The case of Laci and Scott Peterson has gained renewed attention with the release of the Netflix docuseries “American Murder: Laci Peterson.”
This new series revisits the 2004 case where Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn child, Conner.
Peterson has consistently claimed his innocence despite his conviction and has been a focal point of public and media scrutiny for nearly two decades.
Indeed, the case drew intense media attention, particularly during the extensive search for Laci Peterson, who was missing for several months.
The situation gained even more notoriety when it was revealed that Scott Peterson had been having an extramarital affair with Amber Frey.
This affair was highly publicized and became a significant element of the case, influencing public perception and media coverage.
Skye Borgman, the director of “American Murder: Laci Peterson,” emphasized that her goal from the outset was to center the documentary on Laci Peterson.
Borgman aimed to shift the focus back to Laci, highlighting her life and the impact of her case, rather than solely concentrating on Scott Peterson’s actions and trial.
This approach seeks to provide a more balanced and respectful portrayal of the events surrounding Laci Peterson’s life and tragic death.
“It’s always really important to me to put the victim forward, and Laci Peterson, I think, has been overshadowed many times by Scott Peterson and what’s going on with him,” Borgman says.
“And I just really wanted to make sure that that we did our job and put Laci forward, and put Conner forward as well.”
Skye Borgman mentioned that the idea for the series began to take shape as her team revisited the case. They engaged in detailed research and explored potential participants to provide a comprehensive and insightful look at the story.
This groundwork was crucial in shaping the direction of the documentary and ensuring it focused on Laci Peterson’s story.
“It just started becoming clearer and clearer that this was a really relevant story to tell, even though it happened 20 years ago,” she says.
Borgman, known for directing “Abducted in Plain Sight” and “Girl in the Picture,” noted that a significant challenge in addressing the Peterson case was distinguishing between urban legends and the actual events of the case.
Over the years, numerous myths and misconceptions have emerged, making it essential to carefully sift through the information to present an accurate and factual account.
“The biggest challenge, really, was just challenging those memories and those expectations and those ideas of what we think we know,” Borgman says. “Scott was convicted 20 years ago. Laci disappeared 22 years ago.”
“I think it has gotten a little bit like that telephone game, right? Somebody says something, and then it grows, and then it grows, and then it grows, and then the facts just start to get a little bit muddied,” she adds.
“So I wanted to go back and tell the story from a fact-based perspective.”
The three-episode series “American Murder: Laci Peterson” includes interviews with Laci Peterson’s friends and family, Scott Peterson’s family, as well as investigators, attorneys, and journalists who covered the case.
Notably, Scott Peterson himself does not appear in the series. His absence is a deliberate choice, focusing the narrative on those directly affected by the case and the broader context surrounding it.
Borgman says her team was in contact with him in prison, but he declined to sit for an interview.
“I don’t think our series is missing anything by not speaking to Scott,” she says. “I mean, our main focus was Laci, and we wanted to keep it that way.”
“Face to Face with Scott Peterson,” premiering on August 20 on Peacock, will feature Scott Peterson’s first interview in 20 years.
Borgman noted that she has only seen the trailer for this series but observed that its focus seems to be on exploring Peterson’s claims of innocence.
This contrasts with her own series, which centers on Laci Peterson and the broader context of the case.
“It seems that their perspective is very different from our perspective, and that he’s claiming that he’s innocent and that’s the story that they’re telling,” she says.
“Really, our story really is much more Laci-centric, and really is about the investigation at the time, what was happening, and Scott’s behavior at the time … we talked to people from most sides.”
Borgman views the Peterson case as a significant part of American history and believes it is important to revisit such cases, especially in the context of ongoing issues like intimate partner violence.
She highlights that domestic violence remains a serious problem, affecting a substantial number of individuals.
According to the National Institute of Health, up to one in four women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence, underscoring the relevance of addressing these issues through historical and current lenses.
“This is a very American story.
We’re talking to audiences that may not have heard about Laci Peterson before and bringing up this issue, that is clear in all three episodes, of intimate partner violence, and it’s a big, big issue for women,” she says.
Borgman points to a “shocking” statistic: Pregnant are more likely to be murdered than to die of obstetric causes.
“So I think that is worthwhile, to put these stories out there in a way that younger audiences are seeing them — people who maybe have never heard of Laci Peterson before, or who have forgotten about what exactly happened with Laci.”
Borgman emphasizes that the goal of the documentary was to ensure viewers feel a deep connection with Laci Peterson by the end of the third episode.
The team aimed to present her life and story in a way that provides a thorough and personal understanding of who she was, beyond the tragic circumstances of her death.
Everything That Happened To Laci Peterson
Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she disappeared from their Modesto, California, home on Christmas Eve in 2002.
Scott Peterson claimed he had been fishing at the Berkeley Marina that day and found their dog leashed in the backyard upon returning home, with no sign of Laci inside the house.
As law enforcement initiated a search for Laci, Scott Peterson cooperated with the authorities and engaged with the media during the weeks that followed, as the search continued without any trace of her.
The case became a media sensation in January 2003 when details of Scott Peterson’s affair with Amber Frey, a massage therapist from Fresno, became public. Frey revealed to reporters that she had been dating Peterson without knowing he was married or expecting a child.
In April 2003, Laci and Conner Peterson’s bodies were found in the San Francisco Bay, four months after Laci’s disappearance.
Scott Peterson was arrested in San Diego shortly after the bodies were discovered and was charged with two counts of murder. He pleaded not guilty.
Scott Peterson’s trial began in June 2004. After a five-month trial, he was convicted of first-degree murder for Laci Peterson’s death and second-degree murder for the death of his son, Conner.
The jury that convicted Scott Peterson recommended the death penalty, and he was sentenced to death in 2005. However, in 2020, the California Supreme Court overturned his death sentence, citing “clear and significant errors in jury selection” that compromised his right to an impartial jury.
In 2021, Scott Peterson was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager decided not to retry the penalty phase.
The California Supreme Court did not overturn Peterson’s conviction, and a request for a new trial was denied in 2022.
Scott Peterson is currently serving his life sentence at Mule Creek State Prison and continues to assert his innocence. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Innocence Project took on his case, arguing that crucial evidence was suppressed during his trial and that new evidence should be reviewed.
In May, a judge ruled that only one item—a piece of duct tape found on Laci Peterson’s pants—would undergo new DNA testing.
This decision reflects ongoing efforts by Peterson’s attorneys to revisit aspects of the case.
