Saturday marks 20 years since expectant mother Laci Peterson disappeared from the California home she shared with husband Scott, who was later found guilty of her murder.
Peterson, born Laci Denise Rocha, met Scott in San Luis Obispo, and the pair married in 1997. According to reports from the time, friends said they never saw them arguing, and they seemed like a happy couple.
A young child stops to look at a makeshift memorial and a missing person banner offering a $500,000 reward for the safe return of Laci Peterson at the East La Loma Park Jan. 4, 2003, in Modesto, Calif. With the San Francisco skyline in the background, a police boat patrols the waters for signs of missing woman Laci Peterson Jan. 4, 2003, in Berkeley, Calif.Peterson’s head, neck, forearms and a portion of one leg were missing. A pathologist testified at a preliminary hearing that the body’s exposure to saltwater and sea life left investigators unable to determine the cause of her death or what kind of weapon was used, the AP reported.
The Stanislaus County, California, Sheriff's Department released this booking photo of Scott Lee Peterson April 19, 2003. Police ultimately arrested Peterson just days later. By that time, they had received nearly 10,000 tips. Prosecutors later revealed that Peterson had been in the throes of an affair with a woman named Amber Frey, who later came forward and testified against him. Frey testified that she and Peterson had begun dating a month before Laci’s disappearance, when he claimed his wife had died. They argued that Peterson had dumped the victims’ bodies in the San Francisco Bay from his fishing boat.
During his arguments to the court in August, Peterson attorney Cliff Gardner said Nice contradicted herself in multiple statements and later changed her answers to certain questions regarding her personal experiences and feelings. He argued she was inconsistent and uncooperative. In this Dec. 13, 2004, photo, Juror No. 7 Richelle Nice adjusts her hair as members of the jury speak with the media in the Old San Mateo County Courthouse in Redwood City, Calif.
The prosecution said Nice was a single mom who had never been on a jury before this trial and thought it would be a part of her civic duty."She's inconsistent on her answers," he told the court."But being wrong does not necessarily make it false or make her a liar. It just might be that she's really bad at filling out forms."Juror Richelle Nice smiles as she arrives for a hearing for convicted double murderer Scott Peterson at a Redwood City, Calif., courthouse Feb.
Scott Peterson, right, talks with attorney Cliff Gardner during a hearing at the San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City, Calif., Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.
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