Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s documentary series ‘American Murder: Laci Peterson’ depicts how the media handled and covered Laci Peterson’s disappearance and murder and the subsequent trial of her husband, Scott Peterson. KOVR’s Gloria Gomez is one of the journalists who explored the case in detail at the time. She is also one of the few reporters who had the opportunity to interview Scott after he emerged as the prime suspect. Even though the entire nation covered the investigation and the subsequent trial, Gomez’s work stood out because of her commitment!
Gloria Gomez Emerged as a Prominent Reporter at KOVR
Gloria Gomez is originally from Sacramento, California, with her roots in Mexico. Even in her childhood, in her own words, she was a truth seeker who challenged the status quo. During her teenage years, she followed high-profile news stories, and the coverage of the Iran–Contra affair convinced her that she was highly passionate about journalism. Gomez attended California State University, Sacramento, from where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies. In 1997, she joined Fort Myers’ WINK-TV, the CBS affiliate for Southwest Florida, as a reporter.
After two years, Gomez left Fort Myers for Stockton, California, to join KOVR, the CBS outlet for Sacramento, where she went on to work for six years. During the same period, Laci Peterson’s disappearance and murder was not the only high-profile case she covered. “My timing couldn’t have been planned any better. Throughout my six years at KOVR, I covered some of the biggest stories to hit the Central Valley. National stories that included the Yosemite murders, the Chandra Levy disappearance, and the Laci Peterson case,” the journalist told FOX 13 News. Still, her popularity spread throughout the country when she emerged as one of the faces of the case’s coverage.
Gloria Gomez’s Work Opened a Window into Scott’s Psyche
Gloria Gomez covered Laci Peterson’s disappearance and murder for two and a half years. When several unsubstantiated rumors started to spread regarding the case, the journalist stepped up to unravel the inaccuracies behind them. “I’ve done stories about all the false rumors just to dispel them,” she told Vanity Fair. She is also one of the four journalists who interviewed Scott Peterson after the public consensus turned against him regarding the case, along with Diane Sawyer of ABC’s ‘Good Morning America,’ Ted Rowlands of KTVU, and Jodi Hernandez of KNTV. The reporter described him as “disconnected” and “distant.”
Gomez felt that Scott was “very scripted” with “no emotion” during the interview. During his trial, the journalist was at the court to cover the same, even with crutches after a fall. Janey Peterson, Scott’s sister-in-law, was highly critical of Gomez’s case coverage. “He [Scott] is on death row because he asked Gloria Gomez to take her shoes off,” she said while appearing on ‘Dr. Phil’ in 2018. The journalist responded to Janey’s words on the same talk show by stating, “But at the end of the day, that body was discovered where Scott Peterson went fishing. That you cannot deny.”
When Dr. Phil asked Gomez whether she thinks Scott killed Laci, the reporter replied, “I think the jury got it right.” “[…] we as journalists have to pursue the truth, and that’s exactly what we were doing, and the fact that he was looking more and more guilty was just the evidence that was coming out. We had nothing to do with it other than showing the public exactly what was going on in this case,” Gomez added about her work regarding the case.
Gloria Gomez Works at FOX 13 News Today
Gloria Gomez currently works as a general assignment reporter at FOX 13 News (WTVT), based in Tampa, Florida. Her focus is on “court cases and the criminal justice system.” She joined the news outlet in 2005. Since then, she has covered several murders and other severe crimes committed in the Tampa Bay area, such as sex trafficking and sexual assault. She also occasionally writes about the National Football League (NFL) and recently covered the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation charges in the Dominican Republic against Wander Franco, a shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Some of the cases Gomez recently covered for FOX 13 News include Savannah Mathis’ murder, Akime Casey’s murder, etc. When it comes to her personal life, the journalist is extremely private. However, she is an ardent fan of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. She also previously revealed that her mother’s death due to cancer inspired her immensely. “I truly believe the pain and grief that cloaked my broken spirit helped me connect with other people touched by tragedy. Throughout the years, I went on to cover other high-profile stories, but I did it knowing that the people I talked to were very real. That they deserved respect and dignity,” she wrote in FOX 13 News in 2011.
Over the years, Gomez has been featured in several TV shows that explored Laci’s disappearance and murder, including A&E’s ‘The Murder of Laci Peterson’ and ‘American Justice,’ Investigation Discovery’s ‘True Crime with Aphrodite Jones,’ and Oxygen’s ‘Snapped.’ She also appeared in an episode of ABC’s ‘20/20,’ which explored the murder of Sacramento-based Larry McNabney. Gomez remains a crucial source regarding prominent aspects of Laci’s case while she explores similar violent crimes in Tampa.
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