Naman Shrestha
In Netflix’s ‘American Murder: Laci Peterson,’ viewers are provided with a detailed account of the disappearance and tragic demise of Laci Peterson and Conner, her unborn child, in 2002. Out of all her loved ones, her mother, Sharon Rocha, was one of the most affected by her passing away. Thanks to the insightful interview with Sharon, the three-episode docuseries is able to explore several aspects of the murder and provide intricate details about the victim’s life as well.
Sharon Rocha Got Divorced From Laci’s Father When the Latter Was a Toddler
Born on November 1, 1951, to Clifton Howell Anderson and Elta Anderson, Sharon Rocha (née Anderson) grew up in a loving household alongside her three siblings — Valery Jean Anderson, Ronny Wayne Anderson, and Susan Aquino. During her time in high school, she crossed paths with Dennis Robert Rocha, whom she started dating after feeling a strong connection. After passing out from high school with flying colors, she joined Modesto Junior College with a bright future ahead of her. However, allegedly pressured to become a wife instead of a student, Sharon dropped out of college by the end of the same year she joined.
At the time, she also owned a dairy farm near Escalon, California. After seeing each other for a while, Sharon and Dennis got married and gave birth to a son named Brent in 1971. Four years later, they welcomed a daughter into their world in 1975 and named her Laci. The following year, in 1976, the couple got divorced but remained on good terms. Not long after the divorce, Sharon met Ron Grantski, and they eventually tied the knot. The latter helped her raise her children while she treated his son from a previous relationship, Darrin Frank Grantski, like her own. In 2001, Sharon began working as a Loan Officer at Ability Ambeck Mortgage while residing with her family in Modesto, California.
The Passage of Laci and Conner’s Law and Authoring a Book to Cope With the Loss
Everything seemed to be going fine in her life until Sharon received a call from her then-son-in-law, Scott Peterson, who asked her Laci was with her. When she told him she hadn’t seen her, he claimed Laci had gone missing. “And I remember feeling that, just a little agitated about that word, the word that he used, ‘missing.’ It’s like, how can you be missing? She’s not missing. And I asked if he called her friends, called me back again. Nobody had seen her,” Sharon told ABC News.
After asking her husband, Ron Grantski, to inform the police, she went to the park in search of her daughter. She said, “…there’s nothing worse than lifting up a trash can looking for your child, to see if her body is in a trash can, but I remember doing that. When it’s happening to somebody else, you think that’s a horrible thing to happen to those people. And you think that you can imagine how they feel. You don’t. You have no idea what it’s like. I mean everything, from that minute on, your life is completely changed.” Initially, she supported Scott and defended him at every opportunity. But when the news of his extramarital affair with Amber Frey broke out, dynamics changed significantly.
Talking of Scott Peterson, she elaborated, “I knew he had killed her. I knew she was dead. I’ll never know what happened. I knew that, but I needed to have her back. That was so important to me. I just needed to have her back and that was one of the things that was just absolutely frustrating because you know somebody knows where she is but he won’t tell you.” While dealing with the huge loss of her daughter, Sharon also campaigned for the rights of other crime victims and played a vital role in launching Laci and Conner’s Law, also known as the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. When the bill was signed into law on April 1, 2004, she was in attendance at the White House with Ron Grantski.
In March 2005, she became a board member of the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation in an attempt to push for similar state laws regarding fetal homicide. In December of the same year, she also introduced the Laci and Conner Search and Rescue Fund under the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation so as to help law enforcement in their search and rescue efforts by providing them with financial assistance. Putting her experience and the life of her daughter, Laci Peterson, from her perspective into words, Sharon published a book titled ‘For Laci: A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, and Justice’ in 2006.
The Relentless Efforts to Keep the Killer Behind Bars
Following her loss and heavy ordeal, Sharon Rocha took up an oath to use her voice and power to advocate for the rights of survivors and victims of domestic violence. As part of the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office in the 2000s, she moved out all stops to make sure strict laws were implemented to duly support those affected by violence and their loved ones in matters related to the court of law. Over the years, the strong and resilient mother has garnered ample experience with the criminal justice system, which she put to use to do everything she can for the victims/survivors of domestic abuse, including unborn babies. All Sharon hopes for is to ensure no other person goes through what her beloved daughter, Laci, and unborn grandchild, Conner, went through.
In December 2021 — during Scott Peterson’s resentencing hearing — Sharon spoke to him directly, letting her former son-in-law know the effect his heinous actions had on the lives of many. Referring to him as “a coward” who “didn’t want a baby nor the responsibility of being a father,” she said, “I still feel the grief every day, after 19 years. Your evil, self-centered, unforgivable selfish act ended two beautiful souls. And for what reason? There was no reason other than that you just didn’t want them anymore.” Sharon expressed her grief and sorrow by divulging she often saw her daughter in her dreams, adding that she yearns for a life where she’d get to see an all-grown-up Conner, a chance Scott snatched from their clutches.
Sharon stressed that, exclaiming, “No matter what happens, no matter what transpires in the future, there are two things that will never change: Laci and Conner will always be dead, and you will always be their murderer.” Since his conviction in 2004, Scott has approached the court multiple times to get the judgment overturned. As of 2024, he requested the court grant him a new trial. During a hearing in July 2024, Sharon penned another statement, which was read aloud by Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager. It read: “Each attempt he makes for freedom feels like ripping the scab from the wound (family’s trauma). He continues to file claim after claim. Time after time. I believe this is not about proving his innocence, but instead about his relentless pursuit (to be freed) from prison. When will this end?”
Sharon Rocha is Still Working in the Mortgage Industry
The years that have passed since the day Sharon Rocha experienced the most significant loss of her life have neither dampened her tenacious spirit nor her resolve to ensure the killer of Laci and Conner remains behind bars. Even after 22 years, Sharon Rocha remains a formidable force, standing tall against adversities and ensuring her voice is heard. On April 8, 2018, she lost her husband, Ron Grantski, who passed away in his sleep after living with prolonged medical issues.
A few months later, on December 9, she was hit with another tragedy with the death of her first husband and Laci’s father, Dennis Rocha. As far as her current whereabouts are concerned, Sharon Rocha still resides in Modesto, California, surrounded by her family and friends. The certified Loan Officer continues to work at Ability Ambeck Mortgage, where she has been employed since 2001.
Read More: Lori Heintz and Stacey Boyers: Where Are Laci Peterson’s Friends Now?
