Scott Peterson's murder trial attracted worldwide attention,
not only because of the crime's gruesome nature, but also the truly bizarre details of the case.
These are some of the strangest things about the Scott Peterson case.
From the outside, Laci and Scott Peterson reportedly appeared to have the perfect
marriage, with their first baby on the way. However, the truth was apparently much more
sinister. During Scott's trial, prosecutors exposed his affair with mistress Amber Frey,
and alleged other infidelities during the marriage as well.
However, as reported by SFGate, if she knew of her husband's cheating,
Laci hadn't confided in those closest to her that she was having difficulties in her marriage.
She also never spoke of her husband's extramarital affair to anyone. At his trial,
Scott's defense attorney, Mark Geragos, suggested that Scott was a, quote, "serial
philanderer" who cheated on Laci at least three times before her 2002 Christmas Eve disappearance.
As such, Geragos also suggested that Scott's recent affair with Amber — and alleged
admissions of previous affairs — wasn't, quote, "abnormal behavior" in the couple's marriage.
However, the fact that Laci hadn't confided in family or friends about
her husband's infidelities suggests that she either didn't know about them,
was trying to hold her marriage together or, at the very least, wanted to keep up appearances.
In addition to reportedly not mentioning Scott Peterson's infidelities to any friends or family
members, Laci Peterson had kept another key piece of information secret at the time of her death.
During Scott's trial, the prosecution revealed Laci's friends and family had
no idea about a pretty significant purchase Scott had recently made. As noted by SFGate,
"Laci Peterson never spoke of the 14-foot aluminum boat her
husband bought weeks before her disappearance."
The prosecution argued that Scott used the boat to dispose of his wife's body, so it was particularly
troubling that Laci was seemingly unaware that he had purchased it. The fact that Scott had recently
made such a large purchase, and that Laci had failed to tell anyone else about it, suggests that
there may have been some tension behind-the-scenes of their marriage. It's also especially chilling,
given the fact that Scott used a fishing trip as his alibi for the time of Laci's disappearance.
"I hope you know I had nothing to do with it."
During Scott Peterson's trial, prosecutors painted him as a sex addict,
pointing to both his extramarital affairs, as well as other behaviors that indicated he
had certain appetites. One of Scott's relatives seemingly backed up the claim, telling Fox News,
"He has a sexual problem and has a need to sleep with other women."
Scott's family also alleged that Laci Peterson was aware of her
husband's cheating, but that she'd forgiven him. According to Fox News,
"Peterson's mother has told relatives and friends that she knew her daughter-in-law
was aware of at least one affair, and that she once saw the couple arguing over it."
Before Laci's body was found, her brother, Brent Rocha, initially supported Scott,
until he discovered his brother-in-law was cheating. Brent told the New York Post,
"I am only left to question what else he may [have
been] hiding [...] We have so many questions that he has not answered."
In fact, Scott's behavior changed drastically after his wife's disappearance,
and secrets about his proclivities started coming to light. As reported by People,
"A satellite TV employee testified that 15 days after Laci went missing,
Scott began ordering [...] explicit adult material,
starting with the Playboy Channel and graduating to more hardcore attractions."
However, Scott tried to conceal these subscriptions from investigators, and reportedly
cancelled the X-rated satellite channel right in front of one of the police officers in his house.
When police searched Scott Peterson's car after Laci Peterson's body was discovered,
they found a slew of suspicious and strange items that seemed to
suggest that Scott may have been planning on fleeing the country.
"Is it possible they think you know where she is?"
"I, I think a lot of people believe that."
The search found a rope, knives, four cell phones, and camping supplies. One
of the detectives, Allen Brocchini, told ABC News,
"The guy had like, I don't know, $14,000, $15,000,
cash, he had his brother's ID. Hiking boots and [...] a shovel and [a] fishing pole."
Scott was also in possession of over 200 sleeping pills, a gun,
and a dagger. He also reportedly had a bounty of newly purchased camping equipment in the vehicle.
Even more disturbing, though, was the fact that Scott had a map to the workplace of
his mistress and approximately 10 Viagra tablets in the car.
Scott had also attempted to change his appearance, and had blonde hair at the time of his arrest.
In public, Scott Peterson appeared to be a devastated husband that wanted to locate
his pregnant wife after her disappearance. However, Scott's actions in the lead up to
Laci's disappearance told a very different story. According to ABC News, Scott's alibi
was potentially damaging, as not only did he go fishing the morning of Christmas Eve,
while Laci cooked and cleaned for the brunch they were having the next day,
he was also pretty brazen about his affair prior to his wife's disappearance.
Additionally, there were photos of Scott and his girlfriend Amber Frey attending a Christmas party
together, suggesting that Scott was publicly seeing Frey before his wife went missing. As
reported by CNN, Scott and Amber were photographed at the party together on December 14, 2002, ten
days before Laci went missing. The photographic evidence was even used against Scott in court.
Scott Peterson's legal team attempted to find reasonable doubt that the husband was involved
in Laci Peterson's disappearance and murder. One such avenue that Scott's defense lawyers pursued
was the possibility that Laci had been kidnapped by a satanic cult operating in the area, and that
they also caused her death. While the idea that a satanic cult may have kidnapped the pregnant Laci
Peterson is an unusual alternative, it wasn't very well received in court. As ABC News explained,
"[W]hen the defense first floated the idea that cult followers may have killed Laci Peterson,
some legal analysts described it as offensive [...] And no
physical evidence has been presented to support the defense's satanic claim."
While Amber Frey received a lot of backlash for having gotten involved with a married man who
turned out to be a killer, it would appear as though she had no idea Scott was still married
to Laci Peterson when she started dating him. During the trial, jurors learned that
Scott had lied about being married in order to date Frey and continue his affair with her.
"Scott told me he was not married."
In an interview with Matt Lauer, Amber Frey revealed that Scott had initially told her
that he was single and had never been married. However, a few weeks into their courtship,
on December 9, 2002, Scott lied again when he told Amber that he was a widow,
and regretted lying to her about it. As Amber recalled,
"I didn't feel it was appropriate to pry on how [his wife had died].
Just because he was so emotional, almost like putting salt on a wound."
At the time, Laci was still very much alive,
and Amber had no idea about the extent of Scott's lies.
Scott Peterson lied to Amber Frey about way more than his relationship status. After Laci
Peterson disappeared, Scott's behavior reportedly became more erratic, and Scott began telling Amber
that he was traveling when he was, in fact, still nearby. One of his phone conversations with Amber
took place as friends and loved ones gathered for a candlelight vigil in Laci's honor. Scott,
however, told Amber that he was celebrating New Year's Eve in Paris on a business trip.
One piece of evidence that Scott Peterson's defense team attempted to use to exonerate
the suspect was Scott and Laci's dog. At the time of Laci's disappearance,
Scott claimed that his pregnant wife had been walking their dog, McKenzie, a golden retriever.
McKenzie was discovered by a neighbor, Karen Servas. Servas testified that she saw McKenze
standing in the street with its leash attached but the Petersons nowhere in sight on Christmas Eve
2002, the day Laci went missing. She returned the dog to the Petersons' backyard and shut the gate.
Laci's friends and family have long disputed the narrative that Laci would have walked the dog,
seeing as she was around eight months pregnant and reportedly experiencing fatigue and exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Scott's sister-in-law, Janey Peterson, appeared on Dr. Phil in 2018
and claimed that there's proof that Laci took the dog for a walk. Janey had this to say,
"The mailman signed an affidavit that said if McKenzie was in the
yard or in the house, he would bark at the mailman. And on December 24th,
the mailman came by and McKenzie was not on the property."
One of the most disturbing parts of the case regarding Laci Peterson's death was the state of
the pregnant woman's body upon discovery. After Scott Peterson reported Laci's disappearance on
Christmas Eve 2002, her body wasn't found until almost four months later. The fetus
of Laci's unborn baby was discovered on April 13, 2003, on San Francisco
Bay beach. Laci's remains were discovered approximately a mile away the following day.
Not only were mother and baby found near the location that
Scott had told police he went fishing on the day of Laci's disappearance,
but both corpses had been significantly tampered with or damaged while submerged in water.
The fact that Laci and her baby had likely been underwater for almost four months meant that
both corpses were in a poor condition. Forensic pathologist Dr. Brian Peterson told the jury,
"I was limited by the fact there was so much of [Laci Peterson's] body
absent. [...] There was no heart or lungs to examine because the chest was empty."
It would appear as though Scott Peterson didn't endear himself to the jury during his trial,
meaning that he made a very bad impression with some of the jurors deciding his fate.
The fact that Scott never spoke during his own trial, to defend himself or give evidence,
also impacted the impression the jury developed of the murder suspect,
who was subsequently found guilty of killing his pregnant wife. Juror Michael Belmessieri told CBS,
"Scott Peterson is a cold blooded killer.
He has no remorse [...] treated [his family] like garbage."
Meanwhile, fellow juror Steve Cardosi said,
"I still would have liked to see, I don't know if remorse is the right word [...] He
lost his wife and his child — it didn't seem to faze him. And while that was going
on [...] he is romancing a girlfriend. That doesn't make sense to me. At all."
Juror Greg Beratlis told CBS News that he was particularly impacted by Scott's silence
throughout the trial, which took place over a six month period. Beratlis told the news network,
"Anything — a plea for his life, or just his opinion on everything that went on
in the last two years [...] I would have liked to have heard his voice on that."
Perhaps one of the more damning pieces of evidence in the trial involved cement purchased by Scott
Peterson. During the trial, prosecutors claimed Peterson used the cement to make five anchors, one
of which was found in his boat. Since the other four anchors were not discovered, prosecutors also
alleged that Peterson used the remaining anchors to sink his wife's body in the San Francisco Bay.
The cement was crucial, because Scott had told investigators that he'd purchased a 90-pound bag
of cement to repair his driveway, and had only made one anchor from the cement mix. However,
a prosecution witness testified that the concrete samples taken by police from
Peterson's driveway were not from the same mix as the anchor. Instead it was suggested
that Scott used all of the cement bag to make anchors, and none of it to repair his driveway.
While it's unclear if this is exactly what happened to Laci,
Scott's cement purchase was definitely a strange detail of the case which didn't work in his favor.
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