Scott Peterson doubles down on burglar theory & swears he kept up affair to find wife Laci in 1st interview in 20 years

SCOTT Peterson once again denied killing his pregnant wife in 2002 and suggested that the murder could have been connected to a nearby burglary at the time.

In his first interview in two decades, Peterson has maintained his innocence and even said that he kept up the affair with his mistress, Amber Frey, after his wife, Laci, disappeared in an attempt to keep police focused on the search.

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Peacock’s new docuseries, Face to Face with Scott Peterson, has revealed prison interviews with Peterson, who is now serving life in prison for the murders of Laci and their unborn son, Conner.

Laci, 27, was eight months pregnant when she disappeared from the couple’s home in Modesto, California , on Christmas Eve in 2002. Her body washed up on the shore of the San Francisco Bay on April 14, 2003.

Peterson was arrested and charged with the murders days later. Following a five-month trial, Peterson was convicted of the murders on November 12, 2004.

He originally faced the death sentence for the crimes, but it was overturned in 2020. He is now serving a life sentence at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, without the possibility of parole.

In conversations with documentarian Shareen Anderson for the new three-part series, Peterson opened up about the fallout of the murders that he’s always insisted he didn’t commit.

BURGLAR THEORY

Throughout his trial and in recent years, Peterson’s lawyers have brought up a theory that a burglary near the Petersons’ home at the time might have been involved with Laci and Conner’s death.

While police say the break-in happened days after Laci vanished, witnesses in the docuseries said that they saw a suspicious van in the neighborhood – and one witness said that they saw a pregnant woman being forced into a van.

Peterson, now 51, doubled down on the theory during his new interviews, which showed the convicted killer sporting a ponytail and often smiling.

“There was a burglary across the street from our home,” Peterson said in the three-part series.

“And I believe that Laci went over there to see what was going on, and that’s when she was taken.”

He claimed investigators didn’t look into evidence that could’ve helped Peterson throughout his trial.

“There are so many instances where there was evidence that didn’t fit the detectives’ theory that they ignored,” he alleged.

Janey Peterson , Scott’s sister-in-law, has also insisted on the burglar theory. Over the past two decades, she has advocated for Peterson’s innocence.

“That’s always been our theory,” Janey said in June 2023.

How to watch the Peacock docuseries

Face to Face with Scott Peterson premiered on Peacock on August 20.

The three-part docuseries is streaming exclusively on Peacock.

You can get Peacock for as low as $7.99 a month, but the ad-free version costs $13.99.

“There’s always been evidence that points to the burglary, but it’s all either been a couple degrees of hearsay or whatever.”

SCOTT SPEAKS OUT ABOUT AFFAIR

In the new series, Peterson opened up about his months-long relationship with Frey at the time of the murders.

Investigators considered Peterson a suspect in his wife’s disappearance when they learned about his affair with Frey, who helped cops zero in on him by continuing their relationship and attempting to get information from him.

In the Peacock series, Peterson spoke about his regret for cheating on his pregnant wife and said that the reasons for the affair were “childish, lack of self-esteem, selfish.”

There’s always been evidence that points to the burglary, but it’s all either been a couple degrees of hearsay or whatever.”

Janey Peterson Laci Peterson's sister

However, he said that he maintained his relationship with Frey, who didn’t know Peterson was married, during the investigation, hoping it could help police find Laci.

“Stay in contact with Amber, I thought, and she wouldn’t get into the picture, complicate it, ruin the search,” Peterson said.

Scott Peterson case timeline

Laci Peterson, 27, vanished from her home in Modesto, California, on December 24, 2002. After a months-long search, her husband Scott was arrested for murder. Here are key developments in the case.

• December 24, 2002 : Eight-month-pregnant Laci disappears
• April 13, 2003: Laci’s body and the remains of her unborn son are found washed up on a San Francisco Bay beach
• April 18, 2003: Scott is arrested for murder in San Diego
• April 21, 2003: Scott is arraigned and charged with two felony counts of murder with premeditation and special circumstances
• June 1, 2004: Scott’s criminal trial begins
• November 12, 2004: Scott is found guilty of one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder
• December 13, 2004: Just shy of two years since Laci’s death, Scott is handed a death sentence
• July 5, 2012: Scott appeals his death sentence
• August 24, 2020: The California Supreme Court upholds Scott’s convictions but overturns his death sentence after finding bias in the jury’s death penalty decision
• September 22, 2021: Scott is re-sentenced to life without parole
• January 2024: The Los Angeles Innocence Project announces it is taking on Scott’s case
• March 12, 2024: Scott appears in court to schedule future hearings
• April 22, 2024: The district attorney’s office files its opposition to a motion from Peterson’s defense team for post-conviction DNA testing of evidence
• May 29, 2024: A judge rules a single piece of duct tape found on Laci’s pants at the time of her autopsy can be tested for DNA
• July 16, 2024: Scott’s defense asks for more than 600 pieces of evidence from the Modesto Police Department

However, Frey played a crucial part in Peterson’s conviction after she testified against him during the trial.

While Peterson spoke out in the Peacock series, Frey has shared her story in a new Netflix documentary about the case.

She said that her heart “never stopped pounding” when she recorded phone conversations with Peterson to help police in their investigation.

Frey broke up with Peterson at the end of January after she turned over her recordings to investigators.

EVIDENCE PHOTO

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