The Murder of Laci & Conner Peterson
Laci Denise Peterson was allegedly seen last on the morning of December 24, 2002. It depends on which side of the fence you sit on in this widely publicized media frenzy that was the Laci Peterson case. I remember being about thirteen years old, staring at the TV almost in a trance watching the coverage unfold.
There was this beautiful woman with a large pregnant belly and a beautiful smile spread across her face and she was missing *poof* into thin air. I vividly see my mom standing in front of the television set with the remote pressed to her chin and her hands folded in front of her. The coverage was endless. This woman disappeared on Christmas Eve of all days - so tragic - with her first child on the way. To me it felt like a race against the clock - would she be found safe and alive before giving birth? Would she be okay? Would the baby be okay? This is the first case I remember being aware of and following to some extent. This was the case that piqued my interest in True Crime.
I remember seeing Scott on the TV and saying, “I don’t think he did it, do you?” to my mom, to which she replied, “Of course he did. I think he did.”
This case was so difficult to really feel into with all of the information that is out there - and this being one of my favorite (I know that doesn't sound right) cases, I already know a lot of “facts,” about this one. However, I sat for hours in the energy of Laci, of asking her to come forward to speak with me, to let others know her truth so that anyone who was ready to receive it would. When I asked her point-blank if Scott killed her, her answer came quickly - almost before I even let the thought finish in my head - she answered.
And so the story goes, on the morning of December 24, 2002, Scott Peterson headed out to the Berkeley Marina to go fishing. Laci was at home preparing for a Christmas party later that evening that would be at her mother’s house. On his way home, he called her and left a voicemail on her cell phone saying that he wasn’t going to be able to stop and pick up the gift for “Papa,” could she do it for him, that he loved her and he’d see her soon.
Sometime later on in that morning, Laci & Scott’s neighbor noticed their golden retriever, Mackenzie, was loose in the front yard which evidently wasn’t too unusual, but being a good neighbor, she stuck Mackenzie in the backyard and hurriedly rushed off to wherever she was headed. When Scott came home later, he found Mackenzie in the backyard with her leash on, which was muddy, and noticed that Laci’s vehicle was still in the driveway. He assumed that maybe her mom had come by to pick her up and they were running errands or she was over there, and so he hopped in the shower and then started a load of laundry. After this, he thought you know, this is kind of strange, where is she? So he called her mom’s house, Sharon Rocha, and asked to talk to Laci. When she told him Laci wasn’t there, he started to worry. Scott went out to look for her and his father-in-law, Laci’s step-dad, called the police to report her missing. At the time, Scott theorized that she had gone down to the park and maybe she had been abducted. It was weird that the dog would be there and not Laci - and with the leash on at that.
Now look, I want to say this only because it drives me crazy to hear and see this statement all over the place. So many people say, how could he go fishing when his wife was 8 months pregnant. I’m so sorry and maybe I’ll catch heat for this, but why shouldn’t he? I mean, unless she was suffering from some sort of complications - he didn’t need to be by her side every waking moment. I certainly loved and relished my space when I was pregnant. I don’t think this is so crazy at all. A lot of people point to it being weird that he dumped a bucket of mop water when he got home that she had supposedly been cleaning or was supposed to clean with. Again, being 8 months pregnant, maybe it was standard practice for her to leave it there for him to dump so she didn’t have to bend over to do so herself. Again, every pregnant person and every pregnancy is different, but truthfully, there wasn’t much I didn’t do up until giving birth - so none of this seems odd to me - especially if she was as independent as everyone claims she was. Anyway, it also doesn’t seem that weird to me that he’s going fishing on Christmas Eve. Not everyone has all-day scheduled activities on the holidays. Christmas Eve in our family was pretty dull and uneventful - so it was almost as if it were any other day. Again, if she was home preparing for a party - it could also very well be that it was easier to prepare without him. I’m just saying - when we prep for anything in my house - I prefer my husband gets the kids out of the way and I get it all done so it’s down how I like it - maybe she was the same way. Let’s not judge and invent facts - let’s take what actually have.
Ok, back to the details -
Scott went looking for her while her step-dad was on the phone with the police on the 24th and then on the 26th of December, police searched the Peterson home. I imagine this is something that would be done regardless of any circumstances. The significant other is always the first to be looked at and must be ruled out if they had nothing to do with it. Regardless, during this time, it had already been announced to the media that Scott had been fishing in Berkeley Marina. So on December 28th when investigators search the marina for the first time, people already have it decided that this aloof, arrogant man had killed his wife and unborn child. His guilt was decided before he was ever even named a suspect. BUT, we shall continue, because it’s not what I think of how the case unfolded in the media, it’s what I see as a psychic medium in communication with Laci and the energy of the event.
Y’all are getting an abridged version of events as well because we could spend hours upon hours dissecting this case.
However, on December 31, 2002, the town of Modesto held a public candlelight vigil for Laci and Conner. Scott declined to speak at this vigil, but even more importantly, he is on the phone with his lover, Ambery Frey, during his missing wife’s vigil!!! Amber had already gone to the police when she learned of what was going on in a news article nonetheless, and told them who she was and about the affair, how she never knew he was married, thought his wife was dead (because that’s essentially what he told her), and how she wanted to help them find Laci and Conner because like a mother, it wasn’t about her anymore, it was about this mother and her unborn child. Scott had also told her he didn’t even want children, but the fact that she had one was fine. So at this vigil, Scott is recorded telling Amber that he is in PARIS, FRANCE AT THE EIFFEL TOWER CELEBRATING THE NEW YEAR! WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL? SOCIOPATH!!! I believe there is a special place in hell for men who cheat on their pregnant wives, but I digress. Anyway, he tells Amber that he’s having a great time in Paris and can’t wait to see her, yada yada yada. Gross. He declines to speak at the vigil but has no problem speaking to his lover. Now, there’s talk of photos of him smiling and looking like he’s having a great time, and I have to defend him here again and say that one of those photos is with his niece and if kids are trying to cheer you up or are saying something sweet, of course, you’re going to smile. Don’t be a dick. Let’s grill him where he deserves it, but this one I’ll give him.
Moving on, Scott never gets too worked up and is pretty casual with the police. He even agrees on the first day of interviews, to take a polygraph, but then after talking to his family, he later declines the polygraph. What do I feel about this? A polygraph is something there’s a lot of conflicting advice on. I think he was advised not to take one and thus didn’t. I also feel that he was in the middle of a giant fucking lie. All they had to do was ask again if Laci and Scott were having marital problems, and his answer of “No…” would be a lie. So why would he take a test?
He did have something to hide. .. but was it murder or infidelity? Both?
Telling his lover that his wife was gone and this would be his first Christmas without her - well time for another psychic soapbox… I believe that Scott is a sex addict. Google a bit about all of the porn he rented/bought/whatever right after all of this started. He was stressed AF - so of course, he went straight to what soothed him - porn/sex. The way he speaks to Amber and Laci - it almost sounds like a show that’s put on, right? This is him in active addiction. Again, I might catch some grief for this - and I’m obviously not a doctor, but this is what I feel. It’s not shocking to me at all that he would grab porn, in the same way, a smoker smoke more, go back to smoking, a drinker would likely drink more, a gambler would gamble more. This feels to me like addictive behavior - and I say that intuitively, and you’re free to agree or disagree with me.
His sex addiction could also be why he went around Laci’s back to have an affair and when he said that she, “knew about it,” it’s not entirely impossible. She had some sense of something going on - and I believe that prior to her death, she had known about it. I also believe this isn’t something she told anyone about - hello guilt and shame. All in all, I also believe this is why Scott was going fishing - erratic behavior. She did not know who the other woman was but did know that there was someone. Furthermore, this is all part of his sexual fantasy and storyline that he’s created in his head - like he’s living in his lie so deeply that he believes it. When he’s interviewed and says that his affair wouldn’t break them up - he meant that because he believed that. Intuitively, I believe she would have left him not long after Conner was born.
Ok - so in mid-January, Scott leads a search for his wife in LA - obviously, she doesn’t turn up. Claims are alleged that he was going to sell the house and sold her car - doesn't look good for Scott at all. I agree. In March of 2003, detectives officially declared Laci’s case a homicide.
On April 13, 2003, Conner’s body was found and the next day on April 14th, Laci’s headless body was found. Her head and parts of her limbs were missing (likely from where her body was tied to anchor her down to the bottom of the SanFrancisco Bay). Their bodies were found not far from where Scott had said he had been fishing the day of her disappearance.
Wow. That’s a lot, right? Again, if you want more details on this case, please go watch any of the documentaries that I’ll link in the show notes as well as listen to any podcasts that I will also provide. This case has too many twists, turns, and theories to go down all of the rabbit holes.
Here’s what I see. I’ll admit from the top, that it doesn’t necessarily make sense - and that’s super frustrating to me. When I asked Laci, “Did Scott kill you?” I very distinctly and quickly heard, “NO!” The answer was so clear and so adamant, and truly took me by surprise because I can only tell you what I see. Remember, this is the story of Laci and Conner’s death. This is not Scott Peterson’s trial - which I do believe was unfair, but don’t get me wrong, he’s still a total creep and terrible husband.
Scott kisses Laci on the back of the head, she doesn’t turn around for it - I do still believe that she’s mad at him for the affair, but they did intend on working through it if they could. He left to go fishing, he may have wanted to go golfing - he was up to his eyeballs in an affair where he was so wrapped up in his sex addiction, he wanted to have his cake and eat it too. So when he says, “I went fishing because it was too cold to go golfing,” he is literally thinking like “ugh fuhhhck, I’m about to get caught and no one is going to believe me.” I mean, come on! Everyone’s speculating about how a doting, loving, healthy, husband would respond, not someone who was having an affair on his pregnant wife. Nope.
He kisses her on the back of the head while she’s baking in the kitchen. I can see her in lounge clothes, PJ’s something like that. She’s wrapping up some things for her mom’s party that night and she washes up, puts the leash on the dog, and walks out the gate. At that point, the dark gray van is sitting just up the street from her house, they (I see three men) grab her and force her into the van. This is the thing - this happens so quickly, no one sees it. She drops the dog’s leash and any barking or carrying on sounds like normal neighborhood noise. So when Scott returns home and the leash is so muddy - yea - Mackenzie was jumping around on her leash, walking around, dragging it on the ground so of course, it was dirty. Do you have a dog? Have you ever dropped their leash while it was still on them - if the dog is as energetic as mine is, that leash gets dirty fast. Not weird. What’s more interesting is that people want to talk about how there was just not enough time for her to go missing - yes there was because this happened just after Scott left. He said goodbye, she was upset with him, he walked out the door and she followed soon after to walk Mackenzie.
The men in the van take her to a second location. It seems to me that they were looking for a specific person and they possibly took the wrong one. I don’t believe this was tied to the burglary across the street, nor did Scott have anything to do with it. I see them bringing her to that second location where there is also a woman. It’s either three men and a woman or two men and a woman, I’m not sure which. However, she was alive for a few days after her abduction. Once they grabbed her and she insisted she wasn’t who they were looking for, I think they had to kill her. I know this sounds Hollywood and crazy, but the media made it so easy for them to get away with it. They literally left her body exactly where Scott said he had been. I also believe that they had dumped her after January 1st. I hear January 3rd, but if you’ve ever had a private reading with me, you know I won’t sign my name to a definite date. I also believe Scott was trying to cover for Amber and keep her and her daughter out of the media. I think his flat affect was exactly that. He’s aloof, he’s a narcissist, and he was a terrible husband. I believe he had multiple affairs, and I believe he would have eventually ditched Amber and moved onto someone else. So long as Laci kept forgiving him, he would have stuck around.
Laci was eventually killed and taken out on a much larger boat off of a private slip and dumped in the water exactly where Scott had been. Scott didn’t do it. I know I’m going to catch some slack for this, but he didn’t.
Is he a creep? Yup. I think he’s likely a sex/porn addict. Scott deserves punishment for cheating on his pregnant wife, multiple times, but he didn’t murder her. I do believe he will be exonerated eventually.
I didn’t talk about him running for the border or changing his hair or anything - so many people say if you have nothing to hide, why would you run? Well come on, there was no way he was going to be found innocent. He knew that and his family knew that. He looked guilty and for a fair reason, but ultimately all of his behavior while suspicious, was not and is not connected to the murder of Laci and Conner Peterson. That’s my final insight. I can’t wait to hear from my listeners on this one!!!
Sources:
Laci-peterson-disappearance-149648
True Crime Garage - Laci Peterson Parts 1 & 2
