Twenty years after being convicted of murdering his wife and unborn child, Scott Peterson hopes further DNA testing of the evidence will allow him to be retried, but a former California prosecutor with knowledge of the case says that’s “unlikely.”
In an order filed July 24, the judge ruled that a 15.5-inch piece of duct tape recovered from Laci Peterson’s pants during her April 13, 2003, autopsy must be subjected to DNA testing.
Pure Gold Forensics, Inc. will be testing the tapes, along with the more than a dozen pieces of physical evidence that the judge has authorized to be tested. The order also states that “DNA testing shall be conducted within 45 days of this order, or as soon as practicable.”
The LA Innocence Project, which provides legal representation to exonerate wrongfully convicted people, announced earlier this year that it was taking over Peterson’s case. On August 20, Peterson will speak out for the first time since his conviction in a new Peacock documentary, “Face to Face with Scott Peterson.”
Peterson’s defense team successfully overturned his death sentence and replaced it with a life sentence, but he has unsuccessfully tried multiple times to appeal his conviction.
Prosecutors disagreed with the latest appeal, which was covered by the LA Innocence Project, and in May filed 337 pages of court papers opposing the motion for DNA testing.
Neama Rahamani, a leading lawyer at West Coast Trial Lawyers, said although the judge approved additional DNA testing, it was “unlikely” the 51-year-old would get a new trial.
Lahamani explained that other people’s DNA would likely be found on the duct tape and other evidence.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Peterson’s sister-in-law, Jenny Peterson, who will appear in the Peacock documentary, believes Lacey was involved in the fatal confrontation with the robbers after witnessing them committing the crime across the street from their Modesto home and confronting them.
Laci disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002, and her body washed up in San Francisco Bay a few months later, not far from that of her unborn son, Connor. Two strands of Laci’s hair, taken with pliers found on Peterson’s boat, became key evidence in convicting Peterson of murder.
Police allege Peterson used a boat to dispose of her body.
Peterson claimed he was fishing in the bay on the day Lacie went missing, not far from where her badly decomposed body washed up on shore.
“Peterson admitted to fishing. [near] “Given where the body was found, what are the chances that that is, unless he is the unluckiest man in the world?” Rahamani told Fox News Digital.
“Lacey is out fishing and encounters thieves. They kill her, somehow find out where Scott Peterson is and dump his body 100 miles away where he happens to be fishing. Anything is possible, but I think it’s highly unlikely,” he continued.
At the time of his wife’s disappearance, Peterson, who was 30 at the time, was having an affair with massage therapist Amber Frey.
“A lot of it was, ‘Are his actions the actions of someone who’s lost his wife and unborn child?'” Lahamani said of the case. “When his wife disappeared, he showed no remorse, he didn’t cooperate with the search, he wasn’t on any of the footage. He tried to get out of his marriage, he had an affair, he was racking up debt. I think there’s a lot of evidence that implicates Scott Peterson.”
That being said, for the L.A. Innocence Project to take on Peterson’s case, “we have to believe there’s something here,” Lahamani said.
The LA Innocence Project did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but released the following statement earlier this year:
“The Los Angeles Innocence Project filed a motion in January asking the court to allow further discovery and new DNA testing to support Mr. Peterson’s claim of innocence. … We do not comment on motions and will continue to present our case in court where it must be adjudicated.”
Rahmani also said Peterson’s lawyers “still believe he is innocent.”
“I’m not saying it’s possible that Scott Peterson was wrongfully convicted,” he acknowledged.[But] There is a mountain of circumstantial evidence.”
Rahmani also said an upcoming Peacock documentary could tilt public opinion in Peterson’s favor.
“PR is very important,” he said. “Scott Peterson has been one of the most hated men in the country for a while…” [But] Public opinion could bring about change either way. [the documentary] It could tip the scales in his favor.”
“R. Kelly fell from grace because of a documentary, Britney Spears got released from probation because of a documentary,” Rahmani continued. “The court of public opinion is very important. Every prosecutor in this country is either elected or appointed by someone who is elected.”
