Scott Peterson has been sparred being executed as a result of being convicted in the murders of his wife and unborn son. Peterson was found guilty in the killings of his pregnant wife Laci, and their unborn son Conner. CNN reports that the California Supreme Court reversed Peterson’s initial death sentence in 2020 after discovering potential jurors were dismissed without fair reason. Many of the jurors were reportedly dismissed because they expressed objections to the death penalty during their intake questionnaire. As a result, Peterson was given a resentencing trial.
Now, instead of being sentenced to death, Peterson will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. Laci’s family, who once considered Scott to be a dear husband to her, remain unforgiving. They addressed their former son-in-law in court at the sentencing on Wednesday, Dec. 8.
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“You didn’t want the responsibility of being a father. You’re a coward,” Laci’s mother Sharon Rocha said tearfully. She also spoke of the grandson Conner she never met. “He would have been 18 years old by now. Ten months ago you would have been free of child support and not have to worry about being responsible for a child,” Rocha added. “Laci and Conner will always be dead, and you will always be their murderer.”
Laci was seven months pregnant with Conner at the time of her disappearance. She was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2002. After months of searching, their bodies washed ashore and were found separately in April 2003. Scott was formerly sentenced to death in 2005 for the murders.
Witnesses, including Scott’s mistress Amber Frey, testified that they believed Scott wanted a life free of responsibility and that Laci and Conner were in the way of that. It’s also believed he wanted to leave Laci for Frey. Fre said she had no idea that Scott was married or expecting a baby until she learned of Laci’s disappearance. It’s also speculated that Scott intended to kill Frye out of fear that she was cooperating with investigators. When he was finally detained for Laci and Conner’s murders, police say they found mapped-out directions to Frye’s job and accessories that appeared to be intended to cover up a crime.
Prosecutors allege that Scott killed Laci at their Modesto, California, home, then dumped her body in the San Francisco Bay from a fishing boat he recently purchased. He maintains his innocence.
