Nearly 20 years since Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, two new documentary series have brought the high-profile case back into the spotlight.
But only one of them, “Face to Face with Scott Peterson,” premiering Tuesday on Peacock, touts the participation of Peterson, who hasn’t given an on-camera interview since 2003.
“I didn’t kill my family,” Peterson says during the opening moments of “Face to Face.” The three-part docuseries, directed by Shareen Anderson and Po Kutchins, was released on the heels of Netflix’s “American Murder: Laci Peterson,” which hit the streamer last Wednesday.
Peterson, 51, has maintained his innocence since his arrest shortly after Laci Peterson’s remains were discovered on the shore of San Francisco Bay in April 2003. “Face to Face,” after revisiting Laci’s disappearance on Christmas Eve 2002, spends considerable time reexamining the police investigation and offering alternate theories that could exonerate her husband.
In video interviews from within Mule Creek State Prison, Scott Peterson, who is serving life without parole, says he regrets not testifying at his trial and that he is speaking up now for his family.
“If I have a chance to get the reality out there, if I have the chance to show people what the truth is and if they’re willing to accept it, maybe that takes a little bit of hurt off my family,” says Peterson. “And that would be the biggest thing that I can accomplish right now.”
Both documentaries arrive following headlines from earlier this year that the Los Angeles Innocence Project has stepped in to represent Peterson. The nonprofit organization stated at the time that it “is investigating [Peterson’s] claim of actual innocence.”
In March, the L.A. Innocence Project requested new forensic testing be done on around 15 pieces of evidence they said could exonerate Peterson. A judge ruled in May that just one of these items collected 20 years ago — a piece of duct tape recovered from Laci Peterson’s thigh — could be retested for DNA.
“Face to Face” elaborates on this possible evidence as well as leads Peterson and his supporters claim paint a different picture from that which the prosecution used to secure Peterson’s conviction. The documentary also suggests that the media frezny that emerged around the Modesto couple at the time of Laci Peterson’s disappearance contributed to his being found guilty, despite what Scott Peterson and his allies argue is a lack of evidence.
Peterson addresses his affair with Amber Frey
As the series notes, there was no direct evidence connecting Peterson to the murders of his wife and unborn child. But a possible motive was established when it was revealed that Peterson was having an extramarital affair with Amber Frey.
Frey’s testimony, as well as recordings of phone calls between her and Peterson, helped paint Peterson as a liar and a cheater in the public eye.
“I was a total a-hole to be having sex outside our marriage,” Peterson says in “Face to Face” when asked about the affair. “During the so-called [police] ‘investigation,’ I really did everything I could to bring my family home. And that included keeping my cheating with Frey from people. I didn’t tell people because I wanted the search to continue. I guess I understand why she tried to turn it into a relationship after the fact. And made claims that it was something more. But it simply wasn’t.”
Still, he says he feels “shame and guilt” about it.
Peterson presents his theories about what actually happened
In “Face to Face,” Peterson and his supporters — including his sister-in-law Janey Peterson — claim that police did not adequately investigate leads that could have exonerated him during their initial investigation into Laci Peterson’s disappearance.
“There are so many instances where there was evidence that didn’t fit the detectives’ theory that they ignored,” says Scott Peterson. “People want the answer they believed in to be the answer.”
Peterson alleges that because the police had decided he was the prime suspect, they did not follow up on certain tips and dismissed the possibility that Laci Peterson was abducted in connection with a burglary that occurred in their neighborhood.
The series also raises questions about the timeline of Laci’s disappearance based on potential sightings by witnesses, as well as a stolen van that was set on fire about a mile from the Peterson home. Inside the van was a mattress that one investigator said appeared to have bloodstains, though a lab test showed no sign of blood.
In May, a judge denied Peterson’s legal team’s request to retest the mattress. The investigators interviewed in the documentary say they spoke to all of the credible witnesses.
Peterson says he still remembers his last morning with Laci
When Peterson is asked about his memories of what life was like for him 20 years ago, before his wife’s disappearance, he replies, “Every moment is so real … and still there.”
“I drove away expecting to come back that afternoon and have our wonderful Christmas together after we both had fun mornings [but] no, they were gone,” says Peterson. “I say goodbye to Laci and then my family was gone.”
