The Los Angeles Innocence Project has recently submitted a petition to the courts, presenting new evidence and witness accounts that they believe demonstrate Scott Peterson’s innocence in the deaths of his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son, Conner.
In a statement released on April 21, the Innocence Project stated, “Had the jury heard this evidence, it is highly likely they would not have reached a guilty verdict.”
On April 18, attorneys from the Innocence Project filed for a writ of habeas corpus with the California Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn Peterson’s conviction from 2004 for the 2002 murders.
Scott Peterson, now 52 years old, has consistently claimed he did not kill Laci and Conner. He was arrested in April 2003 after the bodies of Laci and Conner were discovered in San Francisco Bay. Convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, he was sentenced to death in 2005, but his sentence was later overturned in 2020. He currently remains in Mule Creek State Prison in California while fighting for his release.
Peterson and his legal team are optimistic that his conviction will be dismissed, arguing that the new evidence they have undermines the entire case against him, including unreliable scientific proof. They believe this evidence shows that the jury was misled.
Much of the new information centers around a burglary that occurred in December 2002 at a neighbor’s house close to where Peterson and Laci lived. Peterson’s lawyers have previously claimed that Laci may have been killed after encountering two burglars, while Peterson was away fishing on the day she disappeared.
The Innocence Project asserts that they have a witness who reportedly overheard burglars talk about Laci confronting them, which they believe indicates that she was alive when Peterson left home on December 24. Additionally, they have new details concerning a van, allegedly belonging to the burglars, that was found on fire near the Peterson residence. They suspect that Laci may have been harmed in that van.
The jury in Peterson’s trial did not learn about a mattress in the van that had possible blood stains. The Innocence Project claims that the prosecution withheld evidence related to the investigation of the van fire during the trial.
While authorities claimed that Peterson disposed of Laci and Conner’s bodies during his fishing trip, the Innocence Project argues that new proof suggests the bodies could not have drifted from the area where he fished to where they were eventually discovered, asserting instead that they were likely placed in the waters off Albany Bulb, which is accessible by both car and foot.
Furthermore, the petition disputes the claim that Peterson secretly purchased a boat, providing evidence that suggests Laci and Scott made the purchase together.
In November 2023, the Innocence Project took over the case, and despite Laci’s family’s steadfast belief in Peterson’s guilt, they continue their legal battle. In May 2024, Peterson and his team were granted a legal victory when a judge allowed for further testing on a piece of duct tape found on Laci’s pants.
The petition stresses that the case against Peterson relies entirely on circumstantial evidence and emphasizes that no direct physical or forensic evidence was found to support the prosecution’s arguments or to implicate him further.
