custody, hundreds of people started to gather around the jail. And by the time he pulled up It was an incredible scene. There were people yelling. Murr, murderer. As he pulled up, and he's in the back seat of this unmarked car. G back C And suddenly a sleepy, sluggish little town like Modesto is transformed into a media circus We will seek justice for her and Connor and make sure that that person responsible for their dis for their death will be punished. I think the fact that there has been this much media attention cuts both ways Where are you going to go find somebody that hasn't heard about this case. I would hope there's a fair trial wherever it's held. More people believe that the moon landing was faked and believed that Scott Peterson was innocent. That's what we were up against The trial began on june first, two thousand four with opening statements This was a big day There were reporters crawling all over satellite trucks everywhere. This was a huge story. hundredundreds of miles of cable strewn all over the place. We were going every day because peopleople were watching. He wants him to fid to do this to his wife a child. And there's somebody out there still. People forget that the preliminary hearing in this case was televised, but the case itself, no cameras. There were hundreds of people there every day. In fact, they had to have a lottery for the public seats to see who could get in to watch the trial if they didn announced the numbers like a bingo game. four five nine. And people were like, Oh my gos, I'm going in for the day. There were local radio stations that had taken out billboards around the courthouse that had people vote man or monster, it reminded me of something out of the Jim Crow South, just because of the lynching mentality of I Margaragos, the high profile attorney who's a frequent guest Margaragos is as about flamboyant a lawyer as you can imagine. The people who know him best believe totally unequivocally in this young man's innocence. Mark Gargos owns the courtroom, right? He's got a lot of self confidence and he's got a swagger. And I think it's only a matter of time before we're able to turn America's head around. And you have a lot of high profile clients So it was a big deal that, you know, a celebrity lawyer was now defending Scott Peterson I think everybody counseled me not to take the case because they said it was a no win situation. The thinking was if you win the case, you're a pariah If you lose the case, your career is over. Is that correct, Mrter. Peterson? You're pleading not guilty of two charges of murder plus the special denying the special allegations. Absute. That's correct, Youronor. I'm in sent. When you got to see Scott Peterson in person in court There's no way that this guy was guilty of this heinous crime. A atttractive, handsome, charming It just did not jive with the concept of the brutal nature. of the double killing in this case I looked at him and I said, My God, he's the the same age as my oldest son And so this poor kid, what he must be going through right now If he's innocent, Scott did not look like a killer That was one of the things we talked to the jury about during jury selection because we had to overcome that. know what does a killer look like? The strongest argument for the defense In my mind is that Someone else. yet to be found committed this crim. The most likely thing that happened is that she was abducted and she was abducted by someone other than my client and that she was abducted while walking her dog onn the twenty fourth The neighbors across the street left their home to go to Los Angeles. Someone robbed their And this is right across the street from the Peterson house Maybe they were carrying a TV set into the van or something And she says, Hey, what are you doing there? I'm calling the police They grab her Dog gets loose, runs away putut her in a van, and It's a stupid, panicky thing to do, but they do it If I'm a defense attorney and I've got burglar across the street within twenty four hours clients goes missing in our home So the defense in this case was that Scott Peterson didn't do it. Basically the wrong guy is on trial. He didn't do it. All these little things that kind of added up to where really had to sit back and think, okay wait a second, something something's not right here This is all about building doubt. So if there are enough doubts that are put out there Mbe A juror will think Okay, the prosecutor has not proved his case I believe veryer strongly in my heart that she was taken off the street that day by the people invol in the burglary in the house. I know Fr my own experiences with Scott and from the evidence in this case that that is a much more likely scenario Scott having murdered his wife. When it came time for the defense case to start, everyone was expecting all this evidence to come forward And very little of it did. There was too much reasonable doubt, especially in my mind. The burglary should have been looked at a lot stronger should have been the defense's number one they should have really put a lot more evidence out on that. Mark Gargos never certainly proved in any way, shape, or form, that there was an abduction. I thought one, I thought basically innocent for a long time and then it started going shifting the other way. I expect that I will be asked to testify in this case, and I am prepared to do so The Mattress warehouse Fourth of July sale is happening now. Save up to one thousand dollars on beauty R black, adjustable sets and experience next level comfort and support. Plus, enjoy free Wite glove delivery and setup. But hurry, deals this big won't last long. O at Mattress Warehouse It's my first day of work and I need to make a big impression. From executive producer Mindy Kayley. This is our sexual harassment training. Hands off your coworkers. Now sign this saying that I trained you? Are you're fired? Yes, ma'am. Relationships are too messy. I just met the woman of my dreams. You gotta chill out and not come on too strong. That goes against my entire personality, but I'll try. Watch Not Suitable for work now streaming on Hulu and Tutu on Disney Plus for Bundle suubbscribers. Terms apply Today, Scott Peterson's family and Lacey Peterson's family came and went with little to say publicly, cllamming the prosecutor's opening argument as nothing new, no evidence. We want the country to know our son is innocent. defense has asked for a mistrial again, claiming prosecutors have been too slow to turn over evidence. O day a time I mean, we all know he had an affair. That's not the issue here. The issue is about Lacey. and I don't think the two are connected whatsoever. Thejection, that calls for speculation. borders on the ludic. The defense blames pretrial publicity for tainting the San Mateo County. There was no evidence whatsoever other than circumstantial evidence And the problem in this case was the interpretation the Medeso police put on the circumstantial evidence was just incorrect They had a motive They had means for sure. they had opportunity. What they didn't have was a lot of forensics. They looked at his computer use and they saw that he was looking at the currents in the San Francisco Bay. Scott would say it he wanted to know what the currents would be If you look at it through a different lens, it's because he's going to drop his dead wife's body there. Their forensic computer expert conceded that Lacey had accessed the computer on the morning of the twenty fourth. Someone was on the computer in the house looking at sunflower umbrellas. and another shopping site Clearly, that was Lacey, right? Or it was Scott pretending to be Lacey in the warehouse where he stored the boat, that believed that he made these homemade anchors and probably attached them to her body so she would sink in the bay anchors Fortty pound will never sink that That body would have just floed Then the question becomes how do the bodies get to the Berkeley Marina. And that one to me is the easiest one. I think the burglars are probably initially panicked, kept her for a while And then the realization hits them that they can't let her live because now they've committed kidnapping And now we're not talking about a burglary for a year or two in jail. we're talking about You know, life in prison. And so they say, we' got to get rid of her And someone says, Yeahah, but what do we do with the body? And they say, Hey, you know what? Everybody in the country knows that Scott Peterson went to the Berkeley Marina Let's drop the body there. That was the one smart thing that they came up The Mabies here require such logical leaps It's just not credible It's either someone actively framed Scott Peterson after kidnapping his eight month pregnant wife orr he did it. That's it. the biggest coincidence I have ever heard of. I mean, are you psychic? I mean, you predicted your wife would be missing But on august tenth, when Amber frried started her testimony and those recordings started to play. it was a turning point for the prosecution. From the moment I learned the truth, it wasn't about me. It was about a missing pregnant woman There was information that I had that nobody knew or heard Amber fry in those tapes tootally turn the case upside down And it sunk, Scott Peters. The jury was absolutely taken aback by those tapes and you could feel the entire trial shift during that four or five day period. Scott realized that as soon as it came out that it was ammber, all bets were off. Oh, yes, you said you lost your wife Obviously without me saying much But we said that I lost my life. Yes, you did I did and yes How did you lose her then before she was lost? Explain that. They different kind of mck humor. This The guy is supposedly out there searching desperately Find his missing wife And he's telling his girlfriend he lost his wife That's tough. piece of test to moot it over The prorosecution couldn't tell you when this happened They couldn't tell you where it happened. I couldn tell you how it happened The only thing they could do was just say Scott Peterson's a bad person. We live in a day and age of CSI and forensics and timelining. and nobody does that with this crime. It's just he did it. He was a dirtbag adulterer and he did it. And that's not good enough. That's not good enough I do not believe that Scott Peterson killed his wife. No. I certainly don't believe that anybody proved that in a trial. I absolutely don't believe that. The media attention and the atmosphere at the courthouse wasn't the problem for Scott Peterson. The problem was the evidence The problem was Amber Fy. The problem was where the bodies were found That was the problem for Scott Peterson You never know. one of the things about a jury trial is man, when you're sitting there waiting, your heart is pounding. mister Ford person, it's my understanding that the jury has arriated a verdict in this case, that cor? You got it, jouror. So here we are at five minutes after the hour of four o'clock. We are awaiting this audio feed of this bdict. He's guilty. There were drongs around the courthouse. It people holding up signs, it people yelling murderer. It is just a very difficult There moment outside of that courthouse where everyone involved thirty years to life. I say this if there is a conviction in this case at this point, the whole world had decided Skyt Peterson was guilty. I thought the best result possible in this case would be a hung jury. After a five month jury trial hundred and eighty witnesses, hundreds of pieces of evidence admitted for the jury to consider. After all that, the jury concluded very quickly You can look at it one of two ways. Either they say the prosecution didn't prove it or of course, he's the one that did it, and we're gonna find him guilty. We'll find out in a matter of moments. One of the things about a jury trial is man, when you're sitting there waiting, your heart is pounding notes ing me and put in a holding cell in the courthouse. And Wow, I was like a huge relief and it was perverect. I wasm still expecting to go home that day. It's not like I had a like to go back to or you know I feel I if be had of bad hell. They got the b There were definite butterflies when we got worth that there was a verdict. There were hundreds of people outside the courthouse listening to the verdict, which was being broadcast from the courtroom. Okay, I'm understanding that the jury is entering the courtroom right now. so mister Ford Person, it's my understanding that the jury has arrived at a verdict in this case? that correct When you're waiting, it just seems like it takes so long to spit. J spit it out. State of California versus Scott Peterson As the verdict was being read It was dead silence Be the jury and above entitled cause, find a defendant Scott Lee Peterson guilty of the crime of murder of Lacey DeVise Peterson. A almost two years, the verdict has been read and Scott Peterson has been found guilty of first degree murder that comes with death penalty or life without parle guuilty of second degree murder with regard to his unborn child, Baby Connor, fifteen years to life. The penalty phase, according to the judge, will start in less than a week. I still hear the voice Guilty il and I just started crying. It was a relief. It was a sigh of relief. We were bawling It was like I'd been holding my breath for two years here, almost. and Yeah, when I heard the verdical, it was just and all the emotions come out. I mean, because Like I said, it's like you've been holding your breath and holding everything in all this time and Boom, and then okay, it's done, it's done. Hugs Tears in front of me in the row in front of me, right? The row chos and Lacey's friends As the verdicts are being read and I'm making all these observations around the courtroom, I'm looking at Scott Peterson too And I don't see any emotion. I see nothing I kept hoping one of them would say you have a second thought and just realize what they were doing. You're ready how long this was. was Gasps from the defense side, just like They couldn't believe it. They absolutely could not believe it. You could see it. They just they were stunned When they actually announced the verdict, I thought that I just didn't hear the word kn. I thought maybe, you know, I just missed it. We were completely shocked and numb, just numb I'm haunted by the verdict all the time This is what you crave as a lawyer, the opportunity to prove an innocent man innocent And given that opportunity, I fail Ms of people in this country were praying for justice. I think there was justice today with the jury's verdict. your sl. Peterson family, when they left the courthouse, having just heard that their loved one was found guilty, the crowd was jeering them. quantum of We were kind of a little taken aback by that they were going to provide us an escort to walk us to our car. It kind of made us think, whoa, what's out there?. Outside it was like the Roman Colosseum. It was obscene. This was a courthouse and people were cheering and screaming and hugging each other This is a tragedy all the way around. What are we celebrating here? I just remember in my head Thinking. They have no idea They have no idea That's the only thing I remember thinking This trial is not over. There's gonna be a penalty phase A week from Monday, this jury will begin to consider whether or not Scott Peterson lives or dies for the murder of his wife and child The sentencing was actually the close call I think many believe there was a real chance for Scott Peterson to get life in prison instead of the death penalty What convinced you to choose the sentence of death? I played in my mind over and over conspiracy, W somebody trying to set up Scott, with somebody after Lacey It didn't add up for me for her to be where she was found and to go through with what seemed to be in the end to me a charade It just wasn't It wasn't fair. What a nightmare It hasn't changed. It's still a nightmare. It should never have happened It hurts too many people for no reason But justice was served Obviously, we're very disappointed. Obviously, we plan on pursuing every and all appeals. I don't think anybody who sat in that courtroom could think that they'd put on case beyond a reasonable doubt. However, it didn't matter what the rational facts were. It didn't matter what the evidence was. It's hard to convey to somebody who wasn't there at the time what was going on in two thousand four and the hatred in vitriel that was directed towards Scott Peterson I don't care, I just know he's guilty. That was the feeling Guess what, Scottty? SanQins your new home. And it's illegal to kill your wife and child in California. The one thing that happened right at the end of the trial tip had been called into the Medesto police from a liieutenant Apone at Norcoope Prison. He overheard one of the people in the jail, one of the inmates, telling somebody on the phone who was outside, they had brought up Lacey Peterson's name This case is driven by headline narratives. To have a case that's been this highly publicized, to have people have such a small understanding of what happened on this day it's profoundly frustrating Right now with the Peterson case there are essentially two different tracks. The first track is the death penalty part of the trial. That has been overturned. We are getting ready to do a subsequent retry of the death penalty phase There is a second track, however, to determine whether or not the entire case gets retried. Scott Peterson is up for appeal and probably his strongest most compelling arguments to get this conviction overturned is jury misconduct It turnurns out one of the jurors did not disclose that she'd actually had to get a restraining order against someone in connection with her being pregnant and being concerned about her baby Little man was the hardest for me Little man, that's what I call him. Connor. pretty relevant detail in a case like this. When I was filling out that application, my situation never came to my mind. Peterson appealed his case to the California Supreme Court, citing a variety of reasons. that the conviction should be overturned. The H Court ordered the trial court to reconsider just one issue that question about potential juror misconduct. You know, I think about it. I don't know what a jury or an appeals court is going to do. It's out of my control. I hope it doesn't come to that as difficult as it is to think about sitting through another trial, we're prepared for another trial. If we're allowed to put on the evidence in this case and we're able to show the jury everything that's out there I am very confident Scott will be found not guilty Some of it includes what's known as the Apone tip One tip had been called into the Modesto police from a Lieutenant Apone at Norcoope prrison He overheard one of the people in the jail, one of the inmates, telling somebody on the phone who was outside, they had brought up Lacey Peterson's name Ppontte Tip was in discovery, I believe. We sent our investigator down to interview Lieutenant Aponte, who confirmed At first, he said the inmate claimed he'd heard that Lacey had seen one of the burglars. Burglar thnder Cante later backtracked on the details of that call. We were going to call him in as a witness, and he changed his story. And he started saying, Well, I don't really know what I heard. He started backing off everything We are going to call him at this trial. We're going to read the declaration, let the jury see what he signed Well they only have to get reasonable doubt. This is far from a smoking gun But I want the public to know in this trial. This coming trial is Just lookist at the evidence Don't go on to motion on this. Give us a shot It's rare in life you get a second chance. It's taken eighteen years for Scott sitting in a jail cell I'm ready to go back to court. Let's do it again. I'd be ready to testify. I'd go back at it again because he deserves to be where he is. To have to go through a trial again f course it would be excruciating But if that's what it takes, I'll be there