The Scott Peterson Case: A Timeline

Scott Peterson is serving a life sentence without parole for murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn child, Conner. Peterson has maintained his innocence and has continued to pursue appeals and innocence claims, keeping the case in the public eye for more than two decades.

Laci, who was eight months pregnant with Conner when she vanished, disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002.

As investigators searched for her, attention increasingly focused on Scott due to inconsistencies in his statements and revelations about an extramarital affair with a woman named Amber Frey. Prosecutors argued in his 2004 trial that Peterson killed his wife because he wanted to escape his marriage and impending fatherhood.

Scott was convicted of first-degree murder for Laci’s death and second-degree murder for Conner’s, receiving a death sentence that was changed to life in prison in 2020.

Laci, 27, is reported missing from her home in Modesto, Calif. She is eight months pregnant with a son she and Scott had planned to name Conner.

Scott, then 30, tells police that everything seemed fine when he left the house that morning. He had told a neighbor he was going to play golf, but investigators later found out he drove to the Berkeley Marina almost 90 miles away. He then told police he went fishing in an aluminum boat. His family said they didn’t know he had the boat.

Police search the Peterson home.

Scott talks to a reporter about a possible sighting of Laci in Longview, Wash. The following day, he tells his mother he discussed the tip with authorities in Longview. It’s later learned he never did.

Frey tells the media she was in a relationship with Scott that began in November 2002, before Laci was killed.

“Scott told me he was not married,” she said. "We did have a romantic relationship." Prosecutors say Scott told Frey he'd "lost" his wife and would be spending his first Christmas alone.

Police search the house again and remove 95 items.

Police say at a news conference that they’re investigating Laci’s disappearance as a homicide. Laci’s family attends the conference, but Scott does not.

An infant male is found dead on the shore of San Francisco Bay.

A decapitated female body washes up on the shore of San Francisco Bay near where the infant's body was found. Both bodies are a few miles from where Scott said he went fishing.

Police confirm the bodies belong to Laci and Conner. Scott is arrested in San Diego. He has bleached hair and a bleached goatee. Police said he had $15,000 in cash, his brother's ID card and multiple cell phones on him. He is held without bail.

Scott pleads not guilty to two felony counts of murder with premeditation and special circumstances.

Participants in the trial, including attorneys on both sides, are issued a gag order and told they are not allowed to talk about the trial outside of the courtroom. The judge says this is an attempt to preserve Scott’s right to a fair trial due to wide media coverage.

Judge Al Girolami says news cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom at the preliminary hearing.

Laci’s family files a lawsuit against Scott to prevent him from receiving money for selling his story. A judge rules in February 2004 that Scott can profit from selling his story.

Laci’s mother, Sharon Rocha, files a wrongful death lawsuit and survival action against Scott for more than $5 million. In April 2005, Rocha ups the ask to $25 million in light of the judge's ruling that Scott is able to make money from selling his story.

After the trial is moved to a new county, the newly appointed judge, Alfred Delucchi, bans cameras from the San Mateo County courtroom during the trial.

A made-for-TV movie called The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story is released, starring Dean Cain as Peterson.

Jury selection begins.

A 12-person jury with six alternatives is seated. Two jurors are later thrown out for misconduct, and a third leaves over arguments in the jury room.

Peterson’s trial begins.

Frey testifies that Scott told her he was a widower and lied about where he lived.

Frey finishes her testimony.

The prosecution rests.

The defense rests.

Jury deliberations begin.

Peterson is found guilty of first-degree murder for Laci’s death and second-degree murder for Conner’s.

The jury unanimously recommends that Scott be sentenced to death. The judge follows the jury’s recommendation and sends him to California’s death row.

A judge rules that proceeds from a $250,000 life insurance policy Scott took out on Laci will go to Rocha. She drops her lawsuits against him four years later.

Scott files an appeal with a 423-page brief that makes several arguments that he didn’t have a fair trial. Other arguments include a lack of direct evidence and the judge's exclusion of prospective jurors who opposed the death penalty.

Scott files his first Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, raising 19 issues and asking the court to reconsider the guilty verdict.

The California Supreme Court overturns Scott’s death sentence and remands it to a lower court to determine his penalty.

“The trial court made a series of clear and significant errors in jury selection that, under long-standing United States Supreme Court precedent, undermined Peterson's right to an impartial jury at the penalty phase,” the decision said.

Scott is re-sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

The Los Angeles Innocence Project says it is now representing Scott.

California Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hill declines to review what Scott's attorneys say is new evidence. Hill finds their motion procedurally barred and that there was nothing “new, admissible, nor material,” meaning Hill found laws or statutes that kept her from accepting the new claims.

"We disagree with and are disappointed by the court's ruling on every level," LA Innocence Project Deputy Director Hannah Brown said in a statement. "The ruling demonstrates a profound misunderstanding and misapplication of the law applied to habeas corpus petitions." The statement says that the Innocence Project uncovered “compelling new scientific evidence showing that the jury in Mr. Peterson’s case relied on unreliable scientific evidence to convict him.”