Kriti Mehrotra
On December 24, 2002, eight-month-pregnant Laci Peterson’s disappearance from her Modesto, California, home without a trace definitely left the entire nation shaken to its core. That’s because, as profiled in Netflix’s ‘American Murder: Laci Peterson,’ it eventually came to light she and her son had actually been killed by her husband before being disposed of in the waters. This obviously shattered her family, especially her brother Brent Rocha, since they had not only once trusted him with everything they had but also believed in his initial claims of innocence.
Brent Rocha and Laci Peterson Shared a Close Bond
With Brent being born on January 26, 1971, and Laci being born on May 4, 1975, in Modesto, California, to Sharon Anderson and Dennis Rocha, there was just a 4-year age gap between the duo. It’s no surprise they were able to form a unique connection growing up, mainly as they did so in a blended family — although their parents separated in 1976, they remained close with both before finding a family in their respective new partners and their kids too. As per reports, there was genuine affection, care, as well as love between the siblings, so he solely focused on searching for her when she vanished while giving her husband the benefit of the doubt.
However, everything changed once a single mother named Amber Frey came forward to reveal that she and Scott Peterson had actually been romantically involved since late November 2002. The fact he had told her on December 9 that he’d lost his wife some time prior, his lack of active participation in bringing her case to the media, plus his strange statements riled her family too. So, by the end of the first few weeks, their opinions on him had shifted entirely — they were sure he had a hand in Laci as well as her unborn son Conner’s sudden vanishing, and they were right.
Brent Rocha Gave a Powerful Impact Statement During Scott’s Trial
Although Brent didn’t step into court every single day during Scott’s 2004 trial for double murder or take the stands against him, he did make his feelings for him clear during his sentencing hearing. Before the then-32-year-old was handed down the death penalty on March 16, 2005, Laci’s loving elder brother stated, in part, “It’s difficult, Scott, to get up here and speak to you of what you’ve done, you know. It’s not an easy thing to do, to actually confront the killer of Laci… Laci and Conner are the true victims here, but you’ve also caused a lot of other people a significant amount of pain… You’re evil and you still have the readiness to commit evil.”
Brent continued, “Death is the appropriate punishment for your crime… On January 4, 2003, I went and bought a gun. I already knew at that point in time you were guilty. I chose not to kill you myself for one reason: So you would have to sweat it out and not take the easy way out. I’m grateful I made the right decision. You have shown no remorse for your actions. It’s just hard to believe that you can carry on with life as if you didn’t commit this crime, and it’s, it’s not comprehendible to me… You don’t have any compassion? What happened? I mean, were you depressed? Were you, did you panic? Were you scared? Were you angry? I mean why?… You know, our lives are consumed with this murder. You’ve ruined our lives.”
Brent Rocha is Now a Proud Family Man
Since Brent seemingly prefers to remain well away from the spotlight, unfortunately, we do not know much regarding his recent personal or professional experiences in any capacity. However, from what we can tell, it appears as if he has built a good life for himself in Elk Grove, California, where he resides in a happy home alongside his wife, Rose, plus their four children. As if that’s not enough, it’s safe to assume that although the past continues to hang over him like a dark cloud, he is likely doing his best to move on, all the while keeping the legacy of his sister alive with the help of his mother and making it known to his children that they had an aunt named Laci as well as a cousin named Conner.
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