Topline
A three-part docuseries set to air on Peacock later this month will include the first on-camera interview in over 20 years with Scott Peterson, the man who was convicted of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son Conner decades ago in a case that captivated the nation and inspired dozens of true crime specials, podcasts and documentaries.
Scott Peterson listens during a pretrial hearing in Stanislaus Superior Court July 9, 2003 in … [+]
Key Facts
“Face to Face with Scott Peterson” will premiere Aug. 20 and promises to provide new details about Peterson’s case and a series of rare interviews with Peterson himself and others close to the story, including detectives who worked the case decades ago and Peterson’s former defense attorney.
The conversation with Peterson, conducted by series director Shareen Anderson, will be the first time he has been interviewed on camera since he was first jailed 21 years ago.
The new series is the latest in a long line of on-air specials to examine the Peterson case but is the first to debut since the Los Angeles Innocence Project, an organization that works to free the wrongly convicted, announced earlier this year it would take on his case.
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Undated photos of Laci Peterson.
What To Watch For
There will be three episodes in the “Face to Face With Scott Peterson” docseries, which will be available exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, starting Tuesday, Aug. 20.
Crucial Quote
“While many still believe the jury got it right, Scott’s family and experts close to the case have spent over 20 years committed to uncovering inconsistencies in the evidence as well as finding new information around alternative theories surrounding Laci’s murder,” the “Face To Face” synopsis from Peacock reads.
Key Background
Laci and Scott Peterson were married in 1997 and found out they were expecting their first child, a boy to be named Conner, in 2002. That December, when Laci was eight months pregnant, she was reported missing from her home in Modesto, California. It wasn’t until months later that the pair’s bodies were discovered and, in April of 2003, Scott Peterson was arrested and charged with two felony counts of murder with premeditation and special circumstances. In June of 2004, Peterson’s trial began. Prosecutors painted a picture of a man entangled in an extramarital affair with a masseuse, in debt and who was overwhelmed by the pressure of being a husband and soon-to-be father. There was not an overwhelming amount of direct evidence linking Scott Peterson to the murders, and his defense attorneys admitted he was ” a cad” for having cheated on his wife but maintained he was not a murderer. A jury convicted Peterson on two counts of murder in 2004 and Scott was sentenced to death. In 2020, California’s Supreme Court overturned Peterson’s death sentence and he was in 2021 re-sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Tangent
The Los Angeles Innocence Project in January said it was investigating Peterson’s “claim of actual innocence.” In March, Peterson appeared in court via Zoom as his new legal team filed new motions related to additional evidence and DNA testing. Lawyers have requested DNA testing be done on a bloody mattress, tarp and plastic bag found near Laci’s remains, as well as duct tape and twine found near the baby. At a court hearing, Innocence Project attorney and director Paula Mitchell said there is “no direct evidence implicating Scott Peterson in this case,” Courthouse News Service reported.
Further Reading
Further Viewing
Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes reporter who covers breaking news with a frequent focus on the entertainment industry, streaming, sports news, publishing, pop culture and climate change. She joined Forbes in 2023 and lives in Dallas. She’s covered Netflix’s hottest documentaries, a surge of assaults reported on social media, the most popular books of the year and how climate change stands to impact the way we eat. Roeloffs was included on Editor & Publisher Magazine’s “ 25 Under 30” list in 2023 and worked covering local news in the greater Boston area from 2017 to 2023. She graduated with a double major in political science and journalism from Northeastern University. Follow Roeloffs for continued coverage of streaming wars, pop culture news and trending topics.
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