CALIFORNIA 2002 Cold Case Solved: Her Husband was her Killer

The Laci Peterson case (Modesto, California, 2002) was closed for twenty years. In 2026, a live court fight over new DNA evidence could reopen this cold case — and reverse a conviction everyone assumed was final. In December 2002, eight-months-pregnant Laci Peterson vanished from Modesto, California on Christmas Eve. Her husband, Scott Peterson, said he'd been fishing alone — but months later, her body and their unborn son's were found near the exact marina he named. He was convicted of murder in 2004 and remains in prison today. Current status: Scott Peterson is serving life without parole at Mule Creek State Prison. The Los Angeles Innocence Project is appealing a denied habeas petition to a higher California court, and a separate juror-misconduct petition is pending before the California Supreme Court — either could reopen the door to a new trial. New DNA testing has also been authorized on a piece of duct tape recovered during Laci's autopsy. Scott Peterson's family continues to offer a $250,000 reward for information leading to who they call the "real killer." Anyone with information relevant to the case can contact the Los Angeles Innocence Project directly through their office. This unsolved-in-part true crime cold case out of Modesto, California is one most people think ended in 2004. It didn't. If you follow cases like this one, where the legal fight keeps outliving the headlines, subscribe — every episode on this channel tracks a case from what happened then to what's actually happening in court right now. Chapters: 0:00 Cold Open — The Piece of Tape 1:30 Christmas Eve, 2002 5:30 The Phone Call That Changed the Case 9:00 What the Bay Gave Back 15:00 The Case That Wouldn't Stay Closed 21:00 Where This Stands Today