The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office in California responded this week to a request for more DNA testing in Scott Peterson’s case, which could lead to a new trial.
They wrote a 500-page document to argue against the request for more DNA testing on 14 items from Laci Peterson’s 2002 murder investigation.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the nonprofit organization argued that Peterson’s rights were violated during his 2004 murder trial, claiming crucial evidence proving was withheld.
The L.A. Innocence Project wants to retest 14 items including items from a burned van, a Target shopping bag with duct tape, a tarp, a glove, and a hammer.
According to The Modesto Bee, most of the defense’s requests stem from a theory that Laci was kidnapped and killed by someone other than Peterson. The L.A. Innocence Project highlighted a burned van, which was located within proximity of Petersons’ Modesto residence and around the time of Laci’s disappearance.
The defense believes Laci was kidnapped and killed by someone else and highlighted a burned van near Peterson’s home. They want more DNA testing on the van and argued that it was linked to Laci's disappearance.
The DA believes the defense is on a fishing expedition with their DNA requests, especially for testing on a stolen orange van which was never connected to the Peterson case. They argue that the DNA testing already done on the van does not match Laci. They see it as a fishing expedition.
“In light of the overwhelming evidence that supports the defendant’s conviction, his failure to establish a chain of custody for several of these items — let alone actual evidence that the items even exist — and the prior fruitless DNA testing that has already been done, the People ask this Court to deny defendant’s motion forthwith.”
Laci, 27, vanished on Christmas Eve 2002 — a month before she was due to give birth. Prosecutors said Scott Peterson strangled or suffocated his pregnant wife before wrapping her in a tarp, fastening her to anchors, and dropping her in the San Francisco Bay.
Scott Peterson — who claimed he was fishing in Berkeley when his pregnant wife vanished — was ultimately arrested in San Diego County with $15,000 in cash in his possession.
Scott Peterson was sentenced to death in 2004, but the California Supreme Court overturned his death sentence in 2020.
There were also problems with unfair behavior after a victim of domestic violence was placed on the jury.
In 2021, Scott Peterson was given a new life sentence in prison with no chance of parole for the murders. Later that year, a judge rejected his attempt for a new trial.
[Featured image: FILE – Pictures of Laci Peterson are placed at a memorial outside the home of Scott and Laci Peterson, Sunday, April 20, 2003 in Modesto, Calif. A California judge has rejected a new murder trial for Scott Peterson. The decision Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, comes nearly 20 years after Peterson was charged with dumping the bodies of his pregnant wife, Laci, and the unborn child they planned to name Conner into San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)]