Judge Denies Scott Peterson Bid to Overturn 2004 Murder Conviction, Prompting New Appeal
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 18
Judge Denies Scott Peterson Bid to Overturn 2004 Murder Conviction, Prompting New Appeal
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 18
Summary
April’s ruling by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hill rejected Scott Peterson’s latest petition to overturn his conviction, leaving the 53-year-old serving life without parole as his lawyers prepare an appeal.
The Los Angeles Innocence Project says newly highlighted evidence could undermine the case, including 15 reported sightings of Laci Peterson walking her dog after Scott Peterson said he left home on Dec. 24, 2002.
Defense supporters also point to an unpursued burglary across the street, a burned van with a bloodstained mattress found about a mile away, and hydrodynamic modeling that disputes where Laci’s body entered San Francisco Bay.
Prosecutors have long said those sightings were unreliable, the burglary happened Dec. 26 after Laci disappeared, and no evidence tied the burglars to her death; Laci’s mother says flatly, 'There is no new evidence.'
The renewed fight over one of America’s most notorious murder cases has been amplified by A&E’s two-part docuseries, nearly 22 years after Peterson was convicted of killing his pregnant wife.