Scott Peterson Resentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering Wife and Unborn Child | He Was Spared a Death Sentence

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on December 9, 2021. It has since been updated.

Scott Peterson, the man who murdered his wife and unborn child back in 2002, has reportedly been resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by a California judge on December 8, 2021. Laci Peterson was 27 years old and eight months pregnant with their son, Conner, when she was murdered by Peterson, five years after the two got married, according to NBC News. 

Peterson was initially sentenced to death in 2004 for the crime, but in August 2020, the 49-year-old man's death penalty sentence was overturned, meaning that he would face a new penalty phase trial. In October that same year, the California Supreme Court ruled that a lower court should take a second look at his case to determine whether his guilty verdict should be overturned, according to PEOPLE. 

According to CNN, Judge Anne-Christine Massullo resentenced Peterson to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder of Laci and a concurrent sentence of 15 years to life for the second-degree murder of Conner.

The late woman's family addressed Peterson in court. "You didn't want the responsibility of being a father. You're a coward," Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha said. The woman also spoke of her grandson she never met. "He would have been 18 years old by now. Ten months ago, you would have been free of child support and not have to worry about being responsible for a child," Rocha said. "Laci and Conner will always be dead, and you will always be their murderer," the mother added. 

Rocha recounted having dinner with Laci and Scott just days before she was killed. She said she was sitting on a couch, touching Laci's belly to try to feel the baby kick. "Scott doesn't want to do that," Sharon quoted Laci as saying. "He doesn't want to feel the baby move. But he'll come around someday."

"All the while we were there that evening you were already planning her murder," Rocha said to Peterson. "That evening was the last time I saw my daughter alive."

Other family members also spoke during the session. "Nineteen years, and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my sister," said Amy Rocha. Added her brother, Brent Rocha: "There are no words able to express the pain associated with not being able to experience life together."

Prosecutors said he dumped his wife's body in the Berkeley Marina on Christmas Eve and tried to cover up the crime by making it appear as if she was missing, according to online court records. Her body washed ashore later.

Meanwhile, defense attorney Pat Harris acknowledged that this hearing was "not the place to retry the case...but I would note that there is a very strong basis for Mr. Peterson to state his innocence. He's been sitting in a prison cell for 17 years waiting for the opportunity to be heard again."

Judge Massullo said that the only mitigating factor in the case was that Peterson had no criminal history at the time of the murders. She added that he has paid $10,000 in restitution and a $5,000 fine imposed at the time of the first sentencing. She also stated that he has already served 6,818 days in prison.

Peterson will return to court in early 2022 to address the possibility of getting a new trial.

References:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/scott-peterson-convicted-killing-pregnant-wife-laci-re-sentenced-life-rcna7909

https://people.com/crime/scott-peterson-resentenced-life-prison-spared-death-penalty/

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/08/us/scott-peterson-resentencing/index.html