Scott Peterson's jury never got ‘complete picture' of what happened to Laci, LAIP says

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (KRON) — For the first time since the LA Innocence Project re-opened an investigation into the Scott Peterson murder case, the victim’s family spoke out on Monday. Peterson was convicted by a San Mateo County jury of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner, two decades ago.

The 51-year-old inmate has made numerous legal maneuvers to appeal his conviction in hopes that one day he will be freed from prison. Peterson is currently serving a life prison sentence without possibility of parole.

His case was back in court again on Monday while attorneys with the LA Innocence Project requested more than 600 pieces of evidence collected by the Modesto Police Department in 2002 and various investigators in following years.

Peterson watched from Mule Creek State Prison via a live Zoom video feed.

Former Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager is serving as a special prosecutor to fight LAIP’s case. On Monday, Fladager read a victim impact statement written by Laci’s mother, Sharon Rocha, to Judge Elizabeth Hill.

Rocha wrote in her letter, “It has been almost 22 years since I have seen or talked to my daughter. She was murdered by her husband. She was murdered by the man she loved with all her heart. Since his conviction in 2004, he has been in court numerous times trying to get his conviction overturned. Each attempt he makes for freedom feels like ripping the scab from the wound (family’s trauma) . He continues to file claim after claim. Time after time. I believe this is not about proving his innocence, but instead about his relentless pursuit (to be freed) from prison. When will this end?”

Rocha stated that Peterson deserves to spend the rest of his life inside a prison cell. Rocha said her life without Laci feels like a prison of grief that she will never be able to escape.

Prosecutor Ahnna Reicks told the judge that LAIP has no solid new evidence nor witnesses to build a new case on. LAIP merely wants to go on a “fishing exhibition,” fishing through the DA’s old case files and police reports, Reicks told the judge. The DA’s office is asking Judge Hill to deny all of LAIP’s requests for accessing case files and evidence.

Paula Mitchell, director of the LA Innocence Project, shook her head in disagreement at times during Reicks’ lengthy argument. Mitchell told the judge that crucial items of evidence, including tapes of police interrogations with Peterson in 2002, were never provided to his defense team before nor after his murder trial.

Mitchell said, “We are deeply concerned about this long list of items and evidence that was not provided to defense at time of trial. The jury did not get the complete picture of what transpired and what happened to Laci Peterson.”

In May, Judge Hill gave a green light to testing one piece of evidence for DNA : a 15-inch-long strip of duct tape found on Laci's pants during her autopsy. Laci's body washed up in the San Francisco Bay months after she went missing from her Modesto neighborhood. She was 27 years old.

Peterson told detectives that he went fishing alone in the bay on Christmas Eve 2002, and when he returned home to Modesto, his wife had vanished.

LAIP’s new case partially hinges on old “jailhouse rumors” spread between inmates, Reicks told the judge. A group of men burglarized the Petersons’ neighbor’s house around the same time that Laci went missing. According to the rumors, one of the burglars grabbed Laci while she was walking her dog, hit her in the head with a rock, and threw her into a van that was later set on fire.

Photographs shot by an arson fire investigator showed a burned mattress with suspected blood stains inside the stolen van. Reicks said police detectives assigned to Laci’s disappearance ignored the van.

Reicks argued that the jury found Peterson guilty because of a “mountain of evidence” presented at trial in 2004 . Reicks said LAIP is unfairly attacking the Modesto Police Department’s murder investigation. The disappearance and murders of Laci and Conner trigged an “unprecedented” magnitude of efforts from police, search volunteers, and 10,000 tips from the public, Reicks said.

“The bottom line is, neither the police, family, or community gave up searching for Laci and Conner. Credible leads and a mountain of evidence only led to one person: Scott Peterson. Yet 22 years later, we are still in court litigating the same things,” the prosecutor told the judge.

The prosecutor noted that Peterson’s computer showed searches for information on ocean currents in the San Francisco Bay, boat launches, and the Berkeley Marina, “even before he owned a boat.” A homemade anchor without a rope or chain attached was found in his fishing boat. DNA from a strand of hair wrapped around pliers in the boat matched Laci’s DNA, Reicks said.

His most recently filed case asks for new DNA testing, as well as access to 645 pieces of evidence, Reicks said. “This is a request for anything and everything except the kitchen sink,” she added.

While Laci was missing, Peterson’s family hired their own private investigators. “This is before the defendant is even arrested,” Reicks pointed out. The PIs interviewed neighbors whose home was burglarized, the burglars, and witnesses who claimed to have seen Laci walking around the neighborhood after her husband left Modesto to go fishing. Witnesses interviewed by the PIs never testified at trial because they couldn’t help the defense’s case, Reicks asserted.

Mitchell replied, “The Peterson family hired a private investigator to help search for Laci because eyewitness reports were being ignored by police.”

Mitchell said Peterson’s post-conviction discovery motion request should be granted by the court. “We have uncovered, and are continuing to develop, new evidence. We believe we are entitled to the discovery we are requesting.”

Arguments continued inside the courtroom on Monday afternoon. The hearing will wrap up on Tuesday before Judge Hill makes a ruling.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.