Laci Peterson, Scott Peterson.Photo: ZUMA Press
Peterson, now 47, scored two major legal victories this year. The first victory was in August, when his death penalty sentencewas overturned, meaning that he would face a new penalty phase trial. The second victory came in October, when the California Supreme Court ruled that a lower court should take asecond look at his caseto determine whether his guilty verdict should be overturned.
Laci’s family is still struggling with this year’s developments.
“This Christmas is different than last Christmas,” says a source close toLaci’sfamily. “The holidays are always hard for them because Laci was taken from them on Christmas Eve. But now, with the thought that Scott could eventually go free? That’s devastating. The family is really worried.”
Peterson, now 47, was convicted oftwo counts of first-degree murderin the 2002 death of wife Laciand their unborn son, Conner. He was sentenced to death in 2005.
Scott Peterson.
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Laci waseight months pregnantwhen she disappeared from her Modesto home during the day of Christmas Eve, 2002. Her body was found in April 2003 in the San Francisco Bay. Peterson claimed that Laci was killed as she walked the couple’s dog after Peterson left to go on a solo fishing trip on Christmas Eve morning.
But as the case moved forward, jurors heard about Peterson’s dark secrets, including a months-long affair with a woman namedAmber Frey, who was unaware that Peterson was married when she started dating him.
Frey later worked with prosecutors, taping damning phone calls with Peterson. During the trial, shetestified for several daysabout her relationship with Peterson, her realization that he was still married and that Laci had vanished. Frey first called police in Modesto in late December 2002 to disclose the affair.
Both theLos Angeles TimesandCBS Newsreported in October that the California Supreme Court ruled that a lower court should take a second look at Peterson’s case to determine whether his convictions should be overturned.
Peterson’s attorney told theLos Angeles Timesthat the juror had been asked whether she was ever a crime victim or involved in a lawsuit. She allegedly said no at the time, despite the lawsuit, which had been filed four years before the Peterson trial.
Now as Peterson’s future is uncertain, Laci’s family is figuring out how to get through the holidays. “They’re sad and concerned,” says the family source. “This is the nightmare without end.”
source: people.com
