August 11, 2022 • 44 mins
When Laci Peterson went missing on Christmas Eve of 2002, the entire country believed her husband Scott was behind it. But could he have actually killed her? Rasha and Yvette discuss the strange case and the phenomenon of 'trial by media.'
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
You're listening to Facing Evil, a production of iHeartRadio and
Tenderfoot TV. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast
are solely those of the individuals participating in the show
and do not represent those of iHeartRadio or Tenderfoot TV.
This podcast contains subject matter which may not be suitable
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Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hi, everyone, welcome back to Facing Evil from Tenderfoot TV
and iHeartRadio. We are your host. I'm a vet GENTI lay.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
And I'm Roschia Piccarero.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
And with us always is the amazing, the handsome, the
talented Trevor Young.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Hello.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It sounds like you were his agent.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I know.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I'm telling you, I am the best cheerleader ever. Trevor
is the best, and I want everyone to know it
that he is.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I second that I appreciate it, all.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Right, So I have to point out the elephant in
the room.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
I sound a little bit like a phone sex operator
right now because yeah, because I have a very sexy
voice and raspy voice right now, because I have a
sinus infection not COVID, and I did all kinds of
things to be ready for you all today for Facing Evil.
So that I didn't sound like a phone sex operator.
(01:25):
But I still feel like I sound like a phone
sex operator.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
So do I always sound like a phone sex operator?
Because I mean sometimes I have a raspy voice pretty
much all the time. So what are you saying, Rush?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that.
I just wanted to tell everyone I sound a little
different today. Trevor, why don't you go ahead and take
us through today's case.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
As six members of Lacey's family took turns yelling at Scott,
he showed no emotion aside from once shaking his head.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
No, did you you murder your wife?
Speaker 5 (02:01):
No?
Speaker 4 (02:02):
No, I just thought.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Our families going to make it were stronger because of this,
and Scott got what he deserved. We've said all along
that Scott Peterson did not get a fair trial.
Speaker 6 (02:13):
Nearly two decades after being convicted of murdering his wife
an unborn child, Scott Peterson participated in a hearing Wednesday.
Currently serving life in prison, Peterson said.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Little Lazy Peterson was a twenty seven year old woman
from Modesto, California, who went missing on Christmas Eve of
two thousand and two. Many suspected that her husband, Scott Peterson,
was responsible for her disappearance. The story became a national
news sensation as Scott tried desperately to make a case
(02:45):
for his innocence. But then a few months later, Lazy's
body was found in the San Francisco Bay and Scott
Peterson was arrested. The trial was highly publicized as the
entire country held its breath to see what or not
Scott would be found guilty. The case was especially contentious
for a few reasons. One, Lacey had been pregnant when
(03:08):
she was killed. Two, Scott was in a secret relationship
with another woman at the time of Lacey's disappearance. And
three there had been no hard evidence against Scott, only
circumstantial evidence. But despite all of that, Scott was convicted
of first degree murder and then sentenced to death in
two thousand and five. And So, could Scott have really
(03:32):
killed Lacy Peterson? What were Scott Peterson's true intentions? And
why did so many people, despite having no hard evidence,
believe that Scott was guilty?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
You know what this is? I mean, this is such
an important case and I can't even tell you how
eager I am that we're finally talking about it. I
remember how crazy, I mean, how all the news coverage
was on this story. I mean, this case really took
us all on a unbelievable wild ride.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. It captured the nation for
years and years.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
I mean, this happened almost twenty well yeah, it's twenty
years ago now, yeah, right. But for me, it was
about a few things. So one, obviously, we all wanted
to see and make sure that Lacy got some sort
of justice. It was horrific what happened to her, and
of course to her unborn son, Connor.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
But at the time I wasn't quite sure how I
felt about Scott.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
I mean, obviously we're going to get into it and
talk about all the different factors and media and all that.
But yes, we know Scott was a douche. But did
he kill his wife an unborn child.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
That is the question, right. But in all honesty, I
was kind of iffy for a while as well, you know,
But I think that both of our minds were changed,
right when like the media just like took over, right,
and they kept showing all these things. So I think
(05:12):
that we were all certain back then that he was guilty.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Twenty years ago, yeah, for sure. Yeah, but we're a
little different now.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, but now, like you said, like it's been a
long time, so I really feel like we can look
at it with fresh minds, a different perspective, right, and
see if it's actually true or not.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
I don't know, I don't know, you guys, all right, Well,
well let's get into it. So, as usual, we want
to talk about the people involved. And first up is
Lacy Peterson. So, Trevor, what do we know about her?
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah? So about Lacey. She was born Lacy Denise Roche
on May fourth, nineteen seventy five in Modesto, California, and
her family always said that she was incredibly bright and
that she especially loved to work in the garden with plants,
and that would actually become a lifelong obsession for her.
And then after graduating from Downey High School in ninety three,
(06:14):
Lacey went to college at cal Polytech, which is in
San Luis Obispo, California, and that is where she met
Scott Peterson in nineteen ninety four. He was working at
a restaurant there in San Luis Obispo that Lacey and
her friends went to all the time together and I
guess he was probably a waiter there or something, and
he was serving Lacey and they were drawn to each
(06:36):
other immediately, one of the master the other's number, and
they seemingly fell in love that quick.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I thought it was so sweet that Lacey would call
her mom and she would like gush about like how
fantastic you know this guy Scott was and how in
love they were. But to me, it, you know, it
really seemed like this was the perfect beginning of what
you would think would be a perfect love story.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
First of all, there's no such thing as perfect this
we know, but needless to say, after dating for only
a short while, Scott and Lacy moved in together, and
in nineteen ninety seven, after being together for only two years,
they got married and moved back to Lacey's hometown of Modesto.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
For the record, I think getting married any earlier than like,
I don't know, four or five years is always risky.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Well then you don't know.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
That's just my opinion.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
But Trevor, you're friends with many lesbians, myself included, and
we get married real, real fast.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, I've heard that you hauling.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
That's funny.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
That is funny.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
You're true, that's true.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Well, I mean, but Gino and I. I don't mean
to interrupt your Russia, but Gino and I dated for
a year and a half and we were married, and
we've been married for over sixteen years, So I think
it just depends.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Yeah, you'vet in Gino and myself and Vana are the
exception to the role.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I think everyone else right.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
And so by all accounts, the two started a pretty
normal family life. They bought a house there in Modesto.
Lacey got a job as a substitute teacher at a
nearby school, and Scott got a job as a fertilizer salesman.
So then Lacey went and reconnected with a bunch of
her high school classmates. She was hosting dinner parties at
the new house, and it seemed like they were having
(08:25):
a really nice, simple, perfect little life going on. And
then in June of two thousand and two, Lacey announced
that she was in fact pregnant.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
All right, before we go any further, I do want
to divulge some necessary behind the scenes information. So much
of what I'm about to say was not common knowledge
at the time and didn't actually come to light until
after the crime. So this supposedly picture perfect family. We
all know picture perfect doesn't really exist, but you know
(08:58):
what I'm saying, it was not what it appeared to be.
So right after Scott and Lacy got married in nineteen
ninety seven, Scott actually started cheating on Lacey with another
unidentified woman back in San Luis Obispo. And then it
happened again with someone else when they moved back to Modesto.
And that person that he started having the affair with
(09:20):
will be a very important character in this story.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
A woman named Amberfry.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Yeah. So apparently Scott met Amber Fry in November of
two thousand and two while his wife was pretty well
at this point into her third trimester of pregnancy, and
Amber was just a twenty three year old single mother.
She was a massage therapist, and Scott met her and
then lied to her. He told her he was single,
(09:46):
of course he did. Amber had no knowledge of his
marriage to Lacey until just a month later, in December
of two thousand and two, Scott decides to change his
story to Amber, and then he tells her that he
actually used to have a wife, but that he was
recently widowed and that this would be his first Christmas
without his dearest wife.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
That's just redonculous. First of all, right, I haven't heard
that word, and I'm sorry, I know it just it
matches this story. Like he he is a serial cheater, right,
that's obvious, you know, and everything that was just said
that you both said he is a serial cheater and
(10:29):
a sociopath.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Yeah, And it's like you have to think about it too, right,
Like this is pre social media, since it's twenty years ago,
so it's not like Amber could look up and see
if Scott was married, you know, to somebody, like if
she could look it up on social media or whatever.
But then for him to actually say that he was
widowed and that it was his first going to be
his first holiday without his wife, you know, when she
(10:53):
ends up going missing and eventually murdered.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Like, yeah, it's it's one.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Of many fishy things he does that you know later
point to his guilt in some way, And of course
this is like one of the fishy things. Obviously this
isn't necessarily an indicator of any specific guilt, but one
of the things it does show us about Scott is
that he is clearly a liar, like a pathological liar,
(11:19):
and he will like do anything to like maintain his
facade or to like keep the lie going right. Like
the fact that he changed it was really weird, Like, yes,
already had a lie. Maybe he got like found out
or something, and he's like, oh, I can't you know,
be truthful. I have to like make another lie.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I can't go with that.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
So it always makes you wonder when you see him
on TV later on, you know, as this case develops,
is like, is this just another one of his lies
that he's like too deep into and he doesn't want
to back out of it at this point. I don't know.
Just something to keep in mind as we keep going.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah, okay, So there were a few more notable things
that happen leading up to the eventual murder of Lacy Peterson. So, Trevor,
what were those?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Well, in December of two thousand and two, Scott suddenly
developed an interest in saltwater fishing, so he spontaneously purchases
a boat, a bunch of fishing gear, and goes and
acquires a two day fishing license. So meanwhile, the week
before Christmas, Lacey spent a three day weekend with her
(12:19):
parents in Carmel, California, And that was actually the last
time they would see Lacey. So now we're on December
twenty third of two thousand and two, and Scott tells
Lacey that he's going to be playing golf the next day,
and then later that evening, Lacey spoke with her mother
Sharon on the phone at about eight thirty pm. And
then that was the last time that anybody would actually
(12:41):
hear from or of Lacy Peterson. So we do need
to take a quick break, but when we come back,
we will talk about what happened to Lacey.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
So let's talk about the day that Lacey went missing,
Christmas Eve of two thousand and two. So at nine
thirty am, Scott says that he's leaving for a fishing
trip instead of going golfing like he had told Lacey
that he was going to do the previous day. Lacey
tells him she's going to walk the dog, go to
the grocery store, and bake some cookies. Then at ten am,
(13:20):
witnesses claim to have seen Lacey walking in La Loma Park,
which is just a block and a half away from
their house.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Then at ten thirty am, one of Lacey's neighbors finds
their dog, Mackenzie, wandering outside of the Peterson home wearing
a muddy leash. The neighbor says she returned the dog
to their backyard, but another neighbor claims to have seen
the dog walking around the neighborhood at ten forty five.
There is also the mailman who came in the same
(13:52):
time frame, and he says that he put the mail,
you know, in the mailbox, and normally Mackenzie go crazy,
but there was no sign of Mackenzie, no barking dog.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
It's kind of weird now there's all these differing accounts,
you know, where the dog is. It's always kind of
strange to me, like looking into this case because I'm
not ever really sure who to believe in which witnesses
are accurate, correct, I know, I know. But meanwhile, Scott
arrives at the Berkeley Marina around eleven AM that day,
and he obtains a launch ticket that verifies he was
(14:27):
at the marina at that time, so he actually has
an alibi saying that he was supposedly there. And then
at two fifteen PM, Scott calls Lacey and leaves a
message saying, hey, beautiful, it's two fifteen I'm leaving Berkeley.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
So again another time stamp right yep. But sometime later
in that afternoon, Scott arrives back home to an empty house,
so Lacey's nineteen ninety six land Rover still in the driveway,
but she is absolutely nowhere to be found. Scott takes
a shower and washes his clothes, alleging that he got
(15:03):
wet while fishing yep.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And then at five point fifteen pm, Scott calls Lacey's mother,
asking her if she knows where Lazy is. He reportedly
said Lacey's missing to her mother, and then at five
forty seven pm, Lacey's stepfather is the one to call
nine one one to report her missing.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
That always seems so odd to me too, Like, I
why did the dad call nine one one? Why didn't
her husband call nine one one? It does doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But it's a good question, right.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
So sometime in the same evening, the police arrive at
the Peterson home and they find Lacey's purse in the closet,
which is strange. And there's also a phone book opened
to an ad for a defense lawyer in the kitchen.
And this is what's really odd is Scott appears to
be oddly calm, throughout this search, like that stoic face
(15:58):
that we all have, Like he's not even like showing
any type of emotion or sadness or I don't know,
it's just don't you guys think that's just really weird.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
I think that honestly.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
I think that's why from the get go, I think
that's why everyone thought it might have been Scott, because
he didn't react the way a husband who was missing
his nine month pregnant wife should quote unquote I'm doing
air quotes should you know? Like he was so stoic,
and I think his family has kind of they've come
(16:34):
out and they've like defended him and said, oh, that's
just how he is.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
And I'm like, ah, I don't know, like.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Yeah, and that you know again, you know, everybody reacts
to different situations differently, but your wife is eight months
pregnant and you're just not showing one ounce of like anything. Yeah,
you know what I'm saying, like sad, mad, like nothing
is he don't care.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Two things to keep in mind though here, you know,
the first, obviously is that you know, his demeanor isn't
a direct indicator of any guilt, right, Like that doesn't
actually prove anything true.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
This is true, this is true, this is true.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
And then the other thing to consider too is like,
clearly he was not super invested in Lacy or their
life together. We already know at this point that he's
been cheating on her with multiple women over the last
couple of years. Again, not to say that that means
he did anything. Maybe his demeanor is just like, oh, like,
I haven't been in love with my wife for a
long time. Maybe I didn't even really want this kid,
(17:37):
you know. So maybe that's the reason he's like less,
you know, upset by all this. I don't know, I'm
just like throwing that out there. I think a couple I.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Mean, I understand that, but it's you know, it's still
I think all of us are just like, well, show
some empathy of some guind But.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
I will say, like kind of piggybacking on what Trevor
just said. So, like, Yvett and I watched tons and
tons of different documentaries, you know, leading up to this,
because you know, we've been working on facing Evil for
quite some time, and this is one of the first
cases we were considering doing. And I remember feeling differently
about Scott after watching I can't I think this is
(18:19):
the one on Hulu Vett please remind me. I can't remember.
I believe so, yes, yes, but there were so many
people that were like, yeah, Scott was guilty of something.
He was guilty of cheating on his wife and that's
what he was trying to hide. So you know where
the public was like, dude, why aren't you you know more,
you know, worried about your wife, like he was worried
(18:39):
about his other stuff being found out, I think. But yeah,
it's all very interesting and heartbreaking and mind boggling.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
That's the interesting thing about this case is like we've
all flip flopped back and forth because you know, we
expect him to react a certain way, but then on
the other hand, like Chrebber just said, we can't say
that he did it just because of the way that
he's acting.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Yeah, I know, we'll probably get into that more when
we get to his trial and verdict and all that. Yeah,
the two less things I wanted to point out before
we move forward is just some of those things that
you said they found when they were searching the house
he vet. Yes, one of those was Lacey's purse. I
guess the obvious conclusion we can draw there is that
Lacy probably did not leave the house of her own
(19:27):
free will.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Right, you would take your purse right.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
And then the other thing was the phone book being
open to a defense lawyer in the kitchen. What does
that mean. There's a couple of ways to interpret it.
I think the most obvious way to interpret it is
that Scott felt like he needed a lawyer for something
coming up soon. What that was, I don't know. It
could have been a divorce, could have been he knows
(19:51):
that Lacey's going to be gone soon and he needs
to have his legal situation straightened out. They don't really know,
but it's suspicious.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Yeah, it's very suspicious. Suspicious all right.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Well, on Christmas Day, since Lacey went missing the day before,
on Christmas Eve, a large scale search begins in Modesto.
So firefighters searched the area, along with helicopters, police on
horseback and bikes, canine units, rafts. Basically, this amazing community
of Modesto came together on Christmas to search for Lacey.
(20:28):
And there were like something like nine hundred people away
from their families looking for this pregnant, missing, beautiful human.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
And there's also a press conference that morning, and this
is where all you know the media blitz starts, right So,
Detective al Brotini says that it would be highly out
of character for Lacey to disappear.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Without notice, especially leaving without her purse.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Hello, her family offers a twenty five thousand dollars ward
for Lacy's safe return.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
So two days go by, and then on December twenty seventh,
detectives finally search Scott's fertilizer warehouse and they bring with
them a sniffing dogs, which leads investigators to a bathroom
in the back of the storage space, and then it
also takes them to Scott's aluminum boat which is stored there,
and this is the same boat that he used on
(21:23):
his fishing trip the day that Lacey went missing. The
dog was not able to pinpoint any specific place on
the boat and nothing was really found. But then on
the twenty eighth investigators wide in the search and the
reward vun grew to five hundred thousand dollars half a
million dollars.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
That's a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
So then there was a candlelight vigil on New Year's
Eve at Eastla Looma Park with over one thousand people
in attendance that entire community you were just talking about.
And then over the next month, investigators kept expanding the search,
but there was still no lazy.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
And jurying all of this. I mean, Scott desperately was
fighting his case and he was saying that he absolutely
had nothing to do with the disappearance of Lacey. But
then Amber Frye comes forward. Can you guys remember Amber Frye.
She's spoken at the press conference, and this is where
(22:18):
she talked about her romantic relationship with Scott, and she
talks about how Scott lied, I mean, it obviously lied
to her that he wasn't married when they first met
back in November.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
I also think it's important to note that fry at
that press conference that we're describing, she revealed that she
had been working with the police as early as December
thirtieth of two thousand and two, which is just a
couple of days after Lacey went missing. My understanding is
that she saw the news coverage of Lacey and like
Scott was a part of that, and she was like,
(22:53):
oh my god, that's that guy I have been dating, Like.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
That's my boyfriend.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Rights, Yeah, It's like, what a horrible way to find out.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
I mean, can you imagine, I know, I know, I mean,
you know, like now, you couldn't get away with that
because it would be all over you.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Know, social media.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
But it had to actually be on television or she
might have had to like pick up the National.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Inquirer, right.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
And I actually think that, like it was one of
her friends that called and said, hey, isn't this the
guy that you're dating? Isn't that your boyfriend?
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Right?
Speaker 4 (23:23):
And then Scott, meanwhile, you know, goes on to have
a very odd in my humble opinion interview with Diane
Sawyer to defend himself, and we have a short clip
of that here. I think everybody's sitting at home wants
the answer to the same question, did you murder your wife?
Speaker 2 (23:44):
No?
Speaker 7 (23:44):
No, I just thought and I had absolutely nothing to
do with her disappearance and use the word murder and yeah,
I mean that is a possibility. It's not one we're
ready to exp and. It creeps in my mind late
at night.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
In the second part of that interview, Scott reveals which
I think this to me is one of the I mean,
there's many weird instances in this Diane Sawyer, Scott Peterson interview,
but he pointed out to Diane Sawyer that he and
Lacey had gotten a two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
life insurance policy.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Like, why is that important? Why did you talk about that?
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Yeah? I think Scott does a lot of very not
smart pr moves for himself throughout this time. I mean,
I don't know. Maybe his lawyer was like, Hey, this
information is going to come out anyways, you should get
in front of it. Is the only reason I could
think that he would ever say that, because it's just
like such a stupid thing to reveal if nobody asked
about it. I don't know that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Trevor, one hundred percent, that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
So on February tenth, this is a very intriguing day.
It's the day that Lacey's family says is her due date.
Lacey's sister and some of Lacy's friends meet for a
vigil at East Loloma Park.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
But that's not all that this day is. It is
also Amber Fry's birthday, as it turns out, so there's
this vigil going on for his missing wife and unborn child.
It's also the birthday of his you know girlfriend that
he was cheating on his wife with and Scott decides
he would rather be with her, so instead of going
(25:26):
to the vigil, he instead buys amber Fry all these
gifts and leaves them for her. He calls her, he
doesn't make any sort of attempt to go to this vigil,
and again, you know, gives all his attention to amber Fry,
which once again a very stupid thing to do right now,
right if you're considered like public enemy number one, you know,
(25:49):
the main suspect in this like, don't be doing sit
like right.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Yeah, like hashtag douche. Well, eventually Lacey is.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
And I have to give a disclaimer and a warning
now the details of the discovery of Lacey, and they're
incredibly graphic, like I can't even say them. So skip
ahead a few minutes if you are sensitive like me
to hearing crime scene details. So Trevor, if you could
take us through.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
It, please.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Yeah, So let's talk about when they found Lacey. On
April fifteenth, a couple walking their dog in Richmond's Point
Isabelle Regional Shoreline Park along the coast of the San
Francisco Bay discovered the body of a baby in the water,
and the umbilical cord was still attached to the baby's corpse.
(26:42):
The torso is still intact, but the rest of the
body is essentially decomposed. The cord was torn as opposed
to say cut or severed, as it would be during say,
a birth procedure, so this is not a natural occurrence.
The next day, one mile south of where they found
the baby, someone else discovers the headless torso of a
(27:06):
recently pregnant woman, and the body is clothed in a
maternity bra and beige pants. The limbs of the body
are missing also, and according to investigators, the remains are
quote in an advanced state of decay and are barely
recognizable as a human body.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
My stomach is a not just hearing you say that,
and I know all these details, but yeah, it's heartbreaking
to hear. One other interesting thing is that investigators do
not immediately actually determine that it was Lacy. So both
autopsies were inconclusive. As since we've been doing this, we know.
(27:47):
I mean, I feel like a lot of these bodies
are showing up in water, and a lot of those
autopsies are always inconclusive when they're in water.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
But I guess.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Of course, these bodies were severely decomposed, and they actually
needed DNA to prove that it was actually Lacey, And
of course, to no one's surprise, they did confirm that
it was Lacy three days later, and it was also
her infant son, whom she had planned to name Connor.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Yeah. Well, as you can imagine, Scott Peterson was quickly
arrested that very day. Police found him near a golf
course in La Joya, which is just outside of San Diego.
Investigators were a bit shocked to find that Scott had
dyed his hair a completely different color. And when they
(28:38):
searched his car, they discovered a bunch of strange things
in it. Here's a little list. So they found about
fifteen thousand dollars in cash, a bunch of like survival
camping gear. They also found twelve viagritablets. Weirdly, they found
several changes of clothes. They found four different cell phones,
(28:58):
and then they found two driver licenses. One was his
and then one was his brother.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
And also I just have to say, like, it's so
odd to me that he had dress shirts, he had
dress shoes. He also because I saw this in a
report on television with Amber Fry. He had a map
of her house, Like what were you trying to do?
You were trying to escape or were you trying to
(29:24):
go get her? Like what exactly was his plan? That's
the thing, right, creepy. I remember reading that Scott's dad
tried to explain it away by saying, Scott was so
freaked out by the media attention that he was literally
living like a nomad out of his car. Okay, which
I can give you that I understand because the media
(29:47):
was hounding you twenty four to seven. So I get
that you dyed your hair, that you maybe were going,
you know, south to see your family in San Diego.
But all that other stuff like why why the viagra?
You know, why why all these other things? You know, Russia.
We can think about it from our perspective as well, right,
(30:11):
just with our family story and our family, you know,
being in the media and getting the attention.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
It's hard, Yeah, being related to an acute serial killer. Yeah,
it can be a little daunting at times. But I
think we're a little different than Scott in the sense
that we've never held onto that because our mom never
let us hold on to that ever, Like that didn't
define who we were. But I can see how Scott
would almost have a psychotic break, especially at that time,
(30:42):
like you couldn't turn the TV on without seeing this story.
And I think, actually that's kind of how it was too,
when you know, the Black Dahlia case was happening, you know,
with George, like he was on you know, the cover
of every Los Angeles newspaper and all of those Like,
well he wasn't, but the case was, you know.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
So yeah, and I guess looking at the Scott Peterson
case and you know how he reacted to this, it
kind of like reminded me a little bit of the
Gabby Potito case. I know we've all heard a lot
about that recently, but if you remember, her boyfriend Brian
Laundry was the main suspect in her murder, and after
(31:22):
he had become notorious, yeah, for probably having done this,
he like just disappeared into the woods. He kind of
did something similar to what Scott I think was maybe
trying to do, which is like get all this out
of town and go off the grid essentially.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Right.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
I don't know if that's true, but it's like probably what.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
It looked like, right, Yeah, it didn't look good.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
And you know, obviously, at the end of the day,
we don't actually know. We don't know what Scott's intentions were.
Maybe only he knows, maybe only his family knows. But
the police, the investigators, they don't really buy whatever his
story is, and they take that perspective the one I said,
they thought that the contents of his car suggest he
was actually planning on fleeing to Mexico, which of course
(32:02):
is just a few miles away from San Diego.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Where he was right next door.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
And so Scott was then charged with one count of
first degree murder for lazy and then another count of
second degree murder for Connor, the unborn son. So Scott
then has a very crazy, wild trial that's very highly publicized,
and we actually need to take another quick break. But
when we come back, we're going to talk about what
happened to him and if we actually think he did it.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
All right, so let's talk about Scott's trial.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
So, as we've talked about, this was highly publicized, is
like an understatement because this was publicity on crack right, Yes,
So on April twenty first, two thousand and three, of course,
Scott Peterson pleaded not guilty to all counts, and the
prosecution said they believed that Scott intentionally and deliberately killed
(33:02):
Lacey on Christmas Eve, but they just don't have a
theory on how. And I have to say too, like
again about this publicity, like what I have ingrained in
my brain. I have Nancy Grace's face. Who For those
of you who don't know, which I'm sure you do
because you all go to crime con you know who
Nancy Grace is. But you know she was and I
(33:25):
believe she still is an attorney. But she was on
every station. She was on Larry King, she was you know,
on CNN, MSNBC, all the shows, saying with her beautiful
southern drawl that Scott Paterson, you know, was absolutely guilty.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Like yeah, you know, and I'm so glad you brought
that up Russia because you know, as we were doing
the research for this case, like going back and looking
at all of that stuff that she did, you know,
Nancy Grace on CNN and all the other channels. I mean,
it was like it was horrible. She went for him,
like it felt like it was she went for coming
(34:03):
from somewhere else, like she really hated him, and that
created that trial by media.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Yeah, and I think the result of all of this,
like huge media attention is that, you know, it's so fiery,
it's so intense, that they determined that Scott can't actually
get a fair trial in that town.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
How could he?
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Yeah, So what they end up doing is having to
move the trial to San Mateo County and then the
official trial takes place a little bit later. It begins
officially on June first, two thousand and four, in Redwood City.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
It just seems like the whole trial came down to
what we've been talking about. Scott just seems suspicious, but
the actual fact is there's no real evidence against him.
I mean, other than all the other crazy ass stuff
that he did, the things that they in his car,
(35:01):
that's still not concrete evidence until Amber Fry takes the stand.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
Yeah, obviously Amber's what did Scott in. But Amber revealed
that while working with the police, she recorded nearly every
single phone call with Scott, and there were many. In total,
there were two hundred and forty one calls and over
twelve hours of audio that were actually submitted into evidence
at the trial. And the picture that those you know,
(35:30):
audio tapes paint is of a man who is not
very upset by the disappearance of his wife and unborn child.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
I think we've known that in a very sort of
indirect way, right, Like we've seen him on TV. We've
heard the cops tell us about how he didn't seem
very concerned during the research. But now we have these
phone calls of him talking to Amber and like we
actually have like real evidence, like coming from his.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Voice, twelve hours of it.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Yeah, yeah, lots of it. And I think this is
really the first time we drop a real picture of
who Scott is when the cameras aren't rolling, right, He's
safe when he thinks he's you know, at home talking
to you know, his girlfriend or whatever. So yeah, no
more facade, No more like TV persona that he's been
trying to put on.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
That's right, That's right, Trevor.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
We got the real deal. I mean, and that was
like this was the final nail in the coffin, because
even if it didn't prove anything, like you just said,
it just made himself look like he is freaking guilty.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Yeah. And to be clear, like these calls didn't have
anything incriminating necessarily, he didn't. He never said, like I
killed my wife. I killed Lacey. But again, like you
were saying, it just like made him look bad, right.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
Right, But anyway, the jury deliberated for over a week,
and finally, on November twelfth, the verdict came in. Scott
was found guilty on both counts, first agree murder for
Lacy Peterson and second degree murder for Connor Peterson, and
on December thirteenth, the jury unanimously voted for the penalty
(37:12):
of death. Like, yes, he was a douche. Does he
deserve to die?
Speaker 2 (37:16):
Yeah, No, he doesn't deserve to die because there's no
concrete evidence. There's no smoking gun, right, we all just
think he's an asshole.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Yeah, I feel weird about this one. You know, at
some point you have to separate your own like emotion
from like the reality of the situation. And I feel
like most of this case was emotion, to be perfectly honest. Yeah,
And I think one of the biggest factors in that
like emotional response was just the media, Like we've already
been alluding to, So because all of this evidence was circumstantial,
(37:50):
you know, I think probably the media did a lot
of work to play up all of these things that
made him seem more guilty than he actually was. It
created this fiery response like you were describing coming from
Nancy Grace. Yeah, and that was like the same kind
of energy that everybody had. Everybody on that Jerry, everybody
watching at home. And to me, that's dangerous, Like that's
(38:13):
a dangerous way to go about running your justice system.
I don't know. Trial by media is a term you
used earlier, and I think it's a very real thing.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Yeah, it is a thing.
Speaker 4 (38:25):
And I think Amber coming to the stand, I think
pushed the media and all of America in a certain direction,
and he was convicted by the media.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
I'll say Scott's lawyer even talked about this whole trial
by media thing during the trial. He kept bringing up
the point that just because Scott was a bad person
didn't mean that he was actually guilty of murdering his wife,
or that he would go so far to do that. Right,
cheating does not equate to murder, was the point that
the lawyer kept making in the trial. And I mean,
(38:56):
I think to some degree, like, yeah, I agree with that,
it is a bit of a jump, it's a bit
of a reach. It's just a weird thing. I think
the media has a ton of power and we should
never underestimate it.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Well as always, I mean, we like to bring the
light to these dark cases. And so there was one
positive development in Lacy Peterson's case. The deaths of Lacey
and Connor Peterson led to the passage of the Unborn
Victims of Violence Act, which is also known as the
Lacy and Connor's Law. Trevor, let us know about this, please.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Yeah. So the act says that under federal law, any
person who causes death or injury to an unborn child
while in the commission of a crime upon a pregnant
woman will be charged with a separate offense. And what
this means is that, like we saw with Scott Peterson,
if someone harms or murders a pregnant woman, they will
(39:52):
be charged twice, once for the mother and then once
again for the baby.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
And I just want to do a little caveat that.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
I do wish that it's said pregnant person rather than
pregnant women, but that is how the law is written.
I did read one statistic that homicide is actually the
leading cause of death for pregnant women, and I think
it's absolutely great that we have a law like this
in place to ensure justice not only for the pregnant person,
(40:23):
but for the unborn child who never had a chance
at life.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
Absolutely. Also, on April first, two thousand and four, Lacy's
parents they were in attendance at the White House when
President George W. Bush signed the bill into law. So
that was a huge day.
Speaker 3 (40:42):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
So one last development in this story that we should
probably mention, So as many people in California are aware,
Governor Gavin Newsom has spent the last few years working
to actually end the death penalty in California. So in
twenty nineteen, knew someome successfully paused all death penalty sentences
(41:04):
from being carried out via executive order. That means over
seven hundred inmates on death row are for now safe
from seeing their sentences carried out right.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
And the reason we're telling you this is that one
of those people is, of course Scott Peterson. His lawyers
have actually been appealing his death sentence for like the
last ten years, since twenty twelve, I believe, and following
Governor Knwsom's executive order, Peterson's appeal actually made it through
to the California Supreme Court. So on August twenty fourth
(41:38):
of twenty twenty. Just a couple of years ago, the
court upheld his guilty conviction, but they overturned his death sentence.
So the new ruling allows the prosecution to ask a
new jury to reinstate Peterson's death sentence or allow him
to be re sentenced to life in prison without the
possibility of parole. So he's got options now that are
(41:59):
not the death penalty, and that is where Scott Peterson's
case stands as of today.
Speaker 4 (42:08):
That leads us to the last segment of the day,
our Emua, and that's our final message of hope and healing.
So today we want to dedicate our Emua to the
Ohanna or the family of Lacey the rotas they were
robbed of a beautiful, intelligent daughter as well as a grandson, Connor.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
It was obvious that their lives were torn apart, but
we hope that they find that justice was served. But
most importantly, we hope that they find peace in some
type of closure and that future mothers like Lacy will
get the justice that they also deserve and God willing,
(42:50):
they never meet a similar fate, and.
Speaker 4 (42:53):
We want to do our best to preserve Lacey's memory
We don't want to focus on how she died, but
on how she lived, how she loved a garden, how
she loved her home, her family, her friends. I think
this is how we all can move onward and upward. Emua, Well,
(43:16):
that's our show for today. We'd love to hear what
you thought about today's discussion and if there's a case
you'd like for us to cover. Find us on social
media or email us at Facingevil Pod at tenderfoot dot tv.
Speaker 2 (43:29):
Until next time.
Speaker 5 (43:31):
Aloha.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
Facing Evil is a production of iHeartRadio and Tenderfoot TV.
The show is hosted by Russia Pacuerero and Avet Gentile.
Matt Frederick and Alex Williams our executive producers on behalf
of iHeartRadio, with producers Trevor Young and Jesse Funk, Donald
albright In Payne Lindsay our executive producers on behalf of
(44:20):
Tenderfoot TV, alongside producer Tracy Kaplan. Our researcher is Claudia Dafrico.
Original music by Makeup and Vanity Set. Find us on
social media or email us at Facingevilpod at tenderfoot dot tv.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio or Tenderfoot TV. Visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
(44:44):
favorite shows.
You're listening to Facing Evil, a production of iHeartRadio and
Tenderfoot TV. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast
are solely those of the individuals participating in the show
and do not represent those of iHeartRadio or Tenderfoot TV.
This podcast contains subject matter which may not be suitable
for everyone. Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hi, everyone, welcome back to Facing Evil from Tenderfoot TV
and iHeartRadio. We are your host. I'm a vet GENTI lay.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
And I'm Roschia Piccarero.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
And with us always is the amazing, the handsome, the
talented Trevor Young.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Hello.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It sounds like you were his agent.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I know.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I'm telling you, I am the best cheerleader ever. Trevor
is the best, and I want everyone to know it
that he is.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I second that I appreciate it, all.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Right, So I have to point out the elephant in
the room.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
I sound a little bit like a phone sex operator
right now because yeah, because I have a very sexy
voice and raspy voice right now, because I have a
sinus infection not COVID, and I did all kinds of
things to be ready for you all today for Facing Evil.
So that I didn't sound like a phone sex operator.
(01:25):
But I still feel like I sound like a phone
sex operator.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
So do I always sound like a phone sex operator?
Because I mean sometimes I have a raspy voice pretty
much all the time. So what are you saying, Rush?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that.
I just wanted to tell everyone I sound a little
different today. Trevor, why don't you go ahead and take
us through today's case.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
As six members of Lacey's family took turns yelling at Scott,
he showed no emotion aside from once shaking his head.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
No, did you you murder your wife?
Speaker 5 (02:01):
No?
Speaker 4 (02:02):
No, I just thought.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Our families going to make it were stronger because of this,
and Scott got what he deserved. We've said all along
that Scott Peterson did not get a fair trial.
Speaker 6 (02:13):
Nearly two decades after being convicted of murdering his wife
an unborn child, Scott Peterson participated in a hearing Wednesday.
Currently serving life in prison, Peterson said.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Little Lazy Peterson was a twenty seven year old woman
from Modesto, California, who went missing on Christmas Eve of
two thousand and two. Many suspected that her husband, Scott Peterson,
was responsible for her disappearance. The story became a national
news sensation as Scott tried desperately to make a case
(02:45):
for his innocence. But then a few months later, Lazy's
body was found in the San Francisco Bay and Scott
Peterson was arrested. The trial was highly publicized as the
entire country held its breath to see what or not
Scott would be found guilty. The case was especially contentious
for a few reasons. One, Lacey had been pregnant when
(03:08):
she was killed. Two, Scott was in a secret relationship
with another woman at the time of Lacey's disappearance. And
three there had been no hard evidence against Scott, only
circumstantial evidence. But despite all of that, Scott was convicted
of first degree murder and then sentenced to death in
two thousand and five. And So, could Scott have really
(03:32):
killed Lacy Peterson? What were Scott Peterson's true intentions? And
why did so many people, despite having no hard evidence,
believe that Scott was guilty?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
You know what this is? I mean, this is such
an important case and I can't even tell you how
eager I am that we're finally talking about it. I
remember how crazy, I mean, how all the news coverage
was on this story. I mean, this case really took
us all on a unbelievable wild ride.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. It captured the nation for
years and years.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
I mean, this happened almost twenty well yeah, it's twenty
years ago now, yeah, right. But for me, it was
about a few things. So one, obviously, we all wanted
to see and make sure that Lacy got some sort
of justice. It was horrific what happened to her, and
of course to her unborn son, Connor.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
But at the time I wasn't quite sure how I
felt about Scott.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
I mean, obviously we're going to get into it and
talk about all the different factors and media and all that.
But yes, we know Scott was a douche. But did
he kill his wife an unborn child.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
That is the question, right. But in all honesty, I
was kind of iffy for a while as well, you know,
But I think that both of our minds were changed,
right when like the media just like took over, right,
and they kept showing all these things. So I think
(05:12):
that we were all certain back then that he was guilty.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Twenty years ago, yeah, for sure. Yeah, but we're a
little different now.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, but now, like you said, like it's been a
long time, so I really feel like we can look
at it with fresh minds, a different perspective, right, and
see if it's actually true or not.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
I don't know, I don't know, you guys, all right, Well,
well let's get into it. So, as usual, we want
to talk about the people involved. And first up is
Lacy Peterson. So, Trevor, what do we know about her?
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah? So about Lacey. She was born Lacy Denise Roche
on May fourth, nineteen seventy five in Modesto, California, and
her family always said that she was incredibly bright and
that she especially loved to work in the garden with plants,
and that would actually become a lifelong obsession for her.
And then after graduating from Downey High School in ninety three,
(06:14):
Lacey went to college at cal Polytech, which is in
San Luis Obispo, California, and that is where she met
Scott Peterson in nineteen ninety four. He was working at
a restaurant there in San Luis Obispo that Lacey and
her friends went to all the time together and I
guess he was probably a waiter there or something, and
he was serving Lacey and they were drawn to each
(06:36):
other immediately, one of the master the other's number, and
they seemingly fell in love that quick.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I thought it was so sweet that Lacey would call
her mom and she would like gush about like how
fantastic you know this guy Scott was and how in
love they were. But to me, it, you know, it
really seemed like this was the perfect beginning of what
you would think would be a perfect love story.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
First of all, there's no such thing as perfect this
we know, but needless to say, after dating for only
a short while, Scott and Lacy moved in together, and
in nineteen ninety seven, after being together for only two years,
they got married and moved back to Lacey's hometown of Modesto.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
For the record, I think getting married any earlier than like,
I don't know, four or five years is always risky.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Well then you don't know.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
That's just my opinion.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
But Trevor, you're friends with many lesbians, myself included, and
we get married real, real fast.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, I've heard that you hauling.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
That's funny.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
That is funny.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
You're true, that's true.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Well, I mean, but Gino and I. I don't mean
to interrupt your Russia, but Gino and I dated for
a year and a half and we were married, and
we've been married for over sixteen years, So I think
it just depends.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Yeah, you'vet in Gino and myself and Vana are the
exception to the role.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I think everyone else right.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
And so by all accounts, the two started a pretty
normal family life. They bought a house there in Modesto.
Lacey got a job as a substitute teacher at a
nearby school, and Scott got a job as a fertilizer salesman.
So then Lacey went and reconnected with a bunch of
her high school classmates. She was hosting dinner parties at
the new house, and it seemed like they were having
(08:25):
a really nice, simple, perfect little life going on. And
then in June of two thousand and two, Lacey announced
that she was in fact pregnant.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
All right, before we go any further, I do want
to divulge some necessary behind the scenes information. So much
of what I'm about to say was not common knowledge
at the time and didn't actually come to light until
after the crime. So this supposedly picture perfect family. We
all know picture perfect doesn't really exist, but you know
(08:58):
what I'm saying, it was not what it appeared to be.
So right after Scott and Lacy got married in nineteen
ninety seven, Scott actually started cheating on Lacey with another
unidentified woman back in San Luis Obispo. And then it
happened again with someone else when they moved back to Modesto.
And that person that he started having the affair with
(09:20):
will be a very important character in this story.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
A woman named Amberfry.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Yeah. So apparently Scott met Amber Fry in November of
two thousand and two while his wife was pretty well
at this point into her third trimester of pregnancy, and
Amber was just a twenty three year old single mother.
She was a massage therapist, and Scott met her and
then lied to her. He told her he was single,
(09:46):
of course he did. Amber had no knowledge of his
marriage to Lacey until just a month later, in December
of two thousand and two, Scott decides to change his
story to Amber, and then he tells her that he
actually used to have a wife, but that he was
recently widowed and that this would be his first Christmas
without his dearest wife.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
That's just redonculous. First of all, right, I haven't heard
that word, and I'm sorry, I know it just it
matches this story. Like he he is a serial cheater, right,
that's obvious, you know, and everything that was just said
that you both said he is a serial cheater and
(10:29):
a sociopath.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Yeah, And it's like you have to think about it too, right,
Like this is pre social media, since it's twenty years ago,
so it's not like Amber could look up and see
if Scott was married, you know, to somebody, like if
she could look it up on social media or whatever.
But then for him to actually say that he was
widowed and that it was his first going to be
his first holiday without his wife, you know, when she
(10:53):
ends up going missing and eventually murdered.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Like, yeah, it's it's one.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Of many fishy things he does that you know later
point to his guilt in some way, And of course
this is like one of the fishy things. Obviously this
isn't necessarily an indicator of any specific guilt, but one
of the things it does show us about Scott is
that he is clearly a liar, like a pathological liar,
(11:19):
and he will like do anything to like maintain his
facade or to like keep the lie going right. Like
the fact that he changed it was really weird, Like, yes,
already had a lie. Maybe he got like found out
or something, and he's like, oh, I can't you know,
be truthful. I have to like make another lie.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I can't go with that.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
So it always makes you wonder when you see him
on TV later on, you know, as this case develops,
is like, is this just another one of his lies
that he's like too deep into and he doesn't want
to back out of it at this point. I don't know.
Just something to keep in mind as we keep going.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah, okay, So there were a few more notable things
that happen leading up to the eventual murder of Lacy Peterson. So, Trevor,
what were those?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Well, in December of two thousand and two, Scott suddenly
developed an interest in saltwater fishing, so he spontaneously purchases
a boat, a bunch of fishing gear, and goes and
acquires a two day fishing license. So meanwhile, the week
before Christmas, Lacey spent a three day weekend with her
(12:19):
parents in Carmel, California, And that was actually the last
time they would see Lacey. So now we're on December
twenty third of two thousand and two, and Scott tells
Lacey that he's going to be playing golf the next day,
and then later that evening, Lacey spoke with her mother
Sharon on the phone at about eight thirty pm. And
then that was the last time that anybody would actually
(12:41):
hear from or of Lacy Peterson. So we do need
to take a quick break, but when we come back,
we will talk about what happened to Lacey.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
So let's talk about the day that Lacey went missing,
Christmas Eve of two thousand and two. So at nine
thirty am, Scott says that he's leaving for a fishing
trip instead of going golfing like he had told Lacey
that he was going to do the previous day. Lacey
tells him she's going to walk the dog, go to
the grocery store, and bake some cookies. Then at ten am,
(13:20):
witnesses claim to have seen Lacey walking in La Loma Park,
which is just a block and a half away from
their house.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Then at ten thirty am, one of Lacey's neighbors finds
their dog, Mackenzie, wandering outside of the Peterson home wearing
a muddy leash. The neighbor says she returned the dog
to their backyard, but another neighbor claims to have seen
the dog walking around the neighborhood at ten forty five.
There is also the mailman who came in the same
(13:52):
time frame, and he says that he put the mail,
you know, in the mailbox, and normally Mackenzie go crazy,
but there was no sign of Mackenzie, no barking dog.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
It's kind of weird now there's all these differing accounts,
you know, where the dog is. It's always kind of
strange to me, like looking into this case because I'm
not ever really sure who to believe in which witnesses
are accurate, correct, I know, I know. But meanwhile, Scott
arrives at the Berkeley Marina around eleven AM that day,
and he obtains a launch ticket that verifies he was
(14:27):
at the marina at that time, so he actually has
an alibi saying that he was supposedly there. And then
at two fifteen PM, Scott calls Lacey and leaves a
message saying, hey, beautiful, it's two fifteen I'm leaving Berkeley.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
So again another time stamp right yep. But sometime later
in that afternoon, Scott arrives back home to an empty house,
so Lacey's nineteen ninety six land Rover still in the driveway,
but she is absolutely nowhere to be found. Scott takes
a shower and washes his clothes, alleging that he got
(15:03):
wet while fishing yep.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And then at five point fifteen pm, Scott calls Lacey's mother,
asking her if she knows where Lazy is. He reportedly
said Lacey's missing to her mother, and then at five
forty seven pm, Lacey's stepfather is the one to call
nine one one to report her missing.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
That always seems so odd to me too, Like, I
why did the dad call nine one one? Why didn't
her husband call nine one one? It does doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But it's a good question, right.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
So sometime in the same evening, the police arrive at
the Peterson home and they find Lacey's purse in the closet,
which is strange. And there's also a phone book opened
to an ad for a defense lawyer in the kitchen.
And this is what's really odd is Scott appears to
be oddly calm, throughout this search, like that stoic face
(15:58):
that we all have, Like he's not even like showing
any type of emotion or sadness or I don't know,
it's just don't you guys think that's just really weird.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
I think that honestly.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
I think that's why from the get go, I think
that's why everyone thought it might have been Scott, because
he didn't react the way a husband who was missing
his nine month pregnant wife should quote unquote I'm doing
air quotes should you know? Like he was so stoic,
and I think his family has kind of they've come
(16:34):
out and they've like defended him and said, oh, that's
just how he is.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
And I'm like, ah, I don't know, like.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Yeah, and that you know again, you know, everybody reacts
to different situations differently, but your wife is eight months
pregnant and you're just not showing one ounce of like anything. Yeah,
you know what I'm saying, like sad, mad, like nothing
is he don't care.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Two things to keep in mind though here, you know,
the first, obviously is that you know, his demeanor isn't
a direct indicator of any guilt, right, Like that doesn't
actually prove anything true.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
This is true, this is true, this is true.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
And then the other thing to consider too is like,
clearly he was not super invested in Lacy or their
life together. We already know at this point that he's
been cheating on her with multiple women over the last
couple of years. Again, not to say that that means
he did anything. Maybe his demeanor is just like, oh, like,
I haven't been in love with my wife for a
long time. Maybe I didn't even really want this kid,
(17:37):
you know. So maybe that's the reason he's like less,
you know, upset by all this. I don't know, I'm
just like throwing that out there. I think a couple I.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Mean, I understand that, but it's you know, it's still
I think all of us are just like, well, show
some empathy of some guind But.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
I will say, like kind of piggybacking on what Trevor
just said. So, like, Yvett and I watched tons and
tons of different documentaries, you know, leading up to this,
because you know, we've been working on facing Evil for
quite some time, and this is one of the first
cases we were considering doing. And I remember feeling differently
about Scott after watching I can't I think this is
(18:19):
the one on Hulu Vett please remind me. I can't remember.
I believe so, yes, yes, but there were so many
people that were like, yeah, Scott was guilty of something.
He was guilty of cheating on his wife and that's
what he was trying to hide. So you know where
the public was like, dude, why aren't you you know more,
you know, worried about your wife, like he was worried
(18:39):
about his other stuff being found out, I think. But yeah,
it's all very interesting and heartbreaking and mind boggling.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
That's the interesting thing about this case is like we've
all flip flopped back and forth because you know, we
expect him to react a certain way, but then on
the other hand, like Chrebber just said, we can't say
that he did it just because of the way that
he's acting.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Yeah, I know, we'll probably get into that more when
we get to his trial and verdict and all that. Yeah,
the two less things I wanted to point out before
we move forward is just some of those things that
you said they found when they were searching the house
he vet. Yes, one of those was Lacey's purse. I
guess the obvious conclusion we can draw there is that
Lacy probably did not leave the house of her own
(19:27):
free will.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Right, you would take your purse right.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
And then the other thing was the phone book being
open to a defense lawyer in the kitchen. What does
that mean. There's a couple of ways to interpret it.
I think the most obvious way to interpret it is
that Scott felt like he needed a lawyer for something
coming up soon. What that was, I don't know. It
could have been a divorce, could have been he knows
(19:51):
that Lacey's going to be gone soon and he needs
to have his legal situation straightened out. They don't really know,
but it's suspicious.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Yeah, it's very suspicious. Suspicious all right.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Well, on Christmas Day, since Lacey went missing the day before,
on Christmas Eve, a large scale search begins in Modesto.
So firefighters searched the area, along with helicopters, police on
horseback and bikes, canine units, rafts. Basically, this amazing community
of Modesto came together on Christmas to search for Lacey.
(20:28):
And there were like something like nine hundred people away
from their families looking for this pregnant, missing, beautiful human.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
And there's also a press conference that morning, and this
is where all you know the media blitz starts, right So,
Detective al Brotini says that it would be highly out
of character for Lacey to disappear.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Without notice, especially leaving without her purse.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Hello, her family offers a twenty five thousand dollars ward
for Lacy's safe return.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
So two days go by, and then on December twenty seventh,
detectives finally search Scott's fertilizer warehouse and they bring with
them a sniffing dogs, which leads investigators to a bathroom
in the back of the storage space, and then it
also takes them to Scott's aluminum boat which is stored there,
and this is the same boat that he used on
(21:23):
his fishing trip the day that Lacey went missing. The
dog was not able to pinpoint any specific place on
the boat and nothing was really found. But then on
the twenty eighth investigators wide in the search and the
reward vun grew to five hundred thousand dollars half a
million dollars.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
That's a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
So then there was a candlelight vigil on New Year's
Eve at Eastla Looma Park with over one thousand people
in attendance that entire community you were just talking about.
And then over the next month, investigators kept expanding the search,
but there was still no lazy.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
And jurying all of this. I mean, Scott desperately was
fighting his case and he was saying that he absolutely
had nothing to do with the disappearance of Lacey. But
then Amber Frye comes forward. Can you guys remember Amber Frye.
She's spoken at the press conference, and this is where
(22:18):
she talked about her romantic relationship with Scott, and she
talks about how Scott lied, I mean, it obviously lied
to her that he wasn't married when they first met
back in November.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
I also think it's important to note that fry at
that press conference that we're describing, she revealed that she
had been working with the police as early as December
thirtieth of two thousand and two, which is just a
couple of days after Lacey went missing. My understanding is
that she saw the news coverage of Lacey and like
Scott was a part of that, and she was like,
(22:53):
oh my god, that's that guy I have been dating, Like.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
That's my boyfriend.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Rights, Yeah, It's like, what a horrible way to find out.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
I mean, can you imagine, I know, I know, I mean,
you know, like now, you couldn't get away with that
because it would be all over you.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Know, social media.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
But it had to actually be on television or she
might have had to like pick up the National.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Inquirer, right.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
And I actually think that, like it was one of
her friends that called and said, hey, isn't this the
guy that you're dating? Isn't that your boyfriend?
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Right?
Speaker 4 (23:23):
And then Scott, meanwhile, you know, goes on to have
a very odd in my humble opinion interview with Diane
Sawyer to defend himself, and we have a short clip
of that here. I think everybody's sitting at home wants
the answer to the same question, did you murder your wife?
Speaker 2 (23:44):
No?
Speaker 7 (23:44):
No, I just thought and I had absolutely nothing to
do with her disappearance and use the word murder and yeah,
I mean that is a possibility. It's not one we're
ready to exp and. It creeps in my mind late
at night.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
In the second part of that interview, Scott reveals which
I think this to me is one of the I mean,
there's many weird instances in this Diane Sawyer, Scott Peterson interview,
but he pointed out to Diane Sawyer that he and
Lacey had gotten a two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
life insurance policy.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Like, why is that important? Why did you talk about that?
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Yeah? I think Scott does a lot of very not
smart pr moves for himself throughout this time. I mean,
I don't know. Maybe his lawyer was like, Hey, this
information is going to come out anyways, you should get
in front of it. Is the only reason I could
think that he would ever say that, because it's just
like such a stupid thing to reveal if nobody asked
about it. I don't know that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Trevor, one hundred percent, that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
So on February tenth, this is a very intriguing day.
It's the day that Lacey's family says is her due date.
Lacey's sister and some of Lacy's friends meet for a
vigil at East Loloma Park.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
But that's not all that this day is. It is
also Amber Fry's birthday, as it turns out, so there's
this vigil going on for his missing wife and unborn child.
It's also the birthday of his you know girlfriend that
he was cheating on his wife with and Scott decides
he would rather be with her, so instead of going
(25:26):
to the vigil, he instead buys amber Fry all these
gifts and leaves them for her. He calls her, he
doesn't make any sort of attempt to go to this vigil,
and again, you know, gives all his attention to amber Fry,
which once again a very stupid thing to do right now,
right if you're considered like public enemy number one, you know,
(25:49):
the main suspect in this like, don't be doing sit
like right.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Yeah, like hashtag douche. Well, eventually Lacey is.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
And I have to give a disclaimer and a warning
now the details of the discovery of Lacey, and they're
incredibly graphic, like I can't even say them. So skip
ahead a few minutes if you are sensitive like me
to hearing crime scene details. So Trevor, if you could
take us through.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
It, please.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Yeah, So let's talk about when they found Lacey. On
April fifteenth, a couple walking their dog in Richmond's Point
Isabelle Regional Shoreline Park along the coast of the San
Francisco Bay discovered the body of a baby in the water,
and the umbilical cord was still attached to the baby's corpse.
(26:42):
The torso is still intact, but the rest of the
body is essentially decomposed. The cord was torn as opposed
to say cut or severed, as it would be during say,
a birth procedure, so this is not a natural occurrence.
The next day, one mile south of where they found
the baby, someone else discovers the headless torso of a
(27:06):
recently pregnant woman, and the body is clothed in a
maternity bra and beige pants. The limbs of the body
are missing also, and according to investigators, the remains are
quote in an advanced state of decay and are barely
recognizable as a human body.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
My stomach is a not just hearing you say that,
and I know all these details, but yeah, it's heartbreaking
to hear. One other interesting thing is that investigators do
not immediately actually determine that it was Lacy. So both
autopsies were inconclusive. As since we've been doing this, we know.
(27:47):
I mean, I feel like a lot of these bodies
are showing up in water, and a lot of those
autopsies are always inconclusive when they're in water.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
But I guess.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Of course, these bodies were severely decomposed, and they actually
needed DNA to prove that it was actually Lacey, And
of course, to no one's surprise, they did confirm that
it was Lacy three days later, and it was also
her infant son, whom she had planned to name Connor.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Yeah. Well, as you can imagine, Scott Peterson was quickly
arrested that very day. Police found him near a golf
course in La Joya, which is just outside of San Diego.
Investigators were a bit shocked to find that Scott had
dyed his hair a completely different color. And when they
(28:38):
searched his car, they discovered a bunch of strange things
in it. Here's a little list. So they found about
fifteen thousand dollars in cash, a bunch of like survival
camping gear. They also found twelve viagritablets. Weirdly, they found
several changes of clothes. They found four different cell phones,
(28:58):
and then they found two driver licenses. One was his
and then one was his brother.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
And also I just have to say, like, it's so
odd to me that he had dress shirts, he had
dress shoes. He also because I saw this in a
report on television with Amber Fry. He had a map
of her house, Like what were you trying to do?
You were trying to escape or were you trying to
(29:24):
go get her? Like what exactly was his plan? That's
the thing, right, creepy. I remember reading that Scott's dad
tried to explain it away by saying, Scott was so
freaked out by the media attention that he was literally
living like a nomad out of his car. Okay, which
I can give you that I understand because the media
(29:47):
was hounding you twenty four to seven. So I get
that you dyed your hair, that you maybe were going,
you know, south to see your family in San Diego.
But all that other stuff like why why the viagra?
You know, why why all these other things? You know, Russia.
We can think about it from our perspective as well, right,
(30:11):
just with our family story and our family, you know,
being in the media and getting the attention.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
It's hard, Yeah, being related to an acute serial killer. Yeah,
it can be a little daunting at times. But I
think we're a little different than Scott in the sense
that we've never held onto that because our mom never
let us hold on to that ever, Like that didn't
define who we were. But I can see how Scott
would almost have a psychotic break, especially at that time,
(30:42):
like you couldn't turn the TV on without seeing this story.
And I think, actually that's kind of how it was too,
when you know, the Black Dahlia case was happening, you know,
with George, like he was on you know, the cover
of every Los Angeles newspaper and all of those Like,
well he wasn't, but the case was, you know.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
So yeah, and I guess looking at the Scott Peterson
case and you know how he reacted to this, it
kind of like reminded me a little bit of the
Gabby Potito case. I know we've all heard a lot
about that recently, but if you remember, her boyfriend Brian
Laundry was the main suspect in her murder, and after
(31:22):
he had become notorious, yeah, for probably having done this,
he like just disappeared into the woods. He kind of
did something similar to what Scott I think was maybe
trying to do, which is like get all this out
of town and go off the grid essentially.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Right.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
I don't know if that's true, but it's like probably what.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
It looked like, right, Yeah, it didn't look good.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
And you know, obviously, at the end of the day,
we don't actually know. We don't know what Scott's intentions were.
Maybe only he knows, maybe only his family knows. But
the police, the investigators, they don't really buy whatever his
story is, and they take that perspective the one I said,
they thought that the contents of his car suggest he
was actually planning on fleeing to Mexico, which of course
(32:02):
is just a few miles away from San Diego.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Where he was right next door.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
And so Scott was then charged with one count of
first degree murder for lazy and then another count of
second degree murder for Connor, the unborn son. So Scott
then has a very crazy, wild trial that's very highly publicized,
and we actually need to take another quick break. But
when we come back, we're going to talk about what
happened to him and if we actually think he did it.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
All right, so let's talk about Scott's trial.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
So, as we've talked about, this was highly publicized, is
like an understatement because this was publicity on crack right, Yes,
So on April twenty first, two thousand and three, of course,
Scott Peterson pleaded not guilty to all counts, and the
prosecution said they believed that Scott intentionally and deliberately killed
(33:02):
Lacey on Christmas Eve, but they just don't have a
theory on how. And I have to say too, like
again about this publicity, like what I have ingrained in
my brain. I have Nancy Grace's face. Who For those
of you who don't know, which I'm sure you do
because you all go to crime con you know who
Nancy Grace is. But you know she was and I
(33:25):
believe she still is an attorney. But she was on
every station. She was on Larry King, she was you know,
on CNN, MSNBC, all the shows, saying with her beautiful
southern drawl that Scott Paterson, you know, was absolutely guilty.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Like yeah, you know, and I'm so glad you brought
that up Russia because you know, as we were doing
the research for this case, like going back and looking
at all of that stuff that she did, you know,
Nancy Grace on CNN and all the other channels. I mean,
it was like it was horrible. She went for him,
like it felt like it was she went for coming
(34:03):
from somewhere else, like she really hated him, and that
created that trial by media.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Yeah, and I think the result of all of this,
like huge media attention is that, you know, it's so fiery,
it's so intense, that they determined that Scott can't actually
get a fair trial in that town.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
How could he?
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Yeah, So what they end up doing is having to
move the trial to San Mateo County and then the
official trial takes place a little bit later. It begins
officially on June first, two thousand and four, in Redwood City.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
It just seems like the whole trial came down to
what we've been talking about. Scott just seems suspicious, but
the actual fact is there's no real evidence against him.
I mean, other than all the other crazy ass stuff
that he did, the things that they in his car,
(35:01):
that's still not concrete evidence until Amber Fry takes the stand.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
Yeah, obviously Amber's what did Scott in. But Amber revealed
that while working with the police, she recorded nearly every
single phone call with Scott, and there were many. In total,
there were two hundred and forty one calls and over
twelve hours of audio that were actually submitted into evidence
at the trial. And the picture that those you know,
(35:30):
audio tapes paint is of a man who is not
very upset by the disappearance of his wife and unborn child.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
I think we've known that in a very sort of
indirect way, right, Like we've seen him on TV. We've
heard the cops tell us about how he didn't seem
very concerned during the research. But now we have these
phone calls of him talking to Amber and like we
actually have like real evidence, like coming from his.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Voice, twelve hours of it.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Yeah, yeah, lots of it. And I think this is
really the first time we drop a real picture of
who Scott is when the cameras aren't rolling, right, He's
safe when he thinks he's you know, at home talking
to you know, his girlfriend or whatever. So yeah, no
more facade, No more like TV persona that he's been
trying to put on.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
That's right, That's right, Trevor.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
We got the real deal. I mean, and that was
like this was the final nail in the coffin, because
even if it didn't prove anything, like you just said,
it just made himself look like he is freaking guilty.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Yeah. And to be clear, like these calls didn't have
anything incriminating necessarily, he didn't. He never said, like I
killed my wife. I killed Lacey. But again, like you
were saying, it just like made him look bad, right.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
Right, But anyway, the jury deliberated for over a week,
and finally, on November twelfth, the verdict came in. Scott
was found guilty on both counts, first agree murder for
Lacy Peterson and second degree murder for Connor Peterson, and
on December thirteenth, the jury unanimously voted for the penalty
(37:12):
of death. Like, yes, he was a douche. Does he
deserve to die?
Speaker 2 (37:16):
Yeah, No, he doesn't deserve to die because there's no
concrete evidence. There's no smoking gun, right, we all just
think he's an asshole.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Yeah, I feel weird about this one. You know, at
some point you have to separate your own like emotion
from like the reality of the situation. And I feel
like most of this case was emotion, to be perfectly honest. Yeah,
And I think one of the biggest factors in that
like emotional response was just the media, Like we've already
been alluding to, So because all of this evidence was circumstantial,
(37:50):
you know, I think probably the media did a lot
of work to play up all of these things that
made him seem more guilty than he actually was. It
created this fiery response like you were describing coming from
Nancy Grace. Yeah, and that was like the same kind
of energy that everybody had. Everybody on that Jerry, everybody
watching at home. And to me, that's dangerous, Like that's
(38:13):
a dangerous way to go about running your justice system.
I don't know. Trial by media is a term you
used earlier, and I think it's a very real thing.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Yeah, it is a thing.
Speaker 4 (38:25):
And I think Amber coming to the stand, I think
pushed the media and all of America in a certain direction,
and he was convicted by the media.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
I'll say Scott's lawyer even talked about this whole trial
by media thing during the trial. He kept bringing up
the point that just because Scott was a bad person
didn't mean that he was actually guilty of murdering his wife,
or that he would go so far to do that. Right,
cheating does not equate to murder, was the point that
the lawyer kept making in the trial. And I mean,
(38:56):
I think to some degree, like, yeah, I agree with that,
it is a bit of a jump, it's a bit
of a reach. It's just a weird thing. I think
the media has a ton of power and we should
never underestimate it.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Well as always, I mean, we like to bring the
light to these dark cases. And so there was one
positive development in Lacy Peterson's case. The deaths of Lacey
and Connor Peterson led to the passage of the Unborn
Victims of Violence Act, which is also known as the
Lacy and Connor's Law. Trevor, let us know about this, please.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Yeah. So the act says that under federal law, any
person who causes death or injury to an unborn child
while in the commission of a crime upon a pregnant
woman will be charged with a separate offense. And what
this means is that, like we saw with Scott Peterson,
if someone harms or murders a pregnant woman, they will
(39:52):
be charged twice, once for the mother and then once
again for the baby.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
And I just want to do a little caveat that.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
I do wish that it's said pregnant person rather than
pregnant women, but that is how the law is written.
I did read one statistic that homicide is actually the
leading cause of death for pregnant women, and I think
it's absolutely great that we have a law like this
in place to ensure justice not only for the pregnant person,
(40:23):
but for the unborn child who never had a chance
at life.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
Absolutely. Also, on April first, two thousand and four, Lacy's
parents they were in attendance at the White House when
President George W. Bush signed the bill into law. So
that was a huge day.
Speaker 3 (40:42):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
So one last development in this story that we should
probably mention, So as many people in California are aware,
Governor Gavin Newsom has spent the last few years working
to actually end the death penalty in California. So in
twenty nineteen, knew someome successfully paused all death penalty sentences
(41:04):
from being carried out via executive order. That means over
seven hundred inmates on death row are for now safe
from seeing their sentences carried out right.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
And the reason we're telling you this is that one
of those people is, of course Scott Peterson. His lawyers
have actually been appealing his death sentence for like the
last ten years, since twenty twelve, I believe, and following
Governor Knwsom's executive order, Peterson's appeal actually made it through
to the California Supreme Court. So on August twenty fourth
(41:38):
of twenty twenty. Just a couple of years ago, the
court upheld his guilty conviction, but they overturned his death sentence.
So the new ruling allows the prosecution to ask a
new jury to reinstate Peterson's death sentence or allow him
to be re sentenced to life in prison without the
possibility of parole. So he's got options now that are
(41:59):
not the death penalty, and that is where Scott Peterson's
case stands as of today.
Speaker 4 (42:08):
That leads us to the last segment of the day,
our Emua, and that's our final message of hope and healing.
So today we want to dedicate our Emua to the
Ohanna or the family of Lacey the rotas they were
robbed of a beautiful, intelligent daughter as well as a grandson, Connor.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
It was obvious that their lives were torn apart, but
we hope that they find that justice was served. But
most importantly, we hope that they find peace in some
type of closure and that future mothers like Lacy will
get the justice that they also deserve and God willing,
(42:50):
they never meet a similar fate, and.
Speaker 4 (42:53):
We want to do our best to preserve Lacey's memory
We don't want to focus on how she died, but
on how she lived, how she loved a garden, how
she loved her home, her family, her friends. I think
this is how we all can move onward and upward. Emua, Well,
(43:16):
that's our show for today. We'd love to hear what
you thought about today's discussion and if there's a case
you'd like for us to cover. Find us on social
media or email us at Facingevil Pod at tenderfoot dot tv.
Speaker 2 (43:29):
Until next time.
Speaker 5 (43:31):
Aloha.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
Facing Evil is a production of iHeartRadio and Tenderfoot TV.
The show is hosted by Russia Pacuerero and Avet Gentile.
Matt Frederick and Alex Williams our executive producers on behalf
of iHeartRadio, with producers Trevor Young and Jesse Funk, Donald
albright In Payne Lindsay our executive producers on behalf of
(44:20):
Tenderfoot TV, alongside producer Tracy Kaplan. Our researcher is Claudia Dafrico.
Original music by Makeup and Vanity Set. Find us on
social media or email us at Facingevilpod at tenderfoot dot tv.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio or Tenderfoot TV. Visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
(44:44):
favorite shows.
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