Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘American Murder: Laci Peterson’ is a three-episode docuseries that delves deep into the mysterious disappearance and murder case of Laci Peterson, who was pregnant with Conner Peterson. As the authorities moved heaven and earth to get to the bottom of the case, they uncovered some dark truths about her life and the days leading to her disappearance and murder. The docuseries provides insightful details to the viewers with the help of exclusive interviews with the victims’ loved ones, including her mother, who was torn apart after the tragic incident.
Laci Peterson Grew Up in the Love and Care of Her Mother and Stepfather
Sharon Anderson and Dennis Robert Rocha were high school sweethearts who had built a great and balanced life for themselves in California and owned and operated a dairy farm located west of Escalon. The pair had their first child — a boy whom they named Brent Rocha — in 1971. Just four years later, the Rocha household was blessed with echoes of laughter as they welcomed a daughter — Laci Denise Rocha — into their world. And just like that, their lovely family was complete. According to Sharon, Laci was a happy baby who slept peacefully through the night and always greeted her mother with a beautiful smile whenever she’d go up to her crib in the morning.
Laci took an interest in gardening at a very young age and began lending a hand to her parents on their family dairy. She would help with plucking plants and weeds and never shied away from getting herself dirty by some muck and manure. The siblings cared for and supported each other as they grew up in Central Valley, surrounded by the love of their parents. However, it seems like all love got lost between Sharon and Dennis, who decided to divorce when Laci was just a toddler. Following that, Sharon moved to the town of Modesto in Stanislaus County with Laci and Brent. Despite their familial conditions, Laci continued to stop by the farm over weekends.
Meanwhile, Sharon gave love another shot and tied the knot with Ron Grantski, who took care of her kids like his own. Lovingly referred to as “Jabber Jaws,” Laci grew up to be a kindhearted and free-spirited individual with an infectious smile and a loveable personality. While attending Thomas Downey High School, Laci was a popular girl and also joined the cheerleading team. As she grew, Laci’s love for all things plants increased greatly. Thus, she went on to enroll herself at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she won the Outstanding Freshman Award and ultimately graduated with a major in ornamental horticulture.
Laci Peterson Met the Love of Her Life in College
In 1994, while Laci was still at the university, her paths crossed with Scott Peterson at a restaurant he worked at, and sparks flew. At the Morro Bay eatery, Laci hinted at taking things further when she wrote her name and contact information on a napkin. However, unaware of that, Scott tossed it in the dustbin. Nevertheless, the odds were in their favor as he called her up, and the two got into a relationship. Scott always wanted to be a professional golfer but he chose to put it on the back burner and build a career in business to gain financial stability for his future with Laci. As years flew by, their bond grew stronger. After two years of dating, they decided to live together.
One thing led to another, and they tied the knot in August 1997 in the presence of their loved ones at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort. After successfully managing a sports bar named The Shack in San Luis Obispo for a few years, they desired to start a family of their own and decided to move back to Laci’s hometown in 2000. The couple finalized a sales deal for their burger joint in 2001. In Modesto, Scott and Laci settled in an upscale neighborhood in a bungalow house they purchased on Covena Avenue near East La Loma Park. While Laci took up a job as a substitute teacher, Scott secured employment at Tradecorp U.S.A. In 2002, the families of Scott and Laci were hit with the good news of their pregnancy.
While Pregnant With Conner, Laci Went Missing From Her Home
Scott and Laci’s baby was due on February 10, 2003, and they had decided on a name — Conner Peterson. As the families geared up for Christmas — which was naturally going to be quite special as they awaited the entry of a bundle of joy into their lives — tragedy struck. On December 24, 2002, a nearly eight-month-pregnant Laci took her Golder Retriever for a walk in Dry Creek Park, not far from their home. While the dog returned, the 27-year-old mother-to-be was nowhere to be seen. While the authorities conducted multiple searches to find the missing woman, there was no sign of Laci Peterson.
As days went by, her loved ones became increasingly worried for her safety. A few months later, on April 13, 2003, their nightmares turned true when the body of a fetus was brought onto the shore by waves at Point Isabel Regional Shoreline Park in Richmond. The next morning, a dog walker called the police upon finding the remains of a woman just a mile away from where the fetus was spotted. A thorough medical examination and autopsy revealed the DNA of the decomposed remains to be an exact match to Laci Peterson and Conner. A probable cause of death of Laci Peterson was ruled as suffocation or strangulation.
Someone Close to Laci and Conner Was Responsible For Their Murders
On Christmas Eve of 2002, the day of Laci’s disappearance, her husband, Scott Peterson, was brought in for questioning in order to eliminate him as a suspect. When asked to detail the accounts of the day, he claimed that he had plans to either go fishing or golfing but decided on the former as it was too cold for the latter. Around 9:30 am, he allegedly went to his warehouse, picked up his boat, and drove about 90 miles to the Berkeley Marina. Around 2:15 pm, he called his wife and left a voicemail informing her that he was on his way home from Berkeley. Before going home, he went to his warehouse and unhooked the boat, according to him.
Scott claimed that he found their golden retriever, McKenzie, alone in the backyard with the leash on him, his wife’s car in the driveway, and the door to their Modesto residence unlocked. He told the police that when he could not find Laci anywhere, he called her mother and then her friends, asking them if they knew about her whereabouts. After he reported his eight-month pregnant wife missing around 6 pm, the police launched an extensive search for the missing woman. As per reports, when he was asking around the neighborhood about his missing wife, he told one of his neighbors that he had gone golfing instead of fishing.
Moreover, what made the investigators more suspicious of Scott was the fact that nobody knew that he owned a boat. At the end of the interview, Scott agreed to do a polygraph test but refused the following day after his father advised him against it. Soon, the detectives obtained a search warrant for the Peterson residence and Scott’s warehouse. During their time scanning the two places, they came across a number of suspicious clues in and around the boat, which was inside the warehouse. After the case attracted nationwide media interest, a significant clue fell right onto the police’s lap.
The Extramarital Affair of the Killer Led to His Arrest
On December 30, 2002, a woman named Amber Frey reached out to the authorities and claimed that she and Scott had been in a relationship, but she was unaware that he was married until discovering that he was a suspect in the disappearance case of his wife, Laci Peterson. She told the police that they first met on November 20, 2002, and he had lied to her that he was a widower on December 9, 2002, the same day he had purchased the boat nobody knew about. In hopes of getting a confession from Scott, the police worked with Amber and wiretapped her phone, instructing her to talk with him as if nothing was wrong while they recorded their conversation.
After the bodies of Laci and Conner Peterson surfaced at Richmond’s Point Isabel, the investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Scott Peterson. A few days later, they learned that he was in San Diego, where they chased him for a couple of hours before finally catching up to him and taking him into custody on April 18, 2003. At the time of his arrest, they found $15,000 in cash in his car, along with his brother’s passport and camping equipment. Charged with first-degree murder of his wife, Scott was taken back to Modesto and booked into jail. Before he stood on trial, a Lifetime movie titled ‘The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story,’ which was based on the murder case of Laci Peterson, was released in February 2004.
The Killer Initially Received a Death Sentence But Was Resentenced to Life Later
On June 1, 2004, the trial of Scott Peterson for the murders of his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son, Conner, began. After five long months of the prosecution and defense presenting their arguments in front of the jury, the verdict came in favor of the victim on November 12, 2004. Scott was convicted of first-degree murder of his wife as well as second-degree murder of his unborn son, Conner. On March 16, 2005, the judge gave him the death penalty and ordered the convict to pay $10,000 and cover the cost of the victim’s funeral.
The mother of Laci Peterson, Sharon Rocha, also wrote a book titled ‘For Laci,’ detailing the entire case and the trial that followed. Moreover, in honor of Laci’s unborn son, the US Congress also passed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, also known as Laci and Conner’s Law. However, more than 15 years later, in 2020, Scott’s death sentence was overturned, and he was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Still maintaining his innocence after all these years, Scott Peterson is trying to get a retrial and prove his claims of innocence with the support of the Los Angeles Innocence Project.
Read More: Scott Peterson: Where is the Killer Now?
