08/19/2026
On December 24, 2002, 27-year-old Laci Peterson vanished from her home in Modesto, California, while eight months pregnant. Her husband, Scott Peterson, said he had left that morning to go fishing at Berkeley Marina while Laci planned to walk their dog.
Concern grew when the family dog was later found roaming the neighborhood alone, still wearing its leash. As the search for Laci intensified and her disappearance captured national attention, investigators began scrutinizing Scott’s behavior and statements.
The investigation took a major turn when Amber Frey, a woman Scott had been involved with, contacted authorities. Frey revealed that Scott had told her he was a widower—even before Laci disappeared.
Months later, in April 2003, the remains of Laci and her unborn son, Conner, were discovered along the San Francisco Bay shoreline near the area where Scott had been fishing. Scott was arrested shortly afterward and charged with the murders of Laci and Conner.
His highly publicized 2004 trial centered largely on circumstantial evidence. Prosecutors argued that Scott killed Laci and disposed of her body in the bay, while the defense maintained that there was no direct evidence connecting him to the killings.
Scott Peterson was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder for Laci and second-degree murder for Conner. He was initially sentenced to death, but that sentence was later overturned and reduced to life imprisonment without parole.
The case remains one of the most closely followed and controversial murder investigations in modern American true crime history.
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