Scott Peterson timeline: Key dates in the case from 2002 to 2022
Dec. 24, 2002: Laci Peterson’s stepfather reports her missing. Police start searching in East La Loma Park, where Peterson’s husband, Scott, says his wife had planned to take their dog for a walk. A neighbor had found the golden retriever, with a muddy leash attached, and returned the dog to the Petersons’ back yard, not thinking that anything was amiss.
Late Dec 2002 - March 2003: News of the pregnant woman’s disappearance quickly spreads throughout the community and then the nation. The police announce to the public Scott Peterson’s alibi that he was fishing in the Berkeley Marina the day Laci, pregnant with their son Conner, went missing. Police ask anyone who might have seen Scott that day to call a tip line. The Peterson home is searched, Scott’s business is searched and divers search San Francisco Bay and the shore near the Berkeley Marina. In a news conference called by police, the public learns Scott had been having an affair with a massage therapist from Fresno named Amber Frey.
April 2003: Conner’s body is found in south Richmond, on the shore of San Francisco Bay. The next day, Laci’s body is found about a mile away at Point Isabel Regional Shoreline. Four days later, Scott Peterson is arrested for their murders.
Nov. 2004: Peterson is found guilty of the first degree murder of Laci and the second degree murder of Conner. He is sentenced to death about a month later.
2015 - 2020: Peterson files his appeal and his habeas corpus petition and the California Attorney General’s Office submits its responses. Included in Peterson’s claims are ineffective counsel by Peterson’s trial attorney, juror misconduct and doubts about the credibility of some expert testimony and aspects of the investigation. The California Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the appeal in June 2020.
Aug. 2020: The California Supreme Court, as a result of Peterson’s appeal, overturns his death sentence. The court rules that Peterson’s right to a fair and impartial jury was violated because the trial judge erred by dismissing potential jurors opposed to the death penalty without first determining whether they could put their beliefs aside and follow the law. The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office initially said it would retry the penalty phase but later changed course after speaking with Laci’s family.
Oct. 2020: The California Supreme Court rules that the juror misconduct claim in Peterson’s habeas petition must be decided by a Superior Court Judge. The Supreme Court denies 10 additional habeas claims by Peterson and found eight others moot because they were already addressed in its ruling on the automatic appeal. The misconduct claim is based on incorrect answers by juror Richelle Nice on her jury questionnaire that say she was never the victim of a crime or party in a lawsuit. Three weeks later the case is reopened in San Mateo Superior Court, where the original trial was held due to pretrial publicity.
Dec. 2021: Peterson is resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Laci’s family give victim impact statements during the hearing.
Feb. 2022 - March 2021: An evidentiary hearing is held on the juror misconduct claim. Nice is the primary witness but another juror on Peterson’s jury panel, Nice’s former attorney and a police records clerk also testify.
Aug. 2022: Attorneys give final oral arguments during a hearing and final written briefs are submitted the following month.
Dec. 2022: Judge Anne-Christine Massullo denies Peterson’s request for a new trial.
This story was originally published December 20, 2022 at 12:04 PM.
