Scott Peterson faced a new hurdle this week in his bid to be retried for the 2002 murder of his pregnant wife, Laci Petersonafter claiming that new evidence proved him innocent, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Since his 2004 conviction in prison, Peterson has been serving a life sentence without parole for the murder of 27-year-old Laci and their unborn son. Conner. Laci was eight months pregnant when she was killed, and the local medical examiner was unable to determine the cause of death due to the condition of her body when it was found in San Francisco Bay, a mile away from her son’s fetus.
Peterson was arrested days after her body was found and initially sentenced to death, but a court sentenced him to life in prison without parole in 2021.
As RadarOnline.com reported, the Los Angeles Innocence Project took on the infamous case last January, claiming that new evidence supported the defendant’s long-standing denial of guilt. The nonprofit also argued that its constitutional rights were violated during the first trial.
After his legal team requested that more than a dozen pieces of evidence be retested for DNA, the San Mateo County judge said Elizabeth M. Hill ruled this week in a crucial development that only a single item would be reanalyzed: a piece of duct tape found near Laci’s body, The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
The 18-inch piece of tape was stuck to the right leg of Laci’s pants, and a DNA test in 2013 yielded inconclusive results. Peterson’s attorneys noted that “a portion of the duct tape that was folded on itself underwent DNA testing and the presence of human DNA was found, but no DNA profile could be obtained.”
But Judge Hill said in her ruling that technological advances can provide new information, calling it a “no-brainer.”
During the first trial, Scott’s attorney said, Mark Geragos, suggested that Laci’s death may have been related to a burglary near the couple’s home in Modesto. Peterson’s attorneys alleged that a blood-stained mattress was found in a burned-out stolen van used in the burglary.
The LA Innocence Project urged the court to allow DNA testing of the mattress, claiming the van’s owner said it had not been in the vehicle before it was stolen. The judge denied this request, arguing that testing the item in 2012 yielded no results.
The court will discuss how it will order the new evidence to be reanalyzed at a hearing in July.
