A&E’s two part docuseries Scott Peterson: The New Evidence breaks down mistakes made by the Modesto Police Department when they investigated pregnant Laci Peterson’s disappearance. In part 1, legal expert Chris Pixley broke down how the Los Angeles Innocence Project’s arguments that police always believed Laci’s husband, Scott Peterson, was guilty for the murder. Part 2 continued to look into how police may have botched the investigation, leading to Scott being arrested and found guilty of Laci and their unborn son Conner’s death.
Keep reading to find out the biggest bombshells made in Scott Peterson: The New Evidence following its Friday, July 17, premiere.
Inside the Burglary That Took Place When Laci Peterson Went Missing
The LAIP has theorized that the burglary that took place at the home of Laci and Scott’s neighbors, the Medinas’, was linked to her death.
Steven Todd and Donald Pearce burglarized the Medinas’ home after the family left to go out of town at 10:30 a.m. on December 24, 2002. Meanwhile, Scott left to go on a boat ride at 10:08 a.m.
The exact date of the robbery has never been confirmed, but the state claimed it took place on December 26, 2002.
“I think what happened was the Modesto police changed the date of the burglary because it certainly would’ve undercut their theory on Scott,” Scott’s former defense attorney, Mark Geragos, said. “Because if it has happened on the 24th, it’s the definition of reasonable doubt.”
Pixley said that the “LAIP had found nine new witnesses only identified by their initials” who connected Laci’s “disappearance to the burglars.” He said that the findings “only further reinforces the fact that the police should’ve been investigating the burglary as related to Laci’s disappearance.”
Former Detective Ninette Toosbuy said that it was “investigatively negligent” for officers to not look into the robbery. “I believe that the reason they were dismissive or ignored the Medina burglary is they felt, at that time, reasonably sure that they knew what had happened,” Toosbuy said of police.
Pixley also shared that two neighbors reported they believed their homes were being scoped out for burglaries on December 23, making it likely they would have robbed the home the following day.
Witnesses Claimed They Saw Laci Peterson With the Burglars
The LAIP believes that Laci confronted the burglars when she saw the robbery happening and they killed her. Additionally, seven witnesses saw the suspicious van driven by the burglars on the day that she disappeared, but police never investigated it. One witness recalled seeing a pregnant woman being pushed into the van by a man who appeared homeless.
An emotional moment in the docuseries took place when Pixley called eyewitness Diane Jackson, who told Pixley she called police about seeing the van outside of the Medinas’ home. She added that she believes Scott didn’t commit the murder because it’s extremely unlikely that he killed Laci when the burglary was happening at the same time.
Police Found Burning Van 1 Day After Laci Peterson’s Disappearance
A burning van was found by police in an alleyway a mile and a half from the Petersons’ home on Christmas day in 2002.
“That van fire was investigated and ultimately that investigation was closed without [being connected] in any way to the Peterson case,” Pixley said. “The Los Angeles Innocence Project is arguing that the van fire should’ve been viewed as being potentially related to Laci Peterson’s disappearance. That it should’ve been viewed as related or potentially related to the Medina burglary and that the van fire, along with the Medina burglary, should have been investigated as part of Laci Peterson’s missing person case but was not.”
A stain was found on a mattress in the van, which the state tested and claimed it wasn’t blood. However, one test found potential traces of male DNA and could not rule out the presence of female DNA.
Scent Dogs Were Used to Track Laci Peterson’s Scent During the Investigation
Scent dogs were used to search the area near where Laci disappeared, and police claimed that a dog picked up her scent in the Airport District.
Pixley spoke to forensic evidence expert Maneek Sinha, who said she believes there was potential cross contamination when the dogs were trying to find Laci. One handler accidentally gave a dog one of Scott’s slippers instead of Laci’s, which could have confused the dog.
Sinha added that “there are a number of wrong convictions based on dog scent evidence” and that “jurors view dog scent evidence the same way they view other evidence.”
Despite potentially not being 100 percent correct, Pixley said the dog scent evidence was some of the only forensic evidence presented by prosecutors during the trial.
Police Allegedly ‘Destroyed’ Evidence in Laci Peterson’s Case
The LAIP believes that police “suppressed and destroyed evidence” during the investigation, specifically when it came to the evidence from the Medina burglary.
Toosbuy noted that the evidence was destroyed as the investigation into Laci’s disappearance continued, and she called “the timing of the destruction suspicious.”
Another example of police not following through with a lead was when corrections officer Xavier Aponte called in a tip that an inmate was discussing the burglary in 2003.
“The information he had connected the Laci Peterson case with the Medina burglary. At the correctional facility, dorm officers moderated and recorded all the inmate phone calls. One of the officers brought a recording of the call to the attention of Lt. Aponte, who immediately called the tip line to report it,” Pixley said. “The recording was of a conversation between inmate Shawn Tenbrink and his brother Adam Tenbrink. Both of whom were associated with the airport district and the Medina burglars.”
While discussing Laci, Adam said he “heard that Laci had seen Steven Todd and his coconspirators committing the burglary and they made some sort of verbal threat to Laci.”
The defense did not have any of this information during the trial, and police kept no record of Aponte’s report.
Inside the Timing of Conner Peterson’s Death
Dr. Greggory DeVore testified during the trial that Conner died on the same day that Laci went missing based on studies from 1984. However, the LAIP doctor used more recent studies to determine that Conner likely died some time between December 28, 2002, and January 5, 2003.
Pixley said that the new discovery “completely contradicts the state’s timeline.”
“If Conner Peterson died at any point after December 24, Scott Peterson is not involved in that death because from that date forward, he was under constant surveillance, he was the suspect in the case and he was being followed by the media,” Pixley said.
The LAIP Is Critical of the District Attorney’s Office
Not only does the LAIP question how Modesto police handled the investigation, but the group is also critical of the DA’s office.
“They’re arguing the prosecutor’s office in Stanislaus County has engaged in a pattern of conduct where they have routinely abused the constitutional rights of the defendants. And just last year, a landmark settlement caused their conduct into question,” Pixley said.
The docuseries explained that Frank Carson sued Stanislaus County after well-known meth addict Korey Kauffman stole items from his property. Kauffman later went missing, and authorities went after Carson.
“Frank Carson was quite controversial to the DA’s office. He was a very aggressive defense attorney. He was well-known and much disliked by all law enforcement people, but particularly the DA’s office and by the DA herself,” Carson’s attorney Gary Gwilliam said of Birgit Fladager, who was also involved in Scott’s case.
Carson went to jail after he was accused of masterminding the murder plot despite no forensic evidence tying him to the case. The case eventually went to trial in 2019 and he was found not guilty of all charges.
“This was a DA that I believe was corrupt,” Gwiliam said.
Following Carson’s arrest, his legal team filed a massive civil rights and malicious prosecution lawsuit against Stanislaus County. However, Carson died before he could get justice and he ultimately won $22.5 million in settlement payout.
“If a DA’s willing to prosecute an attorney that they dislike, then it’s not much of a step to say that they will happily prosecute someone like Scott Peterson,” Pixley said.
Inside Laci Peterson’s Final Day
Laci’s last known contact was during a phone call with her mother on the night of December 23, 2002.
“It’s plausible to believe that Laci was with the dog sometime immediately prior to 10:18 a.m. Karen Servas found Scott and Laci’s dog wandering in the street with its leash on around 10:18 and she placed the dog behind the gate of their home,” Pixley recapped. “At some point, Laci Peterson took her dog for a walk. There are 15 eyewitnesses that see Laci walking her dog after the time Scott Peterson has left for the Berkeley Marina.”
Pixley went on to reiterate the version of events of what the LAIP thinks is what happened.
“Laci returns home, sees a suspicious van across the street and goes over to see what’s going on. Laci Peterson confronted career criminals who are engaged in the burglary of her neighbors’ home, whether it was intentional, whether it was an accident that brought harm to her,” he said. “If you’re committing a burglary that is a felony, you know that that’s a crime that’s gonna put you in prison and some nosy neighbor comes along and you can’t shut her up, you may very well trundle her into the back of your van to get her out of the way. Now that you’re ready to leave the crime scene and she’s seen you, what do we do with this nosy, loud lady?”
