More than 20 years after Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson and their unborn son, Conner, a new A&E documentary is raising fresh questions about the case. The two-part special claims to feature previously unseen footage, new expert analysis and other evidence that supporters say could challenge Peterson’s conviction.
What new evidence does the Scott Peterson documentary reveal?
A&E’s two-part documentary, “Scott Peterson: The New Evidence,” airing Thursday, July 16 at 9pm ET/PT and Friday, July 17 at 8pm ET/PT is offering newly unearthed footage, alleged handwritten notes from Laci and expert opinions.
Mark Geragos, Peterson’s lawyer during his 2004 trial, defended his former client to the New York Post. “You have an instinct or a gut feeling that is honed by doing 10,000 reps, so to speak, and you know when someone is good for a crime or when they’re not,” he said.
Geragos also told USA Today that, “There’s no way he did this, and I’ve seen no evidence that is compelling to me that supports the fact that he did this.”
According to the New York Post, the nearly three-hour documentary follows host Chris Pixley and retired Los Angeles detective Ninette Toosbuy as they retrace Peterson’s Christmas Eve trip to the Berkeley Marina. They argue it would have been nearly impossible for Peterson to dump Laci’s body from his small fishing boat in broad daylight without being seen or leaving behind significant DNA evidence.
The documentary also includes previously unseen defense footage of a weighted dummy causing the small boat to capsize while being thrown overboard, footage the jury never saw. It also features experts who challenge the tidal and wind analysis presented at trial and say Laci’s body could not have washed up where it was found if Peterson had dumped it where prosecutors claimed.
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Documentary highlights burglary theory and burned van
The documentary also looks at another theory that a burglary happened across the street from the Petersons’ home around the time Laci went missing, according to the New York Post. It says seven witnesses reported seeing a suspicious van in the neighborhood on December 24, including a reserve police officer who claimed he saw a pregnant woman being forced into the van. The van was later found burned about 1.5 miles away in an area where a police dog had allegedly tracked Laci’s scent. Geragos said his team did not learn about the burned van until more than 10 years after Peterson’s conviction.
Geragos explained his theory to USA Today, “The evidence would now show [Laci] confronted the burglars across the street while walking the dog. The dog started barking. She gets abducted. God knows what happens after that.”
He added, “the van… is found at the Airport District, the seediest district in Modesto… and somebody lights it on fire. Why would you light a van on fire after you’ve stolen it and ditch it in the Airport District?”
Geragos called the burned van the strongest new evidence in the case. “I think it’s clear to me that the most outrageous and persuasive piece of evidence is the fact that the van was found in the airport area. Within days of her disappearance, it had been burned… there was testing done which determined a mattress in the van could potentially have blood on it.”
He also questioned why Laci and Conner’s bodies were found only four to five months later, saying it “doesn’t seem to be that compelling.”
According to trial testimony cited by the New York Post, two strands of Laci’s hair were found wrapped around a pair of pliers on Peterson’s boat. However, no blood or tissue was found on the pliers and they were rusty from lack of use.
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Scott Peterson’s 2004 Conviction and the Murder of Laci and Conner
According to reports, prosecutors said Scott Peterson was having an affair with Amber Frey and killed his pregnant wife, Laci and their unborn son so he could live a bachelor lifestyle. The state alleged Peterson dumped Laci’s body at Berkeley Marina after killing her, while Peterson has maintained that he went fishing and returned home to find her missing.
Peterson was originally sentenced to death but the sentence was later overturned. In 2024, the Los Angeles Innocence Project (LAIP) took over his case, arguing that “new evidence now supports Mr. Peterson’s long-standing claim of innocence and raises many questions into who abducted and killed Laci and Conner Peterson.” A judge declined to review the new evidence in April and the LAIP now plans to appeal.
Peterson is now 53 and continues to serve a life sentence in prison in California.