Jury in Scott Peterson's murder trial was 'misled', experts claim, as new science contradicts key evidence
The jury in Scott Peterson’s 2004 murder trial was reportedly 'misled', two legal experts have agreed, as 'new science' allegedly offers a different take on where Laci Peterson’s body was discovered.
The murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner, is one of the most famous and heavily covered true crime cases in American history.
Her husband, Scott, stood trial and was found guilty of the first-degree murder of his wife and second-degree murder of their unborn son.
And while he was initially sentenced to death, the decision was overturned in 2020 when he was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Advert
Now a brand-new series explores the theories presented by the Los Angeles Innocence Project (LAIP), which is calling for Peterson to face a retrial following the discovery of new scientific evidence linked to the case.
During the 2004 trial, hydrologist Dr Ralph Cheng was called to testify for the prosecution.
He testified that for the bodies to have washed up on the Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in Richmond, California, the 'most likely launch point' would have been exactly where Scott was fishing in the bay.
But the problem with the testimony, according to defense attorney and legal analyst Chris Pixley, is that Dr Cheng relied heavily on a wind-drift model to help track the bodies.
"Now that was a powerful narrative, but new science is challenging the validity of the narrative," he said during the newly-released Scott Peterson: The New Evidence - Reasonable Doubt? episode, which aired on A&E Networks.
The LAIP's expert, Dr Russell Feagin, has now used Delft3D technology to run 'various simulations', and the new tidal science instead places the bodies being inserted in the Albany Bay from a 'shallow water location'.
The expert added: "So the conclusions he [Dr Cheng] arrived at in 2004 were based entirely on wind, and not tidal action.
"He didn't use his background [hydrology] to testify, in the bay it's a tidally-driven system."
Former prosecutor and legal analyst Joshua Ritter further noted that Peterson fishing in the same bay the bodies were discovered in is one of 'the most significant facts for the prosecution in the case'.
So if there are problems with the original expert testimony, the LAIP argues this could provide grounds for a retrial.
Both experts claimed that the jury was misled about the tides.
Laci, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her death, disappeared from her Modesto home on Christmas Eve 2002.
Scott told police he had gone fishing that morning, while prosecutors later alleged Laci had already been killed and that Scott had disposed of her body in San Francisco Bay.
Laci and her unborn son Conner were found months later along the bay. Scott was convicted in 2004, with the prosecution’s case relying heavily on circumstantial evidence.
A timeline of the Scott Peterson case
November 2002
Scott Peterson meets massage therapist Amber Frey on a blind date. Frey says he didn’t tell her he was married. They begin a relationship.
December 24 2002
Laci Peterson, who is eight months pregnant, is reported missing by her husband Scott Peterson and her stepfather Ron Grantski. Peterson claims he was out fishing when she disappeared.
January 24 2003
Frey tells police that she and Scott were having an affair.
April 14 2003
The body of a woman with a missing head and limbs and the body of a fetus are found in San Francisco Bay.
April 18 2003
The bodies are identified as Laci Peterson and her unborn son Conner. Scott is arrested the same day.
April 21 2003
Peterson pleads not guilty to the first-degree murder of his wife and the second-degree murder of her unborn son.
November 12 2004
Following a five-month trial, Peterson is found guilty of both charges.
March 16 2005
Peterson is sentenced to death by lethal injection.
July 15 2012
Peterson’s attorneys appeal his conviction, complaining of a lack of direct evidence and the judge excluding potential jurors who opposed the death penalty.
November 24 2015
Peterson files another appeal with similar claims, adding that one juror failed to disclose to the court that she was allegedly threatened by her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend while she was pregnant.
March 13 2019
California Governor Gavin Newsom orders a moratorium on executions in the state.
August 24 2020
The California Supreme Court overturn Peterson’s death sentence, citing ‘clear and significant errors in jury selection’.
December 8 2021
Peterson is resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
January 18 2024
The Los Angeles Innocence Project begins supporting Peterson.
April 27 2026
A California judge declines to review new evidence Peterson’s team claims could exonerate him, saying it ‘merely repeats and elaborates upon the same contested theories that existed at the time of trial’.
Topics: US News, Crime, Film and TV, Documentaries
Mia Williams