Judge in Scott Peterson case denies almost all DNA retesting requests as convicted killer vies for new trial
A judge denied almost all of Scott Peterson’s DNA retesting requests on Wednesday as his defense team attepts to get a new trial.
A California judge denied almost all of Scott Peterson’s DNA retesting requests on Wednesday as his defense team attempts to get a new trial.
The judge did agree to allow only one piece of evidence to go through a new round of DNA testing – a piece of duct tape found on Laci Peterson's pants "at the time of autopsy," according to a San Matteo County Superior Court spokesperson.
"Judge Hill denied the defense’s motion for DNA testing for all but one of the 14 items presented in the defense’s original motion filed with the Court on January 17, 2024," the spokesperson added.
Scott Peterson was convicted 20 years ago of murdering his pregnant wife and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay.
Peterson was found guilty of killing Laci and their unborn son Connor, who were found dead in the bay in April 2003. He is currently serving a life sentence.
Laci, who was eight months pregnant at the time, disappeared from the couple's Modesto home on Christmas Eve 2002.
Some of the 14 items Peterson's defense team attempted to get retested, but were denied, included a mattress found inside a burned van, a hammer and glove that may have been involved in a nearby robbery and debris that washed ashore in the bay where Laci was found.
Peterson and his supporters have long focused on suspects who allegedly burglarized a house across the street from his home, alleging they could have killed his wife.
SCOTT PETERSON PROSECUTOR ASKS COURT TO REJECT KILLER'S APPEAL ATTEMPT
Over the years, Peterson has had multiple failed appeals but succeeded in having his death penalty overturned in favor of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
This latest appeal, taken up by the Los Angeles Innocence Project, purports that there is previously untested DNA evidence that could show someone else may have been responsible for Laci and Connor's murder.
Earlier this month, prosecutors, in a 337-page court filing opposing his motion for new DNA testing, described the "overwhelming" evidence that landed him a conviction in the first place, including his multiple lies to detectives, to his mistress Amber Frey and to the media.
They included photos of him smiling during a vigil for Laci Peterson just days after her disappearance. But much of it is tied directly to his alibi – a boat trip in San Francisco Bay the day his wife vanished.
They said a police K-9 picked up her scent at a boat ramp in Berkeley. And they said her hair had been recovered from a pair of needle-nose pliers recovered from his boat. The autopsy also suggested her remains had been weighted to the sea floor before she broke apart and washed ashore – and prosecutors included evidence that Peterson made multiple homemade anchors out of concrete and rebar.
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Peterson appeared in the Redwood City, California, courtroom remotely from California's Mule Creek State Prison on Wednesday where he is serving his life sentence.
He is expected to be back in court in July.
Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
