The infamous Scott Peterson murder case from 2002 is being taken on by the Los Angeles Innocence Project as the 51-year-old convicted felon continues serving out his sentence in a California prison.
Peterson was found guilty and sentenced to death for the murder of his 27-year-old wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son Conner in 2004.
Now the L.A. Innocence Project will explore what they’re describing as new evidence which could help prove Peterson is innocent.
“The Los Angeles Innocence Project (LAIP) represents Scott Peterson and is investigating his claim of actual innocence,” a spokesperson for the organization said in a statement, per ABC News.
Filings obtained by the outlet claim that “new evidence now supports Mr. Peterson’s longstanding claim of innocence and raises many questions into who abducted and killed Laci and Conner Peterson.”
Specifically, they’ll be looking into witness statements regarding the break-ins across the street which Laci may have witnessed, plus will analyze DNA from a blood-stained mattress found in a van near the couple’s home.
Laci was eight months pregnant when she went missing on Christmas Eve 2002, prompting a nationwide manhunt which ended when her body was discovered in the San Francisco Bay four months later. The couple’s son’s body was found less than a mile away.
At first Peterson helped search parties, but soon became a prime suspect in the criminal investigation after it was discovered that he was having an extramarital affair. Scott was eventually convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 2004 and sentenced to death row in 2005, where he remained for about 15 years.
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In 2020, his original death penalty sentence was overturned by the California Supreme Court because of jury selection errors by the trial judge. Peterson’s death sentence was vacated in 2021 and changed to life in prison.
Scott’s family has believed in his innocence for years. “There is no forensic evidence, there is no timeline to this crime,” his sister-in-law Janey Peterson said in 2021, per People. “Scott Peterson is innocent, and we are now trying to reverse that.”
Scott’s defense attorney Pat Harris told the outlet, “We are very excited to have the incredible attorneys at the L.A. Innocence Project lend their considerable expertise to helping prove Scott Peter’s Innocence.”