More than 20 years after her disappearance shocked a nation, the murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn child, Connor, is revisited in Netflix’s American Murder: Laci Peterson.
The three-part documentary series follows the case from the moment Laci, who was eight months pregnant, went missing as her family and law enforcement desperately tried to find her. A tireless search ended in tragedy when the bodies of Laci and her son washed ashore months later. Laci’s husband, Scott Peterson, became the prime suspect after his affair with Amber Frey was exposed, and he was later convicted of murdering Laci and their son. After two decades, Scott maintains his innocence.
In a rare new interview, Amber speaks out in the documentary to shed insight on her relationship with Scott and how the trial impacted her. Laci’s mom, Sharon Rocha, and Laci’s friends also reveals new details about Scott.
Scroll down to find out the six most shocking revelations from American Murder: Laci Peterson.
Scott joked during the search for Laci
In the immediate aftermath of Laci’s disappearance, Scott joined Laci’s friends to search for her. Laci’s friend admitted that “he would joke” and “laugh” on the search for his missing wife, who was eight months pregnant.
Laci’s mom confronted Scott during the initial search
During the search for Laci in the days after her disappearance, Sharon Rocha said Scott was always “busy” when she wanted to speak with him. At the volunteer center, Sharon “grabbed” Scott’s arm and pulled him aside. “I asked him to tell me what happened Christmas Eve morning, and he didn’t have a lot to say about that.”
When she questioned him about the boat he bought weeks before Laci’s disappearance, he claimed that he was going to surprise Ron, Laci’s stepfather. She also asked why he refused to take the polygraph test, and Scott told her that he was “too upset” to take it.
Scott’s sister believes burglars were responsible for Laci’s disappearance
When Laci and Scott’s neighbors returned to their house after Laci’s disappearance, they realized they’d been robbed. This prompted speculation that this robbery could be connect to Laci. Steven Todd and Donald Pierce, who owned up to the burglary, had alibis for the day Laci went missing, so the robbery was unrelated. Detectives noted that not one piece of property found in connection with the robbery was connected to Laci.
Scott’s sister, Susan Caudillo, maintains that the robbery was connected to what happened to Laci. “I believe they were responsible or an incident involving Laci at that house,” she said.
Amber Frey breaks down the timeline of Scott Peterson’s affair
Amber called the police on December 30 after learning of Laci’s disappearance and told them that she had been dating Scott. They met in November 2002 and were set up by a friend who said Scott was “looking to meet the one.” They began talking on the phone before entering into a romantic relationship. She rejected the “mistress” moniker she was given because she didn’t know Scott was married when they dated.
When Amber asked about marriage, Scott denied being married. As for kids, Amber recalled Scott telling her, “I believe he said Ayiana [her daughter] would be enough for him.” Amber invited him to a holiday party, which he attended with her, while pregnant Laci went to a friend’s gathering alone.
A man who worked for Scott ran into Amber’s friend, the same one who introduced Scott to Amber, and revealed Scott was married. After being confronted by her friend, Scott called Amber and confessed to lying about being married. Amber said Scott claimed “he’d lost his wife, and it’d be the first holidays without him.” The date he called Amber was December 9, the same day he bought his boat.
“I found very little innocence in his behavior,” Amber said in the documentary. Police asked to listen in on her phone calls with Scott, and she agreed. He told her that he was spending Thanksgiving with family in Alaska, Christmas in Maine, and New Year’s in Paris. When he called her on New Year’s, claiming to be in Paris, Scott was actually at a candlelight vigil for Laci. “Amber, I miss you. I’ll see you soon,” Scott said on this phone call.
Amber’s phone calls with Scott continued, and he eventually opened up about Laci’s disappearance. Amber brought up Scott mentioning that he’d lost his wife before her disappearance. “How did you lose her before she was lost?” Amber asked. He replied, “There are different kinds of loss.”
Scott’s sister, Susan Gaudillo, summed up his relationship with Amber like this: “I think he wanted a sexual relationship with someone who was willing, and I never felt that it ever had anything to do with Laci’s disappearance.”
Laci’s friends thanked Amber for coming forward
When Amber gave a press conference about her relationship with Scott, Laci’s closest friends Lori, Rene, and Stacey thanked her for her bravery.
“It wasn’t her choice to be thrown into that position, so we just wanted to thank her for coming forward,” Lori said in the documentary. “At that point, it solicited everything in our mind that Scott was responsible for what happened to Laci.”
Scott’s In-N-Out ‘red flag’
After Scott was arrested in the San Diego area, 30 miles from the Mexican border, the detectives had to drive him back to Modesto. During the car ride, detectives learned that the DNA positively identified Laci and Connor’s bodies. Scott shed a tear, but he didn’t say anything after the detectives told him the news.
The detectives decided to stop at In-N-Out for good, and Scott casually ordered “a double double with cheese, fries, and small vanilla shake.” Detective Jon Buehler said that Scott’s behavior was an “enormous red flag.”
Amber had ‘no idea’ her phone calls with Scott would be played in court
Amber’s testimony during the trial was a game-changer. “When I first sat on the stand, I wasn’t just sitting there alone, but I was sitting there for Laci and her unborn child,” she said in the documentary. She was stunned when her recorded voice calls with Scott were played in court.
“I had no idea that those were going to be played publicly for other people to hear. People were hearing conversations that I thought were only meant for the police department and possibly attorneys but not everyone, meaning pretty much anyone in the world. That was a little hard,” Amber admitted.
American Murder: Laci Peterson, Streaming Now, Netflix