SAN FRANCISCO – The Los Angeles Innocence Project filed a petition with the California Court of Appeals in San Francisco to get a new trial for Scott Peterson in the 2002 murder of his wife, Laci, and unborn son.
Peterson’s attorneys claim they have new evidence in the case, including statements from witnesses who say they saw Laci Peterson alive, and evidence about a burglary across the street from the Peterson’s home the day she went missing.
The Los Angeles Innocence Project claims Scott Peterson was denied his rights to due process and a fair trial because jurors did not hear evidence over two decades ago that they argue could have affected the outcome of the trial, and police and prosecutors did not fairly investigate the case, and even destroyed possibly critical evidence.
“This … Writ of Habeas Corpus presents new evidence that was not available at the time of trial, supports Petitioner’s claim of innocence, and shows he was wrongfully convicted,” the petition states. “This new evidence undermines the prosecution’s entire circumstantial case against Petitioner, and shows that the jury relied on false evidence, including false scientific evidence, to convict him.”
Prosecutors have said that burglary has nothing to do with the Peterson case.
After the appeal was filed, sister station KCRA 3 in Sacramento reached out to the Stanislaus County DA’s office for comment. They said haven’t seen the filing yet.
In a nearly 400-page petition filed Friday night in the First District, the LA Innocence Project argued Scott Peterson is innocent and his conviction should be overturned.
Laci Peterson, who was 27 years old and eight months pregnant, disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002. Her body was found in San Francisco Bay in April 2003.
Scott Peterson, now 52, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son. A jury found him guilty following a six-month trial in 2004.
He was sentenced to death in March 2005. In August 2020, the California Supreme Court vacated his death sentence, and in December 2021 he was resentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
The LA Innocence Project took up the case in January 2024 and requested that items gathered during the original murder investigation undergo DNA testing.
In May, a judge denied testing for 13 items that the defense requested. The one piece of testing the judge cleared to be tested was for a piece of duct tape found on Laci Peterson’s pants after her body was pulled from the San Francisco Bay.
Scott Peterson is now at Mule Creek State Prison.
