A new A&E documentary takes a fresh look at one of America’s most infamous murder cases.

Where is Scott Peterson now? Inside the new evidence behind his latest bid for freedom

A new A&E documentary takes a fresh look at one of America's most infamous murder cases.

By Declan Gallagher

July 18, 2026 10:00 a.m. ET

Scott Peterson, as seen in 'The New Evidence'. Credit:

A&E’s new documentary,* Scott Peterson: The New Evidence,* reexamines the case against convicted murderer Scott Peterson, along with his latest claims of innocence.

Almost 22 years ago, Scott Peterson was convicted of the murders of his wife Laci and their unborn son. To many, however, the case has never truly been closed. Every few years, the high-profile saga resurfaces with new revelations and twists.

Now comes A&E’s documentary *Scott Peterson: The New Evidence*, which examines the efforts undertaken by the Los Angeles Innocence Project (LAIP) to prove Peterson’s innocence. Led by ABC News consultant and veteran attorney Chris Pixley, the two-part special dives back in, wrangling fresh interviews with former defense attorneys and law enforcement as they stress-test the theories that have kept the case alive, both on true-crime feeds and courtroom dockets.

*The New Evidence* arrives at a crucial juncture, nearly three months after the LAIP’s petition for a retrial was denied. It cross-examines both sides but primarily advances the defense's latest claims, including evidence from contemporary scientific methods. Whether it changes anyone’s mind is beside the point. *The New Evidence* is essential for anyone who thought they already knew all the intricacies of the Peterson case.

Below, we break down the case, the latest evidence, and where Scott Peterson is now.

Who is Scott Peterson?

Scott Peterson.

Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times via Getty

Scott Lee Peterson was born in San Diego, Calif., on Oct. 24, 1972, to Lee Arthur Peterson, who owned a crate and packaging company, and boutique owner Jacqueline Latham. Though Scott was their only child together, they both had children from previous marriages, giving Scott a network of step-siblings and extended family.

Scott first attended Arizona State on a partial golf scholarship, but was dismissed from the team after an incident with a visiting recruit. He eventually transferred to Cal Poly, graduating in 1998 with a degree in agricultural business. It was there that he met Laci Rocha. The two began dating in 1994 and married in 1997.

Shortly after their nuptials, Scott and Laci opened a burger joint, The Shack, which they sold in April 2001 before moving back to Laci’s suburban hometown of Modesto, Calif.

Scott took a job with Tradecorp U.S.A., an American subsidiary of a European fertilizer company, earning roughly $5,000 a month. Laci worked as a substitute teacher. n 2000, the couple purchased a three-bedroom home near East La Loma Park. The following year, Laci became pregnant with the couple's first child, whom they planned to name Conner.

Was Scott Peterson convicted?

Scott Peterson during a change of attorney hearing on May 2, 2003, in Modesto, Calif.

Al Golub-POOL/Getty

On Christmas Eve 2002, Laci, then eight months pregnant, vanished. Scott reported to police that he left around 10 a.m. that morning, driving about 90 minutes to the Berkeley Marina to test out his new fishing boat.

When Scott departed, he claimed Laci had been watching her favorite show, *Martha Stewart Living*, and planned to take their dog for a walk. When he returned around 4:30 p.m. and found no sign of Laci, Scott called his mother-in-law, Sharon Rocha. Police quickly descended upon the scene, and so began one of the most feverishly reported true crime cases of all time.

Suspicion quickly crept toward the husband. Scott — who is alternately described in *The New Evidence* as “not a very smart guy,” “a jerk,” and “a douche” — did himself no favors with the ever-vigilant media, giving conflicting statements about the day in question with an understated attitude that many interpreted as too laissez-faire fare given that his heavily pregnant wife was missing.

On Dec. 30 came a major twist. A massage therapist named Amber Frey contacted authorities with a stunning revelation: She had been having an affair with Scott Peterson. Frey said Scott had portrayed himself as a widower.

She agreed to record their subsequent phone calls, as investigators hoped to catch Scott in an incriminating moment. On New Year’s Eve, while he was actually in California at a candlelight vigil for Laci, he called Amber and told her he was in Paris, even marveling over the crowds near the Eiffel Tower.

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On April 13, 2003, a fetus later identified as Conner washed ashore from the San Francisco Bay. The next day, Laci’s body was discovered about a mile away. Scott was arrested on April 18 in La Jolla, Calif., close to the Mexican border.

He claimed he was in the area to meet his brother and father at a golf course, but his proximity to the border and freshly dyed hair and beard led investigators to suspect he was preparing to flee. Prosecutors also cited his possession of $15,000 in cash, four cell phones, two driver’s licenses, camping gear, and a stash of Viagra.

Scott’s trial commenced on June 1, 2004, in Redwood City after Judge Alfred Delucchi approved a change of venue from Modesto due to the media scrutiny. Delucchi likewise barred cameras from the courtroom. Prosecutors alleged that Peterson murdered Laci either late on the evening of Dec. 23 or the morning of Dec. 24 before wrapping her body and transporting it in his small boat to the Berkeley Marina, where he then dumped her. They contended that Scott intended to collect Laci’s $250,000 insurance policy and continue his affair with Amber Frey.

Scott’s attorney, Mark Geragos, argued that the prosecution’s case lacked crucial direct evidence. There were no eyewitnesses to the crime, no weapon, and no blood at any of the four established crime scenes (the couple’s home, Scott’s car and boat, and the marina dock).

The jury broke for deliberations on Nov. 3. Nine days later, on Nov. 12, 2004, Scott was convicted of first-degree murder of Laci and second-degree murder of their unborn child. He was later sentenced to death.

In 2020, the California Supreme Court overturned the death sentence, finding that the jury had been improperly screened for bias against capital punishment. Scott was later re-sentenced to life in prison without parole.

What are the latest developments in the Scott Peterson case?

Scott Peterson at his re-sentencing hearing on Dec. 8, 2021, in Redwood City, Calif.

Andy Alfaro/Modesto Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty

In January 2024, the Los Angeles Innocence Project told PEOPLE that it was “investigating [Scott’s] claim of actual innocence,” explaining that “new evidence now supports Mr. Peterson’s longstanding claim of innocence and raises many questions into [sic] who abducted and killed Laci and Conner Peterson.”

In August 2025, Scott’s legal team, along with the LAIP, filed a habeas corpus petition alleging a wrongful conviction based on flawed forensic evidence. Cited within the petition were numerous witness statements from neighbors who claimed to see Laci after Scott left for the marina, directly contradicting prosecutors’ theory that Scott had already killed Laci by that point and was en route to dispose of her body.

The LAIP also argues that investigators failed to adequately examine a possible connection to a burglary at a home across the street on the morning of Laci's disappearance. On Dec. 25, a van matching the description of one seen in front of the burgled home was found burned in an alley about a mile and a half away. In the back of the van was a bloodstained mattress. The LAIP is seeking additional DNA testing to determine whether the biological evidence found on the mattress is connected to Laci's disappearance.

What does *The New Evidence *reveal about the murder of Laci Peterson?

For those who’ve followed the Peterson case with interest, much of what’s presented in *The New Evidence* will be familiar. A great deal of the documentary involves unpacking previously known but less-explored clues, though there are several new and compelling expert interviews.

The documentary also features, for the first time on TV, interviews with neighbors who say they saw Laci walking her dog around the neighborhood and near Dry Creek Park after Scott left for the Berkeley Marina, though transcripts of their accounts have appeared in previous reporting.

*The New Evidence* also devotes time to the defense theory that Laci encountered the burglars who robbed the home of across-the-street neighbors Rudy and Susan Medina. The timing of that burglary — whether it occurred on Dec. 24 or later — has long been a point of dispute.

One theory claims that neighborhood burglars murdered Laci

During the original investigation and trial, neighbor Ricardo Cordova described an encounter the day before Laci's disappearance with a "suspicious" man who appeared to be going door to door asking for money and seeking help finding his dog.

Others recalled seeing a van parked outside the Medinas' house around the time Laci was reportedly last seen leaving to walk her dog. One neighbor, Diane Jackson, said she saw three suspicious-looking men near the Petersons’ front yard that morning, standing near a van.

Tom Harshman told authorities early in the investigation that he saw a distressed pregnant woman whom he believed matched Laci’s description being forced into a van near Dry Creek Park. The van he described resembled one reportedly seen outside the Medina home and later found burned with a bloodstained mattress in the back.

Authorities said they were inundated with tips and false sightings and did not immediately follow up with Harshman. The defense was notified about it just before the trial.

The documentary also argues that Modesto police destroyed materials related to the interrogations of the burglars —  Donald Pearce and Steven Wayne Todd — in which they admitted to robbery but denied any involvement in Laci’s disappearance. Destruction of the interviews deprived the defense of the opportunity to review the materials.

Furthermore, Scott’s defense team says it wasn’t even aware of the burned van’s discovery until years after the trial.

“Can you imagine if we had found out the van had been burnt” before the trial? Geragos says in *The New Evidence*. “Just go back and look how many times I talked about the van on the record… The [Modesto police department] deep-sixed everything that wasn’t consistent with Scott being the culprit… They weren’t going to be deterred.”

Tidal patterns, along with Laci’s handwriting, could potentially exonerate Scott

A memorial service for Laci Peterson on May 4, 2003.

Debbie Noda/Modesto Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty

The documentary's two most significant new pieces of evidence challenge the prosecution's theory of how Scott disposed of Laci's body.

Prosecutors alleged that Scott purchased a 14-foot fishing boat on Dec. 9, 2002, without Laci’s knowledge. But Scott’s attorneys argue that Laci *did *know about the purchase. Handwriting expert Dr. Linton Mohammed examined notes concerning the purchase of equipment for the boat. Comparing them to other items written by Laci, Mohammed determined that she wrote those notes.

However, Judge Hill found that the new handwriting evidence was not “material to the degree that it would have changed the outcome of the case.”

The documentary also presents a new analysis of tidal patterns in the San Francisco Bay, which may dispute the prosecution’s theories about where Laci’s body was dumped. U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist Ralph Cheng originally testified that the area where Laci’s body washed up was consistent with the prosecution's theory that Laci's body had been dumped near where Scott said he was fishing — between Brooks Island and the Berkeley Marina.

However, by using state-of-the-art hydrodynamic modeling to examine both wind and water activity (evidence presented at trial was based only on wind), Dr. Russell Feagin concluded that the Albany Bulb, a landfill in the east San Francisco Bay, was a more likely release point than the area identified by the prosecution. It is miles away from where Scott was supposedly fishing.

Crucially, the Albany Bulb shoreline identified in the analysis is accessible only by land, making it inconsistent with the prosecution's theory that Laci's body was dumped from Scott's boat. Investigators considered the area too shallow to dispose of a body, so it was never searched during the original investigation.

“I struggle with the fact that he drove 90 minutes to go for an hour fishing trip in a little boat out on the choppy San Francisco Bay,” Pixley says of Scott’s Christmas Eve excursion. But, he adds, “it’s not impossible to conceive of someone [else] easily bringing a body and placing it in the water.”

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Where is Scott Peterson today?

Scott Peterson, as seen in 'The New Evidence'.

As of this writing, Scott Peterson is serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, Calif., after being transferred there in 2022 from the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, where he had been housed on death row.

Will Scott Peterson get a new trial?

On April 26, 2026, a San Mateo County judge declined the LAIP’s petition for a retrial, dismissing all 14 claims, finding that they were either without merit or procedurally barred.

“The judge’s decision was that the evidence that's being presented here as new evidence was inadmissible,” Pixley explained. “But we’re talking about new scientific evidence — science that did not exist 24 years ago."

The LAIP plans to appeal to the California Supreme Court. If necessary, it can ultimately seek review by the United States Supreme Court.

“Unreliable testimony means an unreliable verdict,” Pixley added. “This is a case that demands review. It is not closed.”**

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Source: “EW Documentary”