Scott Peterson Archives...

Laci Peterson Murder Case

Click Here for Latest Scott Peterson News...
OR, Return to TabloidColumn...

Friends lose trust in Scott Peterson.  Two close friends of Scott and Laci Peterson say no matter how Scott Peterson's murder trial turns out -- their friendship with him won't be the same as it was.  Mike and Heather Richardson say they used to vacation and go out to dinner with the Petersons. Heather Richardson was planning a baby shower for Laci Peterson before she disappeared.  more...

Laci Peterson's Family Holds Heart-Wrenching Press Conference.  Members of Laci Peterson’s family held an intensely emotional press conference Monday evening, in their first public appearance since the bodies of Laci and her unborn son washed ashore and Scott Peterson was arrested on charges of premeditated murder.  more...

Laci's Mom: 'Sick To My Stomach.'  "I love my daughter so much. I miss her every minute of every day," she said. "My heart aches for her and Connor... I literally get sick to my stomach when I allow myself to think about what may have happened to them. No parent should ever have to think about the way their child was murdered."  more...

ARRAIGNMENT HEARING FOR SCOTT PETERSON:

SCOTT PETERSON PLEADS 'NOT GUILTY' TO BOTH CAPITAL CHARGES.  BAIL HEARING SET FOR MAY 6.  SCOTT SAID HE COULD NOT AFFORD AN ATTORNEY, REQUESTS COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEY.  SCOTT'S MOTHER EMBRACES LACI'S MOTHER IN TEARS IN COURTROOM BEFORE ARRAIGNMENT BEGINS.

Scott Peterson Pleads 'Not Guilty' to Murder.  During his arraignment, Peterson was charged with two counts of premeditated murder in the slayings of his 8-months-pregnant wife and their nearly full-term baby, whose bodies washed up along the shore of San Francisco Bay last week.  "I am not guilty," Peterson, 30, said during a brief, but emotional, arraignment in Stanislaus County Superior Court.  more...

Peterson Pleads Innocent in Two Slayings.  Scott Peterson pleaded innocent Monday to killing his pregnant wife and unborn son, as prosecutors filed charges against him that could bring the death penalty.  "I am not guilty," Peterson said during a brief arraignment in Stanislaus County Superior Court.  more...

Criminal Complaint Filing.  Scott Peterson was charged today with two counts of premeditated murder in connection with the slaying last December of his wife Laci and the Modesto, California couple's unborn son. The criminal complaint, filed today in Stanislaus County Superior Court, alleges that Peterson, a 30-year-old former fertilizer salesman, acted "intentionally, deliberately and with premeditation" in killing his pregnant wife.  Court Filing...

Scott Peterson Charged With Two Counts of Premeditated Murder  Scott Peterson was formally charged with two counts of premeditated murder Monday in the slayings of his 8-months-pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, whose bodies washed up along the shore of San Francisco Bay last week.  more...

Seeking Death Penalty.  Scott Peterson to Be Arraigned Today in Death of Wife Laci, Unborn Son.  Scott Peterson is expected to appear in a California court today to face murder charges in the death of his pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son, and ABCNEWS has learned prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.  more...

A Husband In Trouble.  Scott Peterson was determined to play golf Friday morning, even as forensic scientists were still figuring out whether two corpses that washed up in San Francisco Bay last week were those of his missing wife, Laci, and their unborn son. As Peterson pulled his golf bag from his trunk at the Torrey Pines links shortly before noon, detectives swooped down and arrested him at gunpoint.  more...

'Scott Peterson is Innocent.'

Laci Peterson's in-laws defend their son and accuse the police of bungling.

  In an exclusive on-line interview with Time's San Diego reporter, Jill Underwood, Scott Peterson's mother Jackie and father Lee defended their son against allegations that he murdered his pregnant wife, Laci.  more...

Suspect's parents say Modesto cops botched case.  With their son locked up in a maximum-security cell, the parents of Scott Peterson proclaimed his innocence Sunday and accused the Modesto Police Department of "bungling" the investigation into the death of his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son.  more...

Case of another 'Laci' languishes in obscurity.  The story of 24-year-old Evelyn Hernandez of San Francisco, who vanished last May 1 with her 5-year-old son, a week before she was to deliver a baby boy. Her torso was found in the bay three months later and identified, while her son remains missing. No arrests have been made.  more...

Modesto Mourns in Wake of Laci Peterson Developments.  Michelle McKinney hugged her daughter and wiped away tears as she watched her 12-year-old son place a blue and gold teddy bear in front of Laci Peterson's home.  more...

Cops' endgame with slaying suspect.

THE STAKEOUT: Scott Peterson taunts as police wait and watch.

  The police were worried that Peterson might flee.  Attorney General Bill Lockyer agreed. He assigned four agents to the job. They tapped Peterson's phone and attached a transmitter to the maroon Mercedes Benz coupe that he had been driving. Authorities watched him around the clock.  Peterson soon realized he was being followed. It seemed to embolden him. He often baited the cops, jumping from his car and yelling, "Why don't you go ahead and arrest me?"  more...

Peterson Carried $10,000 When Arrested.
Scott Peterson had a stash of $10,000 in cash with him when he was arrested at gunpoint in connection with the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, a law enforcement official said.  more...

Unraveling of couple's life.  They seemed to have it all: an upscale Land Rover in the driveway, a subscription to a "wine-of-the-month" club, and a golf membership for Scott at the Del Rio Country Club.  more...

Mugshot of Scott Peterson.
(Sporting new hair color and goatee)    more...

Remains identified as Laci Peterson; Scott arrested near San Diego.  In a dramatic move Friday, authorities in the northern San Diego County community of La Jolla arrested Modesto’s Scott Peterson, whose pregnant wife Laci disappeared Christmas Eve.  FBI agents and San Diego area law enforcement officers stopped Peterson’s vehicle on Callan Road, near the Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla at 11 a.m., said Bill Evans, a manager at The Lodge at Torrey Pines.  more...

To the outside world, the two were happy.  Since her disappearance Christmas Eve, no one has described Laci Peterson as a battered woman. But if her husband killed her, he is the ultimate batterer.  During their five-year marriage, friends and family have said there were no signs of abuse. No calls to the police. No suspicious trips to the hospital.  more...

USA Today:  Bodies confirmed as Laci Peterson, baby.  California attorney general says remains that washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay this week were those of Laci Peterson and her unborn child.  more...

AP:  Remains Are Laci, Baby; Husband Arrested.  Prosecutors announced the arrest after telling reporters that they had confirmed that the bodies of Laci Peterson and her baby had washed ashore in Northern California this week.  more...




FLASHBACK:  Scott Peterson also eyed for link to missing student.  San Luis Obispo detectives are looking at Scott Peterson in connection with the disappearance of a college student seven years ago.  Peterson, husband of Laci Peterson, went to Cal Poly at the same time as Kristin Smart, an attractive 6'1" student that disappeared May 25, 1996.  more...

What happened to Kristin D. Smart?  Kristin Denise Smart, age 19 and a freshman speech communications major at Cal Poly, was last seen at approximately 2 a.m. on the morning of May 25, 1996.  more...

FBI Report on Kristin Smart. (From the Los Angeles Field Office of the FBI).  more...




REUTERS:  California Woman's Body Identified, Husband Arrested.  Police on Friday arrested the husband of pregnant California housewife Laci Peterson, who has been missing for months, after a female body and fetus found washed up from San Francisco Bay were identified as hers and that of her unborn child.  more...

FOX News:  Body Identified as Laci Peterson; Scott Peterson Arrested in San Diego.  There is "no question" that the female body found in the San Francisco Bay this week is Laci Peterson, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said in a news conference Friday.  more...

UPI:  Scott Peterson arrested.  Scott Peterson was arrested in Southern California Friday afternoon in connection with the disappearance of his pregnant wife, Laci, on the day before Christmas.  more...

BREAKING:  Body is Confirmed to be Laci Peterson.  ABC News has learned that the adult body found near the Richmond marina earlier this week is that of Laci Peterson.  more...

BREAKING:  Scott Peterson Arrested in San Diego.  Police have taken into custody the husband of missing pregnant woman Laci Peterson on Friday, sources tell CNN. Scott Peterson was arrested in San Diego by Modesto, California, police. The sources would not say what charges were filed in the case.  more...

"Significant Change" In Peterson Investigation.  Modesto police announced a "significant change" in the search for missing Laci Peterson Friday, as a state crime lab worked to identify the remains of a woman and baby washed ashore this week in San Francisco Bay.  more...

Father in hiding after two bodies found on beach.  THE husband of Laci Peterson, a California housewife who went missing while eight months pregnant, was in hiding yesterday as forensic experts examined the bodies of a mother and foetus found washed up on a beach.  more...

Modesto attorney says he is in daily contact with Scott Peterson.  Scott Peterson's lawyer said Thursday that he is in daily contact with his client, who is still hoping that his missing wife and the son she was due to deliver in February will be found alive.  more...

Conspicuous Absence.  Laci Peterson’s Husband’s Whereabouts Unknown Amid Tests on Bodies.  As the family of Laci Peterson awaits test results to determine whether a headless torso and a male fetus that washed up earlier this week are the remains of the missing pregnant woman and her unborn child, her husband has not appeared in public or made any public statements.  more...

‘It's Scott.’  Missing Pregnant Woman’s Father Wants Husband Charged With Murder.  The father of missing pregnant woman Laci Peterson is not waiting for test results on a female torso and male fetus found on a San Francisco Bay-area beach to accuse his daughter's husband of murder.  "It's her husband Scott," Dennis Rocha said in a telephone interview with WBZ-TV in Boston. "He never looked me in the eye. And he never pleaded for her. He just shows no remorse."  more...

Keeping client under tight wraps is best strategy for time being, veteran defense attorneys advise.  This is the task of Kirk McAllister, a Modesto attorney who represents Scott Peterson. The Modesto man has been at the center of a media storm for much of the time since Christmas Eve, when his pregnant wife, Laci, was reported missing.  McAllister has not discussed his strategy, but other criminal defense attorneys offered insight into how they would handle such a case.  more...

Local DA thinks it's Laci.  Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazelton said Wednesday he thinks Laci Peterson is the woman whose body was found this week along San Francisco Bay.  "I feel pretty strongly it is (her)," the county's top prosecutor said. "It's too much of a coincidence to have a female and a baby found close to each other a day apart and no others were reported missing. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on it."  more...

Bodies given priority by lab Experts try to match DNA to Laci Peterson.  Criminalists at the state's DNA laboratory in Richmond said Wednesday they have put a very high priority on trying to determine if remains of an adult woman and full-term baby boy can be matched to Laci Peterson.  more...

Two murder charges, death sentence possible in Modesto case.  If the two bodies found a mile apart on a Northern California shore are those of missing Modesto woman Laci Peterson and her unborn son, a California law could allow prosecutors to charge the killer with double homicide – making it a potential death penalty case.  more...

'Coffin Birth' Possible in Peterson Case.  Investigators searching for a link between the bodies of a woman and an infant boy that washed ashore separately on the Richmond waterfront may find clues in an unusual medical phenomenon called "coffin birth."

Coffin birth is a term used by coroners for a spontaneous birth by a dead pregnant woman.  more...

Modesto residents abuzz: Where is Laci's husband?  While Laci Peterson's family waits for investigators to identify the remains of a woman and baby found in the East Bay, the question on the minds of many people in this San Joaquin Valley town has to do with her husband:  Where is Scott Peterson?  more...

Peterson's Family: 'Animal' Responsible Must Pay.  As police tested a badly deteriorated woman's corpse to determine if it was the body of Laci Peterson, the family of the California woman missing since Christmas said on Tuesday they hoped the "animal" responsible would pay.  more...

Laci Peterson family asks public to respect privacy.
Statement from family:  "Obviously this is a very difficult time for our family as we await the results of the DNA testing.  These past 3 1/2 months have been a constant nightmare for us. From the beginning, we have done all we can to find Laci and will continue to do so."  more...

TIMELINE OF the Laci Peterson Case.
Dec 24: Laci Peterson, eight months pregnant, disappears from Modesto the day her husband, Scott, takes solo fishing trip to Berkeley Marina.

Jan. 4: Police begin searching the waters around Berkeley Marina but do not name Scott Peterson as a suspect.  more...

Does Laci Deserve this Much Media Attention?
Many don't think the Peterson story deserves the media attention it has garnered. If it weren't for cable news, this would be a local story - local for Modesto, not for California, not for the nation.

Why is Laci Peterson a big story while countless other missing people rate a back-page story, if that? A reporter lists the traits he thinks helped to inflate her story: white, very pregnant and from Modesto, home of the late Chandra Levy. And she disappeared on Christmas Eve, another newspaper reporter added.  more...

Identification of bodies could take weeks.  As her family waited in agony for word on whether Laci Peterson had been found after nearly four months, authorities said Tuesday it could take days or weeks for DNA analysis to show whether two bodies that washed up on the Richmond shoreline this week are the missing Modesto woman and her unborn son.  more...

Coroner: Further Tests Required on Body That May Be Laci Peterson.  An autopsy on the body of a woman that washed ashore found no obvious cause of death, the sheriff's department said Tuesday, and further testing is required to determine if it is that of Laci Peterson.  more...

Bodies Investigated in Laci Peterson Case.  Medical examiners are trying to determine whether the badly decomposed bodies of a woman and an infant boy that washed up on the northern California shoreline are that of Laci Peterson and her son.  more...

Grisly find shocks Modesto, CA.  News that the bodies of a decomposed woman and a male fetus washed ashore in Richmond sent a shudder through Modesto, the city from which a pregnant Laci Peterson disappeared four months ago.  more...

Body of Infant, Adult Wash Up; Modesto Police Called In.
A woman's badly decomposed body was discovered Monday on a beach in northern California, one day after an infant boy's body was found along a nearby trail.  Scott Peterson said he went fishing at the Berkeley Marina, about three miles south of where the woman's body washed ashore.  more...

Body in bay may end Laci Peterson mystery.  The body of what appeared to be an unidentified woman washed ashore Monday in an area of San Francisco Bay where police had earlier searched for a missing expectant mother and where the remains of an infant were discovered over the weekend.

The identity of the remains was unknown Monday, however Modesto detectives investigating the Christmas Eve day disappearance of Laci Peterson and her unborn child were summoned to the rocky shoreline near Richmond.  more...

Body found, may be Laci Peterson.  The dismembered body of a woman discovered this morning on the muddy bayshore could be that of Laci Denise Peterson, the pregnant woman who vanished from her Modesto home on Christmas Eve, a police source told the Times.  more...

Body found, may be Laci Peterson.  The dismembered body of a woman discovered this morning on the muddy bayshore could be that of Laci Denise Peterson, the pregnant woman who vanished from her Modesto home on Christmas Eve.  The head and legs were missing and it was apparent that she had been pregnant, the source said.  more...

Coroners Try To ID Bodies; Laci Peterson Investigators Stand By.  The woman's body had apparently washed up from San Francisco Bay. Authorities would not release any details, but did confirm that the body was found at Point Isabel near the Richmond Marina. The head and legs were missing and it was apparent that she had been pregnant.  more...

Driver says that she saw something in back of Scott Peterson's truck.  "As I'm trying to tell him that stuff is hanging out, the light turned green. He looked out his side window, and he gave me a look that was the most horrifying, scary look I have ever seen in my life," Connie Fleeman said. He floored that truck, and he took off so fast, you would not believe it."  more...

Girlfriend's father talks about Scott.  "He said Amber was hurt when Peterson told her he was not going to be around for Christmas: "He told her he was going to Paris. Nobody leaves his girlfriend alone on Christmas."  "He told her that because of his job, he had to travel all over the country and that it was not unusual for him to be gone from home for up 30 days at time."  more...

Double homicide charge likely.  An arrest in the Laci Peterson investigation is likely to lead to double homicide charges and the possibility of the death penalty.  more...

Cops reclassify missing Laci Peterson's as a homicide.  more...

Pregnancy key in Laci Peterson missing case?  more...

Special Report on Laci Peterson.  more...

Peterson sells missing wife’s car, tries to sell home.  more...

Official Laci Peterson website.  more...

Before the filing of criminal charges, the court may authorize a residential arrest by issuing a so-called Ramey warrant (People v. Ramey (1976) 16 Cal.3d 263).

More in the Scott Peterson Archives...

Return to TabloidColumn.com

Disclaimer: Articles, letters, satire, and other content do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of TabloidColumn.com or Radok Corporation, and accordingly cannot be held accountable for the views of some content contained herein.