Scott Peterson might learn his fate around 20-year anniversary of pregnant wife’s death
Scott Peterson — and the rest of the world — could find out whether he will get a new murder trial on the eve of the 20th anniversary of when authorities believe he killed his 8-months-pregnant wife.
Laci Peterson, 27, was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2002. Police and prosecutors think her husband killed her that morning or the night before to free himself from the burdens of fatherhood so he could pursue a playboy fantasy.
Scott Peterson told police he went fishing with a newly purchased boat in San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve and that he returned to an empty house in Modesto. The bodies of Laci Peterson and her fetus washed ashore nearly four months later, and her husband was convicted of double murder in 2004.
Whether a juror lied to get on the panel that convicted him is at the heart of his current appeal. After a lengthy hearing, Judge Anne-Christine Massullo said she would decide by this Friday — Dec. 16 — whether to order a new trial or keep him in prison for life.
But last week, the judge scheduled a conference for Wednesday to discuss unspecified legal issues, and also suspended the time she had previously announced for rendering her ruling. The clock for the decision effectively stopped on Dec. 8.
If the issues are resolved Wednesday, the clock for her to make a trial decision would resume ticking. Massullo could announce a new trial date on Wednesday, stick to the original Dec. 16 target, or announce a date as far out as Dec. 23. This was according to Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager, in an exit interview with me as she prepares to leave office.
Our wide-ranging discussion, in which she discusses at length the Peterson case, will be reflected in my upcoming column, a retrospective of her four terms covering 16 years as the top prosecutor in our county.
Twenty years ago, Fladager supervised the Peterson prosecution as a chief deputy DA, and I covered the trial as a Modesto Bee reporter. Although she mostly let two subordinates take charge in the courtroom, she made one key exception when she questioned a detective on the stand. It brought into full focus the sometimes confusing evidence that had been presented over several months. Many observers, myself included, felt that move saved the case for the prosecution.
Fladager was elected two years later. See my upcoming column for her answer to one of my questions in this week’s interview: “Will you be remembered more for what you did before you were DA than for what you did while you were DA?” Her successor, Jeff Laugero, will be sworn into office on Jan. 2, 2023.
See Bee reports on Wednesday’s proceedings, as well as future ones on whether Peterson will get a new trial, at modbee.com.
This story was originally published December 13, 2022 at 5:19 PM.
