A&E’s new two-part docuseries Scott Peterson: The New Evidence breaks down the Modesto Police Department’s investigation after pregnant Laci Peterson went missing in December 2002. While her husband, Scott Peterson, was found guilty of killing her and their unborn son, Conner, many people have speculated that police botched the investigation and wrongly convicted Scott of the murders. Ahead of the docuseries’ premiere, legal expert Chris Pixley exclusively spoke to Us about the mistakes the Modesto Police Department may have made during the investigation.
After the Los Angeles Innocence Project took on Scott’s case in 2024, the group argued that the Modesto Police Department covered up details of the investigation and didn’t follow specific leads. Pixley worked with independent experts to confirm the LAIP’s suspicions in The New Evidence, as well as interviewed eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen Laci on the day she disappeared.
“What the Modesto police did here is they actively chose not to investigate the statements of the eyewitnesses. They simply didn’t follow up with the vast majority of them, and it wasn’t like we’re talking about one or two witnesses with 1000s of phone calls coming in,” Pixley told Us. “We’re talking about dozens of witnesses, whom they actively chose to dismiss.”
Police believe that Scott, 53, killed Laci on the morning of December 24, 2002, took her body to the Berkeley Marina and dumped it there. However, several witnesses claimed that they saw Laci, 27, walking their dog after Scott had left for his boat outing that day.
Despite the witnesses saying they saw Laci, Pixley said that the officers didn’t follow the leads because they “were caught up in their own confirmation bias” and believed Scott was guilty from the very beginning.
Pixley also pointed out that officers destroyed the evidence from a burglary that took place across the street around the time Laci disappeared. After Steven Todd and Donald Pearce pleaded guilty to robbing the Petersons’ neighbor’s home, police got rid of all evidence that could have linked the burglars to Laci’s death.
“I believe that if you are making the decision to destroy all of the evidence immediately after you got a plea with two criminals relating to a crime that occurred across the street from this famous and actively investigated missing person case, I think you know what you’re doing,” Pixley said. “I think you’re destroying that because it’s inconvenient to your theory.”
Pixley went on to note that the burglary was the “most obvious oversight” in the investigation.
The LAIP argued that a mattress with blood stains was found in a burned van linked to the robbery in the Airport District the day after Laci went missing. Pixley said that while the “fire investigation was identified as potentially being related to the case number for Laci Peterson’s missing person case,” it was never “investigated” by police.
“The case was closed. The evidence was destroyed. Those are egregious oversights,” Pixley said.
Laci and Conner’s bodies were found in April 2003, and Scott was arrested soon after. Scott was found guilty of first-degree murder in Laci’s death and second-degree murder in Conner’s death in November 2004 and was originally sentenced to death. However, he was later resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2021 due to juror misconduct claims.
Part 1 of Scott Peterson: The New Evidence premieres on A&E on Thursday, July 16, at 9 p.m., followed by part 2 will on Friday, July 17, at 8 p.m.
