Scott Peterson has broken his silence after his wife and unborn son died in a Christmas Eve tragedy 21 years ago, sticking to his theory that she was abducted by strangers who broke into a neighbor’s house.
The father-to-be was convicted of murdering his college sweetheart, Laci, who was eight months pregnant with their first child, a son they planned to name Conner. He has always maintained his innocence.
In a new Peacock documentary, Face to Face with Scott Peterson, the now 51-year-old speaks publicly for the first time since his 2003 arrest, and he remains adamant that a group of burglars were responsible for his wife’s death.
“There was a break-in across the street from our house. There were a lot of people involved,” he told interviewer Shareen Anderson via video call.
“And I believe Laci went there to see what was going on, and that’s when she was taken.”
Scott Peterson has broken his silence from prison, 21 years after his wife and unborn son were killed in a Christmas Eve tragedy
In a new Peacock documentary, Face to Face with Scott Peterson, the now 51-year-old has spoken publicly for the first time since his 2003 arrest, maintaining his long-held belief that a group of burglars were responsible for his wife’s death.
Laci with her husband Scott – who murdered her just weeks before they gave birth to their baby boy. The couple met in 1994 at Cal Poly and dated for two years before moving in together
Two men were arrested and pleaded guilty to the crime, but detectives investigating the case ruled out a connection to Laci, believing the duo had broken into the home two days after her disappearance, on December 26.
Peterson, his family and some of his supporters have long argued that police were too quick to rule out the burglars’ involvement in Laci’s disappearance.
One witness, who police say is not credible because of her inconsistent recollections, said she saw three men at the home where the burglary occurred who did not physically resemble the two men later convicted of the crime, Steven Todd and Donald Pearce.
She also said she saw a van parked in front of the door. Police said she initially thought the van was white, but later said it might be brown or tan.
Peterson and his supporters claim that Van could be the key to Laci’s death.
“Todd and Pearce, the two we know, broke into the house across the street,” Peterson said.
‘We don’t know who else was involved in that burglary. We know there were others.
“There was no need to examine the evidence that was in front of them. It was evidence that they simply chose to ignore.”
Peterson is allowed to make 15-minute video calls from Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, where he is serving a life sentence. These conversations form the basis of the shocking new documentary.
He was questioned about parts of the investigation and the case against him, including his last voicemail to Laci, his affair with Amber Frey and the recently purchased boat he used to dump his murdered wife’s body in the water.
Peterson was fishing in San Francisco Bay when his wife disappeared 90 miles away on the morning of December 24, 2002.
Peterson called Laci at 2:15 p.m. the day she disappeared and left her a voicemail message saying he would “see her soon” when he got home from the marina.
Detectives always thought it was ‘staged’ to make things seem normal.
But Peterson said, “That was normal for us, she called me honey, I called her pretty. We loved each other, we enjoyed each other. We were good friends.
‘She [detectives] Did you think it was too sweet a message for a married couple? They really have sad marriages if they think that. I honestly feel sorry for them.
Prosecutors say Peterson killed Laci (pictured together) to escape married life and fatherhood
When asked on December 9 why he bought the new boat, Peterson said he bought the boat just for him and his father-in-law Ron Grantski.
He specifically said it would be a way for his unborn son to bond with his family.
Peterson said from prison, “I wanted him [Ron] to have a relationship with Conner.
‘And fishing is part of that, because Ron really enjoyed it.
“It was also something that brought us closer together.”
Conner is the name Peterson and Laci had planned to give their son. His body was found on the shore of the bay, next to Laci’s, several weeks after her disappearance.
As the investigation continued, Peterson said he was convinced detectives had already found him guilty.
“They assumed that this was the case,” he said. “They didn’t come to our house looking for Laci, they came to look for evidence against me.”
“They searched the house but found absolutely no forensic evidence against me, no blood, no struggle, and yet they continued to focus on me.”
In the shocking documentary, Peterson debunked the theory that he killed Laci because he didn’t want to be a father or fit into the domestic role of a husband.
Peterson said in the clip, “That’s so offensive, so disgusting. It’s absolutely not true.”
And speaking about his infidelity 20 years later, Peterson admitted that he “regrets” his extramarital affair with Amber Frey, saying that for him it was “just sex.”
Scott Peterson and Amber Frey, pictured together at a party on December 14, 2002
He said, “I definitely regret cheating on Laci. It was childish, self-loathing, selfish… traveling somewhere, being lonely that night because I wasn’t home… someone makes you feel good because they want to have sex with you.
“That was it for me.”
But Peterson continued his affair with Amber, despite Laci having been dead for weeks.
He admitted that he continued to seduce her because he thought he would look more guilty if she went to the police.
“When I kept in touch with Amber, I thought… she was going to ruin the search,” he said.
‘The search for Laci will stop once the police or the public know that I had sex with another woman. The knowledge of her [Amber] was a ticking time bomb.’
Amber was introduced to Scott by a friend and their relationship was great from the start. The San Diego native bought her flowers and talked about their future.
